Invasive species’ high cost: The threat to the world from invasive species is “underappreciated, underestimated, and often unacknowledged,” says a UN-backed report that pegs the losses from 3,500 harmful invasive species at $423 billion a year and rising. (Washington Post)
Seek more WIC funding: The White House asked for an additional $1.4 billion for WIC as part of a stopgap funding bill to be considered this month by Congress, saying the money was needed because of higher-than-expected enrollment. (CNN)
Worsening wildfires: Forest fires burn twice as much tree cover nowadays as they did 20 years ago and they were responsible for a quarter of all tree cover loss in the past generation, according to university researchers. (World Resources Institute)
Grocery inflation ticks upward: After repeatedly lowering their forecast of grocery price inflation this year, USDA economists estimated prices would rise by 5.2 percent this year, rather than their previous estimate of 4.9 percent; the increase was 11.4 percent in 2022. (USDA)
Huge California grape losses: Hurricane Hilary swept into California during the grape harvest season and growers reported the loss of 25 million boxes, driving the harvest below 75 million boxes for the first time since 1974. (The Packer)