For the second time in less than two years, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has denied a request by Gov. Paul LePage to ban food stamp recipientsfrom using their benefits to buy sugary drinks and candy. His spokeswoman, Julie Rabinowitz, said Friday that the administration would “revise our waiver request and resubmit it,” but she did not offer a timeline or specifics about what those revisions might be.In a Jan. [node:read-more:link]

Maine’s top court has ruled that the Maine Department of Health and Human Services was wrong to deny food stamp benefits to asylum seekers who had been cleared to work but had yet to find a job. In a 13-page decision issued Tuesday, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court ruled in favor of Euphrem Manirakiza, a Burundian immigrant who sued the state after he applied for benefits in 2015 and was then denied. [node:read-more:link]

A group of scientists with U.S. Stanford University have discovered a new type of cellulose in bacteria that could be used as a source for renewable fuels and antibiotic drugs in the future. A study by the Stanford researchers, whose findings were carried in the latest version of the journal Science, said the new modified cellulose, called pEtN, was extracted from one of the best studied bacteria -- E. [node:read-more:link]

Western United Dairymen (WUD) and the California Dairy Campaign (CDC) have petitioned the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) for an emergency hearing to increase over-base milk prices by about 35¢/cwt for the next 12 months. CDFA has 15 days in which to grant or deny the petition for hearing. “The significant negative margins witnessed every quarter since January 2015 have placed many producers in a dire financial situation,” says Annie AcMoody, WUD director of economic analysis. [node:read-more:link]

The fight over a patch of farmland in Goodhue County near Zumbrota is going to the Minnesota Supreme court. Concerned residents are contesting an appeals court ruling that allows construction of a proposed hog farm to go through.Opponents argue the farm would violate county zoning ordinances. [node:read-more:link]

A group of Arkansas state legislators has approved a ban on dicamba use between April 16 and Oct. 31 of this year, meaning that soybean and cotton growers will not be able to use Monsanto's Xtendimax or BASF's Engenia for over-the-top applications. The action by the state's Legislative Council came without discussion this morning. [node:read-more:link]

Farmer has high hopes for her spina bifida treatment as well: At the four-month, postoperative checkup, Darla and Spanky were able to run and play like typical puppies, seemingly free of the debilitating paralysis that plagued them just a month earlier. Within the next year, Farmer plans to file a request with the National Institute of Health to start a clinical trial of the stem cell treatment in human fetuses with spina bifida. Like the puppies, her hope is that children born with spina bifida will be able to enjoy a life free of wheelchairs and walkers. [node:read-more:link]

You might think that the kind of extreme poverty that would concern a global organization like the United Nations has long vanished in this country. Yet the special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, Philip Alston, recently made and reported on an investigative tour of the United States. Surely no one in the United States today is as poor as a poor person in Ethiopia or Nepal? As it happens, making such comparisons has recently become much easier. [node:read-more:link]

Bipartisan voices have recognized the importance of adequately funding the National Institutes of Health (NIH), with the House and Senate proposing $1-2 billion in increased funding. We may be tempted to breathe a sigh of relief that greater support from the federal government is forthcoming.  But we shouldn’t.  Current proposals, while increases, fail to bring the NIH up to historical funding levels after correction for inflation. And equally importantly, they don’t adequately address support for the myriad other federal agencies which play key roles in supporting medical research. [node:read-more:link]

A bird flu prevention zone has been declared across England as all farmers are told to cover ponds in netting to prevent infected birds landing. The move, announced by the Government's chief veterinary officer Nigel Gibbens, means all poultry and bird keepers in England have to follow strict measures to protect their livestock from the disease.It comes as 13 dead wild birds were confirmed to have the virus in Warwickshire, following the discovery of the disease in wild birds in Dorset, where a total of 31 infected birds have now been identified. [node:read-more:link]