An invasive snail is being blamed for killing hundreds of waterfowl on the Upper Mississippi River this fall. Field workers have found almost 1,000 dead coot and lesser scaup washed up on the shores near Genoa since early October, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The birds are believed to be the victims of an intestinal parasite found in faucet snails, which the birds eat during stopovers on their fall migration. Die-offs have become an annual event during the past 15 years, since the arrival of the faucet snail. [node:read-more:link]

A Florida man has been arrested in connection with illegal horse slaughtering in an unlicensed rural slaughterhouse in western Miami-Dade County. [node:read-more:link]

Judges in Maryland would not be able to set bail that is too high for a poor defendant to pay unless the defendant is considered a flight risk or a danger to society, under a rule change that a key judiciary committee voted to recommend to the state’s highest court. The Standing Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure of the Maryland Court of Appeals voted 18 to 5 to recommend an overhaul of the state’s money-based bail system, which critics say is unfair to poor and minority defendants. [node:read-more:link]

A new study to be released on Monday by the Children’s Health Fund, a nonprofit based in New York City that expands access to health care for disadvantaged children, found that one in four children in the United States did not have access to essential health care, though a record number of young people now have health insurance.  The report found that 20.3 million people in the nation under the age of 18 lack “access to care that meets modern pediatric standards.” [node:read-more:link]

Three more prescription drug companies have settled lawsuits with the state of West Virginia, for a total of $800,000, over the huge numbers of pain pills shipped into the state over several years. The settlements with J.M. Smith Corporation, Top Rx and Masters Pharmaceutical LLC were announced late Thursday in a news release from the state Attorney General’s office. The state Department of Health and Human Resources and the state Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety also approved the settlements, according to the release. J.M. [node:read-more:link]

Second-largest U.S. animal feed producer Land O’Lakes Inc. plans to acquire Southern States Cooperative Inc.’s animal feed business.  Southern States Cooperative is one of the largest U.S. farmer-owned cooperatives, supplying animal feed in 23 states through its network of eight feed mills. “This is an excellent opportunity to expand our relationship with Southern States and increase our animal feed business in the eastern U.S.,” said Chris Policinski, president and CEO, Land O’Lakes Inc. This year, Southern States entered into a supply agreement with Land O’Lakes Inc. [node:read-more:link]

Federal law does not pre-empt state or local governments from banning genetically engineered crops that have been deregulated by USDA, according to a federal appeals court.  The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has reversed an earlier ruling that held Maui County in Hawaii was prohibited from banning commercialized genetically modified organisms in 2014 because the ordinance was pre-empted by federal rules for biotechnology. [node:read-more:link]

U.S. farmland is the savings account that is propping up ag borrowers today. Its stability is the mitigating factor keeping both borrowers and farm lenders in relatively good standing despite three back-to-back years of negative farm incomes, a growing number of ag economists and lenders say.  While some land experts forecast as much as a 25% to 30% drop from recent peak land values, most doubt a correction of that size would cause the kind of contagion that infected the farm economy in the 1980s. [node:read-more:link]

The American vegan movement was always its own worst enemy.  Members of the movement made their first impressions bellowing into bullhorns, desperate to make a difference by willing it with a loud enough voice. But actual engagement was a weakness as people tended to ignore the passionate subculture with a rigid gospel prohibiting use of any and all animal products. For the most part, the only marks left by their efforts throughout the 1970s, 80s, and 90s were those scuffed into their shoes as police officers dragged them off the streets.  And then, with little warning, something changed. [node:read-more:link]

Researchers who have sequenced the genome of a 5,310-year-old corn cob have discovered that the maize grown in central Mexico all those years ago was genetically more similar to modern maize than to its wild ancestor. For example, the ancient maize already carried genetic variants responsible for making kernels soft, a common feature of modern corn. [node:read-more:link]