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The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

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Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

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Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

"Fight to Save Bees" Waged in California Courtrooms

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Wednesday, April 15, 2015   

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Save the bees! That's the battle cry in two ongoing court cases in California where beekeepers and environmental groups are fighting regulators over the use of pesticides they contend harm bees and crops.

On Tuesday, on behalf of the groups, the law firm Earthjustice asked a federal judge in San Francisco to make the Environmental Protection Agency take a second look at a pesticide called sulfoxaflor. Lead attorney Greg Loarie says this is the first case beekeepers have brought against the agency for failing to protect honeybees from toxic pesticides.

"It's gotten to the point where beekeepers are losing so many bees each year that they simply can't stay in business," says Loarie. "At the rate we're going, we're really on a short path to agricultural disaster."

Last week, Earthjustice asked a state court in Alameda to force the California Department of Pesticide Regulation to stop approving the use of a class of pesticides called neonicotinoids, until the department finishes a multi-year review of the impacts on honeybees.

Groups opposed to and in favor of pesticide use both cite studies they say prove their respective points. Pesticide manufacturers blame the bee deaths on a combination of causes, including disease and predators. But no matter what the cause, Paul Towers, organizing and media director of the Pesticide Action Network, says the stakes are high.

"We know bees are responsible for one in three bites of food we eat," he says. "We need to take every step we can to ensure their continued safety and protection."

California's state review of neonicotinoids began in 2009, and Towers says that's long enough to take some "meaningful action" to protect bees. The bees play a beneficial role in many farm crops, but at greatest risk in California is the $3 billion almond crop, which is entirely dependent on bees for pollination.


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The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this week about the popular abortion pill Mifepristone and will weigh in on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was correct in how it can be dosed and prescribed. (Ascannio/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

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Missouri residents are worried about future access to birth control. The latest survey from The Right Time, an initiative based in Missouri…


Social Issues

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Wisconsin children from low-income families are now on track to get nutritious foods over the summer. Federal officials have approved the Badger …

Social Issues

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Almost 2,900 people are unsheltered on any given night in the Beehive State. Gov. Spencer Cox is celebrating signing nine bills he says are geared …


The U.S. teaching workforce remains primarily white while the percentage of Black teachers has declined. However, the percentage of Asian and Latinx teachers is rising.(WavebreakMediaMicro/Adobestock)

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Education advocates are calling on lawmakers to increase funding for programs to combat the teacher shortage. Around 37% of schools nationwide …

Environment

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New York's Legislature is considering a bill to get clean-energy projects connected to the grid faster. It's called the RAPID Act, for "Renewable …

Social Issues

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Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

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Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

 

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