Month: February 2025

Wisconsin FFA President says his term is going fast
Wisconsin’s FFA State President says his term in office has been a whirlwind so far, and he’s enjoying it. Jescey Thompson from the Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau school district is about 2/3rds finished with his term and tells [Read More…]

Pork checkoff monitoring H5N1 and hog disease
A veterinarian says the spread of viruses, like Influenza A in livestock, are being closely monitored by the pork checkoff. “We want to make sure we’re doing everything to reduce exposure to pigs, whether they’re [Read More…]

Cynthia Erivo will star as Jesus in ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ at the Hollywood Bowl
Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images Cynthia Erivo is taking on another musical for her next role. It was announced Tuesday that the Wicked star and three-time Oscar nominee will play Jesus in the upcoming Hollywood Bowl [Read More…]

RFK Jr. tells staff he will ‘investigate’ childhood vaccine schedule, anti-depression drugs
Win McNamee/Getty Images (WASHINGTON) — Freshly confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told a room packed with federal health workers on Tuesday that he plans to “investigate” whether the timing [Read More…]

Judge poised to block limitations on transgender service members
Myloupe/Universal Images Group via Getty Images (WASHINGTON) — A federal judge appears poised to block the Trump administration if the Department of Defense attempts to place limitations on or ban transgender service members. U.S. District [Read More…]

Top criminal prosecutor in DC US Attorney’s office abruptly resigns amid pressure from Trump officials
J. David Ake/Getty Images (WASHINGTON) — The chief of the criminal division at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Washington, D.C. abruptly resigned Tuesday amid pressure from top Trump Justice Department appointees to freeze assets stemming [Read More…]

What scientists learned from a well-preserved fossil of this iconic Jurassic-era dinosaur
Daniel Eskridg/iStockphoto/Getty Images (LONDON) — The discovery of a well-preserved fossil is helping researchers learn more about an iconic Jurassic-period dinosaur. The plesiosaur, considered a successful marine predatory dinosaur, may have been aided in its [Read More…]

Hamas to release 6 more hostages, bodies of 4 others
Mostafa Alkharouf/Anadolu via Getty Images (LONDON) — Hamas will release six more hostages on Saturday and the bodies of four deceased hostages on Thursday, Hamas and Israel confirmed. Four more dead hostages are expected to be released [Read More…]

‘The Brutalist’ director Brady Corbet claims Oscar-nominated filmmakers ‘can’t pay their rent’
A24 Brady Corbet is opening up about the grueling process of promoting a film and the financial realities many filmmakers face. In the Feb. 17 episode of Marc Maron‘s WTF podcast, the director — a [Read More…]

Lady Gaga to host & perform on ‘Saturday Night Live’ in March
Noam Galai/NBC Universal Lady Gaga performed on the Saturday Night Live 50th Anniversary concert on Peacock Friday, but on March 8 she’ll be on NBC, hosting and performing on an episode of the show. The [Read More…]

Meghan Markle’s daughter Lilibet featured alongside her in launch of new brand
Lukas Schulze/Getty Images for Invictus Games Düsseldorf 2023 Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, is sharing new details about her lifestyle brand, including a new name, and debuting it alongside a photo with her daughter, Lilibet. [Read More…]

Succession plans curb farmland loss
A land transfer navigator says having a succession plan in place is key to reducing farmland loss. Becky Huttenga tells Brownfield, “That’s one of the best tools we can use to protect farmland.” “It’s never [Read More…]

Lower egg production in 2024
U.S. egg production declined in 2024. The USDA says 108.515 billion eggs were produced last year, falling 1% from the year before, with table eggs also down 1% to 93.1 billion and hatching eggs seeing [Read More…]

Iowa farmer gives update on planting season plans
Pictured: Iowa farmer Lance Lillibridge scouts fields during the 2024 growing season (Photo by Brent Barnett/Brownfield) An eastern Iowa farmer says he’s making some of his final preparations for the 2025 growing season. Lance Lillibridge [Read More…]

Another push for year-round E-15
A bill has been reintroduced in the U.S. Congress that would allow year-round E-15. Kenneth Hartmann, an Illinois farmer and president of the National Corn Growers Association says the goal is to get that bill [Read More…]

Estate tax relief eyed in Illinois
Farmers in Illinois could soon see estate tax relief. Chris Davis, director of state legislation with Illinois Farm Bureau, says the re-introduced Family Farm Preservation Act would significantly change how estate taxes are calculated on [Read More…]

Pope Francis has pneumonia but remains in ‘good spirits,’ Vatican says
FILIPPO MONTEFORTE/AFP via Getty Images (LONDON and ROME) — Pope Francis remained hospitalized on Tuesday as he continues to recover from a respiratory tract infection and now the “onset of bilateral pneumonia,” the Vatican said. [Read More…]

Judge to consider temporarily blocking Trump administration from carrying out mass layoffs
Alex Wong/Getty Images (WASHINGTON) — A judge on Tuesday will consider whether to temporarily block the Trump administration from carrying out mass layoffs across the federal government, in one of several lawsuits challenging Elon Musk [Read More…]

Dramatic video shows moment Delta plane flipped after landing in Toronto
Mert Alper Dervis /Anadolu via Getty Images (TORONTO) — New, dramatic video shows the moment Delta Flight 4819 caught fire and rolled over upon landing at Toronto Pearson International Airport Monday afternoon. This video — which was [Read More…]

Despite Trump’s comments on Gaza, some Arab Americans still support him
Francis Chung/Politico/Bloomberg via Getty Images (WASHINGTON) — While President Donald Trump’s comments about wanting to “clean out” Gaza and forcibly displace its nearly 2 million Palestinians have stirred outrage and accusations of ethnic cleansing among U.S. [Read More…]