Agriculture regulation
The first time masks were not required on the House Floor, Monday, June 14, 2021, in St. Paul, Minn. The Minnesota Legislature convenes for the first day of what's expected to be a prolonged special session to pass a two-year, $52 billion state budget. Leaders met all weekend in the lead up to special session Monday to try and finalize deals on a number of issues, including police reform and education funding. (Glen Stubbe/Star Tribune via AP)
Deals on most budget bills take shape Minnesota Legislature

By Steve Karnowski Jun. 22, 2021 02:42 PM EDT

Carry-out alcohol from restaurants becomes permanently legal

May. 26, 2021 06:52 PM EDT
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska restaurants can now offer carry-out alcohol permanently under a new state law inspired by Gov. Pete Ricketts' efforts to help...

Protesting farmers burn an effigy of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Delhi- Haryana border, outskirts of New Delhi, India, Wednesday, May 26, 2021. Farmers are marking six months of their agitation against the new agricultural laws they say will leave them poorer and at the mercy of big corporations. The government has billed the laws as necessary to modernize agriculture. Multiple rounds of talks between the government and farmers have failed to end the stalemate. (AP Photo/Ishant Chauhan)
Indian farmers mark 6 months of protest with no end in sight

Rishabh Raj Jain May. 26, 2021 07:51 AM EDT

Some ag groups upset with Inslee over farm worker rules

By Nicholas K. Geranios May. 25, 2021 03:39 PM EDT
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Some top agriculture groups are upset with Washington Gov. Inslee because farm workers were not covered in last week's announcement that...

Medical marijuana law changes pass Pennsylvania House panel

May. 24, 2021 01:50 PM EDT
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A proposal to permanently adopt pandemic-prompted changes to Pennsylvania's medical marijuana law passed a state House committee on...

Editorial Roundup: Nebraska

By The Associated Press May. 17, 2021 10:00 AM EDT
Omaha World-Herald. May 14, 2021. Editorial: Nebraska Passport program provides fun, helps local economies Tourism is a...

Vice President Kamala Harris listens as President Joe Biden speaks on updated guidance on face mask mandates and COVID-19 response, in the Rose Garden of the White House, Thursday, May 13, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Biden meets DACA recipients in immigration overhaul push

By Aamer Madhani May. 14, 2021 02:44 PM EDT

Washington governor signs agriculture worker overtime bill

By Nicholas K. Geranios May. 11, 2021 04:27 PM EDT
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Agricultural workers in Washington state would become eligible for overtime pay under a bill signed Tuesday by Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee...

Editorial Roundup: Pennsylvania

By The Associated Press May. 05, 2021 09:00 AM EDT
Scranton Times-Tribune. May 3, 2021. Editorial: Pass Yaw bill to help farms get greener Pennsylvania has fallen far...

Police inspect passengers in vehicles on the July 15 Martyrs' Bridge, formerly known as the Bosphorus Bridge in Istanbul, Friday, April 30, 2021, on the first day of a tight lockdown to help protect from the spread of the coronavirus. Turkish security forces on Friday patrolled main streets and set up checkpoints at entry and exits points of cities, to enforce Turkey’s strictest COVID-19 lockdown to date. Still, many people were on the move as the government, desperate not to shut down the economy completely, kept some sectors exempt from the restrictions. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)
Despite 3-week lockdown, many remain on the move in Turkey

By Suzan Fraser Apr. 30, 2021 06:32 AM EDT

President Joe Biden speaks during a meeting with members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, in the Oval Office of the White House, Tuesday, April 20, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Biden OKs more foreign seasonal workers as economy improves

By Ben Fox Apr. 20, 2021 01:38 PM EDT

Editorial Roundup: Idaho

By The Associated Press Apr. 01, 2021 12:41 PM EDT
Recent editorials from Idaho newspapers: Idaho lawmakers prefer potholes over pupils April 1 The...

FILE - In this March 5, 2021, file photo a sign outside a pharmacy in Steelton, Pa., announces a drive-thru administering COVID-19 vaccinations. Acting Health Secretary Alison Beam said Wednesday, March, 31, starting Wednesday, vaccine appointments are being expanded to include police, corrections officers and other law enforcement; volunteer and professional firefighters; grocery employees; and food and farm workers. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
Pennsylvania to make all adults vaccine eligible by April 19

By Mark Scolforo And Michael Rubinkam Mar. 31, 2021 11:31 AM EDT

WA vaccine eligibility to expand to more groups on March 31

By Rachel La Corte Mar. 18, 2021 05:41 PM EDT
OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — Restaurant workers and people with two or more specified underlying conditions are among the groups who will be able to get the COVID-19...

Senate President Leroy Garcia speaks, as Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, left, listens, during a news conference outside the Governor's mansion Wednesday, March 10, 2021, in Denver. Leaders from both the Democratic and Republican parties outlined the plan to spend $700 million over the next 18 months on job-creating transportation programs, sustaining a multibillion dollar agriculture industry and delivering critical aid to small businesses hit hard by the effects of the coronavirus over the past year. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Colorado governor, lawmakers outline $700M stimulus plans

Mar. 10, 2021 04:28 PM EST

A syringe of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine is shown Thursday, March 4, 2021, at a drive-up mass vaccination site in Puyallup, Wash., south of Seattle. Officials said they expected to deliver approximately 2500 second doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine at the site Thursday. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
WA vaccine eligibility to expand to more groups on March 22

By Rachel La Corte Mar. 04, 2021 05:37 PM EST

FILE - This Aug. 22, 2014 file photo shows green chilies in a research plot at New Mexico State University's agricultural science center in Los Lunas, N.M. 2020 wasn't all bad as New Mexico farmers reported increased production and yield levels for the state's most famous crop despite pressures related to the coronavirus pandemic. Numbers released Thursday, March 4, 2021, by the U.S. Agriculture Department's statistics service show 68,000 tons of red and green chile were produced last year. (AP Photo/Susan Montoya Bryan, File)
2020 marks increase for hot pepper production in New Mexico

By Susan Montoya Bryan Mar. 04, 2021 05:12 PM EST

FILE - In this Feb. 10, 2021 file photo, Neera Tanden, President Joe Biden's nominee for Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), testifies during a Senate Committee on the Budget hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington. Moderate Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine says she'll vote against confirming President Joe Biden’s nomination of Neera Tanden to lead the White House Office of Management and Budget. Collins' announcement Monday throws Tanden's confirmation further into doubt. On Friday, Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia became the first Democratic lawmaker to oppose Tanden’s confirmation. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, Pool)
A look at how Biden's Cabinet nominees fared Tuesday

By Ashraf Khalil Feb. 23, 2021 05:50 PM EST

FILE - In this Dec. 11, 2020, file photo former Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, who the Biden administration chose to reprise that role, speaks during an event at The Queen theater in Wilmington, Del. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)
Vilsack confirmed for 2nd stint as US agriculture secretary

By Ashraf Khalil Feb. 23, 2021 05:46 PM EST

New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern talks to media in Wellington, New Zealand Monday, Feb. 15, 2021. As people in Auckland adjusted to a new lockdown on Monday, health officials said they'd found no evidence the coronavirus had spread further in the community, raising hopes the restrictions might be short-lived. (AP Photo/Nick Perry)
No new virus cases raise hopes New Zealand will end lockdown

By Nick Perry Feb. 15, 2021 08:30 PM EST