Smoke rises from the site of an explosion in Beirut’s port area on Aug. 4, 2020. (Photo: Reuters/Mohamed Azakir)

Who owned the chemicals that blew up Beirut? No one will say

The fertilizer's Georgian producer has since been dissolved; the ship that brought it to Lebanon sank in 2018

Reading Time: 5 minutes Moscow/Dubai/London | Reuters — In the murky story of how a cache of highly explosive ammonium nitrate ended up on the Beirut waterfront, one thing is clear — no one has ever publicly come forward to claim it. There are many unanswered questions surrounding last week’s huge, deadly blast in the Lebanese capital, but ownership […] Read more


(NHC.noaa.gov)

Irma whips orange trees, shuts meat plants

Reading Time: 3 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Hurricane Irma stripped oranges from trees and prompted Tyson Foods to shut meat plants in Florida and Georgia on Monday to keep workers safe. Tyson, the biggest U.S. meat company, hopes to resume normal operations soon at chicken plants it shuttered in Cumming, Dawson and Vienna, Ga., and at a beef […] Read more

(Stephen Ausmus photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Top U.S. chicken-producing state sees first case of bird flu

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Georgia has confirmed its first-ever case of bird flu in commercial poultry, its agriculture department said on Monday, widening an outbreak of the disease into the United States’ biggest chicken meat-producing state. A flock of 18,000 chickens used for breeding was culled after testing positive for H7 bird flu, according to […] Read more


Sonny Perdue with wife Mary during a rain prayer service in 2007. (SonnyPerdue.Georgia.gov)

Trump to name ex-Georgia governor as ag secretary

Reading Time: 2 minutes Washington | Reuters — U.S. President-elect Donald Trump will name former Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue as his nominee for secretary of agriculture on Thursday, a senior transition official saidn Wednesday. Perdue, 70, served on Trump’s agricultural advisory committee during his presidential campaign. His nomination, which must be confirmed by the Republican-led Senate, will complete Trump’s […] Read more

A satellite view of Hurricane Matthew at about 1 p.m. ET on Oct. 6, as the hurricane regained Category 4 status. (NASA/NOAA GOES Project)

U.S. farmers race to ready for Hurricane Matthew’s blast

Reading Time: 3 minutes New York | Reuters — Hurricane Matthew, the fiercest Caribbean storm in nearly a decade, roiled commodities markets and forced companies from cane refiners to orange juice makers to shutter as it whipped its way toward the southeastern U.S. on Thursday. Southeastern companies were closing down operations ahead of a storm that could threaten some […] Read more


(Photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Georgia to accept Canadian breeding cattle, hogs

Reading Time: < 1 minute Canada may be able to move up to $2.5 million more in live breeding cattle and live breeding swine to the Black Sea region each year, with new market access to Georgia. The former Soviet country’s government will allow imports of Canadian breeding cattle and hogs effective immediately, Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay and Trade Minister […] Read more