A court fight is developing over government ordered cigarette labels. Here's CBS's Steve Kathan:
“Big tobacco is asking a judge to block graphic cigarette lables that show diseased lungs and dying smokers. David Howard of R.J. Reynolds, ”This regulation completely disregards core, constitutional principles”. Anti-smoking advocate Richard Denar, “All kinds of consumer products have government-mandated safety warnings on them. None of them kill half of their lifetime users like cigarettes will.” The labels are supposed to start showing up on cigarette packs a little over a year from now.”
North Carolina is still the largest tobacco-growing state in the country.
More People Using Food Stamps Because Government 'Getting the Word Out' Better
Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack has said the reason so many people are on food stamps is the administration has done a better job helping states get "the word out" about the decades-old program. Though food stamps date back to 1939, Vilsack said that several large states, like California and Texas, had "underperformed" in connecting eligible Americans with the program.
The number of people on food stamps has been growing to record levels for 30 straight months.
Stagflation Now a Worry
Prices for raw materials rose last month by about 0.2%; excluding food and energy categories from the number and the index was up 0.4%. That's good and bad news for the Federal Reserve says Wells Fargo Economist Eugenio Aleman. He says stagflation is now a worry:
“They want to avoid the deflation, and this is why they’ve been putting a lot of money into the market, but at the same time they want to see growth, and that’s really not happening. But, inflation is happening, and that’s not really good news, it’s a mixed bag.”
Deadly Emerald Ash Borer Sure to Show Up
It's just a matter of time before a tree-killing pest called the emerald ash borer shows up in North Carolina. The state Forest Service is holding a workshop Sunday along with officials from Tennessee and Virginia on ways to prepare for the onslaught of the Asian beetle. The half-inch-long insects have destroyed millions of ash trees in 12 states since they were first detected nine years ago.
The beetles have not been found in North Carolina, yet. But Rob Trickel, head of the Forest Health Branch of the forest service, says their arrival is inevitable. The states where the pests have been found include neighboring Virginia and Tennessee, and officials from those states will offer pointers on how to combat the insects.
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