Drought-stricken rancher: "It's kind of like farming in the desert"
CBSN
A relentless heat wave is piling on the difficulties faced by ranchers and farmers who've endured up to two years of drought in the Western U.S., causing some to sell off cattle at an increasingly rapid pace.
Severe drought last year forced 40% of farmers to liquidate a portion of their herds, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation. This year, that percentage could be even higher. The latest figures from the U.S. Department of Agriculture had the nation's inventory of cattle and calves at 98.8 million head as of July 1, down 2% from a year earlier.
Most of Texas and Oklahoma have some measure of drought killing off pastures where cattle graze and depleting ponds and tanks that in the past were replenished with rain water, according to David Anderson, a professor of agricultural economics at Texas A&M.
Washington — The Supreme Court on Monday declined to consider whether university "bias-response teams" chill students' speech in violation of the First Amendment, sidestepping a clash of free speech rights and university efforts to root out bias on campus.
The U.S. military scrambled fighter jets Saturday to intercept three civilian planes flying near President Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, according to the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). All three aircraft had violated temporary flight restrictions in the area, the command said.
Kroger CEO Rodney McMullen is resigning following a probe into his personal conduct, the grocery chain said Monday.
Siletz , Ore. — Authorities in Oregon are searching for a 2-year-old boy last seen playing in his home's front yard but out of sight of his parents, the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office says.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a noted vaccine skeptic, voiced support for the measles vaccine Sunday amid a deadly outbreak in the Southwest, mainly in Texas.
In early January, an endangered 2-year-old Florida male panther known as UCFP479 became the first to die this year in a vehicle collision along a rural southwestern Florida road. Two weeks later, a 10-year-old female panther was fatally struck by a car about 70 miles away.
Adrian, Mich. — A Michigan woman is asking a judge to declare her three missing sons dead nearly 15 years after their father didn't return them after Thanksgiving. The disappearance has tormented a small town near Ohio and remains unsolved.
Multiple U.S. officials tell CBS News that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has issued a directive to U.S. Cyber Command to pause planning against Russia, including offensive digital actions.
The 2025 Oscars are underway as "Conclave," "Emilia Pérez," "A Complete Unknown," "Wicked" and "The Brutalist" are each looking to turn their multiple nominations into big wins, including for best picture, at the 97th Academy Awards.
President Trump on Sunday named five cryptocurrencies under consideration for a new U.S. "strategic reserve," sending their values skyrocketing and partly reversing a recent slump.
Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred is considering a petition to have Pete Rose posthumously removed from Major League Baseball's ineligible list, a person familiar with the situation told CBS News on Sunday.
Warren Buffett rarely gives interviews. But also rare is his friendship with the late, trailblazing publisher of the Washington Post, Katharine Graham. "If there's any story that should be told, it should be her story," he said. "If I was a young girl, I'd want to hear that story. It would change my self-image.
It's Oscar night, and TV funnyman Conan O'Brien is taking the stage as host of the 97th annual Academy Awards as the 2025 nominees compete for top honors.