G7 Ag Ministers Focus on Ukraine Grain Exports, Maturing Grain Pact

China cancels prior buy of U.S. corn | China walks back ambassador’s remarks on post-Soviet statehood
 

Exporters canceled sales of 327,000 metric tons corn to China during the 2022-2023 marketing year.

More information has surfaced regarding central banks around the world buying a lot of gold. See Markets section.

Long-struggling retailer Bed Bath & Beyond filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, but said it intends to keep the chain’s 480 stores open for the moment as it attempts to auction off assets through the restructuring process.

Ukrainian forces have recaptured land in the southern Kherson region, a think tank said.

In what would be a major step in Ukraine’s effort to win back occupied territory, its forces have established a presence east of the Dnipro River, according to the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War. The think tank cited geolocated footage from Russian military bloggers, who have been openly discussing whether their side had lost control of the eastern bank. The Ukrainians have established positions directly across the river from Kherson, according to ISW’s analysis, which also indicated that Russian forces may no longer control several islands.

China’s Ambassador to France says ex-Soviet states lack basis for sovereignty. France and countries across Eastern Europe condemned the remarks from Ambassador Lu Shaye. More in China section. But in a quick claw back, China sought to calm the storm over the remarks. Beijing says it respects sovereignty of former Soviet republics.

G7 ag ministers meeting in Japan made it clear they are worried about future exports of Ukraine grain. See Russia & Ukraine section.

ING sues China’s biggest bank over copper trading losses. Dutch lender alleges ICBC failed to collect payment for metals sold to cash-squeezed commodity trader Maike.

New York Times report: Biden administration provides immigrants with “new back door.” Details below.

The Wall Street Journal takes a look inside the struggle to make lab-grown meat. See Food section for details.

The U.S. denied a claim by Iran’s navy that it was forced to surface a nuclear-powered submarine in the Strait of Hormuz oil choke point.

WOTUS put on hold in another state, Kentucky, while EPA is asking the appeals court to clarify the stay does not apply nationwide. More in Energy & Climate Change section.

On the regulatory front: FSIS wants to continue its poultry inspection system information collection. And, FDA is seeking information for nutrition information for food sold in online grocery shopping platforms. Details below.

In elections and politics, we have info from the latest NBC News poll and a look at 2024 Senate races by election expert Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales.

At least nine members of Congress sold banking stocks before and during the market turmoil in March, the Financial Times reported.

Equities today: The Dow opened slightly lower and is now slightly higher in mostly flat trading. In Asia, Japan +0.1%. Hong Kong -0.6%. China -0.8%. India +0.7%. In Europe, at midday, London flat. Paris -0.1%. Frankfurt flat.

     About 35% of the companies in the S&P 500 Index will report earnings this week. Some of the key reports include updates from Credit Suisse, Coca-Cola, Microsoft, Alphabet, Altria and Amazon.

     Coca-Cola came through with an earnings beat Monday morning, as the beverage giant benefited from both price hikes and high demand. And the company is confident it can continue producing strong results. “We have the right portfolio, the right strategy and the right execution to deliver in the marketplace,” CEO James Quincey said in an earnings release. Coke’s net sales for the most recent period rose 5% from the year-earlier quarter, and the company is sticking with its outlook for the year.

     U.S. equities Friday: All three major indices managed to finish higher Friday after trading both sides of unchanged during the session. The Dow ended up 22.34 points, 0.07%, at 33,808.96. The Nasdaq fell 12.90 points, 0.11%, at 12,072.46. The S&P 500 was up 3.73 points, 0.09%, at 4,133.52.

     For the week, the Dow was down 0.2%, while the S&P 500 lost 0.1%, and the Nasdaq declined 0.4%.

     Individuals bought a net $77.7 billion in equities and ETFs on U.S. exchanges in the first three months of the year, according to Vanda Research. That sum trails only the first quarters of 2021 and 2022, when they bought about $80 billion.

Agriculture markets Friday:

• Corn: May corn futures fell 1/2 cent to $6.63 1/4, ending the week a penny higher. July futures ended the day 10 3/4 lower at $6.15 1/4, down 20 1/2 cents on the week.  
• Soy complex: May soybeans fell 14 cents to $14.83 1/2, ending the session below the 20- and 40-day moving averages and down 17 cents on the week. May meal closed $5.60 lower at $445.70, a $14.00 drop from last week while May soyoil fell 103 points to 53.40 cents.
• Wheat: May SRW wheat fell 6 cents to $6.61 3/4 and for the week lost 20 3/4 cents. May HRW wheat rose 1/2 cent to $8.40 3/4 and on the week fell 38 cents. Both markets hit four-week lows Friday. May HRS wheat fell 8 3/4 cents to $8.47.
• Cotton: May cotton fell 83 points to 78.41 cents, closing 445 points lower on the week.  
• Cattle: The expiring April live cattle contract ended the week at $173.975, down 12.5 cents from Thursday, while most-active June futures edged up 17.5 cents to $164.525. The latter represented a weekly rise of 80 cents. The expiring April feeder contract fell $1.25 to a Friday close of $203.775. May feeders inched up 5 cents to settle at $212.40, which marked a $4.50 weekly advance.
• Hogs: June lean hogs rose $1.00 to $86.075 and nearer the session high. For the week, June hogs lost 80 cents.
   

Ag markets today: Wheat futures posted mild corrective overnight, while soybeans traded mixed, and corn faced followthrough selling. As of 7:30 a.m. ET, corn futures were trading 1 to 5 cents lower, soybeans are 3 cents lower to 5 cents higher, winter wheat futures are 1 to 3 cents higher and spring wheat is 5 to 7 cents higher. Front-month crude oil futures are modestly weaker, while the U.S. dollar index is down around 150 points.

Federal Reserve officials are considering whether tighter credit conditions offset the need for more interest rate rises, the Financial Times reports. The FOMC meets May 2-3 and it is widely expected to bump rates another 25bp. Says FT: [Fed] officials have tacitly endorsed another rate rise, in a move that would lift the federal funds rate above 5% for the first time since mid-2007. Beyond that point, however, policymakers have been non-committal about how much more they will need to do to get inflation under control. This reflects a desire to keep all options on the table, but also uncertainty over how much a credit crunch will slow an economy that remains robust.”

Investors are piling into ultrashort-term Treasury bills to avoid getting caught up in the debt-ceiling drama. The divergence between one-month and three-month bills is at its largest on record.

Market quotes of note:

• Crop and weather outlook from grain trader and analyst Richard Crow: “The western wheat area has the best chance of rain this week it has had for months.  Any rain will help, but much of the crop has been damaged. The condition reports this afternoon is expected to be steady. The Corn Belt weather has limited moisture for the next two week; the temps are cold, so any moisture will be a while to dry up. The Northern Plaines have limited moisture but remain cold.”
   
• Drill, baby drill. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said during the annual conference of the Society of Environmental Journalists that the Biden administration is "not going to turn the faucet off and say we're not drilling anymore," defending the agency's controversial approval of the $8 billion ConocoPhillips Willow oil development project in Alaska. She called the project "a very long and complicated and difficult decision to make."
   
• Himes predicts stock market crash may be needed to resolve debt limit impasse. In an interview with The Hill (link), Rep. Jim Himes (D-Ct.), “a former Goldman Sachs executive and senior member of the Financial Services Committee,” on Thursday “said the Republicans’ opposition to a debt limit hike without steep spending cuts is so entrenched that only an economy-rattling market tumble — like the crash that accompanied the financial crisis of 2008 — will shake GOP leaders to accept a bipartisan compromise.” Himes explained, “I fear that this ends the way the famous TARP, the Troubled Assets Relief Program, got passed in 2008. And that is when the markets finally say, ‘You guys have got to stop screwing around.’” He added, “Sadly, I think it’s going to take that kind of market signal to wake my ideologically frenzied friends up and just say, ‘Let’s move on and do some real stuff.’”
             
• Look who’s buying all that gold. Ruchir Sharma, hair of Rockefeller International, writes this is an opinion item (link/paywall) for the Financial Times: “Central banks are buying more tons of gold now than at any time since data begins in 1950 and currently account for a record 33% of monthly global demand for gold. This buying boom has helped push the price of gold to near-record levels and more than 50% higher than what models based on real interest rates would suggest. Clearly, something new is driving gold prices. Look closer at the central bank buyers, and nine of the top 10 are in the developing world, including Russia, India and China. Not coincidentally, these three countries are in talks with Brazil and South Africa about creating a new currency to challenge the dollar. Their immediate goal: to trade with one another directly, in their own coin. ‘Every night I ask myself why all countries have to base their trade on the dollar,’ Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said recently on a visit to China, arguing that an alternative would help ‘balance world geopolitics.’”
   
• NBCUniversal CEO out after ‘inappropriate relationship’. “Today is my last day as CEO of NBCUniversal. I had an inappropriate relationship with a woman in the company, which I deeply regret.” — Jeff Shell, former CEO, NBCUniversal. CEO Brian Roberts and President Mike Cavanagh of parent company Comcast said in an internal email: “You should count on your leaders to create a safe and respectful workplace.” Cavanagh will run things at NBCUniversal, which also owns CNBC, for the time being, but he wasn’t named interim CEO. Shell’s exit is the second shocking media world CEO departure in the past six months, following Bob Chapek’s November firing at Disney, which allowed Bob Iger to return.
   

On tap today:

     • Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas's manufacturing survey for April is out at 10:30 a.m. ET.

Bed Bath & Beyond filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy and is preparing to close its remaining stores, the company announced Sunday, after months of speculation the suffering chain would make the financial move. The retailer attracted a broad range of customers by selling name brands at cut-rate prices. In a statement, Bed Bath & Beyond said it filed chapter 11 bankruptcy in New Jersey, and has begun a “limited sale and marketing process for some or all of its assets.” The brand expects to close its 360 Bed Bath & Beyond and 120 buybuy BABY stores, though the company said it could “pivot away from any store closings” if it finds a buyer. Bed Bath & Beyond received $240 million from Sixth Street Specialty Lending, Inc. in funding to keep its retail locations and websites operating during the bankruptcy process.

Market perspectives:

     • Outside markets: The U.S. dollar index was weaker, with the euro and yen both firmer against the greenback. The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note was weaker, trading around 3.54%, while there was a mostly firmer tone in global government bond yields. Crude oil futures were nearly unchanged after being lower in overnight action. U.S. crude was around $77.80 per barrel and Brent around $81.35 per barrel. Gold and silver were registering mild gains, with gold around $1,993 per troy ounce and silver around $25.14 per troy ounce.

     • Pounding the Egyptian pound. S&P Global Ratings  expects the Egyptian pound, already down around 40% in the past year, will slide again by the end of June.

     • OPEC+ cooperation. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman expressed “satisfaction with the level of coordination within OPEC+ in order to ensure the stability of global oil market,” after a phone call between the alliance's two de-facto leaders. 

     • NWS weather outlook: Mountain snow and coastal/valley showers over the Pacific Northwest will continue to spread into the northern and central Rockies... ...Heavy wet snow can be expected over central Colorado by late Tuesday/early Wednesday... ...March-like cold temperatures with additional morning frosts/freezes across much of the eastern two-thirds of the country… ...Damp and dreary conditions to linger in New England with high-elevation wet snow at times... ...More showers and storms to develop Tuesday and Wednesday in the south-central U.S.

Items in Pro Farmer's First Thing Today include:

     • Wheat mildly firmer, soybeans mixed and corn weaker
     • Central Plains clipped by frost/freeze
     • Slightly negative Cattle on Feed Report
     • Has the cattle market topped?
     • Cash hog index continues to weaken

— If Russia wants to clinch a long-term gas-sales agreement to build its Power of Siberia 2 pipeline into China, it must do so from a weaker negotiating position than when it inked the deal for the first pipe, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace says.

—  The U.S. and other Western countries continue to supply weapons for Ukraine, but at too slow a pace. Foreign Policy reports (link) that Ukrainian officials are worrying about their ability to execute a spring counteroffensive without more material support that is on track to arrive too late, if at all.

— Weapons makers can’t hire enough workers as Ukraine war drives demand. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has turbocharged demand for weapons. Now arms makers face the challenge of hiring thousands of skilled workers to capitalize on an influx of orders. Hiring enough workers to meet the demand will likely be tricky. Defense jobs can require niche skills and security clearances. Some people have qualms about working for weapons makers. And defense companies are all trying to hire at the same time in a field that has long struggled to meet recruitment goals, the Wall Street Journal reports (link).

— The Kremlin may retaliate if the G7 enacts a total ban on most exports to Russia by withdrawing from the safe-transit deal that allows Ukraine to ship grains from Black Sea ports. Moscow would also consider banning exports of some of its own goods, Dmitry Medvedev said.

     Separately, the EU is set to propose a ban on many goods transiting through Russia.

— Exporters union: Russian grain exports could be record-large despite no benefit from Black Sea deal. Russia could export a record 60 MMT of grain in 2022-23, including 50 MMT of wheat, the head of the Russian Grain Union said. But he noted the Black Sea grain deal had not yielded anything positive for Russia or helped facilitate supplies to the global market. Russia has repeatedly said it will not extend the Black Sea grain deal beyond May 18 unless Western restrictions blocking its agricultural and fertilizer exports and other matters are addressed.

— G7 farm ministers urge expansion of Ukraine grain exports. Group of Seven (G7) agriculture ministers on Sunday in a communique noted that Russia’s Feb. 24, 2022, invasion of Ukraine has had a devastating impact on global food security and called for expansion of Ukrainian grain shipments via the Black Sea Grain corridor that is exempt from attack. They added they were ready to aid the reconstruction of Ukrainian agricultural facilities damaged by the war.

     Statement: “We are deeply concerned about the devastating impact the war is having on food security globally, not least through price spikes in grains, fuel and fertilizers, which is disproportionately impacting the most vulnerable,” the communique read, noting the war was estimated to increase world hunger by 10.7 million people. “In this context, we strongly support the extension, full implementation and expansion of BSGI (Black Sea Grain Initiative).”

    More than 25 million tonnes of grain and food products have been shipped from Ukraine under the Black Sea initiative, negotiated by the United Nations and Turkey with Russia. Half of the exports were corn and 27% were wheat. The grain corridor went into operation on July 27, 2022, and has been renewed twice, most recently on March 19.

     What’s next: Russia last agreed to a 120-day lifespan for the Black Sea agreement but insists the March agreement will expire on May 18 after 60 days. Russia has said if faces unfair constraints on exports of grain and fertilizer; the West says there are “carve outs” for the products in its sanctions on Russia. Farmers in eastern Europe have complained that shipments of Ukrainian grain into their countries drove down prices. In response, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia have barred the imports.

     Link to G7 agriculture ministers’ communique.
     Link to UN website for the Black Sea Grain Initiative.

— Latvia releases Russian fertilizer. A batch of Russian fertilizer that Latvia seized last year is being shipped to Kenya via the United Nations’ World Food Program, Latvia’s Foreign Ministry said. A vessel left the port of Riga on Friday with part of the 200,000 MT of seized fertilizer, the ministry said. Several more vessels are due to transport the rest of the fertilizer, which was seized in March 2022.

 

— WOTUS put on hold in another state, Kentucky. The Biden administration’s Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) rule has been temporarily put on hold in another state with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit last week halting implementation of the rule in Kentucky. The halt is only temporary, lasting until May 5 to give the court an opportunity to consider the state’s request for an injunction on the rule. Other federal court actions have put implementation of the rule on hold in 26 states. There is a pending Supreme Court ruling on the matter, a decision expected between now and June.

     Meanwhile, EPA has asked the appeals court to clarify that the stay does not apply nationwide.

— New York Times report: Biden administration provides immigrants with “new back door.” A NYT article (link) states that with Congress still at “a protracted stalemate... over immigration, President Biden has opened a back door to allow hundreds of thousands of new immigrants into the country, significantly expanding the use of humanitarian parole programs for people escaping war and political turmoil around the world.” The NYT adds that the measures for “people fleeing Ukraine, Haiti and Latin America...offer immigrants the opportunity to fly to the United States and quickly secure work authorization, provided they have a private sponsor to take responsibility for them,” and says the administration “has also greatly expanded the number of people who are in the United States with what is known as temporary protected status, a program former President Donald J. Trump had sought to terminate.” According to the NYT, “All told, these temporary humanitarian programs could become the largest expansion of legal immigration in decades.”

— European states reacted with angst after a Chinese diplomat questioned the independence of former-Soviet nations. Beijing’s ambassador to France, Lu Shaye, said some don’t have effective sovereign status under international law. Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia will summon Beijing’s envoys. Paris expressed “dismay” — the comments further hurt Emmanuel Macron’s move to try to enlist China’s help in ending Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

— Australia is seeking Japan’s help to build a critical-minerals supply chain to offset China’s dominance in the field, the Australian Financial Review says.

— Taiwan in talks with Washington about potential weapons stockpiles on or near island, premier confirms. Chen Chien-jen says Taiwan and the U.S. have been in talks over potential plan since U.S. National Defense Authorization Act was approved by the U>S. Congress in December. Link to details via the South China Morning Post.

— Canada agreed to nearly $10 billion in subsidies to convince Volkswagen to build a battery plant there instead of in the U.S., matching incentives the company would have received under the Inflation Reduction Act.

— A loophole in the Clean Air Act has allowed shuttered coal plants to continue collecting and selling emissions credits under a federal cap-and-trade program run by the EPA, according to a Reuters investigation that showed dozens of currently operating coal plants have been using credits from closed facilities to meet their compliance obligations over the last five years. Link to more via Reuters.

— Toyota is rebranding its plug-in hybrids as “practical electric vehicles” that work for American commuters who want electric power but worry about range on longer trips. Its 2023 Prius Prime plug-in, set to reach U.S. dealers in May, can go up to 44 miles on battery alone, and Toyota plans more plug-ins as it works to narrow the range gap with full EVs. Some analysts question the staying power of the plug-in market, given the fast-rising interest in pure EVs. There is also a regulatory risk, as markets mandating a transition to electric move to limit or exclude plug-in hybrids.

— Inside the struggle to make lab-grown meat. The U.S. lab-grown meat industry got a boost last fall when the FDA for the first time declared cultivated chicken from Upside Foods safe to eat. The company — which is backed by Bill Gates and Richard Branson and the meat giants Tyson and Cargill — can grow small amounts of meat from cells. But making large volumes at low cost is proving much harder, according to Wall Street Journal interviews with current and former employees, industry officials, investors and outside scientists. The WSJ reports (link) that many of Upside’s investors said they were comfortable with their long-term bets on the company. Link to WSJ article, What Exactly Is Cultivated Meat, and When Can We Eat It?

— FSIS wants to continue its poultry inspection system information collection. USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is proposing to continue collecting information under the Poultry Products Inspection Act (PPIA) to very that “poultry products are safe, wholesome, and properly labeled and packaged.” The agency is making no changes in the information gathering where the authority to gather the information expires Aug. 31, 2023. This does not alter the reporting requirements for firms under the PPIA. Link to Federal Register notice.

— FDA seeking information for nutrition information for food sold in online grocery shopping platforms. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published a notice (link) seeking information on nutrition information made available to consumers in online grocery shopping platforms in a bid to make sure that consumers have “accurate, informative, and accessible food labeling.” The information FDA will gather will be used to “help improve consumer access to consistent and accurate nutrition, ingredient, and allergen information for packaged foods sold through e-commerce.” The Request for Information (RFI) and feedback from a meeting the agency hosted in October 2021 will be used by the agency to address what they say may be “inconsistencies” in how this information is provided to consumers. Comments are due by July 24.

     Background. The pandemic in part pushed more consumers to shop online, with FDA noting that in 2019, online grocery sales totaled $62.2 billion and that grew 54% in 2020 to $95.8 billion. Consumer use of online platforms to purchase at least some of their groceries rose to 79% in 2020 from 19% in 2019. FDA predicts 21.5% of all grocery sales in 2023 will be online.

— Supreme Court maintains access to abortion pill, at least for now. The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday ruled 7-2 that a commonly used abortion pill could stay on the market pending further legal review, in the process preserving the Food and Drug Administration's authority to approve and regulate drugs. The Supreme Court's brief, unsigned order came in an emergency dispute over lower court rulings that would have curtailed access to the drug, mifepristone. At the request of the Justice Department and a mifepristone manufacturer, the high court placed a hold — known as a stay — on the lower court rulings while the appeals process plays out. Only Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito publicly indicated their dissent from the Supreme Court's move.

— Johnson & Johnson is set to pitch investors on its consumer-healthcare business, the producer of household names such as Tylenol. Kenvue plans to start meeting with prospective investors as early as Monday, in a test for an IPO market that has been in the doldrums for the past year.

— 2024 Senate elections. The following is how election watcher Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales sizes Senate races at this stage:

— Biden expected to name Rodriguez as campaign manager. Biden is expected to name senior White House adviser Julia Chavez Rodriguez to manage his re-election campaign, the Associated Press reports (link), citing “a person familiar with deliberations on the matter.” Rodriguez, the granddaughter of labor leader Cesar Chavez and labor activist Helen Fabela Chávez, “also worked in former President Barack Obama’s White House” and “has deep ties to Vice President Kamala Harris,” having served “on Harris’ Senate staff and on Harris’ 2020 presidential campaign as national political director and traveling chief of staff.” Reuters cites (link) “a source familiar with the plan” who said Biden “has yet to make the offer to Rodriguez himself. Rodriguez was Biden’s senior advisers’ top choice for the role after they interviewed nearly a dozen people, the source said.”

— The Hill (link) lists five big questions Biden faces as he gets set to begin his quest for a second term. They are: How much enthusiasm can he generate? How hard will he hit the campaign trail? Will any primary challenger get traction at all? How much does it matter who his opponent is? How much will the economy help or hurt him?

— NBC News poll shows Biden more popular than Trump. The latest national NBC News poll (link) finds some hurdles for President Biden ahead of his expected re-election announcement this week. Biden’s overall job-approval rating has dropped to 41% among all adults, and it’s 30% among independents. Just 38% approve of the president’s handling of the economy. He trails a generic Republican by 6 points among registered voters, with 41% saying they'd definitely or probably vote for Biden, versus 47% who say they'd vote for the GOP candidate. (NBC says this poll didn't test head-to-head matchups, but future surveys will.)

     The biggest hurdle: 70% of all Americans – including 51% of Democrats – don't want Biden to run for president in 2024, with nearly half of these respondents citing his age as a major reason.

     The good news for Biden is that he remains more popular than Donald Trump. Some 38% of Americans view Biden in a positive light, while 48% have a negative impression of the president (-10 net rating). That's compared with Trump's 34% positive, 53% negative score (-19).

— House Republicans are taking the first small step forward in the appropriations process by outlining a discretionary spending target of less than $1.5 trillion in their debt-limit bill, even as the fate of that bill remains unclear. Appropriators will likely deem a top-line spending figure in line with the $1.47 trillion spending cap included in the debt-limit bill, Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.) said last week. That represents a $131 billion cut from the current fiscal 2023 levels. House Appropriations Chairwoman Kay Granger (R-Texas) will still have to divide that into defense and nondefense top-line figures, and then determine allocations for each of the 12 subcommittees.

— At least nine members of Congress sold banking stocks before and during the market turmoil in March, the Financial Times reported (link/paywall).

     Of note: Overall holdings by members of the US Congress outperformed the S&P 500 by about 17.5% on average in 2022, according to Subversive Capital, a company that creates ETFs which track stock trading by senators and representatives. Some Democratic Senators have announced a new bill, The Ending Trading and Holdings in Congressional Stocks (ETHICS) Act, that would prohibit all members of Congress and their family members from buying or selling individual stocks. The act is the product of a working group formed by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer more than a year ago to address reports of rampant insider trading amongst lawmakers. The ETHICS Act would not only ban lawmakers, their spouses and dependent children from trading single stocks, it would also create a searchable, electronic database of their stockholdings and impose large penalties for any violations.

— Sen. Durbin: Chief Justice hasn’t responded to testimony invite. A request by Senate Democrats that Chief Justice John Roberts investigate possible ethics violations by Justice Thomas has instead been referred to a judicial panel, prompting a renewed request for Roberts to testify on the matter.
 

— Armadillo sightings in North Carolina are on the rise and the state's Wildlife Resources Commission is trying to determine the extent of their range, Axios Raleigh co-author Zachery Eanes reports (link). The mammals have been spotted recently as far north as Missouri, southern Illinois, Iowa and up to North Carolina, according to David Mizejewski, a naturalist at the National Wildlife Federation.

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