Where’s the beef?

Nebraska

The discovery of two semitrailers packed with pallets of frozen beef led to an investigation that uncovered a six-state, multimillion-dollar crime ring. In June, Nebraska’s Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office alerted federal authorities to truckloads of stolen meat worth $400,000. Working together, they identified 45 thefts totaling $9 million in pork and beef taken from meatpacking plants in Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Iowa. The criminal enterprise is based in Miami, where agents arrested three men on Oct. 20. They face federal charges related to transporting stolen goods and money laundering, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s investigative arm. Court documents say federal investigators, with a warrant, used cellphone data and GPS tracking devices on trucks to monitor the men, eventually placing them at the sites of the thefts. Investigators are still trying to figure out where the alleged thieves sold or stashed the meat. —Sharon Dierberger

Louisiana

A well-known Baptist minister pleaded guilty Oct. 18 to embezzling almost $900,000 from his church, congregants, affiliated rental properties, and a charter school. Charles Southall III has pastored First Emanuel Baptist Church in Baton Rouge and New Orleans for over 30 years. Prosecutors said he frequently solicited tithes from church members or sold church-owned properties and then diverted the funds to his own accounts. In one instance, he stole a $10,000 tithe. Southall has agreed to pay restitution, including over $687,000 to his church and $110,000 to individual victims of his schemes—but he could still face up to 10 years in prison. The church has not yet released a statement about Southall’s conduct. —Elizabeth Russell

Georgia

Scientists at Dalan Animal Health, a company based in Athens, Ga., have teamed up with researchers at the University of Georgia to distribute a breakthrough vaccine for honeybees. Disease is one of the greatest threats to hive health, and beekeepers this year lost about 40 percent of their colonies. Biologist Dalial Freitak at the University of Helsinki developed the vaccine in 2018. Beekeepers administer it by feeding the queen bee sugar laced with a tiny bit of bacteria. The queen then passes an immune response to her offspring. The research team hopes to launch the vaccine for commercial use by 2023. Once the team conquers bacterial infections and gets approval from the USDA, it plans to tackle viral diseases. —Bekah McCallum

West Virginia

The Appalachian Regional Commission, an ­economic development partnership between the federal government and 13 Appalachian states, on Oct. 17 announced 52 projects designed to aid areas hit hard by the shrinking coal industry. The wide-ranging developments—including a new apple sorting facility in Prestonsburg, Ky.—target historic coal communities suffering from job loss and industry shutdowns. Summers County, W.Va., plans to use its $2.4 million grant to expand affordable broadband internet to 489 homes and 179 businesses. Summers County has no active coal mines, but it has played a major role in transportation and infrastructure for three large coalfields in neighboring counties. Last year, coal mine employment in West Virginia dropped to its lowest level since 1890—only 12,000 workers statewide. Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, who co-chairs the commission, said the grant will ­revitalize the region and “make it a more attractive place to start a new business and to create jobs.” —Elizabeth Russell

Tennessee

When the Mississippi River reached record-low levels in Memphis last month, it left barges stuck on sandbars and boats stuck in the mud. At adjacent Lake McKellar, a casino riverboat that sank last year became visible from hull to mast. But the biggest problem is how two months of drought along the Mississippi River Basin have disrupted critical transportation of crops like soybeans and corn. More than half of all U.S. grain exports depend on the Mississippi, and industry experts estimate the drought has reduced the flow of harvested goods by about 45 percent. Storage at barge terminals in some areas filled up, and the added costs for farmers led many to wait to ship their harvests. Meanwhile, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers kept busy dredging the river at integral points to maintain a depth of at least 9 feet. The shipping holdup is expected to raise consumer food prices even further. —Kim Henderson

Florida

The 15-member Florida Board of Medicine voted Oct. 28 to begin drafting a rule that would prohibit doctors from providing puberty-blocking drugs, cross-sex hormones, and surgeries to minors seeking to present as the opposite sex. It’s the first medical board in the country to pursue such a rule. In April, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo issued nonbinding guidance through the state’s health department to bar transgender medical interventions for minors. The state agency for healthcare administration issued a report in June calling the treatments and surgeries “experimental … with the potential for harmful long-term effects.” Ladapo asked the state Board of Medicine to establish a standard of care “for these complex and irreversible procedures.” The board approved the rule after hearing expert testimony on both sides of the issue. It also initiated a process requiring adults to wait 24 hours before undergoing transgender medical procedures. —Mary Jackson