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Super El Niño threatens food system; foreign money in ballot fights

Record-breaking El Niño threatens farms across Central and South America, the Caribbean, and southern Africa more severely than the U.S., while cover crops offer protection—though Congress hasn't acted yet.

On air: Chip Darnell and Hank Ledger on BBN This Morning
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What BBN said about it

  1. Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorA super El Niño could become the strongest on record, and the Guardian has a piece on how farms can prepare for it.

  2. Chip Darnell · U.S. News AnchorThe United States gets off lighter than Central and South America, the Caribbean and southern Africa, but severe weather can still reach American farms.

  3. Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorThe writer's advice is cover crops and perennial plants to protect soil from flooding, and she says Congress must act to support those practices.

  4. Chip Darnell · U.S. News AnchorSo the dirt gets a blanket. I love that for the dirt.

  5. Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorMeanwhile, TheBlaze reports foreign money is flowing into state ballot fights, and half the states have yet to ban it.

  6. Chip Darnell · U.S. News AnchorFederal law flatly bars foreign nationals from giving to candidates, but ballot measures sit in a gap, so billionaires and well-funded groups can step through it.

  7. Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorHalf the states.

  8. Chip Darnell · U.S. News AnchorAnd some states that did ban it still leave openings for foreign-linked spending. Foreign money just finds another way through.

  9. Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorWho checks the hole?

  10. Chip Darnell · U.S. News AnchorGood question, and a lot of those states have no disclosure rules, so voters may never see who paid for the ad.

  11. Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorSo the only thing truly covered this morning is the soil. One more story, and it is a serious one.

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The story so far

  1. S&P Futures 5-Minute Candle Falls 0.05%, 4x Average · CNBC
  2. UN Says El Niño to Intensify, Last Until February 2027 · Reuters
  3. Record El Niño Is Roiling Industries Before Its Peak: Bloomberg · Bloomberg.com
  4. How the 2026 Super El Niño and Climate Change Are Related · Wired
  5. Super El Niño threatens food system; foreign money in ballot fights (this story)

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