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Biden administration moves to protect Alaska wilderness; opening statements and first witness in NY trial; SCOTUS hears Starbucks case, with implications for unions on the line; rural North Carolina town gets pathway to home ownership.

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The Supreme Court weighs cities ability to manage a growing homelessness crisis, anti-Israeli protests spread to college campuses nationwide, and more states consider legislation to ban firearms at voting sites and ballot drop boxes.

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Wyoming needs more educators who can teach kids trade skills, a proposal to open 40-thousand acres of an Ohio forest to fracking has environmental advocates alarmed and rural communities lure bicyclists with state-of-the-art bike trail systems.

WTO: TN Cotton Brings Too Much Fluff to the Marketplace

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Thursday, October 18, 2007   

Nashville, TN –Tennessee cotton is bringing too much "fluff" to the marketplace, according to the World Trade Organization. This week, the W.T.O. determined that the U.S. is subsidizing cotton in Tennessee, and other states, to the point that prices are depressed all over the world.

Laura Rusu with Oxfam America explains cotton is just one of a handful of crops heavily subsidized through the U.S. Farm Bill.

"We're hoping that this renewed attention will encourage our senators to do the right thing and reform our broken agriculture structure. The current system creates an oversupply of cotton which lowers prices for everyone, including American farmers."

The Senate is expected to take up the new Farm Bill within the next week. Rusu explains several recent studies have documented how the subsidy system rewards only a few, large farm corporations and encourages overproduction. Supporters of the subsidies say they help keep prices low for U.S. consumers, but even President Bush is calling for reform.


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