Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and two other Democrat senators sent a letter
urging the Biden administration to issue an executive order blocking Nippon
Steel's (OTCPK:NISTF) planned almost $15
billion purchase of US Steel (NYSE:X). US Steel fell 4.3%.
"Given the clear and present threats that Nippon
Steel acquisition to American workers and a critical industry, we believe
executive action to block this deal is urgent, Brown and Sen. Robert Casey
(D-PA) and John Fetterman (D-PA) wrote in a letter on Monday.
Nippon (OTCPK:NISTF) has promised
to protect jobs, plants and pensions, but USW leaders have said they are
worried that the Japanese company is only making those promises in exchange for
a public endorsement.
News of the letter was earlier reported by the
Washington Post.
Last month, three Republican Senators urged Biden to formally prohibit or
suspend the US Steel (X) sale to Nippon Steel.
The pleas follow after Biden has repeatedly said
this year that US Steel (X) needs to remain an American
steel company, though he has not outright called for the almost $15 billion
transaction to be blocked.
Genetic testing
confirms pervasiveness of invasive bee-killing hornets: 'Very likely the ...
insect will be here for good'
The U.K. has been monitoring
the threat of a new invasive species that
specifically targets bee populations.
An increasing number of
Asian hornets have been reported across the United Kingdom, and DNA testing
confirms their presence. Evidence that some hornets managed to survive during
the winter means "it is very likely the bee-killing insect will be here
for good," per a report by the Guardian.
Why
is this threat to bees so concerning?
Bees are important to the global ecosystem and include
around 20,000 different species worldwide. And in case you think this is just a
case of bee-on-bee violence, the bee and wasp took different evolutionary paths 100
million years ago. The humble bee is vegetarian, feeding pollen to their young,
while wasps and hornets are carnivores.
This is the crux of the problem, as the report
explains, since the Asian hornets stalk honeybees at their hives, capture them
for food, and feed scraps to their young. A single hornet can hunt down 50
honeybees in a day.
The government-backed National Bee Unit (NBU) told the
Guardian that at least three queen hornets were captured and appear to be
offspring of an old nearby nest, implying that they've started breeding.
However, to be classed as a naturalized species,
several generations need to be confirmed, and so far, only one generation has
been. There were 57 sightings in 2023, more than double the previous seven
years combined, and this year there are already 15 more sightings.