Federal

About two months after federal funding lapsed for the Children’s Health Insurance Program, state officials still don’t know exactly when they’ll run out of money or when Congress will renew funding — leaving families that depend on the program increasingly anxious about their benefits. At least a few states say that they could exhaust funds as soon as next month. States are growing more concerned about the program with just a few days left on the congressional calendar until December and no signs that lawmakers plan in the immediate future to renew funding.  [node:read-more:link]

Trade flows of agricultural commodities between the United States, Canada, and Mexico are very large. In 2016, US agricultural imports from Canada totaled $24.9 billion while US exports amounted to $25.3 billion. In the same year, US imports of agricultural products from Mexico reached $24.66 billion and US exports to Mexico were $17.68 billion. Generally, NAFTA has been operating very well except for a few irritants. Trade talks are notoriously slow and agriculture is typically a major point of contention. However, agriculture may not be a major obstacle in the current NAFTA negotiations. [node:read-more:link]

Despite making progress on "bread and butter" issues, Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland said differences remain between Canada and the U.S. on a number of key chapters of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Speaking to reporters as the fifth round of negotiations concluded in Mexico City, the Toronto-area minister said "significant" sticking points include the U.S. [node:read-more:link]

The Trump administration's effort to win NAFTA concessions from Canada and Mexico is nearing its March deadline. Some small-business manufacturers fear their concerns will be neglected, including supply-chain disruptions for dealers and distributors, price increases they can't pass on to customers, even risk of bankruptcy.As much as 98 percent of exporting companies are small- and medium-sized businesses with fewer than 500 employees. [node:read-more:link]

The United States, Mexico and Canada failed to resolve any major differences in a fifth round of talks to rework the NAFTA trade deal, drawing a swift complaint from the Trump administration on Tuesday that the lack of progress could doom the process. The three nations have vowed to continue talks on the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) through March, but the yawning disagreements on core U.S. demands are piling pressure on negotiators to come up with fixes before Mexico’s 2018 presidential campaign begins in the spring.Mexico and Canada have rejected a U.S. [node:read-more:link]

The Environmental Protection Agency analyzed dozens of water samples collected in Whatcom County and couldn’t find evidence of cattle causing pollution. [node:read-more:link]

Federal regulators effectively pulled 22 active commercial fishing boats off Northeastern waters Monday after determining many of the vessels -- a good deal owned by "Codfather" Carlos Rafael -- were failing to accurately record catches.  The ruling, deemed "huge" and "unprecedented" by The Boston Globe, could hamstring many businesses in the Massachusetts fishing industry, in particular icehouses, fuel companies and others that supply boats. [node:read-more:link]

Deaths linked to alcohol are significantly more common than drug overdose deaths, but lawmakers may promote more drinking through a two-year tax break for producers of beer, wine and spirits as part of the Senate’s tax code overhaul. The tax break, for 2018 and 2019, would save alcohol producers $4.2 billion, according to the Joint Committee on Taxation. The provisions in the Senate Finance Committee’s tax plan were requested by Republican Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio, but are based on a bill from Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, the committee’s top Democrat. [node:read-more:link]

The Trump administration would pay for hurricane relief in part by cutting conservation and research at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)—an idea that's running into a roadblock from advocates for those programs. In its $44 billion request for supplemental appropriations to respond to this year's storms and wildfires, the administration proposed to eliminate all $212 million in funding for improvements to Agricultural Research Service (ARS) buildings and facilities, as well as $1.4 billion from various conservation programs. [node:read-more:link]

President Donald Trump's latest executive order aimed at implementing the hardline immigration policies he championed during his campaign has been blocked by a federal court.US District Court Judge William Orrick issued a permanent injunction Monday blocking Trump's executive order seeking to strip so-called sanctuary cities of federal funding.The ruling represents a major setback to the administration's attempts to clamp down on cities, counties and states that seek to protect undocumented immigrants who come in contact with local law enforcement from deportation by federal authorities. [node:read-more:link]