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Florida's agriculture commissioner race is heating up as incumbent Republican Wilton Simpson seeks a second term against Democratic challenger Joey Mendoza Atkins, a trial attorney. Simpson touts his record protecting farmland from development, upgrading wildfire-fighting equipment, and building a new headquarters projected to save taxpayers money long-term. Atkins is campaigning on affordability, pledging to close a tax loophole that lets developers claim agricultural exemptions, push for gas and diesel tax relief for farmers, and oppose data center expansion. The low-profile but consequential cabinet post oversees food safety, firearm licensing, and wildfire response. No public polling is yet available on the contest.

New York City residents are reporting an unusual shortage of Diet Coke across grocery delivery services and retailers, with customers on Amazon Fresh, FreshDirect, Costco and Target describing empty shelves and unfulfilled online orders for weeks. Shoppers from the Upper East Side to Brooklyn, Harlem, Queens and Long Island have swapped stories online, with some only half-jokingly declaring a household "emergency" over the missing soda.

The cause remains unclear. Some Amazon Fresh customers suspect a business dispute, such as a contract or invoice issue with Coca-Cola, rather than an actual product shortage, and one commenter claiming to work at an Amazon Fresh warehouse said Pepsi products were still arriving while Coca-Cola's were not. Coca-Cola, Amazon and FreshDirect have not commented. The episode echoes a genuine Diet Coke shortage in India this year, where aluminum can supplies were disrupted by Strait of Hormuz shipping issues tied to the U.S.-Iran conflict, though no link to New York's situation has been confirmed. Diet Coke remains one of Coca-Cola's billion-dollar brands, with global volumes up this year.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers halted work on the Brandon Road Interbasin Project in Joliet, Illinois, on July 24, pausing construction of a roughly $1.2 billion barrier designed to stop invasive carp from reaching the Great Lakes. The system combines engineered water flow, underwater sound, bubble curtains and electric current to block carp while allowing barge traffic.

Ohio Reps. Marcy Kaptur and Dave Joyce, joined by Michigan Reps. Debbie Dingell and Bill Huizenga, sent a letter urging the administration to lift the stop-work order, noting the project is fully funded and reviewed. Urgency grew after Illinois officials found juvenile silver carp in the Illinois River just 80 miles from Lake Michigan in mid-August, the farthest upstream detection in 16 years of monitoring. Experts warn established carp populations could devastate native fish species and the region's fishing economy. Construction began in 2024 with completion projected around 2030, a timeline already delayed by funding pauses.