In brief: Appeals court upholds meat labeling laws

WASHINGTON – A federal appeals court on Tuesday upheld new government rules requiring labels on packaged steaks, ribs and other cuts of meat to say where the animals were born, raised and slaughtered.

The meat industry has attempted to block the rules, which went into effect last year, saying they are costly and provide no health benefits to the consumer. The industry said in court that the rules go beyond what Congress intended and violate First Amendment rights to freedom of speech by forcing meat producers to provide information about their products without “directly advancing a government interest.”

The full appellate panel heard the case after a three-judge appeals panel ruled against the industry but suggested that the full court may want to review its decision. The first panel had ruled that the industry’s claims were unlikely to succeed in court and said a consumer’s interest in choosing domestic meat is worthy of what the court called a “minimal” intrusion on the meat industry’s First Amendment rights.

The lawsuit was led by the American Meat Institute, which represents the nation’s largest meatpackers, and joined by other meat industry groups.

Enola Gay crewman dies in Georgia at 93

ATLANTA – The last surviving member of the crew that dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima during World War II has died in Georgia.

Theodore VanKirk, also known as “Dutch,” died Monday of natural causes at the retirement home where he lived in Stone Mountain, his son Tom VanKirk said. He was 93.

VanKirk was 24 years old when he served as navigator on the Enola Gay, the B-29 Superfortress that dropped the first atomic bomb deployed in wartime over the Japanese city of Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945.

The blast and its aftereffects killed 140,000 in Hiroshima.

Three days after Hiroshima, a second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. The blast and its aftermath claimed 80,000 lives. Six days after the Nagasaki bombing, Japan surrendered.

Texas pot field worth estimated $175 million

GOODRICH, Texas – Authorities in East Texas said Tuesday that they have cleared more than two dozen marijuana fields that were discovered over the weekend in the woods and which contained about 100,000 plants worth an estimated $175 million.

The fields near the town of Goodrich were part of a sophisticated growing operation that used water from a nearby creek to hydrate the marijuana, Chief Deputy Byron Lyons from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office told KHOU-TV in Houston.

Authorities said one man found in the woods has been arrested. The suspect’s name has not been released.