FIRST ON FOX: In Kansas, cows are king, but a Democrat trying to seize power once told his congregation to repent for eating beef and raising cattle.

Adam Hamilton, the Democratic nominee running to unseat Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., in the Sunflower State, for years led the largest United Methodist church in the nation. He would give sermons that Marshall charged were «woke,» and counter to Kansans’ values.

One such sermon, reviewed by Digital, saw Hamilton call on his congregation to repent over their carbon footprints.

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«That’s what repentance means — I saw things differently, it changed my heart, and it changed my behavior,» Hamilton said during a January 2020 sermon called, «What would Jesus say about climate change?»

«So what I’m calling you to today, and I’m calling myself to it, because I’ve been wasteful, I’ve done things that wasn’t, you know, I didn’t think about it, how it wasn’t really good stewardship of the earth around me,» he continued. «I’m calling us to repentance to say, ‘I realize that this has impact, even if it seems small, it has an impact on the world and future generations. And I feel badly about that, and I’m going to do something different from this time forward.’»

Despite Kansas’ 94-year history of being a ruby-red bastion for the GOP in the Senate, the race between Hamilton and Marshall has unexpectedly tightened in recent months as Republicans across the country face a sobering political environment.

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Kansas slipped from «Likely R» in Fox News’ Power Rankings to «Lean R,» and Cook Political Report echoed the same shift, too.

«In a state with more cattle than people, Hamilton saying that Kansans need repent for eating too much beef and flip flopping on the Farm Bill proves he’d be just like every other liberal Democrat in the Senate,» Marshall told Digital in a statement.

High fuel prices, particularly diesel in an agriculture-centric state like Kansas, spurred by President Donald Trump’s Iran war are giving voters anxiety, and expanding the map of battleground states that Republicans need to defend to maintain their majority in the Senate.

Hamilton’s campaign countered to Digital that Marshall has «repeatedly introduced legislation to reduce emissions from cattle and claimed ‘everyone’s concerned about the methane production in the cattle industry.’»

«Marshall even bragged how the decline of the herd ‘eliminated half of the methane gas produced from cattle already,’» Tyson Brody, a spokesperson for Hamilton, said. «As Adam said at the debate, Roger should repent for failing to stand up for Kansas cattle producers on tariffs, foreign imports, and skyrocketing diesel prices, and now he should repent for attacking Adam for something Roger Marshall said himself in the Senate. Kansas producers don’t need lectures from someone who voted to put warning labels on hot dogs and bacon.»  

Meanwhile, Hamilton’s sermon was part scripture, part PowerPoint presentation on how greenhouse gases occur and their impact on the environment. And during his 44-minute talk, Hamilton suggested that one of Kansas’ staple economic drivers, beef, was a major contributor to the problem.

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«Some of the things that we grow, because we like to eat them, like cattle, end up producing more carbon dioxide than other crops that we could grow, other forms of food that we could have,» Hamilton said. «And so, in all of these ways, we are creating or adding to the amount of greenhouse gases in our world.»

Cattle is a major industry for Kansas, which is the nation’s third-largest producer of beef, according to the Kansas Livestock Association. There are more heads of cattle in the state, just over 5.8 million, than people, with the state’s population sitting at roughly 2.9 million.

It provides a major cash influx for the state’s economy, too, with cattle farming and ranching producing tens of billions of dollars and employing over tens of thousands of Kansans.

«It is disappointing that a candidate for the U.S. Senate in Kansas, one of the nation’s top beef-producing states, would make a statement like this to his parishioners about beef’s impact on the climate,» Kansas Livestock Association Chief Executive Officer Matt Teagarden told Digital in a statement. «Beef is an important, nutritious part of the American diet, and cattle play a significant role in maintaining grassland health and conservation, while accounting for only 2% of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.»

Still, six years ago, Hamilton was calling on his congregation to change their habits to reduce their carbon footprint.

«Now, you got to do everything you can to reduce your own usage of fossil fuels, but maybe changing your diet so that the things that you eat are requiring less production that creates methane and carbon dioxide and everything else,» Hamilton said.

politics, kansas, climate change environment, midterm elections, woke

The future of the nation’s primary law school accreditor now rests in the hands of the Trump Education Department after a federal panel deadlocked 8-8 on whether to strip the American Bar Association (ABA) of its gatekeeper status following dozens of federal compliance failures.

The deadlock hands the decision to Under Secretary of Education Nicholas Kent, who has up to 90 days to decide whether to revoke the ABA’s decades-long accreditation monopoly over roughly 200 law schools nationwide. In a statement to Digital, a Department of Education spokesperson confirmed that staff had already recommended stripping the ABA’s gatekeeper status after finding the group out of compliance with «more than 26 recognition criteria.»

The advisory body — known formally as the National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity (NACIQI) — advises the Education Department on whether higher education accreditors meet federal standards. NACIQI Chairman Jay Greene told Digital that while the panel split 8-8 on what action to take, committee members across the board shared a core concern over how the ABA is structured.

«The primary issue that troubled all members of NACIQI is that the ABA accrediting body is clearly not separate and independent from the ABA as a whole,» Greene said, noting that federal law requires institutional accreditors to operate independently of trade associations. «Everyone on the committee agreed that this was a problem that required changes. The main divide was over whether the ABA was willing and able to take those steps to remedy the problem or not.»

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Responding to panel criticisms of chronic noncompliance, Melissa Hart, chair of the ABA Accreditation Council, defended the organization’s historic track record.

«The Council has been continuously recognized by the Department of Education since 1952, being found in compliance during every regular recognition cycle for the past 74 years,» Hart said in a statement. «We take accreditation and our recognition as an accreditor very seriously, and we continue to be a reliable authority for accrediting J.D. programs.»

However, legal advocacy groups argue the ABA’s structural defects and recent policy shifts render it unfit to serve as an industry gatekeeper. Reed Rubinstein, senior vice president of America First Legal and former general counsel at the Department of Education, told Digital that the ABA has «disqualified itself and undermined public faith and trust in the legal profession.»

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Rubinstein also dismissed the ABA’s recent move to repeal its controversial diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) accreditation standard as a «ruse to retain power,» arguing it does not cure the underlying legal flaws.

«The DEI accreditation standard, from the moment it was adopted, conflicted with controlling Supreme Court rulings and the plain text of the Civil Rights Act,» Rubinstein said, urging the Trump administration to permanently strip the ABA of its federal status. «The ABA’s leadership has made it clear, publicly and otherwise, that it will return to its unlawful ideological agenda at its first opportunity.»

For more than 70 years, the ABA has operated as the sole federally recognized accreditor for U.S. law schools, granting the organization a near-monopoly over the legal profession. In almost every state, students must graduate from an ABA-accredited law school to be eligible to sit for the bar exam. Furthermore, the federal government uses the ABA’s accreditation as the gatekeeper for Title IV federal student aid, meaning law schools must secure the group’s stamp of approval for their students to receive federal loans.

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If Under Secretary Kent ultimately moves to strip the ABA of its recognition, the decision would effectively break that national monopoly. While law schools affiliated with larger universities could rely on their broader institutional accreditors to maintain access to federal financial aid, roughly a dozen stand-alone law schools would be forced to scramble for alternative accreditation. State supreme courts would also face immediate pressure to rewrite their bar admission rules to allow graduates from non-ABA schools to take the exam.

Some states have already begun taking matters into their own hands to bypass the ABA’s grip. Because the legal profession is regulated directly by the judicial branch, state supreme courts hold the ultimate authority to set educational requirements for bar admission.

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In January, Texas became the first state in the nation to eliminate its reliance on the ABA for law school accreditation, with the Texas Supreme Court finalizing a rule to take over the approval process itself. Just nine days later, the Florida Supreme Court followed suit. 

By cutting ties with the organization, the Texas high court announced it would judge law schools on «simple, objective, and ideologically neutral criteria» rather than the ABA’s mandates deemed by many as politically-driven.

Other states are now catching on to the rebellion against the ABA. The Ohio Supreme Court formally proposed amendments in May to establish a state-run accreditation process, while supreme courts in Tennessee, Alabama and Washington have all recently taken steps to bypass the organization’s monopoly.

«The ABA’s cartel-like control over law school accreditation drives up costs, limits access, and pushes ridiculous ideological mandates over merit,» Trump’s DOJ said earlier this year. «Ending the Tennessee Supreme Court’s exclusive reliance will expand opportunity AND lower costs.»

Rubinstein noted that transferring authority back to the states marks a long-overdue correction for legal education.

«State supreme courts are ultimately responsible for certifying and disciplining attorneys—there is arguably no need for a middleman,» Rubinstein told Digital. «By returning actual authority over legal education directly to the courts themselves… the result should be a better-quality education for attorneys and more accountability and transparency for the public.»

education, politics, law, regulation, reform, state, college

La actividad agrícola de Nicaragua registró una reducción acumulada de 2.5% durante el primer semestre de 2026, de acuerdo con el Índice Mensual de Actividad Económica. El dato coincide con un período de déficit de lluvias que afecta cultivos de subsistencia, producciones agroindustriales y actividades pesqueras.

El presidente del Banco Central de Nicaragua, Ovidio Reyes, atribuyó parte de las dificultades al fenómeno de El Niño. Según indicó, el sector agrícola cayó 2.4% en el primer trimestre y 2.9% en el segundo.

“El Niño está provocando afectaciones en todos los países de Centroamérica. Eso es algo que es innegable, no podemos decir lo contrario”, afirmó Reyes. El funcionario señaló que existen pérdidas en la producción, aunque sostuvo que la escasez de alimentos en países vecinos aumentó la demanda de algunos productos nicaragüenses, de acuerdo con información de Diario La Prensa.

El déficit de lluvias se concentra en zonas del corredor seco

El corredor seco de Nicaragua comprende 44 municipios de Madriz, Nueva Segovia, Estelí, Matagalpa, Chinandega, León, Managua, Masaya, Granada, Carazo y Rivas, según un estudio publicado por el Programa Mundial de Alimentos en 2024.

En esas localidades, una parte de la población depende de la agricultura para abastecerse de alimentos y obtener ingresos. Los productores siembran granos básicos para consumo familiar y comercializan los excedentes en el mercado nacional.

Las empresas agroindustriales de la zona occidental que llevan registros de las precipitaciones indicaron que el período lluvioso de 2026 ha sido el más seco de los últimos 124 años. La menor disponibilidad de agua afecta la producción de maíz, frijol y sorgo, además de cultivos como la caña de azúcar y el maní.

El boletín agrometeorológico elaborado por el Ministerio Agropecuario, el Instituto Nicaragüense de Estudios Territoriales y el Instituto de Protección y Sanidad Agropecuaria anticipó que el déficit de lluvias continuará en el Pacífico y en sectores de las regiones norte y central del país.

Los pequeños productores enfrentan riesgos para sus cosechas

Los habitantes del corredor seco que trabajan parcelas pequeñas son señalados como uno de los grupos más expuestos a las consecuencias de la sequía. Sus cultivos suelen destinarse al consumo de los hogares, por lo que una reducción de la cosecha limita tanto la alimentación familiar como los recursos que podrían obtener por la venta de productos.

Un dirigente del sector productivo, que pidió no revelar su identidad por temor a represalias, aseguró que quienes sembraron durante el ciclo de primera perdieron sus cultivos. También consideró que las lluvias registradas recientemente no permiten garantizar el resultado de la cosecha de postrera.

“Definitivamente los más afectados son los pequeños productores, los de subsistencia del corredor seco”, declaró la fuente. El representante añadió que los rendimientos de esas familias ya eran bajos y que la sequía redujo aún más sus posibilidades de obtener ingresos.

Los dirigentes agropecuarios consultados estiman que la producción de caña de azúcar y maní también presenta afectaciones. No obstante, consideran que estos sectores podrían recuperarse parcialmente durante la postrera por las precipitaciones que han caído en la zona occidental.

La situación resulta más compleja para los agricultores que dependen del maíz, el frijol y el sorgo. La pérdida de esos alimentos podría dificultar el abastecimiento de las familias rurales y limitar su capacidad de enfrentar los meses posteriores al ciclo agrícola.

Las exportaciones de hortalizas aumentaron por la demanda regional

Reyes sostuvo que Nicaragua comenzó a vender más hortalizas a otros países de Centroamérica a causa de la escasez y de los mayores precios regionales. El funcionario mencionó los envíos de tomate, chiltoma y repollo.

“Sí hay afectaciones, no podemos decir tampoco que todo está en positivo”, dijo el titular del Banco Central. A la vez, explicó que la reducción de cosechas en otros países abrió oportunidades para productos nicaragüenses.

El presidente del organismo indicó que algunos de esos intercambios comerciales no tenían antes la misma presencia. “Ahora estamos exportando hortalizas”, afirmó al referirse al comportamiento reciente de las ventas externas.

El aumento de las exportaciones corresponde a determinados cultivos y no implica que la sequía haya dejado de afectar a los productores locales. Las dificultades descritas por las autoridades y los representantes del sector se mantienen en las áreas que dependen de la regularidad de las precipitaciones.

Reyes también planteó que el déficit de agua puede influir en la generación de energía hidroeléctrica de Centroamérica. La disminución del nivel de los embalses podría reducir la disponibilidad de ese recurso en los países de la región.

La pesca presenta dificultades por el calentamiento de las aguas

La actividad pesquera también registra afectaciones, según Reyes. El funcionario indicó que la producción de camarón de cultivo atravesaba una reducción desde años anteriores y que las condiciones asociadas a El Niño agravaron ese escenario.

“Tenemos afectación en la pesca para este año, recrudecida por el fenómeno de El Niño”, explicó. Reyes señaló que el calentamiento de las aguas redujo la producción de peces y desplazó parte de las especies hacia sectores más profundos del mar.

Esa situación dificulta las capturas y se suma a las limitaciones que ya enfrentaba la producción camaronera. El funcionario dijo que la langosta y el caracol se encuentran en una etapa de recuperación, a diferencia de otros productos del mar.

Las lluvias abundantes complican la ganadería en otras áreas

Las condiciones climáticas no son uniformes en todo el territorio nicaragüense. Mientras algunas comunidades enfrentan falta de agua, otras zonas registran lluvias intensas que dificultan las actividades del sector ganadero.

Los precios del ganado y de la leche permanecen estables, de acuerdo con datos de Diario La Prensa. No obstante, los productores han tenido problemas para movilizar a los animales hacia las zonas secas de Boaco y Chontales.

El traslado estacional del ganado hacia lugares con mejores condiciones de agua y pasto se conoce como trashumancia. En esta ocasión, la falta de recursos en las áreas que suelen recibir a los animales impidió que los productores realizaran esa práctica.

Guatemala, El Salvador y Honduras también mantienen alertas

El corredor seco centroamericano atraviesa Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua y Costa Rica. La Organización de las Naciones Unidas para la Alimentación y la Agricultura calcula que más de 10 millones de personas viven en esa región, considerada vulnerable a fenómenos climáticos extremos.

En El Salvador, las autoridades mantienen una alerta roja por sequía meteorológica y agrícola en todo el territorio. La Cámara Salvadoreña de Pequeños y Medianos Productores Agropecuarios informó pérdidas de alrededor del 20% en los granos básicos de la cosecha de primera.

Guatemala declaró el 21 de septiembre una alerta roja en 15 municipios del corredor seco de la región del Trifinio. Las primeras evaluaciones identificaron a 113,825 familias afectadas.

Honduras informó un aumento de los problemas de acceso al agua potable y al recurso destinado a las actividades agropecuarias. El país mantiene 103 municipios bajo alerta roja y más de 100 bajo alertas amarilla y verde.

El Salvador,maíz,sequía,agricultura