Across the country, lawmakers and industry groups are pushing to make it harder to sue pesticide manufacturers when their products fail to adequately warn consumers about risks or how to protect themselves when using these chemicals. That debate between consumers and industry has now found its way to the Supreme Court. On April 27, the Court will hear oral arguments in Monsanto v. Durnell. The case will likely be decided on technical legal grounds that won’t bear directly on the scientific questions at stake. Still, if the Court sides with Monsanto, producer of the weed killer Roundup, this could accelerate, and even cement, the political trend of shielding pesticide companies from liability. At stake is whether Americans can bring state “failure-to-warn” claims when federally registered products fail to disclose risks. What the Court decides could shape future accountability fights well beyond pesticides. John Durnell, the plaintiff from Missouri, was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma after years of using Roundup without gloves or a mask. Some studies have linked repeated exposure to glyphosate, Roundup’s main ingredient, to this type of cancer. Like many others, he later sued Monsanto, arguing that the company failed to warn about cancer risks and proper protective measures. Notably, the company removed glyphosate from its U.S. residential Roundup products in 2023. The Missouri jury found Monsanto liable for failure-to-warn, though not for defective design or negligence. Monsanto is now appealing this decision, arguing that federal law shields it from liability. Under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulates the registration, labeling, and distribution of pesticides in the U.S. Monsanto argues that because EPA approved Roundup, it cannot be held liable for failure-to-warn under state law. The Supreme Court will not decide whether glyphosate causes cancer or whether Monsanto failed to warn appropriately. Instead, it will decide whether a state failure-to-warn civil claim can proceed when the EPA has approved the product label. Monsanto may have the stronger legal argument because FIFRA states that a state cannot impose labeling or packaging requirements that differ from federal requirements. However, the question is not entirely settled. In 2004, in Bates v. Dow Agrosciences LLC, the Supreme Court held that not all failure-to-warn claims are automatically pre-empted under FIFRA. State rules that impose labeling requirements “in addition to or different from” federal law are pre-empted. State claims that mirror FIFRA standards are not. A related question is whether a jury verdict in favor of a failure-to-warn claim creates a new labeling requirement. The plaintiff will argue that it does not; the verdict simply holds a company accountable after harm occurs. Monsanto, however, will argue that such a verdict would effectively require a different label than the one EPA approved, so the case still turns on federal preemption. This case is part of a broader trend. Since late last year, pesticide manufacturers have pushed for liability protection through multiple avenues. Those efforts are now advancing at both the state and federal levels. State legislatures are moving fast. North Dakota, Georgia, and Kentucky have all advanced protections for pesticide manufacturers. Momentum has grown at the federal level as well. In February, President Donald Trump signed a national security-focused executive order involving protections for American glyphosate-based herbicide manufacturers. If the Court rules in Monsanto’s favor, the consequences would extend far beyond this case. Manufacturers could effectively become immune from state failure-to-warn claims. Courts could lose an important role in checking federal regulatory gaps, and individuals could lose a key path to hold companies accountable. At a minimum, this issue is not as settled as liability-shield advocates suggest. The EPA withdrew its interim glyphosate safety decision in 2022 and is still revisiting the underlying review. Even if the Court limits state failure-to-warn claims, the debate will not end there. Other non-label legal claims may emerge, including around design or manufacturing defects, fraud, or deceptive marketing. Congress could also create a clearer path for injured consumers to seek recourse. This trend is not just about one pesticide or one lawsuit. It is about whether Americans can still turn to the courts when a product fails to warn about serious risks. If federal review becomes a broad shield against lawsuits under state law, injured consumers will have fewer options, and manufacturers will face less pressure to be transparent. Courts should remain a vital check when regulators miss risks, move too slowly, or leave key questions unresolved. That is why pressure cannot stop at the Supreme Court. State legislatures, Congress, regulators, and consumers all have a role to play in demanding real accountability, clearer warnings, and safer alternatives when products carry serious risks.

FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—Rep. Chip Roy of Texas sent a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Monday, urging him to suspend funding for the Council on American-Islamic Relations and its affiliates and initiate debarment proceedings. “Why should Americans’ taxpayer dollars go to groups like CAIR that facilitate terrorism?” Roy told The Daily Signal. “On top of legislation I recently introduced designating CAIR as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist Organization and revoking its 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status, I am asking Secretary Kennedy, Jr. to investigate CAIR for misuse of federal grant dollars, and to debar them from future grants if it has engaged in foul play,” he added. “Groups like CAIR that support Hamas should not be lining their pockets on the backs of hardworking Americans.” In his letter, Roy outlined CAIR’s receipt of more than $15 million in Department of Health and Human Services sub‑grants since 2022, largely for Afghan resettlement and legal services programs administered through California. He further states that CAIR’s association with Islamic terror organizations creates a “grave risk to national security” that should disbar the organization from receiving federal tax dollars. “CAIR’s longstanding ties to terrorist organizations, including Hamas—a U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO)—combined with documented financial mismanagement and misuse of federal grant funds administered by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), pose a grave risk to national security and render CAIR unfit to receive taxpayer dollars,” the letter reads. Roy’s letter claims CAIR has deep historical connections to the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas. As evidence, the lawmaker cites criminal cases involving past CAIR officials, and also CAIR’s listing as an unindicted co‑conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation terrorism‑financing case. For its part, CAIR represents itself as a civil rights organization dedicated to promoting the understanding of Islam and empowering American Muslims. The letter also accuses CAIR‑California of serious financial and compliance violations involving Office of Refugee Resettlement funds. These accusations include improper self‑funding and pass‑throughs to related affiliates, poor service delivery relative to funding received, inconsistent use of organizational names in grant documents, and failure to accurately disclose millions of dollars in federal grants on IRS filings. Citing federal regulations governing suspension and debarment, the letter argues that this conduct justifies immediate action. It adds that continued funding is a risk to both taxpayer dollars and national security. Finally, Roy is requesting that HHS fully investigate CAIR’s grant compliance and affiliations and take action if violations are confirmed. CAIR did not immediately return a request for comment by The Daily Signal.

FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL — A new report from Mississippi State Auditor Shad White has uncovered that illegal aliens in the state received at least $10.5 million in Medicaid benefits between 2023-2025. “If this money had gone to benefit lawful citizens, it could have reduced our taxes, paid our teachers, paid our police officers—frankly anything would be better than serving as a magnet for illegal immigrants to come to the United States,” White told The Daily Signal. “Mississippi taxpayers deserve to know the cost of illegal immigrants in our state, even if it makes some folks uncomfortable,” White added. “My team will always tell you how your money in being spent, warts and all.” The new report comes after White’s office released a report in 2024 titled “How Illegal Immigration Hurts Mississippi Taxpayers,” which highlighted that state divisions were spending a staggering $4 million in taxpayer money on emergency services for illegal aliens. However, that analysis excluded the cost of Medicaid to illegal immigrants, because Mississippi’s Medicaid program failed to report expenditures for care for illegal immigrants despite being required by federal law. Federal law requires hospitals to provide emergency medical services regardless of immigration status. It also requires states to report how much taxpayer money is spent providing those services to illegal immigrants. This lack of disclosure prompted White to conduct a follow-up investigation into the Mississippi Division of Medicaid, which determined that the department was spending massive amounts of federal taxpayer dollars without reporting it. “The only answer here is to have a federal government continue to do exactly what the Trump administration is doing, which is close our borders and enforce our immigration laws,” White continued. “In addition, I pushed hard for a new law to make illegal immigration a state crime, and that bill passed this year, which will also help.”

THE CENTER SQUARE—Local, state and federal efforts are ongoing to tackle oil theft in Texas.  At the state level, the state legislature, Railroad Commission of Texas and Texas Department of Public Safety are working on several initiatives.  RCC Chairman Jim Wright has been leading a new task force, addressing oilfield theft, including the theft of crude, trucks, equipment, tools and materials like copper.  More than 40% of oil and natural gas operators in west Texas say their operations have been impacted by theft in the past year, a continued fallout of the border crisis. However, oilfield theft is not new. Ten years ago, it caused an estimated annual loss of 10 million to 30 million barrels, or roughly $450 million to nearly $1.5 billion in revenue losses, The Center Square reported. Oilfield theft is “an increasingly sophisticated crime that has been linked to organized crime and foreign criminal syndicates, costing Texans millions of dollars in lost state revenue,” the RCC said. Wright led a taskforce initiative earlier this month to focus on solutions. Their efforts are an outworking of legislation Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law last year, The Center Square reported.  “Chairman Jim Wright has demonstrated strong, proactive leadership in tackling the growing challenge of oilfield theft by chairing the STOPTheft Task Force,” TIPRO President Ed Longanecker told The Center Square. TIPRO represents roughly 3,000 operators in Texas. “Through targeted collaboration among regulators, industry operators, law enforcement, and stakeholders, the task force will help to close critical gaps in the system, from production tracking to point of sale and develop(ing) practical recommendations to protect Texas producers, royalty owners, jobs, and state revenues from sophisticated criminal activity that impacts more than 50 percent of operators.  “By working directly with stakeholders and ensuring the Railroad Commission allocates the appropriate resources internally, Chairman Wright is addressing this type of criminal activity head-on. His commitment ensures we are not only addressing threats but strengthening the long-term integrity of Texas’ energy sector,” he said. Wright and the oil and gas industry have also been working on a solution for water shortages in west Texas and other regions facing a drought, The Center Square reported. The Texas House Committee on Energy Resources held a hearing on oil theft this week, chaired by state Rep. Drew Darby, R-San Angelo. At the hearing, DPS Captain Tim Murphy said a new DPS oilfield theft prevention unit began operating last July in response to new laws in effect. Five special agents are in the unit and have since trained 157 DPS officers in 36 departments on oil theft crime, he said.   He cited an example of oil theft perpetrators who attempted to tap into a pipeline in the Pecos region but were unsuccessful and were injured. They fled but were caught by law enforcement in Florida. He also referred to a major case in south Texas where cartels have been smuggling stolen oil from Mexico into Texas, The Center Square reported. In one case, a Utah father and son were charged with conspiring to materially support a Mexican cartel and foreign terrorist organization, Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG) and commit money laundering; at least 77,000 barrels of stolen crude was forfeited. The case was part of an ongoing border-related crime problem stretching from oil field theft in west Texas to illicit crude oil smuggling connected to Mexican cartels, The Center Square reported. Last week, 14 people were indicted in Lubbock in connection to a large-scale oil theft conspiracy in the Permian Basin, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas. They were charged with conspiracy to transport stolen property in interstate commerce. Several were charged with interstate transportation of stolen property, and receipt, possession or sale of stolen property. Three of the defendants are from Texas, 11 are from New Mexico. All but one are men. The scheme involved stealing crude from oil producers in southeastern New Mexico, some of which was stored on federal land leased by one of the alleged conspirators. It was then transported to Texas “for the purpose of enriching themselves” and sold below market price “for further sale at a profit,” according to the charges. If convicted, they are facing decades in prison for multiple charges.  Multiple law enforcement agencies are involved in oil theft crime investigatons at the border, including Texas DPS, the FBI, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, DEA, IRS Criminal Investigations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Marshals Service. Originally published by The Center Square.

“What’s happening??” It was Elizabeth Mitchell, the Daily Signal’s White House reporter. She was seated next to me at Saturday evening’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner. There was urgency and confusion in her voice. Our table was to the right of and somewhat back from the dais, where President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, First Lady Melania Trump, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, and White House Correspondents’ Association President Weijia Jiang of CBS News were seated, along with others. Elizabeth was looking in that general direction. I was looking at my salad. I turned toward her as she spoke. In a split second, before I tried to see what was happening, I knew, or at least feared, that something was very, very wrong. I had been a White House reporter for many years, from the second term of Bill Clinton to the first of Trump. I know very well that “what’s happening?” is not a question you need to ask at a presidential event. Because, there is a plan, worked out days, weeks, or even months in advance, and everything always proceeds calmly according to plan. Surprising things may be said at a White House event—although even that was fairly unusual before Trump— but nothing surprising ever happens. The night had seemed about the same as the dozen or so White House Correspondents’ dinners I had attended in the past, except for the massive security presence, which has grown around presidential events consistently since 9/11. Outside the venue was a vast Praetorian Guard of police and roadblocks, inside a proliferation of law enforcement, including Secret Service, who were somewhat identifiable even in their tuxes, intently surveying the area and looking incongruously unsociable. A lot of this event is not as glamorous as you’d think. It doesn’t particularly need to be on your bucket list. You might find yourself chatting amicably with a celebrity, especially when Democrats have the White House, and Hollywood descends on the party. I had crashed several pre-dinner cocktail parties that were onsite at the Washington Hilton, known archly among veteran journalists as the “Hinckley Hilton,” since that’s where John Hinckley tried to kill Ronald Reagan. These are all jammed with sweaty journalists and their guests, done up in tuxedos and dresses, climbing over each other to try to get to the bar. Kind of like a penguin colony diving into the ocean. I was mainly seeking bourbon sours and hors d’oeuvres, which tend to be better than the dinner itself. Not this year, though, because the main plate would be “Prime Chateaubriand & Maine Lobster.” I hadn’t been to one of these events in a number of years, and I was delighted to find that the bartenders’ arms had stiffened significantly, with my second bourbon sour amounting to more of a bourbon with a splash of sour. So I was in pretty good spirits, pun intended, by the time we were ordered to wander over to the ballroom for dinner. Everything proceeded as planned. The president was introduced to the glorious notes of Hail to the Chief, played in person by “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band. Next was The Presentation of Colors, one of my favorite parts, in which the flag of each armed service is marched over to the president as the sublime Trio Section of the National Emblem is played. Our salads, bread, and bottles of red and white wine had preceded us at the table, and we began to eat and drink to the clatter of silverware and the patter of light conversation. “What’s happening??” I turned to the middle of the room and saw people starting to lower themselves instinctively to avoid danger. Everything had been perfectly normal, and now nothing was normal at all. There was some kind of general commotion in the middle of the room, and someone went racing from the back directly toward the dais. That must be it, someone is speeding toward the president to try to kill him, I thought. I looked over at the dais, but there was suddenly no one seated at the head table, as if the thing had been decapitated. The runner had disappeared into the activity in front of the dais, where tuxedoed Secret Service were leaping across tables and chairs. I thought they were subduing an attacker, but it turned out they were mainly trying to both get in front of the main table and start removing Cabinet secretaries in the line of succession. People in military uniforms materialized out of nowhere on the dais and trained their rifles on the crowd in case a bad guy popped out. The room faded to silence. Many guests ducked under tables, but while there was fear in some faces, there was also a notable and admirable absence of panic. Instinct from my reporting years kicked in and I started taking video and stood up to get a better view. Moments after the president was evacuated from the White House Correspondents Association dinner, and everybody ducked under tables. pic.twitter.com/lSRWLkIdFX— Keith Koffler (@keithkoffler) April 26, 2026 Someone burst through the silence defiantly proclaiming, “God bless America” and trying to get a “USA! USA!” chant going, but everyone else realized that was a dumb idea while the Secret Service was trying to do its job, and he and one or two others quickly stifled it. Soon, the silence rose to a murmur, and guests were just standing or sitting and waiting to be told what to do. People a thousand miles away watching the news began to know more than we did, texting us information, some of it wrong. “There was an explosion.” “One assailant was shot and killed, another taken to the hospital.” No explosion, no one killed. There were shots, and some in the room had heard them. I didn’t. And then, a waiter blankly came by to start clearing the salads. As if absolutely nothing had happened. I guess people seemed like they were finished with their salads. He soon disappeared. We were told to stay, the event would continue. That seemed quite unlikely. A little later, we were told to leave. And we did.