Like many things considered quintessentially English, the humble strawberry is an immigrant. The first garden variety was grown in France in the 18th century, the result of cross-pollinating strawberries from North and South America. Those luscious fruits you buy today in the supermarket? A marriage of European and American strains.

Joyce Brenny, chief executive of Brenny Transportation in Minnesota, gave her truck drivers a 15 percent raise this year, but she still can't find enough workers for a job that now pays $80,000 a year.

With tax revenue from legal pot sales in California falling short of projections, a financial analysis firm estimated Tuesday that total sales this year will be $1.9bn, significantly less than \the $3.8bn the company expected.

The nationwide outbreak of illnesses from eating romaine lettuce tainted with E. coli bacteria rose again, with 23 more cases reported in 13 states, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday.