Delaware

New Delaware law permits sale of raw milk. 5 things to know about drinking untreated milk

Published

11 months ago

January 19, 2025

New Delaware law permits sale of raw milk. 5 things to know about drinking untreated milk

Delaware residents can purchase raw milk directly from local dairy farms, following legislation that took effect in September 2024. The law allows consumers to buy unprocessed, unpasteurized and unhomogenized milk directly from dairy producers with the proper permits.

The legislation aims to support Delaware’s dairy farms while providing consumers with more choices in dairy products. However, health officials emphasize the importance of understanding the risks and facts about raw milk before making purchasing decisions.

What is raw milk?

Raw milk is milk that has not been pasteurized — a process that involves heating milk to a high temperature for a certain amount of time to kill harmful bacteria and pathogens. Proponents of raw milk argue it is a healthier, more nutritious option than pasteurized milk. Some consumers believe raw milk contains beneficial enzymes, probiotics and more natural vitamins that are destroyed during pasteurization.

Pasteurization involves heating beverages to kill disease-causing organisms. This process was first applied to milk in the late 1800s to combat public health threats like listeriosis, typhoid fever and tuberculosis. Today, pasteurization is a standard practice in the dairy industry to ensure milk is safe for consumption.

Raw v. pasteurized milk: 5 things to know

Health officials at the FDA and CDC warn that raw milk can contain pathogens that can cause serious illness. The risks of consuming untreated milk far outweigh any potential benefits. Here’s what to know:

Nutritional value: According to the FDA, pasteurization does not significantly change milk’s nutritional value. Both raw and pasteurized milk contain the same essential nutrients, vitamins and minerals.
Safety considerations: The CDC and FDA warn that raw milk can contain harmful bacteria and pathogens that pasteurization normally eliminates. These include E. coli, Salmonella and Listeria.
Lactose content: If lactose intolerant, switching to raw milk won’t help. Both raw and pasteurized milk contain the same amount of lactose.
Allergies: Milk allergies are caused by proteins that remain unchanged whether the milk is raw or pasteurized. Switching to raw milk will not prevent allergic reactions.
Health claims: While some advocate for raw milk’s health benefits, scientific research has not confirmed any advantages of raw milk over pasteurized milk.

Raw milk and bird flu

Delaware’s law allowing raw milk sales comes as bird flu continues to spread across the country.

Dairy cattle, a significant source of human exposure to bird flu, play a key role in monitoring efforts. The virus’s discovery in dairy cattle across 16 states prompted the USDA to institute a proactive milk testing program. There are 15 dairy farms in the First State, as reported by researchers at the University of Delaware’s farm management program. Delaware joined the National Milk Testing Strategy earlier this month to ensure dairy products remain free of contamination.

In December, officials found several wild geese infected with highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), or bird flu, along Delaware’s coast in Sussex County. Although most healthy individuals recover from illnesses linked to contaminated milk or bird flu exposure, severe or life-threatening symptoms can occur. In January, the U.S. reported its first death from H5N1 bird flu. The victim, a Louisiana resident over 65 with underlying health conditions, fell ill after contact with wild birds and a backyard flock.

This story was written with contributions from USA TODAY reporter Karen Weintraub. You can contact Anitra Johnson at ajohnson@delawareonline.com.

Source link

Click to comment

Delaware

Delaware Lottery Mega Millions, Play 3 Day winning numbers for Dec. 16, 2025

Published

9 hours ago

December 17, 2025

Press Room

Delaware Lottery Mega Millions, Play 3 Day winning numbers for Dec. 16, 2025

The Delaware Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big. Here’s a look at Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025 results for each game:

Winning Mega Millions numbers from Dec. 16 drawing

20-24-46-59-65, Mega Ball: 07

Check Mega Millions payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Play 3 numbers from Dec. 16 drawing

Day: 7-1-2

Night: 0-1-8

Check Play 3 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Play 4 numbers from Dec. 16 drawing

Day: 5-5-8-3

Night: 4-2-6-8

Check Play 4 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Multi-Win Lotto numbers from Dec. 16 drawing

10-21-22-24-26-33

Check Multi-Win Lotto payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Lucky For Life numbers from Dec. 16 drawing

03-04-19-24-39, Lucky Ball: 11

Check Lucky For Life payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Play 5 numbers from Dec. 16 drawing

Day: 6-6-3-8-7

Night: 8-7-0-5-4

Check Play 5 payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your lottery prize

Sign the Ticket: Establish legal ownership by signing the back of your ticket with an ink pen.
Prizes up to $599: Claim at any Delaware Lottery Retailer, in person at the Delaware Lottery Office, or mail your signed ticket and claim form; print your name/address on the ticket’s back and keep a copy/photo for records. By mail, send original tickets and documentation to: Delaware Lottery, 1575 McKee Road, Suite 102, Dover, DE 19904.
Prizes up to $2,500: Claim in person at Delaware Lottery Retailer Claim Centers throughout Kent, Sussex and New Castle Counties.
Prizes of $5,001 or more: Claim in person at the Delaware Lottery Office (business days 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.) with a photo ID and Social Security card.
For all prize claims, directions to the Delaware Lottery Office are available online or via mapquest.com for a map.

Check previous winning numbers and payouts at Delaware Lottery.

Can I claim a jackpot prize anonymously in Delaware?

Fortunately for First State residents, the Delaware Lottery allows winners remain anonymous. Unlike many other states that require a prize be over a certain jackpot, Delawareans can remain anonymous no matter how much, or how little, they win.

How long do I have to claim my prize in Delaware?

Tickets are valid for up to one year past the drawing date for drawing game prizes or within one year of the announced end of sales for Instant Games, according to delottery.com.

When are the Delaware Lottery drawings held?

Powerball: 10:59 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
Mega Millions: 11:00 p.m. on Tuesday and Friday.
Play 3, 4: Daily at 1:58 p.m. and 7:57 p.m., except Sunday afternoon.
Multi-Win Lotto: 7:57 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
Lucky for Life: Daily at 10:38 p.m.
Lotto America: 11:00 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday

Missed a draw? Peek at the past week’s winning numbers.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Delaware Online digital operations manager. You can send feedback using this form.

Source link

Delaware

Trump will go to Delaware for the dignified transfer of the 2 National Guard members killed in Syria

Published

21 hours ago

December 16, 2025

Press Room

Trump will go to Delaware for the dignified transfer of the 2 National Guard members killed in Syria

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is traveling to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on Wednesday for a dignified transfer for the two Iowa National Guard members killed in an attack in the Syrian desert that is testing the rapprochement between Washington and Damascus.

The two guardsmen killed in the attack on Saturday were Sgt. Edgar Brian Torres-Tovar, 25, of Des Moines, and Sgt. William Nathaniel Howard, 29, of Marshalltown, according to the U.S. Army. Both were members of the 1st Squadron, 113th Cavalry Regiment. A U.S. civilian working as an interpreter was also killed.

The ritual at Dover Air Force Base honors U.S. service members killed in action and is one of the most solemn duties undertaken by the commander in chief.

During the process, transfer cases draped with the American flag holding the remains of fallen soldiers are carried from the military aircraft that carried them to Dover to an awaiting vehicle to transport them to the mortuary facility at the base. There, the fallen service members are prepared for their final resting place.

Trump, a Republican, said during his first term that witnessing the dignified transfer of service members’ remains is “the toughest thing I have to do” as president.

Remembered as ‘the best of Iowa’

The Iowa National Guard is remembering the two men as heroes. Howard’s stepfather, Jeffrey Bunn, said Howard “loved what he was doing and would be the first in and last out,” noting that he had wanted to be a soldier since he was a young boy.

In a post on the Meskwaki Nation Police Department’s Facebook page, Bunn – who is chief of the Tama, Iowa, department – called Howard a loving husband and an “amazing man of faith” and said Howard’s brother, a staff sergeant in the Iowa National Guard, would escort “Nate” back to Iowa.

Torres-Tovar was remembered as a “very positive” person who was family oriented and someone who always put others first, according to fellow guardsmen who were deployed with Torres-Tovar and issued a statement to the local TV broadcast station WOI.

“They were dedicated professionals and cherished members of our Guard family who represented the best of Iowa,” said Maj. Gen. Stephen Osborn, adjutant general of the Iowa National Guard.

Trump stands by Syrian leader al-Sharaa

On Saturday, Trump told reporters that he was mourning the deaths and vowed retaliation.

Trump said Monday that he remained confident in the leadership of interim Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, the onetime leader of an Islamic insurgent group who led the ouster of former President Bashar Assad, whose family had an iron grip on Syrian rule for decades.

The U.S. president welcomed al-Sharaa to Washington last month for a historic visit to the White House and formally welcomed Syria as a member of the U.S.-led coalition to fight the Islamic State group. Hundreds of U.S. troops are deployed in eastern Syria as part of a coalition fighting IS.

“This had nothing to do with him,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Monday. “This had to do with ISIS.”

Three other members of the Iowa National Guard were injured in the attack. As of Monday, two were in stable condition and the other in good condition. The Pentagon has not identified them.

Trump traveled to Dover several times during his first term to honor the fallen, including for a U.S. Navy SEAL killed during a raid in Yemen, for two Army officers whose helicopter crashed in Afghanistan and for two Army soldiers killed in Afghanistan when a person dressed in an Afghan army uniform opened fire.

Source link

Delaware

Delaware will save more than $300M after federal tax decoupling takes effect

Published

1 day ago

December 16, 2025

Press Room

Delaware will save more than 0M after federal tax decoupling takes effect

The fiscal year 2027 forecast remained relatively flat from the October meeting. But some expenses declined, including salaries for teachers. Brian Maxwell, state director of Management and Budget, said teacher salary expenses were down because student enrollment has dropped. He said federal immigration policy could be impacting the state’s Multilingual Learners.

“Obviously, there have been a number of students that may not be showing up to class just because of the enforcement of [Immigration and Customs Enforcement],” he said. “So some of the families may be scared to actually send their kids to school.”

Maxwell said overall enrollment is down, but the number of students needing special education services is up. The next student count is in February.

DEFAC members also discussed the revised Healthcare Spending benchmark. In September, the subcommittee devised a methodology that only used healthcare inflation, resulting in a 7.13% for 2026.

“We all gathered in October and there was a fair amount of concern with that outcome,” said Christen Linke Young, director of Health and Social Services. “So the subcommittee reconvened earlier this month to consider a new approach.”

After adopting the methodology using expected national inflation data and a three-year measure of health care cost growth, the benchmark now sits at 4.9%. But Young said there would be no penalty for hospitals exceeding the guideline.

Gov. Meyer and the state’s largest nongovernmental employer, ChristianaCare Health System, reached an agreement earlier this year in a lawsuit the regional hospital system filed last year. The Diamond State Hospital Cost Review Board was created by lawmakers in June 2024 to try to rein in hospital spending. But the agreement, which requires new legislation and the governor’s signature, would strip the board of its authority to approve and modify hospital budgets.

Source link