US farm exports may top the record $142bn (€110.6bn) forecast in February as agreements with China and Russia reduce trade barriers and buyers replenish supplies at lower prices, US agriculture secretary Tom Vilsack said.

US President Barack Obama pledged to put his “full weight” behind a legislative package next year aimed at tackling gun violence, recalling the school gun rampage that killed 20 young pupils as the worst day of his presidency.

Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney has predicted the US will move to lift its ban on EU beef, once procedural requirements around the publication of BSE rules are completed.

Ireland has made progress in its bid to reopen trading channels to the US for Irish beef and lamb exports.

The Obama administration has defended its decision to force out a black Agriculture Department employee over racially-tinged remarks at a banquet, despite evidence that they were misconstrued.

A second President Clinton might occupy a little less space than the first.

Mark Warner’s decision to bow out of the early US presidential race leaves a field still crowded with Democrats competing to be the most attractive alternative to front-runner Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.