In every cup of coffee, there is a chemical linked to cancer.

That undisputed fact led a Los Angeles judge to rule this spring that coffee companies must provide cancer warnings to coffee drinkers. The ruling cast a shadow on a daily and often essential rite for more than 100 million Americans.

But now, the state of California has intervened, telling coffee drinkers not to worry. An agency has proposed a rule declaring that not only does coffee pose no