Beef prices have soared to record highs in 2026 even as farmers and ranchers are struggling more than ever to make ends meet. The culprit is an oligopoly in the meat packing industry and shady foreign players manipulating the market – and it is long past time that Congress did something about it. While the price of other staples like eggs and milk have come down, the nationwide average cost of a pound of ground beef soared to an all-time high of $6.70 in March. That’s a 16 percent increase from a year ago, and a nearly 70 percent increase from 2021, when it averaged just $3.96 a pound. Most of the coverage of this beef price shock blames America’s historically small beef herd, rising feed costs, and higher transportation costs as a result of climbing fuel prices. But the biggest piece of the puzzle may be the market dominance of the “big four” meatpacking companies – two of which aren’t even American. An astonishing 85 percent of the U.S. beef market is controlled by just four firms – Tyson Foods, JBS, Cargill, and National Beef. As recently as 1980, these four companies controlled just 36 percent of the market. Today, they act like a cartel, setting prices and squeezing profits from farmers and ranchers. Two of those companies, JBS and National Beef, are owned by Brazilian firms. What’s even more troubling is that in many cases, Americans don’t even know where their beef is coming from. Congress repealed country-of-origin labeling requirements for beef and pork in 2015, meaning meat processed in the United States can be labeled as a domestic product even if it originated overseas. There are good reasons for concern. Brazilian meat companies have been linked to a long list of scandals involving food safety violations, corruption, environmental destruction, and even forced labor. In the notorious “weak flesh” scandal in 2017, companies bribed inspectors to approve rotten meat that had been treated with chemicals to mask spoilage. More recently, JBS agreed to pay $4 million to settle allegations related to child labor violations... This isn’t capitalism or the free market – it’s crony corporatism. A handful of massive firms, some with foreign ownership, dominate the market, operate with limited transparency, and use their scale to squeeze both producers and consumers. Ranchers are paid less for their cattle, families pay more at the grocery store, and the middlemen walk away with record profits. To his credit, President Donald Trump has already begun to take action. Last November, he directed the Department of Justice to launch an investigation into potential collusion, price fixing, and market manipulation among the largest meatpacking companies. Americans should be able to walk into a grocery store and buy affordable beef with confidence in where it came from and how it was produced. They shouldn’t be forced to pay inflated prices because a handful of politically connected corporations have rigged the system in their favor. https://amac.us/newsline/politics/crony-corporatism-is-driving-beef-prices-through-the-roof/ More than $1.3 billion in federal health care reimbursements have been halted, and 800 hospices have been suspended amid a sweeping crackdown on California hospice fraud. These efforts have been led by Vice President JD Vance and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator, Dr. Mehmet Oz, who President Donald Trump selected to lead the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud. Dr. Oz cited estimates suggesting roughly one-third of the nation’s hospice providers are based in Los Angeles—even though it only holds about 2.5% of the nation’s elderly population. “Ask yourself how that’s possible … it’s not.” Oz further claimed...“We believe that at least half of the hospices in the entire area around Los Angeles are fraudulent. … Today we announce 800 of those hospices have been suspended. 800 hospices that last year charged the federal taxpayer $1.4 billion will no longer be paid.” Approximately 50 autonomous Waymo robotaxis have been circling a residential cul-de-sac in northwest Atlanta for hours at a time, raising safety concerns among local families and disrupting daily life in the quiet neighborhood. WSB-TV reports that residents of Battleview Drive in northwest Atlanta have found their quiet suburban street transformed into an unexpected gathering point for dozens of empty self-driving vehicles. Video footage captured by neighbors shows long lines of identical white Jaguar I-PACE robotaxis methodically navigating the narrow loop... The vehicles... appear completely empty as they make their continuous circuits through the neighborhood. According to resident accounts, the autonomous vehicles first appeared in the area approximately two months ago, but the frequency of visits increased dramatically over the past two weeks. Neighbors report that as many as 50 cars have passed through or looped around the cul-de-sac during peak periods, with particularly heavy traffic occurring during early morning hours between 6:00 and 7:00 a.m. Local families have expressed growing concerns about the safety implications of the repeated autonomous vehicle presence. Parents worry about potential hazards near school bus stops where children wait for transportation. The constant vehicle traffic also poses concerns for children playing outside and family pets in the residential area. The company has acknowledged the issue and provided an explanation for the vehicle behavior. According to Waymo, its autonomous vehicles occasionally reposition themselves into lower-traffic residential areas, including cul-de-sacs, while waiting for new ride requests. This practice is intended to keep vehicles distributed throughout the service area for faster customer response times while avoiding congestion in busier commercial zones. In March, NV Energy told a small California utility to find electricity elsewhere. By May, the rest of the country noticed. The reason? NV Energy needs the power for data centers. Roughly 49,000 Lake Tahoe residents are about to lose 75% of their electricity supply. Their utility, Liberty Utilities, gets the other 75% from NV Energy under a decades-old arrangement. That contract expires in May 2027. NV Energy is not renewing it. The timing is not a coincidence. Northern Nevada has become one of the fastest-growing data-center corridors in the country. Google, Apple, and Microsoft have either built or are planning facilities around the Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center east of Reno. The Desert Research Institute, using NV Energy's own 2024 Integrated Resource Plan data, found that the 12 data-center projects in Northern Nevada could drive 5,900 megawatts of new demand by 2033. Data centers already consumed 22% of Nevada's electricity in 2024, and that share could hit 35% by 2030. https://www.theblaze.com/return/nv-energy-is-cutting-off-49000-residents-to-feed-data-centers The identities of the two teen shooters responsible for the three fatal shootings at the Islamic Center in San Diego were released by NBC News. The shooters were identified as Cain Clark, 17, and Caleb Vazquez, 18. The teen shooters both died of self-inflicted gunshot wounds. Five people are dead, including the shooters, and multiple injured in a shooting at the Islamic Center at 7050 Eckstrom Avenue.
Crony Corporatism Is Driving Beef Prices Through the Roof:
$1.3 Billion Frozen in Sweeping California Hospice Fraud Crackdown:
Robotaxi Rebellion: 50 Waymo Self-Driving Cars Circle Atlanta Neighborhood for Hours at a Time:
JUST IN: Authorities Identify Teen Shooters in Attack on Islamic Center in San Diego: