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U.S. honeybee deaths soar, and grocery store bills could take the hit

U.S. honeybee deaths soar, and grocery store bills could take the hit

Yahoo02-04-2025

Beekeepers across the country are sounding the alarm as honeybee populations are dwindling at an unprecedented rate, a trend that could affect Americans' wallets at the grocery store.
Honeybees are the backbone of the food ecosystem, pollinating 75% of the world's natural supplies, according to the National Park Service. But a recent nationwide survey by Project Apis m., a nonprofit group that supports beekeeping science, found 'catastrophic' honeybee declines across the industry.
Commercial operators reported an average loss of 62% from June to February nationwide.
'These alarming losses, which surpass historical trends, could significantly impact U.S. agriculture, particularly crop pollination for almonds, fruits, vegetables, and other essential food sources,' the survey said.
Elina L. Niño, who runs the Bee Health Hub at the University of California, Davis, said researchers have not determined why so many bees have died in the past year.
"There are many contributing factors that can cause a colony to die,' she said, including pathogens; varroa mites, a parasite that feeds on bees; and a lack of nutrition.
'To put it into perspective — we, the United States — we have about 2.7 million colonies. So that's a huge loss for beekeepers, huge loss for agricultural industry," Niño said. "And of course, when you combine thefts with that, it's not good news for beekeepers, either.'
Bees are responsible for $17 billion in agricultural production in the United States every year, according to Project Apis m.
'So if you have a loss of pollinators that are pollinating those crops, prices of food are probably going to go up,' Niño said.
Bees, the only insects that produce food for human consumption, have become a hot commodity as their numbers dwindle.
In Northern California's Butte County, beehive theft revolves around almond pollination, said Sheriff's Deputy Rowdy Freeman, a member of the California Rural Crime Prevention Task Force.
'I often describe it as a perfect crime, because it's beekeepers stealing from other beekeepers,' he said.
Investigators say most thefts occur at night, so beekeepers are getting creative by hiding tracking devices deep in the hives.
The task force also encourages beekeepers to brand their hives so law enforcement can determine the rightful owner.
'It's kind of rare that we do recover stolen hives,' Freeman said.
Bee thefts in California have increased 87% since 2013, to 10,000 stolen hives valued at over $3.5 million, according to the task force.
Beekeeper Trevor Tauzer, whose 4 million bees help pollinate a 40-acre almond orchard near Sacramento, California, has had to deal with bee deaths and thefts.
'It feels violating," Tauzer said. "You work all year, you put all your money, you put all of your effort, all of your passion, into keeping the bees healthy, and then somebody picks up and disappears with them.'
Niño said that beekeepers need government support to counteract the losses but that regular people can also play a role by providing access to clean bee forage.
'If you have a backyard, we have great resources at UC Davis where you can look up what plants you could plant to support the pollinators," Niño said. 'Research has shown over and over again that if the bees do have access to plentiful forage, plentiful flowers, they can deal with a lot of the other negative factors that they have to be exposed to.'
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com

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CBP Warning: Don't Fall For Phone Scams Impersonating Border Agents
CBP Warning: Don't Fall For Phone Scams Impersonating Border Agents

Yahoo

timean hour ago

  • Yahoo

CBP Warning: Don't Fall For Phone Scams Impersonating Border Agents

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) leaders are now warning Americans to be on high alert for phone scams that continue to target people around the country, pretending to be from the agency and attempting to steal money or social security numbers. According to a statement from CBP officials in Houston, the scam often involves fake calls from people claiming to be CBP agents or Border Patrol officers, asking for Social Security numbers, banking details, or payments to 'resolve' scam investigations. Sometimes, the calls have even referenced fake shipments of drugs or cash allegedly tied to the recipient's name or address, hoping to scare the recipient into offering up money or other valuable personal information in order to fix the potential legal threat. 'Anyone receiving a call from U.S. Customs and Border Protection about self-deportation, or a shipment of drugs or money should recognize that it is a scam regardless of how authentic the caller may sound,' said Rod Hudson, CBP's Acting Director of Field Operations in Houston. Hudson also warned the public that CBP will never call to demand money or threaten citizens with police action if they don't comply. 'If CBP suspects illegal activity, we will not call a suspect or a victim requesting money or Social Security numbers. To be clear, CBP will not make telephone calls threatening citizens that law enforcement is on the way or promising money for information,' Hudson added. Scammers often try to sound convincing, sometimes using the real names of CBP employees – easily found online -and giving out fake case numbers or badge numbers to boost their 'credibility.' Other scammers use robocalls instructing recipients to press a number to 'speak with an officer,' only to demand banking information or payments. The CBP is now urging the public to remain vigilant regardless of how 'real' a scammer may sound. If you receive a call like this, the CBP recommends the following steps: 1. Hang up immediately. 2. Never share your Social Security number, credit card details, or banking information over the phone. 3. Don't trust caller ID or numbers left in voicemails – scammers can fake them. 4. Always verify any suspicious calls by visiting CBP's official website or calling a publicly listed phone number. CBP officials also detailed in their recent statement that the agency does not solicit money over the phone and would never ask for payment from the public through gift cards, cryptocurrency, or wire transfers of any kind. Texans who suspect they've received a scam call can report it to the Federal Trade Commission's official online form.

ICE raids accelerate, protests spread
ICE raids accelerate, protests spread

The Hill

timean hour ago

  • The Hill

ICE raids accelerate, protests spread

Evening Report is The Hill's P.M. newsletter. Sign up here or subscribe in the box below: Thank you for signing up! Subscribe to more newsletters here THE WHITE HOUSE vowed Wednesday that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids would continue 'unabated,' as protests spread from Los Angeles into other major American cities. Demonstrations have sprung up in Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Chicago, Austin, Denver, San Francisco and other major cities. California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) sought to rally the nation to his side, as U.S. Marines prepared to join National Guard troops dispatched to keep the peace in Los Angeles. 'This isn't just about protests here in Los Angeles,' Newsom said in a direct-to-camera address. 'This is about all of us. This is about you. California may be first, but it clearly will not end here. Other states are next. Democracy is next. Democracy is under assault before our eyes.' The White House warned protesters there would be consequences if demonstrations in other cities get out of hand. 'Let this be an unequivocal message to left-wing radicals in other parts of the country who might be thinking about copy-catting the violence in an effort to stop this administration's mass deportation efforts,' said press secretary Karoline Leavitt. 'You will not succeed. Any lawlessness will only strengthen this president's resolve to defend the majority of Americans who want to live their lives peacefully, free from the fear of violent criminal illegal aliens.' The New York Police Department said at least 80 people were arrested at anti-ICE protests in lower Manhattan on Tuesday night. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) deployed the National Guard to deal with protests in his state. 'Peaceful protest is legal,' Abbott posted on X. 'Harming a person or property is illegal & will lead to arrest. @TexasGuard will use every tool & strategy to help law enforcement maintain order.' 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'I guess I could,' Trump said in a podcast interview. 'But you know, we have to straighten out the country. Yeah, and my sole function now is getting this country back to a level higher than it's ever been.' Trump said he was mostly upset at Musk for trying to sink his 'big, beautiful bill.' Musk has been raging at the levels of spending and debt in the Trump agenda bill ever since his time at the White House leading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) came to an end. 'I have no hard feelings,' Trump told the New York Post's Miranda Devine. 'I was really surprised that that happened,' Trump continued. 'He went after a bill… And when he did that, I was not a happy camper.' The New York Times reports that Trump and Musk spoke on the phone ahead of Musk's expression of regret. 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Images of unrest, political spin distort the reality on the ground in L.A.
Images of unrest, political spin distort the reality on the ground in L.A.

Los Angeles Times

timean hour ago

  • Los Angeles Times

Images of unrest, political spin distort the reality on the ground in L.A.

Driverless Waymo vehicles, coated with graffiti and engulfed in flames. Masked protesters, dancing and cavorting around burning American flags. Anonymous figures brazenly blocking streets and shutting down major freeways, raining bottles and rocks on the police, while their compatriots waved Mexican flags. The images flowing out of Los Angeles over nearly a week of protests against federal immigration raids have cast America's second most populous city as a terrifying hellscape, where lawbreakers rule the streets and regular citizens should fear to leave their homes. In the relentless fever loop of online and broadcast video, it does not matter that the vast majority of Los Angeles neighborhoods remain safe and secure. Digital images create their own reality and it's one that President Trump and his supporters have used to condemn L.A. as a place that is 'out of control' and on the brink of total collapse. The images and their true meaning and context have become the subject of a furious debate in the media and among political partisans, centered on the true roots and victims of the protests, which erupted on Friday as the Trump administration moved aggressively to expand its arrests of undocumented immigrants. As the president and his supporters in conservative media tell it, he is the defender of law and order and American values. They cast their opponents as dangerous foreign-born criminals and their feckless enablers in the Democratic Party and mainstream media. The state's political leaders and journalists offer a compelling rebuttal: that Trump touched off several days of protest and disruption with raids that went far beyond targeting criminals, as he previously promised, then escalated the conflict by taking the highly unusual step of sending the National Guard and Marines to Southern California. Reaction to the raids by federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and the subsequent turmoil will divide Americans on what have become partisan lines that have become so predictable they are 'calcified,' said Lynn Vavreck, a political science professor at UCLA. 'The parties want to build very different worlds, voters know it, and they know which world they want to live in,' said Vavreck, who has focused on the country's extreme political polarization. 'And because the parties are so evenly divided, and this issue is so personal to so many, the stakes are very high for people.' As a curfew was imposed Tuesday, the sharpest street confrontations appeared to be fading and a national poll suggested Americans have mixed feelings about the events that have dominated the news. The YouGov survey of 4,231 people found that 50% disapprove of the Trump administration's handling of deportations, compared with 39% who approve. Pluralities of those sampled also disagreed with Trump's deployment of the National Guard and U.S. Marines to Southern California. But 45% of those surveyed by YouGov said they disapprove of the protests that began after recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions. Another 36% approved of the protests, with the rest unsure how they feel. Faced with a middling public response to the ICE raids and subsequent protests, Trump continued to use extreme language to exaggerate the magnitude of the public safety threat and to take credit for the reduction in hostilities as the week progressed. In a post on his TruthSocial site, he suggested that, without his military intervention, 'Los Angeles would be burning just like it was burning a number of months ago, with all the houses that were lost. Los Angeles right now would be on fire.' In reality, agitators set multiple spot fires in a few neighborhoods, including downtown Los Angeles and Paramount, but the blazes in recent days were tiny and quickly controlled, in contrast to the massive wildfires that devastated broad swaths of Southern California in January. Trump's hyperbole continued in a fundraising appeal to his supporters Tuesday. In it, he again praised his decision to deploy the National Guard (without the approval of California Gov. Gavin Newsom), concluding: 'If we had not done so, Los Angeles would have been completely obliterated.' The Republican had assistance in fueling the sense of unease. His colleagues in Congress introduced a resolution to formally condemn the riots. 'Congress steps in amid 'out-of-control' Los Angeles riots as Democrats resist federal help,' Fox News reported on the resolution, being led by Rep. Young Kim of Orange County. A journalist based in New Delhi pronounced, based on unspecified evidence, that Los Angeles 'is descending into a full-blown warzone.' Veterans Affairs Secretary Douglas Collins suggested that the harm from the protesters was spreading; announcing in a social media post that a care center for vets in downtown L.A. had been temporarily closed. 'To the violent mobs in Los Angeles rioting in support of illegal immigrants and against the rule of law,' his post on X said, 'your actions are interfering with Veterans' health care.' A chyron running with a Fox News commentary suggested 'Democrats have lost their mind,' as proved by their attempts to downplay the anti-ICE riots. Many Angelenos mocked the claims of a widespread public safety crisis. One person on X posted a picture of a dog out for a walk along a neatly kept sidewalk in a serene neighborhood, with the caption: 'Los Angeles just an absolute warzone, as you can see.' In stark contrast to the photos of Waymo vehicles burning and police cars being pelted with rocks, a video on social media showed a group of protestors line dancing. 'Oh my God! They must be stopped before their peaceful and joy filled dance party spreads to a city near you!' the caption read. 'Please send in the Marines before they start doing the Cha Cha and the Macarena!' And many people noted on social media that Sunday's Pride parade in Hollywood for the LGBTQ+ community went off without incident, as reinforced by multiple videos of dancers and marchers celebrating along a sun-splashed parade route. But other activists and Democrats signaled that they understand how Trump's position can be strengthened if it appears they are condoning the more extreme episodes that emerged along with the protests — police being pelted with bottles, businesses being looted and buildings being defaced with graffiti. On Tuesday, an X post by Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass reiterated her earlier admonitions: 'Let me be clear: ANYONE who vandalized Downtown or looted stores does not care about our immigrant communities,' the mayor wrote. 'You will be held accountable.' The activist group Occupy Democrats posted a message online urging protesters to show their disdain for the violence and property damage. 'The moment violence of property damage begins, EVERY OTHER PROTESTER must immediately sit on the floor or the ground in silence, with signs down,' the advisory suggested. 'The media needs to film this. This will reveal paid fake thugs posing as protesters becoming violent. ….The rest of us will demonstrate our non-violent innocence and retain our Constitutional right to peaceful protest.' Craig Silverman, a journalist and cofounder of Indicator, a site that investigates deception on digital platforms, said that reporting on the context and true scope of the protests would have a hard time competing with the visceral images broadcast into Americans' homes. 'It's inevitable that the most extreme and compelling imagery will win the battle for attention on social media and on TV,' Silverman said via email. 'It's particularly challenging to deliver context and facts when social platforms incentivize the most shocking videos and claims, federal and state authorities offer contradictory messages about what's happening.' Dan Schnur, who teaches political science at USC and UC Berkeley, agreed. 'The overwhelming majority of the protesters are peaceful,' Schnur said, 'but they don't do stories on all the planes that land safely at LAX, either.' Though it might be too early to assess the ultimate impact of the L.A. unrest, Schnur suggested that all of the most prominent politicians in the drama might have accomplished their messaging goals: Trump motivated his base and diverted attention from his nasty feud with his former top advisor, Elon Musk, and the lack of progress on peace talks with Russia and Ukraine. Newsom 'effectively unified the state and elevated his national profile' by taking on Trump. And Bass, under tough scrutiny for her handling of the city's wildfire disaster, has also gotten a chance to use Trump as a foil. What was not disputed was that Trump's rapid deployment of the National Guard, without the approval of Newsom, had little precedent. And sending the Marines to L.A. was an even more extreme approach, with experts saying challenges to the deployment would test the limits of Trump's power. The federal Insurrection Act allows the deployment of the military for law enforcement purposes, but only under certain conditions, such as a national emergency. California leaders say Trump acted before a true emergency developed, thereby preempting standard protocols, including the institution of curfews and the mobilization of other local police departments in a true emergency. Even real estate developer Rick Caruso, Bass' opponent in the last election, suggested Trump acted too hastily. 'There is no emergency, widespread threat, or out of control violence in Los Angeles,' Caruso wrote on X Sunday. 'And absolutely no danger that justifies deployment of the National Guard, military, or other federal force to the streets of this or any other Southern California City.' 'We must call for calm in the streets,' Caruso added, 'and deployment of the National Guard may prompt just the opposite.'

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