Egg prices predicted to soar more than 41% in 2025: USDA
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(NEW YORK) — Egg prices are predicted to increase by 41.1% in 2025, according to a report released by the Department of Agriculture (USDA) on Tuesday.
In January, the federal agency had predicted a 20% increase.
The predicted price hike comes as a result of rising bird flu cases, which have had a substantial impact on farms.
According to the report, retail egg prices went up by 13.8% in January, after rising by 8.4% in December.
Overall, egg prices in January were 53% higher than the year before, according to the report.
The national average price for eggs hit $4.95 a dozen for shoppers in January, according to an earlier report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
An increasing number of commercial egg layers are being affected by the bird flu outbreak. The report estimated 18.8 million commercial egg layers were affected by bird flu in January, the report stated.
In another report published by the USDA on Feb. 14, the agency said wholesale egg prices had gone up $0.40 over a 30-day period.
“Offerings are very light to light with little chance for improvement in the near-term as highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) continues to impact productive flocks,” the USDA said in the Feb. 14 report.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there have been 70 cases of bird flu recorded among humans, most of which have been mild.
One person has died. The victim — who was exposed to non-commercial backyard flock and wild birds — was over age 65 and had underlying medical conditions, officials said.
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(DENVER) — Two federal law enforcement sources briefed on Wednesday morning’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)-led raids in seven locations across Denver tell ABC News that the operation yielded the arrest of just one alleged gang member. Twenty-nine people were also detained, sources told ABC News.
ICE previously said on Wednesday that “100+ members of the violent Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua were targeted for arrest and detention” in raids that day. However, the operation ultimately produced far fewer than that number.
The arrest and detentions are separate from a DEA operation ABC News also observed in Denver that day while accompanying ICE and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents. The DEA operation resulted in at least two-drug related arrests that were not related to immigration status, sources told ABC News.
ABC News interviewed and obtained Ring doorbell footage from one person that revealed agents on Wednesday going door-to-door asking residents at one apartment complex for identification, travel documents, and permission to enter the units to look around. In many cases, agents did not present a warrant or explain why they were there, according to ABC News interviews with residents and examination of obtained footage.
A DEA official on scene told ABC News that they executed two targeted drug trafficking warrants at the apartment complex at the same time as the ICE raid.
After the operation, Tim Lenzen, the acting special agent in charge of HSI’s Denver office, told reporters that they did not have the total numbers of detainments or how many of those were for alleged immigration-related offenses, though he did say that one arrest was a fugitive from Chile and “a known [Tren de Aragua] member.” Lenzen said that member was wanted for kidnapping and extortion in another country.
President Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, said Wednesday on Fox News that the ICE “operation was leaked,” which compromised its effectiveness.
“This is not a game,” Homan said, adding that “people who want to game this … need to stop or we’ll prosecute them through the Department of Justice.”
(NEW YORK) — A man’s masked face caught peering at a camera from the back of a taxi. Monopoly money in a backpack ditched in Central Park. And bullet casings with words scrawled on them.
Those are just a few of the details that the New York Police Department has released to the public in the five days since a masked gunman fatally shot the chief executive of a health insurance company in Manhattan.
The evidence has painted a picture of a “fully masked” suspect who appeared to have planned his movements with precision, but law enforcement is “on the right track,” Mayor Eric Adams told ABC News’ New York station WABC on Sunday.
“As I say, the net is closing and closing,” Adams said. “This was an extremely challenging investigation. A fully masked person. The amount of detective work it took to put the pieces together — we feel we’re getting closer and closer.”
As the manhunt continued for the suspect, whom investigators have not publicly identified, police in New York and elsewhere said they were still looking for evidence in Wednesday’s fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in New York City. The NYPD believes it is making good progress toward identifying the suspect, but has so far not done so, sources told ABC News.
NYPD detectives arrived on Saturday in Georgia. Investigators have said the suspect took a bus to New York, arriving on Nov. 24 from Atlanta, although it was unclear if his travels began in that city. And the FBI is assisting the nationwide manhunt, according to law enforcement sources.
Back in New York on Sunday, members of the New York Police Department’s dive team were again searching underwater in the Central Park. They were seen in the water near the Bethesda Fountain.
The masked gunman shot Thompson at point-blank range at 6:44 a.m. on Dec. 4 outside the New York Hilton Midtown, where Thompson’s company was holding an investors conference. NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch described the attack as “brazen” and “targeted.” The suspect is thought to have left the scene of the shooting and taken a bike north into the park.
Adams on Sunday declined to comment on specific evidence, saying only that “every piece is important.” And he spoke generally about the ongoing underwater search.
“Everywhere is important. Everyplace is important,” Adams said, adding a moment later, “It’s dark down there, you know.”
The backpack had been found nearby in Central Park. Police have not yet recovered the distinctive gun used in the shooting.
The suspect took a taxi to the Port Authority bus facility at 178th Street and boarded a bus out of New York City following the shooting, according to police.
NYPD officials released images on Saturday that they said were of the suspected shooter. The man appeared to have been in the back of a taxi, where he could be seen peering through the open slider in the partition between the seats. Another photo appeared to show the man walking by the window of a cab. It was unclear when the photos had been taken.
Investigators believe they secured DNA samples from several pieces of evidence discovered at or near the crime scene, law enforcement sources told ABC News. The DNA samples are currently at the NYC Office of the Chief Medical Examiner to be run through databases for a possible match — a process that could take several days, the sources said.
Police were also able to extract a fingerprint off a water bottle the suspect bought at a Starbucks. The print is smudged, so it is unclear whether it will be helpful to the investigation, sources said.
“I don’t want to do anything that’s going to tip him off that we’re on his trail, but we feel really good where we are,” Adams said on Sunday. “Finding the knapsack, getting the cab photos, looking at some of the evidence that we have available to us, we feel really good where we are.”
ABC News’ Aaron Katersky, Mark Crudele, Bill Hutchinson, Jon Haworth, Ivan Pereira and David Brennan contributed to this report.
(PHILADELPHIA) — A medical transport plane, carrying a child, her mother and four other people, crashed in Philadelphia Friday night near a busy mall, killing all aboard and resulting in an untold number of injuries on the ground.
The Learjet 55 crashed near the Roosevelt Mall in northeast Philadelphia around 6:30 p.m. after departing from Northeast Philadelphia Airport, according to authorities.
The exact number of the injured is not yet available, officials said.
“Many people on the ground – in parking lots, on streets, in cars and homes in the area – were injured; the number of injured is yet to be released but the information shared at this time reports that a number of people were transported to Temple University Hospital, Jeans Campus in the Northeast,” the office of Mayor Cherelle Parker said Saturday.
“Right now, we’re just asking for prayers,” Parker told reporters Friday night. She urged residents to stay away from the scene.
In a statement, Shriner’s Hospital said the child had received care from the Philadelphia hospital and was being taken back to her home country of Mexico along with her mother on a contracted air ambulance when the crash happened.
The company that operated the flight, Jet Rescue Air Ambulance, said in a statement there were four crew members on board.
“At this time, we cannot confirm any survivors,” the company said in the statement. “No names are being released at this time until family members have been notified. Our immediate concern is for the patient’s family, our personnel, their families and other victims that may have been hurt on the ground.”
The air ambulance was en route to Springfield-Branson National Airport in Missouri, according to Flight Radar24 data.
“I regret the death of six Mexicans in the plane crash in Philadelphia, United States,” Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said in a statement Saturday. “The consular authorities are in permanent contact with the families; I have asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to support them in whatever way is required. My solidarity with their loved ones and friends.”
A large fire burned in the wake of the crash, prompting a significant response.
“We heard a loud explosion and then saw the aftermath of flames and smoke,” eyewitness Jimmy Weiss told local ABC station WPVI near the scene.
He added, “It felt like the ground shook .. it was a loud boom. It was startling.”
The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration are investigating.
An NTSB investigator arrived at the scene Friday night with additional team members expected to arrive Saturday.
Temple University Hospital told ABC News it had received six patients hurt in the crash, although it was not clear if they were in the plane or people who were on the ground.
Three of those patients were treated and released and three remain hospitalized in fair condition, the hospital said.
Speaking at a follow-up press briefing Friday night, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said dozens of state troopers and other state personnel were on on hand to offer help and praised local responders and community members.
“We saw neighbor helping neighbor. We saw Pennsylvanians looking out for one another,” he said.
In a statement posted to social media platform Truth Social, President Donald Trump said: “So sad to see the plane go down in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. More innocent souls lost. Our people are totally engaged. First Responders are already being given credit for doing a great job. More to follow. God Bless you all.”
Immediately after the crash, the FAA issued a ground stop at Northeast Philadelphia Airport due to “an aircraft incident.”
The FAA had initially reported there were two people on board the aircraft but later corrected that report.
ABC News’ Ayesha Ali and Sam Sweeney contributed to this report.
