Tyler Dollar $ign

Respect the Oxford comma

[Kyle Ingram @SnapshotKyle]

Wemby didn’t like Jose Alvarado boxing him out 😂

[Nomadic Warriors for Pritzker⚔️ @Nomads4Pritzker]

So, I've worked in the beef industry. I have a fairly detailed knowledge of beef markets, the supply chain, parasites and parasiticides, etc. Suffice it to say, this is a nightmare scenario, but one we've known was coming since at least 2022.

New World Screwworm was eradicated from North and Central America in the mid-90's. The US gov't (APHIS) funded a program of screwworm drops, where they bred sterile males so that extant populations couldn't reproduce and move northwards. But in 2022 NWS jumped the Darien gap and started moving northwards once again. It's most likely that they came undetected on livestock brought alongside migrants fleeing political instability in South and Central America. Elon Musk/DOGE, of course, cut several monitoring programs that would have detected this exact scenario. The screwworm drops are still funded, but the monitoring programs are what have been cut - a stupid move if there ever was one.

A serious Central/South America policy would have worked hand-in-hand with CA/SA governments to help contain this, but we've never had a serious policy towards South America, not during the Biden years, and especially not under Trump. The USDA broke ground on a sterile screwworm facility in Texas... last month. I worry it's too little, too late.

Screwworm is so dangerous because, unlike other fly larvae, they lay eggs and feed on living flesh. So something like a small scratch (or even bug bite) can quickly becomes infested, and the larvae will burrow into the flesh, growing the wound and attracting more screwworm. They don't only parasitize cattle, but will also feed on wildlife, domestic pets, even humans. Since they have detected screwworms in domesticated cattle right now, it's likely that there is a wild reservoir as well. We can quarantine herds and pets, but we can't quarantine deer and armadillos. They will move, and so will the NWS.

Under normal circumstances, cattle are moved around - a lot. Calves will be sent to stockers through their adolescence, then shipped to feedlots for finishing. A lot of calving operations (like 70%) are small, and small-time producers don't always catch parasite infestations. Cattle moved in-state don't require a certificate of veterinary inspection, so it's easy for an infested animal to be moved without being noticed. Animals crossing state lines do need a CVI, but Texas has such an enormous cattle population (something like 13 million head) that as goes Texas, so goes the nation.

Fortunately, we have a lot of drugs that treat NWS. The FDA has issued several emergency use authorizations in the last year or so. But every input raises the price of beef, and treatment only makes a difference if producers catch an infestation early. If an infestation spreads unnoticed on a large feedlot, it can hit hard, both in terms of cattle that have to be killed, and treatments that then have to be deployed. Producers will spend days at a time running cattle through the chute, inspecting them and applying parasiticides. It costs a lot of money, which is then passed on to the consumer.

What does that mean for you? Beef is a commodity, and just because there's no NWS up here in Illinois doesn't mean that prices won't skyrocket - and they will skyrocket. US herd size is already at record lows, and this will result in culls. Consumer prices also run 18-24 months behind, which means that shocks to the supply chain now are still going to be felt by consumers in 2028.

It's hard to say if our government will be able to muster an effective response - though I don't trust our current administration, which can't even throw a 250th anniversary party, to be able to deal with an ecological issue of this magnitude. It doesn't help that our current USDA secretary is a lawyer and think-tank creature. I don't much trust the state government of Texas either. The industry has also taken the workforce of large animal veterinarians for granted - a monopoly/market power issue that I just can't get in to here.

For me, it comes back to our federal government having an incoherent policy on Central and South America. We knew what was coming, we know what's going to happen, but we cut the program meant to prevent this scenario. Instead of taking those countries seriously as partners, the government has been stupid and domineering.

Here's the kicker: this is what the industry voted for. They might scream, they might get bailed out, but all that means is that you, the consumer, are going to be paying more for beef, plus whatever bailout gets shoveled their way. Until the industry accepts that they are part of a larger system; that they cannot eternally privatize the gains and publicize the losses of beef production; that they need to consider sustainability and stewardship in the management of their operations, this is only going to keep happening. Eventually, they may find that there is very little goodwill for them among the public, and people will decide that a Brazilian ribeye tastes just as good as one from Texas.

[NBA Jay Knicky 🇨🇷🇯🇲 @JayKnicky]

Tale as old as time! destiNY awaits!

[New York Basketball @NBA_NewYork]

32 years ago today Game 5 Reggie Miller made the choke sign and grabbed his crotch at MSG

4 days later Game 7 Reggie Miller cried in the locker room after the Knicks eliminated him at MSG

[Rushi @rushicrypto]

Just days after scientists found that bee venom can kill cancer cells, the Trump administration is set to close the nation’s primary bee research laboratory.

[FactPost @factpostnews]

The Trump administration has repealed drinking water limits for four different PFAS forever chemicals.

Water providers will no longer have to test or filter for the pollutants.

[unusual_whales @unusual_whales]

Nearly 590,000 people paid $59 million in deposits for the Trump gold phone, yet a year later not a single device has shipped and the launch date has disappeared from the website, per YF

Trump Mobile’s updated terms reportedly now state deposits do not guarantee a phone will ever be produced or made available for sale.

[lux⛓️‍💥 @lilithsdagger]

ai is actively killing the planet and chatgpt is making you stupid. i’ll die on this hill.

[People @people]

Pizza Hut's 'BOOK IT!' Summer Reading Program Returns to Provide Voracious Young Readers with Pizza Parties and More https://t.co/k7LZLaDSMy

[Tuki @TukiFromKL]

the CATO Institute.. a libertarian think tank funded by the Koch brothers.. just published a study showing immigrants paid more in taxes than they received in benefits every single year from 1994 to 2023..

not a left-wing university.. not a Democratic PAC.. the Koch brothers' own research institute..

they reduced the deficit by $14.5 trillion over 30 years.. they earn less per hour but work at higher rates.. which means higher per capita income.. which means higher taxes paid..

the country spent 30 years being told immigrants were draining the system.. turns out they were funding it.. and the people who told you that knew the numbers the whole time

[First Squawk @FirstSquawk]

US FARM BANKRUPTCIES UP 46% YoY — 70% IN THE MIDWEST

[Nature Is Nonpartisan @NINP_org]

The National Park Service ran on a $3 billion budget and generated $56 billion in economic output in 2024. That’s over $17 back for every $1 invested.

With a record of 332 million visitors last year, Americans clearly care about their parks and expect them to be funded.

[Culture Crave 🍿 @CultureCrave]

A man in India says he made thousands of dollars scamming 'super dumb' MAGA fans with a fake AI influencer named 'Emily Hart'

• Helped pay for his medical school

• Instagram's algorithm would blow up his fake content daily

• Tried a liberal version but it didn't work

“Democrats know that it’s AI slop ... The MAGA crowd is made up of dumb people ... super dumb people. And they fall for it"

(via @WIRED)

[Tiberius @tiberiusfiles]

Punishing homeless children to show the world he is a better Christian than the Pope

[Nav Toor @heynavtoor]

Your smart TV is taking screenshots of your screen every 15 seconds.

Not a guess. Not a theory.

A peer-reviewed study by researchers at UC Davis, UCL, and UC3M tested it.

Samsung TVs: every minute.
LG TVs: every 15 seconds.

Even when you're just using it as a monitor.

Here's how to turn it off for every brand:

[FactPost @factpostnews]

Americans paid a collective $23 billion more to file their 2025 taxes after Donald Trump shut down the free tax filing program Direct File last year.

[Tyler Black, MD @tylerblack32]

Bad week for RFK

- 2 studies confirm tylenol doesn't cause autism
- 1 study confirms water fluoridation doesn't affect cognitive function

oh and since he's been nominated, there have been over confirmed 4000 cases of measles in the US

[Javier Blas @JavierBlas]

I know we're all looking at oil.

But live cattle just rose above $2.5 per lb for the first time (to an all-time high). The BBQ season in America is going to be rather expensive for flipping burgers.

[No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen @NoLieWithBTC]

Breaking: Trump orders the dismantling of the US Forest Service.

All regional offices are being shut down and the research program destroyed.

[NewsWire @NewsWire_US]

White House Secures Foreign Steel for Ballroom Project — NYT