Pork giant Smithfield's CEO touts growth outlook, minimizes threats from deportations, bird flu

Smithfield Foods' CEO says he hopes that everything the company has done to make working in its plants more attractive ever since COVID tore through the industry during the pandemic will help it weather the impact of President Donald Trump’s promised mass deportations. Smithfield...

Egg prices are soaring. Don't expect that to change anytime soon

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Bird flu is forcing farmers to slaughter millions of chickens a month, pushing U.S. egg prices to more than double their cost in the summer of 2023. And it appears there may be no relief in sight, given the surge in demand as Easter approaches. The average price...

Long Island’s last duck farm weighs closure after outbreak leads to killing of entire flock

NEW YORK (AP) — New York’s Long Island was once synonymous with “duck” in the culinary world. Now it may lose its last commercial farm. The avian flu outbreak that has led to the slaughter of millions of birds at U.S. poultry farms and driven up the price of eggs struck the...

Bird flu found in a Georgia commercial flock for the 1st time amid the nationwide outbreak

ATLANTA (AP) — For the first time since the 2022 countrywide outbreak, bird flu hit a poultry producer in Georgia, the nation's top state for chicken production. The state Department of Agriculture announced Friday that the agency has detected a case of Highly Pathogenic Avian...

California man says two of his cats died after drinking raw milk recalled for bird flu

A California man whose two cats died after drinking raw milk recalled for bird flu risk says he meant to keep his beloved pets healthy, but his efforts tragically backfired. “It’s horrible when you realize that you’re the one that actually gave them the milk that killed...

Biden health officials say they built up US pandemic defenses. Trump promises changes

NEW YORK (AP) — The Biden administration on Tuesday released a “roadmap” for maintaining government defenses against infectious diseases, just as President-elect Donald Trump pledges to dismantle some of them. The 16-page report recaps steps taken in the last four years against...

First US bird flu death is announced in Louisiana

NEW YORK (AP) — The first U.S. bird flu death has been reported — a person in Louisiana who had been hospitalized with severe respiratory symptoms. State health officials announced the death on Monday, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed it was the...

Health officials in Louisiana announce first US bird flu death

Bird flu virus likely mutated within a Louisiana patient, CDC says

A genetic analysis suggests the bird flu virus mutated inside a Louisiana patient who contracted the nation’s first severe case of the illness, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said this week. Scientists believe the mutations may allow the virus to better bind to...

Cats can get sick with bird flu. Here's how to protect them

The death of an Oregon house cat and a pet food recall are raising questions about the ongoing outbreak of bird flu and how people can protect their pets. Bird flu has been spreading for years in wild birds, chickens, turkeys and many other animals. It was first confirmed in U.S....