Good morning, it’s Wednesday.
After a (thankfully) brief and – for me anyway – anxiety-ridden period, egg prices have come down out of the stratosphere and back into the range of (relative) affordability.
Not too terribly long ago, eggs were Exhibit A in the “groceries are too damn high” meme, with empty shelves, stores limiting customer purchases, hoarding, egg “loosies” at New York City bodgeas, and prices hitting a high of more than $9 a dozen in some places (note: that was the retail price, while wholesale topped out closer to $4.60, on average).
Egg prices have dropped between 40 and 60 percent across the nation since last year, with the average retail price for a dozen Grade A large eggs somewhere in the neighborhood of $2.25 to $2.50.
This recovery is largely due to the fact that the avian flu that took out so many chickens in 2025, causing a significant shortage of layers, has been more or less brought under control, and farmers have been able to rebuild their flocks.
As an aside, it’s worth noting that while the drop in egg prices is great for consumers, it’s a mixed bag for poultry farmers, who still have to contend with high production costs – everything from feed to energy to labor has gone up. But farmers are hedging their bets when it comes to cutting their biggest expense, the birds themselves, in case the flu surges again.
Not surprisingly, when egg costs soared, egg consumption plummeted. Last year, In 2025, the average American was estimated to consume about 259.2 eggs. That figure is projected to reach 273.7 eggs per capita by the end of this year. The high of 293.4 eggs per person was reached in 2019.
Most egg laying hens in the U.S. are caged, but this is slowly changing due to the rising demand in cage-free and free-range eggs. There is a distinct difference, as cage-free hens still live in crowded conditions and aren’t allowed outside, while free-range allows outdoor access, though that might be minimal.
If you see the label “pasture-raised” you’re rolling the dice, as this isn’t a category regulated by the UDSA. If you see “pasture-raised” and “certified humane” or “animal welfare approved” you SHOULD be getting eggs that were laid by hens that had at least 108 square feet of outdoor space and indoor barn space, but again, this isn’t a USDA regulated certification.
Organic eggs come rom hens that had both outdoor access AND organic feed that does not contain animal by-products, synthetic fertilizers, pesticides or chemical additives. These hens were not given hormones or antibiotics, and were allowed to experience a natural molting process, something commercial farms sometimes manipulate in an effort to extend their layers’ lives.
On the question of whether eggs are healthy, the general consensus these days is a resounding “yes!” They’re a good and (usually) inexpensive and relatively low-calorie source of protein and also contain essential vitamins and minerals like Vitamin B12, Vitamin D, and choline.
Some studies have shown that consuming an egg a day can lead to lower incidents of heart disease and stroke. If you’re watching your cholesterol, then consider the source of your protein – if you’re not eating a lot of other animal products, for example, eggs are likely a safe and viable protein option.
Eggs are also relatively easy to prepare – just hard boiling them is pretty near foolproof, and generates a quick and nutritious snack. I like to keep a few on hand in the fridge for quick protein fixes. But I wouldn’t say “no” to a frittata, omelette, egg salad, or
Happy National Egg Day, all!
We are heading into true summer weather territory – finally!! – today, though the highs won’t be quite hot enough to fry an egg on the sidewalk. (See what I did there?) We’ll top out in the mid-80s, with bright and sunny skies.
In the headlines…
Todd Blanche, the acting attorney general, said he was withdrawing a proposal to create a $1.8 billion fund to compensate people claiming to be victims of unfair prosecution, amid a revolt among Republicans who saw it as an ethical and political disaster.
“We’re not moving forward with the fund, period,” Blanche told members of a House Appropriations subcommittee. He repeated himself to make clear that he meant the fund proposal would be permanently withdrawn.
But Trump, his family members and related business entities remain protected from tax audits and enforcement actions in connection with tax returns filed before last month’s out-of-court settlement of his lawsuit, Blanche said.
Trump named Bill Pulte acting director of national intelligence, succeeding Tulsi Gabbard, who recently announced she plans to resign at the end of June.
The White House Correspondents Association rescheduled its annual dinner for July 24 after the shooting aimed at President Trump cut short the gala in April.
“We will not allow an act of violence to have the last word, especially during a year when we are reflecting on the 250th anniversary of America and everything we stand for,” Weijia Jiang, the president of the WHCA, said in a letter to members.
The contours of a premier U.S. Senate race took shape last night in Iowa, while Trump’s endorsement streak ran into a roadblock there.
Meanwhile, Democrats chose a nominee for a U.S. House race in New Jersey that could decide control of the chamber. But much of the focus is on California, home to Hollywood but not a governor’s race packing much star power.
Adam Hamawy, a U.S. Army veteran and sharp critic of Israel’s war in Gaza, beat a large field of Democrats yesterday to win a House primary in a left-leaning congressional district in New Jersey.
Democrat Rebecca Bennett, a former Navy helicopter pilot, will challenge Republican Tom Kean Jr. in November in the Garden State’s most hotly-contested congressional race.
The race for Los Angeles mayor became a three-way contest between Mayor Karen Bass, Councilmember Nithya Raman and former reality TV star Spencer Pratt. The incumbent will advance to the November runoff.
In the race for governor of California, Democrats Xavier Becerra and Tom Steyer, and Republican Steve Hilton appeared to have separated from the pack among likely primary voters in a too-close-to-call contest.
While Tuesday was Election Day in California, the results for races there may not come in for days, or even weeks. In the Golden State, mail-in ballots are valid so long as they are postmarked by Election Day and arrive to county election offices by June 9.
Other headline-grabbing results from the six-state primary day included Democrats nominating a former wheelchair basketball gold medalist for Senate and a Native American woman governor, which would be a first in U.S. history.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio indicated that the US may resume its funding of a global vaccines alliance that Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. pulled out of last year, an unusual public rebuke of Kennedy’s involvement in matters of global health.
Rubio suggested he was reclaiming control of the U.S. relationship with Gavi, an organization that provides immunizations for low-income nations and maintains the global Ebola vaccine stockpile, which has historically been managed by the State Department.
CBS News fired Scott Pelley yesterday, jettisoning one of the network’s best-known journalists in a clash over the future of “60 Minutes,” the country’s top-rated news program.
“We have parted ways with Scott Pelley,” Nick Bilton, the tech journalist hired last week as the new “60 Minutes” executive producer, wrote in a memo to the show’s staff. Pelley was at CBS News for decades, and also served as the anchor of the CBS Evening News.
CBS News declined to comment. In a formal letter to Pelley, which was obtained by The New York Times, Bilton wrote that the correspondent had been “terminated for cause effective immediately.”
Federal authorities are investigating whether former Long Island Rep. George Santos engaged in insider trading by betting on a prediction market about whether he would show up at President Trump’s State of the Union address in late February.
New York’s new state budget left out the youth mental health funding that lawmakers and advocates spent months fighting for, even after the state agreed in a federal court settlement to overhaul how it cares for children on Medicaid
State legislative leaders introduced a proposal to give the Legislature the power to redraw its election districts in the middle of a decade while removing language that prohibits gerrymandering – something the state Constitution specifically prohibits.
Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie said New York Democrats want to change the state law that prohibits districts from favoring a certain political party because of the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that weakened the Civil Rights-era Voting Rights Act.
A separate bill was introduced alongside the redistricting amendment that would allow the state Legislature to write the language of how an amendment to the state constitution appears on the ballot, including the redistricting proposal.
The state Legislature is poised to hit the brakes on the rapid growth of data centers by passing a bill that puts a one-year moratorium on siting and will require statewide hearings on environmental impacts.
The measure is meant to be a compromise, as a different bill would have imposed a three-year ban on construction.
Seven states led by New York’s Letitia James sued the U.S. Department of the Interior and other agencies seeking to strike down a deal that paid a French energy company $795 million to withdraw from its offshore wind farm lease and invest in fossil fuels.
Three members of New York’s congressional delegation have penned a letter to state leaders demanding action to close a loophole that has allowed rich hedge funds to profit off of economically struggling nations and foreign territories.
Hochul has taken two steps toward her goal of beefing up New York’s nuclear industry, announcing solicitations for work force training and for a developer to start construction of at least one new reactor by 2032.
The powerful teachers’ union delivered a master class in wheeling and dealing — winning pay bumps of up to $9,500 as part of a deal delaying New York’s class size mandate.
New Yorkers pushing for Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s removal from office continued their mission outside Hochul’s Midtown office on Monday, calling on the gov to begin removal proceedings against NYC’s 112th mayor.
Mamdani defended his plan to hire 580 additional officers and boost the overall NYPD headcount during his first appearance on WNYC’s “Ask The Mayor” on The Brian Lehrer Show.”
Mamdani announced he was picking two veteran city officials to represent Gotham on the board of the MTA: former Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan and former city budget chief Melanie Hartzog.
Mamdani said that he’s “excited” about fellow Democratic Socialists of America diehard Darializa Avila Chevalier — waving off the score of inflammatory social media posts that emerged after he endorsed her congressional run.
The Charter Revision Commission recently launched by Mamdani will convene for its first three public hearings on consecutive days next week.
The Democratic socialist mayor, who has divided the city in recent weeks on taxes and Israel, has found a theme everyone can rally behind: The Knicks.
A summer of back-to-back mega-events will saddle the NYPD with roughly $92 million in special-events overtime and security costs, Commissioner Jessica Tisch told the City Council — with the federal government reimbursing only a fraction of it.
The commissioner of the Department of Correction defended a nearly 600-officer cut proposed by the mayor, despite asking the City Council for more funds to hire and recruit officers only a couple of months ago.
City council leaders are pushing for $4.5 million in city budget money to fund a report about 9/11 toxins — and to finally determine when city officials first learned air quality at Ground Zero was dangerous.
Major fires have more than doubled in the Bronx over the past two years, driven by a concerning rise in electrical system problems across the borough’s aging building stock, city officials say.
Former mayoral candidate and Guardian Angels co-founder Curtis Sliwa is “sitting Shiva” for the Times Square Red Lobster, blaming the company’s all you can eat policies for the Midtown location’s demise.
A business group that counts Amazon as a member bought an ad for tonight’s NBA Finals game to fight a bill that would force the e-commerce giant to hire thousands of delivery workers — and raise customers’ bills by hundreds of dollars per year.
Brad Lander and Rep. Dan Goldman faced off in the first debate in their contentious Democratic primary in NY-10, trading barbs over Israel, immigration and the Park Slope Food Coop in a tense hour that didn’t produce any apparent knockout blows.
A Brooklyn man admitted in federal court to firing a gun during a mass shooting at a Crown Heights hookah lounge last summer.
A former state trooper was sentenced to 2 ½ to 7 years in prison following his conviction on a manslaughter charge for ramming his police vehicle into an SUV during a high-speed chase on the Thruway six years ago that led to the death of a young girl.
In the Capital Region, the latest data shows that Albany and Rensselaer counties have lost more residents than they have gained since 2015, while Saratoga and Warren counties have consistently seen a net increase in residents.
A father and daughter whose detention by immigration authorities while walking to school in Albany sparked weekend protests are scheduled to be deported to Venezuela, an advocate who spoke with the family confirmed.
Snake Mountain, which features steep ridges and panoramic outcroppings, is now a conservation area following a deal between the Hudson Taconic Lands and owner Lane Construction Corporation. It could be open for public access as soon as next spring.
Photo credit: George Fazio
