Food Wars: US Govt. Takes On Grocery Mega-Merger
Plus, Inside Telegram CEO's arrest; And a way to beat cow 'emissions'
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Good Tuesday morning,
We start with a record we didn’t think was possible: A major league baseball athlete playing for both teams… in the same game. You read that right. He even played for both teams in the same inning. This is how it went down.
On June 26, then-Toronto Blue Jays catcher Danny Jansen was batting for his team in the second inning. The game against the Boston Red Sox was suspended in the middle of his at bat due to rain.
The following month Jansen was traded to the Red Sox.
On Monday, the game finally resumed where they left off — 65 days later. Jansen, now playing for the Red Sox, returned to the game as the catcher for that same at-bat. The Blue Jays subbed in a pinch hitter since Jansen played for the other team.
BTW, Jansen’s original team, the Blue Jays, won the game 4-1.
Have a great one!
Mosheh, Jill, & Lauren
PS: Don’t forget to refer friends & family to subscribe to the Mo Newsletter… you could get free Mo News merch — DETAILS at the bottom of this newsletter!
🛒 IN BATTLE FOR LOWER FOOD PRICES, FTC FIGHTS BIGGEST US GROCERY MERGER
The Biden-Harris administration is attempting to block two of the largest US grocery chains — Kroger and Albertsons — from merging, arguing the deal will raise food costs and stifle competition. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC)—joined by 9 states— originally sued to stop the $25 billion merger in February. The trial began Monday, and is set to last three weeks.
It’s one of the most consequential moves to combat high grocery prices, with both political parties making the cost of food an issue on the campaign trail.
ARGUMENTS
Under the deal, Kroger (with 2,750 stores like Harris Teeter, Marianos, Ralph’s and Fred Meyer) and Albertsons (with 2,200 stores like Safeway and Jewel-Osco) will become the second largest chain in the US.
The federal government argues that the consolidation will lead to higher food costs and fewer/worse jobs for workers — both stemming from a lack of competition. The trial will determine if the deal can be blocked.
On the other side, the two grocers say the deal will actually help cut food costs by letting them compete with giants like Costco and Walmart. Kroger has also pledged to spend $1 billion after the merger to lower prices.
The numbers: In 2023, Kroger was the second largest food seller in the US ($113 billion in revenue) behind Walmart ($324 billion — about a third of the market). Albertsons tied with Amazon (Whole Foods & Amazon Fresh) for fourth with $65 billion.
The combined chain will sell off 576 stores to C&S Wholesale Grocers (operator of Piggly Wiggly and Grand Union) under the deal. Part of the trial will focus on whether C&S Wholesale Grocers can successfully run them or whether they will fold.
FROM TRIAL TO CAMPAIGN TRAIL
As shoppers are still feeling the pain of higher prices, politicians are talking about it on the campaign trail. Since January 2020, grocery prices have jumped 25%.
Vice President Harris threw her support behind a first-ever federal ban on price-gouging in the food and grocery industries last week.
What does that mean? The federal government could sue retailers for jacking up prices beyond a certain threshold.
Trump has called it a “Soviet-style” control, but 37 states (including deep-red states) have laws to address price gouging, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Meanwhile, former President Trump is on the offense — making inflation and food prices a central theme of his campaign. He’s argued that drilling for more oil and gas will bring prices down for everything.
📲 TELEGRAM APP CEO ARRESTED FOR APPARENT LACK OF CONTENT MODERATION
The co-founder and chief executive of Telegram, Pavel Durov, has been arrested and detained this weekend in France pending multiple charges. It appears to be related to the app not moderating illegal activity on the app. That includes drug trafficking, terrorist activity, sexual exploitation of minors and fraud.
Critics argue the arrest is an attempt to limit free speech, but French President Emmanuel Macron said the opposite on Monday and that the move was "not a political decision.”
INSIDE THE ARREST
French media reports that the arrest warrant was requested by a law enforcement unit that focuses on crimes against minors — including online sexual exploitation, such as possession and distribution of child sexual abuse content.
Durov, a 39-year-old Russian-born billionaire, is a citizen of France, the United Arab Emirates, and St Kitts and Nevis (it’s unclear if he renounced his Russian citizenship). Telegram is based in the UAE and has nearly 1 billion global users — one of the biggest apps in the world.
He founded the app with his brother in the wake of the Russian government’s crackdown after mass pro-democracy protests in 2012.
The app is popular in Russia, Ukraine, and India for its light oversight and encrypted messaging between users — helping people communicate and organize, but also creating a haven for criminals, extremism and harmful content. A number of governments have been frustrated by Telegram’s lack of cooperation and content moderation for years.
In April, Durov said that he has been contacted by the FBI, but that he generally ignores government requests.
The company argues that “moderators use a combination of proactive monitoring and user reports in order to remove content that breaches Telegram’s terms of service. Each day, millions of pieces of harmful content are removed.” Statement Below:
Message to Telegram users about Durov’s arrest.
📌 NEW SCIENCE ON HOW TO REDUCE COW ‘EMISSIONS’
There could be a better way to fight climate change. The plan: help cows emit less gas by burping and farting less?!?!
Scientists at the University of California at Davis and the Innovative Genomics Institute are engaged in a $30 million study trying to help cows digest food in a way that is ultimately better for the environment. (We discussed it on the Mo News daily podcast—check it out on Apple or Spotify).
THE NUMBERS
With over 1.5 billion cows on Earth, they each produce about 220 pounds of methane per year — equivalent to about half of an average car’s yearly greenhouse gas emissions.
How cow stomachs digest food — leading to methane-filled burps. Via: Washington Post.
THE SCIENCE
Researchers are working to genetically engineer cows’ microbiomes. It will be a kind-of probiotic pill that calves take.
Right now, the rumen — a rich microbiome in the cow’s stomach — helps break down food and turn it into energy. But it also hosts single-celled organisms called archaea which produce methane that cows then burp up.
The probiotic would help stop the burping, and scientists say it would not hurt the cows.
As the world grows, so does meat consumption. Seaweed, oregano, and garlic have been shown to reduce methane emissions in cows by up to 80%, but only about 10% of cattle in the US are fed by humans — most eat grasses.
⏳ SPEED READ
🚨NATION
📌 Special counsel urges appeals court to reinstate classified documents case against Trump (AP)
📌 Trump & Harris now debating about their first debate (POLITICO)
📌 Apparent cyberattack leaves Seattle airport facing major internet outages (KING TV)
📌 Texas AG raids homes of Latino civil rights group members, setting up a voting rights showdown (NBC NEWS)
🌎 AROUND THE WORLD
📌 Germany's leader promises more deportations after visiting mass stabbing scene (REUTERS)
📌 As Russia unleashed a massive air attack, Ukrainian civilians' resilience kicked in (NBC NEWS)
📌 Prosecutors probe captain of superyacht that sank off Sicily, lawyer says (AP)
📌 Australia is the latest country to give workers the 'right to disconnect' after hours (NPR)
📱BUSINESS, SCIENCE & TECH
📌 Americans set to spend a total of $39 billion on back-to-school shopping this year (CNN)
📌 Apple announces iPhone event for Sept. 9 (NBC NEWS)
📌 Heat-related deaths climbed 117% over 25 years (CBS NEWS)
📌 Judge orders ‘Pharma Bro’ Martin Shkreli to surrender all copies of rare Wu-Tang Clan album (CNBC)
🎬 SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT
📌 NFL changes kickoff rules and bans hip-drop tackles (AXIOS)
📌 The biggest star of the US Open: A cocktail that brought in $10 million (BI)
📌 Trump campaign disputes Foo Fighters over unauthorized use of music at rally (VARIETY)
📌 Bradley Whitford slams Cheryl Hines for not speaking out against husband RFK Jr (VARIETY)
📌 Environmental group calls for investigation into RFK Jr. incident with a chainsaw and a whale (THE WRAP)
🗓 ON THIS DAY: AUGUST 27
1859: Edwin Drake and the Seneca Oil Company drilled the first commercial oil well in the US in Titusville, Pennsylvania.
1964: The film “Mary Poppins” premiered in Los Angeles, starring Julie Andrews, making her screen debut. Walt Disney had seen her perform on Broadway, and insisted she play Mary Poppins. She was pregnant at the time, but Disney postponed production in order for her to play the part.
2001: Shakira released ‘Whenever, Wherever.’
2003: Kelis releases ‘Milkshake.’