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While there seems to be no relief in sight for the high cost of eggs, it almost feels counterintuitive for people to celebrate two cracking, but it is a welcome distraction from the current political turmoil. Two bald eagles in Big Bear, California, have just become parents again to two chicks, with the potential for a third. This is egg-cellent news. Heres everything to know about Jackie and Shadows journey to parenthood: Jackie and Shadows origin story Jackie and Shadow have been together since 2018. Shadow actually stole Jackie from another male, which is unusual for eagles who normally mate for life. They successfully raised two chicks but also experienced their fair share of loss over the years. Humans have come to know and love them while watching live streams of two bald eagle webcams maintained by the nonprofit Friends of Big Bear Valley. For the past two seasons, Jackie and Shadows egg did not hatch despite the parents’ best efforts making this seasons births even more special. 2025s egg timeline This season, Jackie laid three eggs, which is unusual for eagles. The first made its debut on January 22. Three days later, another one appeared in the nest. The last was laid on January 28. The first pip, or crack, was spotted on Sunday at 3:09 p.m local time. The second came around 8 a.m. on Monday. The first chick fully hatched around 11:30 a.m. on Monday while the second one made its way into the world at 4:30 a.m. Tuesday morning. Typically, parents do not help the chicks with this process, but Shadow has stepped in from time to time. Temporarily, the babies are known as Chick 1 and Chick 2. Eventually, a naming contest will help the nonprofit come up with much more creative monikers. This has not been formally announced yet but historically a third grade class in Big Bear has the final vote. There is still a chance the third egg will also hatch. March 4 marked 35 days since it has been laid, which is normally when the hatching period begins. Fans are rooting for this since Jackie and Shadow have never raised three chicks at one time before. What’s next for this family of eagles? Chick 1 and Chick 2 dont need to eat immediately because they absorbed the yolk on their way out of the egg. Eventually, Jackie and Shadow will bring them small pieces of raw meat. Some bird parents regurgitate their food but not bald eagles. At this young age, it is hard to guess the gender of the chicks. The only official way to tell is through a blood test, but once the chicks get to be around nine weeks old, their physical appearance will allow for an educated guess. Females tend to be larger. The chicks will stay in the nest for 10 to 12 weeks. Around this time they fledge or fly from the nest. For the next couple of months, they will remain close to home to test their wings. After that, they will typically head out to start their own adult life. How can I see the bald eagle action for myself? To watch the chicks grow up and root for another sibling, watch the two live-feed cameras. The first camera offers a close-up view of the nest while the second zooms out for perspective. As of Wednesday morning, almost 30,000 viewers were watching the nest live. We’ve also embedded the YouTube video below.
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The IRS is drafting plans to cut its workforce by as much as half through a mix of layoffs, attrition, and incentivized buyouts, according to two people familiar with the situation.The people spoke Tuesday on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to disclose the plans.The layoffs are part of the Trump administration’s efforts to shrink the size of the federal workforce through billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency by closing agencies, laying off nearly all probationary employees who have not yet gained civil service protection and offering buyouts to almost all federal employees through a “deferred resignation program” to quickly reduce the government workforce.A reduction in force of tens of thousands of employees would render the IRS “dysfunctional,” said John Koskinen, a former IRS commissioner.The federal tax collector employs roughly 90,000 workers total across the United States, according to the latest IRS data. People of color make up 56% of the IRS workforce, and women represent 65%.Already, roughly 7,000 probationary IRS employees with roughly one year or less of service were laid off from the organization in February.The organization also offered IRS employeesalong with almost all federal employees across the government”deferred resignation program” buyouts, though IRS employees involved in the 2025 tax season were told earlier this month that they would not be allowed to accept a buyout offer from the Trump administration until mid-May, after the taxpayer filing deadline.In addition to the planned layoffs, the Trump administration intends to lend IRS workers to the Department of Homeland Security to assist with immigration enforcement. In a letter sent in February, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem asked Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to borrow IRS workers to help with ongoing immigration crackdown efforts.Koskinen and six other former IRS Commissioners wrote in the New York Times earlier this month: “Aggressive reductions in the I.R.S.’s resources will only render our government less effective and less efficient in collecting the taxes Congress has imposed.”According to a White House memo sent to federal agencies in late February, agencies are to develop a report by March 13 on its reduction in force plansbut it is unclear whether the White House will approve the IRS’ reorganization plan and over what period of time it would be implemented.Representatives for the White House, the Treasury Department and IRS did not respond to an Associated Press request for comment. The New York Times first reported the deliberations. Fatima Hussein, Associated Press
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E-Commerce
Want more housing market stories from Lance Lamberts ResiClub in your inbox? Subscribe to the ResiClub newsletter. During his campaign, Donald Trump vowed to implement mass deportations. Since regaining power, he has signed multiple executive orders aimed at tightening border security and increasing arrests by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers. In theory, an increase in deportationslet alone mass deportationscould impact U.S. homebuilders and their network of subcontractors. While we dont exactly know how many undocumented immigrants work in construction, we know its a chunk. In 2016, Pew Research Center estimated that 13% of the U.S. construction workforce is undocumented. In 2021, the Center for American Progress estimated that 23% of construction laborers are undocumented (see their full breakdown below). Last month, analysts at John Burns Research and Consulting (JBREC) set out to find out if homebuilders are seeing an impact yet from deportations and arrests. So far, there hasnt been a big impact on the housing market: 11% of homebuilders in the JBREC survey said that recent deportations and/or changes in immigration policy have impacted their labor force. What are the major publicly-traded homebuilders saying publicly? Last week, Rick Palacios, director of research at JBREC, posted a roundup of recent comments made on earnings calls regarding deportations and the housing market. Here’s what they had to say: Century Communities, Q4 2024 earnings call (January 29, 2025): Regarding ICE raids and deportations […] This is still early on unfolding. We have not seen anything on the ground or in our cost structure that needs us to react in a certain way. Its just wait and see. But right now, we’re not seeing anything that is negative to the business. Beazer, Q1 2025 earnings call (January 30, 2025): Regarding impact of deportations and immigration issues […] Honestly, have not seen an impact. And we check in regularly. We’ve got a hotline set up internally to sort of anything, and I have not heard any news on that. I won’t be surprised if there is some in markets that we do business and in the industry. But so far, I have not heard of any. PulteGroup, Q4 2024 earnings call (January 30, 2025): Regarding impact of immigration enforcement […] It’s been a long-standing policy of our company trade partners and the labor that are on our job sites, we require verified residency status and/or work permits that allow them to work legally in the U.S. That’s been our position for a long time, it will continue to be our position. In terms of impacts to the broader labor force, even beyond just construction labor to the extent that there are deportation activities, there’s no question there’ll be less labor available and that will have an impact on all wage rates. And we’ll certainly have to deal with that as that becomes more clear. Taylor Morrison Home Corporation, Q4 2024 earnings call (February 12, 2025): Regarding potential impact of immigration . . . were happy to report that we haven’t seen anything hit the job site. Certainly, we’ve got protocols in place. Even though we’ve seen activity within markets, we have not seen anything hit our job sites. Coming into the year, we had a little bit of fear that we would see some absenteeism of folks. To date, I’d say there’s been no disruptions. Tri Pointe Homes, Q4 2024 earnings call (February 18, 2025): Regarding the impact of ICE raids or deportations […] No impacts at all. Typically, our trades have maintained the necessary requirements as far as making sure they’re legal citizens. Our trades have employees and teammates that have been with them for quite a while. Were not expecting any labor issues this year, to be honest with you. Toll Brothers, Q1 2025 earnings call (February 19, 2025): We have not seen any immediate supply chain impacts from tariffs or labor shortages due to changes in immigration policies, although we are monitoring developments closely and will pivot as necessary to deal with any issues that arise.
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E-Commerce
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