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Union workers went on strike yesterday at one of the US’ largest meatpacking plants. Roughly 3,800 workers walked out of the Swift Beef Co. plant in Greeley, Colorado.
At issue for employees are allegations of retaliation and unfair labor practices. That includes claims Swift’s parent company, JBS USA, charged workers at least $1,100 for personal protective equipment. Almost all workers (99% per the union’s local president) voted to authorize this week’s strike. The union alleges the company refused to negotiate in the lead-up to Sunday’s contract deadline.
The strike comes as meat prices rise and the country’s cattle population is at a 75-year low. The walkout is the first of its kind since the 1985-86 strike at Minnesota's Hormel plant. That strike lasted for over a year and involved violent clashes, with only 20% of employees getting their jobs back. See history here. |
Ecuador Antidrug Operation |
Ecuador’s government deployed 75,000 soldiers and police officers to four provinces Sunday. The US-backed crackdown involves nighttime curfews and will also include helicopters and armored cars. It is scheduled to last two weeks.
It was not immediately clear whether US soldiers would participate in the operation. Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa is a staunch ally of US President Donald Trump, and came to office in 2023 on a mission to crack down on cartel-fueled violence. Noboa is part of the US’ 17-country antidrug alliance announced this month—a group composed primarily of Latin American countries. Last week, the FBI said it would open an office in Ecuador, working with local police to crack down on crime and corruption.
Roughly 70% of cocaine from Colombia and Peru, two of the world’s largest cocaine exporters, travels through Ecuador. Despite Noboa’s efforts, the country’s murder rate rose by over 30% between 2024 and 2025. Explore trend here (w/graph). |
Going Once, Going Tri-ce ... |
A 66-million-year-old triceratops fossil hits the auction block today, with bids projected to reach as high as $5.5M through the March 31 deadline. Roughly the size of a minivan and nicknamed “Trey,” the fossil is one of the most complete triceratops skeletons ever unearthed.
Trey was discovered in 1993 near Wyoming’s Lance Formation, a geologically rich area home to low-lying floodplains and rivers at the end of the Cretaceous period—a sedimentary environment ideal for preserving remains. For paleontologists, the region provides a snapshot just before the cataclysmic asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs. The sale comes as the auction market for dinosaur fossils has surged, with recent bids including “Stan” the T. rex in 2020 ($31.8M), “Apex” the stegosaurus in 2024 ($44.6M), and an unnamed ceratosaurus in 2025 ($30.5M).
Dinosaurs roamed the Earth for over a hundred million years. Discover where and when with this interactive timeline and map. |
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Sports, Entertainment, & Culture |
> Men's First Four games in the NCAA college basketball tournament begin tonight; No. 16 seeds UMBC and Howard face off (6:40 pm ET, TruTV), followed by No. 11 seeds Texas and NC State (9:15 pm ET, TruTV) (More) |
> USA faces Venezuela in tonight's World Baseball Classic championship game (8 pm ET, Fox and Fubo) (More) |
> Vinyl sales hit $1B in revenue last year for the first time since 1983, Recording Industry Association of America reveals; sales were fueled by Taylor Swift's album "The Life of a Showgirl" (More) |
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> Federal judge temporarily blocks Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s changes to the childhood immunization schedule and remaking of a vaccine advisory panel, finding the moves likely violated the Administrative Procedure Act (More) |
> Chipmaker Nvidia kicks off its annual GPU Technology Conference, dubbed the "Super Bowl of AI"; see expected announcements (More) | How Nvidia went from video games to AI dominance (More) |
> Brain-computer interface allows patients with paralysis and neurodegenerative diseases like ALS to communicate at up to 22 words per minute via thought (More) |
🪲 What is Lyme disease? Tomorrow's 1440 Health & Medicine newsletter explores the bacterial infection commonly transmitted by ticks, affecting nearly half a million people in the US each year. Join 125,000+ others and sign up for our weekly health deep dives here! |
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> US stock markets close higher (S&P 500 +1.0%, Dow +0.8%, Nasdaq +1.2%) as US crude oil prices fell over 5% to settle at $93.50 per barrel (More) |
> Federal regulators to propose eliminating requirement for publicly traded companies to release quarterly earnings, according to reports; companies would have option for semiannual reporting (More) |
> Bank of America settles civil lawsuit brought by victims of deceased sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein, alleging the bank helped facilitate abuse by ignoring suspicious financial transactions (More) |
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> At least 200 US soldiers have been wounded in the war with Iran (More) | White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles has been diagnosed with breast cancer, will continue working throughout treatment, President Donald Trump reveals (More) |
> Millions of Americans impacted by Midwest blizzard, East Coast storms (More) | What's the deal with the weather whiplash? (More) |
> Cuba experiences islandwide blackout, impacting roughly 11 million people amid ongoing fuel and energy crisis (More) |
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> Surviving a Lightning Strike
The Atlantic | Jacob Stern. Despite being 50,000 times more powerful than the electric chair, lightning can zip through the human body in milliseconds—often sparing a person’s life. Hear survivors recount the lasting physical and mental consequences of the traumatic, though rare, event. (Read) |
> Big Diaper's Potty Push
The Hustle | Mark Dent. In the mid-20th century, pediatricians recommended children be mostly potty-trained by their first birthday. Surveys now suggest the average age to begin the process is 21 months, a shift resulting in billions for the diaper industry. (Read) |
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Historybook: First St. Patrick’s Day parade held (1601); Golf legend Bobby Jones born (1902); Singer Nat King Cole born (1919); National Gallery of Art opens in Washington, DC (1941); Soccer great Mia Hamm born (1972).
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