How A Tiny Insect Decimated Florida's Citrus, And What Orchardists Are Doing About It Authored by Jacob Burg via The Epoch Times , Lifelong citrus farmer Sidney Tillett cut a path through a grove that has endured in his family for four generations, stopping his SUV between two rows of trees. On one side was a long plot of lush green saplings, covered with protective mesh bags tied to stakes in the...
How A Tiny Insect Decimated Florida's Citrus, And What Orchardists Are Doing About It Authored by Jacob Burg via The Epoch Times , Lifelong citrus farmer Sidney Tillett cut a path through a grove that has endured in his family for four generations, stopping his SUV between two rows of trees. On one side was a long plot of lush green saplings, covered with protective mesh bags tied to stakes in the ground. The Citrus Place, a fruit and produce market in Terra Ceia, Florida, on May 21, 2026. The store is popular among vacationers. Directly on the other side, a row of petite orange trees with withering leaves were all battling a bacterial infection, caused by an invasive insect that has decimated the state's orange industry in just two decades. "It's a story of survival," Tillett told The Epoch Times, remembering his father's 25-foot-tall citrus trees that could sometimes produce 1,000 pounds of fruit in a single season. Now, what trees survive are lucky if their canopies get half that size, or produce any fruit that can be sold at market. What was once 600 acres of citrus trees in the 1970s has now dwindled to five. The orange - Florida's inextricable insignia that emblazons license plates, T-shirts, and bumper stickers from affluent coastal towns to rural farming communities - was once the state's largest cash crop, and positioned the Sunshine State as the country's majority citrus producer. Florida harvested a record 244 million boxes of oranges during the 1997-1998 season. This year, the Department of Agriculture estimates Florida will only produce 12.2 million boxes, a stunning 95 percent drop in just under 30 years. While occasional freezes, catastrophic hurricanes, and an on-and-off, decades-long battle with the citrus canker disease proved to be frustrating setbacks for many orange growers, the destruction of Florida's citrus industry kicked into high gear in 2005. That was the year an invasive insect from China - which made its way to the United States through...
(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market is sharply lower on Tuesday, extending the losses in the previous two sessions, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index is falling to near the 8,500 level, with weakness across most sectors led b
(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market is sharply lower on Tuesday, extending the losses in the previous two sessions, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index is falling to near the 8,500 level, with weakness across most sectors led b
(Bloomberg) -- Elon Musk unveiled a more detailed look at an initial version of an AI data center satellite SpaceX plans to build, providing fresh insight into the ambitious project driving the company’s highly anticipated initial public offering.Most Read from BloombergHouse Republican Says Hegseth’s D-Day Remarks ‘Inappropriate’LA Mayor Race Flips as Socialist Beats Reality TV Star PrattTrump Sa...
(Bloomberg) -- Elon Musk unveiled a more detailed look at an initial version of an AI data center satellite SpaceX plans to build, providing fresh insight into the ambitious project driving the company’s highly anticipated initial public offering.Most Read from BloombergHouse Republican Says Hegseth’s D-Day Remarks ‘Inappropriate’LA Mayor Race Flips as Socialist Beats Reality TV Star PrattTrump Says He, Not Congress, Is in Charge of Kennedy Center in ReversalTrump’s $100,000 H-1B Visa Applicatio
In this article BABA BABA 1211-HK BYDDF 2498-HK NVDA Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNT A general view of the office building of Baidu is in Pudong, Shanghai, on Feb. 9, 2026. Ying Tang | Nurphoto | Getty Images The Pentagon added a slew of Chinese companies, including Alibaba Group , Baidu Inc and carmaker BYD , to a list of entities it believes have aided the Chinese military, compl...
In this article BABA BABA 1211-HK BYDDF 2498-HK NVDA Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNT A general view of the office building of Baidu is in Pudong, Shanghai, on Feb. 9, 2026. Ying Tang | Nurphoto | Getty Images The Pentagon added a slew of Chinese companies, including Alibaba Group , Baidu Inc and carmaker BYD , to a list of entities it believes have aided the Chinese military, complicating the fragile diplomatic relationship between Washington and Beijing. The Defense Department published an updated "1260H list" Monday evening stateside — a roster of companies the Pentagon considers affiliated with China's military or defense industrial base. The designations do not impose sanctions explicitly, but mean the Defense Department will be prohibited from contracting directly with listed companies starting later this month, and from procuring their products or services through third parties beginning in 2027. Baidu's American depositary receipts dropped 2.1%, Alibaba slumped 0.8% and BYD slid 0.8%. The additions come after President Donald Trump met Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing last month, where the two leaders agreed to a trade truce and announced a joint investment and trade board. The update underscores a recurring tension in the bilateral relationship and security concerns in Washington over Chinese technology as a strategic threat. The Pentagon briefly posted a similar expanded list in February, then withdrew it without explanation as Trump's China trip had been pending. The version released Monday largely mirrors that February update, but reinstates Chinese memory chipmakers CXMT and YMTC, which had been left off the withdrawn list — an omission that drew criticism from China hawks in Washington at the time. Listed companies are deemed affiliated with China's State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, and designated as "military-civil fusion" contributors to China's defense industrial base through ties to the Ministry of Ind...
A number of stocks jumped in the morning session after industrial stocks recovered, carried by the broad market rebound and a read-through from AI-driven capital expenditure commitments. AMD announced a £2 billion ($2.66 billion) five-year investment in the UK for AI research and infrastructure, a signal that data-centre construction and the equipment, logistics, and grid infrastructure supporting...
A number of stocks jumped in the morning session after industrial stocks recovered, carried by the broad market rebound and a read-through from AI-driven capital expenditure commitments. AMD announced a £2 billion ($2.66 billion) five-year investment in the UK for AI research and infrastructure, a signal that data-centre construction and the equipment, logistics, and grid infrastructure supporting it continues to draw major capital. Easing Middle East tensions reinforced the sector's recovery. I
President attends Spurs v Knicks game at MSG Knicks aiming to win first title since 1973 Donald Trump was loudly booed when he was shown on the video screens at Madison Square Garden on Monday night before Game 3 of the NBA finals between the San Antonio Spurs and New York Knicks. Trump was shown on the jumbotron while the Star-Spangled Banner was being sung before the game, and jeers and boos bro...
President attends Spurs v Knicks game at MSG Knicks aiming to win first title since 1973 Donald Trump was loudly booed when he was shown on the video screens at Madison Square Garden on Monday night before Game 3 of the NBA finals between the San Antonio Spurs and New York Knicks. Trump was shown on the jumbotron while the Star-Spangled Banner was being sung before the game, and jeers and boos broke out around the arena . The president was shown for a little over eight seconds and held a salute the whole time with a smile on his face. A few seconds later, the video board showed Knicks players in line and the boos turned to cheers. Continue reading...