The Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division on Tuesday said it had expanded its investigation into beef affordability to include eight of the largest grocery retailers in the United States.

The expansion comes after the DOJ launched an antitrust probe in May into the “Big Four” meatpackers — JBS, Cargill, Tyson Foods and National Beef — which the department said control more than 85% of the U.S. beef processing market.

Tuesday’s announcement expands the federal government’s scrutiny to the retail level of the food supply chain.

The DOJ said the retailers under investigation are Kroger, Publix, Walmart, Albertsons, Aldi, Ahold Delhaize, Costco and Amazon.

TRUMP GOES AFTER THE COMPANIES RANCHERS BLAME FOR THE BEEF PRICE SQUEEZE

The Justice Department expanded its investigation into beef affordability to include eight major grocery retailers amid scrutiny of rising prices. (Ronald Schemidt/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)

Associate Attorney General Stanley E. Woodward Jr. sent letters to the eight companies regarding “recent increases in the retail price for beef,” according to the Justice Department.

“Beef prices are a critical concern to Americans, and a priority for this Justice Department,” the DOJ wrote on X.

FOX Business has reached out to the Justice Department for additional information and copies of the letters.

After announcing its investigation into potential antitrust violations in U.S. cattle and beef markets in May, the Justice Department said it was reviewing more than 3 million documents and interviewing industry participants.

US FARMER PUSHES FOR ONE MAJOR CHANGE AS IMPORTED BEEF DEBATE HEATS UP

Costco was named among the major retailers included in the Justice Department’s expanded investigation into beef affordability. (Gary Hershorn/Getty Images / Getty Images)

Federal officials have been examining whether concentration in the meatpacking industry has contributed to high beef prices.

Attorney General Todd Blanche said at a news conference at the time that whistleblowers could receive substantial rewards for providing information that leads to successful enforcement actions.

“If the information you provide helps us secure a criminal penalty in excess of $1 million, you can be entitled to recover and receive 15% to 30% of the money that we recover,” Blanche said, describing the DOJ’s whistleblower rewards program.

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins also tied the probe to broader concerns about food security and shrinking domestic cattle supplies, saying the U.S. had about 86.2 million head of cattle and calves as of Jan. 1 — “the lowest since the 1950s.”

A HISTORIC SHORTAGE IS SQUEEZING AN AMERICAN DINNER STAPLE AND RELIEF COULD BE YEARS AWAY

Federal officials have been examining whether concentration in the meatpacking industry has contributed to high beef prices for American consumers. (Ty Wright/Bloomberg/Getty Images / Getty Images)

Last week, President Donald Trump said he would authorize the drafting of legal documents aimed at giving farmers and ranchers “the right to process their own food,” casting the move as an effort to break what he called a “nasty monopoly” in the meat industry.

The move was intended to give ranchers another way around the powerful meatpacking companies that stand between their cattle and grocery-store shelves, following backlash in farm country over Trump’s decision to allow more foreign beef imports.

Trump’s announcement came after cattle producers and some Republicans pushed back on his plan to temporarily allow tariff-free imports of up to 300,000 metric tons of foreign beef, a move intended to ease pressure on consumers facing high prices at the meat counter.

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FOX Business has also reached out to Kroger, Publix, Walmart, Albertsons, Aldi, Ahold Delhaize, Costco and Amazon for comment.

FOX Business’ Eric Mack and Amanda Macias contributed to this report.

LONDON — More than a week after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle relocated to Britain with their two children, Kate Middleton and Prince William have offered no public comment on the couple’s return, according to people close to the Prince and Princess of Wales, who describe the silence as a deliberate choice rather than an oversight.

A source close to William and Kate told People magazine that the couple is taking a cautious approach as Harry and Meghan settle into their extended stay in the U.K., resisting the urge to react quickly to the news. “They are watching this space,” the source said. “It’s private — they don’t feel the need to say anything or demonstrate anything outwardly.”

Harry, Meghan and their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, arrived in Birmingham last week following a private flight from California, beginning what the family has described as an extended period living in Britain. The move has drawn widespread attention across British media, with much of the coverage focused on the prospects for reconciliation between Harry and the rest of the royal family after years of public estrangement.

Those prospects appear limited for now, at least between the brothers. Sources told People last week that Harry and William remain in “no contact,” with William in particular not yet ready for that dynamic to shift.

People close to William and Kate point to the strain the couple has faced privately in recent years as a factor shaping their current posture. Kate was diagnosed with cancer in 2024 and underwent treatment before announcing in January 2025 that she was in remission. A palace insider told People the couple has weathered significant hardship during that period. “They have suffered a lot,” the source said, adding that their focus remains on their royal duties, their three children and Kate’s continued recovery.

The insider suggested that steadiness, rather than public statements, has defined the couple’s approach throughout the period of tension with Harry and Meghan. “They have been dutiful, doing what they do well and keeping the family together,” the source said. “Anything else, from their point of view, isn’t critical.”

Despite the current distance, a source told People that reconciliation between the two couples is not out of the question, though any thaw would likely take time. “If the two couples reconcile, it will be a slow build,” the source said, pointing to lingering hurt from years of public disagreements. “There is a deep sense of betrayal.”

That same source suggested that proximity alone may eventually create opportunities for the estranged relatives to interact, even without a formal reconciliation. “There are bound to be moments where their worlds overlap,” the insider said, “and everyone will be watching how those encounters unfold.” The remark alluded to the possibility of Kate and Meghan crossing paths at official or family events now that the Sussexes are living in the U.K. for an extended stretch.

The rift between the two couples, once dubbed the royal “Fab Four” during the early years of William and Harry’s joint public engagements with their wives, has been closely tracked by royal watchers since Harry and Meghan stepped back from official royal duties in 2020 and relocated to North America. Tensions deepened following the couple’s subsequent interviews and Harry’s 2023 memoir, “Spare,” which detailed private family conflicts and drew criticism from some members of the royal family.

Buckingham Palace and representatives for William and Kate have not issued any formal statement addressing Harry and Meghan’s return, and palace officials have generally declined to comment publicly on the family’s internal dynamics throughout the dispute. Representatives for Harry and Meghan have likewise not detailed the family’s specific plans beyond confirming that Archie and Lilibet are now enrolled in school in the U.K.

King Charles III has also not issued public remarks on his younger son’s return, though earlier reporting indicated the King learned of the couple’s plans only shortly before their arrival. Royal commentators have suggested that any broader shift in the family’s dynamic is more likely to unfold gradually and privately than through public statements from any of the parties involved.

For now, People’s sources indicate that William and Kate intend to maintain their current posture of quiet observation, prioritizing what they see as their core responsibilities over any public engagement with the developments surrounding Harry and Meghan’s move. Whether that approach shifts as the Sussexes settle further into life in Britain remains to be seen.

The Range Rover Electric, Jaguar Land Rover’s first fully electric luxury SUV, is being built at JLR’s manufacturing plant in Solihull

Automotive giant Range Rover has unveiled its first fully electric model.

The vehicle, Range Rover Electric, is being manufactured at JLR’s production facility in Solihull, in the West Midlands.

The firm said the launch is accompanied by a sweeping transformation of the plant and several other sites across the West Midlands, encompassing new battery and electric drive unit production lines, as well as a comprehensive reskilling programme for staff ahead of the shift to electrification.

Some 9,000 employees in Solihull have been upskilled for electrification and a further 1,500 have been trained across the West Midlands, while JLR’s Electric Propulsion Manufacturing Centre in Wolverhampton now produces battery packs and electric drive units alongside internal combustion engines.

Martin Limpert, managing director of Range Rover, said: “Range Rover Electric is the result of a decade of considered engineering and technological development, setting a new benchmark for the original luxury SUV.

“We took our testing and development programmes even further than originally intended to ensure Range Rover Electric is genuinely the most accomplished Range Rover ever.”

Matt Becker, JLR’s vehicle engineering director said: “The defining characteristic of Range Rover Electric is its ability to perform across every surface, with effortless comfort and refinement.

“We’ve worked tirelessly to ensure it retain those qualities.”

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