FDA Still Linking Taylor Farms Lettuce To Cyclosporiasis; American Soldiers Killed In Jordan Identified; Five Cups Of Coffee A Day Is OK

**Jill Wagner** (0:00)
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**Jill Wagner** (2:01)
Hey everyone, it is Tuesday, July 21st. You're listening to the Mo News podcast. I'm Jill Wagner. This is the place where we bring you just the facts. We read all the news and read between the lines so you don't have to. As you could tell, it is just me today as Mosheh is enjoying some time with his new baby. Not sure if anyone saw The Odyssey over the weekend. It's directed by Christopher Nolan. Well, it earned nearly $125 million domestically and more than $264 million globally. Now, it cost about $250 million to make. The retelling of the ancient Greek epic was shot in six different countries. It's also the first commercial feature shot entirely with IMAX cameras. But if you want tickets, only 34 theaters in the US and Canada are showing the film in its intended IMAX format, and most are already sold out. Booking sites actually crashed because of demand. Standard cinemas are another option, but probably not as fun. Our resident movie buff, Sam, is planning to go this week, so I will keep you posted on his review. Now to the headline, starting with confusion about a lettuce recall tied to that parasite outbreak. I will do my best to clear up the confusion with the FDA reiterating on Monday, do not eat the recalled lettuce from Taylor Farms. And some new accusations that the Trump administration's funding cuts have slowed the government's response to the outbreak, which has now sickened thousands of people across the country. To the war in Iran, we're learning more about the attack that killed US soldiers in Jordan this weekend, including the names of those killed. And as the fighting continues, gas prices in the US are now back above the $4-a-gallon mark. In business news, why a judge has temporarily blocked the Paramount Warner deal. In politics, Darline Graham says she doesn't want to just finish her late brother's term in the Senate. She is running to take over his seat permanently, or at least for the next six years. And in Maine, consensus is building around the candidate who will replace Graham Platner on the ballot to take on Republican Senator Susan Collins in the fall.
Overseas, why a German politician had to resign after welcoming a child via surrogate, and maybe you are listening to this podcast while drinking a cup of coffee.
Well, drink up and maybe pour yourself another one. How many cups, the Heart Association says, is just fine, maybe even good for most adults. And as always, I will have on this day in history.
All right, starting with what we know about the source of the cyclosporiasis outbreak causing major gastro issues. There have been thousands of cases throughout the country concentrated in the Midwest. The FDA says Taylor Farms' voluntary recall of iceberg lettuce tied to the outbreak still stands. Now there has been a ton of confusion, and that's because the FDA said that there was a positive from a sample of Taylor Farms shredded lettuce over the weekend. The FDA says the positive was on lettuce that is not part of Friday's Taylor Farms' iceberg recall, and that yes, that voluntary recall still stands. Now that includes all Taylor Farms' iceberg lettuce sourced from central Mexico. The lettuce was distributed to 27 states from June 29th through July 16th. It had best if used by dates that extended to August 3rd. So not necessarily August 3rd, could have been before that, but it extends till August 3rd. The bottom line here is that the FDA says if you currently have that lettuce in your fridge, do not eat it. Some of that lettuce was served at certain taco bells, distributed to restaurants and retail stores. And that includes Walmart, where it's available as a market side brand product. It's described as iceberg salad or shredded lettuce in various sizes. The FDA says its ongoing investigation shows overwhelming data that supports the recall. So, it's based on what is considered to be basic disease detective work, which essentially means talking to people who've gotten sick, tracing back what they ate and then finding connections between them. And so far, it's converging on shredded iceberg lettuce from Taylor Farms located in central Mexico.