First Cyclosporiasis Deaths; Personal Drones Hurt Firefighting in Washington; College Overhaul; Box Office Record

**Mosheh Oinounou** (0:00)
All right, as some of you might be aware, we have a brand new Mo News global headquarters in New York City. It is located at Industrious. If you're not familiar with Industrious, they are a co-working shared office space located in New York and around the world, a number of locations. We have loved moving in and working out of here. A lot of great amenities at Industrious, in addition to the office space, meeting rooms, all day coffee, daily breakfast, weekly happy hours, complimentary snacks. We're also in an environment of a lot of really interesting businesses, startups. And what's great about Industrious is they have membership models that fit a business of any size. If you're just looking for a place to do work individually, great. If you're looking for your first office for a handful of employees, great. If you're looking for a bigger office space, if you have flexible work schedules, they also have options for that. If you head over to mo.news slash Industrious, you can spend a day trying out their co-working spaces for yourself, book a new day pass. You can get 30% off if you head over to mo.news slash Industrious, check out their locations wherever you are. There's a link in the show notes and maybe you'll run into me or another of the Mo News team.

**Jill Wagner** (1:03)
Hey everyone, it is Tuesday, August 4th. You are listening to the Mo News Podcast. I'm Jill Wagner. This is the place where we bring you just the facts. We read all of the news and read between the lines so you don't have to. As you could tell, it is just me today. Mosheh is still on his paternity leave. To the news now, today is the big election day in Michigan. Democrats are choosing between progressive Abdul El-Sayed and moderate Representative Haley Stevens in the Democratic Senate primary. This is a big race. It's an open seat because the current Democratic Senator, Gary Peters, is not running for re-election. Some are saying this is one of the most consequential Senate races of 2026 That is because if Democrats want to retake the Senate in the midterms in November, it is very, very, very likely that they will need to hold Michigan and other Democratic-held seats in addition to flipping four seats that are currently held by Republicans. Right now, El-Sayed is polling ahead of Stevens. We'll bring in the results on tomorrow's podcast and of course over on the Instagram page at Moesh, M-O-S-H-E-H.
Starting with health news, Michigan reports its first deaths in the cyclosporiasis outbreak. What we know and why officials say the general public does not really need to worry. To the war with Iran, President Trump, as we reported, said that he had called off a massive strike on Iran to give diplomacy a chance. Why he thinks this time will be different. And prices at the pump still averaging above $4 a gallon nationwide. Why the president is now taking aim at oil companies. To the latest on the fires in Washington state, forcing more people to evacuate in the Spokane area, fire officials there say that personal drones are disrupting their efforts to fight the flames.
In DC., another lawmaker under fire for alleged sexual harassment. An ethics panel is urging the censure of Representative Chuck Edwards. The Trump Administration wants colleges to commit to an education overhaul, what is on their list of requests. In business news, some Americans say they have lost their main reason to get out of bed, Dannon coffee yogurt. But will the brand bring it back?
And the final numbers are in. There was a record breaker at the box office with Spider-Man, Brand New Day. And we will end as we always do with On This Day in History.
Starting in Michigan, health officials say that two people who contracted cyclosporiasis have now passed away. It marks the first deaths linked to the outbreak, which is the largest in US history. Officials say that both of these people had significant underlying health conditions that may have been impacted by the intestinal illness and dehydration related to the food borne parasite. Since May, more than 18,000 cases have been reported or investigated across 45 states, and that includes more than 11,000 cases in Michigan. And that is where the outbreak has been linked to Taylor Farms iceberg lettuce from Mexico. So far, the CDC has confirmed about 7,000 of those cases. Health officials say infections in Michigan appear to be slowing. It is too soon, though. They say to note the national outbreak is also easing.
Now, this parasitic infection can be treated with antibiotics, although health officials say many people with healthy immune systems can recover on their own.