Pausing in Iran and Surviving the Lebanese Civil War

**SPEAKER_1** (0:00)
The issues that matter most, right here, The Drew Mariani Show.

**SPEAKER_2** (0:05)
On Relevant Radio.

**SPEAKER_3** (0:09)
There are nearly 100 million people that are under some form of heat alert, about 40 million under the extreme heat warning, which is the highest you can get the central portion of the US really bearing the worst of it, but also parts of Southern California and Phoenix. So the deserts where you typically think of the heat, but even for them, this is a little bit on the extreme side.

**SPEAKER_1** (0:30)
It's The Drew Mariani Show on Relevant Radio.

**Drew Mariani** (0:35)
Hey, good afternoon and welcome. It is good to be with you today. Boy, it is hot outside. There is a heat dome washing over vast parts of our great country. Excessive heat watch warnings have been posted in Northern Carolina, California, I should say, all the way to the southeast corner of the country. The audio you just heard was from Fox News. On this heat dome that's across the US today, I don't know how you're holding up. They're talking about triple-digit temperatures, and they were reached, again, across portions of about 10 states, from Texas all the way up to Montana. Temperatures 95 to 105 degrees.
Some localized temperatures, and this is crazy, right? 115 to 120 degrees in the desert southwest. 120 degrees. So you refactor in humidity, you factor in maximum heat indices.
You're talking about a range of 105 to 115 degrees, so it's chokingly hot out there. And of course, the Forecast Center was saying that nearly 100 million Americans, 100 million, it's a third of our nation, right, are under some form of heat alert. So stay cool if you can. Check on your neighbors.
Be Christian in that way. Help the elderly, especially those without air conditioning, and don't do too much if you don't have to do too much. Hey, I want to talk about something that's been affecting our food supply. I noticed the eggs and this cyclosporium. I want to talk about what's happening here. And I just saw this story earlier today. There's a major egg producer, Midwest Poultry Services recalled 1.6 million eggs because of the possibility of salmonella. So throw it on your radar. I don't know where you're living right now or where you shop. Most of them are sold in these Kroger stores in Texas and Louisiana. And I think Brookshire Grocery Stores are in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana, New Mexico, Mississippi. And there's some smaller retailers. So just be on the know for that. The cyclospora outbreak. I want to talk about that. That's contaminated as iceberg lettuce. And it's continuing to expand. You've probably seen the stories about that parasitic infection. Well, WGN has more on what they now believe calls the illness and what might come next.

**SPEAKER_5** (3:01)
Cases of a diarrhea illness known as cyclosporiasis had risen drastically this summer. It's a gastrointestinal infection caused by a parasite.

**SPEAKER_6** (3:11)
It's transmitted by food and water.

**SPEAKER_5** (3:13)
As of Friday, 41 states have reported at least one case this season, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. At least 98 people have been hospitalized, according to the CDC.

**SPEAKER_6** (3:23)
This may be a more complicated set of outbreaks than simply just one with one source.

**SPEAKER_5** (3:30)
Symptoms include explosive diarrhea, nausea, abdominal cramping, bloating and fatigue. And unlike a stomach bug that lasts 24 to 48 hours, symptoms of cyclosporiasis can last for weeks if untreated. The Food and Drug Administration says the likely source linked to the 9 state outbreak is shredded iceberg lettuce from Taylor Farms to Mexico. The company voluntarily recalled the product last week.

**SPEAKER_7** (3:56)
We do have the outbreak under control. We have done extensive forensics, epidemiological forensics.

**SPEAKER_5** (4:03)
But experts say symptoms of the illness can take up to two weeks. And the epidemiological curve of new cases hasn't yet slowed.

**SPEAKER_6** (4:11)
It's going to be hard to sort this out for one of these major centralized distributors.

**SPEAKER_5** (4:16)
The CDC recommends washing all fruits and vegetables thoroughly before eating and notes washing alone cannot guarantee the parasite's removal, but cooking can kill the parasite. Make sure you're not eating lettuce that has been recalled.

**Drew Mariani** (4:30)
41 states are reporting cases.
Not all of them necessarily related to the outbreak, but it's a serious situation. I mean, just the two words, explosive diarrhea. I mean, that in and of itself is frightening. Can you imagine that you're on your way to work, you're at work, you're at church? I mean, I saw a map of it. Illinois, Kansas, Oklahoma, all the way to Pennsylvania, they've added to the list. Of course, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia. If you're in that area, it's really bad. But 41 states, it was spreading around the country. Well, one final news story just on food, since I'm talking about it. I was having a conversation over the weekend with somebody about their grocery bill, and they say, man, my grocery bill just keeps going up. I can't believe how much meat is. I can't believe how much this is. And just by providence, I came across another story that reports that groceries have become 33%, 33% more expensive in some US cities just over the past few years.