A parasite capable of causing extreme diarrhea has been found in 18 states, with a particularly large outbreak in Michigan. Though the source of the infections has yet to be identified, experts recommend taking precautions with fresh produce and practicing good hygiene to reduce the risk of contracting the disease.

What’s cyclosporiasis?
It’s a type of food poisoning caused by the parasite Cyclospora cayetanensis. It can cause “watery, and sometimes explosive, diarrhea and other stomach problems,” as well as a low-grade fever in some cases, said the Cleveland Clinic. Symptoms can start any time between two and 14 days after consuming contaminated food or water. The parasite is more common in tropical countries, but in mid-June, 145 cases were reported in the U.S.

There has been growing concern about cyclosporiasis because Michigan, which “typically identifies about 50 cases of cyclosporiasis in a year, has reported at least 170 cases” in under two weeks, said CNN. There’s “currently no evidence of a single, multistate Cyclospora outbreak linking all cases,” said the CDC. Instead, researchers are “working to identify various potential clusters and sources of illness in multiple states.” 

Investigators have yet to pinpoint the cause of the current outbreak. But the most likely culprits are “cilantro, basil” and other plants that you “might put in a salad or use as a garnish,” as well as “strawberries, blueberries, melons” and other “things that grow in fields,” said David Freeman, a professor emeritus of infectious diseases at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, to CNN.

What can be done?
Taking precautions is key to preventing illness. Cooked food is safer than fresh produce, as heat can kill the parasite. Washing produce can also help reduce the chance of ingesting the parasite. “Bleach doesn’t kill the parasite,” said CNN. “Handwashing with soap and water and a follow-up with an alcohol-based hand sanitizer are safer bets.”

If you contract cyclosporiasis, antibiotics can help clear the infection. If not treated, symptoms may “last for a month or longer,” said the Cleveland Clinic. “With proper diagnosis and treatment, most people feel better after a week or two,” but you may “still have occasional bouts of diarrhea for up to a month.”

Disney is fighting back against President Donald Trump’s Federal Communications Commission. The company bowed to government pressure last year when it briefly suspended ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel. But now the FCC is taking aim at ABC programs and broadcast licenses. And the network and its parent company are defending what they say are “bedrock First Amendment principles.”

‘Perceived as unfriendly’
The White House has mounted a “multifront war against the media” since Trump’s return to office last year, said The New York Times. That war includes FCC scrutiny of TV programs that have raised the president’s ire. 

The agency is currently investigating whether “The View” on ABC violated federal rules requiring broadcasters to “give equal time to political candidates from both parties” when it interviewed Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico in February. News shows have long been largely exempt from that rule, however, and the FCC ruled in 2002 that “The View” belongs in the latter category. 

The network’s response to the FCC was “fiery,” said The Wrap. The Trump administration has “trained its attention on daytime and late-night television” programs that are “perceived as unfriendly to the current administration,” said ABC, per the outlet. But the First Amendment “does not permit the government to sit in an editor’s chair” or “grade speech by its viewpoint and decide who’s a ‘real’ journalist and what’s ‘real’ news.”

The FCC has received an “unprecedented 77,611 comments” from the public regarding the investigation, said TV Tech. ABC in June asked viewers for their support in its “free-speech fight” against the government, said CNN. 

‘More legal leverage’
Disney’s “aggressive defense” of “The View” is a “notable departure” from its previous acquiescence to the president, said Axios. In addition to its quickly rescinded suspension of Kimmel, the network in 2024 paid $16 million to settle a Trump lawsuit filed over anchor George Stephanopoulos’ comments about E. Jean Carroll’s sexual assault defamation case. ABC has “more legal leverage now” that the administration’s attempts to punish media companies have run into a series of adverse court rulings.

Other challenges remain. A group of “prominent conservative organizations” has petitioned the FCC to deny license renewals for eight local stations owned and operated by ABC, said The Guardian.

Yilki horses run across a plateau in Cappadocia, Turkey, in an image titled “Thunder of Hooves” by Kah-Wai Lin, the third-place winner in the landscape category of the International Aerial Photographer of the Year competition. “Witnessing them galloping from above was an unforgettable experience,” he said on social media.
Kah-Wai Lin / The International Aerial Photographer of the Year

Pasta will tell you how it wants to be treated in the kitchen, if you listen. Rachel Roddy, with “An A-Z of Pasta: Recipes for Shapes and Sauces from Alfabeto to Ziti, and Everything in Between,” teaches you the foodstuff’s centuries-old language. Lend an ear, and put some water on to boil.

Then and now
A Brit living in Rome, Roddy notes that only a “genius or an idiot” would try to gather the stories of every pasta shape used in Italy. Still, across 50 varieties, she captures the lifeblood of an ever-shifting subject.

In the chapter on paccheri, those chunky elongated tubes akin to rigatoni on ’roids, a town near Naples is the main character. You learn that in the 18th century there were “22 mills and 97 pasta factories” in Gragnano. 

The entry on busiate jumps even further back, to 12,000 years ago, when wheat was first domesticated, then on to cultivated wheat’s appearance in Italy in 6500 BC. Sumerians, Greeks, Arabs, Vikings, Greek and Roman texts, plus the Jerusalem Talmuds all played their part in pasta’s ascendance as a commonplace food. 

Bags of opportunity
Should your pasta pantry be forever stocked with an array of shapes, flip through “An A-Z of Pasta” and be astounded. Are those wagon wheels, aka ruote, untouched because you cannot figure out how to use them? Drape them with Gorgonzola, sage and walnuts. Jaded by your staple spaghetti with tomato sauce? Wander the week with nine tomato-based recipes, from a raw sauce with dried oregano to spaghetti alla Norma with eggplant, tomato and ricotta salata.