Category: Government and Society

Cyclospora Update

The BBC reported today that the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) recorded a false positive when they tested produce blamed for the widespread outbreak of cyclosporiasis and that lettuce used by Taco Bell was NOT responsible for the thousands of cases being investigated.

The Guardian newspaper reports “federal agencies like the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have hemorrhaged staff and expertise under the second Trump administration” and “the CDC has lost about one-third of its staff, and the majority of permanent leadership positions are empty.”

Could the false positive testing be attributed to the reductions in the federal agencies set up to protect us?

Cyclospora Outbreak

• Cyclospora was officially identified July 1, 2026 and warnings were issued
• Michigan is a center of the outbreak. It normally experiences 40 to 50 cases a year. As of two days ago, Michigan has reported more than 5,000 cases.
• More than 7,000 cases are being investigated across 27 states.
• The Guardian reports “The outbreak comes after the Trump administration cut $12bn in public health funding in March 2025, including laboratory capacity, disease monitoring and outbreak investigation.”

[Headlines and information come from The Guardian, a major British newspaper.]


Fourth of July in Cambodia

It’s one hour away from the 4th of July in Phnom Penh (they’re 11 hours ahead of us) and there will be a celebration there! It’s organized by Freedom 250, though, which is the Trump administration organizing group instead of America250, the congressional bipartisan group that started planning for this anniversary in 2016, so it remains to be seen what will be the tone of the Phnom Penh celebration, whether it’s focused on the anniversary of the country or on its current president.