FDA sends mixed messages amid America’s explosive diarrhea outbreak



The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is now walking back its claim that Taco Bell lettuce supplier Taylor Farms was a source of the epidemic of explosive diarrhea that plagued customers, even apologizing to the company for making a “false positive.”

A statement from Taylor Farms reads, “Yesterday, FDA informed Taylor Fresh Foods that one of its iceberg lettuce products from central Mexico had a ‘confirmed positive’ test for cyclospora. Today, we were informed that [the] FDA made a mistake, and this was a false positive. To be clear, at this moment, FDA has not identified a single positive product test result for cyclospora.”

“Acting on initial information provided by health officials, in an abundance of caution, we completed a voluntary recall of iceberg lettuce from central Mexico. Recalled product was limited to iceberg lettuce grown and processed in central Mexico,” the statement continued.

The company reminded consumers that none of its other products had been involved in the recall, before issuing a message to those who are sick.


“Our thoughts remain with everyone who has fallen ill in this outbreak. We are committed to working with public health authorities as the ongoing outbreak investigation continues,” the statement concluded.

“It’s just such a warm statement from a corporation,” BlazeTV host Stu Burguiere comments on “Stu and Dave Do America.”

“Basically, they [the FDA] didn’t even have this information, they sunk, probably, the stock of Taylor Farms if they even have one,” he continues. "And Taco Bell and probably 10 other places, right?“

“Right,” co-host Dave Landau jokes, “which is why I bought it.”

Want more from Stu and Dave?

To enjoy more of Stu and Dave's lethal blend of wit, humor, and insightful commentary subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

Taco Bell releases statement after being reportedly identified as a possible source of parasite causing 'explosive' diarrhea



Thousands of Americans are getting infected with the cyclospora parasite, and health officials are looking at Taco Bell as one possible source of the uncomfortable outbreak.

The Mexican fast-food chain reportedly stopped serving some fresh ingredients at some of its locations, and the Washington Post reported that federal and state health officials are now probing the chain.

'FDA certainly is continuing its traceback investigation on multiple produce items, also including locations that are reported by the case patients.'

The parasite can infect hosts who eat contaminated produce and may cause weeks of watery diarrhea and "frequent and sometimes explosive bowel movements," according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

On Tuesday, Taco Bell issued a statement saying that it had "voluntarily and temporarily removed limited ingredients" at some restaurants "as a precautionary measure."

The chain added that it would continue to monitor the situation and "follow the guidance of public health authorities."

Donald Prater, the acting deputy commissioner for food at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, would not confirm if Taco Bell is being investigated.

"FDA certainly is continuing its traceback investigation on multiple produce items, also including locations that are reported by the case patients before they became sick," he said.

Officials outlined several steps people can take to avoid the discomforting parasite:

  • Heating food to 158 degrees F or above to kill the parasite;
  • Peeling produce to reduce the chance of infection from the parasite being present on the surface; and
  • Washing all fresh produce under clean running water, even if you plan on peeling it, and whether or not it was pre-washed.
More than 1,000 cases of cyclosporiasis have been confirmed by health officials in more than half of U.S. states, and up to 7,000 cases are suspected.

RELATED: As many as 59 women were exposed to HIV infection over 'vampire facials' and Botox injections, health officials say

Those who believe they may be coming down with the sickness are advised to contact health officials and specifically ask for the cyclospora test.

Cyclospora infections can be treated with antibiotics, rest, and plenty of hydration.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

America has culture — just ask the World Cup fans discovering Waffle House



Forget the final score. The real World Cup upset this summer is how many international fans are discovering that America is, against all odds, kind of great — especially in a "why does this gas station have 40 kinds of jerky and also a Wi-Fi password printed on the receipt" way — and they're documenting their delightful experiences on social media.

The breakout star of the bunch is a German fan known on X as Freddy who has been chronicling a six-week road trip across the U.S. and Canada, following Germany's national team, and has picked up hundreds of thousands of followers in his trek.

‘The European mind can't comprehend this.’

Freddy's Atlanta stop hit the respectable tourist beats — Stone Mountain, the MLK National Historical Park, some "Stranger Things" filming locations — and then immediately abandoned all dignity for Taco Bell, which he called "the holy land."

A 1 a.m. Waffle House visit got a perfect 10/10 — food, prices, and staff included.

His Wendy's stop in Tennessee produced the single best exchange of the whole tour. His order somehow came back under the name "John," and when he posted his haul of burgers and fries, the official Wendy's account replied with one demanding question: "WHERE IS THE FROSTY."

He also fit in a Walmart run for water, socks, and USA soccer merch and somehow found time to watch the NBA Finals at Chili's amid all this.

Before a single World Cup match had kicked off, Freddy watched the War Eagle fly over Auburn's Jordan-Hare Stadium and called it the most "the European mind can't comprehend this" moment of his life.

One of Freddy's posts got enough traction that Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy shared it on X, writing: "There's no better way to see our country than on a road trip! Because to LOVE AMERICA you have to SEE AMERICA."

Alabama Governor Kay Ivey (R) invited him back for football season. When he posted from the Gulf Coast, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis welcomed him to Florida — but couldn't let it go that Freddy had called the Gulf "the sea."

RELATED: 'I had the right papers': Somali World Cup referee booted from US gets an answer from the White House

Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images

Freddy is not even the only German on this beat. Finn Agostinelli has been touring Chicago — the Riverwalk, "the Bean," and a visit to Portillo's so good that he posted a petition to get one opened back home in Hamburg.

His best moment came at Macy's, where he had ducked in to find a restroom and instead found himself staring up at an enormous American flag. "I respect how proud Americans are of their country," he wrote. "Unimaginable back home in Germany."

Texas, for its part, did not go unnoticed either. A group of Japanese fans told KDFW their assessment of the state in six words: "Texas is good — everything is big." Which checks out. Everything is bigger in Texas.

And in a tradition that has followed Japan's national team since its 1998 World Cup debut, Japanese fans were spotted picking up trash in the stands after a 2-2 game against the Netherlands in Dallas, a habit rooted in a saying that a bird leaves no trace when it flies. Stadium staff, presumably, were thrilled — and possibly a little confused.

Meanwhile, a young Swedish fan named Elsa Thora landed in Indianapolis and immediately discovered ranch dressing, which, by the tone of her posts on X, may have been a bigger moment for her than the actual soccer.

"Why did no one tell me ranch sauce is like crack? EUROPE WE NEED RANCH ASAP," she said.

Elsa screamed at a school bus in Indiana, posted a photo of Twinkies and Combos pretzels with the caption "I feel like I'm in a movie," and has been working her way through Trader Joe's ever since.

She also discovered that Amish people are, in fact, real.

Not every discovery has been a hit, though. Elsa also found shampoo locked behind anti-theft barriers at a store, a security measure uncommon in much of Europe, and called it her first negative experience of the trip.

She's not alone on the friction front. Scottish fan Shaun Cumming arrived in New York after flying from Edinburgh and was blunt about the cost of everything — especially after a $150 Uber ride into Brooklyn.

He also noted to Newsweek that Americans are noticeably more open than people back home.

"People here are very positive, enthusiastic, and they're not shy at all," he said. "They will tell you how they feel for good or for bad. And sometimes for British people, it can catch us off guard a little bit."

Cumming had no complaints about the food. He said American cooking is simply better seasoned than what he's used to: "Here, you get flavor, you get fed well, they put a lot spices, herbs and seasoning into their food in general, which just makes it really good" — and that the regional variety is what stuck with him most.

RELATED: Trump and Mamdani are on a collision course about ICE at the World Cup

Joe Lamberti/Bloomberg/Getty Images

Underneath all of it is something that keeps surprising people more than the food: the locals.

A tourism expert told Fox News that visitors driving nine hours across Texas are running into "overwhelming American kindness," often from small-town residents who have no idea why someone with hundreds of thousands of followers just pulled into their gas station.

A New Jersey deli owner gave a couple of British tourists a free lunch, and Alabama firefighters gave other British fans a station tour and sent them off with free gear.

Waffle House has been open at 1 a.m. for 50 years. Buc-ee's has always been enormous. Ranch dressing has been sitting in American refrigerators, unremarked upon, since the Reagan administration. Perhaps the deli owner who fed the British tourists wasn't doing anything he wouldn't do for a local who looked lost.

What's new is that someone finally pointed a camera at it.

For years, the conversation about America — at home and abroad — has been almost entirely about Washington: the politics, the division, the sense that the country is somehow failing itself. But that was never the whole country.

The actual texture of American life — the diners, the gas stations, the absurd portion sizes, the stranger who will drive you to a game because your Uber didn't show — was always there, underneath all of it, completely unaffected by whatever was happening in D.C.

This summer, a few hundred thousand people from somewhere else have seen the real America: big, weird, generous, a little much.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

3 female customers at Florida Taco Bell allegedly use water cup for soda — then employee opens fire after argument



Three female customers at a Florida Taco Bell allegedly used a water cup for soda earlier this week, after which an employee opened fire following an argument.

Officers were called around noon Monday to the Taco Bell at Military Trail and 45th Street in West Palm Beach after reports of shots fired inside the restaurant, WPEC-TV reported, citing the probable cause affidavit released Tuesday.

'It doesn't surprise me that it would happen. The world we live in today, it makes sense.'

Police said three women entered the restaurant and asked for a cup of water, the station reported.

Investigators said one of the women then filled the cup at a soda fountain, which led to a verbal argument with an employee identified as 20-year-old D'Mari Jy'Quan Patterson, WPEC said.

A witness recorded cellphone video showing Patterson yelling at the women as tempers flared, the station said, adding that police said the sound of a gun being racked can be heard on the video just before a shot rang out in the dining area.

One woman fell to the floor after being shot while another suffered a graze wound, investigators told WPEC.

A third woman ran out of the restaurant, the station said, adding that police allege Patterson followed her outside and fired another shot in her direction.

WPEC said that shot missed but shattered a window near the entrance.

RELATED: Male security guard in Taco Bell caught on video slapping female in face: 'I said leave!'

The three women drove themselves to a hospital, WPEC reported, adding that police said two were treated for minor injuries and released, while the third was not injured.

After the shooting, Patterson called 911 and told dispatchers a customer had jumped behind the counter, the station said, adding that an arrest affidavit indicated he admitted firing the gun and told officers he placed the gun in the management office before police arrived.

Investigators told WPEC Patterson claimed he believed the women were armed — though police said no weapons were found.

In addition, surveillance video and witness statements don't support a claim of self-defense, police told the station, which added that the women appeared to be trying to leave when additional shots were fired.

One customer told WPEC regarding the incident that "it doesn't surprise me that it would happen. The world we live in today, it makes sense."

Patterson was arrested Monday and charged with three counts of aggravated assault with a firearm, the station said, adding that jail records show he's being held pending court proceedings. His bond is $25,000 for each count of aggravated assault, jail records show.

The State Attorney’s Office is reviewing the case, WPEC said.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Male security guard in Taco Bell caught on video slapping female in face: 'I said leave!'



A male security guard inside a Taco Bell was caught on cellphone video slapping a female in the face, TMZ reported.

The outlet said the incident took place inside a downtown Los Angeles branch of the fast-food franchise. TMZ doesn't mention when the incident took place, but the New York Post reported that it happened Sunday. Indeed, a TV monitor seen on the cellphone video shows the Super Bowl between the Kansas City Chiefs and the eventual winners, the Philadelphia Eagles.

'He slapped the s**t out of her. It was crazy. Everybody was shocked.'

The clip begins with the female appearing to move away from the security guard before quickly getting to a self-service kiosk, presumably to order food, but the guard grabs her by the arm, spins her around, and slaps her in the face.

The stunned female walks away from the guard, who continues to pursue her before ordering her to leave the premises.

The female tells the guard to "get away from me!" The guard tells her, "I said leave!" After the female walks away from the guard again, loudly complaining, the guard is finally able to escort her from the restaurant.

Apart from an audible "oooh" after the slap, no one in the sparsely populated restaurant takes issue with the guard or the female, according to the video — which you can view here.

“The security guard was telling her to leave, and she didn’t want to because she was ordering food,” Alejandro Sanchez, who recorded the viral video, told SWNS, according to the Post. “Then he just went off, and she started going crazy.”

Sanchez added, “He slapped the s**t out of her. It was crazy. Everybody was shocked,” the Post noted, citing SWNS.

“There’s a Skid Row a couple of blocks away from there, and they just have a lot of traffic,” according to Sanchez, who is a regular customer at the location, the Post said, citing SWNS. Sanchez also wondered if the incident took place because the female looked “homeless.”

The Post and TMZ said Taco Bell did not respond to requests for comment.

The Los Angeles Police Department on Thursday did not immediately respond to Blaze News, which asked if the incident was reported to police and, if so, how the department is responding.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Shocker! California’s Minimum Wage Hike Leads To Job Cuts

Fast-food chains in California, in an effort to adapt to the new regulations, started reducing their workforce last year.

Thug walks up to 82-year-old man who apparently uses wheelchair, stabs him from behind in reportedly unprovoked attack inside Los Angeles Taco Bell



Surveillance video caught the moment an 82-year-old man was stabbed from behind while eating in a Los Angeles Taco Bell, KTTV-TV reported.

Fox News called it an unprovoked attack.

What are the details?

Los Angeles police said the suspect on Oct. 3 approached the elderly man from behind as he was dining inside the fast-food restaurant in the 12000 block of Venice Boulevard, KTTV reported. Surveillance video showed an empty wheelchair next to the victim, who was seated in a restaurant chair at the time of the attack.

The suspect then stabbed the victim in the neck and shoulder and ran from the scene, KTTV said, citing police, who responded around 7 p.m.

The victim was rushed to a hospital, KTTV said, and remains as of Thursday on the road to recovery. Fox News said he was in critical condition.

What do we know about the suspect?

The suspect is described as a bald man, likely in his 20s or 30s, who stands between 5 feet, 1-inch and 5 feet, 6 inches tall and weighs about 130 pounds, KTTV said.

The suspect also has a large tattoo on the back of his head and a small tattoo next to his left eye, LAPD added to the station.

Anyone with information can call 310-482-6369, KTTV said.

How are folks reacting?

Commenters on Yahoo! News were horrified and angry about the stabbing:

  • "Can't get much lower than that," one commenter said.
  • "Defund the police they said. No cash bail the said. Empty the jails they said. Any theft under $1,000 is acceptable they said. Now we are dealing with all these upstanding citizens. Congratulations, you've gone and done it, and innocent people are paying the price," one commenter reacted. "Fire every single politician that supports such madness."
  • "And when we catch him we will let him go!" another commenter predicted.
  • "I have come to believe that all these actions by the various and sundry state and local governments that have led to this enormous escalation in violent crime is being perpetrated for that very reason: to increase instances of violent crime against the citizenry and make them scared," another commenter wrote. "Scared people are easier to lead and control, and when things get so bad as they are becoming, it will be much easier to get the people to accept any solution that's proposed — and those solutions will not be anything that anybody today would be willing to accept."
Mystery of Taco Bell’s Mexican Pizza Return Revealed
play icon

Mystery of Taco Bell’s Mexican Pizza Return Revealed

Taco Bell announces 'Drag Brunch' events at several locations around the U.S.



Taco Bell announced last month that it plans to hold "Drag Brunch" events at several restaurant locations around the U.S.

"Each show will be hosted by the fabulous drag performer and taco extraordinaire, Kay Sedia, and feature performances from local queens and kings that will transform any morning from Mild to Fire!" according to a Taco Bell press release. "As a brand that brings people together, the Taco Bell Drag Brunch experience is rooted in celebrating the LGBTQIA+ community and creating safe and welcoming spaces for all."

The events will be held at Taco Bell Cantinas in several cities. According to the Taco Bell website, Taco Bell Cantina restaurants feature "a fancy new look, open kitchen, custom menu and specialty alcoholic beverages like beer, wine, sangria and liquor versions of our classic Freezes."

The first event took place on May 1 in Las Vegas. There are also events scheduled for Chicago and Nashville later this month. "Taco Bell Drag Brunch" events are scheduled to take place in New York and Fort Lauderdale in June.

Taco Bell kicked off the new drag brunch at the firm's flagship cantina in Las Vegas. "We understand the importance of creating safe spaces for the LGBTQIA+ community." https://bit.ly/3sj4R3j\u00a0pic.twitter.com/vl6AK2jKrz
— USA TODAY (@USA TODAY) 1651846200

"We understand the importance of creating safe spaces for the LGBTQIA+ community and are thrilled to provide a unique experience that spotlights and celebrates the wonderful artform of drag and its influence in culture with their chosen families," Taco Bell global chief brand officer Sean Tresvant said, according to the press release. "Taco Bell Drag Brunch was concepted by Live Más Pride, Taco Bell’s LGBTQIA+ Employee Resource Group, which has played a major role in driving awareness of and meaningfully supporting LGBTQIA+ communities both within Taco Bell and the communities we serve and operate in."

In response to a Taco Bell tweet advertising "Drag Brunch," someone commented, "I've never NOT wanted a Taco Bell brunch more."

I've never NOT wanted a Taco Bell brunch more
— Zach (@Zach) 1650902160

Another response to Taco Bell's tweet declared, "@tacobell you people are SICK and I don't go to a restaurant to watch this sickening crap!"

Several years ago, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) appeared on "RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars," a show that features drag performers. And apparently, she will appear on the show again — a video montage about an upcoming season reveals that the lawmaker will make an appearance on the new season.

RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 7 Exclusive First Look! www.youtube.com

FACT CHECK: Did Jen Psaki Tell People To Eat Taco Bell For Thanksgiving?

'The Value Menu at Taco Bell is just as tasty and a lot more affordable'