What is cyclosporiasis, the parasitic illness causing ‘explosive’ diarrhea? 17. July 2026 (15:32) Illness surging in Michigan and other US states is rarely life-threatening, CDC says – but it can have severe effectsCDC investigates parasite that’s caused cases of ‘explosive’ diarrhea in 18 US statesCases of cyclosporiasis – a parasitic illness that can cause “explosive”, watery diarrhea – have surged across the United States in recent days, health officials have said, with an abnormally large outbreak of almost 1,000 cases reported in Michigan.Michigan typically reports about 50 cases a year, making the current outbreak the largest in the state’s history and one of the nation’s biggest in recent years. Ohio has also reported a sharp increase, with 177 cases as of 2 July, since the CDC’s last count. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Trump administration drastically cuts length of foreign journalist visas 17. July 2026 (15:10) Visas will be shortened to 240 days, down from five years, and Chinese journalists will be limited to 90 daysThe Trump administration has said it will drastically shorten visas for foreign journalists in the US to 240 days, down from five years, and cut those for Chinese journalists to only 90 days.The rule announced by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will do away with the “duration of status” system, which allows foreign journalists to stay and work in the United States as long as they meet eligibility requirements. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
South East Water warns over survival as funds dry up 17. July 2026 (14:54) Supplier to 2.4m customers says it doesn’t have enough money to last beyond July 2027 South East Water has warned that there is “material uncertainty” over its survival, after a disastrous year in which the lossmaking company paid millions of pounds in fines and its chief executive was forced out.The water supplier to 2.4 million customers said it had sufficient funds to make it through to July 2027. However, “shortly after” it will need “new loan facilities in order to continue as a going concern,” the company said in its annual report published on Friday. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Burnham calls for party unity and ‘new politics’ in first speech as Labour leader – UK politics live 17. July 2026 (14:52) Burnham criticises ‘decades of neoliberalism’ and says he wants to give people ‘hope back’When Andy Burnham first tried to return to the Commons, by applying to be Labour’s candidate in the Gorton and Denton byelection, Labour’s national executive committee blocked him – in part because, they argued, Labour might find it hard to hold the Greater Manchester mayoralty in the byelection caused by his resignation.When he next applied to be a candidate, for Makerfield, the NEC no longer felt able to say no because the results for Labour in the May elections were so bad that the case for having Burnham in parliament became overwhelming. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Jackdaw gasfield would create only 27 full-time jobs, green campaigners say 17. July 2026 (14:30) Anti fossil-fuel groups are urging Andy Burnham to rule out new drilling, which they say will not shave a penny off billsMore people can fit on to the top deck of a standard London bus than will be directly employed on the new Jackdaw gasfield in the North Sea, industry documents show.Only 27 direct full-time jobs would be created by Jackdaw, one of the biggest gasfields remaining in the North Sea, according to an environmental impact assessment filed publicly by its owner, Adura, a joint venture between Shell and Norway’s Equinor. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
CDC and FDA link lettuce at Taco Bell in five states to cyclospora outbreak 17. July 2026 (14:30) FDA investigation identified a single supplier of the lettuce, but federal warnings did not name the companyFederal health officials have identified lettuce from Mexico served by Taco Bell locations across five US states as a source of the widespread outbreak of diarrhea-causing parasite cyclospora.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) late Thursday confirmed the source and warned consumers not to eat shredded iceberg lettuce from Taco Bell restaurants in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Seven Americans quarantining at Kenya Ebola facility after US travel ban, says aid group 17. July 2026 (14:17) Aid workers are first known people to quarantine at facility, which sparked huge opposition in Kenya Seven American aid workers who had been in Congo to fight the Ebola outbreak are quarantining at a new isolation facility in Kenya after the US government introduced travel restrictions, the head of a US charity employing them told Reuters.The aid workers are the first known people to quarantine at the facility, which has sparked huge opposition in Kenya and is at the heart of a legal case in which a court has ordered the work to be suspended. Construction continued however, according to US officials and satellite imagery reviewed by Reuters. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Andy Burnham becomes Labour leader in final step towards becoming UK PM 17. July 2026 (13:51) Former Greater Manchester mayor says he is ready to beat the ‘new right’ and give power back to ‘the place where you live’UK politics live – latest updatesAndy Burnham has declared himself ready to “beat Britain’s new right” with a fresh, united approach as he becomes the leader of the Labour party before taking over as British prime minister on Monday.The former mayor of Greater Manchester won the overwhelming support of MPs, trade unions and party branches, making him the only choice to take over from Keir Starmer. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Lindsey Graham’s death leaves South Carolina confronting complex legacy: ‘You loved him and you hated him’ 17. July 2026 (13:00) The US state mourns its longest-serving senator while Republicans scramble to choose a successorThe South Carolina state house is a microcosm of the US’s contradictions. Outside there are memorials to the Confederate war dead and African American history. Below a statue of Strom Thurmond, a longtime US senator and racial segregationist, are the names of his five children including Essie Mae, whose mother, a Black maid, was 15 when Thurmond impregnated her.Thurmond died at the age of 100 in 2003; his successor, Lindsey Graham, a lifelong bachelor who never had children, died last Saturday at 71. His sudden exit leaves a void not just in Washington but the state that molded Graham, elected him to the Senate four times and wrestled with his shape-shifting journey from Ronald Reagan Republican to Donald Trump sycophant. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
China rejects Trump’s claims of election interference as ‘pure fabrication’ – US politics live 17. July 2026 (11:54) Democrats also criticize speech as ‘lies and long-debunked conspiracies’Sign up for US News Breaking emailTrump makes unverified claims of China ‘election meddling’Donald Trump repeated calls in his Thursday speech for the passage of the Save America Act – a rebranded and expanded version of last year’s Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (Save) act, which passed in the US House but didn’t get a vote in the Senate.This year’s version includes a very strict voter ID requirement for casting a ballot and a provision that requires states to regularly turn their voter rolls over to the Department of Homeland Security, in addition to criminal liability for election officials who register a voter without proper documentary proof of citizenship. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
