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Trump admin “aware” of deaths in explosive diarrhea outbreak, delays reporting

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  Two people have died amid the ongoing record-breaking outbreak of explosive diarrhea from the foodborne parasite Cyclospora , Michigan health officials announced Monday. Cyclosporiasis fatalities are extremely rare, and despite the massive size of the outbreak, some experts were still surprised by the deaths. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services on Monday said that medical records of both individuals indicated that they had “significant underlying health conditions that may have been impacted by cyclosporiasis and dehydration.” MDHHS noted that both fell ill with the diarrheal infection before Taylor Farms recalled its shredded iceberg lettuce grown in Mexico, which has been linked to thousands of cases in at least nine states. Cyclospora is a unicellular parasite that spreads in human feces and is often transmitted via contaminated fresh produce, such as lettuces and other fruits and vegetables that have uneven surfaces for the parasite to grip. Past culprits h...

Tom DeLay helped create TV ownership cap—he says Trump FCC has no authority to repeal it

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  Tom DeLay, the Texas Republican who was House majority leader from 2003 to 2005, said the Federal Communications Commission has no legal authority to repeal the National Television Ownership Rule. Despite DeLay’s warning, the Trump FCC appears ready to eliminate the rule at its meeting this week. DeLay wrote an op-ed describing how he helped write the law that prohibited any single broadcast station owner from reaching more than 39 percent of all TV households in the US. DeLay said that only Congress, not the Trump FCC, can change the cap because the 39 percent limit is specified in US law and wasn’t chosen by the commission. DeLay gave his view in an op-ed for The Daily Wire yesterday, less than three weeks after FCC Chairman Brendan Carr announced a plan to eliminate the cap . The FCC is scheduled to vote on Carr’s proposal on Thursday. “I am a Republican,” DeLay wrote. “I support deregulation and the Trump administration. But my ultimate loyalty rests with the Constitution, w...