Extreme fire danger threatening Southern California
ABC News
(LOS ANGELES) — Extreme fire danger is set to threaten Southern California early this week.
The National Weather Service in Los Angeles issued a rare “particularly dangerous situation” red flag warning from Monday night through Wednesday morning. The worst conditions for Los Angeles and Ventura counties will be Monday night through Tuesday.
“Use extra caution with any source of flame,” the National Weather Service advised.
Wind gusts are forecast to climb to 60 to 80 mph and relative humidity could fall to 2% to 15% Monday night through Tuesday night. With these conditions, wildfires could spread very quickly.
“Be ready to evacuate quickly, especially if in canyon, foothill, and mountain areas,” the Los Angeles County Office of Emergency Management warned.
Winds should finally begin to subside Wednesday afternoon into Wednesday night.
Mohamed Bahi, who resigned Monday from his job in the Adams administration, was arrested Tuesday for obstructing the investigation into the mayor and his campaign.
Bahi is charged with witness tampering and destroying evidence.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(NEW YORK) — Dozens of people across the U.S. have contracted E. coli traced to ingredients in McDonald’s Quarter Pounders, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Tuesday.
As a result, McDonald’s announced it has proactively removed two ingredients from stores across two impacted regions, but the company’s leadership team has assured that a majority of other menu items are not impacted, according to the CDC investigation.
What to know about McDonald’s E. coli outbreak
McDonald’s says either fresh, slivered onions or beef patties used for the Quarter Pounder may be behind the outbreak.
If onions are found to be the source of the E. coli outbreak, it would be the first time onions have ever been a carrier for this particular strain of the bacteria, company spokespeople said on Wednesday.
The spokespeople also reiterated that onions used in the Quarter Pounders, as identified by CDC tracing data, came from suppliers that also test for E. coli.
McDonald’s uses multiple suppliers for the slivered onions in the area where the outbreak cluster occurred, but all of the product has been retrieved from stock and it will not be supplying more onions until the investigation is completed.
States impacted by McDonald’s Quarter Pounder E. coli outbreak
So far, one person has died and a total of 49 people from 10 states have fallen ill with a strain known as E. coli O157:H7, which causes a severe intestinal infection in humans.
The person who died was a resident of Mesa County, Colorado, in the western part of the state, according to the county health department.
Most of the cases have been in Colorado, which has 27 reported cases, and Nebraska, which has nine reported cases, according to the CDC.
The other states are Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Oregon, Utah, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
Ten people have been hospitalized, including a child with complications from hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) — a disease that affects the kidneys.
Number of those sickened in outbreak expected to grow
The number of confirmed cases related to the McDonald’s E. coli outbreak could grow.
The CDC says the investigation is “fast-moving,” with new cases being reported on a rolling basis as the investigation connects people reported being ill and the specific strain of E. coli in this outbreak.
McDonald’s stopped selling the Quarter Pounders in the select states just recently, so there may be more cases that develop. The typical onset of symptoms is 3-4 days, and recently ill people may not be part of the current reporting as it usually takes 3-4 weeks to determine if a sick person is part of an outbreak.
The true number of sick people in this outbreak is likely much higher than the number reported, because many people recover without medical care and are not tested for E. coli.
Investigation into McDonald’s ingredients potentially responsible for illness
Every patient interviewed by the CDC said they ate at McDonald’s before falling ill and most said they ate Quarter Pounder hamburgers, specifically.
It’s not clear which ingredient is responsible for the illnesses, but CDC investigators are focused on two ingredients: fresh, slivered onions and fresh beef patties.
“Heat destroys things like bacteria and viruses but in certain cases, especially when you’re producing massive amounts of food — and you have products that are not going to undergo heat, for example, vegetables — that leads to an opportunity for contamination,” ABC News medical correspondent Dr. Darien Sutton explained.
McDonald’s told the CDC it has removed slivered onions and beef patties used for Quarter Pounder hamburgers from stores in the states where cases have been reported, the federal health agency said. As a result, the CDC said Quarter Pounders won’t be available for sale in some states.
In a statement on Tuesday evening, McDonald’s North America Chief Supply Chain Officer Cesar Piña said that the fast food chain believes the outbreak is linked to slivered onions “used in the Quarter Pounder and sourced by a single supplier that serves three distribution centers.”
“As a result, and in line with our safety protocols, all local restaurants have been instructed to remove this product from their supply and we have paused the distribution of all slivered onions in the impacted area,” the statement read, in part. “We will continue to work with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and are committed to providing timely updates as we restore our full menu.”
“The decision to do this is not one we take lightly, and it was made in close consultation with the CDC,” Joe Erlinger, President of McDonald’s USA, said in a statement. “It’s important to note that the majority of states and the majority of menu items are not affected.”
Slivered onions may be linked to strain of E. coli for 1st time
McDonald’s said it is actively working with the CDC, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and other health authorities as they investigate.
During the two-week period in which cases were reported, from Sept. 27 to Oct. 11, the fast food chain sells about 1 million Quarter Pounders, making tracing the outbreak complicated, according to company spokespeople.
Because contamination was not linked to a single restaurant, it likely means the outbreak was not caused by the preparation and handling of the food and was likely higher up the chain, the spokespeople said.
If beef patties are behind the contamination, it would mean restaurants failed to cook the food properly to the standard of 175F. However, the slivered onions topping, which are uncooked, are processed at a facility and then sent to McDonald’s.
The company spokespeople said if the slivered onions are identified as the culprit, it would be the first time onions would be a carrier for the O157:H7 strain of E. coli.
McDonald’s said they believe only Quarter Pounders are affected and that case numbers would be much higher if other products were associated with the outbreak.
Currently, one-fifth of McDonald’s stores are not selling Quarter Pounders. Local restaurants customers know if their location is not serving Quarter Pounders, otherwise the product is available, the spokespeople said.
What to know about E. coli symptoms, recovery
Although most E. coli bacteria are harmless and are part of a healthy intestinal tract, some strains of the bacteria can make people sick, according to the CDC.
E. coli symptoms often begin three to four days after ingesting the bacteria and include severe stomach cramps, diarrhea that may be bloody and vomiting.
Most people recover on their own within five to seven days, but some people may develop HUS and require hospitalization.
The CDC urges those who are experiencing severe E. coli symptoms and recently ate a McDonald’s Quarter Pounder to contact their health care provider immediately.
(MINNEAPOLIS, Mn) Police in Minneapolis arrested a man early Monday morning on charges of second-degree attempted murder for allegedly shooting his neighbor following a year-long dispute.
The arrest came after an intense standoff between a SWAT team and the suspect, 54-year-old John Herbert Sawchak, who surrendered peacefully on Monday, according to police.
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty, whose office is prosecuting the case, confirmed to ABC News on Monday that Sawchak is in custody and is being held on suspicion of second-degree attempted murder after allegedly shooting his neighbor, Davis Moturi, on the evening of Oct. 23, 2024.
“It was a very traumatic moment,” Moturi told ABC News in an interview on Sunday from his hospital bed. “Just to realize that like, you’ve been injured like that. Not only, not only shot, but shot in your neck and the people are fighting to save your life. And you don’t know if you can make it.”
According to a probable cause statement obtained by ABC News, Moturi’s’ wife told police that her husband was shot while he was outside pruning a tree near the couple’s property line. The incident was captured on surveillance video that was obtained by ABC News.
The suspect allegedly told Davis Moturi, “Touch my tree again and I’ll kill you,” Moturi’s wife told police, according to the probable cause statement.
Police said that the incident came after a year-old dispute between Moturi and Sawchak.
“Defendant has made countless other threats and engaged in almost constant harassment of the victim and his wife since they purchased their home in September 2023,” the probable cause statement said, referencing at least 19 other incidents of “vandalism, property destruction/theft, harassment, hate speech, verbal threats and threatened physical assaults” – the oldest of which dates back to October 2023.
“Even before [the shooting], it had a major impact on my life,” Moturi told ABC News, referencing the ongoing dispute with his neighbor.
According to charging documents obtained by ABC News, Sawchak is facing three additional felony charges for stalking, harassment and assault.
Minneapolis Police Department Chief Brian O’Hara said during an early morning press conference on Monday that there were multiple warrants out for Sawchak’s arrest, but he evaded police for four days and refused to emerge from his home.
“Minneapolis police exhausted all of our efforts to peacefully bring this situation to a resolution without prior to escalating the use of force with a SWAT team and special tactics,” O’Hara said.
“Thankfully, our officers were able to peacefully arrest this individual tonight after several hours of a SWAT operation,” he added.
ABC News’ attempts to reach out directly to Sawchak were unsuccessful and it is unclear if he has retained an attorney. Hennepin County District Attorney Mary Moriarty told ABC News on Monday that Sawchak is in custody and is scheduled to make his first appearance in court on Tuesday afternoon.
O’Hara said on Monday that police made “dozens of attempts” to arrest Sawchak since April but “were unable to make contact with this individual.”
O’Hara acknowledged that law enforcement “failed” to protect Moturi in this case.
“We were unsuccessful,” O’Hara said, in reference to prior attempts to arrest the suspect. “And so in that sense, yes, we failed. We failed this victim. He should not have been shot. But I will say this – we had no reason to suspect that he would shoot … the neighbor from inside the house.”
