A mysterious parasite is spreading. How to protect yourself.

Summary

Apple News Today – Episode Summary

“A mysterious parasite is spreading. How to protect yourself.”

Date: July 14, 2026
Host: Gideon Resnick (in for Shumita Basu)

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Episode Overview

This episode covers three primary news stories:

• The resurgence of US-Iran tensions, with discussions on military conflict and economic actions in the Strait of Hormuz
• The spread of Cyclospora, a microscopic parasite now causing a notable outbreak across the US, with tips on prevention and food safety
• Updates and colorful commentary on the World Cup semifinals, including an interview with football host Rebecca Lowe

Several brief headlines from around the US and the world wrap up the episode.

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1. US–Iran Conflict Escalation

Segment: [00:45]–[04:06]

• The US and Iran seem to be heading back into open conflict, with American forces attacking Iranian air defenses and coastal infrastructure, citing recent Iranian strikes against shipping.
• The US announces a reinstatement of a naval blockade against Iran, threatening the country’s vital oil trade. President Trump formally notified Congress, fulfilling War Powers Act requirements.
• In a surprising move, Trump also announces a 20% fee on all cargo passing through the Strait of Hormuz, stating:

  "Yeah, I want to be reimbursed because we're protecting a very rich portion of the world. We're spending money. And so what we've done is we are going to be reimbursed for protection we're protecting by the countries that we're helping." (Trump, [02:15])

• This move was criticized, with references to international law and prior commitments to free, toll-free passage on international waterways. The International Maritime Organization and Iran itself publicly objected.
• No technical details provided yet on how the fee would be assessed. One estimate puts the cost at $30 million per supertanker—many times higher than what Iran has previously imposed.

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2. Cyclospora Parasite Outbreak

Segment: [04:06]–[06:34]

• A widespread outbreak of intestinal illness has affected Americans in 30 states, traced to the parasite Cyclospora.
• Health reporter Lena Sun explains:

  "This disease tends to spike in the summertime because that's when we eat a lot more fresh produce. Basil, lettuce, fruits, cilantro... have been linked to previous outbreaks." (Lena Sun, [04:06])

• The outbreak is hard to source because of:
  • The lag between infection and symptom onset (2 days to over 2 weeks)
  • People recovering without treatment and not always reporting
  • Difficulty in remembering and tracing foods consumed weeks ago

  "...they have to interview people and ask them, not only what do you remember eating yesterday or two days ago, but what did you eat two weeks ago?" (Lena Sun, [05:02])

• Over 3,000 cases have been recorded in Ohio and Michigan alone, with dozens hospitalized—but no deaths. Illness is rarely fatal.
• The globalized food supply chain complicates traceback investigations. The CDC, FDA, and states are working together to identify the source.
• Prevention Advice:
  • Cooking produce kills the parasite
  • Prefer whole heads of lettuce over bagged salads
  • Wash all fruits and vegetables thoroughly

  "At the very least, wash your hands with soap and water before and after you're handling or preparing raw fruits and vegetables." (Lena Sun, [06:19])

• If you feel sick, drink fluids and contact your doctor; the infection can be treated with antibiotics.

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3. World Cup Semifinals Preview

Segment: [07:27]–[11:46]

• With only four teams left, the tournament sees France facing Spain, and England taking on Argentina.
• Football broadcaster Rebecca Lowe joins the show to discuss predictions and highlights:

  "France, Spain. I'm going to go for France. Everything's easy for them, Gideon. ... As an England fan, there is no way I'm sitting here talking to you, Gideon, saying that Argentina are going to win." (Rebecca Lowe, [08:06])

• She notes intense football rivalry between England and Argentina and the unprecedented fact: "England have never faced Lionel Messi. That in itself is insane." ([08:06])
• Rebecca’s predictions:
  • France and England will win their semifinals
  • The final will be France vs. England (“My head says France, my heart says England.”)
• Favorite moments from the tournament:
  • Cape Verde vs. Argentina:

    "I got out of my chair and I, I sort of wandered around with, in disbelief that this was happening." (Rebecca Lowe, [09:59])

  • Mexico vs. England at the Azteca: lauded for its "best game and atmosphere" ([10:30])
• She recalls the electric fan response at France-Morocco, especially to football legend Thierry Henry:

  "Just seeing the obsession with this guy in front of me was just a reminder to me of what this World cup does to people." ([11:23])

• Rebecca Lowe plugs her podcast "After the Whistle" ([11:34]).

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4. Other Major Stories

Segment: [11:55]–[13:35]

• ICE agents shooting:
  • Second deadly force incident by ICE in a week, this time in Maine.
  • Victim: 26-year-old Colombian, authorized to work in the US.
  • Maine Senator Angus King criticizes lack of body cameras:

    "They should have been having body cameras two years ago..." ([12:25])

• Senate appointment in South Carolina:
  • Governor Henry McMaster appoints Darlene Graham Nordone, Senator Lindsey Graham’s sister, to his seat for remainder of his term.
  • Graham Nordone, speaking on the appointment:

    "It is such an honor. Lindsay has always been there for me and now I will be there for him." ([13:27])

• T. rex skeleton auction:
  • Almost complete skeleton ("Gus") discovered in South Dakota in 2021 is up for auction for a starting price of $19 million.
  • Concerns that scientific study may be lost if fossil goes to private owners.

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Notable Quotes

• President Trump on MoUs and negotiations:

  “It was a test. We didn't know. It didn't look. Memorandum of understanding, when you're dealing with sleazebags, don't mean much.” ([01:46])

• Lena Sun on outbreak tracing:

  “They have to interview people and ask them ... what did you eat two weeks ago?” ([05:02])

• Rebecca Lowe on football legends:

  “If you are somebody like Thierry Henry who's won the World cup for France, you are forever a king, forever and ever.” ([11:14])

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:45 – US-Iran conflict updates
• 02:15 – Trump on charging fee for shipping in Hormuz
• 04:06 – Cyclospora outbreak begins
• 05:20 – Food tracing challenges
• 06:02 – Prevention and food washing guidance
• 07:27 – World Cup semifinals preview (Rebecca Lowe interview)
• 09:39 – Cape Verde vs. Argentina highlight
• 10:30 – Atmosphere at Mexico-England match
• 11:55 – Headline roundup (ICE shooting, Senate appointment, T. rex auction)

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Tone and Style

Episode maintains Apple News Today’s measured, informative delivery, balancing expert interview insights, news recaps, and lively football commentary that captures the emotional highs of major global stories.

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For detailed follow-up or further coverage, listeners are encouraged to check the Apple News app, especially for narrated features and the “After the Whistle” podcast for World Cup analysis.

Transcript

[A]

Good morning. President Trump vows to reinstate a blockade against Iran after formally telling Congress that the conflict has returned. Why? It's been difficult for health officials to identify the origins of a nasty illness. And as England prepares to face Argentina in the World cup semifinals. After the whistle and Fox Sports host Rebecca Lowe tells us why she's feeling optimistic.

[B]

England have never faced Lionel Messi. I'm hoping that means that Messi just is overawed by this amazing, amazing England team he doesn't know how to play against. And we keep him quiet.

[A]

It's Tuesday, July 14th. I'm Gideon Resnick in for Shmitu. This is Apple News.

[B]

Today,

[A]

The US And Iran appear to be veering back towards full scale conflict. In a third consecutive night of attacks, American forces hit Iranian air defenses, coastal radars and other targets. The US Pointed to Iranian strikes on tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz in justifying the operation. And last night, the UAE accused Tehran of brazen attacks on its shipments, which killed one of its crew members. As the fighting continues, President Trump also announced that the US Would be reinstating a naval blockade against Iranian ports later today. The first blockade choked off Iran's oil trade, contributing to a standoff that dragged on until an interim peace agreement was reached. That agreement now looks to be breaking down, and it emerged yesterday that Trump formally notified Congress of a return to conflict last week, in line with requirements in the War Powers Act. The letter described the attacks as limited and designed to minimize civilian casualties. Trump himself offered a dim view of the peace deal's future, speaking to conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt.

[C]

It was a test. We didn't know. It didn't look. Memorandum of understanding when you're dealing with sleazebags don't mean much. And they don't mean much when you're dealing with honorable people, too. Because it's a memorandum of understanding, it doesn't mean much.

[A]

The president also surprised many with a social post claiming the US would begin charging a 20% fee on cargo passing through the strait. He said it would pay for the costs of being, as he put it, the guardian of the strait, and spoke to reporters about it from the Oval Office later.

[C]

Yeah, I want to be reimbursed because we're protecting a very rich portion of the world. We're spending money. And so what we've done is we are going to be reimbursed for protection we're protecting by the countries that we're helping.

[A]

In the past, U.S. top officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President J.D. vance have suggested that Iran tolls were in violation of international law and routinely committed to free passage for shipments. Well, first of all, we believe international waterways should be free of tolls, and that's been our position. That's what you see, of course, in the 60 days of the MoU. It's an international waterway. No country is allowed to charge tolls or fees on an international waterway. That's existing international law. That's the way it is in international waterways all over the world, and that's the way we expect it'll be here. The administration hasn't offered any more details on how the toll would work or when it would be implemented. One Bloomberg estimate suggested it could amount to around $30 million per supertanker, many times higher than the fees Iran has been imposing so far. The International Maritime Organization, a body that counts the US As a member, put out a statement saying the passageway should remain free of any tolls and charges in accordance with international law. It also drew a response from the Iranian foreign minister, who said Iran was the true guardian of the strait and promised what he said would be a fair price. You might have seen a lot of headlines recently about a particularly gnarly bout of intestinal illness affecting Americans in more than 30 states. We'll spare you some of the more vivid details, but the cases are due to a microscopic parasite called Cyclospora. And Lena Sun, a reporter with the Washington Post, covering infectious diseases and public health, told us that this might be one of the largest outbreaks we've seen here.

[D]

This disease tends to spike in the summertime because that's when we eat a lot more fresh produce. Basil, lettuce, fruits, cilantro. Those are some of the food items that have been linked to previous outbreaks of this particular parasite.

[A]

At this point, officials haven't exactly pinpointed the origin of the outbreak or even conclusively linked all the cases across various states to each other. A specific cluster across Ohio and Michigan has grown to more than 3,000 cases. And according to the CDC, as of last week, there have been dozens of hospitalizations, but no deaths, and the illness is rarely fatal. One of the challenges for public health officials is that there is often a lag between symptom onset and reporting. Many people recover without needing any medical treatment, and there can be an incubation period that can range from two days to more than two weeks before symptoms even appear.

[D]

And that makes it very hard for people who are investigating this outbreak to pinpoint what it is that caused it, because they have to interview people and ask them, not only what do you remember eating yesterday or two days ago, but what did you eat two weeks ago?

[A]

A globalized food supply chain also complicates the search for the origin, as fruits and vegetables might be contaminated in a tropical or subtropical climate. Long before making it to American plates.

[D]

The CDC is trying to figure out where people are getting sick, what has made them sick, piecing together all of those details, seeing if there's any commonalities. And they're working with state health departments and the fda. The FDA is in charge of traceback investigations. If they figure out that it's maybe this particular food item, then they have to go back and figure out if it's a particular grower or distributor or supplier.

[A]

But until they know more, Cooking produce is an effective way to avoid infection as it kills the parasites. And of course, if you're not inclined to cook a salad, public health officials have advised considering whole heads of lettuce instead of bagged salads and making sure that everything is clean as best you can.

[D]

So at the very least, wash your hands with soap and water before and after you're handling or preparing raw fruits and vegetables. Make sure you wash all your fruits and vegetables thoroughly under running water before you're eating, cooking, or cutting.

[A]

For anyone who is worried they are getting sick, drinking plenty of fluids and contacting a healthcare provider is the way to go. An infection is typically treated with antibiotics. After 100 games, there are just four teams left vying for the title in this year's World Cup. Today, France plays Spain for a spot in the finals, and Tomorrow it's England versus Argentina. The winners will face off Sunday at MetLife Stadium. Joining me to talk about all of this is Rebecca Lowe, one of the hosts of the Apple News original podcast after the Whistle, which has been tirelessly recapping the highs and lows of this tournament for weeks now. If you've been watching coverage, you'll also recognize her from the Fox Sports team. And if that's not enough, she hosts the Premier League coverage for NBC as well. Rebecca, thank you so very much for being here.

[B]

Thank you, Gideon. Yeah, you're making the summer sound quite tiring. And yeah, that's, that's about accurate.

[A]

Yep, it would appear that way. It would appear that way to us. So let's talk about this summer and, and this tournament. There have been a record breaking number of teams, some really exciting and surprising matches. I think because of this expanded field. You know, you could look at Cape Verde's run and think about that as an example of this. But now here we are with a final four that is a little bit less surprising. In a sense. It's four of the top ranked countries in the world. How are we feeling about these matchups? Who do you think are going to be our finalists and then who, if you had to be put on the spot, is going to be the champion of all this?

[B]

So on after the whistle, we had to do our predictions a while ago and I, Gideon, am terrible at predictions. But I have to say that suddenly I've gotten quite good because I did predict this for. So France, Spain. I'm going to go for France. Everything's easy for them, Gideon. Everything just comes easy. And it would do when you've got Dembele, Mbappe and Michael Elise as your front three. So I think they will cast Spain aside who are a really good team, especially at the back. But I haven't yet seen enough of Lamina out there on the right hand side. He's a brilliant player, of that there is no doubt. Unless he can come in this semi final and make it his game, if he's carrying on in the same vein of quite good this World cup, quite good won't be enough to beat France. As an England fan, there is no way I'm sitting here talking to you, Gideon, saying that Argentina are going to win. There's a huge rivalry, by the way, between England and Argentina, which spans both off the field political situations, but also on the field a lot of football rivalry from the 60s, the 80s especially, and the 90s and the early 2000s. So they haven't played each other for 24 years. England have never faced Lionel Messi. That in itself is insane. I'm hoping that means that Messi just is overawed by this amazing England team he doesn't know how to play against. And we keep him quiet. I'm going to say England to win that one. So England, France, the final. My head says France, my heart says England.

[A]

As we think about the tournament so far, are there any moments or storylines that you keep coming back to as you think about the defining features of this World Cup?

[B]

Well, it will always be for me two parts of this World cup so far. The first was the Cape Verde story. You mentioned them taking on Argentina on that Friday night and Cabral with that incredible goal to take it to extra time.

[A]

Napping Mallister can't make the play. Lopez, Cabral.

[C]

It's incredible.

[A]

It's remarkable. It's almost unbelievable.

[B]

I was in the studio with my guys and I mean I got out of my chair and I, I sort of wandered around with, in disbelief that this was happening. And then of course, it went extra time and Argentina did it. But that moment will live with me for a very long time. And then the second would be the Mexico, England game at the Azteca because that just looked incredible. And everyone I've spoken to, and by the way, Gideon, I'm talking old football journalists from England that have seen everything and been everywhere and they say it was the best game and atmosphere, both things they'd ever seen.

[A]

Any other kind of standout atmospheres that you've, you've seen so far?

[B]

We went to France, Morocco, and obviously I work with Alexi Lalas, American Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Swedish, but elite megastar. And Thierry Henry, French and megastar. And at the game, which was at Boston Stadium at Foxborough, we couldn't leave the stage because there were thousands of France fans just wanting to see Thierry, have a picture, touch him, get near him. And it was just a reminder for me a these incredible people that I work with on a day to day basis during this World Cup. But the love, the love that fans out there have for these footballers, whether they are Kylian Mbappe right now, Jude Bellingham right now, or if you are somebody like Thierry Henry who's won the World cup for France, you are forever a king, forever and ever. And just seeing the obsession with this guy in front of me was just a reminder to me of what this World cup does to people.

[A]

Yeah. And if that's not a motivation for the current players right now, I don't know what is. Rebecca, thank you so much again. Where can our listeners hear and see after the whistle? Give us your plug.

[B]

Oh, Apple, podcasts, Spotify, YouTube. As always, we're everywhere. We're after the whistle. Apple on all the social media platforms as well. So come and join us for the last few episodes.

[A]

Thank you so much again for your time, Rebecca. I appreciate it.

[B]

My pleasure. Thanks, Gideon.

[C]

Take care.

[A]

Here are a few other stories we're following today. For the second time in a week, ICE agents used deadly force on a civilian in a vehicle, this time in Maine. Immigrant rights groups and neighbors have identified the victim as a 26 year old from Colombia who was authorized to work in the U.S. according to Maine Senator Angus King, DHS Secretary Mark Wayne Mullen said that the man allegedly tried to weaponize his vehicle before he was shot. King added that it appeared the ICE agents involved also were not wearing body cameras.

[C]

They should have been having body cameras two years ago. When all this started, which shouldn't be a case of, oh, well, maybe we should do body cameras.

[A]

Local and federal authorities are investigating the incident, which comes amid an uptick in daily arrests by federal immigration enforcement in recent weeks. Now to South Carolina.

[C]

It's my duty and honor to name someone to serve in the place of this irresistible man, this irreplaceable man, this extraordinary man for the remainder of his term.

[A]

Governor Henry McMaster announced that Senator Lindsey Graham's younger sister, Darlene Graham Nordone, will take his seat in the Senate for the rest of his term.

[B]

First, I just want to say one thing. I've never heard Lindsay described as is irresistible. So, okay, we'll just start with that.

[A]

Graham Nordona spent her career helping people with disabilities find jobs and she and her brother were very close. He became her legal guardian after their parents died.

[B]

It is such an honor. Lindsay has always been there for me and now I will be there for him.

[A]

South Carolinians will vote in a primary next month to select a candidate for November's ballot to fill Graham's seat for the next term. And finally, it's one of the most complete Tyrannosaurus rex skeletons ever found. And it could be yours for just several million dollars. Today, a near complete T Rex skeleton goes to auction with a starting bid of $19 million, making it potentially among the most expensive fossils in history. The skeleton was discovered on private land in South Dakota back in 2021. It's named Gus after the landowner. And the auction follows a growing trend of the super rich eing prized fossils. But not everyone is happy. Scientists haven't been able to study the bones yet and they fear the sale could keep it from researchers for good. One paleontologist told NPR the prices involved were ridiculous, suggesting the money could help discover a new species. If you do want to see a T Rex and don't have $20 million on hand, remember the so called nation's T Rex still lives in Washington, DC's Smithsonian. You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app. And if you're already listening in the news app right now, we've got a narrated article coming up next. New Scientist reports on the next step in monitoring brain health and how a new generation of tools is giving researchers unprecedented insight to into what happens between the ears. If you're listening to the podcast app, you can follow Apple News plus narrated to find that story. And I'll be back with the news tomorrow.