The War on Data Centers & Parasite Hits the Produce Aisle | 7.16.26

Summary

Morning Wire Podcast Summary

Episode: The War on Data Centers & Parasite Hits the Produce Aisle
Date: July 16, 2026
Hosts: John Bickley, Georgia Howe | Guests: Cabot Phillips, Tim Rice, Lyndon Blake

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Overview

This episode dives into two major stories:

1. New York’s moratorium on new AI data centers—the political, economic, and national security fallout, with strong reactions from President Trump and bipartisan debate on energy policy.
2. A nationwide outbreak of the parasitic illness cyclospora—originating in fresh produce, especially in the Midwest, threatening public health and implicating major food retailers.

The episode also touches briefly on the fiery Senate confirmation hearing for President Trump’s attorney general nominee and its broader political implications.

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1. New York's Data Center Moratorium: Power, Politics, and National Security

(Segments: 00:19 – 06:07)

Key Discussion Points

• Governor Hochul’s Executive Order

  • Order: One-year state moratorium on new hyperscale AI data centers (>50 MW).
    • Reasoning: Slows rapid expansion, gives state time for regulation, curbs grid overload and rising utility costs, pushes companies to find or fund their own power sources.
  • Quote (Cabot Phillips, 01:44):

    “This statewide pause is the first of its kind, and it comes as the public has become increasingly skeptical of AI data center construction…”

• Political and Economic Reaction

  • President Trump: Publicly slams the move, claims it costs the state “liquid gold” in tax revenue and jobs, calls it a “political decision” putting New York at a disadvantage to places like Texas and Florida.

  • Quote (attributed summary, Cabot Phillips, 02:54):

    “[Trump] called data centers ‘money machines for the states that land them’… and argued the taxes and jobs that they create amount to ‘liquid gold.’”

  • National Security Angle: Both Republicans and influential Democrats (Rep. Josh Gottheimer, Sen. John Fetterman) warn that restricting U.S. data center capacity advantages China in the global AI race.

    • Gottheimer:

      “Just having a blanket moratorium, saying we're just going to pack up, go home, hand AI over to China and let them beat us. Makes zero sense to me.” (03:51)

    • Fetterman (X post):

      “china wins.” (03:58)

• Energy Grid & Utility Cost Debate

  • Supporters of Moratorium: Cite risk of overtaxing the grid, driving up prices.
  • Critics (incl. Trump’s Energy Secretary Chris Wright):
    • Claim that high prices result from “bad Democrat policies,” not data centers.
    • Quote (Chris Wright via John Bickley, 04:44):

      “Governor Hochul has it exactly backwards. Energy is expensive in New York and now sparse because of bad Democrat policies.”

    • Examples from Virginia: More data centers, stable energy prices, broader tax benefits.

• National Ripple Effects

  • Proliferation: 15 other Democratic states considering similar moratoria.
  • High-ranking Congressional Democrats (Sanders, Ocasio-Cortez) have proposed a federal pause.
  • Quote (Cabot Phillips, 05:34):

    “Democratic lawmakers in 15 states have now introduced similar moratorium proposals…”

Notable Quotes

• President Trump (as summarized):

  “These jobs will instead just go to states like Texas and Florida, where they are more welcome… Democrats must not be allowed to cause us to lose data centers, AI and all of this incredible new technology to China.” (02:54–03:36)

• Rep. Gottheimer, D-NJ:

  “Makes zero sense to me.” (03:51)

• Sen. John Fetterman, D-PA:

  “china wins.” (03:58)

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2. Senate Fireworks: Trump’s Attorney General Nominee Faces the Gauntlet

(Segments: 08:32 – 13:27)

Key Discussion Points

• Todd Blanche’s Performance

  • More measured than previous nominee Pam Bondi.
  • Managed to remain composed while facing heated questions from Democrats on conflicts of interest, past Trump legal ties, the Epstein files, and ongoing lawsuits.

• Conflict of Interest Concerns

  • Blanche’s Transparency:

    “I'm not going to hide it. I've known Donald Trump for many years. I was his lawyer in a personal capacity. I'm close with him. I am friendly with him. But I have also been the deputy attorney general for a long time…” (John Bickley, 10:11)

  • Legal Positions:

    • On presidential pardons: “Of course [Trump] can. The Constitution does not place any limit or asterisk on the pardon power.” (11:17)
    • On presidential terms: No third term, “obviously not. It's constitutionally prohibited.”

• Epstein Files & Transparency

  • Blanche insists no Epstein-related investigations have been closed under Trump DOJ.
  • Nod to potential for increased action if confirmed.

• Nominee’s Challenges Ahead

  • Legal fallout from ongoing Trump lawsuits, DOJ-press subpoena controversy, crime and law enforcement issues.
  • Likely to be confirmed due to new Republican Senate composition (including Lindsey Graham’s sister).

Notable Quotes

• John Bickley (10:11):

  “He was Donald Trump’s personal defense attorney… But I think, yes, these are reasonable questions for lawmakers to ask. Did Democrats always ask them in the most reasonable way? No, of course not.”

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3. Cyclospora Parasite Outbreak: Explosive Illness Sweeps Produce Aisle

(Segments: 14:39 – 18:20)

Key Discussion Points

• Scope and Source of Outbreak

  • Parasitic illness (Cyclospora) has hit 34 states, with nearly 7,000 cases, centered in the Midwest (esp. Michigan).
  • Symptoms: Severe, sometimes weeks-long diarrhea and intestinal distress.
  • Suspected vectors: Pre-packaged salad kits, lettuce (Taco Bell under inspection), and possibly imported produce such as cilantro, basil, raspberries.

• Transmission Mechanics

  • Mostly food-borne—improper handling and contamination (fecal-oral route).
  • Direct person-to-person transmission is rare.

• Personal and Public Health Response

  • Prevention: Wash produce, cook above 158°F for full safety, exercise good hand hygiene.
  • Authorities urge caution but not panic—investigations ongoing, no need to discard all produce yet.

• Severity

  • Symptoms can last an average of 57 days, with some patients hit for 100+ days (Cleveland Clinic data).
  • Around 141 hospitalizations so far, but treatable and not life-threatening if addressed.

Memorable Exchange

• Lyndon Blake (16:13):

  “One, get better friends. Just kidding. You can hang out with people that wash their hands and take care of themselves, have good hygiene…”

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Data Center Moratorium:

  • Announcement & Overview: 00:19 – 01:43
  • Political Reactions & China Angle: 02:27 – 04:20
  • Energy Policy Debate: 04:20 – 05:28
  • Broader Political Moves: 05:28 – 06:07

• Attorney General Confirmation:

  • Blanche’s Hearing Recap: 08:32 – 10:02
  • Conflict of Interest & Legal Issues: 10:02 – 13:27

• Cyclospora Outbreak:

  • Outbreak Details & Prevention: 14:39 – 18:20

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Overall Tone & Flow

The episode maintains an urgent, fact-focused and slightly combative tone, spotlighting the rapid pace of political developments and the real-world implications of government policy. There’s a mix of sharp political analysis, health reporting tinged with wry humor, and direct, unvarnished quotations from public figures.

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Useful for Listeners Who Missed the Episode

This summary gives a comprehensive look into the episode’s debates on technological development vs. the energy grid and national competitiveness, the intersection of politics and legal appointees, and food safety in the midst of a national parasite outbreak—delivered in the tough, news-driven style typical of Morning Wire.

Transcript

[John Bickley]

And we're live on matchday as Doug reaches for a Buffalo wing. He's got it. Oh, and he's gone for a can of Pepsi, too. What a finish. There's no doubt about it. It just tastes better. Matchdays deserve Pepsi.

[Georgia Howe]

New York's governor blocks all new data centers in the state, prompting a strong rebuke from President Trump.

[John Bickley]

These hyperscale AI data centers consume enormous

[Georgia Howe]

amounts of power, truly threaten to outpace our grid's capacity.

[Cabot Phillips]

What does the move mean for New Yorkers? And will the political bet pay off?

[Georgia Howe]

I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire executive editor John Bickley. It's Thursday, July 16th, and this is Morning Wire.

[Cabot Phillips]

President Trump's choice for attorney general trades barbs with Democrats in a testy confirmation hearing. What you're saying happens to not be true.

[John Bickley]

I did not do that. You can't accuse me of violating my ethical rules and then lie about what I did.

[Georgia Howe]

And cyclospora, the explosive parasitic illness outbreak, is now blowing up in dozens of states.

[Cabot Phillips]

Thanks for waking up with Morning wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know. New York has become the first state to impose a moratorium on future data center construction.

[Georgia Howe]

Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul signed an executive order this week imposing a one year freeze on all new large scale AI data centers, leading to some mixed reactions across the political spectrum. Joining us now to break it all down is Cabot Phillips, host of Wired in. So, Cabot first, what is this order? Why was it implemented and what is

[Ad Read Host 1]

it going to do?

[Cabot Phillips]

Yeah, so as you said, this statewide pause is the first of its kind, and it comes as the public has become increasingly skeptical of AI data center construction more broadly. You can see that in polling across the political spectrum. But as for Hochul's order, it blocks the state government from issuing environmental permits for any hyperscale data center requiring more than 50 megawatts of power, which almost all new data centers require. Hochul says the pause is intended to give state regulators more time to draw up regulations for new data center construction. She argues that right now the state is expanding too quickly and driving up utility costs for New Yorkers. Governor Hochul also wants to force these companies to either generate their own power or pay a premium to plug into the state power grid. And those ideas are gaining traction among many Democrats.

[Georgia Howe]

Now, this is an issue that crosses party lines, but President Trump has been particularly bullish on this. How did he respond to Hochul's moratorium?

[Cabot Phillips]

Yeah, to your point, Democrats are more likely to oppose new data centers in their area. But even Republicans, according to Gallup, 62% say that they don't want new data centers in their community. So a lot of concern right now from people in both parties. But President Trump just blasted the move with a lengthy truth social post. He called data centers, quote, money machines for the states that land them and argued the taxes and jobs that they create amount to, quote, liquid gold. The President said that Governor Hochul was halting these projects for, in his view, quote, political reasons and was going to come at the expense of her constituents, will now, in his view, miss out on millions of dollars in tax revenue. And he says that these jobs will also instead just go to states like Texas and Florida, where they are more welcome. The President also called on the governor to reverse the policy and left off with a warning that Democrats, quote, must not be allowed to cause us to lose data centers, AI and all of this incredible new technology to China. And the China point there is important. We've heard that from a lot of Republicans, that China does not want us innovating when it comes to this technology and that they are very happy anytime they see us data center put on pause. A huge factor in the AI race, as they point out, between the US And China just comes down to raw computing power. And computing power comes from data centers. And China could absolutely come out on top if companies like OpenAI and Anthropic are throttled in developing their new models due to a lack of data centers. And President Trump is not the only one making that argument. Congressman Josh Gottheimer, for example, the New Jersey Democrat who co chairs the House Democratic Commission on AI, actually made a similar point. He said, quote, just having a blanket moratorium, saying we're just going to pack up, go home, hand AI over to China and let them beat us. Makes zero sense to me. And Pennsylvania Democratic Senator John Fetterman had a two word reaction to Hochul's order on X saying, quote, china wins.

[Georgia Howe]

Now, defenders of the moratorium, though, are also pointing to the grid in New York. They're saying that it's overtaxing the grid, potentially driving up costs. Is there merit to that argument?

[Cabot Phillips]

Well, there's no question the data centers do require a good bit of power to run. But Trump's energy secretary, Chris Wright went on Fox and argued that electric prices in places like California and New York are going up not because of data centers, but because of bad Democratic energy policy.

[John Bickley]

Governor Hochul has it exactly backwards. Energy is expensive in New York and now, and now sparse because of bad Democrat policies.

[Cabot Phillips]

Nothing to do with data centers.

[John Bickley]

In fact, that's the solution, not the problem.

[Cabot Phillips]

Supporters of the AI industry will also point to states like Virginia, where you have more data centers per capita than any other state. They say that the tax revenue brought in by these data centers has benefited everyone across the commonwealth and that the electricity prices in Virginia have not gone up despite the huge increase in new data center construction that we've seen. And it's worth noting that the industry is reading the tea leaves on this issue. Dozens of tech companies signed a voluntary pledge with the White House a few months ago committing to buy, bring or build their own power supply so ordinary residents don't foot the bill.

[Georgia Howe]

Although Hochul potentially is just the first. There are other Democratic states that are considering this. Which other ones are we looking at?

[Cabot Phillips]

Yeah, there's a good chance that New York is just the first domino to fall here. Democratic lawmakers in 15 states have now introduced similar moratorium proposals. And Senator Bernie Sanders and Congresswoman Alexandria Costa Cortez introduced a bill of their own in Congress that would impose a nationwide pause on data center construction. Party leadership has not yet gotten behind Sanders proposal, but it is pretty clear that it isn't the last moratorium we're going to be seeing. There could be a much bigger federal push, though it remains to be seen if that would gain momentum.

[Georgia Howe]

Well, and as you mentioned, it's a fraud issue across the board. Cabot, thanks for reporting.

[Cabot Phillips]

Absolutely.

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[Georgia Howe]

A combative congressional hearing for Trump's choice of attorney general saw Todd Blanche fending off attacks from Democrats on a variety of fronts.

[Cabot Phillips]

Joining us now to discuss what went down in the hearing is our D.C. bureau chief, Tim Rice. Tim, thanks for coming on.

[John Bickley]

Yeah, happy to be here, guys.

[Cabot Phillips]

So first big picture, how did Blanche do during this Democrat grilling yesterday?

[John Bickley]

Yeah, you know, it's a great question. He did, I'll say. All right, he did pretty good. You know, he did probably better than Pam Bondi, who kind of came ready to fight and when was locking clause with Democrats on the committee. Right from the beginning, Blanche learning from those mistakes was a little bit more measured, a little bit more kept it a little bit of kept his cards close to the vest with a few exceptions, which we can talk about in a minute. But ultimately, you know, it's sort of a 50 50. He fought with Democrats. Of course he had to answer some tough questions about things like the Epstein files, even from Republic Republicans. But at the end of the day, this is A Republican controlled committee in a Republican controlled Senate whose newest member is Senator Darlene Graham, the late Lindsey Graham sister, who was just sworn in earlier this week. So the fact that they managed to fill Lindsey Graham's seat already means that Blanche almost certainly has the votes to make it out of committee and go to the floor. So, you know, eventful but not groundbreaking. And the, there's a second part of the hearing today, so we're going to have to see, you know, maybe the fireworks will be saved for, for part two.

[Cabot Phillips]

Democrats have repeatedly questioned Blanch about his close ties to President Trump. Is there a legitimate conflict of interest concern there?

[John Bickley]

I think it's a reasonable question to ask. Right. He wasn't just, he wasn't someone who worked in the first Trump administration. He wasn't someone who was general counsel to a Trump organization. He was Donald Trump's personal defense attorney. He represented the president in a number of suits, including the recently settled E. Jean Carroll suit, the ongoing lawsuit against the New York Times, things that the Justice Department has now taken up now, things that, of course, Blanche has says if he's confirmed as attorney general, he will recuse himself from. But I think, yes, these are, these are reasonable questions for lawmakers to ask. Did Democrats always ask them in the most reasonable way? No, of course not. But Blanche, I think this was really where his composure really shone through. You know, he said, I'm not going to hide it. I've known Donald Trump for many years. I was his lawyer in a personal capacity. I'm close with him. I am friendly with him. But I have also been the deputy attorney general for a long time, time I have served. I have testified before this committee. I am here to convince you senators on this committee that I am up to the task and suitable for this job. And that did really, again, shine through in the, throughout the confirmation as he gave very measured and very lawyerly, I say complimentary answers about questions like can Donald Trump run for a third term? He said, obviously not. It's constitutionally prohibited. Can Donald Trump pardon January six rioters? Of course he can. The Constitution does not place any limit or asterisk on the pardon power.

[Cabot Phillips]

Right. January six came up a good bit. Democrats also, as you mentioned, brought up the Epstein files. Blanche says the Trump administration has been more transparent than any past administration on the Epstein files. How persuasive is that argument?

[John Bickley]

One thing that Blanche kept stressing was the Justice Department under President Trump has not closed a single open investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell or any of their associates. So he, he didn't say it out loud, but the implication was, you know, we're trying, yes, I'm going to say that we've been the most transparent administration on this stuff. But for those of you on the committee and certainly those on my side of the aisle who think that we could be more transparent about this, don't worry, we haven't stopped anything. The investigations are all still ongoing. Little bit of a wink, wink to Republicans on the committee almost saying, confirm me and we'll see a little bit more movement on the Epstein files, which, of course, was one of the things that the President was most disappointed in. Former Attorney General Pat Bondy, assuming he

[Cabot Phillips]

is confirmed that Blanche is confirmed, what are the biggest challenges he faces immediately?

[John Bickley]

I mean, the things that we've, that we've discussed in so far and the things that he mentioned in his hearing, the ongoing Epstein saga, again, coming from both left and right, I think dealing with the President's legal challenges, one of the things that he was questioned a lot about today was the Justice Department subpoenaing New York Times reporters pursuant to the President's suit against them. That was another area where he gave a pretty good lawyer, lawyerly answered crime, law enforcement efforts, specifically at the federal level and potentially dealing with the fallout, things like we've seen with ICE agents in Maine. But otherwise, again, it's not to say that it's an easy road ahead for Todd Blanch if he gets confirmed, but it's all the issues that we're pretty familiar with right now and all the issues that Todd Blanche is very familiar with, because they're the issues that the Trump administration has been pushing and responding to this entire time.

[Cabot Phillips]

Indeed. Well, Tim, thank you so much for coming on.

[John Bickley]

Of course, John.

[Cabot Phillips]

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[Georgia Howe]

Here with more on the explosive situation is Daily Wire reporter Lyndon Blake. So, Lyndon, tell us about this parasitic illness that people primarily in the Midwest are experiencing. What is it and how many people are affected?

[Lyndon Blake]

Yeah, so the scientific name is Cyclospora. When people are infected by this parasite, they have watery, horrible diarrhea sometimes described as explosive. So this is something that is, they think could be coming from produce during this current outbreak that has nearly 7,000 cases. As you mentioned, a lot of states in the Midwest are being affected right now, primarily Michigan. They're approaching the 4,000 case mark. But on ways it spreads, I mean, to simply put it, it can come from food that has been contaminated when an infected person with poor hand hygiene handles it. So this is something where you get human feces potentially in water or on food, and that person can then spread it that way. Person to person is very rare. So it's more coming from produce. Taco Bell is under investigation right now checking out their lettuce. The authorities in Michigan are kind of zoning in on these pre washed salad kits as potentially a source. It's happened very rapidly. But they're asking people who develop these horrible symptoms to kind of think back to what you've had to eat over the past two weeks. Because sometimes this explosive diarrhea can lay dormant for up to 14 days.

[Georgia Howe]

And what can you do to prevent this from happening?

[Lyndon Blake]

Well, one, get better friends. Just kidding. You can hang out with people that wash their hands and take care of themselves, have good hygienes. When you're dealing with produce, you can wash your fruits and vegetables. You try to take out outer layers of the produce. But one thing to guarantee it is to cook food at 158 degrees. Now, that is cited as the only way to destroy Cyclospora. Freezing it can inactivate the parasite, but does not guarantee its safety. So while lettuce is being looked at right now, other commonly impacted foods include cilantro, raspberries, basil. So again, a lot of people are choosing to throw out their produce, but health officials say don't clean out your refrigerator just yet. They're still working to find the exact cause, but something to be aware of when you're looking at produce that's maybe imported from a different country.

[Georgia Howe]

Now, we mentioned the epicenter of this is in the Midwest. But what other states are starting to experience cases.

[Lyndon Blake]

Yeah, you have Ohio, that has a lot of cases. New York, North Carolina, West Virginia, Kentucky, they are all seeing an increase of this explosive diarrhea. Now, this parasite is oftentimes found in some people during the summer months. That's when it's most common. But they have noted, yes, this is an outbreak. This is, this is spreading like wildfire into numbers that are way above average. And some of the symptoms that you may be looking for are in addition to the diarrhea that we mentioned, you may have severe stomach cramps, bloating, vomiting in a fever is rare for this specific parasite. You could have a loss of appetite even, and fatigue. That's according to the Cleveland Clinic. But on average, this is what's shocking. It can last 57 days. And there have been some cases that have been reported to go on for more than 100 days. So when you see people that have been hospitalized right now, it's about 141. That is why this can be ongoing and turn into a very severe condition, dehydration. But thankfully, if it's caught and treated, it's not life threatening.

[Georgia Howe]

All right, well, Linden, thanks so much for reporting.

[Lyndon Blake]

Thanks.

[Georgia Howe]

Thanks for waking up with us. The reporting that fuels this show is only possible because you tune in every day and because of our Daily Wire subscribers.

[Cabot Phillips]

To enjoy the show ad free and join our mission, become a [e-mail] we'll be back in this evening. More news you need to know.