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More than 16,000 pounds of ground beef sold at Walmart stores across the US have been recalled over a possible E. coli contamination, the US Department of Agriculture said.

The beef comes from Cargill Meat Solutions in Hazleton, Pa., per a “high class” warning issued on the USDA’s site on Wednesday, and were “shipped to Walmart locations nationwide.”

Affected packages of the ground-up protein have an establishment ID of “EST. 86P,” were produced between April 26 and April 27 and all bear a USDA mark of inspection.

The packages — which do not identify Cargill on labels — span “93% lean, 7% fat all natural lean ground beef,” prime rib beef steak burgers, and “85% lean, 15% fat all natural premium ground beef.”

Packages of “80% lean, 20% fat all natural ground beef chuck,” as well as four-packs of ground beef chuck patties and ground beef sirloin patties were also included in the recall, which spans a total of 16,243 pounds of meat.

The strain of E. coli that has potentially contaminated the six types of ground beef in question, O157:H7, “can cause severe stomach cramps, bloody diarrhea and vomiting,” according to the Mayo Clinic.

Healthy adults will typically feel the symptoms of ingesting E. coli O157:H7 within three to four days, and can recover within the following week.

Children and older adults, however, are at “risk of developing a life-threatening form of kidney failure” from the E. coli strain, the Mayo Clinic said.

The USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service advised anyone with the plastic-wrapped trays of beef included in the recall to throw them away or returned to their place of purchase for a refund.

The FSIS confirmed that as of Wednesday, “there have been no confirmed reports of adverse reactions due to consumption of these products.”

The recall marks the second time this month that the FSIS has found that ground beef was potentially infected by the harmful bacteria.

The agency found last week that more than a dozen ground beef products produced by the Greater Omaha Packing Co. may be tainted with E. coli as well.

The FSIS said it was concerned that some products may be in consumers and food service institutions freezers and urged the public not to consume them due to possible contamination.

Packaging of the products, which were made on March 28, should show an April 22 Use/Freeze by date and the establishment number EST. 960A.

Greater Omaha Packing produces beef that goes to more than 70 countries.

Another contaminant — inorganic arsenic — was found in a lot of Martinelli’s pricey apple juice on Tuesday.

The voluntary recall affects a lot of one-liter bottles with a best by date of either March 9, 2026, or March 20, 2026, which contained levels of inorganic arsenic exceeding the US Food and Drug Administrations standards, USA Today earlier reported.

The size of the lot a retailing term that typically refers to the quantity of a product ordered for a specific date or manufactured during a single production run couldnt immediately be learned.

The glass bottles — which were being sold at Target, Whole Foods, Publix, Kroger and Winn-Dixie for a steep roughly $18 each — were sent to stores between March 13, 2023, and Sept. 27, 2023.

The World Health Organization warned that consuming inorganic arsenic can lead to acute arsenic poisoning, which comes with concerning immediate symptoms like vomiting, abdominal pain and diarrhea.

“These are followed by numbness and tingling of the extremities, muscle cramping and death, in extreme cases, the WHO added of exposure to inorganic arsenic, which it said is a confirmed carcinogen.”

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World

Trump warns Hamas – and claims Israel has agreed to 60-day ceasefire in Gaza

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Trump warns Hamas - and claims Israel has agreed to 60-day ceasefire in Gaza

Analysis: Many unanswered questions remain

In the long Gaza war, this is a significant moment.

For the people of Gaza, for the hostages and their families – this could be the moment it ends. But we have been here before, so many times.

The key question – will Hamas accept what Israel has agreed to: a 60-day ceasefire?

At the weekend, a source at the heart of the negotiations told me: “Both Hamas and Israel are refusing to budge from their position – Hamas wants the ceasefire to last until a permanent agreement is reached. Israel is opposed to this. At this point only President Trump can break this deadlock.”

The source added: “Unless Trump pushes, we are in a stalemate.”

The problem is that the announcement made now by Donald Trump – which is his social-media-summarised version of whatever Israel has actually agreed to – may just amount to Israel’s already-established position.

We don’t know the details and conditions attached to Israel’s proposals.

Would Israeli troops withdraw from Gaza? Totally? Or partially? How many Palestinian prisoners would they agree to release from Israel’s jails? And why only 60 days? Why not a total ceasefire? What are they asking of Hamas in return? We just don’t know the answers to any of these questions, except one.

We do know why Israel wants a 60-day ceasefire, not a permanent one. It’s all about domestic politics.

If Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was to agree now to a permanent ceasefire, the extreme right-wingers in his coalition would collapse his government.

Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich have both been clear about their desire for the war to continue. They hold the balance of power in Mr Netanyahu’s coalition.

If Mr Netanyahu instead agrees to just 60 days – which domestically he can sell as just a pause – then that may placate the extreme right-wingers for a few weeks until the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, is adjourned for the summer.

It is also no coincidence that the US president has called for Mr Netanyahu’s corruption trial to be scrapped.

Without the prospect of jail, Mr Netanyahu might be more willing to quit the war safe in the knowledge that focus will not shift immediately to his own political and legal vulnerability.

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UK

The PM faced down his party on welfare and lost. I suspect things may only get worse

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The PM faced down his party on welfare and lost. I suspect things may only get worse

So much for an end to chaos and sticking plaster politics.

Yesterday, Sir Keir Starmer abandoned his flagship welfare reforms at the eleventh hour – hectic scenes in the House of Commons that left onlookers aghast.

Facing possible defeat on his welfare bill, the PM folded in a last-minute climbdown to save his skin.

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Welfare bill passes second reading

The decision was so rushed that some government insiders didn’t even know it was coming – as the deputy PM, deployed as a negotiator, scrambled to save the bill or how much it would cost.

“Too early to answer, it’s moved at a really fast pace,” said one.

The changes were enough to whittle back the rebellion to 49 MPs as the prime minister prevailed, but this was a pyrrhic victory.

Sir Keir lost the argument with his own backbenchers over his flagship welfare reforms, as they roundly rejected his proposed cuts to disability benefits for existing claimants or future ones, without a proper review of the entire personal independence payment (PIP) system first.

PM wins key welfare vote – follow latest

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Welfare bill blows ‘black hole’ in chancellor’s accounts

That in turn has blown a hole in the public finances, as billions of planned welfare savings are shelved.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves now faces the prospect of having to find £5bn.

As for the politics, the prime minister has – to use a war analogy – spilled an awful lot of blood for little reward.

He has faced down his MPs and he has lost.

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‘Lessons to learn’, says Kendall

They will be emboldened from this and – as some of those close to him admit – will find it even harder to govern.

After the vote, in central lobby, MPs were already saying that the government should regard this as a reset moment for relations between No 10 and the party.

The prime minister always said during the election that he would put country first and party second – and yet, less than a year into office, he finds himself pinned back by his party and blocked from making what he sees are necessary reforms.

I suspect it will only get worse. When I asked two of the rebel MPs how they expected the government to cover off the losses in welfare savings, Rachael Maskell, a leading rebel, suggested the government introduce welfare taxes.

Meanwhile, Work and Pensions Select Committee chair Debbie Abrahams told me “fiscal rules are not natural laws” – suggesting the chancellor could perhaps borrow more to fund public spending.

Read more:
How did your MP vote?
Welfare cuts branded ‘Dickensian’

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Should the govt slash the welfare budget?

These of course are both things that Ms Reeves has ruled out.

But the lesson MPs will take from this climbdown is that – if they push hard in enough and in big enough numbers – the government will give ground.

The fallout for now is that any serious cuts to welfare – something the PM says is absolutely necessary – are stalled for the time being, with the Stephen Timms review into PIP not reporting back until November 2026.

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Tearful MP urges govt to reconsider

Had the government done this differently and reviewed the system before trying to impose the cuts – a process only done ahead of the Spring Statement in order to help the chancellor fix her fiscal black hole – they may have had more success.

Those close to the PM say he wants to deliver on the mandate the country gave him in last year’s election, and point out that Sir Keir Starmer is often underestimated – first as party leader and now as prime minister.

But on this occasion, he underestimated his own MPs.

His job was already difficult enough – and after this it will be even harder still.

If he can’t govern his party, he can’t deliver change he promised.

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Politics

US sanctions crypto wallet tied to ransomware, infostealer host

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US sanctions crypto wallet tied to ransomware, infostealer host

US sanctions crypto wallet tied to ransomware, infostealer host

The US Treasury has sanctioned a crypto wallet containing $350,000 tied to the alleged cybercrime hosting service Aeza Group.

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