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A Massachusetts teenager died from a cardiac arrest after taking part in a challenge where he ate what was believed to be one of the spiciest crisps in the world.

Harris Wolobah, 14, from Worcester, died on 1 September last year after eating a Paqui chip as part of the manufacturer’s One Chip Challenge.

The challenge, popular on social media, involved eating supposedly one of the spiciest tortilla chips in the world, then bearing the heat for as long as possible before eating or drinking something else for relief.

It came individually wrapped and Paqui’s website previously said it is made from two of the hottest chilli peppers in the world – the Carolina Reaper and Scorpion.

An autopsy concluded the teenager died from a cardiopulmonary arrest “in the setting of recent ingestion of food substance with high capsaicin concentration”. Capsaicin is the component that gives chili peppers their heat.

A Paqui tortilla chip, which Harris Wolobah ate before subsequently having a heart attack. Pic: AP
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Paqui has discontinued the One Chip Challenge after multiple reports of children being hospitalised. Pic: AP


But the Chief Office of the Medical Examiner also found Harris had an enlarged heart and myocardial bridging, where a major artery runs inside of the heart muscle instead of on its surface.

In a statement after the autopsy was released, Paqui said they were “deeply saddened” by the teen’s death, and “extend our condolences to his family and friends”.

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The Texas-based manufacturer added that because of the incident and others where teenagers were taken to hospital, they had stopped selling the spicy chip.

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“While the product adhered to food safety standards, out of an abundance of caution, we worked with retailers to voluntarily remove the product from shelves in September 2023, and the One Chip Challenge has been discontinued,” they said.

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Harris’s mother Lois Walobah told NBC10 Boston last year she was called to the school by a nurse and her son had told him a classmate gave him the chip, leaving him with a bad stomach ache.

They went home but later that afternoon his brother yelled Harris had passed out, she said.

He was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead.

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James Comey: Trump says ex-FBI director’s seashells post ‘meant assassination’

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James Comey: Trump says ex-FBI director's seashells post 'meant assassination'

A former FBI director has been interviewed by the US Secret Service over a social media post that Republicans say was a call for violence against President Donald Trump.

James Comey, who led the FBI from 2013 until he was fired in 2017 by Mr Trump during his first term in office, shared a photo of seashells appearing to form the numbers “86 47”.

James Comey, then the FBI Director, in July  2016. File pic: AP/J. Scott Applewhite
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James Comey later removed the Instagram post. File pic: AP

He captioned the Instagram post: “Cool shell formation on my beach walk.”

Some have interpreted the post as a threat, alleging that 86 47 means to violently remove Mr Trump from office, including by assassination.

What does ’86 47′ mean?

The number 86 can be used as a verb in the US. It commonly means “to throw somebody out of a bar for being drunk or disorderly”.

One recent meaning of the term is “to kill”, according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, which said it had not adopted this meaning of 86 “due to its relative recency and sparseness of use”.

The number has previously been used in a political context by Matt Gaetz, who was President Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general but withdrew from consideration following a series of sexual misconduct allegations.

Mr Gaetz wrote: “We’ve now 86’d…” and listed political opponents he had sparred with who ended up stepping down.

Meanwhile, 47 is supposedly representing Mr Trump, who is the 47th US president.

Mr Comey later removed the post, saying he thought the numbers “were a political message” and that he was not aware that the numeric arrangement could be associated with violence.

“I didn’t realise some folks associate those numbers with violence. It never occurred to me, but I oppose violence of any kind, so I took the post down,” Mr Comey said.

Mr Trump rejected the former FBI director’s explanation, telling Fox News: “He knew exactly what that meant. A child knows what that meant… that meant assassination.”

Donald Trump Jr accused Mr Comey of “casually calling for my dad to be murdered”.

US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem confirmed in a post on X that Mr Comey had been interviewed as part of “an ongoing investigation” but gave no indication of whether he might face further action.

The Secret Service is part of the Department of Homeland Security.

White House deputy chief of staff Taylor Budowich said Mr Comey had put out “what can clearly be interpreted as a hit on the sitting president of the United States”.

“This is deeply concerning to all of us and is being taken seriously,” Mr Budowich wrote on X.

Another White House official James Blair said the post was a “Clarion Call (…) to terrorists & hostile regimes to kill the President of the United States as he travels in the Middle East”.

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Mr Trump fired Mr Comey in May 2017 for botching an investigation into 2016 democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, the White House said at the time.

While Mr Comey was the director of the FBI, the agency opened an investigation into possible collusion between the Trump 2016 presidential campaign and Russia to help get Mr Trump elected.

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Trump officials considerTV show where immigrants compete for US citizenship

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Trump officials considerTV show where immigrants compete for US citizenship

The Trump administration is considering a TV show whereby immigrants compete for the prize of US citizenship, the Department for Homeland Security has confirmed.

It would see contestants compete in tasks across different states and include trivia and “civic” challenges, according to the producer who pitched the idea.

Participants could battle it out to build a rocket at NASA headquarters, Rob Worsoff suggested.

Confirming the administration was considering the idea, Department for Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said: “We need to revive patriotism and civic duty in this country, and we’re happy to review out-of-the-box pitches. This pitch has not received approval or rejection by staff.”

It comes amid hardline immigration measures implemented by President Donald Trump on his return to office in January.

Since being back in the White House he has ordered “mass deportations” and used the Alien Enemies Act to deport alleged gang members to countries in Central and South America.

Rob Worsoff (left) with Jack Osbourne in 2013. Pic: AP
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Rob Worsoff in 2013. Pic: AP

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Mr Worsoff, who is a Canadian-American citizen, said his pitch was inspired by his own naturalisation process.

He cautioned that those who “lost” the gameshow would not be punished or deported but said the details of how it would work would be down to TV networks and federal officials.

The producer said the US was in need of “a national conversation about what it means to be American”.

He said the show, if accepted by a network, would “get to know” contestants and “their stories and their journeys”, while “celebrating them as humans”.

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Behind the scenes of Trump trip

Meanwhile, the Department for Homeland Security has asked for 20,000 National Guard troops from various states to assist with its efforts rounding up illegal immigrants.

Currently, the federal Enforcement and Removals Operations agency only has around 7,700 staff – but the boost would help fulfil Mr Trump’s inauguration promises.

The Trump administration has already recruited 10,000 troops under state and federal orders to bolster the US-Mexico border.

Some have now been given the power to detain migrants within a newly militarised strip of land just adjacent to it.

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‘Mass casualty event’ declared as tornadoes hit Kentucky and Missouri

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'Mass casualty event' declared as tornadoes hit Kentucky and Missouri

At least 21 people have died after tornadoes hit two US states, according to local officials.

Fourteen people have died in Kentucky, its governor Andy Beshear said, while seven have died in Missouri.

The weather system also saw tornadoes tear through Wisconsin, leaving hundreds of thousands of people without power.

In the city of St Louis, five people were confirmed dead and more than 5,000 homes were damaged, mayor Cara Spencer said on Saturday.

The storm system originally hit Scott County, 130 miles south of St Louis, on Friday, killing two people, Sheriff Derick Wheetley said.

The devastation that ensued saw roofs torn off buildings, blown-out windows, toppled trees, and power lines.

A house completely collapsed in St Louis, Missouri on Friday. Pic: Reuters
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A house completely collapsed in St Louis, Missouri on Friday. Pic: Reuters

Map showing location of tornadoes which have swept across the Midwest leaving at least 21 dead, inc Missouri and Kentucky
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A map of the most impacted areas

St Louis mayor Cara Spencer said: “Our city is grieving tonight. The loss of life and the destruction is truly, truly horrendous.”

Dozens of people are believed to have been injured and in hospital, but the exact numbers in Missouri have not been confirmed.

Kentucky officials described the situation there as a “mass casualty event” after the weather system tore across Laurel County late on Friday.

The side of a house is seen ripped off by storms in St Louis, Missouri. Pic: Reuters
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The side of a house ripped off by storms in St Louis, Missouri. Pic: Reuters

Several people were taken to hospital, buildings were damaged, and a car flipped over on a busy highway, local officials reported.

Laurel County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Gilbert Acciardo said rescuers had “been on the ground all night looking for possible survivors”.

Kentucky governor Mr Beshear wrote on X that the number of dead in the state was likely to increase from 14 “as we receive more information”.

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People sit outside their destroyed homes in St Louis, Missouri late on Friday. Pic: Reuters
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People sit outside their destroyed homes in St Louis, Missouri late on Friday. Pic: Reuters

Further devastation expected in other states

The National Weather Service warned of further devastation hitting Texas, Kansas, and Oklahoma on Saturday.

“Severe thunderstorms producing large to very large hail, damaging gusts, and a couple of tornadoes are expected across the southern Plains,” it said on its website.

The Midwest tornadoes were also expected to hit Illinois, eventually stretching to New Jersey and the Atlantic coast.

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