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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and health officials in several states are investigating a multistate Salmonella infection outbreak linked to whole cucumbers grown in Florida and shipped around the country. As a result of the ongoing investigation, health officials have recalled whole cucumbers grown by Bedner Growers Inc. and distributed by Fresh Start Produce Inc. between April 29, 2025, and May 19, 2025. As of Monday, 26 people have been infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella. Cases have been reported in 15 states. Nine people have been hospitalized; no deaths have been reported. Several people reported feeling ill after being on cruises that departed from Florida. Which products were impacted? The outbreak is linked to whole, nonorganic varieties. Cucumbers may have been sold individually or in smaller packages and may be within shelf life for the rest of this week. Cucumbers were distributed to stores, restaurants, and other facilities. The FDA is working to determine where potentially contaminated products were distributed. Businesses that purchased whole cucumbers grown by Bedner Growers Inc. and distributed by Fresh Start Produce Inc. between April 29 and May 19 should not sell or serve them and should notify their customers of the potential health concern, health officials said. Illnesses were reported in the following states: Alabama California Colorado Florida Illinois Kansas Kentucky Michigan New York North Carolina Ohio Pennsylvania South Carolina Tennessee Virginia Additional information regarding the outbreak can be found here. What if I bought whole cucumbers recently? If you have whole cucumbers at home and don’t know where theyre from, throw them out. You should also wash and sanitize surfaces and items that they may have come in contact with. If you experience severe symptoms of Salmonella, such as diarrhea and a fever higher than 102°F, or diarrhea that doesn’t improve after three days, contact a healthcare provider. Most people recover within a few days. Why does this sound familiar? This is not the first time that produce grown by Bedner Growers, Inc. has been linked to a Salmonella outbreak. A 2024 investigation found that cucumbers from Bedner Growers, Inc. and Thomas Produce Company, of Boca Raton, Florida, were likely sources of a Salmonella outbreak that resulted in 551 illnesses across 34 states and the District of Columbia. As part of a follow-up investigation, the FDA said it collected an environmental sample from Bedner Growers, Inc. in April 2025. The sample was positive for Salmonella and matched recent clinical samples of sick individuals impacted by the current outbreak. Fast Company has reached out to Bedner Growers for comment. We will update this post if we receive a response.
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On April 14, 2025, Blue Origin launched six womenAisha Bowe, Amanda Nguyn, Gayle King, Katy Perry, Kerianne Flynn and Lauren Sánchezon a suborbital journey to the edge of space. The headlines called it a historic moment for women in space. But as a tourism educator, I pausednot because I questioned their experience, but because I questioned the language. Were they astronauts or space tourists? The distinction mattersnot just for accuracy, but for understanding how experience, symbolism and motivation shape travel today. In tourism studies, my colleagues and I often ask what motivates travel and makes it a meaningful experience. These women crossed a boundary by leaving Earths surface. But they also stepped into a controversy about a symbolic one: the blurred line between astronaut and tourist, between scientific achievement and curated experience. This flight wasnt just about the altitude they flew toit was about what it meant. As commercial space travel becomes more accessible to civilians, more people are joining spaceflights not as scientists or mission specialists, but as invited guests or paying participants. The line between astronaut and space tourist is becoming increasingly blurred. In my own work, I explore how travelers find meaning in the way their journeys are framed. A tourism studies perspective can help unpack how experiences like the Blue Origin flight are designed, marketed and ultimately understood by travelers and the tourism industry. So, were these passengers astronauts? Not in the traditional sense. They werent selected through NASAs rigorous training protocols, nor were they conducting research or exploration in orbit. Instead, they belong to a new category: space tourists. These are participants in a crafted, symbolic journey that reflects how commercial spaceflight is redefining what it means to go to space. Space tourism as a niche market Space tourism has its origins in 1986 with the launch of the Mir space station, which later became the first orbital platform to host nonprofessional astronauts. In the 1990s and early 2000s, Mir and its successor, the International Space Station, welcomed a handful of privately funded civilian guestsmost notably U.S. businessman Dennis Tito in 2001, often cited as the first space tourist. Space tourism has since evolved into a niche market selling brief encounters to the edge of Earths atmosphere. While passengers on the NS-31 flight did not purchase their seats, the experience mirrors those sold by commercial space tourism providers such as Virgin Galactic. Like other forms of niche tourismwellness retreats, heritage trails or extreme adventuresspace travel appeals to those drawn to novelty, exclusivity and status, regardless of whether they purchased the ticket. These suborbital flights may last just minutes, but they offer something far more lasting: prestige, personal storytelling and the feeling of participating in something rare. Space tourism sells the experience of being somewhere few have visited, not the destination itself. For many, even a 10-minute flight can fulfill a deeply personal milestone. Tourist motivation and space tourisms evolution The push-and-pull theory in tourism studies helps explain why people might want to pursue space travel. Push factorsinternal desires such as curiosity, an urge to escape or an eagerness to gain famespark interest. Pull factorsexternal elements such as wishing to see the view of Earth from above or experience the sensation of weightlessnessenhance the appeal. Space tourism taps into both. Its fueled by the internal drive to do something extraordinary and the external attraction of a highly choreographed, emotional experience. These flights are often brandednot necessarily with flashy logos, but through storytelling and design choices that make the experience feel iconic. For example, while the New Shepard rocket the women traveled in doesnt carry a separate emblem, it features the companys name, Blue Origin, in bold letters along the side. Passengers wear personalized flight suits, pose for preflight photos and receive mission patches or certificates, all designed to echo the rituals of professional space missions. Whats being sold is an astronaut-for-a-day experience: emotionally powerful, visually compelling and rich with symbolism. But under tourism classifications, these travelers are space touristsparticipants in a curated, short-duration excursion. Representation and marketing experience The image from the Blue Origin flight of six women boarding a rocket was framed as a symbolic victorya girl-power moment designed for visibility and celebrationbut it was also carefully curated. This wasnt the first time women entered space. Since its inception, NASA has selected 61 women as astronaut candidates, many of them making groundbreaking contributions to space science and exploration. Sally Ride, Mae Jemison, Christina Koch and Jessica Meir not only entered spacethey trained as astronauts and contributed significantly to science, engineering and long-duration missions. Their journeys marked historic achievements in space exploration rather than curated moments in tourism. Recognizing their legacy is important as commercial spaceflight creates new kinds of unique, tailored experiences, ones shaped more by media performance than by scientific milestones. The Blue Origin flight was not a scientific mission but rather was framed as a symbolic event. In tourism, companies, marketers and media outlets often create these performances to maximize their visibility. SpaceX has taken a similar approach with its Inspiration4 mission, turning a private orbital flight into a global media event complete wit a Netflix documentary and emotional storytelling. The Blue Origin flight sold a feeling of progress while blending the roles between astronaut and guest. For Blue Origin, the symbolic value was significant. By launching the first all-female crew into suborbital space, the company was able to claim a historic milestoneone that aligned them with inclusionwithout the cost, complexity or risk associated with a scientific mission. In doing so, they generated enormous media attention. Tourism education and media literacy In todays world, space travel is all about the story that gets told about the flight. From curated visuals to social media posts and press coverage, much of the experiences meaning is shaped by marketing and media. Understanding that process mattersnot just for scholars or industry insiders, but for members of the public, who follow these trips through the narratives produced by the companies marketing teams and media outlets. Another theory in tourism studies describes how destinations evolve over timefrom exploration, to development, to mass adoption. Many forms of tourism begin in an exploration phase, accessible only to the wealthy or well connected. For example, the Grand Tour of Europe was once a rite of passage for aristocrats. Its legacy helped shape and develop modern travel. Right now, space tourism is in the exploration stage. Its expensive, exclusive and available only to a few. Theres limited infrastructure to support it, and companies are still experimenting with what the experience should look like. This isnt mass tourism yet, its more like a high-profile playground for early adopters, drawing media attention and curiosity with every launch. Advances in technology, economic shifts and changing cultural norms can increase access to unique destinations that start as out of bounds to a majority of tourists. Space tourism could be the next to evolve this way in the tourism industry. How its framed nowwho gets to go, how the participants are labeled and how their stories are toldwill set the tone moving forward. Understanding these trips helps people see how society packages and sells an inspirational experience long before most people can afford to join the journey. Betsy Pudliner is an associate professor of hospitality and technology innovation at the University of Wisconsin-Stout. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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Want more housing market stories from Lance Lamberts ResiClub in your inbox? Subscribe to the ResiClub newsletter. This week, Zillow economists published their updated 12-month forecast, projecting that U.S. home pricesas measured by the Zillow Home Value Indexwill fall by 0.9% between April 2025 and April 2026. After a series of downward revisionsbeginning in January, when Zillow’s 12-month national home price forecast was +2.9%, and subsequently lowered each month until reaching -1.7% last monthZillow has finally stopped downgrading its outlook. That said, its fair to call the Zillow economist bearish, given that for this forecast to be correct, 2025 would mark the first calendar-year home price decline since 2011. Why did Zillow downgrade its forecast for national home prices so many times this year? The rise in [active] listings is fueling softer price growth, as greater supply provides more options and more bargaining power for buyers, Zillow economists wrote in March. Potential buyers are opting to remain renters for longer as affordability challenges suppress demand for home purchases. Zillow thinks strained housing affordabilitycaused by U.S. home prices rising over 40% during the pandemic housing boom and mortgage rates spiking from 3% to 6% in 2022is weighing on price growth. “Affordability is still challenging buyers. A mortgage payment on a typical home in March required about 35.3% of median household income nationwide when using a 20% down payment,” wrote Zillow chief economist Skylar Olsen last month. “Thats a slight improvement over last year, but is still unaffordable. Spending more than 30% of income on housing is considered a financial burden, and a 20% down payment is a steep entry fee, coming out to about $72,000 on the typical U.S. home.” According to Zillows home price model, the listing site also believes that weakening and softening housing markets across the Sun Belt will weigh on nationally aggregated home prices this year. !function(){"use strict";window.addEventListener("message",(function(a){if(void 0!==a.data["datawrapper-height"]){var e=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var t in a.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r,i=0;r=e[i];i++)if(r.contentWindow===a.source){var d=a.data["datawrapper-height"][t]+"px";r.style.height=d}}}))}(); Among the 300 largest U.S. metro area housing markets, Zillow expects the strongest home price appreciation between April 2025 and April 2026 to occur in these 10 areas: Atlantic City, NJ: 3.2% Kingston, NY: 2.6% Torrington, CT: 2.4% Knoxville, TN: 2.3% Rochester, NY: 2.2% Syracuse, NY: 2.0% Vineland, NJ: 2.0% Fayetteville, AR: 1.9% Concord, NH: 1.9% Hilton Head Island, SC: 1.8% And these are the 10 housing markets where Zillow expects the weakest home price appreciation over that time period: Houma, LA: -10.2% Lake Charles, LA: -8.4% Alexandria, LA: -7.5% New Orleans, LA: -7.1% Lafayette, LA: -7.0% Shreveport, LA: -6.9% Beaumont, TX: -6.2% Midland, TX: -6.1% Monroe, LA: -5.5% Odessa, TX: -5.3% Below is what the current year-over-year rate of home price growth looks like for single-family and condo home prices. Florida is currently the epicenter of housing market weakness right now. !function(){"use strict";window.addEventListener("message",(function(a){if(void 0!==a.data["datawrapper-height"]){var e=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var t in a.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r,i=0;r=e[i];i++)if(r.contentWindow===a.source){var d=a.data["datawrapper-height"][t]+"px";r.style.height=d}}}))}();
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