[music] Hello and welcome to the show.
This is CNN 10 and I hope you're having an awesome Friday Eve.
Mine got off to a rough start.
My daughter asked, "Can I have a bookmark?" 5 years old and she still doesn't know my name is Koi.
Let's get to your news for Thursday, August 20th.
Starting with some unsettling news.
We've already seen more foodborne illness outbreaks in the United States this summer than in any of the previous five summers.
We are on pace for a record.
Experts say there are several reasons why.
Extreme summer heat can create conditions where some bacteria multiply faster, especially when food isn't kept at safe temperatures.
And some pathogens are particularly tough to track down.
Pathogens are things like bacteria, viruses, and parasites.
And they're capable of causing disease.
Funding cuts at the state, federal, and local levels have also made it harder to determine where these outbreaks start.
Speaking of outbreaks, a CNN investigation into one of the biggest companies tied to this summer's cycllospora outbreak, Taylor Farms, is shedding light on how they've handled similar situations in the past and what it could mean for food safety going forward.
Our Kyouong Law has more.
This is the headquarters for Taylor Farms >> cuz this is private property.
Okay.
>> Taylor Farms won't talk to us on camera today.
We'd already asked for an interview and had not heard back.
This is the company.
The FDA linked to the historic cycllospora outbreak.
[music] 6,000 sick, hundreds hospitalized, and two dead.
Here's what we want to ask the company.
The government traced at least five different outbreaks directly to Taylor Farms in the past 13 [music] years.
And a CNN review finds time after time the company turned to a similar playbook, deflecting blame.
How?
By relying on negative test [music] results to imply that Taylor Farm's products are not responsible.
Even though investigators [music] mainly find the source of outbreaks by figuring out what and where people who got sick [music] ate, >> it's deja vu all over again.
I sort of feel like we're on a a repeat record.
This month, Taylor Farm said, "According to the FDA, there are no confirmed positive sample results for product testing for cycllopppora as of August 5th, 2026.
We are confident in our food and food safety systems." Let's rewind through the known outbreaks linked to Taylor Farms.
[music] 2013, eerily similar cycllospor cases connected to Taylor Farm salad.
CEO Bruce Taylor said at the time, "All our tests have been negative and we have no evidence of cycllospora in our product." 2015, a multi-state E.coli outbreak.
Taylor's public response, the tests were preliminary findings and it looks like a false alarm.
The [music] FDA later said a product with Taylor Farms produce was the likely source.
2024, another E.coli outbreak [music] traced to onions distributed by Taylor Farms.
The company said it found no traces of the bacteria.
All Taylor Farms products in the market today are safe to consume.
>> I think they have played a little bit fast and loose with the facts.
>> Food safety attorney Bill Marlor has sued Taylor Farms a dozen times in multiple outbreaks representing more than 100 clients.
He says the company implies its food may not be to blame by telling the public their testing found no trace of the microbes.
But Marlor says that doesn't prove anything.
>> Taylor Farms is using those negative results to muddy the water.
The scientists at Taylor Farms know better, that the products that get tested are not the products that people consumed.
Um, and I and I always say this and it sounds like I'm making a joke, but people eat the evidence.
>> About half of America's domestic lettuce is grown here in the Selenus Valley in central California.
It's also where Taylor Farms is headquartered.
But the focus of this cycllosphor outbreak is in central Mexico at the Taylor Farms facility there.
The same plant linked to another cycllospora outbreak in 2013.
>> It's the same facility.
They're drawing uh iceberg lettuce in from the same area and expecting a different result.
>> Taylor Farms tells CNN it invests more than 200 million a year in food safety.
The problem is that nothing can kill cycllospora on fresh vegetables without cooking.
>> Now to Colombia, where communities are still reeling after last week's devastating 7.4 magnitude earthquake as the nation begins the process of rebuilding one of Colombia's most famous daughters, is coming home to help.
Shakira, the global superstar, returned this week to visit one of the hardest hit areas, the Choco Earthquake Zone.
The four-time Grammy winner has inspired crowds on the biggest stages, and now she's trying to inspire something even more powerful, hope.
Shakira is helping rebuild 11 local schools in partnership with the Howard G.
Buffett Foundation.
>> We are living through one of the worst tragedies Colombia has ever experienced.
But we are united and we are going to fight.
And we are not going to stop until every child returns to school, until every child can regain a sense of normality, return to their life, to their friends.
>> This is about more than just bricks and walls.
It's about rebuilding routines, community, and a sense that tomorrow might be better than today.
More than 280 people were killed and thousands more were injured in last week's quake.
Now to Hong Kong, where artificial intelligence is helping a blind man navigate the world around him like never before.
Chongqi Ming has been blind since birth.
But now using a wearable AI device, he's able to explore and even go shopping in his city all by himself for the very first time.
Check it out.
This small device is transforming how 40-year-old Chongqi Ming navigates his city.
It uses generative AI to detect his surroundings, translating it into an audible format.
>> I'm completely blind.
Totally blind since birth.
>> Through the AI technology, I can understand the world.
>> Yeah, correct.
>> Lamia Sura Ramen co-developed the device called Seeker AI to be hyper local.
generative AI or these chat bots were built for people like you and me, [music] cited individuals.
But what visual impaired people need is another added layer of information.
We've built our own database of information [music] that uh any visually impaired person can tap into and navigate.
>> That extra layer of detail on everyday life is what sets Seeker AI apart.
While volunteering during CO, Lamia realized the elderly and visually impaired people she met weren't using other assisted tech available on the market.
By pressing one button, Ming can get details like expiry dates, nutritional value or price in up to 12 different languages.
If my friend, my my family are not available, this technologies are very good kind of things to help me to do things independently.
Pop quiz shot.
Which species is believed to be the first domesticated by humans?
Horses, sheep, dogs, or birds?
If you said dogs, bow wow wow.
Yippy yo yippy yay.
You've unleashed the right answer.
Scientific evidence suggests domesticated canines were living alongside humans at least 14,000 years ago.
Man's best friend for thousands of years.
According to new research from the University of Vienna, dogs are pretty good at reading the room.
They can detect when we're happy, when we're sad, even scared.
Researchers scanned the brains of eight dogs while showing them images of strangers, displaying emotions from happiness to sadness, anger, even fear.
When the dogs saw happy human faces, researchers detected increased activity in brain regions associated with higher level processing and reward.
They responded differently to negative emotions, but their brain still showed distinct patterns of activity.
So, they may not know why we're having a rough day, but scientists suggest they may know something is up.
>> [music] >> Today's story getting a 10 out of 10.
Hollywood's most famous sidewalk just added a groundbreaking new star hailing from Benin.
Music icon Angelique Kjo made history this week, becoming the first black African performer to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
[cheering and applause] KJO's career has spanned decades.
She's earned a whopping 17 Grammy nominations, winning five of them.
And she's collaborated with stars ranging from Alicia Keys to Bono to Quo.
At her ceremony, there were singing, dancing, there were tears.
Here's some of what Kjo had to say.
>> The staff for me means that my vision of the world as a small village is a reality.
We have the same needs.
Doesn't matter where we come from, which language we speak, which skin color we have.
We are human.
It's one human family.
I don't believe in any other person telling me otherwise.
>> KJO's impact extends far beyond music.
She's served as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador since 2002 and co-founded the Batonga Foundation, which works to empower girls and young women in Africa.
Now, from one superstar to some of you superstars.
Shout out to Coach Gillette at St.
Andrews Middle School in Columbia, South Carolina.
Thank you for sharing some of your students assignments with us and congrats on being named coach of the year.
That is awesome.
This next shout out goes to Mr.
Schaer at Green Hill High School in Mount Juliet, Tennessee.
Thank you for making us a part of your day and uh be sure to send us some pictures of that pizza party.
Happy Friday Eve.
Go make someone smile.
It costs you nothing.
Only takes a moment and it just may be the spark of joy someone needs.
I'll see you tomorrow.
I'm Koi Wire and we are CNN 10.
This is CNN 10 and I hope you're having an awesome Friday Eve.
Mine got off to a rough start.
My daughter asked, "Can I have a bookmark?" 5 years old and she still doesn't know my name is Koi.
Let's get to your news for Thursday, August 20th.
Starting with some unsettling news.
We've already seen more foodborne illness outbreaks in the United States this summer than in any of the previous five summers.
We are on pace for a record.
Experts say there are several reasons why.
Extreme summer heat can create conditions where some bacteria multiply faster, especially when food isn't kept at safe temperatures.
And some pathogens are particularly tough to track down.
Pathogens are things like bacteria, viruses, and parasites.
And they're capable of causing disease.
Funding cuts at the state, federal, and local levels have also made it harder to determine where these outbreaks start.
Speaking of outbreaks, a CNN investigation into one of the biggest companies tied to this summer's cycllospora outbreak, Taylor Farms, is shedding light on how they've handled similar situations in the past and what it could mean for food safety going forward.
Our Kyouong Law has more.
This is the headquarters for Taylor Farms >> cuz this is private property.
Okay.
>> Taylor Farms won't talk to us on camera today.
We'd already asked for an interview and had not heard back.
This is the company.
The FDA linked to the historic cycllospora outbreak.
[music] 6,000 sick, hundreds hospitalized, and two dead.
Here's what we want to ask the company.
The government traced at least five different outbreaks directly to Taylor Farms in the past 13 [music] years.
And a CNN review finds time after time the company turned to a similar playbook, deflecting blame.
How?
By relying on negative test [music] results to imply that Taylor Farm's products are not responsible.
Even though investigators [music] mainly find the source of outbreaks by figuring out what and where people who got sick [music] ate, >> it's deja vu all over again.
I sort of feel like we're on a a repeat record.
This month, Taylor Farm said, "According to the FDA, there are no confirmed positive sample results for product testing for cycllopppora as of August 5th, 2026.
We are confident in our food and food safety systems." Let's rewind through the known outbreaks linked to Taylor Farms.
[music] 2013, eerily similar cycllospor cases connected to Taylor Farm salad.
CEO Bruce Taylor said at the time, "All our tests have been negative and we have no evidence of cycllospora in our product." 2015, a multi-state E.coli outbreak.
Taylor's public response, the tests were preliminary findings and it looks like a false alarm.
The [music] FDA later said a product with Taylor Farms produce was the likely source.
2024, another E.coli outbreak [music] traced to onions distributed by Taylor Farms.
The company said it found no traces of the bacteria.
All Taylor Farms products in the market today are safe to consume.
>> I think they have played a little bit fast and loose with the facts.
>> Food safety attorney Bill Marlor has sued Taylor Farms a dozen times in multiple outbreaks representing more than 100 clients.
He says the company implies its food may not be to blame by telling the public their testing found no trace of the microbes.
But Marlor says that doesn't prove anything.
>> Taylor Farms is using those negative results to muddy the water.
The scientists at Taylor Farms know better, that the products that get tested are not the products that people consumed.
Um, and I and I always say this and it sounds like I'm making a joke, but people eat the evidence.
>> About half of America's domestic lettuce is grown here in the Selenus Valley in central California.
It's also where Taylor Farms is headquartered.
But the focus of this cycllosphor outbreak is in central Mexico at the Taylor Farms facility there.
The same plant linked to another cycllospora outbreak in 2013.
>> It's the same facility.
They're drawing uh iceberg lettuce in from the same area and expecting a different result.
>> Taylor Farms tells CNN it invests more than 200 million a year in food safety.
The problem is that nothing can kill cycllospora on fresh vegetables without cooking.
>> Now to Colombia, where communities are still reeling after last week's devastating 7.4 magnitude earthquake as the nation begins the process of rebuilding one of Colombia's most famous daughters, is coming home to help.
Shakira, the global superstar, returned this week to visit one of the hardest hit areas, the Choco Earthquake Zone.
The four-time Grammy winner has inspired crowds on the biggest stages, and now she's trying to inspire something even more powerful, hope.
Shakira is helping rebuild 11 local schools in partnership with the Howard G.
Buffett Foundation.
>> We are living through one of the worst tragedies Colombia has ever experienced.
But we are united and we are going to fight.
And we are not going to stop until every child returns to school, until every child can regain a sense of normality, return to their life, to their friends.
>> This is about more than just bricks and walls.
It's about rebuilding routines, community, and a sense that tomorrow might be better than today.
More than 280 people were killed and thousands more were injured in last week's quake.
Now to Hong Kong, where artificial intelligence is helping a blind man navigate the world around him like never before.
Chongqi Ming has been blind since birth.
But now using a wearable AI device, he's able to explore and even go shopping in his city all by himself for the very first time.
Check it out.
This small device is transforming how 40-year-old Chongqi Ming navigates his city.
It uses generative AI to detect his surroundings, translating it into an audible format.
>> I'm completely blind.
Totally blind since birth.
>> Through the AI technology, I can understand the world.
>> Yeah, correct.
>> Lamia Sura Ramen co-developed the device called Seeker AI to be hyper local.
generative AI or these chat bots were built for people like you and me, [music] cited individuals.
But what visual impaired people need is another added layer of information.
We've built our own database of information [music] that uh any visually impaired person can tap into and navigate.
>> That extra layer of detail on everyday life is what sets Seeker AI apart.
While volunteering during CO, Lamia realized the elderly and visually impaired people she met weren't using other assisted tech available on the market.
By pressing one button, Ming can get details like expiry dates, nutritional value or price in up to 12 different languages.
If my friend, my my family are not available, this technologies are very good kind of things to help me to do things independently.
Pop quiz shot.
Which species is believed to be the first domesticated by humans?
Horses, sheep, dogs, or birds?
If you said dogs, bow wow wow.
Yippy yo yippy yay.
You've unleashed the right answer.
Scientific evidence suggests domesticated canines were living alongside humans at least 14,000 years ago.
Man's best friend for thousands of years.
According to new research from the University of Vienna, dogs are pretty good at reading the room.
They can detect when we're happy, when we're sad, even scared.
Researchers scanned the brains of eight dogs while showing them images of strangers, displaying emotions from happiness to sadness, anger, even fear.
When the dogs saw happy human faces, researchers detected increased activity in brain regions associated with higher level processing and reward.
They responded differently to negative emotions, but their brain still showed distinct patterns of activity.
So, they may not know why we're having a rough day, but scientists suggest they may know something is up.
>> [music] >> Today's story getting a 10 out of 10.
Hollywood's most famous sidewalk just added a groundbreaking new star hailing from Benin.
Music icon Angelique Kjo made history this week, becoming the first black African performer to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
[cheering and applause] KJO's career has spanned decades.
She's earned a whopping 17 Grammy nominations, winning five of them.
And she's collaborated with stars ranging from Alicia Keys to Bono to Quo.
At her ceremony, there were singing, dancing, there were tears.
Here's some of what Kjo had to say.
>> The staff for me means that my vision of the world as a small village is a reality.
We have the same needs.
Doesn't matter where we come from, which language we speak, which skin color we have.
We are human.
It's one human family.
I don't believe in any other person telling me otherwise.
>> KJO's impact extends far beyond music.
She's served as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador since 2002 and co-founded the Batonga Foundation, which works to empower girls and young women in Africa.
Now, from one superstar to some of you superstars.
Shout out to Coach Gillette at St.
Andrews Middle School in Columbia, South Carolina.
Thank you for sharing some of your students assignments with us and congrats on being named coach of the year.
That is awesome.
This next shout out goes to Mr.
Schaer at Green Hill High School in Mount Juliet, Tennessee.
Thank you for making us a part of your day and uh be sure to send us some pictures of that pizza party.
Happy Friday Eve.
Go make someone smile.
It costs you nothing.
Only takes a moment and it just may be the spark of joy someone needs.
I'll see you tomorrow.
I'm Koi Wire and we are CNN 10.