Nation and world news in brief for October 23

E. coli outbreak tied to McDonald’s Quarter Pounder kills 1, sickens dozens in US

(Reuters) — One person has died and dozens were sickened from E. coli infections linked to McDonald’s Quarter Pounder hamburgers in 10 states, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control said on Tuesday.

Shares of the company were down about 6% in extended trading after the CDC said 49 people were sickened by the E. coli O157:H7 strain, which can cause serious illness and is perhaps most often associated with a 1993 outbreak that killed four children who ate undercooked hamburgers at Jack in the Box restaurants.

Everyone interviewed has reported eating at McDonald’s before their illness started, and most mentioned eating a Quarter Pounder hamburger, according to the CDC.

The specific ingredient linked to the illness has not yet been identified but investigators are focused on fresh, slivered onions and fresh beef patties, the CDC said.

Most of the illnesses were reported in Colorado and Nebraska.

Georgia’s top court will not fast-track appeal of US ballot hand-count rule

(Reuters) — Georgia’s top court declined on Tuesday to hear an expedited appeal by Republicans of a decision blocking a new rule that would have required poll workers to hand-count ballots, a change that voting rights groups warned could have caused chaos.

The decision also means that county-level officials in the state, one of seven battlegrounds expected to play a decisive role in the Nov. 5 presidential election, will not have enhanced authority to challenge precinct-level results.

Republican candidate Donald Trump continues to falsely claim that his 2020 loss was the result of widespread fraud and his backers have filed a series of lawsuits across the U.S. challenging election rules.

The state Republican Party said in a statement that it did not plan an appeal of the decision before the election.

Surfer dies after being impaled by a swordfish in Indonesia

(TNS) — An Italian surfer died last week after being impaled by a swordfish in the waters of Masokut Island in Indonesia.

Antara, a local news agency, reported that 36-year-old Giulia Manfrini had been surfing at around 9:30 a.m. when the freak accident occurred.

“Unexpectedly, a swordfish jumped toward Manfrini and stuck her right in the chest,” said Lahmudin Siregar, head of the Mentawai Islands Regency Regional Disaster Management Agency.

Manfrini was rushed to a local hospital at the PeiPei Health Center. Manfrini suffered a 2-inch-deep stab wound in her upper left chest and showed signs of water in her lungs, according to Antara, who received the medical report.

Why there’s hope for critically endangered right whales

(TNS) — Scientists announced a rare bit of good news Tuesday for North Atlantic right whales, the most critically endangered large whale species on the planet.

An annual population estimate found the whales numbers increased slightly last year to 372, up from 358 in 2020, according to the North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium.

The consortium, a collaboration among scientists, government agencies and the shipping and fishing industries, celebrated the news but warned the whale remains critically endangered as a result of human activity. Boat strikes and entanglements with fishing gear are leading causes of death among the whales, which breed off the coast of the southeastern United States in winter.

Senators seek Biden administration review of undersea cable vulnerabilities

(Reuters) — A bipartisan group of eight U.S. senators on Monday urged President Joe Biden to order a review of the security of the global network of undersea communications cables that handle nearly all the world’s internet traffic.

Nearly all international internet traffic travels on undersea cables and the locations of the cables are often openly published to prevent accidental damage.

“It is imperative that the United States undertake a review of existing vulnerabilities to global undersea cable infrastructure, including the threat of sabotage by Russia as well as the growing role of the People’s Republic of China in cable laying and repair,” said the letter, led by Republican Todd Young and Democrat Chris Murphy.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment.

More than 400 subsea cables form the backbone of the internet, carrying more than 95% of the world’s data traffic.

FAA finalizes pilot training, certification rules for air taxis

(Reuters) — The Federal Aviation Administration on Tuesday finalized comprehensive training and pilot certification rules for flying air taxis, addressing a key hurdle to the deployment of electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft.

The FAA called the rule “the final piece in the puzzle for safely introducing these aircraft in the near term.” Some flying companies hope to begin flying commercial passengers as soon as 2025.

Low-altitude urban aircraft known as eVTOLs have drawn intense global interest, with numerous companies going public like Joby Aviation and Archer Aviation. Joby shares rose 7% Tuesday, while Archer rose 3%.

“The opportunities for the use of powered lift operations are far-reaching, from transporting passengers in urban areas and short-haul operations such as air ambulance services and cargo operations to potentially serving smaller communities over time,” the FAA said.

Airlines and other companies are looking at developing transport services using battery-powered aircraft that can take off and land vertically to ferry travelers to airports or for short city trips, allowing them to beat traffic.

US, G7 allies ‘very close’ to finalizing $50 billion Ukraine loan, Yellen says

WASHINGTON (Reuters) — U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Tuesday that G7 and European Union allies are “very close” to finalizing a $50 billion loan to Ukraine backed by frozen Russian assets, with an expected U.S. contribution of about $20 billion.

Yellen told a news conference at the start of International Monetary Fund and World Bank annual meetings that she has a high degree of confidence that the Russian sovereign assets, mostly held in Europe, will remain immobilized despite the continued need for EU renewal of the freeze every six months.

She emphasized that the U.S. contribution would be repaid from the earnings on Russian assets, and not by U.S. taxpayers.

Republicans to press ahead in bid to block some overseas ballots

WASHINGTON (Reuters) — Republicans on Tuesday vowed to appeal court rulings rejecting their efforts to block some Americans living abroad from voting in North Carolina and Michigan, part of an aggressive legal campaign by the party ahead of the Nov. 5 election.

The Republican National Committee had filed lawsuits in the two battleground states, as well as the crucial state of Pennsylvania, challenging what they call illegal overseas voting.

On Monday, judges in Michigan and North Carolina said the RNC had no grounds to challenge the states’ election statutes, and found the party failed to show it would suffer irreparable harm.

As many as 1.6 million Americans living overseas, including U.S. military members and their families, are eligible to cast ballots in the seven swing states, according to the Democratic National Committee.