Cantaloupe Outbreak in Colorado, New Mexico and Other States Investigated by Listeria Food Poisoning Lawyers

Our attorneys are investigating a cantaloupe outbreak linked to Rocky Ford cantaloupe grown in Colorado. People in at least seven states have contracted Listeria infections after eating Rocky Ford cantaloupe.

Prompted by the outbreak, Jensen Farms of Holly, Colorado, has recalled cantaloupes shipped between July 29th, 2011 and September 10th 2011, and distributed to the following states: IL, WY, TN, UT, TX, CO, MN, KS, NM, NC, MO, NE, OK, AZ, NJ, NY, PA.

The recalled cantaloupes have a green and white sticker that reads: Product of USA- Frontera Produce-Colorado Fresh-Rocky Ford-Cantaloupe or a gray, yellow, and green sticker that reads: Jensen Farms-Sweet Rocky Fords. Our attorneys are available for a free consultation regarding a cantaloupe lawsuit.

We are a national food safety law firm. The cantaloupe outbreak has now sickened 22 people in seven states. Two people, one in New Mexico, one in Colorado have died, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).  The confirmed cases are as follows: Colorado (12), Indiana (1), Nebraska (1), New Mexico (4), Oklahoma (1), Texas (2), and West Virginia (1).

The cantaloupe was sold at retailers nationwide, including Wal-Mart, Whole Foods Market, Safeway and others. Safeway has pulled the melons from its 118 supermarkets in Colorado. Whole Foods Market has removed the cantaloupes from all 27 in the Rocky Mountain region, which includes Colorado, New Mexico, Kansas and Utah.

Illnesses associated with this outbreak began on or after August 15, 2011. The victims range in age from 38 to 96 years, but most are women over 60.

Listeriosis is caused by eating food contaminated with the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes. The disease primarily affects older adults,  people with weakened immune systems, pregnant women, and newborns.

A person with listeriosis usually has fever and muscle aches, often preceded by diarrhea or other gastrointestinal symptoms. If you have an illness associated with this outbreak, contact PritzkerOlsen, P.A., for a free case consultation at 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free) or submit contact information online.

Listeriosis concern prompts cantaloupe recall

A recall of cantaloupes shipped by Jensen Farms is underway with the FDA warning consumers not to eat them because of potential listeria contamination. The Rocky Ford cantaloupes shipped by Jensen Farms of Granada, Colorado to at least 17 states – including Illinois, Missouri and Nebraska – are linked to an outbreak of listeriosis, which is a serious illness that is potentially fatal.
The Centers for Disease Control says at least 22 people in seven states have been infected with the identified strains of the bacteria as of Wednesday, September 14th .
The cantaloupe may be labeled “Colorado Grown, Distributed by Frontera Produce, USA, Pesticide Free, Jensenfarms.com, Sweet Rocky Fords.”
Not all of the recalled cantaloupes are labeled.
FDA RECALLS

 

It’s Scarlett Johansson like you’ve never seen her before — naked!

Scarlett Johansson appears to be the latest victim of a nude photo HACKER — after multiple self-shot naked cell phone pics of the actress appeared on a popular website this morning.

It’s Scarlett Johansson like you’ve never seen her before — naked!

In the first photo Scarlett Johansson goes topless while offering a seductive stare. In the second snap, the 26-year-old actress redefines what it means to be butt naked.

Scarlett Johansson, of course, is not the first celeb to face a nude photo scandal. (And, let’s face it, she won’t be the last.) Disney queen Vanessa Hudgens bared it all in a series of cell phone pictures taken via a mirror never intending for those photos to see the light of day. They were intended for her boyfriend, she claimed, but a hacker got their hands on them and they hit the internet. After a second and third leak, Vanessa admitted they were all from the same series of photos and that legal action would be taken.

Most recently, Blake Lively sought comfort in the arms of boyfriend Leonardo DiCaprio after photos alleged to be of her made their way onto the internet. Blake’s reps flat out denied the allegations and claimed they’d send threatening letters to anyone who published the pics and implied it was her.

We have a feeling camp Scarlett Johansson will do the same.

Supposing the two photos are real, it seems that Scarlett took them while being in a hotel. The first photo was captured in the bathroom revealing actress’s body in front of a mirror, while the second snapshot shows Johansson lying sideways on a bed and highlighting the right breast.

The release drew quite a lot of attention as it’s most likely to become an investigation case for FBI. It was reported that the actress was the lattest victim of a nude photo hacker. Some sources revealed that the photo hacking might be ranked as a criminal act...

Thoughts on The Lion King in 3D

Ahead of its Blu-ray/Blu-ray 3D debut on October 4, The Lion King will once again roar into theaters beginning tomorrow for a two-week run in digital 3D.

A few weeks ago I caught a screening and came away with decidedly mixed feelings.

Some scenes are, as you can imagine, a thrill to watch with added dimension. But others—pun—fall flat. Many are stuck uncomfortably in the middle. Certain shots of the lions’ faces seemed to have a bizarre papercraft look.

So The Lion King didn’t make me into a fan of the 2-D to 3-D conversion process for traditionally animated films, which I had been very optimistic about. That said, pretty much anything that gets classic Disney films back on the big screen is a good thing.

But Disney’s resources would probably have been better spent on converting one of Pixar’s gems, like WALL-E or Finding Nemo, to 3-D. (Ratatouille 3-D is confirmed to be in the works.)

Review: ‘The Lion King’ Makes Me Cry All Over Again in 3D

A childhood classic getting the 3D treatment? A review for such a thing can consist of one question with just one answer – “how does it look?” I am pleased to report that Disney’s The Lion King 3D looks just fine, but it would probably serve Disney well to invent some kind of 3D glasses that allow you to cry and see at the same time. That sort of answers the second, more film-specific question moviegoers may have when it comes to a gussied up version of The Lion King in 3D – is it still wrenching to watch? Yes, sweet goodness, yes.

The story of young lion prince Simba is an old one – no, literally, not just in terms of how long the film has been around, but in terms of that it’s essentially Hamleton the savanna (with other sources contributing, sometimes a bit too closely, to the film’s plot, but that’s an issue for another day). Simba (voiced as a child by Jonathan Taylor Thomas, and seriously, where hell is JTT these days?) is the cub prince of the Pridelands, son of the brave king Mufasa (voiced by James Earl Jones, in a piece of casting that is both strikingly great and thuddingly obvious) and the very lovely queen Sarabi.

Everything is really fantastic in the Pridelands, everyone is super happy and really jazzed about the birth of baby Simba, he who just can’t wait to be king – everyone except his own ugly uncle, the evil Scar (voiced by Jeremy Irons). Scar is a class-A loser – he doesn’t get to rule the kingdom, he doesn’t get to kick it on Pride Rock, he’s inexplicably facially scarred (which makes me wonder, what is Scar’s given name?), his best friends are hyenas, and so on and so forth. It’s just a miserable existence for the guy, which is why he ultimately crafts a plan to kill Mufasa, which he will he then blame on Simba, who will react in a way that either makes him vulnerable to being killed or damaged enough to run away from the Pridelands forever. There’s also singing and dancing. And now it’s in 3D.

The 3D, on a very basic level, looks fine. It’s not nearly as immersive as it could be, and the moments where it could be truly transcendent never quite reach their potential. Case in point – the whispering wind sequence where a now-grown Simba sees his father in the clouds and the leaves, an already beautiful and colorful sequence that also features a ton of on-screen movement that should translate to 3D gold. The sequence is still as lovely as ever, but the 3D doesn’t render it any more lovely than it was originally. The death of Mufasa is not more sad, the hellish gathering of Scar and the hyenas is not more scary, the final battle is not more stirring – it’s all the same, but with an extra dimension that works only in the most technical of ways.

Of course, this all begs the question – was this conversion even necessary? As in most cases with this sort of thing, I take a pretty hard line of “actually, no.”

The rise of 3D technology as of late fails to thrill me, though it doesn’t quite stir my ire the way that it does for other film writers. I don’t find it necessary, but I understand that it’s a nifty way for studios to get some inflated box office numbers (though it’s impossible to talk about presumed cash-grabs without also considering the funding that is required to actually make 3D films, it’s not like they emerge like the cinematic equivalent of Athena, fully sprung from their creators’ minds). But, that all said, yes, 3D films “make” more at the box office because tickets cost more. Is that what Disney is doing with their Lion King 3D then? Not so much, the film is in theaters for just two weeks before hitting home video (for the first time in Disney Digital 3D), making it seem more like its theatrical release is more of an “event” for fans of the film, young and old, with 3D serving as an extra dash of flavor, not the entire (antelope-based) meal.

So, if The Lion King 3D isn’t so notable for its 3D, does it work as an overall experience? Yes.

It only occurred to me that I hadn’t seen The Lion King for at least fifteen years the moment the opening credits queued up. It’s possible that I hadn’t seen the film since I first saw it in theaters as a child. I distinctly remember seeing The Lion King in theaters as a child – I was ten years old at the time, and I remember the exact theater (an old AMC on Charleston Blvd. in Las Vegas) and the exact seat (middle of middle section, left side aisle seat), and I remember that my dad skiffed off on watching the film with my best friend and I to see an actioner in the theater at the same time (a quick review of the other films out around Lion King’s release date signal that he was probably taking in either Blown Away or The Shadow). But what I remember most clearly is that The Lion King was the first film I ever cried during – real tears, consistent sobs, coming throughout the film.

Which is why I caught myself routinely lifting my 3D glasses off my face during the more hard-hitting scenes in the film (not because I was crying and the tears were impairing my vision, no no, not that at all) to see what the kids in the audience were doing. They were not crying, but they were enthralled by The Lion King 3D, the way only kids can be really enthralled by a film, truly entranced by what they are seeing on screen – on the edges of their seats, open-mouthed, leaning so far forward that it’s like they wanted to get inside the screen. Hell, if 3D enhances that experience for the whippersnappers in the audience, even me, at my most faux-crotchety, cannot object to the technology.

Are kids these days so overstimulated by television and Twitter and Facebook and smell-o-vision and movies that feature 3D guinea pigs fighting crime that they need that “extra dimension” to get them to engage with a film? I’m not quite sure, I am not a child and I don’t have any, but I think it’s unreasonable to throw such wide nets on what works for kids and what doesn’t. But what I do know is that The Lion King 3D is as wonderful a film as ever, and if it takes one more layer of en vogue technical whosiwhatsit to make it interesting and accessible to a new generation, I’m all in, I’ll stop swearing down 3D, and I’ll tell anyone and everyone to get their tails in a seat for The Lion King in 3D or Whatever It Is Kids These Days Are Into.

The Lion King 3D is in select theaters for two weeks, starting tomorrow, September 16.

Rep Confirms January Jones Gives Birth to Baby Boy

The Betty Draper of 'Mad Men' names her first child, who was born Tuesday, September 13, Xander Dane Jones, but still keeps the identity of the father under tight wraps.

It's a boy for January Jones. The actress famous for her portrayal of Betty Draper on "Mad Men" has given birth to her first child Xander Dane Jones on Tuesday, September 13. To the press, a representative for the 33-year-old shares that both the mother and the baby are "doing great".

The "X-Men: First Class" beauty has chosen to keep the sex of her baby a secret even from herself. Recently, she opened up to KRQ radio-show hosts Johnjay and Rich that she was having a hard time choosing a name because of her decision not to learn of her baby's sex. Still, she explained that she's not into weird names, explaining "I don't want to be too cliche about it."

January revealed she was expecting her first child back in April. Considering that the actress has split from boyfriend Jason Sudeikis in January, questions about who fathers the baby quickly surfaced. Still, an inside source told PEOPLE at the time, "She's really looking forward to this new chapter in her life as a single mom."

January Jones Is A First Time Mom

Mad Men star January Jones has given birth to a baby boy.

The actress announced she was to become a first-time mom in April and she welcomed son Xander Dane Jones on Tuesday.

The 33 year old's representative tells People.com mother and baby are "doing great".

Jones has so far refused to reveal the identity of the tot's father.

Visible Only From Above, Mystifying Nazca Lines Discovered in Mideast

They are the Middle East's own version of the Nazca Lines - ancient "geolyphs," or drawings, that span deserts in southern Peru - and now, thanks to new satellite-mapping technologies, and an aerial photography program in Jordan, researchers are discovering more of them than ever before. They number well into the thousands.

Referred to by archaeologists as "wheels," these stone structures have a wide variety of designs, with a common one being a circle with spokes radiating inside. Researchers believe that they date back to antiquity, at least 2,000 years ago. They are often found on lava fields and range from 82 feet to 230 feet (25 meters to 70 meters) across. [See gallery of wheel structures]

"In Jordan alone we've got stone-built structures that are far more numerous than (the) Nazca Lines, far more extensive in the area that they cover, and far older," said David Kennedy, a professor of classics and ancient history at the University of Western Australia.

Kennedy's new research, which will be published in a forthcoming issue of the Journal of Archaeological Science, reveals that these wheels form part of a variety of stone landscapes. These include kites (stone structures used for funnelling and killing animals); pendants (lines of stone cairns that run from burials); and walls, mysterious structures that meander across the landscape for up to several hundred feet and have no apparent practical use.

His team's studies are part of a long-term aerial reconnaissance project that is looking at archaeological sites across Jordan. As of now, Kennedy and his colleagues are puzzled as to what the structures may have been used for or what meaning they held. [History's Most Overlooked Mysteries]

Fascinating structures

Kennedy's main area of expertise is in Roman archaeology, but he became fascinated by these structures when, as a student, he read accounts of Royal Air Force pilots flying over them in the 1920s on airmail routes across Jordan. "You can't not be fascinated by these things," Kennedy said.

Indeed, in 1927 RAF Flight Lt. Percy Maitland published an account of the ruins in the journal Antiquity. He reported encountering them over "lava country" and said that they, along with the other stone structures, are known to the Bedouin as the "works of the old men."

Kennedy and his team have been studying the structures using aerial photography and Google Earth, as the wheels are hard to pick up from the ground, Kennedy said.

"Sometimes when you're actually there on the site you can make out something of a pattern but not very easily," he said. "Whereas if you go up just a hundred feet or so it, for me, comes sharply into focus what the shape is."

The designs must have been clearer when they were originally built. "People have probably walked over them, walked past them, for centuries, millennia, without having any clear idea what the shape was."

(The team has created an archive of images of the wheels from various sites in the Middle East.)

What were they used for?

So far, none of the wheels appears to have been excavated, something that makes dating them, and finding out their purpose, more difficult. Archaeologists studying them in the pre-Google Earth era speculated that they could be the remains of houses or cemeteries. Kennedy said that neither of these explanations seems to work out well.

"There seems to be some overarching cultural continuum in this area in which people felt there was a need to build structures that were circular."

Some of the wheels are found in isolation while others are clustered together. At one location, near the Azraq Oasis, hundreds of them can be found clustered into a dozen groups. "Some of these collections around Azraq are really quite remarkable," Kennedy said.

In Saudi Arabia, Kennedy's team has found wheel styles that are quite different: Some are rectangular and are not wheels at all; others are circular but contain two spokes forming a bar often aligned in the same direction that the sun rises and sets in the Middle East.

The ones in Jordan and Syria, on the other hand, have numerous spokes and do not seem to be aligned with any astronomical phenomena. "On looking at large numbers of these, over a number of years, I wasn't struck by any pattern in the way in which the spokes were laid out," Kennedy said.

Cairns are often found associated with the wheels. Sometimes they circle the perimeter of the wheel, other times they are in among the spokes. In Saudi Arabia some of the cairns look, from the air, like they are associated with ancient burials.

Dating the wheels is difficult, since they appear to be prehistoric, but could date to as recently as 2,000 years ago. The researchers have noted that the wheels are often found on top of kites, which date as far back as 9,000 years, but never vice versa. "That suggests that wheels are more recent than the kites," Kennedy said.

Amelia Sparavigna, a physics professor at Politecnico di Torino in Italy, told Live Science in an email that she agrees these structures can be referred to as geoglyphs in the same way as the Nazca Lines are. "If we define a 'geoglyph' as a wide sign on the ground of artificial origin, the stone circles are geoglyphs," Sparavignawrote in her email.

The function of the wheels may also have been similar to the enigmatic drawings in the Nazca desert. [Science as Art: A Gallery]

"If we consider, more generally, the stone circles as worship places of ancestors, or places for rituals connected with astronomical events or with seasons, they could have the same function of [the] geoglyphs of South America, the Nazca Lines for instance. The design is different, but the function could be the same," she wrote in her email.

Kennedy said that for now the meaning of the wheels remains a mystery. "The question is what was the purpose?"