Under the category of too little, too late, a subsidiary of the Hershey Company said it was pulling the “One Chip Challenge” from store shelves and for good reason.
Per the NY Times today, one of the last things Harris Wolobah, 14, of Worcester, Mass., ate before he died was a single tortilla chip in a coffin-shaped box that bore an image of a skull with a snake coiled around it, his mother said.
Lois Wolobah said her son’s school called last Friday to tell her he was sick and that she needed to come and get him. When she arrived, Harris was clutching his stomach in the nurse’s office, she said in an interview on Tuesday. He showed her a picture of what he had just consumed: a single Paqui chip, dusted with two of the hottest peppers in the world, the Carolina Reaper and the Naga Viper. The label on the box said “One Chip Challenge” and carried a warning — “Inside: One Extremely Hot Chip.” Paqui tortilla chips are made by Amplify Snack Brands, a subsidiary of the Hershey Company. Ms. Wolobah said she took her son home, but after about two hours he passed out and was rushed to a hospital, where he died. He had faced no underlying health conditions, she said.
The cause of death was not immediately clear; it will be up to 12 weeks before the results of an autopsy are available, Tim McGuirk, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, said.
But Ms. Wolobah said she believed the chip had jeopardized her son’s health. “I just want there to be an awareness for parents to know that it’s not safe,” Ms. Wolobah said. “It needs to be out of the market completely.”
The Paqui “One Chip Challenge” has been criticized for making people sick in the past, but this is the first time someone has linked it to a fatality.
I hope the Wolobahs sue the hell out of Amplify Snack Brands and Hershey.
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Since February, Senator Tommy Tuberville, Republican Senator from Alabama has been blocking every personnel move in the U.S. military that requires confirmation. Starting with a “senatorial hold” on what was then 150 personnel moves waiting for approval in batches, he is now up to at least 270 — and counting.
Tuberville has resisted the entreaties of his colleagues and a formal letter of protest signed by seven previous secretaries of defense who served presidents from both parties. President Biden, the commander in chief of the armed forces, called Tuberville’s actions “totally irresponsible” and said they threatened national security. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, has been in the Senate for a little over two years, but archaic senate rules give him more power than the commander in chief when it comes to the confirmation of our military leadership.
Per Heather Cox Richardson earlier this week, the three most senior civilian officials in the Department of Defense responsible for their branches—Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro, Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall, and Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth—wrote in the Washington Post that Senator Tommy Tuberville is actively eroding “the foundation of America’s…military advantage” with his blanket hold on military promotions.
Tuberville says he launched the hold in protest of the military’s policy of ensuring that military personnel can obtain reproductive health care, including abortions, but as the authors of the Post op-ed say, his policy “is putting our national security at risk.” More than 300 of our critical posts have acting officials in place, and three of our five military branches—the Army, Navy, and Marine Corps—have no Senate-confirmed service chief.
Secretary of the Navy Del Toro, who was born in Cuba, said on CNN: “I would have never imagined that…one of our own senators would actually be aiding and abetting communist and other autocratic regimes around the world. This is having a real negative impact and will continue to have a real negative impact on our combat readiness. That’s what the American people truly need to understand.”
Tubberville is entitled to his position on abortion rights, but that position should not get in the way of his responsibility as a member of the senate to allow for the confirmation of our top military positions to be approved or denied by the full senate. As it stands right now, the votes of the citizens of 49 of our 50 states do not count when it comes to confirming military positions. Only those in Alabama have a say in military confirmations because of the irresponsible act of one senator from Alabama.
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What are the chances of Tiger pitcher Matt Manning getting hit by a line drive at the same spot on his foot twice during the season and breaking his foot for a second time? Astronomical, but it happened for a second time last night when a line drive travelling at 119 MPH hit his foot in the same spot and breaking a bone in his foot again. Incredibly he was able to field the ball and throw out the batter before writhing in pain. See my Quote, Orchid and Video of the Day.
Please feel free to share my blog or to sign up to receive it directly in your email. See the sign-up below the Video of the Day.
Quote of the Day: “Right when it happened I was annoyed that it was the same foot, same spot, basically. I just hoped it wasn’t broken. But I made the play, so that’s cool.” Tiger pitcher Matt Manning.
Orchid of the Day: Tiger pitcher, Matt Manning for still being able to throw the runner out after having his foot broke by a line drive traveling at 119 MPH.
Onion of the Day: Amplify Snack Brands and Tommy Tubberville.
Question of the Day: Should the U.S. Senate overrule the action of Tommy Tubberville and allow military confirmations to come forward for a vote of the full senate?
Video of the Day: Tiger pitcher Matt Manning taking a 119 MPH line drive off of his foot and still being able to throw the runner out at first base.
Matt Manning took a ball to the foot coming off the bat of Giancarlo Staton at 119.5 mph, which is the second hardest hit ball this season
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) September 6, 2023
He was removed from the game pic.twitter.com/LfRGVHhKEk
Tubberville should be prevented to continue blocking military promotions by whatever legal means available. To trash our military constantly is insane! Our military consists of families that need to be supported. I’m tired of the WOKE nonsense. It is ludicrous to use this misunderstood misapplied word to try to justify this unpopular and extremely dangerous stance. I’m tired of the “my way or the highway” position about something that the majority of Americans disagree with. The constant barrage of negative comments clearly shows he does not care about our understand our military. He does not care about the families who are affected by his dangerous stance. Are there no Republicans who care about this moral busting, recruitment deterrent, disrespect for the men and women who SERVE this country.
Thank you so much for your perspective. It was very helpful having it in my back pocket as I got push back from some of the people up here who think Tubberville is doing the right thing. Idiots.