By CBS News. The FDA is looking at California as a potential source of romaine lettuce tainted with a potentially deadly strain E. coli. Health officials said romaine lettuce should be removed from all supermarket shelves and restaurant menus until they can determine the source of the new outbreak. But, as Anna Werner reports, tracking down the source of the contaminated produce is quite difficult.

The potentially deadly strain of the bacteria has sickened 32 people in 11 states since October. Nearly a third of the cases are in Los Angeles County.

Scott Horsfall, the CEO of the California Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement, said most of the romaine on the market when the outbreak began was grown in his state.

“Given the harvest cycle at that time, I think there’s a good possibility that it came from California, yes,” Horsfall said.

But he also said finding the exact farm will be difficult because it takes about two to three weeks for investigators to confirm an E.coli outbreak is underway. (Read more from “Do Not Eat Romaine Lettuce. Here’s What It Could Lead To.” HERE)

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Romaine Lettuce: Why It’s Hard to Keep It Safe From E. Coli and Other Bacteria

By USA Today. America tries to eat its vegetables, so the current E. coli outbreak likely linked to romaine lettuce has put everyone from Caesar salad fans to those who barely tolerate a splash of greens in a taco on high alert.

But how did these seemingly innocent little leaves turn deadly? . . .

Thanks to the national wellness trend embraced by healthy Millennials and aging Baby Boomers, the consumption of fresh vegetables, as opposed to frozen or shelf-stable varieties, is on the rise. Adding to that is the growing popularity of salad-centric restaurants, like Tender Greens and Sweetgreen, and the increasing inclusion of salads on the menus of fast-food chains. . .

Fields where produce is grown are subject to the whims of Mother Nature and her animals. Fruits and veggies grow in dirt and can be fertilized with manure. Bugs and birds fly around. Animals may run wild through even fenced fields — or defecate in rivers and lakes used to irrigate nearby farms. Growing out in the open means lots of opportunities for bacteria to enter the picture. (Read more from “Romaine Lettuce: Why It’s Hard to Keep It Safe From E. Coli and Other Bacteria” HERE)

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As California battles statewide wildfires, the death toll and expenditures are rising. The fires have torn through numerous counties throughout the state, and as many as 48 people have died in Camp Fire alone, as reported by NBC News. On Saturday, President Trump commented in a tweet criticizing “forest management.” . . .

California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom stated, in a tweet responding to Trump’s, “Lives have been lost. Entire towns have been burned to the ground. Cars abandoned on the side of the road. People are being forced to flee their homes. This is not a time for partisanship. This is a time for coordinating relief and response and lifting those in need up.”

However, there may be more truth to Trump’s tweet than many of his critics care to admit. The Democrat-led Little Hoover Commission is an independent state oversight agency that released a report earlier this year on wildfire destruction and forest management practices that seemed to affirm Trump’s sentiments.

Former Democratic representative and deputy district attorney Pedro Nava, who is currently the commission’s chairman, addressed California’s governor and the legislature with an open letter that opens the February report. The first sentence of this letter states: “A century of mismanaging Sierra Nevada forests has brought an unprecedented environmental catastrophe that impacts all Californians.”

After describing the dilapidated state of the Sierra Nevada forests, and providing examples of the “imminent crisis,” Nava suggested “investing upfront to create healthier forests” in an effort to curb “the spiraling costs of state firefighting.” After further description of the economic costs incurred in the wake of wildfires, Nava concluded that “all these are symptoms of a larger problem of forest mismanagement and neglect.” (Read more from “Democrats Attack President Trump for Saying Exactly What Democrats Did About California’s Fires” HERE)

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New details have emerged about the gunman who killed 12 people at a bar before killing himself in Thousand Oaks, California on Wednesday night. Ian Long, 29, was a military veteran who suffered from PTSD after returning from a tour in Afghanistan that took place between 2010 and 2011, The Daily Mail reported.

Back in April, police had a run in with Long. They were called out to his Newbury Park home that he shared with his mom when neighbors heard loud crushing coming from inside.

Police were dispatched after Long shot a round from his handgun into one of the walls. He then barricaded himself inside. Police spent hours trying to get him to peacefully come outside, The Wall Street Journal reported. . .

Although California has strict “red flag” laws, which allows police or family members to temporarily remove firearms from a person they deem a threat to themselves or others, it’s unclear why Long’s firearms were not removed back in April. . .

Politicians and gun control advocates are quick to say we need these red flag laws. But here’s the problem. Instead of diagnosing and treating the cause of things like service-related PTSD, they’re waiting until someone like the Thousand Oak shooter kills a number of people before taking any kind of action. The answer isn’t taking away someone’s gun and then hoping they get better. The answer is providing treatment options and mental health resources to those who need it. (Read more from “Dropped the Ball? Thousand Oaks Gunman Reportedly Had PTSD, Was Cleared Despite CA’s ‘Red Flag’ Laws” HERE)

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