Stomach bugs surging as doctors say certain travel essentials could save your trip

Stomach bugs can quickly turn a dream vacation into days spent in a hotel room, but doctors say packing a few key essentials can help keep your summer or fall trip on track.

Gastrointestinal illnesses caused by bacteria, viruses or parasites commonly trigger nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and stomach cramps, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The agency says travelers' diarrhea, usually caused by bacteria, is the most common travel-related illness. 

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It affects an estimated 30% to 70% of travelers during a two-week trip, depending on the destination and season.

While not every stomach bug can be prevented, doctors say packing a few essentials before you leave can help manage symptoms, prevent dehydration and make it easier to know when it's time to seek medical care.

Before your next trip, the CDC recommends packing the following items:

If illness does strike, staying hydrated should be the top priority.

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Most people recover from common stomach bugs within one to three days without treatment, though dehydration can become serious enough to require medical attention, Chad D. Neilsen, director of Infection Prevention and Control at Nemours Children's Health in Florida, previously told Fox News Digital.

Doctors say smart food choices can also help reduce the risk of gastrointestinal illness while traveling.

Bethany Doerfler, a senior clinical research dietitian at the Digestive Health Institute of Northwestern Medicine, recommends thoroughly cooking higher-risk vegetables, such as leafy greens and fresh herbs, to reduce the risk of gastrointestinal illness, including parasitic infections such as Cyclospora.

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"Heating to temperatures over 160 degrees [Fahrenheit] will kill the parasite," Doerfler told Fox News Digital.

She also recommends choosing fruits and vegetables with thick skins that can be washed and peeled, such as bananas, avocados and melons, instead of avoiding fresh produce altogether.

Careful food and beverage choices can help lower the risk of gastrointestinal illness, the CDC says, although the choices cannot eliminate it completely because restaurant hygiene and local sanitation are often beyond a traveler's control.

Travelers should seek medical care if diarrhea persists or worsens, particularly if it is accompanied by a fever, bloody stools or signs of dehydration.

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Angelica Stabile of Fox News Digital contributed reporting. 

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Bill Maher admits he could vote for JD Vance, warns 'cowardly' Democrats face socialist takeover

Comedian and HBO host Bill Maher said Sunday that he could vote for Vice President JD Vance in the 2028 presidential election if Democrats nominate a candidate aligned with the party's socialist wing, calling Democrats "cowardly" and warning that radicals are taking over the party.

"Yes," Maher said when asked by ABC News "This Week" co-anchor Jonathan Karl if Maher could see himself voting for Vance. "If this is the Democratic side, yes."

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Maher said his vote remained open because President Donald Trump cannot run again and rejected efforts to distinguish socialism from communism while discussing the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA).

"My vote is in play because it can’t be Trump running, so I’m not living in communist America," Maher said.

"I mean, I know the talking point is that it’s not communism, it’s socialism. OK, I’ve read the quotes from the DSA platform from their own mouths. Don’t tell me I’m not seeing what I am seeing," Maher said.

Maher also contrasted Republicans' willingness to appear on his HBO program, "Real Time with Bill Maher," with Democrats who declined invitations despite receiving his vote.

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"The Democrats don’t come, and yet they got my vote. What... it’s just odd, isn’t it? Why is that? So what is that all about?" Maher said. "Democrats are cowardly. They’re cowardly."

The HBO host warned that the Democratic Party was being overtaken by increasingly radical figures, recalling the criticism he received after refusing to embrace left-wing positions.

"Their party is being taken over now by, you know, every day I hear about a new very radical," Maher said.

"I feel very good about [it]. Like 10 years ago, like I did lose fans because, you know, I wasn’t going to go along with some of this crazy stuff on the left too," he said.

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Maher said he had not changed his views about Republicans but refused to overlook positions promoted by members of his own political camp.

"I didn’t change really on what I thought about the right, but just, I can’t sit and just not notice stuff which people seem to want to do because it’s all about my team or your team," Maher said.

"But you know there’s some crazy stuff. You know, when we’re cheering for the Intifada, I cut, I’m out," he said.

He also predicted Democrats would perform well in the 2026 midterms because the races would remain a referendum on Trump. He distinguished those contests from the next presidential election.

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"2028 is a different story because by then this wing of the party, this new wing with all the energy, and it’s not just a few people anymore," Maher said.

Maher cited candidates in Colorado and Wisconsin advocating the abolition of police and prisons as examples of the party's leftward movement.

"I read every day I read about a new person in some Colorado and Wisconsin, somebody who is saying some variation of not defund the police," Maher said. "Abolish the police. No prisons, no police. Like, what world do they think we could possibly live in under these conditions?"

The DSA’s 2026 program calls for public ownership of the largest corporations and essential industries, fully abolishing police and prisons and abolishing the Senate.

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'Let's brew it in the United States': Teamsters target Modelo and Corona in push for Mexican beer tariffs

One of the nation's largest labor unions wants President Donald Trump to make one of America's favorite imports a lot more American.

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters are urging the administration to impose significant tariffs on Mexican beer, arguing more of it should be brewed by U.S. workers instead of across the border.

The request comes as the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative continues to assess whether certain countries’ policies have fueled unfair manufacturing advantages. 

The Teamsters argue Mexico has fueled its brewing industry through government-backed investment incentives, lower labor costs and export-focused policies that have expanded production and exports, helping imported beer capture a growing share of the U.S. market.

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The tariff push could have implications for some of America's best-known imported beer brands, including Modelo, Corona, Pacifico and Tecate, much of which is brewed in Mexico before being shipped to retailers across the U.S.

"We can brew Modelo beer. It's the same recipe. Let's brew it in the United States," Sean O'Brien, general president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, told Fox News Digital. "We are very good at producing goods and services in this country," he added.

In its filing, the union said Mexican beer production has increased 85% since 2014, with about 80% of the country's beer exports shipped to the United States. Meanwhile, capacity utilization at major U.S. breweries fell from 82% in 2013 to 65% in 2023, a trend the Teamsters say threatens thousands of well-paying union jobs.

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The union argues tariffs would help shift more beer production back to the U.S., supporting American breweries along with the farmers who grow barley and hops, aluminum manufacturers that produce cans and the truckers who move beer across the country.

"I'm pro-America, pro-American worker, pro American jobs. So if there's an opportunity to tariff Mexican beer in this situation, which is gonna provide opportunity for our current members, which we have tens of thousands in the brewery and distribution industry, then I'm all for tariffs and all for keeping American jobs in America," O'Brien added.

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The Teamsters say the threat to U.S. brewery jobs is growing as major brewers continue investing billions of dollars in Mexico.

According to the filing, breweries have announced plans to add another 19 million to 23 million hectoliters of production capacity over the next five years, an expansion the union attributes to export-focused tax incentives, lower labor costs and industrial policies aimed at boosting manufacturing for foreign markets.

The filing also cites Mexico's 2023 tax incentives for export-oriented manufacturers and its broader "Plan México" industrial strategy, arguing those policies have encouraged additional investment while suppressing wages and making it more difficult for U.S. producers to compete.

The Teamsters have publicly backed tariffs as high as 75% on Mexican beer imports, calling them one potential remedy to what they describe as an uneven playing field. In a separate submission to USTR, the union said continued pressure from imported beer could force more U.S. brewery slowdowns or closures, jeopardizing good-paying brewery jobs that have supported American families for generations.

The Teamsters' filing is one of several submitted as USTR weighs potential trade actions under its ongoing Section 301 investigation.

USTR did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.

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Historic nude beach in California is putting its clothes on when it opens later this month

Another historical clothing optional location in California is putting its clothes on. The San Gregorio Ranch State Beach, considered one of the first nude beaches in the state, is being added to the California State Parks.

The nonprofit land trust Peninsula Open Space Trust purchased the land last spring and has plans to donate it to the state park system later this year. The beach will open on July 29 and clothing will be required.

The day-to-day operations will be managed by Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks, KQED reported. Bonny Hawley, the Executive Director of the organization, said nudity isn't allowed at state parks.

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She added that the parks system will be educating the public about the beach no longer being a nude one. A sad day, I'm sure, for those who enjoy letting it all hangout while allowing sand easier access to their bodies.

"I’m not happy about it," Bob Morton told the Los Angeles Times. He's been to the beach and is confused by the state parks not allowing the swinging to and fro of body parts normally covered up in public.

"It seems counterintuitive," he added. "You go there to be one with nature."

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How in the world are you expected to be one with nature with your swimsuit on at the beach? You can be close to one with nature, but to some that isn't enough.

They require the sun and the ocean breeze covering their entire body. As if the rule changes at the historic beach weren't enough, they're not allowing dogs on the stretch of beach either.

They apparently are going after a dull beach experience. Swimsuits will be on every single person and nobody will have to dodge any piles of dog crap. Where's the sense of adventure that made California?

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Jim Acosta urges TV networks to stop airing some Trump speeches live, calls them 'totally nuts'

Former CNN anchor Jim Acosta urged television networks to forgo live coverage of President Donald Trump's primetime address last Thursday, warning they would be "totally nuts" to air what he described as the president's "conspiracy theories" without immediately fact-checking them.

"I think the networks are totally nuts if they take this speech live," Acosta said on "The Joy Reid Show."

"It is totally crazy to put his bats--- ‘Looney Tunes’ conspiracy theories on live national television without fact-checkers in real time, and some of the networks will say, 'Well, we'll have some fact-checkers on afterwards,' and the fact-checkers will come on and say, 'Well, there isn't any evidence to support his claims.' It's all boloney kabuki Washington DC theater."

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Acosta relayed his worries to Reid that Trump would further spread alleged conspiracies surrounding the integrity of U.S. elections, thereby casting preliminary doubt on the integrity of this year's midterms.

"He has never ever proven any of these things. He has lost the benefit of the doubt," he said.

"We should not be erring on the side of putting these things out there, and I totally agree with you that he's chumming the waters for not trusting the midterms."

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Adding to his critique, Acosta suggested the president could be forging a broader plot to create what he coined as a "52-car pileup" around the midterm elections.

"[He could] say, "See, I can't trust these results over here in this state or these results over here in that key district that may determine the control of the House. And Mike Johnson, maybe we just shouldn't seat a new Congress right away, and maybe we should just all go to court and have the courts untangle... [and] that's going to take until May or June of next year," he warned.

"That, to me, is a terrifying thought."

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Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment.

Acosta's warning came ahead of Trump's primetime address Thursday, where, speaking to the nation, the president renewed his focus on election integrity and alleged that China "worked to influence the results" of the 2020 presidential election, an accusation Beijing has denied.

Trump did not claim China changed votes or altered election results. Instead, he said Beijing engaged in an influence campaign aimed at shaping U.S. public perceptions.

Trump used the disclosures during Thursday's address to press Congress to pass the SAVE America Act, casting the newly released intelligence as evidence that lawmakers must tighten federal election rules before the midterms.

The act passed the House in February but stalled in the Senate in March, when a 53–47 vote fell short of the 60 votes needed to advance it.

Ultimately, CBS News aired a special report that initially provided analysis before dipping into the speech minutes after Trump began speaking and cut away moments after Trump's attacks towards ABC and NBC. MS NOW carried the first 15 minutes of his speech live before dipping out to provide commentary. Fox News carried the speech in its entirety.

"The least that the networks can do at this point is not platform these lies, to not allow him to chum the waters with this nonsense," Acosta warned ahead of the address.

"And I think that it's a very serious moment for the television networks in this country."

Fox News' Greg Norman-Diamond, Joseph Wulfsohn and Morgan Phillips contributed to this report.

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Kentucky governor says he received 2 calls from agencies indicating McConnell had 'passed'

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said this week that he received two calls from agencies suggesting Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., died while he was in the hospital.

In an interview with Katie Couric uploaded to YouTube on Thursday, Beshear, a Democrat, did not specify which agencies allegedly called him with the news or when the calls were made.

"In fact, I'd gotten two calls from different agencies, not state agencies, suggesting he'd passed," said Beshear, who has served as governor since December 2019.

Fox News Digital reached out to Beshear and McConnell's offices for comment.

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After nearly a month of being hospitalized, McConnell's office released a lengthy statement on July 12 saying he was being treated for a fall he suffered in June. A picture of him in a hospital bed alongside his wife was also released.

Prior to the announcement, there was speculation about what had happened to McConnell, given that his office did not reveal why he was in the hospital for weeks.

Emergency dispatch audio from June 14, the day McConnell was hospitalized, revealed he was "unconscious" and may have suffered a heart attack.

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"My doctors have confirmed that I didn’t break any bones or suffer a concussion," McConnell said in the statement last weekend. "I didn’t have a heart attack or a stroke. I don’t have any tumors or hemorrhages."

Two days before the longtime GOP leader shared more about his condition, Beshear posted on social media demanding that McConnell be more transparent.

"I publicly and privately urged the last administration to address the public’s concerns with the former president’s health," Beshear wrote, seemingly a reference to former President Joe Biden. "I’m calling on Sen. McConnell to do the same and provide voters an update on his own health."

Beshear ended the post by urging McConnell to "end the crazy speculation" and "just tell us what's going on."

On July 8, Beshear also wrote a letter to the 84-year-old lawmaker requesting that he "fully update Kentuckians regarding the current status of your health."

McConnell's doctor said he "developed pneumonia" early in his hospitalization but "responded rapidly to antibiotic treatment."

McConnell said he intends to return to the Senate, but his office has given no timeline on when he'll be able to do so.

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Max Verstappen keeps it blunt, yet cryptic when asked about future with Red Bull

Formula 1 is at Spa-Francorchamps this weekend, a fan and driver favorite, for the Belgian Grand Prix. We’re in the midst of a great title battle between Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli and George Russell and Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton.

However, much of the focus this weekend is on Red Bull's Max Verstappen. It's been a tough season for the four-time champ, who currently sits down in P7 in the standings, and that's because the rumor mill has been churning about his future with the team.

Verstappen has not committed to Red Bull for next season and was recently linked with a potential move to McLaren. On top of that, he himself has even floated the idea of stepping away from F1. He hasn't been a fan of the direction the series has taken with its current cars, and has recently done more sports car racing.

So, he was asked about all of this on Thursday during his driver press conference, and the Dutchman gave some answers that were both blunt and cryptic.

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"Is there any update you can give us?" a reporter asked.

"No," Verstappen said.

Verstappen was then asked about what he makes of all of the speculation about his future, to which he replied, "Nothing."

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He was then asked whether he had a date in mind for providing an update on his plans.

"No, there's nothing to say from my side," he said.

"So, full commitment to Red Bull in 2027?" the reporter asked.

"I said there's nothing to say," Verstappen reiterated.

Now, Verstappen is known for handling press conferences like this, but, man, is that not going to keep the rumor mill from churning?

It is worth noting that while Red Bull's struggles have been well documented this season, Verstappen has said he has a good relationship with team boss Laurent Mekies, who took over partway through last season.

"It’s been really good. I get on very well with Laurent. We speak a lot on track, but also off track," he said, per the Associated Press. "I think the relationship that he has also within the team is great.

"Everything for me feels very positive, and I think it’s always nice when you can discuss a lot of things with your team boss. So from that sense, yeah, very happy. It’s all very open and transparent."

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