The Brief

Federal health officials on Wednesday expanded an outbreak of infant botulism tied to recalled ByHeart baby formula to include all illnesses reported since the company began production in March 2022.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said investigators "cannot rule out the possibility that contamination might have affected all ByHeart formula products" ever made.

The outbreak now includes at least 51 infants in 19 states. The new case definition includes "any infant with botulism who was exposed to ByHeart formula at any time since the product's release," according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The most recent illness was reported on Dec. 1.

No deaths have been reported in the outbreak, which was announced Nov. 8.

Previously, health officials had said the outbreak included 39 suspected or confirmed cases of infant botulism reported in 18 states since August. That's when officials at California's Infant Botulism Treatment and Prevention Program reported a rise in treatment of infants who had consumed ByHeart formula. Another 12 cases were identified with the expanded definition, including two that occurred in the original timeline and 10 that occurred from December 2023 through July 2025.

ByHeart, a New York-based manufacturer of organic infant formula founded in 2016, recalled all its products sold in the U.S. on Nov. 11. The company, which accounts for about 1% of the U.S. infant formula market, had been selling about 200,000 cans of the product each month.

News that ByHeart products could have been contaminated for years was distressing to Andi Galindo, whose 5-week-old daughter, Rowan, was hospitalized in December 2023 with infant botulism after drinking the formula. Galindo, 36, of Redondo Beach, California, said she insisted on using ByHeart formula to supplement a low supply of breast milk because it was recommended by a lactation consultant as "very natural, very gentle, very good for the babies."

"That's a hard one," Galindo said. "If there is proof that there were issues with their manufacturing and their plant all the way back from the beginning, that is a problem and they really need to be held accountable."

Amy Mazziotti, 43, of Burbank, California, said her then-5-month-old son, Hank, fell ill and was treated for botulism in March, weeks after he began drinking ByHeart. Being included in the investigation of the outbreak "feels like a win for all of us," she said Wednesday.

"I've known in my gut from the beginning that ByHeart was the reason Hank got sick, and to see that these cases are now part of the investigation brings me to tears — a mix of relief, gratitude and hope that the truth is finally being recognized," she said.

In a statement late Wednesday, ByHeart officials said the company is cooperating with federal officials "to understand the full scope of related cases."

"The new cases reported by CDC and FDA will help inform ByHeart's investigation as we continue to seek the root cause of the contamination," the statement said.

Lab tests detected contamination

The FDA sent inspectors last month to ByHeart plants in Allerton, Iowa, and Portland, Oregon, where the formula is produced and packaged. The agency has released no results from those inspections.

The company previously reported that tests by an independent laboratory showed that 36 samples from three different lots contained the type of bacteria that can cause infant botulism.

"We cannot rule out the risk that all ByHeart formula across all product lots may have been contaminated," the company wrote on its website last month.

Those results and discussions with the FDA led CDC officials to expand the outbreak, according to Dr. Jennifer Cope, a CDC scientist leading the investigation.

"It looks like the contamination appeared to persist across all production runs, different lots, different raw material lots," Cope said. "They couldn't isolate it to specific lots from a certain time period."

Inspection documents showed that ByHeart had a history of problems with contamination.

In 2022, the year ByHeart started making formula, the company recalled five batches of infant formula after a sample at a packaging plant tested positive for a different germ, cronobacter sakazakii. In 2023, the FDA sent a warning letter to the company detailing "areas that still require corrective actions."

A ByHeart plant in Reading, Pennsylvania, was shut down in 2023 just before FDA inspectors found problems with mold, water leaks and insects, documents show.

Infant botulism is rare

Infant botulism is a rare disease that affects fewer than 200 babies in the U.S. each year. It's caused when infants ingest botulism bacteria that produce spores that germinate in the intestines, creating a toxin that affects the nervous system. Babies are vulnerable until about age 1 because their gut microbiomes are not mature enough to fight the toxin.

Baby formula has previously been linked to sporadic cases of illness, but no known outbreaks of infant botulism tied to powdered formula have previously been confirmed, according to research studies.

Symptoms can take up to 30 days to develop and can include constipation, poor feeding, loss of head control, drooping eyelids and a flat facial expression. Babies may feel "floppy" and can have problems swallowing or breathing.

The sole treatment for infant botulism is known as BabyBIG, an IV medication made from the pooled blood plasma of adults immunized against botulism. California's infant botulism program developed the product and is the sole source worldwide.

The antibodies provided by BabyBIG are likely most effective for about a month, although they may continue circulating in the child's system for several months, said Dr. Sharon Nachman, an expert in pediatric infectious disease at Stony Brook Children's Hospital.

"The risk to the infant is ongoing and the family should not be using this formula after it was recalled," Nachman said in an email.

Families of several babies treated for botulism after drinking ByHeart formula have sued the company. Lawsuits filed in federal courts allege that the formula they fed their children was defective and ByHeart was negligent in selling it. They seek financial payment for medical bills, emotional distress and other harm.
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The Santa Ana City Council approved a $75,000 agreement with the digital service Hoopla to offer for digital lending for movies, music, audiobooks and E-books services through its library department.

The deal comes as digital equity programming becomes more at-risk of losing funding. The federal government pulled back $2.75 billion in funding by slashing the Digital Equity Act. Last October, the Federal Communications Commission also ended e-rate discounts to libraries and schools for digital lending programs, which included hotspots and school bus Wi-Fi.

The city first purchased Hoopla services in 2022. Brian Sternberg, Santa Ana’s library services director, told LAist the service has become increasingly popular with residents. Over the last year, Hoopla usage has been up 109%, with 4,435 people borrowing 24,340 items, according to Sternberg.

“The great people of Santa Ana deserve the same services, programs and collections that would be afforded anywhere else in the county,” Sternberg said. “That's my goal, to find ways to deliver that to our residents.”

What is Hoopla? 

Hoopla offers a variety of popular content like movies, television shows, music, audiobooks and e-books.

“Netflix, Amazon Prime, HBO, Max … the way those models are set up, there's not a good way for public libraries to purchase that content due to cost and just due to the way those content deliverers are structured,” Sternberg said.

Digital equity programming can extend beyond educational material, he added.

“There are kids, and they want to see Spider-Man,” Sternberg said. “And we want to be able to offer that, especially for our residents who might not have all the financial means to sign up for all these 10 different subscriptions. They're all like, $15, $20 a month.”

Hoopla provides content in English and Spanish, and there’s content for all age groups, Sternberg added.

The company uses a “pay-in-advance” model, which means the library is buying digital “credits” that are then used whenever a borrower checks out an audiobook, E-book or other content.

“They have different scales,” Sternberg said. “If you want the newest popular movies, it's this particular price point.”

How else is Santa Ana addressing digital inequities? 

Sterberg said Santa Ana libraries are still lending out Wi-Fi hotspots for three weeks.

The library also carries its “Library of Things” where residents can borrow baking tools, video games, musical instruments, cameras and more.

The Main Library and Newhope Library are still closed for major renovations but are expected to reopen by the end of this year. Residents can still visit the library at the Delhi Center and the outdoor library at Jerome Park.

Santa Ana became the latest city in Orange County to approve the use of drones as first responders after a heated debate.

Santa Ana Police Chief Robert Rodriguez told the council the drones will help the department improve response times.

“It will reduce the air support costs associated with the Orange County Sheriff's Department helicopter contract. That contract currently right now sits about approximately half a million dollars a year,” he said. “It will provide responding officers with valuable information before they arrive on scene, which enhances community and officer safety.”

But some on the City Council and in the audience expressed concerns with the vendor, Axon Enterprise Inc., which contracts with the Department of Homeland Security. As Orange County’s only sanctuary city, Santa Ana has grappled with a deep mistrust in the police department as the federal government ramped up immigration raids and ICE detentions last summer. As immigrant families already contend with a fear of coming outside, the increased surveillance, they said, would make them even more afraid.

Ultimately, the council voted 4-3 to allow the city manager to enter into an agreement with Axon Enterprise for a three-year period, joining cities like Newport Beach, Irvine and Huntington Beach who all have drone programs.

Details of the program

The drones will cost the city around $700,000, which will come from a state grant.

All data collected from the drones will be the property of the city and will only be released in accordance with state and city laws. The drones will also be the latest in surveillance technology purchased by the Police Department after they approved the purchase of 57 license plate readers last year.

How will the drones be deployed

The three first responder drones will be docked across the city at fire stations. When the Police Department receives an emergency call, the drones will be deployed within minutes, arriving before first responders. The live video stream, the Police Department says, will allow officers “to coordinate their actions more effectively and gather information in direct support of the Department’s de-escalation strategy.”

In addition to the first responder drones, the city will also purchase two patrol drones to use indoors and in tight spaces “to identify potential dangers.”

Last year, Santa Ana Police Commander Mat Sorenson said the department was looking to add drones to their repertoire as a “reactionary tool,” not for surveillance.

“ I'm not gonna make any promises here right now, but we are more than likely not going down the facial recognition route," he said. "For all intents and purposes, our drones will be a flying body, you know, use it deployed on actual calls for service where somebody's called the police. We're not randomly gonna be using it to surveil people or just fly around looking for crime.”

Community concerns

Carlos Perea, who sits on the Police Oversight Commission, and Tanya Navarro, organizing director with Chispa OC, both expressed concerns with the drone program.

“The vendor selected for this agreement, Axon Enterprise, profits from surveillance and policing infrastructure that is deeply entangled with systems of immigration enforcement and detention. Axon and its subsidiaries maintain contracts with ICE and other federal enforcement agencies at a time when immigrant communities across the country are experiencing unprecedented levels of surveillance, raids, and violence,” Perea wrote in an email to the City Council.

Navarro called the drone program “reckless” for public safety and fiscally.

The language in the policy, she said, “gives police broad latitude to decide when and where drones fly, including over protest, public gathering, and community events. This is exactly how tools get justified for emergencies and then become normalized in everyday surveillance.”

A growing number of Los Angeles-area politicians are calling on Olympics chief Casey Wasserman to step down after recently released files included a series of flirty emails between him and convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell from 2003.

The emails were released in the Justice Department's latest drop of the files related to the criminal investigation into sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

"Casey Wasserman should step aside immediately," L.A. City Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez said in a statement. "Anything less is a distraction and undermines efforts to make sure the Games truly reflect the values of a city that is for everyone."

Councilmembers Eunisses Hernandez, Imelda Padilla, Nithya Raman and Monica Rodriguez, along with L.A. County Supervisors Janice Hahn and Lindsey Horvath, and City Controller Kenneth Mejia also called on Wasserman to step aside.

"Los Angeles cannot trust our financial future to someone connected with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell," Mejia said on social media, citing the city of L.A.'s role as financial backer of the Olympic Games.

The emails include an exchange in which Wasserman writes to Maxwell, "I think of you all the time…So what do I have to do to see you in a tight leather outfit?"

In another, Wasserman explains the concept of "June gloom" to Maxwell, who responds, "What foggy enough so that you can float naked down the beach and no one can see you unless they are close up?"

In 2022, Maxwell was sentenced to 20 years in prison for facilitating a sex trafficking ring of minor girls with Epstein.

LA28 did not immediately respond to requests for comment. But in a statement provided to other media outlets over the weekend, Wasserman said he was "terribly sorry" for his association with Epstein and Maxwell.

"I deeply regret my correspondence with Ghislaine Maxwell which took place over two decades ago, long before her horrific crimes came to light,” Wasserman said in the statement, which was shared by The Athletic and other news outlets. “I never had a personal or business relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. As is well documented, I went on a humanitarian trip as part of a delegation with the Clinton Foundation in 2002 on the Epstein plane. I am terribly sorry for having any association with either of them.”

Councilmember Monica Rodriguez also referenced LA28's "Human Rights Strategy," which was due at the end of last year but hasn't yet been made public.

"The failure to complete a robust Human Rights plan, coupled with the revelations from the newly released Epstein files, makes clear that no one associated with Epstein and his associates can provide credible leadership in the planning of these games, which now includes Casey Wasserman," Rodriguez said in a statement.

L.A. Mayor Karen Bass has not called on Wasserman to resign. In a statement to LAist, Bass said that it was critical to be "100% focused on making our city shine."

"Ultimately, any decision on the LA28 leadership must be made by the LA28 Board. As you know, they are a separate and independent nonprofit organization," the mayor said.