Axios

A salmonella outbreak linked to eggs sold in Michigan, Wisconsin and Illinois has resulted in 24 hospitalizations and 65 illnesses in nine states, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported.

The big picture: Food recalls have reached a peak the U.S. hasn't approached since before the COVID-19 pandemic, an April report found.

The benefits of growing your own herbs are far-reaching, but many pick up the hobby for the peak flavor freshness. One simple way to put those herbs to use is pesto.

Yes, but: If you don't have an herb garden, Patti Rounsevell from Alexandria shared an herb hack with us: Trader Joe's sells basil in a transplantable form. Makes growing (and making fresh pesto) easy, she says.

Vice President Kamala Harris has pitched policy positions on the economy, immigration and abortion in the weeks since she became the Democrats' presidential nominee, even as her flip-flops have attracted press coverage.

Why it matters: Harris has benefited from a surge of voter enthusiasm since she entered the race — and one of her greatest challenges in the final stretch of the campaign will be sustaining that momentum while giving voters a clear understanding of what she'd do as commander in chief.

It's official: Six of Steward's Massachusetts hospitals will get new operators under a $343 million deal that was given the green light in bankruptcy court this week. Two other Steward-owned hospitals in the state closed last weekend, and Steward announced the sale of its doctors group last month.

Why it matters: This is the end — in Massachusetts — of a months-long ordeal that critics say laid bare the risks of private equity involvement in health care and threatened access to hospital care for patients in the state.

It's official: Six of Steward's Massachusetts hospitals will get new operators under a $343 million deal that was given the green light in bankruptcy court this week.

• Two other Steward-owned hospitals in the state closed last weekend, and Steward announced the sale of its doctors group last month.

Why it matters: This is the end — in Massachusetts — of a months-long ordeal that critics say laid bare the risks of private equity involvement in health care and threatened access to hospital care for patients in the state.

There's an alternate argument here: The hospitals were worth what MPT said they were, and the issue wasn't the size of the rent. The problem is that Steward's management ran it into the ground until it couldn't pay its bills.

By the numbers: The lease base for the eight Massachusetts hospitals, according to court documents, was $1.67 billion.

• The deal for six of them — remember, two closed — was for $343 million. One of the six is being acquired by the state through eminent domain.
• The total assessed 2024 value for those six hospitals was more than $400 million, meaning in this case the market valued them even less than the government did.

As you likely know, whatever honeymoon Medicare Advantage was on as it cruised toward its current size — covering more than half of the Medicare population — is over, and enrollees are probably starting to notice.

Why it matters: MA has been very lucrative for insurers, shaping their behavior in ways that economists and journalists are still uncovering. But both policy decisions and real-world dynamics have blunted the program's profitability, which is likely to have trickle-down effects.

• Who knows where this all ends up. But it's worth keeping track of the incremental developments that could eventually bring the temperature to a boil.