Contaminated Lettuce Sickens 6,358 People in Outbreak

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Practical preparedness for uncertain times

My car battery died in a grocery store parking lot during a cold snap one year. Not during the storm. After it. The storm was over. Roads were clear. I was buying supplies to restock. And my car wouldn't start because the cold had finished off a battery I should have replaced three months earlier. The irony of being stranded by a dead battery while holding a bag of emergency supplies was not lost on me.

Here's what I've got this week.

Your Car as a Preparedness Asset (That Requires Maintenance)

Your vehicle is your primary evacuation tool, your mobile shelter, your power source (USB charging, inverter), and your cargo carrier. Every preparedness plan that involves leaving your home depends on your car starting and running. Yet most people neglect the basic maintenance that ensures reliability when it matters.

Battery health is the most common failure point. Car batteries last 3 to 5 years. In extreme heat and cold, they fail sooner. Test yours annually (most auto parts stores do this for free). Replace it before it fails. A dead battery during an evacuation is a plan-ending event.

Tire condition affects everything: traction, handling, fuel efficiency, and blowout risk. Check tread depth quarterly (the penny test: insert a penny head-down; if you can see all of Lincoln's head, the tread is too worn). Maintain proper inflation (check monthly; the correct PSI is on the driver's door jamb, not on the tire). Rotate tires every 5,000 to 7,000 miles.

Fluid levels are the circulatory system: oil, coolant, brake fluid, transmission fluid, and windshield washer fluid. Low oil destroys engines. Low coolant causes overheating. Low brake fluid compromises stopping. Check all fluids quarterly or before any long trip.

Fuel level discipline matters. Keep your tank above half full at all times (we've said this in multiple issues). In an evacuation, gas stations may be closed, out of stock, or have lines stretching blocks. A full tank gives you 300 to 400 miles of range without stopping. That's the difference between reaching safety and being stuck.

A basic car maintenance schedule: monthly check tire pressure. Quarterly check fluids and battery. Every 5,000 miles change oil and rotate tires. Annually replace wiper blades and cabin air filter. Every 3 to 5 years replace the battery. Following this schedule prevents the vast majority of roadside failures.

Check your tire pressure and tread depth right now.

A tire pressure gauge costs $3. Correct PSI is on your driver's door jamb. The penny test takes 10 seconds per tire. If any tire is low or worn, address it before the next trip.

Credit Card Balances Hold at a Record $1.25 Trillion

U.S. credit card debt held at a record $1.25 trillion in the first quarter of 2026, up $70 billion from a year earlier, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's Household Debt and Credit Report. The share of card balances transitioning into serious delinquency, 90 or more days past due, ticked up slightly to 7.10% from 7.04% a year ago, even as early-stage delinquencies actually eased and lenders kept expanding available credit.

Balances near record highs paired with a slow upward drift in serious delinquency is worth tracking even though nothing moved sharply this quarter. If you're carrying a balance, prioritize paying down the highest-rate card first and build even a small cash buffer before you need it.

Source: Federal Reserve Bank of New York, ABA Banking Journal

Joel Lambert served as a Navy SEAL on SEAL Team 2 and Team 4 before becoming a BUD/S instructor, and in that world equipment failure isn't an inconvenience, it's a life-or-death problem. In A Navy SEAL's Bug-In Guide, he brings that same standard to civilian preparedness: maintain what you depend on before it fails, on a fixed schedule rather than a reactive one.

That same discipline applies to your car: treat it like a piece of survival equipment, maintained on a schedule rather than repaired after it breaks. The cost of prevention is always lower than the cost of failure during an emergency.

CDC Confirms Contaminated Lettuce Behind Nationwide Cyclospora Outbreak

The CDC has confirmed iceberg lettuce imported from Central Mexico by Taylor Farms as the source of a Cyclospora outbreak that has sickened 6,358 people across 15 states since late June, hospitalizing 278 and killing two in Michigan. Taylor Farms issued a recall on July 17 after the tainted lettuce reached at least 27 states through retailers including Taco Bell and Walmart's Marketside brand, and the CDC expects the case count to keep climbing given the roughly six-week lag before lab-confirmed cases are reported.

Cyclospora causes watery diarrhea that can drag on for weeks without treatment, and the parasite doesn't wash off easily since it lives on the leaf surface itself. Check any bagged or bulk lettuce against active recall notices before serving it, and keep a shelf-stable backup for salads and sides when fresh produce feels like a gamble.

Source: CDC, Food Safety News

NOCO Boost Plus GB40 Jump Starter

This is a lithium-ion jump starter the size of a paperback book. It starts a dead car battery in seconds without needing another vehicle. We keep ours in the glovebox (Issue 115) and it's started our car twice and a neighbor's car once.

It holds its charge for months, which is the key advantage over traditional jumper cables (which require a second vehicle). It also functions as a USB power bank for phone charging. About $100.

Budget alternative: A set of jumper cables ($15 to $25). They require a second vehicle, but they never need charging and never fail mechanically. Keep them in the trunk.

Overrated: Roadside assistance memberships as a substitute for maintenance. AAA is valuable(and you should still get it), but a tow truck can't come during a blizzard, a flood, or a mass evacuation. Self-reliant vehicle maintenance prevents the call in the first place.

Underrated: Checking your spare tire. Most people have never looked at their spare. Many modern cars don't even include one (check yours). If you have a spare, verify it's inflated (they lose pressure over time). A flat spare tire is the same as no spare tire.

ChrisFix (YouTube): Clear, beginner-friendly DIY auto repair and maintenance tutorials.

AAA: Vehicle Maintenance: Seasonal maintenance checklists and schedules.

NHTSA: Tire Safety: Federal tire maintenance and recall information.

Tire Rack: Tire Education: Understanding tire types, sizing, and maintenance.

Car Talk: Archive of accessible auto maintenance advice.

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Children home alone during an emergency. Age-appropriate preparation for the scenario where kids must manage a disruption without an adult present.

PS: That dead battery cost me a $180 tow because the battery wouldn’t take a jump. A $100 replacement battery, installed the month before when the test showed weakness, would have prevented the entire episode. Preventive maintenance is always cheaper than emergency repair.