Wednesday, 27 April 2022

Russia cuts off gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria, ground beef is recalled over E. coli fears, and a kidnapped baby is found safe. Here's the latest.

April 27, 2022 | VIEW IN BROWSER

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Russia cuts off gas supplies to a pair of Ukraine allies, and there's a huge ground beef recall you need to know about. Plus, a baby snatched from an apartment in California was found alive, and a "Chicago Med" star navigates a fertility journey in her late 30s.

THE LATEST

🛢️Russia has cut off gas supply to Poland and Bulgaria in a move leaders call 'gas blackmail.'

Russia has ratcheted up the economic pressure on a pair of Ukraine's allies, as its state-controlled natural gas giant Gazprom said today that it has cut off supplies to Poland and Bulgaria for their refusal to pay for it in rubles. European Union and NATO leaders labeled it "gas blackmail." The move is seen as an escalation of Russia's standoff with the West and retaliation for supporting Ukraine with sanctions and military support.

🥩 More than 120,000 pounds of ground beef have been recalled due to possible E. coli. Here's how to know if you bought some.

A New Jersey-based company has recalled 120,872 pounds of ground beef products that were shipped nationwide, including beef patties and meatloaf mix sold under brand names like Naturally Better, Nature's Reserve and Thomas Farms, due to possible E. coli contamination. There are no confirmed reports of illness, and the USDA has pictures of the labels on all the affected products, which should be thrown out or returned.

Baby who was kidnapped from apartment while grandmother unloaded groceries has been found alive, police say.

Police in San Jose, California, found a 3-month-old baby who was kidnapped this week and reunited him with his mother. A suspect is in custody, police said. Surveillance footage previously released by police showed Brandon Cuellar being taken from the family's apartment by a man the family did not recognize. The boy's grandmother told police she took him inside after a trip to the grocery store and went back outside to unload groceries. When she returned, the boy was gone.

'Chicago Med' star talks about how she navigated the 'overwhelming' fertility process at 37 to freeze her eggs.

Actor Kellee Stewart shared with us how she got a crash course in fertility and endured numerous tests when she decided to freeze her eggs after a breakup in her late 30s. In an emotional essay, Stewart says she wants others, especially Black women, to make empowered decisions about their own fertility. "I want them to feel like they can control their own future," Stewart told us.

A doctor dismissed her home test results with a text and a smiley face. It turned out to be colorectal cancer.

Christine Bronstein, 48, decided to take an at-home colon cancer screening test after finding blood in her stool, and it came back positive. She texted her doctor, who replied, "You don't have cancer," with a smiley face. She insisted on a colonoscopy, which found she had a 2-inch tumor in her rectum, and she is now undergoing chemotherapy. "I think the problem why this is becoming the No. 1 killer for younger people is because their symptoms get denied," Bronstein told us. Here are 6 colon cancer signs you should never ignore.

WHAT'S FOR DINNER?

Allow us to do the meal-planning for you.

If you love Thai food, we have a 15-minute recipe that is perfect for weeknights: Thai-inspired shrimp pasta. "Fit Men Cook" author Kevin Curry stopped by the TODAY Table to share the dish, which uses easy items you already have in your pantry, like pasta and peanut butter. And if anyone in your family is gluten-free, swap out the fettuccine for gluten-free noodles, or give the spiralizer a few turns for some zucchini noodles.

DAILY DELIGHT

A little pick-me-up before you go.

We're exhausted just thinking about the incredible feat achieved by distance runner Jacky Hunt-Broersma, an amputee who ran her 100th marathon in 100 days on Tuesday and is going for 101 today. The inspiring 46-year-old from Arizona, who lost her left leg below the knee to a rare type of cancer in 2001, battled 100-degree heat and needed to super glue the tread back on her prosthetic after it came off. Now she's two days away from achieving her ultimate goal of a world-record 102 marathons in 102 days.