The New Salmonella Outbreak, The President in Ohio, and More

Tuesday, August 11th, 2026

Good morning! Welcome to The Tradesman, a 5-minute newsletter tailored just for America’s tradesmen.

Congratulations to Malcom M. of Evolved Lighting & Energy for winning our gas card giveaway!

Malcom, reply to this email if you’d like the card to be from Sheetz, Shell, or Speedway, and we’ll get it sent over to you!

Unless you've been living under a rock, you've heard about the Cyclospora parasite spreading through lettuce and other vegetables.

Apparently one food safety crisis wasn't enough, because now there's salmonella.

The USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service issued a public health alert for 18 meat and poultry products containing jalapeños that may be contaminated. Mexican restaurant chains including Chipotle and Qdoba have been affected, and grocery stores are pulling frozen meals, produce and other items.

See the full list of affected products here.

President Donald Trump will attend the final day of the 2026 Patriot Games today at SPIRE Academy in Geneva.

The competition, which began Sunday, Aug. 9, is part of the yearlong America 250 celebration. One boy and one girl from each state compete in challenges testing strength, agility, teamwork and perseverance, with $250,000 in scholarship money on the line.

See more on the Patriot Games here.

Second-quarter U.S. same-store sales fell 7%, and traffic dropped 12.5%, prompting the Dublin-based chain to pull its 2026 outlook and cut its quarterly dividend in half. The company has closed 245 restaurants this year.

New CEO Bob Wright told analysts the problem starts with the food, saying cost and efficiency decisions have degraded quality. 

It is a harsher assessment than anything a competitor has offered, and the words "Quality Is Our Recipe" are printed on every Wendy's sign in America.

When it comes to fishing, everyone seems to have a secret method. For anyone still starting out, that can make the whole sport feel daunting.

Bass are widely considered among the easier fish to catch, which makes bass fishing a good place to start.

See the 12 best flies for catching bass here.

Did you play football in high school?