Sacramento, California - Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today issued the following statement regarding the death of California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) Heavy Equipment Operator Braden Varney:

Washington, DC - On July 13, Deputy Secretary of State John J. Sullivan met with Hong Kong Secretary of Justice Teresa Cheng at the Department of State in Washington, DC. During their meeting, the Deputy Secretary and the Secretary of Justice discussed the U.S.-Hong Kong partnership in a wide range of areas.

Mexico City, Mexico - Today Secretary Pompeo met with the President of Mexico Enrique Pena Nieto at the Mexican presidential palace, Los Pinos, in Mexico City, Mexico. Secretary Pompeo reaffirmed the United States’ continued commitment to working with Mexico to enhance our shared security by disrupting transnational criminal organizations.

Washington, DC - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, along with state and local officials, are investigating a multi-state outbreak of Cyclospora infections. Yesterday, the Illinois and Iowa Health Departments identified McDonald’s salads as being potentially linked to cases of Cyclospora in both states. McDonald’s has voluntarily stopped selling salads at affected restaurants across 14 states and the CDC reports that 61 people across seven states have gotten sick.

Washington, DC - The world celebrated the rescue of 12 Thai soccer boys from a flooded cave in Mae Sai, Thailand. We grieved over the loss of one brave man, Saman Kunam who sacrificed his life to deliver supplies to the trapped boys. Many of us watched the media reports fearfully, prayed and hoped for a miracle.

Washington, DC - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is alerting health care professionals and patients of a voluntary recall of several drug products containing the active ingredient valsartan, used to treat high blood pressure and heart failure. This recall is due to an impurity, N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), which was found in the recalled products. However, not all products containing valsartan are being recalled. NDMA is classified as a probable human carcinogen (a substance that could cause cancer) based on results from laboratory tests. The presence of NDMA was unexpected and is thought to be related to changes in the way the active substance was manufactured.