Prison for a food poisoning outbreak

Because of his age, Stewart Parnell, 61, received what amounts to as a life in prison sentence on Monday. A federal judge handed Parnell a 28-year prison sentence, the toughest penalty ever for a corporate executive in a food poisoning outbreak. This all dates back to a deadly salmonella outbreak in Tainted peanut butter paste manufactured by Parnell's company, Peanut Corporation of America, killed nine people and sickened more than 700 others. A jury in south Georgia convicted Stewart Parnell a year ago. The former CEO of the now-defunct Peanut Corporation of America was sentenced at the same federal court. Never before had a corporate executive been convicted of federal felony charges related to food poisoning. The Food and Drug Administration says that Salmonella is America's most common cause of food-borne illness and sickens up to 1.4 million people every year.

In Other News According to a recent study, obesity rates have been steadily rising since the 1990s. West Virginia and Mississippi were states with the highest adult obesity rates. Hawaii, the District of Columbia and Colorado had the lowest rates. According to the CDC, more than a third of U.S. adults are obese and around 17% of children are obese. Heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes are all obesity-related conditions, and are some of the leading causes of preventable death. Annually, the U.S. spends $147 billion on obesity-related issues. The medical costs of those who are obese are about $1,500 more than someone of normal weight. Obesity was measured by using Body Mass Index (BMI), a ratio of a person's weight to height. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker ended his campaign for the GOP president yesterday. After a couple of days in Cuba, Pope Francis heads to the U.S. today. His first stop is Washington, where he'll go to the White House and -- in a papal first -- address a joint session of Congress. On Thursday, the Pope moves on to New York, where he'll address the U.N. General Assembly, visit the 9/11 memorial and hold Mass at Madison Square Garden. He'll end his trip this weekend in Philadelphia at the World Meeting of Families. According to a study published Monday, apples account for 18.9% of fruit intake among people ages 2 to 19 in the United States…more than any other fruit.