By JONEL ALECCIA, AP Health Writer

The parents of at least two babies sickened in an infantile botulism outbreak are suing the makers of the ByHeart baby formula at the heart of a nationwide recall.

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Stephen and Yurany Dexter, of Flagstaff, Arizona, said their 4-month-old daughter, Rose, had to be flown by air ambulance to a children’s hospital two hours from home and treated for several weeks this summer.

Michael and Hanna Everett, of Richmond, Kentucky, said their daughter, Piper, also 4 months, was rushed to a hospital Nov. 8 with worsening symptoms of the rare and potentially deadly disease.

The lawsuits, filed in federal courts in two states, allege that the ByHeart formula the babies consumed was defective and that the company was negligent in selling it. They seek financial payment for medical bills, emotional distress and other harm.

Both families said they bought the organic formula to provide what they viewed as a natural, healthier alternative to traditional baby formulas, and that they were shocked and angered by the suffering their children endured.

“I wouldn’t guess that a product designed for a helpless, developing human in the United States could cause something this severe,” said Stephen Dexter, 44.

“She’s so little and you’re just helplessly watching this,” said Hanna Everett, 28. “It was awful.”

Outbreak began in August

Rose Dexter and Piper Everett are among at least 15 infants in a dozen states who have been sickened in the outbreak that began in August, according to federal and state health officials. No deaths have been reported.

Both received the sole treatment available for botulism in children less than a year old: an IV medication called BabyBIG, made from the blood plasma of people immunized against the neurotoxins that cause the illness.

Investigations into more potential botulism cases are pending after ByHeart, the New York-based formula manufacturer, recalled all of its formula nationwide on Tuesday. At least 84 U.S. babies have been treated for infantile botulism since August, including those in the outbreak, California officials said.

The company sells about 200,000 cans of formula per month. It can take up to 30 days for signs of infantile botulism infection to appear, medical experts said.

California officials confirmed that a sample from an open can of ByHeart formula fed to an infant who fell ill contained the type of bacteria that can lead to illness.

The lawsuits filed Wednesday could be the first of many legal actions against ByHeart, said Bill Marler, a Seattle food safety lawyer who represents Dexter.

“This company potentially faces an existential crisis,” he said.

ByHeart officials didn’t respond to questions about the new lawsuits but said they would “address any legal claims in due course.”

“We remain focused on ensuring that families using ByHeart products are aware of the recall and have factual information about steps they should take,” the company said in a statement.

Parents fretted as babies grew sicker

In Rose Dexter’s case, she received ByHeart formula within days of her birth in July after breast milk was insufficient, her father said. Stephen Dexter said he went to Whole Foods to find a “natural option.”

“I’m a little concerned with things that are in food that may cause problems,” he said. “We do our best to buy something that says it’s organic.”

But Rose, who was healthy at birth, didn’t thrive on the formula. She had trouble feeding and was fussy and fretful as she got sicker. On Aug. 31, when she was 8 weeks old, her parents couldn’t wake her.

Rose was flown by air ambulance to Phoenix Children’s Hospital, where she stayed for nearly two weeks.

Hanna Everett said she used ByHeart to supplement breastfeeding starting when Piper was 6 weeks old.

“It’s supposed to be similar to breast milk,” she said.

Last weekend, Piper started showing signs of illness. Everett said she became more worried when a friend told her ByHeart had recalled two lots of its Whole Nutrition Infant Formula. When a family member checked the empty cans, they matched the recalled lots.

“I was like, ’Oh my god, we need to go to the ER,” Everett recalled.

At Kentucky Children’s Hospital, Piper’s condition worsened rapidly. Her pupils stopped dilating correctly and she lost her gag reflex. Her head and arms became limp and floppy.

Doctors immediately ordered doses of the BabyBIG medication, which had to be shipped from California, Everett said. In the meantime, Piper had to have a feeding tube and IV lines inserted.

In both cases, the babies improved after receiving treatment. Rose went home in September and she no longer requires a feeding tube. Piper went home this week.

They appear to be doing well on different formulas, the families said.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

By ED WHITE

DETROIT (AP) — The state of Michigan is giving up ownership of a rare relic from the famous Edmund Fitzgerald shipwreck, just weeks after it strangely obtained it through a settlement in a lawsuit that was completely unrelated to the doomed freighter.

Larry Orr is getting one of the ship’s life rings back — and the state will still pay $600,000 to settle his lawsuit over police misconduct.

“I feel a whole lot better,” Orr, 77, told The Associated Press this week.

In 1975, eight days after the Fitzgerald sank in Lake Superior, killing all 29 men, Orr said he found the life ring and a piece of a lifeboat on shore in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

“There was an eerie feeling. Maybe someone had survived,” he recalled. “I looked around for footprints or any other sign of life for a while and never found anything.”

Fast forward 50 years to this autumn: Orr was in talks with the Michigan State Police to settle a lawsuit. He accused Lt. David Busacca of violating his rights during a sexual abuse investigation that was ultimately discredited. Orr had spent five months in jail, in addition to house arrest, before charges were dropped in 2019.

Orr and his attorney, Shannon Smith, said the state suddenly expressed interest in the Fitzgerald life ring during the negotiations. Orr said Busacca was aware that he owned it when he saw paperwork during a search of his Michigan home.

Orr said he felt he was being manipulated, but he also needed money to move out of a recreation vehicle in Yulee, Florida. Smith said throwing the ring into the deal raised the settlement to $600,000 from roughly $300,000.

“I think we should have gotten a million for everything they did to me,” Orr said.

The AP was first to report the peculiar deal on Oct. 23. When state police were asked to explain why it was appropriate, spokesperson Shanon Banner said the department was “not comfortable.”

Additional talks among lawyers led to a new agreement: Orr gets the ring back while taxpayers will still be on the hook for $600,000 to close the police misconduct lawsuit. Banner acknowledged the terms this week.

For decades, Orr allowed the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum in Paradise, Michigan, to display the orange ring, which has “Fitzgerald” in stenciled letters. Now he might sell it at auction.

Orr said he’s trying to buy a modular home and his wife’s car “is on its last legs.”

“I need all the money I can get,” he said.

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The city of St. Paul is offering up to $2,500 in emergency rental assistance for low-income tenants at risk of eviction. The “Emergency Rental Assistance and Eviction Prevention Program,” or ERA, is open for applications.

To receive ERA funds, landlords must agree to not evict the tenant receiving assistance. The goal of the program is to help prevent eviction and homelessness through one-time grants.

The program was funded by $1 million from this year’s city budget following collaboration from the mayor’s office, the Department of Planning and Economic Development, Ward 7 City Council Member Cheniqua Johnson’s office and the unanimous support of the city council. It revives and builds upon an anti-displacement program launched by the city during the COVID-19 pandemic using funding from the federal American Rescue Plan Act.

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“My ward has one of the highest eviction rates in Ramsey County, and that is simply not okay,” said Johnson, in a written statement. “We needed to bring this program back, expand who we can help, and make sure resources reach people faster. Everyone deserves stable housing.”

To be eligible, applicants must be able to verify a household income at or below 80% of area median income and provide proof of a pending eviction such as a 14-day notice or housing court summons. The city council is exploring continuing to fund the program in 2026. For more information, visit tinyurl.com/EvictionHelpStp25.

By MARK ANDERSON, AP Sports Writer

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Major League Baseball and its affiliated sportsbooks offered a fast reaction Monday to the latest on a growing list of sports betting scandals, capping bets on individual pitches at $200 and excluding them from parlays to keep those prop bets from jeopardizing the integrity of the sport.

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That decision came a day after Cleveland Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz were indicted on charges they took bribes from sports bettors to purposely throw certain types of pitches that would pay off bets. Bettors allegedly made at least $460,000 off the rigged pitches.

Prop bets are also at the center of a scandal in the NBA. Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier was arrested Oct. 24 and accused of providing inside information on teammates’ injuries to gamblers and removing himself prematurely from an NBA game.

The four major North American sports leagues and many of their teams have embraced legal wagering and formed partnerships with sports-betting companies while at the same time insisting the integrity of their games are what matters most. Prop bets have become a point of contention. Here’s what to know.

What are prop bets?

Gamblers can bet on anything from how many yards a quarterback will throw for in a game to how many points an NBA player will score. In-game wagering allows for even more granular betting, such as whether the first pitch in the fourth inning of an MLB game will be a strike.

Prop bets that depend entirely on the efforts of one person — like the ones Clase and Ortiz are charged with targeting — are ripe for exploitation. MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver are among those who have asked for limits around such wagers.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has called for the Ohio Casino Control Commission to end player-specific micro betting entirely.

Others have suggested allowing payoffs only on the over — like predicting a player will score more than 20 points, but not fewer — because it would be difficult to rig that kind of outcome. Even before baseball made its announcement, betting limits also have been floated as a possible way to at least curb gamblers working together with athletes to alter how games are played.

Are prop bets here to stay?

MLB’s announcement Monday about limiting action on pitch-level prop bets marked a rare win for those concerned about them. MLB said in a statement that “most prop bets present limited integrity risk because they take into account multiple events that are influenced by more than one actor. However, ‘micro-bet’ pitch-level markets (e.g., ball/strike; pitch velocity) present heightened integrity risks because they focus on one-off events that can be determined by a single player and can be inconsequential to the outcome of the game.”

Pitch-level micro bets are hardly the only wager offered by books that can be impacted by just one player. Think of minutes played, yards gained or points scored. Such bets are easy to find and also dictated by actions of individual athletes.

Commercial sports betting revenue in the U.S. is already over $10 billion this year, according to the American Gaming Association. With that sort of money at stake, it’s highly unlikely prop bets are going away. Betting partners have become a tremendous source of income for leagues and teams, and prop bets are a big driver. For the sportsbooks, too, because they can massively expand their wagering menus.

Prop bets also help keep gamblers engaged with game action, even in blowouts. That benefits leagues, teams and sportsbooks at a time when alternative entertainment options have never been more plentiful. Some leagues, including the NBA and PGA Tour, have even experimented with betting-specific alternate broadcasts to spur that engagement.

How do leagues protect themselves?

All four major North American leagues use monitoring services that track in real time for unusual betting activity. If any is detected, that information is reported immediately to that specific league.

It’s unclear whether MLB’s service tipped off baseball that something could be afoul with the Guardians players, but it was the league that notified authorities of a potential problem.

Rozier is a subject in a larger-scale FBI investigation that resulted in more than 30 arrests, though the NBA conducted its own inquiry and said it found no evidence of wrongdoing. Whether the NBA was alerted through its monitoring service is uncertain.

Do the leagues have an integrity problem?

It depends. Those who support legalized sports betting say the system is working as designed because perpetrators are being caught. It’s much easier to track if athletes are involved with gambling than it was when most wagers were handled out of sight through illegal bookies. Detractors argue that easy access to legal betting attracts those, including athletes, who otherwise wouldn’t gamble on sports.