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Photos shows the crawfish processing in Louisiana, an industry hit by a shortage of foreign workers

CROWLEY, La. (AP) — Spring is peak crawfish season in Louisiana, an industry worth about $300 million.

However, the industry is struggling this year due to a shortage of seasonal foreign workers, and some are blaming President Donald Trump’s administration for what they say has been a failure to authorize enough guest workers in time.

Large-scale crawfish producers use guest workers, many from Mexico and Central America, to shell and freeze the freshwater catch that is often pulled from swampy rice fields — physically demanding tasks that American workers are generally unwilling to do.

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This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.

Between prices and a diarrhea-causing parasite, lettuce is causing hard times at some restaurants

It’s been a choppy year for restaurants that lean into lettuce. Lettuce prices rose sharply in the first half of 2026 due to hot weather in Arizona, where about one-third of America’s lettuce is grown. Now, restaurants are dealing with the fallout from a cyclospora outbreak linked to shredded lettuce that has sickened thousands of Americans. Taco Bell will likely see the biggest sales impact from the outbreak, which began in late June. Federal health officials first tied the outbreak to shredded iceberg lettuce served at Taco Bell restaurants in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia. Later, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said customers in Illinois, Kansas, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania were also affected. Taco Bell said on July 17 that it had voluntarily removed shredded iceberg lettuce supplied by Taylor Farms from its U.S. restaurants. But its customer volume has suffered. As of July 23, Taco Bell visits were 21% lower than average across the U.S., according to Placer.ai, a market research company.
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