Bad beef may be linked to deaths

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Contaminated fresh ground beef caused a possible E. coli outbreak that killed two people and sent 16 others to hospitals, federal health officials said Monday.

Twenty-eight people may have become ill after eating beef produced by Fairbank Farms of Ashville, N.Y., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported. All but three of the suspected infections are in the northeastern U.S. and 18 are in New England, said CDC spokeswoman Lola Scott Russell.

eBay pulls items in abortion case

WICHITA, Kan. — Online auction house eBay has removed items that were posted for sale by anti-abortion activists trying to raise money for defense of a man accused of killing a Kansas abortion provider, the company said Monday.

Supporters of Scott Roeder — one in Kansas City, Mo. and the other in Des Moines, Iowa — posted various items late Sunday in separate eBay auctions including an Army of God manual, an underground publication for anti-abortion militants that describes ways to shut down clinics.

Attorney: Jailed client tried suicide

NASHVILLE — The attorney for a woman charged with kidnapping a Tennessee newborn says his client has tried to kill herself while in jail.

Attorney Isaiah Gant asked a federal judge Monday to investigate Tammy Renee Silas’ claims that medication is being withheld from her at the Robertson County Jail and to consider moving her to another facility.

A prosecutor told the judge during the hearing that he would confer with the U.S. Marshal’s Office.

Airlines raise holiday charges

DALLAS — If you plan to travel around the upcoming holidays, prepare to pay a little more — again.

Most of the largest U.S. airlines have increased a surcharge for travel on the busiest travel days to $20 each way, up from $10.

The surcharges apply to a large number of flights within the U.S. on more than a dozen peak days around holidays including Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s.

Delta, American, United, US Airways and Northwest all boosted their surcharge on some routes, said Tom Parsons, who runs the discount travel site Bestfares.com.

Tim Smith, spokesman for Fort Worth-based American Airlines, confirmed the higher surcharges Monday.

N. Korea says it will expand nukes

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea issued a veiled threat to increase its nuclear arsenal if U.S. officials do not quickly agree to the one-on-one talks that the communist regime is demanding.

The regime’s impatience came days after its No. 2 nuclear negotiator Ri Gun came away from meetings with Washington envoy Sung Kim without an agreement to hold bilateral talks.

Woman hit with car by father dies

PHOENIX — A young Iraqi woman whose father allegedly hit her with his car because she had become too Westernized died from her injuries Monday after lying in a coma for nearly two weeks.

Noor Faleh Almaleki, 20, underwent spinal surgery and had been in a hospital since Oct. 20, when police say her father ran down her and her boyfriend’s mother with his Jeep as the women were walking across a parking lot in the west Phoenix suburb of Peoria.

The other woman, Amal Khalaf, is expected to survive.

Arguments set in Polanski case

LOS ANGELES — A California appeals court will listen to oral arguments from Roman Polanski’s attorneys about why it should require a lower court to decide whether to dismiss charges against the fugitive director, whether he is present or not.

Polanski in July appealed a Los Angeles Superior Court judge’s decision not to dismiss the criminal case because the director didn’t appear for a hearing.

US action urged at climate talks

BARCELONA, Spain — As China’s actions to curb gas emissions garnered praise at U.N. climate talks, the United States came under renewed pressure to come up with a plan to cut pollution blamed for hastening global warming.

Delegates at the weeklong talks in Barcelona pressed Monday for Washington to make specific commitments on reducing carbon emissions and contributing to a global climate fund.

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