US allowed Canada to ship suspect meat
The Agriculture Department allowed Canada to ship 42,000 pounds of questionable meat into the United States despite restrictions in place since the discovery of mad cow disease in Canada, department investigators said yesterday. The investigation resulted from a federal judge's ruling in April that prevented the department from expanding Canadian beef imports.
The agency's inspector general faulted agriculture officials for allowing more kinds of Canadian meat products into the United States before the judge's ruling. Such "permit creep" let in products that were at greater risk for the disease, the report said. Agriculture officials are planning to allow imports of live cattle under 30 months of age beginning March 7, despite the discovery of two cases of mad cow disease last month. (AP)
NEW YORK
Painting of Kennedys sells for $216,000
NEW YORK -- An Aaron Shikler painting of Jacqueline Kennedy with her two children sold for $216,000 yesterday, the second day of a three-day auction of property from the Kennedy family homes. An animation cel from "101 Dalmatians" inscribed to John F. Kennedy Jr. and signed by Walt Disney sold for $61,200, and a Louis Vuitton hat box sold for $54,000. About 300 bidders at Sotheby's showroom competed against telephone and absentee bidders. Yesterday's total was $2.2 million, bringing the two-day total to about $4 million. Prices include Sotheby's commission. (AP)
CBS employees fight firing over Bush story
NEW YORK -- Five weeks after CBS said they botched an exposé into President Bush's service in the Texas Air National Guard, three staff members who were asked to resign are refusing to quit. Josh Howard, executive producer of "60 Minutes Wednesday," senior broadcast producer Mary Murphy, and senior vice president Betsy West are fighting to save their reputations.
Howard has hired a lawyer and wants CBS head Leslie Moonves to retract comments he made following the release of an exhaustive investigation into how the report got on the air, the New York Observer reported yesterday.
Murphy and West are said to be in deep discussions with top brass at the Tiffany Network and refusing to budge until their names are cleared. (Knight Ridder)
