N. Korea launch nears

N. Korea launch nears

SEOUL, South Korea — Spy satellites trained high-resolution cameras on a coastal North Korean launch pad. U.S., Japan and South Korea deployed warships with radar and other surveillance equipment in the waters near the communist nation — all for one of the most closely watched rocket launches ever.

The North’s official Korean Central News Agency said today preparations were complete to send up what it calls an experimental communications satellite and that liftoff was imminent at its northern Musudan-ri facility. North Korea earlier advised international authorities the launch would take place sometime between today and Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. (0200 to 0700GMT).

Salmonella update

FRESNO, Calif. — Kraft Foods Inc., the company whose testing led to the nationwide pistachio recall, said Friday it first heard there was salmonella in its trail mix in late 2007, but could not trace the possible source to tainted nuts from California until two weeks ago.

Workers at one of Kraft’s manufacturers in Illinois turned up a contaminated batch of fruits and nuts in December 2007. Then, in September of last year, another positive sample appeared.

Only after thousands of tests could the company pinpoint the source for the second positive test as California-based Setton Pistachio of Terra Bella, Inc., said Kraft spokeswoman Susan Davison.

Last week, the food products giant recalled or destroyed all suspect foods, and notified its suppliers and the Food and Drug Administration, which on Monday issued a sweeping national warning against eating the nuts.

Boy, 13, drives 1,300 miles

JETERSVILLE, Va. — A 13-year-old Virginia boy apparently loaded his family’s pickup truck with food, clothes and his dog, hitched up a trailer with two horses in tow and drove nearly 1,300 miles to Texas, police said. The teen’s parents found him safe Friday.

Police are unsure why the boy ran away Wednesday morning from his Jetersville-area home. He apparently was well-prepared, even bringing extra propane tanks along.

Wyatt E. McLaughlin was found about 2 p.m. Friday on a rodeo grounds near Weatherford, Texas, where he had performed several times before. His parents looked for him there on a hunch, said Sgt. Tom Cunningham, a Virginia State Police spokesman.

U.S. strikes paramilitaries

BAGHDAD — A U.S. aircraft fired on suspected government-allied Sunni paramilitaries planting a bomb, killing one and wounding two, the U.S. said Friday — the latest sign of trouble in a program that has been a pillar of the American strategy to stabilize Iraq.

Iraq’s prime minister said he was not ready to give up on the paramilitary program, known variously as Sons of Iraq and Awakening Councils, but warned he would not tolerate subversives in the ranks despite the groups’ role in helping stabilize the country.

A U.S. statement said the airstrike was launched Thursday night after four gunmen, allegedly members of the Sons of Iraq, were seen planting a roadside bomb near Taji, site of a large U.S. air base about 12 miles north of Baghdad.

Cuba travel ban on way out

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama intends to lift the U.S. ban on family members traveling to Cuba and remittances to the island, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday.

The move would fulfill a pledge Obama made during the presidential campaign and could signal a new openness with the communist nation, the newspaper said in an article posted on its Web site.

Democrats in Congress are also moving to loosen restrictions on family travel to Cuba, but Obama plans to use presidential powers to ease the rules on his own, the Journal said, quoting an unidentified senior administration official.

Formula contaminated

ATLANTA — Traces of a chemical used in rocket fuel were found in samples of powdered baby formula, and could exceed what’s considered a safe dose for adults if mixed with water also contaminated with the ingredient, a government study has found.

The study by scientists at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention looked for the chemical, perchlorate, in different brands of powdered baby formula. It was published last month, but the Environmental Working Group — a Washington, D.C.-based advocacy organization — issued a press release Thursday drawing attention to it.

The chemical has turned up in several cities’ drinking water supplies. It can occur naturally, but most perchlorate contamination has been tied to defense and aerospace sites.

Associated Press