Peanut butter eyed in salmonella outbreak

Peanut butter eyed in salmonella outbreak

ATLANTA — Federal officials have not yet identified the cause of a salmonella outbreak striking almost 400 people in Ohio and 41 other states, but officials in Minnesota said Friday they believe peanut butter may be involved.

On Friday, the Minnesota Department of Health said preliminary laboratory testing found salmonella bacteria in a 5-pound container of King Nut brand creamy peanut butter. The tests have not linked it to the type of salmonella in the national outbreak, but additional results are expected early next week.

Minnesota officials did not immediately identify the company that manufactures the peanut butter or say where else it is distributed.

The product apparently is not sold in grocery stores but is distributed in Minnesota to long-term care facilities, hospitals, schools, universities, restaurants, delis, cafeterias and bakeries.

State officials urged establishments that have the product to avoid serving it, pending further instructions as the investigation progresses.

The U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday that 399 cases have been confirmed nationally, with about one in five victims hospitalized. Ohio and California reported the most, with 51 cases each.

Inmate plucks out eye

HOUSTON — A Texas death row inmate with a history of mental problems pulled out his only good eye and told authorities he ate it.

Andre Thomas, 25, was arrested in the fatal stabbings of his estranged wife, their young son and her 13-month-old daughter in March 2004. Their hearts also had been ripped out. He was convicted and condemned for the baby’s death.

While in the Grayson County Jail in Sherman, Thomas plucked out his right eye before his trial later in 2004. A judge subsequently ruled he was competent to stand trial.

A death-row officer at the Polunsky Unit of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice found Thomas in his cell with blood on his face and took him to the infirmary.

“Thomas said he pulled out his eye and subsequently ingested it,” agency spokesman Jason Clark said Friday.

Thomas was treated after the Dec. 9 incident. Then he was transferred and remains at the Jester Unit, a prison psychiatric facility.

Pirates: Saudis pay $3M

MOGADISHU, Somalia — After reportedly receiving a $3 million ransom dropped by parachute, pirates said they released a captured Saudi supertanker Friday, ending a two-month drama that helped galvanize international efforts to fight piracy off Africa’s coast.

U.S. Navy photos showed a parachute, carrying what they described as “an apparent payment,” floating toward the tanker, which had been held with its 25-member crew since Nov. 15.

The owner of the Liberian-flagged tanker, Vela International Marine Ltd., declined to comment on the claim.

Baltimore mayor indicted

BALTIMORE — Mayor Sheila Dixon was indicted Friday on charges that she accepted illegal gifts during her time as mayor and city council president, including travel, fur coats and gift cards intended for the poor that she reportedly used instead for a holiday shopping spree.

A grand jury indicted Dixon on 12 counts, including four counts of perjury and two counts of theft over $500. She was also charged with theft under $500, fraudulent misappropriation by a fiduciary and misconduct in office.

The state prosecutor’s office said Dixon received holiday gift cards for four years from several people. Prosecutors said the gift cards were to be distributed to needy families, but were instead used by Dixon to buy electronics, clothes and other merchandise and also handed out to members of her staff.

Cornelia Wallace dies

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Former Alabama first lady Cornelia Wallace, who threw herself over Gov. George C. Wallace when he was shot in a 1972 assassination attempt, has died in Sebring, Fla. She was 69.

Wallace’s cousin, Melissa Boyen, said the former first lady died Thursday from cancer.

Cornelia Wallace was a socially active first lady known for her lively personality. But for many, the most lasting memory of her occurred May 15, 1972.

She was accompanying her husband on the Democratic campaign trail for president when Arthur Bremer shot him four times at a campaign rally in Laurel, Md. A news camera captured photos of Cornelia Wallace throwing herself over her husband’s body to shield him as he lay bleeding in a shopping center parking lot.

The Wallaces divorced in 1978.

Associated Press