Stolen popcorn ball returned to Cleveland shop

Stolen popcorn ball returned to Cleveland shop

CHAGRIN FALLS

Police say a 70-pound popcorn ball worth hundreds of dollars that was swiped from a suburban Cleveland shop where it was being auctioned has been returned.

The oversized snack dyed red, white and blue was taken from outside the Chagrin Falls Popcorn Shop over the weekend. But it was found intact in front of the shop Wednesday.

Police had earlier asked residents to keep an eye out for it.

Shop owner Dewey Forward had told Cleveland.com that the popcorn ball could be returned with no questions asked and no charges filed.

New budget boosts military, cuts domestic programs

WASHINGTON

President Donald Trump has finalized his first budget for the federal government, a blueprint that would make deep cuts in the Environmental Protection Agency and other domestic programs while significantly increasing spending on the military.

The budget is to be submitted to Congress today. It is widely expected to cause political pain for Republicans and Democrats, who will have the final say on spending in the arduous budget process.

Trump has promised a spending plan that fulfills his campaign promises to boost national security, from spending more on defense to building a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. Though he repeatedly promised that Mexico would pay for the wall, U.S. taxpayers will foot the bill.

Trump is a climate change skeptic, and EPA programs are certain to take a hit.

Search in Mexico for crocodile that killed man

MEXICO CITY

Environmental authorities are searching for a 10-foot crocodile that killed and apparently ate a man in southern Mexico.

The federal Environment Department said Tuesday the attack occurred March 12, when the victim and three friends went to the La Encrucijada reserve to fish. The 18-year-old man was carried off by the reptile, but his companions escaped.

The department said it would erect crocodile warning signs.

Experts will try to capture and empty the stomachs of the crocodiles without killing them to see if any contain human remains.

If they find the animal, it will be relocated to an animal reserve, park or zoo.

Ark. panel closer to public building ‘bathroom bill’

LITTLE ROCK, Ark.

An Arkansas Senate committee moved closer to approving a bill requiring that people in public schools and government buildings use bathrooms that correspond to their birth gender, despite fears the move could lead to boycotts.

Republican Sen. Linda Collins-Smith wants restrooms or locker rooms in government buildings limited to members of only one sex if multiple people use it. A similar law in North Carolina prompted the NBA and NCAA to move major sporting events out of the state.

A committee member who had backed a separate “bathroom bill” was absent Wednesday, leaving Collins-Smith unsure whether her bill would pass the committee. She removed the measure from consideration and the committee chairman placed it on Monday’s agenda.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson has said Arkansas does not need legislation like North Carolina’s.

Associated Press