Chef stopped at airport with 40 frozen piranhas

Chef stopped at airport with 40 frozen piranhas

LOS ANGELES

A famous South American chef says he was stopped as he brought 40 piranhas in a duffel bag through Los Angeles International Airport.

Virgilio Martinez, chef-owner of Central restaurant in Peru, told the Los Angeles Times on Wednesday that he hoped to serve the predatory, sharp-toothed fish during an LA food festival.

Martinez was featured in the third season of the Netflix show “Chef’s Table.”

He said customs agents pulled him into an interrogation room last week when they found the cache of frozen, vacuum-sealed piranhas.

After five hours, the agents let Martinez through with the fish. He used them that night on a salad. The newspaper said the following night he dried the piranha skins and served them inside the piranha heads.

Judge: Boy must resume chemotherapy

TAMPA, Fla.

A judge has ruled that a 3-year-old Florida boy must resume his cancer treatment, despite his parents’ wishes.

The Tampa Bay Times reports that Hillsborough County Circuit Judge Caroline Tesche Arkin ruled Wednesday that Noah McAdams must immediately resume the first phase of chemotherapy to treat his leukemia.

Joshua McAdams and Taylor Bland-Ball want to treat their son with natural remedies that include cannabidiol, fresh foods and alkaline water. Noah was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia April 4.

The judge gave custody of Noah to his maternal grandparents earlier this month. When the parents had failed to show up for a scheduled chemotherapy treatment, Florida authorities issued an endangered child alert. The family was tracked down in Kentucky, and the boy was returned to Tampa.

Trump to nominate Shanahan for top Pentagon post

WASHINGTON

President Donald Trump on Thursday said he will nominate Patrick Shanahan to be his second secretary of defense, putting an end to months of speculation about the former Boeing executive’s standing in the administration.

Shanahan has been leading the Pentagon as acting secretary since Jan. 1, a highly unusual arrangement for arguably the most sensitive Cabinet position. He took over after Jim Mattis resigned.

“Acting Secretary Shanahan has proven over the last several months that he is beyond qualified to lead the Department of Defense, and he will continue to do an excellent job,” White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement.

Chelsea Manning released from jail

ALEXANDRIA, Va.

Former Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning has been released from a northern Virginia jail after a two-month stay for refusing to testify to a grand jury.

Manning was released Thursday from the Alexandria jail after 62 days of confinement on civil contempt charges after she refused to answer questions to a federal grand jury investigating WikilLeaks.

Her lawyers fear her freedom may be short-lived, though. She was released only because the grand jury’s term expired. Before she left the jail, though, she received another subpoena demanding her testimony to a new grand jury May 16.

Her lawyers say she will again refuse to answer questions and could again face another term of incarceration.

Associated Press