Concerns over salmonella in chicken; FCC restores net neutrality; quarterbacks selected early in NFL draft

Hot Off The Wire

On the version of Hot off the Wire posted April 26 at 6:30 a.m. CT:

U.S. poultry producers will have to reduce salmonella bacteria in certain chicken products to very low levels to prevent food poisoning. That's according to a new rule from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The rule says salmonella is a contaminant in frozen breaded and stuffed raw chicken products — like frozen chicken cordon bleu or chicken Kiev that appears to be fully cooked but isn't. Those products have been linked to more than 200 illnesses since 1998. The rule is a first step to curb salmonella poisoning, which causes more than 1.3 million infections each year.

The University of Southern California has canceled its main graduation ceremony and dozens more students were arrested on other campuses as protests against the Israel-Hamas war continued to spread. USC announced the cancellation of its May 10 ceremony Thursday. College officials across the U.S. are worried the protests could disrupt commencement ceremonies next month.

NEW YORK (AP) — Defense lawyers in Donald Trump’s hush money trial are poised to dig into an account of the former publisher of the National Enquirer and his efforts to protect Trump from negative stories during the 2016 election. David Pecker returns to the witness stand Friday for the fourth day as defense attorneys try to poke holes in his testimony, which has described helping bury embarrassing stories Trump feared could hurt his campaign.

BEIJING (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has met with Chinese President Xi Jinping and senior Chinese officials in Beijing. He warned of the dangers of misunderstandings and miscalculations as the United States and China butted heads over a number of contentious bilateral, regional and global issues.

NEW YORK (AP) — The number of U.S. births fell last year. It was the lowest count in more than 40 years. A little under 3.6 million babies were born in the U.S. in 2023, about 76,000 fewer than the year before. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released the provisional statistics on Thursday.

In other headlines:

• New York appeals court overturns Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction from landmark #MeToo trial.
• Net neutrality restored as FCC votes to regulate internet providers.
• FTC sends $5.6 million in refunds to Ring customers as part of video privacy settlement.
• US growth slowed sharply last quarter to 1.6% pace, reflecting an economy pressured by high rates.
• US to pull troops from Chad and Niger as the African nations question its counterterrorism role.
• Arkansas woman pleads guilty to selling 24 boxes of body parts stolen from cadavers.
• Quarterback Caleb Williams is the first player taken in Thursday's NFL Draft, selected by the Chicago Bears, the Sixers, Magic and Nuggets are NBA playoff winners, the Panthers and Hurricanes win in the NHL and in Major League baseball, the American League's best keeps getting better.
• Rush hour chaos in London as 5 military horses run amok after getting spooked during exercise.
• French president outlined his vision for Europe as an assertive global power amid war in Ukraine.
• With war in Ukraine on its border, Poland wants to be among the countries setting Europe's agenda.

—The Associated Press

About this program

Host Terry Lipshetz is managing editor of the national newsroom for Lee Enterprises. Besides producing the daily Hot off the Wire news podcast, Terry conducts periodic interviews for this Behind the Headlines program, co-hosts the Streamed & Screened movies and television program and is the former producer of Across the Sky, a podcast dedicated to weather and climate.