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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (March 3, 2017)
6A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, MARCH 3, 2017 WORLD IN BRIEF U.S. Department of Agriculture. The Oregonian reports the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife and the USDA acknowledged the Sunday killing.. The male, 100-pound wolf was a member of the Shamrock Pack and believed to be less than 2 years old. The federal government’s Wildlife Services division was using a cyanide device known as an M-44 to kill coyotes and “prevent coyote-livestock confl ict” on the private property in Wallowa County. The often-questioned tool is a spring-activated device that is typically smeared with bait and shoots poison into the animal’s mouth when it tugs on the trap. Federal offi cials are reviewing the death. Associated Press AG’s recusal portends continued pressure on Russia meddling WASHINGTON — Attorney General Jeff Sessions may not have been clear about his contacts with Russian offi cials during the 2016 election, but this much is: The controversy over any Kremlin involvement in American politics is not going to fade away anytime soon. Sessions on Thursday became the second high-ranking mem- ber of the Trump administration to take a hit over conversations with Russia’s envoy to the U.S., recusing himself from any probe that examines communications between Trump aides and Mos- cow but facing down calls for his resignation. An early backer and key adviser for Trump’s campaign, Sessions said his staff recommended that he step aside from a probe. “I feel I should not be involved in investigating a campaign I had a role in,” he said. Sessions’ action followed revelations that he twice spoke with the Russian ambassador and didn’t say so when pressed, under oath, by Congress. Though he rejected any suggestion that he tried to mislead anyone, he did allow that he should have been more careful in his testimony. “I should have slowed down and said, ‘But I did meet one Russian offi cial a couple of times,’” he said. Russia’s top diplomat in US in eye of political storm WASHINGTON — The Trump administration’s back-to- back controversies over its Russian ties now have at least one thing in common: Ambassador Sergey Kislyak. Moscow’s top diplomat is a Washington fi xture with a sprawl- ing network, and he has emerged as the central fi gure in the inves- tigations into Trump advisers’ connections with Russia. In a mat- ter of weeks, contact with Kislyak led to the fi ring of a top adviser to the president and, on Thursday, prompted calls for the Attorney General Jeff Sessions l to resign. Separately, a White House offi cial confi rmed that Trump’s son- in-law Jared Kushner and ousted national security adviser Michael Flynn met with Kislyak at Trump Tower in December for what the offi cial called a brief courtesy meeting. Flynn was pushed out of the White House last month after offi cials said he misled Vice Pres- ident Mike Pence about whether he and the ambassador had dis- cussed U.S. sanctions against Russia in a phone call. At issue Thursday were two meetings between Sessions and Kislyak — one in July and another in September, at the height of concern over Russia’s involvement in hacking of Democratic offi cials’ emails accounts. Intelligence offi cials have since con- cluded that Moscow ordered the hacks to tilt the election toward Trump. In his confi rmation hearing, the Alabama Republican denied having contact with any Russian offi cials, neglecting to mention the meetings with Kislyak, which were fi rst reported by the Washington Post. The Russian Embassy did not respond to a request for comment. AP Photo/Susan Walsh Attorney General Jeff Sessions pauses during a news conference at the Justice Department in Washington on Thursday. Sessions said he will recuse himself from a federal investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. Costco raises membership fees, misses earnings forecasts ISSAQUAH, Wash — Costco Wholesale Corp. announced Thursday that it’s raising its membership fees, as the warehouse club operator released quarterly results that fell short of Wall Street’s expectations. Its shares fell more than 4 percent in after- hours trading. Starting June 1, annual membership fees for individual, busi- ness and business add-on members in the U.S. and Canada will rise $5 to $60. Executive memberships in the U.S. and Canada will increase from $110 to $120. Overall, the fee increases will affect around 35 million members. The Issaquah, Washington-based company reported fi scal sec- ond-quarter net income of $515 million, or $1.17 per share. The average estimate of 13 analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research had been for earnings of $1.35 per share. Costco posted revenue of $29.77 billion in the period, which also did not meet Street forecasts. Seven analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $29.99 billion. Its stock was off $7.30 to $170.68 in after-market trading fol- lowing the release of the earnings report. Through the close of Thursday’s regular trading session, its shares have climbed 11 percent since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index has increased more than 6 percent. Feds kill wolf on private land with cyanide trap, accidentally N orth w es t H a rdw oods • Lon gview , W A Contact: John Anderson • 360-269-2500 PORTLAND — The case of the Oregon bakers who denied service to a same-sex couple several years ago has come before the state Court of Appeals. The Oregonian reports Melissa and Aaron Klein argue that Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian and the Bureau of Labor and Industries violated state and federal laws by forcing them to pay damages to the couple. Lawyers for Sweet Cakes by Melissa also said the state vio- lated the Kleins’ rights as artists to free speech, their rights to reli- gious freedom and their rights as defendants to a due process. They argue the fi ne was excessive and that Avakian, who praised an LGBTQ advocacy group on Facebook before the hear- ing, should have recused himself. If the Kleins are successful, their appeal could create a reli- gious exemption to the 2007 Oregon Equality Act, which protects Oregonians from discrimination. UO trustees OK 10.6 percent in-state tuition increase EUGENE — Tuition at the University of Oregon is set to go up, as the Board of Trustees has passed a 10.6 percent tuition increase. The Register-Guard reports that trustees on Thursday approved the 10.6 percent increase for in-state tuition and a 3 percent increase for out-of-state students for the 2017-18 school year with a 11-1 vote. Including fees, the cost of attendance next year will be $11,931 for residents and $34,611 for nonresidents. About 40 students attended the meeting, calling on trustees to keep tuition lower. One student, Charlie Landeros, said grow- ing up poor and Hispanic in Eugene, he never thought UO was attainable. PORTLAND — Offi cials say a gray wolf was unintentionally killed in rural northeast Oregon by a cyanide device used by the W A NTED Alder and Maple Saw Logs & Standing Timber Bakers take same-sex wedding cake fi ght to appeals court We’re Hiring! 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