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
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Bakers take same-sex wedding
cake fi ght to appeals court
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