Tomato plants have been removed from stores in half a dozen states as a destructive and infectious plant disease makes its earliest and most widespread appearance ever in the eastern United States. Late blight — the same disease that caused the Irish Potato Famine in the 1840s — occurs sporadically in the Northeast, but this year's outbreak is more severe for two reasons: infected plants have been widely distributed by big-box retail stores and rainy weather ...

At least 12 people, two of them suffering kidney failure, have been hospitalized in connection with a possible E. coli outbreak in beef suspected of having sickened people in nine states, federal health officials said Wednesday. The victims may have become ill after eating beef produced by JBS Swift Beef Co. of Greeley, Colo., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported. The number of people reported ill so far is 23. The company recalled ...

The Kroger Co. on Tuesday recalled ground beef sold in some of its grocery stores. JBS Swift Beef Co. of Greeley, Colo., earlier voluntarily expanded a beef recall because of possible E. coli contamination. Kroger says the suspect beef was sold under its store brands in more than a dozen states. The U.S. Department of Agriculture said an investigation by its Food Safety and Inspection Service of 24 illnesses in multiple states prompted Swift ...

Les Otten, a former part owner of the Boston Red Sox, says he is considering a Republican bid for Maine governor in 2010. Otten has formed an exploratory committee and plans to spend the next two to four months on the road. He says he'll listen to Mainers' concerns while gauging support and raising money. He told supporters Monday in South Portland that "times change but Maine hasn't changed with them." Leading his exploratory committee is ...