WHITE, Ark. - The White County, Ark., sheriff's department launched an investigation after an 18-month-old boy died in a dishwasher. Blake Kurck reportedly died after crawling into a dishwasher that locked itself from the outside and turned on, the Searcy (Ark.) Daily Citizen reported. "What we have found so far is that we suggest this is a tragic accident," said Jeremy Clark, the chief deputy of the White County Sheriffs Department. "However, the case is ... [full story]

SAN DIEGO - A mother accused of neglecting her severely disabled son and causing his death by starvation pleaded guilty Wednesday to involuntary manslaughter and felony child abuse. Angela Cheral Bernard, 33, of Rolando, Calif., also admitted she personally inflicted great bodily injury on 14-year-old Brandon McClure, causing his death in December 2005. She could be sentenced to prison for three to 10 years at a San Diego Superior Court hearing scheduled for Sept. 7. ... [full story]

"The Ministry of Special Cases" by Nathan Englander; Knopf; 339 pages; $25 The first time I encountered "to disappear" as a transitive verb was in "Catch-22" (1962), when Yossarian learned what had happened to his friend Dunbar. "They disappeared him," he was told. Yossarian countered with, "That's not even a word," which was a good comeback at the time. It's not any more.   DEATH TAKES NO HOLIDAY - Death takes no holiday in 'The Ministry ... [full story]

SACRAMENTO - The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation is altering its policies to allow conjugal visits for gay and lesbian prisoners. The department has begun allowing the visits amid pressure from the American Civil Liberties Union and a complaint from a prisoner at a Vacaville prison, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Friday. The policy change is expected to be reflected in permanent regulations to be adopted later in the year, the newspaper said. The ... [full story]

HANOI, Vietnam - The deadly H5N1 strain of avian influenza was confirmed Friday in a poultry worker in Vietnam. Nguyen Duc Hien, head of the National Institute for Tropical Diseases, said that the man has been hospitalized since last Saturday and is recovering, the newspaper Thanh Nien reported. He became sick 12 days after starting work at a Hanoi slaughterhouse. Tran Thuy Hanh, director of the Bach Mai Hospital in Hanoi, said that two people ... [full story]

ATLANTA - The U.S. Centers for Disease Control said reports of salmonella linked to contaminated peanut butter have declined since the product was recalled. The CDC said 628 people in 47 states reported contracting salmonella serotype Tennessee after eating Peter Pan or Great Value peanut butter. The products, which carry a product code starting with 2111, were recalled in February. The CDC said consumers should discard any remaining jars of the contaminated product. "This outbreak ... [full story]

BAQUBA, Iraq - A mass grave in Baqubah contains the bodies of at least 15 people who appear to have been buried within the past two weeks, Iraqi police said Friday. The burial site contained the bodies of 15 unidentified people and the cause of their deaths was not immediately apparent, the Kuwaiti news agency KUNA reported. There were also human remains that appeared to have been hacked up with knives. The bodies appear to ... [full story]

For most Americans most of the time, Memorial Days have been a start-of-summer holiday of barbecues and family gatherings with only a touch of solemnity marking the real reason for this commemoration. A president honoring the nation's war dead at Arlington National Cemetery, wreath laying, the click of an honor guard's measured steps on stone beside those marble tombs of soldiers "Known But To God." Then, it's "play ball," or "more charcoal for the grill." ... [full story]

NALCHICK, Russia - A former KGB agent killed in London last year once traveled to Chechnya to destroy evidence against another former agent, a Russian official charged Friday. Russian Deputy Interior Minister Arkady Yedelev told reporters that Alexander Litvinenko destroyed evidence linking Boris Berezovsky, a Russian billionaire who is in the United Kingdom claiming political asylum, to illegal arms groups, Interfax reported. Yedelev also claimed Litvinenko had plans to kill witnesses against Berezovsky but did ... [full story]

BIRCH HILLS, Saskatechewan - A miner from Birch Hills, Saskatchewan in Canada was found dead in the Seabee gold mine Friday three days after an underground accident. Officials at the Saskatchewan gold mine confirmed that the body of Cory Braaten, 29, who was involved in an underground accident three days ago, was found by rescue workers, The Star Phoenix reported. "We are deeply saddened by what has occurred," Neil McMillan, the president and chief executive ... [full story]