Beef discovered in pork shipments from U.S. (Japan Today) TOKYO — The agricultural ministry said Friday it has asked the U.S. government to undertake an investigation as American beef, without a sanitary certificate attached, was found in pork imports from a U.S. company amid the mad cow disease scare. [News Source]

Bush indicates hope for Japan’s easing of U.S. beef import controls (Kyodo via Yahoo! Asia News) _ U.S. President George W. Bush indicated his desire Friday to see Japan's mad cow disease-linked controls on American beef imports eased as quickly as possible. [News Source]

Japan set to ease rules on U.S. beef. The United States has agreed to an inspection of its meatpacking plants by Japanese experts, a step Japan has been pushing for amid mounting pressure from Washington to ease regulations on beef imports. [News Source]

Hogs that ate melamine not fit for humans, FDA rules. Up to 6,000 hogs that ate pet food tainted with industrial chemicals cannot be safely sold to humans, federal authorities said yesterday, and should be euthanized at the farms where they have been held from the market. [News Source]

Japan asks for U.S. probe into discovery of beef in pork shipments (Kyodo via Yahoo! Asia News) _ The agricultural ministry said Friday it has asked the U.S. government to undertake an investigation as American beef, without a sanitary certificate attached, was found in pork imports from a U.S. company amid the mad cow disease scare. [News Source]

U.S. Beef Clears Key Hurdle in SKorea (AP via Yahoo! Finance) South Korea's government said Friday a shipment of U.S. beef that arrived this week was safe, clearing a key hurdle after an import absence of more than three years due to mad cow fears. [News Source]

The nerve of David Dodge (Toronto Star) With the resignation Wednesday of the world's most admired central banker, David Dodge was praised for his steady hand at the tiller in guiding Canada through the tumultuous times of his tenure: the implosion of the dot-com and tech bubbles, the 9/11 attacks, the U.S. recession, wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the near-bankruptcy of the North American airline and tourism industries, the mad cow ... [News Source]

Call us a cabaret, please– fun meter is running (Orlando Sentinel) It's cabaret time again at Mad Cow Theatre, where the fifth annual Orlando Cabaret Festival is under way through May 13. The Lascivious Biddies, who went over so well last year that they had to add an extra show, are back in town from New York, and they'll be joined by out-of-towners and locals alike -- singing, dancing, doing comedy and even improvising their shows on the spot. Here's a glimpse ... [News Source]