Canadian seafood target of boycott

Washington The Humane Society of the United States is asking American restaurants and consumers to boycott Canadian seafood to pressure that government to stop the annual seal hunt.

The announcement of the boycott Monday coincided with the start of country-of-origin labeling for seafood products sold in the United States, which will let shoppers know where their seafood comes from.

Legal Sea Foods, a 31-restaurant chain, and Down East Seafoods, a distributor to about 200 hotels and restaurants, have joined the boycott. The Humane Society has urged more than 5,000 U.S. seafood distributors to follow suit.

The hunt, which animal rights activists say is needlessly cruel, has been the target of protests since the 1960s. When this year’s hunt began last week, thousands of sealers armed with clubs, rifles and spears clashed with protesters arriving by helicopter.

Plan aims to protect the Colorado River

Hoover Dam, Nev. Water officials from California, Arizona and Nevada joined the federal government Monday in enacting a 50-year plan to protect the lower Colorado River and ensure states are able to get enough water and power from it.

The $626 million agreement will benefit “the many important species, including humans, that rely on the Colorado River,” said John Keys, commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation, during a ceremony at the base of the massive Hoover Dam.

The program, called the Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conservation Program, aims to protect threatened and endangered species along 400 miles of river from Lake Mead to the U.S.-Mexico border while ensuring an uninterrupted supply of water and power.

The accord calls for restoring 8,132 acres of riverside, marsh and backwater habitat for at least 26 species native to the river.

Library assistant loses bias lawsuit

Boston Harvard University did not discriminate against a library assistant who claimed she was repeatedly turned down for promotions because school officials saw her as “a pretty girl” whose attire was too “sexy,” a jury found Monday.

Desiree Goodwin, who is black, also claimed Harvard passed her over because of her race and gender. She sought damages for emotional distress and lost wages.

Goodwin, 40, claimed she was rejected for seven promotions at the library since 1999.

Harvard attorney Richard Riley said Goodwin’s supervisors encouraged her in job pursuits.

Cookies with milk recalled by Target

Washington A California firm is recalling espresso mocha cookies sold at Target stores nationwide because they may contain undeclared milk that can pose serious health risks to people with milk allergies.

Too Good Gourmet Inc. of San Lorenzo, Calif., distributed its Archer Farms Espresso Cookies to Targets in 24 states in December, the company said.

The FDA said Monday it is cooperating in the recall.

The product came in boxes containing a tray of nine cookies and bearing lot code 0805. They were sold in Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, North Dakota, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

For more information, call 877-850-4663, weekdays 8:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. PDT.