Man blasts ‘boneless wings’

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — In an age of growing divisive political discourse across the country, a Nebraska man is drawing attention for his impassioned plea to take action — against boneless chicken wings.

Video of Ander Christensen’s satirical rant before the Lincoln City Council on Monday pleading to ban the “boneless chicken wing” moniker has garnered widespread attention on social media and news sites.

Christensen, the son of a council member, made his case that the meat in boneless wings doesn’t come from a chicken’s wing at all, but from its breast.

“We’ve been living a lie for far too long,” he told the council.

Instead, he suggested the dish could be renamed, “buffalo-style chicken tenders, wet tenders, saucy nugs or trash.”

Mountain lion numbers grow

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. (AP) — A mountain lion baby boom has occurred this summer in the Santa Monica Mountains and Simi Hills west of Los Angeles.

Thirteen kittens were born to five mountain lion mothers between May and August, according to the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area.

It’s the first time so many mountain lion dens have been found within such a short period of time during the 18 years in which the region’s cougar population has been studied by the National Park Service. The most dens found previously in one year was four, spread across 10 months in 2015.

Biologists visit dens while the mothers are away to perform health checks on kittens, determine sex and apply ear tags.

“This level of reproduction is a great thing to see, especially since half of our mountains burned almost two years ago during the Woolsey Fire,” wildlife biologist Jeff Sikich said in a statement.

The study is looking into how the big cats survive in habitat fragmented by urbanization amid threats including lack of genetic diversity, roadway deaths and poisons.

U.S. trade deficit surges in July

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. trade deficit surged in July to $63.6 billion, the highest level in 12 years, as imports jumped by a record amount.

The Commerce Department reported that the July deficit, the gap between what America buys and what it sells to foreigners, was 18.9% higher than the June deficit of $53.5 billion. It was the largest monthly deficit since July 2008 during the 2007-2009 recession.

The July deficit increase was driven by a record 10.9% increase in imports that rose to $231.7 billion. Exports were also up but by a smaller 8.1% to $168.1 billion.

For July, the deficit with China in goods totaled $31.6 billion, an 11.5% increase from the June imbalance.

The goods deficit with Mexico hit a record high of $10.6 in July.

The United States ran a deficit in goods trade of $80.1 billion in July, the highest on record. The U.S. surplus in services, such as banking and insurance, declined to $17.4 billion, the smallest services surplus since August 2012 and a reflection in part of the decline in airline travel during the pandemic.