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But it's LaRue's jaw, wide and muscled like an alligator's, that separates the Hollywood resident from ordinary men and women who can't or won't eat 34 ears of corn in 12 minutes. His hands make a foot-long ear of sweet corn look the size of a stick of butter. Names such as Chip Simpson, ranked fifth in the world and best known for eating 156 chicken wings in 12 minutes in competition; Jason "Crazy Legs" Conti, who has eaten a world-best 31/2 pounds of pancakes and bacon in 12 minutes, and...

Beef sales and operating improvements pushed Tyson Foods inc. to its best overall quarter since the summer of 2005, despite swings in both corn and live cattle prices. Beef has been a dismal business for the world's largest meat packer amid sagging exports and protein oversupplies that pushed prices lower for 10 consecutive quarters. While market conditions are somewhat improved from a year ago, Bond credited internal operating improvements and efficiencies for the progress he called...

According to the Office for National Statistics in the UK a big importer the inflation rate for wood products hit 13 per cent last month its highest level for more than a decade. Analysts say tracking price swings in timber is more difficult than in other commodities because the global forest products industry is fragmented and opaque. The British Timber Trade Federation estimates inflation was about 20 per cent last year, while dealers say the prices of sawn softwood have risen 30 per...

My sprouting herbs are getting taller and they are awaiting the second weekend in May to go outside for good. Several times a year we like to go to Chicago and immerse ourselves in the hustle and bustle of big city life. When Emily and Heidi were still living with us we would take the early South Shore train from South Bend to the Randolph Street Station in downtown Chicago and spend the entire day in Chicago going to view a special exhibit at the Art Institute, walking up Michigan Avenue...

Exports to Gain; Hog Price Steady 5/1/2007 11:58:00 AM ETRelated symbols: CME Bloomberg Cattle Futures Gain on Quality, South Korea; Hogs Are Steady By Alan Bjerga May 1 (Bloomberg) -- Cattle futures in Chicago rose on speculation that higher-quality meat and exports to South Korea will boost sales for U. Exports to Gain; Hog Price Steady 5/1/2007 11:58:00 AM ETRelated symbols: CME Bloomberg Cattle Futures Gain on Quality, South Korea; Hogs Are Steady By Alan Bjerga May 1 (Bloomberg) --...