Major recalls from two well-known ice cream companies due to the discovery of listeria bacteria raise questions about how the pathogen could have contaminated multiple ice cream manufacturing plants — and whether the discoveries are related.

Blue Bell Creameries of Texas and Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams of Ohio — extremely popular brands in their home states — took all their products off shelves this week. Blue Bell ice cream is linked to 10 illnesses in four states, including three deaths. There are no known illnesses linked to the Jeni's recall, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Chinese officials are launching a campaign to crack down on stripteases and other lewd shows that have become popular at funerals in some rural areas, the Ministry of Culture said Friday.

The ministry said in a statement that it will tighten control over rural culture, where vulgar performances have been thriving because of a general lack of cultural events.

Scientists are getting their best look yet at the DNA code for the woolly mammoth, thanks to work that could be a step toward bringing back the extinct beast.

Researchers deciphered the complete DNA code, or genomes, of two mammoths. The new genomes are far more refined than a previous one announced in 2008.

A healthy sea lion pup that was returned to the sea by deputies after waddling a quarter-mile onshore seemed to be staying in the waves on Wednesday — at least for now, officers said.

"There's no reports of him running down the street or anything," Mendocino County sheriff's Capt. Greg Van Patten said.

Several hard-line Syrian rebel groups pushed a new offensive against government forces in northwestern Syria on Thursday, less than a month after seizing control of the provincial capital there.

The conservative Islamic factions, including the al-Qaida-affiliated Nusra Front, are coordinating a multi-pronged campaign whose main target appears to be the town of Jisr al-Shughour in Idlib province. Opposition fighters are also attacking government checkpoints in a sprawling agricultural plain south of the town as well as nearby military facilities.

Officials say a pair of Elton John's heart-shaped glasses has been stolen from a display case at a Memphis museum.

Memphis police said Wednesday the glasses were taken from the Memphis Rock n' Soul Museum. Officers were called to the museum on Tuesday night, when employees noticed the glasses were missing.

As Iran nuclear talks go into the home stretch, top officials in Tehran are digging in on positions that appear set to doom the negotiations to failure. But Iran seems ready to blink when it serves its negotiating strategy, which may bode well for a deal.

The sides on Wednesday began negotiating the last phases of a deal that would lift sanctions on Iran if it agrees to long-term curbs on its nuclear program. They wouldn't have gotten there without compromises by both Washington and Tehran.

Poultry producers and scientists have been hoping warmer weather would knock down a virulent strain of bird flu that has hammered the U.S. Midwest, but the virus recently took its biggest toll yet, hitting a farm in Iowa that held nearly 10 percent of the state's egg-laying chickens. Here are some questions and answers about the outbreak:

WHAT'S THE LATEST?

Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin are officially uncoupling after the actress filed for divorce after more than 11 years of marriage.

Paltrow cited irreconcilable differences for the breakup of her marriage to Martin, who is the frontman for the band Coldplay.

Tom Cruise revealed Tuesday at a surprise appearance at CinemaCon in Las Vegas that he actually hung off the side of an airplane in the film "Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation."

The actor said he performed the stunt, which involved a massive Airbus A400M taking off and flying to 5,000 feet (1,500 meters), eight times with a harness attaching him to the aircraft.