WASHINGTON -- Ousted federal official Shirley Sherrod turned down an offer to return full time to the Department of Agriculture on Tuesday, but said she would continue to speak out about issues of racism and discrimination.

Ms. Sherrod said in a joint news conference with Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack that she would work with the agency as a consultant at some point, but was not ready to come back full time.

"I need a little time to be able to deal with that to sort of take a break from some of all that I've had to deal with over the last few weeks," she said after meeting privately with Mr. Vilsack. "We do need to work on the issues of discrimination and racism in this country, and I certainly would like to play my role in trying to help deal with it."

Ms. Sherrod was removed last month from her post as the Agriculture Department's director of rural development in Georgia after conservative blogger Andrew Breitbart posted a short clip of a speech Ms. Sherrod gave that inaccurately suggested she had made racist remarks. Ms. Sherrod confirmed her plans to sue Mr. Breitbart.

HARTFORD, Conn. -- Craigslist should remove its adult services section because the website cannot adequately block potentially illegal ads promoting prostitution and child trafficking, attorneys general in 17 states demanded Tuesday in a joint letter.

The letter acknowledged Craigslist could lose revenue if it were to remove the section. Craigslist supports states' efforts to stop illegal exploitation, spokeswoman Susan MacTavish Best said in a statement that did not indicate whether the website plans to get rid of its adult services section.

MIAMI -- Here's a new twist in the U.S. military's Islamic sensitivity effort in the prison camps for suspected terrorists at the Guantanamo Bay Navy base:

Military medical staff members are force-feeding a secret number of prisoners on hunger strike between dusk and dawn during the Muslim fasting holiday of Ramadan.

The prison camps spokesman, Navy Cmdr. Bradley Fagan, says it is U.S. Southern Command policy to no longer reveal the exact number of detainees being shackled by guards into restraint chairs for twice daily feedings but said it was "less than 10."

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Roast beef and ham that was distributed to Walmart delicatessens nationwide and sold in sandwiches has been recalled because it might be tainted with potentially harmful bacteria, officials said Tuesday.

No illnesses have been reported from the 380,000 pounds of meat products that were made by Tyson Foods unit Zemco Industries in Buffalo and may contain Listeria, said Gary Mickelson, spokesman for Tyson.

It wasn't immediately clear how many stores sold the meat products, nor where.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- The pest control company Terminix released Tuesday a list of the 15 most bedbug-infested cities, based on an analysis of call volume reporting bedbug infestations and of confirmed bedbug cases reported by sales professionals in 350 of the company's service centers.

The Big Apple topped the list, followed by Philly and Detroit. Ohio has four cities in the top 15 -- Cincinnati is fourth, Columbus is seventh, Dayton is eighth and Cleveland is 14th.

-- Compiled from news services

Washington correspondent Daniel Malloy writes the "Pittsburgh On The Potomac" blog exclusively at PG+, a members-only web site of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.