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A touch of spring in the winter: artwork inspired by Back Mountain Bloomers Garden Tour on display at Marquis Art & Frame in downtown Wilkes-Barre

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Wilkes-Barre homicide suspect pleads guilty to unrelated weapons charge

<p>NEW YORK &#8212; Chipotle&#8217;s stock edged lower in midday trading Tuesday as the Mexican food chain continues to deal <a href="https://www.timesleader.com/news/497419/e-coli-outbreak-linked-to-chipotle-expands-to-pennsylvania" target="_blank">with fallout from an E. coli outbreak</a> and contends with weakening sales.</p><p>A national outbreak of E. coli has been linked to Denver-based Chipotle, which has said that it is adopting stricter food safety standards. On Monday 30 Boston College students, including at least eight members of the men&#8217;s basketball team, complained of gastrointestinal symptoms after eating at a Chipotle restaurant. The cause of those illnesses has yet to be confirmed. Chipotle said that there&#8217;s no evidence to suggest the Boston incident is related to previous cases, noting that there&#8217;s been no confirmed cases of E. coli connected to the restaurant operator in Massachusetts.</p><p>Aside from the E. coli troubles, Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. has been experiencing a slowdown in its sales. Chipotle executives previously said that the chain&#8217;s same-store sales growth would be more modest this year, as it&#8217;s up against a tough year-ago comparison. The company is also raising prices to consumers to offset the higher cost of beef.</p><p>Shares of Chipotle slipped $9.98, or 1.8 percent, to $541.77 in midday trading Tuesday. Its shares have fallen about 28 percent from their all-time high of $758.61 achieved in August.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">In this Nov. 2, 2015, file photo, a pedestrian walks past a closed Chipotle restaurant in Seattle. Chipotle&#8217;s stock edged lower in midday trading Tuesday as the Mexican food chain continues to deal with fallout from an E. coli outbreak and contends with weakening sales. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_chipotle1.jpg</photo0><caption0>In this Nov. 2, 2015, file photo, a pedestrian walks past a closed Chipotle restaurant in Seattle. Chipotle&#8217;s stock edged lower in midday trading Tuesday as the Mexican food chain continues to deal with fallout from an E. coli outbreak and contends with weakening sales. </caption0><photoCredit0>AP Photo | Elaine Thompson </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By The Associated Press</p></bylineMeta></div>

Chipotle shares fall amid E. coli, sales issues