BILLINGS, Mont. - The death of a Montana animal trainer mauled by a pair of 500-pound captive brown bears could have been prevented if standard safety procedures had been followed, federal authorities said Tuesday. Benjamin Cloutier, 24, was killed in November while cleaning the pens of two Syrian brown bears — named Griz and Yosemite — at Animals of Montana, a private enterprise near Bozeman that provides captive-bred predators and other animals for photography shoots and motion pictures.

Proudly brandishing a target she had riddled with bullets, 62-year-old Sharon Schaefer could not hide her delight at joining America's growing number of gun-toting women. "It was fun!" she exclaimed breathlessly, much to the approval of her instructor Teresa Ovalle. "You did a good job, Sharon," said the former Marine, who had just given the senior citizen a crash course in pistols at the Fredericksburg Range, some 50 miles (80 kilometers) southwest of the US capital.

Aetna's first-quarter net income fell 4 per cent as acquisition-related costs and rising health care expenses more than offset government business gains for the health insurer. But earnings still topped analysts' expectations, the company raised its 2013 forecast and said it expects more growth on top of that once it closes the acquisition of fellow insurer Coventry Health Care. Shares of the Hartford, Conn., company reached their highest price in more than five years in Tuesday morning trading after the company announced results.

TORONTO - The Ontario government's budget will include $295 million over two years to reduce youth unemployment — something both opposition parties can get behind to keep the minority parliament working, Premier Kathleen Wynne said Monday. The new money will be divvied up between four funds that will fill in the gaps to get more young people on a career path, Wynne said. The lion's share — $195 million — will go to a youth employment fund that will provide a wage subsidy for employers who provide jobs and on-the-job training for at least 6 months, she said.