Authorities: Tainted candy was likely pot

Authorities: Tainted candy was likely pot

SAN FRANCISCO

A special unit of the San Francisco Police Department is investigating how 19 people including a 6-year-old child could have eaten gummy candies at a birthday party that most likely were marijuana edibles, authorities said Monday.

The 19 were hospitalized Saturday, but all of them were released by Monday.

The unit is interviewing people to see if the candies were intentionally placed at the party to target children, which would be a serious crime, Officer Grace Gatpandan said at a news conference. But she said there could have been various ways the candies ended up at the San Francisco quinceanera, a traditional 15th birthday party.

Teen fights expulsion after drone videos

NEW BRITAIN, Conn.

A teenager who posted online videos of flying drones shooting a gun and a flamethrower in his backyard appeared in court Monday to fight his expulsion from Central Connecticut State University.

Austin Haughwout, 19, is suing university officials in an effort to return to school, and Monday in New Britain he challenged the process that led to his expulsion, WTIC-AM reported.

Central Connecticut State officials say Haughwout was kicked out for threatening to shoot people at the school. An attorney for Haughwout says what some may have interpreted as threats were actually jokes, protected by free speech.

Led Zep loses fight

LOS ANGELES

Led Zeppelin may have won the copyright war over its creation of “Stairway to Heaven,” but it lost its battle Monday to recoup nearly $800,000 in defense fees.

Judge R. Gary Klausner ruled that the band’s songwriters, record label and associated companies were not entitled to legal fees and other costs because the copyright lawsuit against them was not frivolous.

An LA federal jury in June found that guitarist Jimmy Page and singer Robert Plant did not lift the introduction of “Stairway” from an obscure instrumental written by the late Randy Wolfe, founder of the band Spirit.

Dozens shot dead in protests in Ethiopia

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia

Ethiopian security forces shot dead several dozen people in weekend protests across the country as frustration with the government grows, an opposition leader and Amnesty International said Monday, while hundreds staged a rare demonstration in the capital after calls via social media.

The government again blocked the internet over the weekend, alleging that “anti-peace elements” based abroad and online activists were to blame for the violence.

In a statement, Amnesty International said at least 67 people were killed in the Oromia region alone when security forces fired on protesters, and that another at least 30 were shot and killed in the northern city of Bahir Dar. The rights group cited “credible sources” and said hundreds of people were detained.

Group helps turtles cross Ind. highway

TERRE HAUTE, Ind.

Wildlife enthusiasts are helping migrating turtles cross an Indiana highway by collecting them in buckets.

The effort, organized through Facebook, also collects data for researchers in Indiana State University’s biology department, the (Terre Haute) Tribune Star reported.

Amber Slaughterbeck, naturalist for the Vigo County Parks and Recreation Department, said this time of year is a busy migration period for the turtles, which typically move northward from the south side of the Wabashiki Fish and Wildlife Area.

Associated Press