FDA WON'T REGULATE PA. BIRTH CONTROL MACHINE: SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. (AP) — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration won't take any regulatory action over a vending machine at a Pennsylvania college that dispenses the morning-after pill.
FDA spokeswoman Erica Jefferson said Friday that officials looked at publicly available information about the Shippensburg University vending program, spoke with university and campus health officials, and decided no action was necessary.
The pill is available for $25 at a health center vending machine that's accessible to students and university employees. That raised questions about how accessible emergency contraception should be.
The vending machine at the school of about 8,300 students provides the Plan B One Step emergency contraceptive along with condoms, decongestants and pregnancy tests. Administrators said the idea for the machine came from a student survey and was endorsed by the student government.
3RD-GRADER TAKES LOADED GUN TO DETROIT-AREA SCHOOL: INKSTER, Mich. (AP) — Authorities say a third-grade student brought a loaded handgun to his Detroit-area school but was stopped before he walked through the doors.
School district spokeswoman Val Hughes says the principal at Daly Elementary School in Inkster was tipped by a phone call before school started on Friday morning.
She says the principal met the boy at the school's entrance. The boy and weapon were removed from school grounds around 9 a.m.
Hughes says no one was harmed and that other students weren't aware of what happened.
SUBWAY IS SORRY ITS 'FOOTLONG' CAME UP SHORT: NEW YORK (AP) — Subway is apologizing that its "Footlong" sandwiches fell short of expectations.
The world's largest fast-food chain faced widespread criticism last week after a man posted a photo online showing a "Footlong" next to a tape measure that showed it to be just 11 inches. Subway said Friday that it's redoubling efforts to "ensure consistency and correct length" in all its sandwiches.
The company had already noted last week that bread length could vary when franchisees don't bake to its exact specifications and that it would reinforce policies to ensure consistency.
In a statement Friday, Subway expressed "regret" for "any instance where we did not fully deliver on our promise to our customers."
It declined to comment on lawsuit filed this week by two New Jersey men over the subs.
DR. PHIL TO INTERVIEW ALLEGED GIRLFRIEND HOAXER: NEW YORK (AP) — Dr. Phil McGraw has booked the first on-camera interview with the man who allegedly concocted the girlfriend hoax that ensnared Notre Dame football star Manti Te'o.
A "Dr. Phil Show" spokesperson confirmed on Friday the interview with Ronaiah Tuiasosopo, the man accused of creating an online persona of a nonexistent woman who Te'o said he fell for without ever meeting face-to-face.
The ruse was uncovered last week by Deadspin.com, which reported that Tuiasosopo created the woman, named Lennay Kekua, who then supposedly died last September.
No further details of the "Dr. Phil" interview, including its airdate, were announced.
This interview follows the first on-camera interview with Te'o conducted this week by Katie Couric.
WHERE THERE'S SMOKE, THERE'S ... POT, POLICE SAY: WHITEHALL, Pa. (AP) — Police in one Pittsburgh suburb have come up with a new twist on an old adage: Where there's smoke ... there's marijuana.
WPXI-TV reports Friday that Whitehall police cited a man for marijuana possession after they responded to a smoke alarm at his home about 6:30 p.m. Jan 15.
When police arrived, they didn't find a fire — but they did smell marijuana and questioned the man. Police say he admitted smoking pot, and police then found a small amount of the drug and some related paraphernalia.
Police didn't arrest the man. He's being mailed a court summons to respond to charges of marijuana possession and possession of drug paraphernalia
NY DAD FORGETS BABY IN CAR FOR 8 HOURS ON COLD DAY: COLONIE, N.Y. (AP) — Authorities say a New York man who left his 1-year-old son in his car for eight hours in frigid weather only realized his mistake after a call from his wife.
Police in the Albany suburb of Colonie say the man forgot to drop off his son at day care and left the child strapped in the back seat of the car when he parked outside his office Thursday morning.
Officials say the man received a call from his wife at about 4 p.m. inquiring about their child. He called for an ambulance and the boy was checked out at a hospital and released. Police say the baby didn't suffer any injuries despite temperatures that didn't top 15 degrees.
CHICAGO GETS 1ST 1-INCH SNOWFALL, BREAKING RECORD: CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago didn't get much snow Friday, but it was record-breaking nonetheless.
The 1.1 inches that settled on Windy City streets and sidewalks marked the latest first seasonal snowfall of at least an inch in the Midwest metropolis since at least 1884, when records were first kept, National Weather Service forecaster Matt Friedlein said. The previous record was set on Jan. 17, 1899.
Friday also broke Chicago's longest streak of consecutive days without an inch of snow. The city went 335 days, or about 11 months, without at least an inch, Friedlein said.
30 PYTHONS KILLED SO FAR IN FLORIDA'S PYTHON HUNT: MIAMI (AP) — More than 1,000 people signed up to hunt Burmese pythons in the Florida Everglades, but just a fraction of them have been successful so far.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said Friday that 30 of the invasive snakes have been killed in the competition that began Jan. 12.
Wildlife officials say eradicating pythons from the Everglades was never the goal of the monthlong "Python Challenge." Instead, they hoped to raise awareness about the snake's threat to native wildlife and the fragile Everglades ecosystem. The snake faces both state and federal bans.
No one knows for sure how many pythons live in the Everglades. Researchers say the hunt is helping them collect more information about the pythons' habits.
The competition ends Feb. 10.
