SAN DIEGO

Outlook still uncertain for second baby panda

A day and a half after a giant female panda gave birth to the first of twin cubs, above, the second cub still had not been born and researchers said it was unlikely another delivery would be successful.

“The chances of her giving birth to a second live cub are dwindling,” said Pat Morris, the San Diego Zoo’s director of veterinary services.

Bai Yun, a 13-year-old female on loan to the zoo from China, was doing well after delivering the first cub Tuesday afternoon, and was nursing it and cradling it close to her body.

She appeared to have contractions again late Wednesday night, but their significance wasn’t clear. Most successful twin panda births occur within 12 hours of each other, though other bear species have given birth to twins as much as 30 hours apart.

Don Lindburg, head of the zoo’s panda team, said there were no plans to intervene unless the panda showed signs of medical distress.

North Carolina

Four found shot in home

Four people were found shot to death in a home in a quiet riverfront community, each apparently killed execution-style with a single gunshot, authorities said Thursday.

Gaston County Police in Belmont said investigators were examining the scene and interviewing neighbors and others with connections to the home.

The department said the slayings were “believed to be an isolated event.”

The home’s owner, Darryl Brown, told police he discovered the bodies Wednesday night when he returned to the house after being away for about three hours, Police Capt. Tony Robinson said.

Brown told police he didn’t know any of the victims well and didn’t known their last names, Robinson said. Police would not publicly elaborate on why the victims — three men and a woman — might have been in the home.

Gaston County EMS supervisor Terry Begley said the four victims were shot execution-style with single gunshots.

ATLANTA

Agency warns against eating toxic seeds

Some teens in Ohio got sick trying to get high from the seeds of a common plant known as a moonflower, health officials said Thursday.

The cluster of illnesses, which occurred last fall, may be a new form of substance abuse in the Akron-Cleveland area, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. The teens recovered after a day or two of medical care.

The cases seem to be the latest twist on finding new and natural ways to get high. Teens from Wisconsin and Vermont have been hospitalized after eating parts of the jimson weed. A 15-year-old in Hawaii was hospitalized in February 2002 after eating flower petals from the angel’s trumpet, a poisonous plant found all over that state.