SAN FRANCISCO

Chicken in prank now up for adoption

A chicken that was strapped to 100 helium balloons and sent skyward last weekend in a stunt is resting these days at the city’s animal shelter as people vie to adopt it.

The chicken, nicknamed Amelia, was rescued Saturday after getting tangled in power lines. A police marksman shot the balloons with a pellet gun to bring Amelia down to safety.

Authorities said they had yet to identify the prankster, who was apparently imitating an ad that recently aired on a local TV station. The ad has since been pulled.

“This is a great chicken, a friendly chicken, a chicken that is ready for a relationship,” said Kat Brown, deputy director of the shelter.

WASHINGTON, D.C.

More wealthy people avoid paying taxes

A record number of wealthy people paid no U.S. income taxes in 2000, the Internal Revenue Service reported Thursday.

The number is still a tiny percentage of taxpayers that the government considers wealthy — those who report earning $200,000 or more. A larger, but still very small group, eliminated nearly all of their tax liability using various deductions and tax advantages.

The IRS found that 2,328 wealthy people avoided U.S. income taxes in 2000, the most recent year for which statistics are available. That was a 45 percent jump compared with the previous year.

SAN FRANCISCO

Maker of Kaopectate will reduce lead levels

Addressing a potential health threat in a product millions of parents have given their children, the maker of the anti-diarrhea medicine Kaopectate agreed to slash its lead levels in a settlement with the state approved Thursday.

The medicine’s older formula — no longer on pharmacy shelves as liquid but still sold in caplet form — contains 25 micrograms of lead in every adult dose, or 50 times the level at which California requires a warning label.

Environmentalists and consumer groups called the settlement a victory for children, who can suffer brain damage even from low levels of lead.

Florida

Freighter grounded off coast freed from reef

A freighter carrying cement that ran aground Thursday about 1 1/2 miles off the coast was moved without damaging the ship or polluting the water, Coast Guard officials said.

The 584-foot Malaysian vessel was floated just before high tide, about 5:45 p.m., and towed by a tugboat to deeper water. There was no damage to the reef or ship.