Midday Roundup: Pot candy puts the 'trick' in 'trick-or-treat'

A bad boo. With Halloween just around the corner, Denver police are warning parents to beware of candy infused with marijuana. Reuters reports that many marijuana dispensaries buy bulk candy and spray it with hash oil to sell to customers as “edibles.” Colorado legalized recreational marijuana sales this year. Police say it’s unlikely that malicious residents would purposely hand out tainted candy, but with all the candy out there on Halloween, edibles could possibly get mixed in with the kid-friendly stuff.

Quake-iversary. Twenty-five years ago today, the Loma Prieta earthquake shook San Francisco during a World Series game between the San Francisco Giants and the Oakland As. The 6.9-magnitude quake knocked down the top section of the double-decker Cypress Freeway, and buildings in San Francisco’s Marina district collapsed as the ground below them gave way. Today, many of the quake-ravaged areas have gentrified, and the Bay Area says it is better prepared for a major quake. Millions of people in California participated in the annual, nationwide Great Shakeout earthquake drill yesterday.

Winter reprieve. Forecasters say this winter should bring some respite from the polar vortexes that brought sustained, bone-chililng cold to much of the United States last year. For December through February, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts warmer-than-normal winter temperatures for most of the West, northern tier, and northern New England, with cooler weather in the Southeast, and average temperatures elsewhere. Americans can thank a long-awaited El Nino—a warming of the tropical Pacific Ocean—for the break in cold weather in most of the country and a wetter, cooler season in the South.

Raising the flags. After the city of Cape Coral, Fla., asked a man to remove six small American flags from the strip of grass between the sidewalk and curb in front of the hardware store where he works, neighbors put on a show of support. On Monday, volunteers put up about 500 small American flags in the right-of-way up and down a thoroughfare in Cape Coral. Jeffrey Verzi, who placed the original flags, said he did it to show support for veterans in his family. When the city asked him to move the flags off public property, he politely refused. A city spokesperson said officials will not pursue the issue further, and it was good to see the community come together the way it did.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.