In brief: Air Force Academy site of brawl, 27 hurt

Denver – The Air Force Academy said 27 cadets were injured in a brawl during an unofficial ritual marking the first snowfall of the season.

Six cadets were taken to an off-campus hospital after the Oct. 25 ruckus and have been released, the academy said Wednesday. The others were treated at a cadet clinic.

The injuries included concussions, cuts and a human bite, and some cadets required stitches, Brig. Gen. Dana Born wrote in an internal email that was provided to the Associated Press and other media outlets. Born is dean of faculty.

Academy officials were treating the incident as a “teachable moment,” said Lt. Col. John Bryan, a school spokesman. He said he did not know of any plans to discipline cadets.

ABC asks to dismiss ‘pink slime’ lawsuit

Sioux Falls, S.D. – Lawyers for ABC News asked a judge Wednesday to toss out a $1 billion defamation lawsuit filed by a South Dakota-based meat processor over a meat product that critics dub “pink slime,” saying the news organization did not knowingly disparage the company or its product.

Beef Products Inc. sued ABC News Inc. in September, claiming the network damaged the company by misleading consumers into believing the product is unhealthy and unsafe.

The lawsuit seeks damages under South Dakota’s defamation law, as well as a 1994 state law that allows businesses to sue anyone who knowingly spreads false information that a food product is unsafe. The meat processor is seeking $1.2 billion in damages for roughly 200 “false and misleading and defamatory” statements about the product – officially known as lean, finely textured beef.

In the motion to dismiss filed in federal court Wednesday, lawyers for ABC News said that while the term “pink slime” may come across as unappetizing, it is not incorrect. Lean, finely textured beef is both pink and – like all ground beef – has a slimy texture, the lawyers argued.