NATIONAL BRIEFS

FLORIDA: School suspended slain youth

Supporters of slain teenager Trayvon Martin found themselves on the defensive Monday following revelations he had been suspended from school because traces of marijuana were found in a plastic baggie in his book bag. Police also confirmed that George Zimmerman claimed Martin was the aggressor, punching him in the nose and smacking his head on a sidewalk. Martin's mother, Sybrina Fulton, and family attorneys blamed police for leaking the information about the marijuana and Zimmerman's claim about the attack in an effort to demonize the teenager. Sanford police insisted there was no authorized release of the new information but acknowledged there may have been a leak.

COLORADO: Egg hunt off; blame parents

An annual Easter egg hunt attended by hundreds of children has been canceled because of misbehavior last year. Not by the kids, but by the grown-ups. Too many parents determined to see their children get an egg jumped a rope marking the boundaries of the children-only hunt at Bancroft Park last year. The hunt was over in seconds, to the consternation of eggless tots and the rules-abiding parents. Organizers say the hunt in Old Colorado City has gotten too big for the hundreds of children and parents now attending. They canceled this year.

PENNSYLVANIA: Monsignor's trial begins

A high-ranking monsignor on trial "won't run" from the Catholic Church's sex abuse crisis, his lawyer said Monday when the landmark child endangerment trial opened. Msgr. William Lynn supervised more than 800 priests as the secretary for clergy in Philadelphia from 1992 to 2004. He's the first U.S. church official ever charged over his handling of abuse complaints. Prosecutors charge that he kept dangerous priests in parish work around children to protect the church's reputation and avoid scandal.