A restaurant in China that challenged its customers to eat more than 100 dumplings in return for a free meal has fallen foul of authorities, who are investigating whether it has violated the country's anti-food waste law.Related video above: How to reduce food wasteLocal authorities in Yibin City in the southwestern province of Sichuan swooped on the restaurant after hearing of its "king of big stomach challenge," the state-affiliated news outlet The Cover reported this week. The challenge reportedly involved patrons competing to eat 108 chaoshous, or spicy wonton dumplings, as quickly as possible to win a free meal and additional prizes. To drum up interest, the restaurant had advertised the offer on social media to entice patrons only to find itself in the hot seat when the State Administration for Market Regulation said it would open an investigation into whether it had breached the law surrounding food waste.While eating contests are relatively common in Western countries and can bring fame for their winners – like Joey Chestnut, who last week won Nathan's Famous International Hot Dog Eating Contest in Coney Island by downing 62 hot dogs in 10 minutes – they can be a sensitive matter in China.Many in the country still have memories of the famine of the 1950s and 60s that killed an estimated 45 million people.The Cover said the restaurant, which it did not name, was one of several being probed by the authorities over similar competitions.Chinese leader Xi Jinping has in the past called food waste "shocking and distressing" and in March this year said agricultural supplies were like the foundation of national security.The law against wasting food was enacted in 2021, following pointed government criticisms of online bloggers who live-streamed themselves binge eating to draw in viewers. Many of their accounts were subsequently suspended by the social media platforms.Under the law, restaurant owners can be fined up to 10,000 yuan ($1,400) if their establishments "induce or mislead customers to order excessively to cause obvious waste."Radio and television stations, as well as online video and audio providers, face a maximum fine of 10 times that amount if they are found to be involved in "making, publishing, promoting programs or audio messages about eating excessively and binge eating and drinking." The restaurant in Yibin "demonstrates behaviors of binge eating and drinking and inducing customers to order excessively," the Cover said, citing the local market regulator.However, some Chinese internet users have criticized the authorities for overreaching. "Is this counted as a waste? Why not let people compete for the biggest eater? Will the food not consumed there actually go to the poor?" wrote one user on Weibo, China's version of Twitter.Another user pointed to the country's poor track record on food safety, which has included scandals ranging from contaminated baby milk powder to the use of "gutter oil" – recycled oil tainted with food waste or even sewage."You didn't regulate food safety … but this?" the user said.

CNN —

A restaurant in China that challenged its customers to eat more than 100 dumplings in return for a free meal has fallen foul of authorities, who are investigating whether it has violated the country's anti-food waste law.

Related video above: How to reduce food waste

Local authorities in Yibin City in the southwestern province of Sichuan swooped on the restaurant after hearing of its "king of big stomach challenge," the state-affiliated news outlet The Cover reported this week.

The challenge reportedly involved patrons competing to eat 108 chaoshous, or spicy wonton dumplings, as quickly as possible to win a free meal and additional prizes.

To drum up interest, the restaurant had advertised the offer on social media to entice patrons only to find itself in the hot seat when the State Administration for Market Regulation said it would open an investigation into whether it had breached the law surrounding food waste.

While eating contests are relatively common in Western countries and can bring fame for their winners – like Joey Chestnut, who last week won Nathan's Famous International Hot Dog Eating Contest in Coney Island by downing 62 hot dogs in 10 minutes – they can be a sensitive matter in China.

Many in the country still have memories of the famine of the 1950s and 60s that killed an estimated 45 million people.

The Cover said the restaurant, which it did not name, was one of several being probed by the authorities over similar competitions.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping has in the past called food waste "shocking and distressing" and in March this year said agricultural supplies were like the foundation of national security.

The law against wasting food was enacted in 2021, following pointed government criticisms of online bloggers who live-streamed themselves binge eating to draw in viewers. Many of their accounts were subsequently suspended by the social media platforms.

Under the law, restaurant owners can be fined up to 10,000 yuan ($1,400) if their establishments "induce or mislead customers to order excessively to cause obvious waste."

Radio and television stations, as well as online video and audio providers, face a maximum fine of 10 times that amount if they are found to be involved in "making, publishing, promoting programs or audio messages about eating excessively and binge eating and drinking."

The restaurant in Yibin "demonstrates behaviors of binge eating and drinking and inducing customers to order excessively," the Cover said, citing the local market regulator.

However, some Chinese internet users have criticized the authorities for overreaching.

"Is this counted as a waste? Why not let people compete for the biggest eater? Will the food not consumed there actually go to the poor?" wrote one user on Weibo, China's version of Twitter.

Another user pointed to the country's poor track record on food safety, which has included scandals ranging from contaminated baby milk powder to the use of "gutter oil" – recycled oil tainted with food waste or even sewage.

"You didn't regulate food safety … but this?" the user said.

A 15-year-old boy was charged with murder and terrorism for a shooting that killed four fellow students and injured others at a Michigan high school, authorities said Wednesday, revealing that his parents were summoned just a few hours before the bloodshed.No motive was offered by Oakland County authorities, a day after violence at Oxford High School, roughly 30 miles north of Detroit. But prosecutor Karen McDonald said the shooting was premeditated, based on a "mountain of digital evidence" collected by police."This was not just an impulsive act," McDonald said.Indeed, sheriff's Lt. Tim Willis told a judge that Ethan Crumbley recorded a video the night before the violence in which he discussed killing students.Crumbley was charged as an adult with murder, attempted murder, terrorism causing death and gun crimes. During his arraignment, he replied, "Yes, I do," when asked if he understood the charges. Defense attorney Scott Kozak entered a plea of not guilty."He deliberately brought the handgun that day with the intent to murder as many students as he could," assistant prosecutor Marc Keast said in successfully arguing for no bail and a transfer to jail from a juvenile facility.Earlier, Sheriff Mike Bouchard told reporters that Crumbley’s parents were called to the school Tuesday "for behavior in the classroom that was concerning." The teen remained in school, and the shooting occurred a few hours later.Keast said in court that Crumbley entered a bathroom with a backpack and came out holding a semi-automatic handgun, firing at students while moving down the hallway. The four students who were killed were identified as 16-year-old Tate Myre, 14-year-old Hana St. Juliana, 17-year-old Madisyn Baldwin and 17-year-old Justin Shilling. Bouchard didn’t offer details about what had troubled school officials. He said investigators believe the gun was already in school."There is nothing that he could have faced that would warrant senseless, absolutely brutal violence on other kids," the sheriff said.Deputies rushed to the school around lunchtime Tuesday and arrested Crumbley in a hallway within minutes of the shooting. His father bought the 9 mm Sig Sauer gun last week, according to the sheriff.McDonald said charges were being considered against the parents."Owning a gun means securing it properly and locking it and keeping the ammunition separate," she said.The shooting should be a wake-up call for new gun laws in a country that has become "desensitized to school shootings," McDonald told reporters."We have to do better," the prosecutor said without offering specific changes. "How many times does this have to happen? How many times?"She said the terrorism charge also fits."What about all the children who ran, screaming, hiding under desks? ... Those are victims, too, and so are their families and so is the community," McDonald said.Video posted on social media showed students rushing to get out of first-floor classroom windows rather than open a door to someone who claimed to be a police officer. The sheriff said he likely was a detective.After the attack, authorities learned of social media posts about threats of a shooting at the roughly 1,700-student school. The sheriff stressed how crucial it is for such tips to be sent to authorities, while also cautioning against spreading social media rumors before a full investigation.Isabel Flores, a 15-year-old ninth grader, told Detroit television station WJBK that she and other students heard gunshots and saw another student bleeding from the face. They then ran from the area through the rear of the school, she said.A concerned parent, Robin Redding, said her son, 12th-grader Treshan Bryant, stayed home Tuesday after hearing threats of a possible shooting."This couldn’t be just random," she said.Bryant said he had heard vague threats "for a long time now" about plans for a shooting.___Associated Press journalists Ryan Kryska, Mike Householder and David Aguilar in Oxford Township, Michigan; Kathleen Foody in Chicago; and Josh Boak in Rosemount, Minnesota, contributed to this report. AP researcher Rhonda Shafner in New York also contributed.