Eleven Wesleyan University students in Middletown, Connecticut, have been hospitalized Sunday due to possible overdoses from a drug commonly known as Molly (MDMA) on Saturday night, according to a letter from the administration.

As of 7p.m. Sunday, two students were in critical condition and two more in serious condition at Hartford Hospital.

A Wesleyan sophomore is in critical condition at Middlesex Hospital, where she was taken early Sunday morning due to an "apparent overdose," Dean Michael Whaley, vice president of student affairs, wrote to the school community Sunday in an e-mail sent just after 11 a.m.

In a later statement, a spokeswoman for the school confirmed that seven students were transported and another four walked into the hospital for treatment. 

"Initial indication in all of these cases is that the students took Molly (MDMA) last night," Whaley wrote in the letter on Sunday afternoon. "Some of the students are in serious/critical condition."

MDMA stands for methylenedioxy-methamphetamine, which the National Institute on Drug Abuse says is "known as ecstasy or, more recently, as Molly," describing it as "a synthetic psychoactive drug that has similarities to both the stimulant amphetamine and the hallucinogen mescaline."

Whaley wrote to the students that university public safety and residential life officials "are conducting well-being checks in some areas" and that public safety authorities and Middletown police are investigating.

He asked the students to check on their friends to make sure they're okay and to contact the director of public safety at 860-685-3333 if they have any information.

"Finally, I ask that you keep these students in your thoughts and share my hope that they will fully recover," Whaley wrote to the students. "I will provide an update when there is more information that I can share with you. Many thanks for your help."

The university notified the parents of the students.

Molly has gained popularity in the last decade and has become an increasingly common concern for concert promoters, campus police and local officials.

A third day of Electric Zoo festival in New York City was cancelled in 2013 after two young people died and four were hospitalized because of Molly overdose. Their deaths came after a string of similar overdoses that year at dance concerts in Boston, Seattle, Miami and Washington, D.C.

A 50-year-old woman was arrested on suspicion of stabbing her live-in boyfriend to death in Orange County Saturday, authorities said.

Receiving an 8:40 p.m. call of an unresponsive man on a front lawn in the hilly community of Laguna Niguel, Orange County Sheriff's deputies found a man lying in a neighbor's lawn with stab wounds to his torso. They were unable to save him, and paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene, deputies said.

Michelle Green was arrested at her home in the 24700 block of La Vida Drive and booked on murder charges in Orange County Jail, deputies said.

Green and her boyfriend, 52, were involved in a domestic dispute, deputies said, but they haven't determined what they were fighting over or why she allegedly stabbed her boyfriend.

Deputies ask anyone with information to call 714-647-7000.

Rain fell on the parade of movie stars who arrived at the Oscars Sunday night. As weather forecasts predicted, there were slight showers in the Los Angeles area.

A drizzly start to the day foreshadowed cloud cover throughout the Southland, according to NBC4 meteorologist Shanna Mendiola, who advised that people pack an umbrella and jacket for the day.

"Definitely looking at a good chance of some rain at the red carpet today," NBC4 meteorologist Shanna Mendiola said.

Although the organizers of the Academy Awards prepared for rain by putting up a tent over the red carpet in advance of the show, it was not enough. Rain soaked the red carpet at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, but the stars stayed dry, for the most part.

The rain is expected to continue overnight and through Monday, Mendiola said. Clearing is expected later Monday and into Tuesday, City News Service reported.

The movie inustry can't seem to catch a weather-related break -- rain showed up uninvited to the Golden Globes this year as well.

The trick to balancing on slick sidewalks is to “walk like a penguin."

At least, that’s the advice coming out of Little Baby’s Ice Cream in Northern Liberties.

Instinct tells us to do the opposite and center our weight mid-stride, which works on dry walkways.

However this tactic forces legs to split your body weight in half and rely on both feet to maintain balance -- not the best idea for icy streets.

The local ice cream parlor posted a simple infographic on their blog to remind everyone to think of gravity and mimic penguins. Shifting one’s weight onto the front leg keeps people – and penguins – from slipping.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention backs up the penguin waddle claim, reminding people to also spread feet slightly to fortify the center of gravity.

With sidewalks freezing over, remember to stay smart and give yourself extra time to waddle to and fro.

One more tip, keep your hands out of your pockets and wear a puffy coat…so if you do fall, at least you can catch yourself and cushion your buns.

Firefighters knocked down flames at a school in Covina on Sunday afternoon.

The blaze was reported at an unspecified school on East Puente Street, Los Angeles County Fire Department officials said.

The fire was knocked down at 3:52 p.m., officials said.

No further details were immediately available.

Refresh this page for updates on this developing story.

A chunk of Hollywood is closed as the movie business prepared for the Oscars -- and police and security guards worked to make sure nothing would go wrong.

Several streets were closed through Monday, Feb. 23, morning near the Dolby Theatre, which hosts the 87th Academy Awards: Hollywood Boulevard between Highland Avenue and Orange Drive was shut closed to traffic -- that's where crews raised bleachers, risers and stages outside the theater for press and fans.

Alleys north and south of the closed-down block of Hollywood Boulevard were also shut through Monday at 6 a.m., along with sidewalks on Orange Drive immediately north of Hollywood Boulevard.

The Oscars are being held Sunday at 5:30 p.m. PT, with Neal Patrick Harris hosting the movie awards gala.

A bomb scare on Thursday near Hollywood Boulevard added another reason for Oscars security to be on high alert on the red carpet.

People entering the red carpet were screened, patted down and their bags searched, multiple times on Sunday morning.

Public transportation near the area was rerouted, while vehicles were searched for bombs and guns, according to The Hollywood Reporter, which said 1,000 LAPD officers and federal agents will deploy to secure the show. Some cops are expected to be undercover either wearing formal attire blending in with celebrities or casual wear manning the bleachers.

Full details and maps of the closures are available here: oscars.org/closures.

A Southern California family  is pleading for the safe return of their 27-year-old daughter, who went missing after a Valentine's Day date.

The Alonso family is hopeful that Erica Alonso, who is one of six siblings who lives with her parents, will be found. They handed out fliers with Alonso's picture following an afternoon Spanish mass at St. Catherine of Siena Parish church in Reseda. They then spent the rest of the night canvassing Laguna Beach businesses with fliers.

"Erica, we love you so much," said her mother, Margarita Alonso said. "Please come back home."

The Laguna Hills woman went missing in the early morning hours of Feb. 15 after leaving an Orange County nightclub with her ex-boyfriend and another couple. Officials say the group then drove to Alonso's ex-boyfriend's Irvine condo.

Around 3:45 a.m., Alonso and her ex-boyfriend argued outside and the couple left the home, Orange County Sheriff's Lt. Jeff Hallock said. She drove away in her white 2014 Honda Civic, with the license plate number 7FSS563, and hasn't been seen since.

"Every day that goes by is harder and harder for us," said the missing woman's father, Isaac Alonso.

Investigators say that Alonso's ex-boyfriend was not considered a suspect at this time. He and the couple that Alonso left Sutra nightclub with have been interviewed by deputies, and officials said their stories are consistent.

Anyone with information on Alonso or her car whereabouts is asked to call the OC Sheriff’s Department at 714-647-7000.

Alonso's family and friends have set up a fund to help raise money to make more fliers in their search. Anyone wishing to contribute can do so by clicking here.

Ten-year-old Sophia Contos was selling Girl Scout Cookies with her troop in front of a San Jose, California, grocery store — but a man yanked a cash box right out of her hands.

The Girls Scouts were selling cookies outside a Branham Lane Safeway Sunday afternoon, trying to raise money for a water conservation service project. But then, Contos said a man approached her table and tried to steal the cash box with $600 inside.

"He's looking around, looking at the cookies, and I keep my hands on the box," Contos said. "And (he starts) to pull away and all of a sudden he goes for it. I jerk it away, but then he's like too strong, so he gets it."

The suspected thief, who police identified as 23-year-old Cody Gintz, ran off, but came back to the parking lot 10 minutes later. That is where witnesses spotted him and got his license plate number as he took off, police said.

Police were able to quickly pull him over and arrest him for strong arm robbery. They found $300 on him, and he told police he tossed the cash box in a nearby creek. A K-9 officer found it.

The girls got their money back, and on top of that, police bought $240 worth of cookies and gave the troop $60 cash.

Sophia's mother said it was a scary experience for her daughter, but witnesses at the store, along with police, really sprang into action to help — and she is hoping that is what her daughter will remember most.

A hit and run driver struck and killed a woman in a motorized wheelchair in Miami early Sunday morning, police said.

Takesha Shawanna Hayes, 39, was trying to cross NW 54th Street near 3rd Avenue with her wheelchair around 2:45 a.m., according to Miami Police. That's when she was struck by a driver who then took off.

"Definitely speed was a factor here," said Miami Police Detective Dino Thompson. "That played a major role in this incident."

Hayes died at the scene. Police do not yet have a description of the hit and run vehicle.

Anyone with information is urged to contact the Miami Police Traffic Homicide Unit at (305) 603-6525, or Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at (305) 471-TIPS (8477).

It has been 20 years since Robin Burton last saw her mother.

"My mom's a paranoid schizophrenic so she's always comes home for a little bit, then left for a little bit," Burton said.

She's been searching ever since her mother, Cloudia Leslie Wells, left her home in Maryville, Illinois, but she got renewed hope this December, when a private investigator called to say her mother used her social security number at a homeless shelter in Santa Monica.

Then confirmation came, in the form of a picture appearing to show Burton's mother from a 2013 Los Angeles Times article.

"It was her," Burton said.

So she's come to Los Angeles from Illinois, handing out fliers showing a picture of her mother, who was last seen in San Diego. Burton is reaching out from Skid Row and down the coast, hoping that someone has seen Wells.

Burton, who was 15 years old when her mother left, says she just wants to tell her mother she loves her again: "Even if you don't want to come home, let me see you, let me talk to you."

Wells was also spotted in San Diego in 1998.

If you think you've seen Wells, reach out to Burton on the Facebook page she's dedicated to her mother.

A flash flood warning was issued for the Colby burn area Sunday night as heavy downpours put the foothill community under the threat of mud and debris flows.

The warning was issued after the National Weather Service forecast a band of "very heavy showers" moving toward eastern Los Angeles County. It was set to expire at 12:15 a.m. Monday.

Earlier,  forecasters canceled a flash flood warning for the Camarillo Springs burn area after a strong band of showers that threatened to cause debris flows grew weak.

Residents near the burn area were advised to shelter in place ahead of a "very strong" storm cell moving toward Ventura County, the National Weather Service said.

"This cell moved over the most northern portion of the burn area as it weakened," the NWS said.

The warning was canceled at 8:31 p.m., about 45 minutes before its initial expiration time.

The NWS said there were no reports of debris flow issues.

A flash flood warning for a recent burn area means that flooding and debris flows are imminent or occurring, according to the NWS.

In December, a winter storm caused heavy damage to homes in Camarillo Springs. More than a dozen homes were red-tagged, leaving families displaced.

Forecasters on Sunday said the rain - generally light but steady in much of the area – was expected to continue overnight and into Monday, with clearing expected Monday evening.

Sam Virgen was brought to tears Sunday as he watched surveillance video of a black shuttle bus that may be responsible for a hit-and-run crash that left his brother hospitalized.

It's unclear if the grainy images captured by the church surveillance camera show the bus investigators are searching for.

But the bus does match the description witnesses gave the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department: a black party bus with neon lights that fled the scene after hitting Efren Virgen on Fairford Avenue in Norwalk early Saturday.

The church also said the images were captured on the same day and around the same time of the crash.

Virgen was walking home from a bar about 2:30 a.m. when he was hit, his brother said.

"That's my best friend, he's my everything," Sam Virgen said.

The 26-year-old father of two came out of a coma and off life support Sunday.

"All he mumbled to me was, 'Just catch this guy, bro. Just catch the guy who's driving the bus, bro.' I said, 'You don't worry about that, we're going to catch him,'" the brother said.

Virgen will remain hospitalized at St. Francis Medical Center in Lynwood and will need more surgeries to repair his crushed pelvis and legs, his brother said.

"The doctor explained it to me, it's like someone took a sword and just chopped him in half, and that's pretty much what happened," Sam Virgen said, adding that he didn't know if his brother would be able to walk again.

The director of the church said he was going to give sheriff's investigators the video in hopes it would help with the investigation.

The Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics have a storied rivalry that accounts for heated summer meetings in the NBA Finals and icy cold encounters in the regular season.

"I enjoy this a lot more," Lakers coach Byron Scott responded when asked if he enjoyed beating the Celtics. "I'm a happy man tonight."

On Sunday evening at Staples Center, the Lakers nearly gave away the game in regulation before securing a 118-111 victory in overtime. Off the bench, Jeremy Lin and Wesley Johnson led LA with 25 points and 22 points, respectively. For both, Sunday night marked season highs in the scoring category.

However, as the Lakers' locker room celebrated the victory , one could not help but fixate on the collapse that forced the game into overtime. With 1:28 to play in regulation, the home team led by nine points after Nick Young hit a 12-foot fadeaway jumper.

Over the next 88 seconds, the Lakers would commit two turnovers and miss a free throw. With Boston holding the ball and trailing by three points, Lakers coach Byron Scott opted not to foul. Instead, Avery Bradley managed to get a clean look at the basket and hit a three-pointer to beat the buzzer.

"That's twice that I've been thinking about it, and they've hit a three to send it to overtime," Scott said about fouling to avoid giving up a three. "So, I don't know if I'll think about it next time. I might just do it."

Not for the first time in the 2014/15 season, the LA Lakers had allowed a lead to dissipate at the end of regulation.

In overtime, the Lakers' defense picked up, while Lin and Carlos Boozer both chipped in four points in the extra period. Boozer, incidentally, finished as the only starter to score in double figures after failing to see the floor only one game earlier. The veteran forward would finish with 12 points and played the center position to finish the game.

Apart from Boozer, the Lakers relied heavily on their bench. Including Lin and Johnson, four Lakers scored in double figures with Young adding 19 points and Jordan Hill adding 10 points to the total. Point guard Ronnie Price fouled out in only 18 minutes of play, but the backup point guard finished with five assists and four steals. Scott credited the veteran for helping change the complexion of the game.

"I think Ronnie turned the game around," Scott said afterwards. "With his aggressiveness on the defensive end, he caused some turnovers, and the way he was playing Isaiah [Thomas], I thought he turned the game around."

In the first quarter, the Celtics jumped out to an early nine-point lead. However, with Price setting up the offense, Lin driving and Johnson playing with confidence, the Lakers managed to turn the tide and take their first lead midway through the second quarter. From there, a back-and-forth contest would ultimately be decided by five solid minutes of overtime.

Sunday's victory provided LA with its 14th win of the season, but even the fans praying for losses with the hopes of earning the best possible draft pick had to enjoy beating the hated Celtics. Regardless of the records, the Lakers always relish a victory over the Celtics, and Sunday evening featured fans, players and coaches all leaving Staples Center grinning.

Next, the Lakers play the Utah Jazz on Wednesday.

A housekeeper who worked in the home of Aaron Hernandez testified on Monday that she saw two guns while cleaning his home, which is critical to the prosecution's case because the weapon that killed Odin Lloyd has never been found.

Marilia Prinholato said she saw the first gun arounf May 7, 2013, which was the second time she cleaned his house. She said she was straightening the fitted sheet on the bed in a basement guestroom when she discovered it. She said she later saw a different gun in Hernandez's bedroom.

Also on the stand Monday were two employees who worked in 2013 at NeedleTech, a company in the North Attleboro industrial park right near the crime scene. Both testified they worked the overnight shift the night of the murder and say they went to their separate cars for their 3 a.m. "lunch" breaks. Both testified they heard "loud banging" similar to the sound of fireworks.

One employee said the bangs happened about four to five times and that they were coming from the area where Lloyd's body was found.

There was a dramatic reversal from Judge Susan Garsh earlier on Monday. Jurors will now be allowed to hear about text messages allegedly sent between Odin Lloyd and his sister the night of the murder.

However, as previously ruled, the jurors still won't be allowed to hear the substance of those texts. This comes after a heated exchange in court Friday between the Judge and lead prosecutor Bill McCauley.

Prosecutors argued the texts could show where Lloyd was in the final moments of his life, and allege Hernandez drove Lloyd from his home in Dorchester to North Attleboro where he was killed.

Hernandez has pleaded not guilty to murdering Lloyd.

A pickup driver was hospitalized Monday morning after a hit-and-run rollover crash that closed part of the 60 Freeway in the San Gabriel Valley.

A driver made what authorities described as an unsafe lane change, causing the pickup driver to crash near San Gabriel Boulevard, about 15 miles east of downtown Los Angeles. The crash left a debris field on the freeway and closed eastbound lanes.

The pickup driver was hospitalized, but details regarding the victim's condition were not available.

The road reopened Monday morning.

A 23-year-old San Jose man is expected to be arraigned Wednesday after he was arrested after police say he had a tug-of-war with a Girl Scout, yanking her cash box full of profits she and her troop reaped from selling Thin Mints and Samoas.

Cody Phillip Gintz is being held on $50,000 bail after being arrested Sunday on charges of strong arm robbery and taken to the San Jose Main Jail. In an exclusive jailhouse interview on Monday, Gintz said, with remorse in his voice, that he stole the money to feed his heroin habit.

San Jose police were eventually able to recover the box – a camouflage lunch box with a silver star in the middle used to hold their sales money that Gintz allegedly threw in a creek. All the money was returned to the troop. The Girl Scouts had originally said they believed there was $600 in the box, though that number was later revised to $300 after police found the cash.

In fact, the Scouts made even more money after the robbery.

Police officers bought the troops' $240 worth of remaining cookies, and threw in an extra $60. The girls had planned to use the money for a water conservation project, as NBC Bay Area first reported in a story that's getting national attention.

Sophia Contos, 10, and her 601-60 troop leader leader were outside the Safeway on Branham Lane in San Jose when Gintz came by and allegedly snatched the box full of cash, they told NBC Bay Area on Sunday. He had been eyeing the box, Sophia said, and was too strong for her to protect her cash.

“He’s looking around, and I started to keep my hand on the box, and he goes for it,” Sophia said.

He ran off but returned to the grocery store parking lot ten minutes later, police say. Sophia’s mother, Michelle Contos, spotted him getting into his car.

“I just kept reading the license plate over and over again,” Contos said.

Her excellent Girl Scout mothering skills helped police quickly track him down. Police said they found $300 on him, and a K-9 officer helped find the box of cash in a nearby creek.

“To steal from a kid working so hard, it’s horrible,” Girl Scout troop leader Marita Beard said.

“I didn’t know a guy would do that,” Sophia said, obviously shaken by what had happened to her and her troop. “I didn’t know people would do such a thing.”

NBC Bay Area's Vince Cestone, Ingrid Almaz and Shawn Murphy contributed to this report.

The Monday morning following Oscar Sunday Night can be a yawny one for movie mavens who follow Film's Biggest Event, but there are a typically a couple of events that always occur.

1. Catch up on all of the photos, tweets, commentary, and replays.

2. Parse the winners (and not-so-winners) with other cinephiles at work/school/home.

3. See the film that won Best Picture, or in the acting categories, if you missed it.

Add to that a fourth pursuit, one of a fashion bent, and one that can only be done in Los Angeles: Admire the clothing, in-person, from the film that went home with the Best Costume Design award.

Or rather, the costume designer. Milena Canonero, a legend in the silver-screen sartorial business, won for "The Grand Budapest Hotel" at the 87th Annual Academy Awards. 

It was Ms. Canonero's fourth Oscar win, and her light-catching pants, which were roundly cited around the internet for being one of the loveliest get-ups of the night, speaks volumes about her own bold style and the high concept visions for the clothing worn in the Wes Anderson film.

You can see the costumes that caught voters' eyes, including the pillbox-hatted hotel employee costumes, the dowager-dressy cape coat worn by actress Tilda Swinton, and Saoirse Ronan's peach-pretty ensemble, at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising downtown, as part of the 23rd Annual Art of Motion Picture Design exhibit. 

The exhibit runs Tuesdays through Saturdays through April 25. Admission is free.

If you miss Ms. Canonero's "Budapest" designs, worry not: As is tradition, the previous year's Oscar winner always shows again the following year, meaning the outfits shall return next winter to FIDM.

To see more of Ms. Canonero's iconic film work, make for Hollywood Costume at Wilshire and Fairfax, in the old May Company building, before the exhibit shutters on March 2. Her work for "Barry Lyndon" -- the designer worked with Stanley Kubrick in addition to her multiple collaborations with Wes Anderson -- is on display.

image: Alex J. Berliner/FIDM