The nation in brief

Saturday, March 1, 2014

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“We need several large storms and we just don’t see that on the horizon.”

Eric Boldt, a National Weather Service meteorologist, after heavy rains fell on California but offered little relief from one of the worst droughts in the state’s history Article, this page

Jury: Kerry Kennedy innocent in wreck

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. - After nearly 20 months of buildup, the misdemeanor trial of Kerry Kennedy ended Friday after jurors took one hour to find her innocent of driving under the influence of a drug.

The five-day trial, which featured a turn on the witness stand by Kennedy, 54, was centered on an act that neither she nor prosecutors dispute: On July 13, 2012, she drove her Lexus sport utility vehicle erratically after swallowing zolpidem, a generic form of the sleep medication Ambien. She sideswiped a semitrailer on a highway in Westchester County before she was found slumped over her steering wheel, her car stalled on a local road.

Kennedy has maintained that she took the pill accidentally, mistaking it for medication she took for a thyroid condition.

The issue at trial was whether Kennedy, the former wife of Gov. Andrew Cuomo and a daughter of Robert Kennedy, should have been aware that she was feeling the drug’s soporific effects, as she was swerving and driving erratically and stopped the car.

Hoffman’s end ruled accidental overdose

Philip Seymour Hoffman died accidentally of acute drug intoxication, New York officials announced Friday.

Hoffman, 46, an Oscar-winning actor as well as a producer and director, was found in his Manhattan apartment Feb. 2. Drugs were found at the scene.

In an email, the office of New York’s chief medical examiner confirmed that Hoffman, who battled addiction, had died from “acute mixed drug intoxication” with substances including heroin, cocaine, benzodiazepines and amphetamines.

The actor had entered a drug-rehabilitation program in 1989 when he was 22 and had been sober for more than two decades until he relapsed in 2013. He checked himself into rehab in May.

Hoffman won an Academy Award for his portrayal of writer Truman Capote in the 2005 film Capote.

More healthy foods coming to WIC list

WASHINGTON - Pregnant women, mothers and children who get federal assistance with their grocery bills will now be able to buy more whole-grain foods, yogurt, fish, fruits and vegetables.

The changes to the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, known as WIC, will go into place by next year.

The Agriculture Department announced the changes Friday as the final part of a process it began in 2007 to overhaul the program and greatly expand the number of healthy foods offered.

Changes announced that year and put in place in 2009 eliminated many fruit juices from infant food packages, reduced saturated fats the program covered and made buying fruits and vegetables easier.

The USDA says that overhaul will be complete with a few more items included, such as whole-grain pastas, yogurt and additional types of canned fish. The rule also allows fresh fruits and vegetables for older babies when mothers do not want to feed them jarred baby food.

The program annually serves around 9 million people, about half of them children.

Front Section, Pages 3 on 03/01/2014