Of Human Interest: News lite

TEXAS CITY RESTRICTS TOY GUNS

The Carrollton City Council in Texas has passed an ordinance restricting the possession of realistic toy guns in public. The vote came after a recent scare in which a police officer mistook a replica gun held by a child for the real thing.

The law prohibits the possession of such toy guns by minors and makes it illegal for anybody to use them in a way that could cause public alarm.

Police say the law is aimed at replica guns patterned after real firearms used by the police and the military.

Police Chief David James said the fear is that such a gun carried outside the home or yard by a child could be mistaken for a real gun and lead to a tragedy.

(Thanks to UPI's Phil Magers in Dallas)

SCHOOLS USE JUNK FOOD TO BOOST STUDENTS

School districts are pumping kids full of junk food in the never-ending efforts to boost state-mandated test scores, a University of Florida study suggests.

The study finds on test days many districts feed students high-energy foods with low nutritional value because the empty calories give students a short-term mental lift -- much like carbohydrate loading energizes athletes, says David Figlio, a University of Florida economist.

"We find significant evidence that school districts, particularly those threatened with at least one failing or sanctioned school, respond by giving students more empty calories on testing days," Figlio says.

This study included elementary school lunch menus from 23 randomly selected school districts in Virginia during the 1999-2000 school year.

AHA CLEARS UP ATKINS CONFUSION

The American Heart Association is clearing up any confusion about its dietary recommendations and a study released this week during its annual scientific sessions. The study was funded by the Robert C. Atkins Foundation and shows that a very low carbohydrate, high protein diet -- like the Atkins diet -- may not be so bad for health after all.

The AHA says the study created an erroneous impression AHA had revised its guidelines. "This is not the case," the association says in a release, noting that the study was small, with few participants and short-term.

The AHA says the study did not provide long-term evidence of weight loss or that the diet used improved long-term health.

"The current guidelines, based on the best available evidence, emphasize a healthy dietary pattern rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean meats, fish and poultry, as well as low-fat dairy products," says Dr. Robert O. Bonow, AHA president. "It is important to note that there is no single 'American Heart Association Diet.' Rather there is a set of guidelines designed to be broad enough to accommodate many different food preferences ..."

NOT JUST 'A' OR 'B'

Wisconsin school districts are moving beyond or even away from the standard A, B, C, grading system.

The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports that in Racine schools, report cards include whether kindergartners need improvement in printing their names or whether fifth-graders should work on movement, ball or fitness skills.

The paper says in Kettle Moraine report cards list more categories in reading, math and writing and tell if progress is being affected by absences or tardiness.

New report cards in elementary schools rate children as a "beginner" or at a "basic" level and grades are awarded based on skill achievement -- if a child can count or understands a concept. The paper says it is part of a "standards movement" begun five years ago to develop a blueprint for what kids should know and when they should know it.