LOS ANGELES — Women who drink moderate amounts of alcohol don’t gain as much weight in midlife as those who abstain, according to a study released Monday. However, the authors as well as alcohol abuse experts were quick to say that drinking should not be heralded as a new diet nor a path to better health.
Researchers found that compared with women who abstained from alcohol entirely, women who drank between 15 and 30 grams a day — the equivalent of a drink or two — were 30 percent less likely to be overweight or obese at the end of the study period.
The study by Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston examined data from 19,220 women enrolled in the long-running Women’s Health Study.
California: Police help bring runaway Toyota Prius to a stop
The California Highway Patrol said an officer helped slow a runaway Toyota Prius from 94 mph to a safe stop after the accelerator got stuck. James Sikes called 911 Monday after he found he could not control his car on Interstate 8 in San Diego County. Officers in a patrol car told Sikes over a loudspeaker to use the brakes and emergency brake. After slowing to about 50 mph, Sikes felt safe enough to turn off the engine and coast to a halt. Toyota has undertaken a mass recall of many of its vehicles for sudden-acceleration problems.
Suspect in one teen’s murder is investigated in another
A registered sex offender charged with murdering a teenage girl last month is a focus of the investigation into the death of a 14-year-old girl whose remains were found more than a year after she disappeared near her school, police said Monday. Police said they are eyeing John Albert Gardner III in the death of Amber Dubois, whose bones were found Saturday on the Pala Indian Reservation. Gardner, 30, pleaded not guilty last week to murdering and raping or attempting to rape 17-year-old Chelsea King of Poway.
Wisconsin: Ex-ACORN workers face vote charges
Two former ACORN workers are accused of repeatedly trying to register the same voters during a Milwaukee drive to meet quotas set by the organization. Maria Miles and Kevin Clancy were charged Monday with falsely procuring voter registration as a party to the crime during the 2008 campaign. ACORN, which stands for Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, has been dogged by allegations of voter-registration fraud.
Colorado: Rock slide closes Interstate 8
A rock slide punched gaping holes in a bridge and left huge boulders on Interstate 70, closing a 17-mile stretch in western Colorado, near Hanging Lake Tunnel in Glenwood Canyon, about midnight Sunday. No injuries or damage to vehicles were reported. The largest hole in the roadway was 10 by 20 feet. About 20 boulders were scattered on the highway, with the largest weighing 66 tons, officials said.
Canada: Seal lunch lets lawmakers show hunt support
The Canadian Parliament’s restaurant will serve seal meat Wednesday in support of hunters battling a European Union ban on seal products, a senator said Monday. The East Coast seal hunt, the largest in the world, kills an average of 275,000 harp seals during mid-November to mid-May. The seals are either shot or hit over the head with a spiked club called a hakapik. The EU says the hunts are inhumane.
Israel: Agrees to indirect talks with Palestinians
Israel and the Palestinians agreed to begin indirect, American-brokered talks, the U.S. Mideast envoy announced Monday, ending a 14-month deadlock in peacemaking. The announcement, however, came just hours after Israel enraged Palestinians by announcing new West Bank settlement construction.
From Herald news services
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