Ravens Defeat 49ers in Historic, Unusual Super Bowl

The Baltimore Ravens emerged Super Bowl champions after one of the strangest and most incredible Super Bowl games in recent memory.

It's the second championship for the Ravens, who pulled out a 34-31 win over the San Francisco 49ers at the Superdome in New Orleans.

The Super Bowl is the biggest spectacle in American sports, and each year becomes the most watched television event in history. This year, Jennifer Hudson kicked things off with a touching performance of "America the Beautiful" with a choir of students from Sandy Hook Elementary School.

RELATED: Super Bowl XLVII: Top 6 Things to Know

Alicia Keys accompanied herself on the piano for a long, jazzy rendition of the national anthem, before the coin toss which resulted in San Francisco receiving to start the first half.

Although the game looked at one point like it was going to be a completely unexpected blow-out, with the Ravens leading 28-6 at the beginning of the 3rd quarter, the 49ers got some unusual help that turned the showdown into a much more exciting battle.

About a third of the way into the 3rd quarter, right after a record-tying Ravens rushing touchdown, the power went out at the Superdome, knocking the lights and air conditioning out in the indoor stadium. The crowd of more than 71,000 strong, along with a lot of antsy players, coaches, and staff waited for 34 minutes for the power to fully come back on and the game to resume.

Chris Graythen/Getty Images

Super Bowl 2013: Beyonce Rocks the Halftime Show Watch Video

Super Bowl 2013: Alicia Keys Sings 'The Star-Spangled Banner' Watch Video

Super Bowl 2013: Jennifer Hudson, Sandy Hook Students Perform Watch Video

In a statement, the NFL said authorities were "investigating the cause of the power outage," and law enforcement sources told ABC News it was just an issue with the building.

That didn't stop many people on Twitter from jokingly blaming Beyonce, the energetic halftime performer who surprisingly reunited shortly with her former band Destiny's Child, for shutting down the power. After her performance, even her husband Jay-Z got in on it, tweeting "Lights out!!! Any questions??"

VIDEO: Super Bowl 2013: Beyonce Rocks the Halftime Show

The 49ers quickly followed the long delay with a touchdown, getting themselves right back into the game. Then just a few minutes later, they found themselves in the end zone again, and it appeared the power outage had flipped the momentum towards the 49ers.

With a score of 31-29 with more than 7 minutes left in the game, San Francisco looked poised to make the biggest comeback in Super Bowl history, but the team, trying for its 6th title, wasn't able to overcome the Ravens lead.

Baltimore was able to run out the clock, and the game ended with a final score of 34-31. Purple and gold confetti fell as the Ravens rushed onto the field and celebrated -- with some colorful language from quarterback Joe Flacco audible on the live broadcast, who was caught saying, "f***ing awesome" on CBS' cameras.

The game was already historic thanks to the match-up for John and Jim Harbaugh, the first head coach brothers to ever face each other on football's biggest stage. It was also the final game for the future Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Lewis, who is, as of the conclusion of the game retired from football.

This is the fifth season in a row that the Ravens have made it to the playoffs, led by Coach John Harbaugh, and SB XLVII MVP Quarterback Joe Flacco. It's the team's first Lombardi trophy since 2000. Their victor tonight made them the only team left in the NFL to have never lost a Super Bowl in multiple appearances.

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Attackers kill 33 at police HQ in disputed Iraqi city

KIRKUK, Iraq (Reuters) - At least 33 people were killed in the Iraqi city of Kirkuk on Sunday when a suicide bomber detonated a truck packed with explosives outside a police headquarters and gunmen disguised as officers tried to storm the compound.

The blast was the third major attack in weeks in or near the multiethnic city of Arabs, Kurds and Turkmen, at the heart of a dispute between Iraq's central government and the autonomous Kurdistan region.

Police said the bomber triggered the huge blast near a side entrance to the police building, demolishing part of a government office nearby.

"A suicide bomber driving a vehicle packed with explosives hit the entrance of the headquarters and after the blast gunmen in explosive vests attacked with AK47s and grenades, but the guards killed them," a police official said.

Guards and emergency workers dragged bloodied survivors onto stretchers amid the wreckage of the blast, which left a large crater in the street.

Police said 33 were killed, including 12 employees at the government office. But a health official said only 16 bodies were at a hospital morgue and more than 90 were wounded.

The attack comes as insurgents linked to al Qaeda try to inflame sectarian conflict in Iraq, where a power-sharing government split among Shi'ite majority, Sunni and ethnic Kurds has been in crisis since the last U.S. troops left a year ago.

"TWO-FRONT" CRISIS

Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki is facing mass protests from Sunni Muslims in western provinces calling for him to step down, complaining of marginalization since the fall of Saddam Hussein.

In the north, the premier is also caught in a tense standoff with the country's autonomous Kurdish enclave over control of oil wealth and land along the so-called "disputed territories" where both regions claim control.

Kirkuk, 170 km (100 miles) north of the capital, is at the heart of the dispute. Last year Baghdad and the Kurdistan regional government sent rival forces to towns close to the disputed territories.

Several armed groups are active in Kirkuk, and Sunni Islamist insurgents linked to al Qaeda often attack security forces in an attempt to undermine Maliki's government and stoke sectarian tensions.

Al Qaeda's local wing, Islamic State of Iraq, though weakened after years of war with American troops, has benefited from the inflow of Sunni Islamists and arms into Syria where Sunni rebels are fighting President Bashar al-Assad.

Suicide bomb attacks are the hallmark of the Iraqi al Qaeda wing, and the group claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing that killed a Sunni lawmaker last month in Falluja.

But Kirkuk has also been home to the Naqshbandi army or JRTN, one of several insurgent groups made up of former soldiers and members of Saddam's outlawed Baath party.

Iraqi Arabs, Kurdistan's government and Kirkuk's minority Turkmen all lay claim to the city, known to some as the "Jerusalem of the Kurds" - a reference to its historically disputed status.

Last month a suicide bomber disguised as a mourner killed at least 26 at a funeral at a Shi'ite mosque in the nearby city of Tuz Khurmato, and days earlier a suicide bomber driving a truck killed 25 in an attack on a political party office in Kirkuk.

The level of violence in Iraq is lower than at the height of sectarian slaughter in 2006-2007, when tens of thousands died. But more than 4,400 people were killed last year in attacks and bombings, the first increase in deaths in three years.

(Additional reporting by Omar Mohammed in Kirkuk and Ahmed Rasheed in Baghdad; Writing by Patrick Markey; Editing by Andrew Roche)

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Fiat boss eyes Chrysler merger in 2014

ROME: Fiat boss Sergio Marchionne said Sunday that he expected the merger of the Italian car giant and its US partner Chrysler will take place in 2014.

"We will succeed in doing it," he said in an interview with the editor of the Repubblica newspaper. "We and VEBA (the United Auto Workers pension fund -- a Chrysler shareholder) have different opinions on the value of Chrysler but we will resolve the problem in 2014."

Macchione, who heads both companies, had said on January 30 that the ties between the two automakers were "irreversible" and would merge "as soon as I can afford it" but did not put date on the merger.

Asked on Sunday if Fiat would keep its Turin headquarters Macchione said: "We are a big group present throughout the world, it will depend on access to financial markets and the choices of the Agnelli family" who founded Fiat.

He had "not thought" about the future name of the new entity, he said.

The deal will ultimately give Fiat a 65 per cent stake in Chrysler and full ownership by 2015.

Boosted by increased sales at Chrysler, the Italian giant on Wednesday reported a profitable 2012, announcing a fourth quarter net profit that rose to 388 million euros ($525 million) from 265 million euros the year before.

The company said it was aiming for profits of between 1.2 and 1.5 billion euros this year.

Fiat took a 20 per cent stake in Chrysler in 2009 as the third largest US automaker emerged from a government-financed restructuring under bankruptcy protection.

It has since steadily expanded its stake by purchasing shares owned by the US government and the VEBA fund.

- AFP/ck

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New rules aim to get rid of junk foods in schools

WASHINGTON (AP) — Most candy, high-calorie drinks and greasy meals could soon be on a food blacklist in the nation's schools.

For the first time, the government is proposing broad new standards to make sure all foods sold in schools are more healthful.

Under the new rules the Agriculture Department proposed Friday, foods like fatty chips, snack cakes, nachos and mozzarella sticks would be taken out of lunch lines and vending machines. In their place would be foods like baked chips, trail mix, diet sodas, lower-calorie sports drinks and low-fat hamburgers.

The rules, required under a child nutrition law passed by Congress in 2010, are part of the government's effort to combat childhood obesity. While many schools already have improved their lunch menus and vending machine choices, others still are selling high-fat, high-calorie foods.

Under the proposal, the Agriculture Department would set fat, calorie, sugar and sodium limits on almost all foods sold in schools. Current standards already regulate the nutritional content of school breakfasts and lunches that are subsidized by the federal government, but most lunchrooms also have "a la carte" lines that sell other foods. Food sold through vending machines and in other ways outside the lunchroom has never before been federally regulated.

"Parents and teachers work hard to instill healthy eating habits in our kids, and these efforts should be supported when kids walk through the schoolhouse door," Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said.

Most snacks sold in school would have to have less than 200 calories. Elementary and middle schools could sell only water, low-fat milk or 100 percent fruit or vegetable juice. High schools could sell some sports drinks, diet sodas and iced teas, but the calories would be limited. Drinks would be limited to 12-ounce portions in middle schools and to 8-ounce portions in elementary schools.

The standards will cover vending machines, the "a la carte" lunch lines, snack bars and any other foods regularly sold around school. They would not apply to in-school fundraisers or bake sales, though states have the power to regulate them. The new guidelines also would not apply to after-school concessions at school games or theater events, goodies brought from home for classroom celebrations, or anything students bring for their own personal consumption.

The new rules are the latest in a long list of changes designed to make foods served in schools more healthful and accessible. Nutritional guidelines for the subsidized lunches were revised last year and put in place last fall. The 2010 child nutrition law also provided more money for schools to serve free and reduced-cost lunches and required more meals to be served to hungry kids.

Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, has been working for two decades to take junk foods out of schools. He calls the availability of unhealthful foods around campus a "loophole" that undermines the taxpayer money that helps pay for the healthier subsidized lunches.

"USDA's proposed nutrition standards are a critical step in closing that loophole and in ensuring that our schools are places that nurture not just the minds of American children but their bodies as well," Harkin said.

Last year's rules faced criticism from some conservatives, including some Republicans in Congress, who said the government shouldn't be telling kids what to eat. Mindful of that backlash, the Agriculture Department exempted in-school fundraisers from federal regulation and proposed different options for some parts of the rule, including the calorie limits for drinks in high schools, which would be limited to either 60 calories or 75 calories in a 12-ounce portion.

The department also has shown a willingness to work with schools to resolve complaints that some new requirements are hard to meet. Last year, for example, the government relaxed some limits on meats and grains in subsidized lunches after school nutritionists said they weren't working.

Schools, the food industry, interest groups and other critics or supporters of the new proposal will have 60 days to comment and suggest changes. A final rule could be in place as soon as the 2014 school year.

Margo Wootan, a nutrition lobbyist for the Center for Science in the Public Interest, said surveys by her organization show that most parents want changes in the lunchroom.

"Parents aren't going to have to worry that kids are using their lunch money to buy candy bars and a Gatorade instead of a healthy school lunch," she said.

The food industry has been onboard with many of the changes, and several companies worked with Congress on the child nutrition law two years ago. Major beverage companies have already agreed to take the most caloric sodas out of schools. But those same companies, including Coca-Cola and PepsiCo, also sell many of the non-soda options, like sports drinks, and have lobbied to keep them in vending machines.

A spokeswoman for the American Beverage Association, which represents the soda companies, says they already have greatly reduced the number of calories that kids are consuming at school by pulling out the high-calorie sodas.

___

Follow Mary Clare Jalonick on Twitter at http://twitter.com/mcjalonick

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Former SEAL Killed at Gun Range; Suspect Arrested

A man is under arrest in connection with the killing of two men at an Erath County, Texas, gun range, police said.

One of the victims is former Navy SEAL and "American Sniper" author Chris Kyle.

"We have lost more than we can replace. Chris was a patriot, a great father, and a true supporter of this country and its ideals. This is a tragedy for all of us. I send my deepest prayers and thoughts to his wife and two children," "American Sniper" co-author Scott McEwen said in a statement to ABC News.

ABC affiliate WFAA-TV in Dallas reported that Kyle and a neighbor of his were shot while helping a soldier who is recovering from post traumatic stress syndrome at a gun range in Glen Rose.

The suspect, identified as Eddie Routh, 25, was arrested in Lancaster, Texas, after a brief police chase, a Lancaster Police Department dispatcher told ABC News.

AP Photo/The Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Paul Moseley

Routh was driving Kyle's truck at the time of his arrest and was held awaiting transfer to Texas Rangers, according to police.

Investigators told WFAA that Routh is a former Marine said to suffer from post-traumatic stress syndrome.

Kyle, 39, served four tours in Iraq and was awarded two Silver Stars, five Bronze Stars with Valor, two Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals, and one Navy and Marine Corps Commendation.

From 1999 to 2009, Kyle recorded more than 150 sniper kills, the most in U.S. military history.

Travis Cox, the director of FITCO Cares, the non-profit foundation Kyle established, said Kyle's wife Taya and their children "lost a dedicated father and husband" and the country has lost a "lifelong patriot and an American hero."

"Chris Kyle was a hero for his courageous efforts protecting our country as a U.S. Navy SEAL during four tours of combat. Moreover, he was a hero for his efforts stateside when he helped develop the FITCO Cares Foundation. What began as a plea for help from Chris looking for in-home fitness equipment for his brothers- and sisters-in-arms struggling with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) became an organization that will carry that torch proudly in his honor," Cox said in a statement.

After leaving combat duty, became chief instructor training Naval Special Warfare Sniper and Counter-Sniper teams, and he authored the Naval Special Warfare Sniper Doctrine, the first Navy SEAL sniper manual. He left the Navy in 2009.

"American Sniper," which was published last year in 2012, became a New York Times best seller.

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Thirty-five killed as militants attack Pakistan checkpoint

DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan (Reuters) - Militants attacked an isolated army checkpoint in Pakistan's restive northwest on Saturday, with at least 35 people killed in the initial assault, subsequent crossfire and a rocket attack on a house, officials said.

The Pakistan Taliban claimed responsibility, saying the attack was in response to a U.S. drone strike in neighboring North Waziristan last month in which two commanders were killed.

The Pakistani military and pro-government militias have since 2009 regained territory from the Pakistan Taliban, who once controlled land a few hours' drive from the capital of Islamabad.

The militants attacked the post at Lakki Marwat early on Saturday.

A security official said 12 militants and 13 soldiers were killed in the clash. Two bodies had suicide bomb belts on them.

"Cross-firing between militants and security officials continued for four hours," one source said.

The militants also targeted a house next to the camp with rockets, killing 10 members of one family, including three children, the official said.

"Pakistan has been co-operating with the U.S. in its drone strikes that killed our two senior commanders, Faisal Khan and Toofani, and the attack on military camp was the revenge of their killing," the Taliban spokesman said.

He said four suicide bombers attacked the camp and blew themselves up. He said more than a dozen soldiers were killed.

(Additional reporting by Jibran Ahmad in Peshawar, Javed Hussain in Parachinar and Mubasher Bukhari in Islamabad; Writing by Nick Macfie; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)

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The Shard is pinnacle of London's redevelopment

LONDON: The Shard, which opened its doors to the public on Friday, is western Europe's highest skyscraper but also the pinnacle of the transformation of London's long-neglected south bank of the River Thames.

The vertiginous public viewing platform, which is expected to attract one million visitors a year, offers unrivalled vistas of the British capital and is the perfect place to survey the huge changes in the neighbourhood.

Towering 310 metres (1,017 feet) above the skyline, the Shard is an arrow of glass piercing the clouds and a symbol of wealth in an area that for centuries has been overshadowed by its affluent rivals in the west, centre and north of London.

The platform is the first part of Italian architect Renzo Piano's building to open, and over the coming months its vast new office space, five-star hotel, restaurants and luxury apartments will slowly come to life.

While the design has been controversial, the tower -- 95 percent financed by Qatar -- has also attracted criticism because of the sense that its 8,000 future inhabitants are unaffected by the global economic crisis.

The 30 pounds (US$47, 35-euro) ticket price for the viewing platform does nothing to dispel this image, but the people behind the Shard are unapologetic.

"The wonderful thing about London is, in many ways, it never stops," William Matthews, a project architect in Piano's team, told AFP. "In some ways, British trade, the idea of commerce, and business, is really in our bones."

Peter John, leader of the local Southwark council, said: "It has really been a story of regeneration and renaissance."

The area on the south side of London Bridge was relatively prosperous in Roman times, but for centuries afterwards it was viewed as a seedy district beyond the city walls where the law held thin.

Travellers passed through brothels, inns and gambling dens, and residents festered among "every repulsive lineament of poverty, every loathsome indication of filth, rot, and garbage", as Charles Dickens put it in his 1838 novel "Oliver Twist".

The demise of London's shipping trade from the 1960s to the 1980s accentuated the area's poverty and the average household income among Southwark's 290,000 inhabitants today remains one of the lowest in Britain.

Nonetheless, in the last 25 to 30 years, the change in the area has been staggering, according to council leader Peter John.

Wharf-side warehouses with names evoking the British empire and the goods sailing into London from around the world, such as East India Wharf or Tea Trade Wharf, have been transformed into swanky New York-style loft flats.

Millions of square metres of office space have been constructed in cathedrals of glass across the river from the Tower of London, including Norman Foster's City Hall and Terence Conran's Design Museum.

The once unremarkable Borough Market has been transformed into a foodies' heaven, while the Tate Modern, constructed within a vast former power station on the river in 2000, is now the most popular contemporary art gallery in the world.

"But the Shard takes it to new levels," said John. "It really symbolises where the opportunities are for jobs, and leisure, and new housing."

He said the influx of a population with plenty of purchasing power will boost the whole area, saying: "I think the positives outweigh the negatives."

Many locals are not so enthusiastic.

Reverend Charlie Moore, rector of St Mary Magdalene Church in nearby Bermondsey, said "a lot of people have been forced to leave" as the redevelopment, including several gastropubs and posh shops, have sent rents sky-high.

And the further south you go, the louder the objections.

The Heygate Estate, comprising huge concrete blocks of social housing, once housed 3,000 people but now stands empty and awaiting demolition as part of a major regeneration programme in the Elephant and Castle area.

A campaigner for the Heygate residents, teacher Jerry Flynn, complains that the plans include far less social housing than before.

"It will mean the people who cannot afford to live here, working-class families and low income families, will no longer be able to live here. It was a traumatic process," he told AFP.

"We would like a regeneration that spread the benefits a little more widely."

- AFP/ir

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Women activists reject rape law ordinance, urge President not to sign it

NEW DELHI: Some women's organisations on Saturday urged the President not to sign the ordinance on criminal law amendments passed by the Union Cabinet to deal with sexual crimes.

"The ordinance is a complete betrayal of the people's faith. We are alarmed at the complete lack of transparency displayed by the government in proposing an ordinance as an emergency measure. We call upon the President not to sign such an ordinance," was the general opinion of woman activists at a press conference here. They also wondered why such a measure was necessary when parliament would convene for the budget session in about 20 days.

The Cabinet on Friday approved an ordinance for enhanced punishment in cases of crimes against women, including sexual assault, acid attacks, voyeurism and trafficking.

The women also complained that the Cabinet had not paid adequate attention to the recommendations of the Justice JS Verma committee, set up to examine laws that relate with sexual crimes and any changes necessary. The committee had submitted its report last week.

"It is an absolute mockery of Justice Verma's panel's recommendations. We were alarmed to see the ordinance as it ignored many recommendations of the that committee. The government has stealthily passed this ordinance without sharing it with the public and without actually debating and discussing it. All the recommendations than can actually strike at the heart of impunity have been dropped," Kavita Krishnan, secretary, All India Progressive Women's Association (AIPWA) said.

Some women said they would take to the streets in protest, once again, just as they had protested after the brutal gang-rape of the physiotherapy student gang-raped in the national capital on December 16.

"We will be holding protest, likely from Monday at 2pm, but we are yet to finalise it. We would definitely continue to agitate. How can the Union Cabinet, in just a few hours, sit and cheery-pick what JS Verma and his team strenuously worked on for a whole month?" asked Krishnan, adding that the government acted stealthily, passing the ordinance without sharing it with the public and without debating and discussing it," Krishnan said.

The Justice JS Verma panel, set up by the government last month to review laws to provide speedier justice and enhanced punishment in cases of aggravated sexual assault, submitted its report to the government last week.

The panel was set up in the wake of outrage over the gruesome gang-rape of a 23-year-old trainee physiotherapist on December 16.

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New rules aim to get rid of junk foods in schools

WASHINGTON (AP) — Most candy, high-calorie drinks and greasy meals could soon be on a food blacklist in the nation's schools.

For the first time, the government is proposing broad new standards to make sure all foods sold in schools are more healthful.

Under the new rules the Agriculture Department proposed Friday, foods like fatty chips, snack cakes, nachos and mozzarella sticks would be taken out of lunch lines and vending machines. In their place would be foods like baked chips, trail mix, diet sodas, lower-calorie sports drinks and low-fat hamburgers.

The rules, required under a child nutrition law passed by Congress in 2010, are part of the government's effort to combat childhood obesity. While many schools already have improved their lunch menus and vending machine choices, others still are selling high-fat, high-calorie foods.

Under the proposal, the Agriculture Department would set fat, calorie, sugar and sodium limits on almost all foods sold in schools. Current standards already regulate the nutritional content of school breakfasts and lunches that are subsidized by the federal government, but most lunchrooms also have "a la carte" lines that sell other foods. Food sold through vending machines and in other ways outside the lunchroom has never before been federally regulated.

"Parents and teachers work hard to instill healthy eating habits in our kids, and these efforts should be supported when kids walk through the schoolhouse door," Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said.

Most snacks sold in school would have to have less than 200 calories. Elementary and middle schools could sell only water, low-fat milk or 100 percent fruit or vegetable juice. High schools could sell some sports drinks, diet sodas and iced teas, but the calories would be limited. Drinks would be limited to 12-ounce portions in middle schools and to 8-ounce portions in elementary schools.

The standards will cover vending machines, the "a la carte" lunch lines, snack bars and any other foods regularly sold around school. They would not apply to in-school fundraisers or bake sales, though states have the power to regulate them. The new guidelines also would not apply to after-school concessions at school games or theater events, goodies brought from home for classroom celebrations, or anything students bring for their own personal consumption.

The new rules are the latest in a long list of changes designed to make foods served in schools more healthful and accessible. Nutritional guidelines for the subsidized lunches were revised last year and put in place last fall. The 2010 child nutrition law also provided more money for schools to serve free and reduced-cost lunches and required more meals to be served to hungry kids.

Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, has been working for two decades to take junk foods out of schools. He calls the availability of unhealthful foods around campus a "loophole" that undermines the taxpayer money that helps pay for the healthier subsidized lunches.

"USDA's proposed nutrition standards are a critical step in closing that loophole and in ensuring that our schools are places that nurture not just the minds of American children but their bodies as well," Harkin said.

Last year's rules faced criticism from some conservatives, including some Republicans in Congress, who said the government shouldn't be telling kids what to eat. Mindful of that backlash, the Agriculture Department exempted in-school fundraisers from federal regulation and proposed different options for some parts of the rule, including the calorie limits for drinks in high schools, which would be limited to either 60 calories or 75 calories in a 12-ounce portion.

The department also has shown a willingness to work with schools to resolve complaints that some new requirements are hard to meet. Last year, for example, the government relaxed some limits on meats and grains in subsidized lunches after school nutritionists said they weren't working.

Schools, the food industry, interest groups and other critics or supporters of the new proposal will have 60 days to comment and suggest changes. A final rule could be in place as soon as the 2014 school year.

Margo Wootan, a nutrition lobbyist for the Center for Science in the Public Interest, said surveys by her organization show that most parents want changes in the lunchroom.

"Parents aren't going to have to worry that kids are using their lunch money to buy candy bars and a Gatorade instead of a healthy school lunch," she said.

The food industry has been onboard with many of the changes, and several companies worked with Congress on the child nutrition law two years ago. Major beverage companies have already agreed to take the most caloric sodas out of schools. But those same companies, including Coca-Cola and PepsiCo, also sell many of the non-soda options, like sports drinks, and have lobbied to keep them in vending machines.

A spokeswoman for the American Beverage Association, which represents the soda companies, says they already have greatly reduced the number of calories that kids are consuming at school by pulling out the high-calorie sodas.

___

Follow Mary Clare Jalonick on Twitter at http://twitter.com/mcjalonick

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Ala. Standoff: Police Mum About Talks With Suspect

As a police standoff with an Alabama man accused of holding a 5-year-old boy hostage in an underground bunker entered its fifth day, authorities were saying little except that their talks with the 65-year-old loner were continuing through a ventilation pipe.

Negotiators were still trying late Friday to persuade Jimmy Lee Dykes to surrender. Police have said they believe the Vietnam-era veteran fatally shot a school bus driver on Tuesday, and then abducted the boy from the bus and disappeared into the home-made bunker.

While police were mostly staying mum about the delicate negotiations, it fell to neighbors to fill in the blanks about Dykes, described by some as a menacing figure who held anti-government views.

One of Dykes' next-door neighbors said the suspect spent two or three months constructing the bunker, digging several feet into the ground and then building a structure of lumber and plywood, which he covered with sand and dirt.

Neighbor Michael Creel said Dykes put the plastic pipe underground from the bunker to the end of his driveway so he could hear if anyone drove up to his gate. When Dykes finished the shelter a year or so ago, he invited Creel to see it — and he did.

"He was bragging about it. He said, 'Come check it out," Creel said.

He said he believes Dykes' goal with the standoff is to publicize his political beliefs.

Alabama Hostage Standoff: Who Is Jimmy Lee Dykes? Watch Video

Alabama Boy Held Hostage in Underground Bunker Watch Video

Alabama Hostage Standoff: Boy, 5, Held Captive in Bunker Watch Video

"I believe he wants to rant and rave about politics and government," Creel said. "He's very concerned about his property. He doesn't want his stuff messed with."

Police have used a ventilation pipe to the bunker to talk to the man and deliver the boy medication for his emotional disorders, but they have not revealed how often they are in touch or what the conversations have been about. Authorities waited until Friday to confirm the suspect's identity.

While much of what is going on inside the bunker remains a mystery, local officials who have spoken to police or the boy's family have described a small room with food, electricity and a TV. And while the boy has his medication, an official also said he has been crying for his parents.

Meanwhile, Midland City residents held out hope that the standoff would end safely and mourned for the slain bus driver and his family. Candlelight vigils have been held nightly at a gazebo in front of City Hall. Residents prayed, sang songs such as "Amazing Grace" and nailed homemade wooden crosses on the gazebo's railings alongside signs that read: "We are praying for you."

"We're doing any little thing that helps show support for him," said 15-year-old Taylor Edwards said.

Former hostage negotiators said authorities must be cautious and patient as long as they are confident that the boy is unharmed. Ex-FBI hostage negotiator Clint Van Zandt advised against any drastic measures such as cutting the electricity or putting sleeping gas inside the bunker because it could agitate Dykes.

The negotiator should try to ease Dykes' anxieties over what will happen when the standoff ends, and refer to both the boy and Dykes by their first names, he said.

"I want to give him a reason to come out," Van Zandt said,

Police seemed to be following that pattern. At a brief news conference to release a photo of Dykes, they brushed off any questions about possible charges.

"It's way too early for that," said Kevin Cook, a spokesman for the Alabama state troopers.

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