Ravens take 7-0 lead over 49ers in Super Bowl

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Joe Flacco's 13-yard touchdown pass to Anquan Boldin gave the Baltimore Ravens a 7-0 lead over the San Francisco 49ers less than 4½ minutes into the Super Bowl on Sunday.

Ravens won the pregame coin toss and chose to defer until the second half. The kickoff went out of the end zone, so the 49ers began the game's first drive on their 20. But they were called for an illegal formation on the very first play, then needed to punt.

A good return by Jacoby Jones set up Baltimore near midfield, and they promptly drove 51 yards in six plays. Another 49ers penalty on third down at the 18 came right before Flacco's nice scoring pass over the middle to Boldin. Flacco was 3 of 4 for 41 yards on his team's opening possession.

The NFC champion 49ers (13-4-1) were seeking their record-tying sixth Super Bowl title — but first since 1995 — and brought in a 5-0 record from their previous appearances. Only the Pittsburgh Steelers have won six Super Bowls.

The AFC champion Ravens (13-6), a franchise that moved from Cleveland to Baltimore 17 years ago, also came in unbeaten in Super Bowls, albeit only 1-0, thanks to their championship in 2001, when linebacker Ray Lewis was voted the game's MVP.

All eyes were going to be on Lewis this time again, as he played his final game before retirement after a 17-year career that is expected to land him in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Lewis missed 10 games this season with a torn right triceps muscle — and spent two days in the past week dismissing a report that he had used, of all things, deer-antler spray to enhance his performance.

About 45 minutes before the opening kickoff, Lewis gathered his teammates in the end zone painted the Ravens' purple team color. As they encircled him, Lewis — large triangles of eye black covering his entire cheeks — delivered his usual rousing pregame speech, and other players whooped it up, too.

Not long after, 49ers linebacker Patrick Willis — who, like Lewis, wears No. 52 — delivered his own fiery words, surrounded by the rest of his team near the red, white and blue NFL shield logo at midfield.

It was the first Super Bowl coaching matchup between brothers: Baltimore's John Harbaugh is 15 months older than San Francisco's Jim Harbaugh.

Both starting quarterbacks were making their debut in the NFL championship game.

Indeed, 49ers QB Colin Kaepernick was making only his 10th start the NFL, having taken over the job after Alex Smith got a concussion during a game. Flacco, who led the Ravens past Denver's Peyton Manning and New England's Tom Brady for two of his league-record six career postseason road victories by a quarterback, was getting one last chance to impress before heading into an offseason that could land him a $20 million-per-year contract in free agency.

Before the game began, with 100 million or so Americans expected to tune in on TV, a chorus of 26 children from Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. — where 20 students and six adults were killed in a shooting rampage in December — sang "America the Beautiful," accompanied by "American Idol" alum Jennifer Hudson. Grammy winner Alicia Keys performed the national anthem.

This was the 10th time New Orleans hosted the big game — tying Miami for most in a city — and first since Hurricane Katrina devastated the Big Easy in August 2005.

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Follow Howard Fendrich on Twitter at http://twitter.com/HowardFendrich

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Country singer Gary Allan bests Grammy nominees for Billboard No. 1

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Country singer Gary Allan scored his first No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 chart on Wednesday, keeping Grammy-nominated favorites from the top spot.

Allan’s ninth studio album “Set You Free” sold 106,000 copies in its first week, according to figures from Nielsen SoundScan, garnering the singer his best sales week in his 17-year career.

The Billboard 200 is the album chart for all music genres.

Allan, 45, who is a staple within the country music scene, has notched three No. 1 albums in the Billboard country music chart.

The lead song from his new album “Every Storm (Runs Out of Rain)” started gaining chart popularity in September last year, and Allan’s label decided to push forward the release of the album from March of this year to January.

Allan told Reuters the song struck a chord among audiences with its message of hope. “This is a time when our country needs hope and I think that’s why it’s doing so well,” he said.

Allan’s album kept Grammy nominees The Lumineers at No. 2 with their debut self-titled record, which was released last April but has steadily been rising on the charts after the band picked up two Grammy nominations.

The official “2013 Grammy Nominees” compilation album, the only other new record in this week’s top 10, landed at No. 4 this week after selling 41,000 copies, coming behind the soundtrack for last year’s comedy “Pitch Perfect.”

Allan’s reign atop the Billboard 200 is likely to be short-lived, for Canadian pop phenomenon Justin Bieber’s latest album, “Believe Acoustic” is set to debut at the top next week, making Bieber the youngest artist to score five No. 1 albums.

On the Digital Songs chart, rapper Macklemore and Ryan Lewis’ “Thrift Shop” held onto the top spot for a third week, ahead of Taylor Swift’s “I Knew You Were Trouble” at No. 2 and Lil Wayne’s “Love Me” at No. 3.

Justin Timberlake’s “Suit & Tie,” his first new single in five years, dropped from No. 2 to No. 8 this week on the Digital Songs chart.

(Editing by Philip Barbara)

Music News Headlines – Yahoo! News

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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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Keys sings national anthem on piano at Super Bowl

Alicia Keys performed a lounge-y, piano-tinged — and live — version of the national anthem ahead of the Super Bowl on Sunday.

The Grammy-winning singer played the piano as she sang "The Star Spangled Banner" with her eyes shut. Her publicist said the performance was live, days after halftime performer Beyonce admitted singing along to a prerecorded track at the Inauguration.

Keys' version was soft and featured additional lyrics: She added "living in the home" before belting "home of the brave" as she finished the song.

Before Keys hit the field, Jennifer Hudson performed "America the Beautiful" with the 26-member Sandy Hook Elementary School chorus.

The students and Hudson wore green ribbons on their shirts in honor of the 20 first-graders and six adults who were killed in a Dec. 14 shooting rampage.

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Battle between Cubs, rooftop owners is best viewed from sidelines

From the Super Bowl to the sandlot, just as surely as players give 110 percent, the math of sports is always suspect.

Sports isn't like other businesses. What other investment becomes more attractive because of its unpredictability? Revenue can always be accounted for, but what of ego, pride, loyalty, stubbornness or even the microns that separate a catch from a muff?

In no other industry does a perennial also-ran continue to see its value increase.

That's why it's a mistake to get too wrapped up in the dispute between the wealthy Ricketts family that owns the Chicago Cubs and the owners of buildings adjacent to Wrigley Field who have turned their rooftops into garish, outsize extensions of the bleachers?

If it's just money, there's a price — and if there's a price, there's a solution to be worked out. If it's a game, the drama is best enjoyed with healthy detachment because logic may or may not dictate the outcome.

Like a hockey fight, one or both combatants will eventually run out of gas, then will be penalized with the loss of time and opportunity.

"What we are trying to do is resolve this right now," Jim Lourgos, one of the rooftop club owners, said recently during a visit to Tribune Tower. "If you're in court on something like this, my feeling has always been that by the time you're in court, you've already lost."

Unless, say, you're trying to run out the clock. But enough with the sports metaphors.

At the center of this dispute, for those late arrivals to this fight, is a nearly 99-year-old ballpark long overdue for a rehab. Wrigley must be brought into the 21st century, in the interest of the team but also all those who benefit from its standing as a tourist magnet, including those peddling rooftop seats.

The Ricketts family is said to finally have abandoned its quest for taxpayer help in funding the project.

It is true other sports franchises in town have received taxpayer help to build facilities that enrich their owners, but every bad idea has to end somewhere. This would at last be consistent with the philosophy of patriarch Joe Ricketts, who has said he considers it "a crime for our elected officials to borrow money today to spend money today and push the repayment of that loan out into the future on people who aren't even born yet."

Rather than hitting up the cash-strapped city and state, the Ricketts clan instead wants help in the form of concessions such as a relaxation of landmark restrictions and city ordinances that limit such matters as the number of night games and ads in the ballpark. They also want to turn one of the streets into a pedestrian mall.

The rooftop interests, which kick 17 percent of their revenue back to the Cubs as part of a nine-year-old settlement with the team, are terrified the loosened restrictions will result in their views of the ballpark being blocked by advertising signs.

Never mind that Wrigley Field itself has many seats with obstructed views, thanks to support posts.

The rooftoppers have offered to put advertising on their building facades with the money going to the team and city. And they think they have leverage via the 2004 contract they signed with then-Cubs owner Tribune Co. (Yes, that's the same Tribune Co. that owns the Chicago Tribune and still has a small piece of the ballclub.) They think they can parlay this into an extension of their current agreement with the team to 2023.

But the contract allows that "any expansion of Wrigley Field approved by governmental authorities shall not be a violation" of the deal, which means if Mayor Rahm Emanuel gets behind the Ricketts, look out.

Rooftop owners talk about the taxes they pay, the people they employ, the money they've invested to make their businesses safe and viable, the character they add to the neighborhood.

The basic argument, however, still seems a little like when your neighbor with the big-screen TV decides to start watching with the drapes closed on what's become movie night at your house. It's bad form to complain that they not only shouldn't shut the drapes but should open the window and turn up the volume so you and the people in your living room you've charged $1 a head can make out the dialogue better.

At the same time it's hard to sympathize with the Ricketts family, which invested $850 million to acquire the team and ballpark, effectively creating a family trust that's a tax-efficient structure for protecting and eventually distributing wealth across generations. It's not as though these people didn't know Wrigley Field was in need of work or the deals in place with the rooftop clubs. They ought to be able to come up with the cash to make this happen, with or without advertising.

That deal is really something, though. For example, the contract calls for the Cubs to help hype them in a variety of ways, advancing the argument that the rooftop clubs are part of the appeal of Wrigley.

There's a requirement that "WGN-TV will show and comment upon the Rooftops' facilities during the broadcasts of Cubs games and the Cubs will request other Cubs television broadcasting partners to do the same." There's also a mandate for the team to "include a discussion about the Rooftops on their tour of Wrigley Field" and to include stories positive about the Rooftops in The Vine Line," the team's publication.

What you won't read in The Vine Line is that this fight, like the ballpark itself, is a fight over something that may increasingly be quaint in the coming decades. The Los Angeles Dodgers last week announced a $7 billion, 25-year deal for their own cable channel, following the example of the New York Yankees, which already have their own.

With that kind of money coming in via television, the pressure to make money from ticket sales may be relieved somewhat, turning the stadiums into glorified studios. But that may be too logical for sports. For one thing, it assumes that player salaries won't escalate in response as owners ditch their budgets in order to get an edge that may or may not materialize.

That's the thing about sports. You never know how the numbers will add up.

philrosenthal@tribune.com

Twitter @phil_rosenthal

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More Northwestern football coming to Wrigley

After years of flirting, the Cubs and Northwestern will take their relationship to the next level Tuesday when they announce a broad partnership during a news conference at Wrigley Field.

A university source told the Tribune that while Wrigley will not be host to a football game in 2013, other NU teams (baseball, softball, soccer and lacrosse) might play some there this year.

And it's just a matter of time before NU football returns to Wrigley, given that the 2010 Northwestern-Illinois game was profitable for the Cubs and gave the Wildcats a huge marketing boost with ESPN's "College GameDay" in town.

NU athletic director Jim Phillips said after the 2010 game that there was "absolutely potential to do another. This was a wonderful event, it captured a national audience and from the responses I've received, there truly was a bowl-like atmosphere."

But the date and opponent of the next football game have yet to be determined and will depend on the pace of ballpark renovations. The cramped conditions of the 2010 game forced both teams' offenses to play to the same end zone.

Given that scheduling an October game could threaten a playoff schedule, the 2014 games to watch are against Iowa on Nov. 8 and Illinois on Nov. 29.

In 2015, Northwestern is host to Michigan on Nov. 14 and Michigan State on Nov. 21.

The NU source said that partnering with a famous brand and historic venue will help the school advance its theme as "Chicago's Big Ten Team."

And both sides believe the extensive partnership between a school and major sports franchise will be the first of its kind.

Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts is tight with Phillips and is a major supporter of NU sports.

In an October interview with the Tribune, Ricketts forecasted more football games at Wrigley, called the 2010 Illinois-NU game "one of the greatest days in Wrigley Field history" and said: "When I saw the Northwestern band on the field at halftime, I almost cried."

Phillips also has said he would look into scheduling games at Soldier Field, but Notre Dame and Illinois already have done that. (The Illini play Washington there Sept. 14.)

The NU source said the school favors Wrigley Field, calling it "unique."

tgreenstein@tribune.com

Twitter @TeddyGreenstein

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Hackers target Twitter, could affect 250,000 user accounts

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Anonymous hackers attacked Twitter this week and may have gained access to passwords and other information for as many as 250,000 user accounts, the microblog revealed late on Friday.

Twitter said in a blog post that the passwords were encrypted and that it had already reset them as a "precautionary measure," and that it was in the process of notifying affected users.

The blog post noted recent revelations of large-scale cyber attacks against the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, but unlike the two news organizations, Twitter did not provide any detail on the origin or methodology of the attacks.

"This attack was not the work of amateurs, and we do not believe it was an isolated incident," Twitter said. "The attackers were extremely sophisticated, and we believe other companies and organizations have also been recently similarly attacked."

Privately held Twitter, which has 200 million active monthly users, said it was working with government and federal law enforcement officials to track down the attackers.

The company did not specifically link the attacks to China in the blog post, in contrast to the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, which both said the hackers originated in China.

Twitter, the social network known for its 140-character messages, could not speculate on the origin of the attacks as its investigation was ongoing, said spokesman Jim Prosser.

"There is no evidence right now that would indicate that passwords were compromised," said Prosser.

The attack is not the first time that hackers have breached Twitter's systems and gained access to Twitter user information. Twitter signed a consent decree with the Federal Trade Commission in 2010, subjecting the company to 10 years of independent privacy reviews, for failing to safeguard users' personal information.

(Reporting by Alexei Oreskovic; Editing by Gary Hill and Lisa Shumaker)

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Parcells, Sapp, Carter among 7 Hall inductees

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Coach Bill Parcells, Warren Sapp, Cris Carter, Jonathan Ogden and Larry Allen were elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday.

The class of 2013 also included a pair of senior selections, Curley Culp and Dave Robinson. The announcement was made in New Orleans, site of Sunday's Super Bowl.

Five players failed to get in on the final vote: Jerome Bettis, Charles Haley, Andre Reed, Michael Strahan and Aeneas Williams.

Earlier Saturday, the selection committee eliminated Tim Brown, Kevin Greene, Will Shields and former owners Edward DeBartolo Jr. and Art Modell.

Parcells reversed the fortunes of four teams — New York Giants, New England Patriots, New York Jets and Dallas Cowboys — during 19 years as a head coach. He finished with a record of 172-130-1, leading the Giants to a pair of Super Bowl titles.

Parcells thought he might get in the previous year in tandem with one of his former players, Curtis Martin.

"It was a little less stressful than last year," Parcells said. "I was kind of hoping we could do it together, but as fate would have it, it didn't work out."

Giants president and CEO John Mara said Parcells' selection for the hall was "long overdue."

"He's one of the best coaches in NFL history," Mara said. "He turned our franchise around. We went through a long period in the 1960's and 70's when we were a laughingstock. When Bill took over in 1983, he survived a very difficult first year, but then turned us into a perennial playoff contender and won two Super Bowls for us. He coached three other teams and everywhere he went, he had great success."

Sapp got in on his first year of eligibility after playing 13 seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Oakland Raiders. He amassed 96½ career sacks despite playing on the interior of the defensive line, including double-digit sack totals in four seasons. He was the 1999 NFL Defensive Player of the Year after helping Tampa Bay claim its first division title in 18 years.

Carter played 16 seasons, becoming only the second player in NFL history to reach 1,000 receptions in a career. He caught at least 70 passes in 10 seasons, and totaled 130 touchdown receptions from 13 passers.

Allen played 203 games over 14 seasons, spending the bulk of his career with the Cowboys. He played every position on the offensive line except center and was a first-team All-Pro seven straight seasons.

Ogden spent a dozen seasons with the Baltimore Ravens, a lineman who led the way for Jamal Lewis to become just the fifth running back in NFL history to rush for 2,000 yards in a season. Ogden was a six-time All-Pro and was voted to 11 Pro Bowls.

Like Sapp, Allen and Ogden were first-year selections.

Ogden shared the moment with his family. He called his mother "first thing," and also told his 7-year-old son.

"He's real proud of his dad," Ogden said.

He watched nervously as the announcement was made on the Class of 2013.

"It's like going to the hospital with your wife to have a baby. You can't do anything about it," Ogden said. "You hear everybody say you're a first ballot for sure, but you never really know. A lot of good well deserving guys didn't get in on the first ballot."

Culp was a defensive stalwart for the Kansas City Chiefs in the 1960s and '70s, and also played for the Houston Oilers and Detroit Lions. He started at tackle in Kansas City's Super Bowl win over Vikings in 1970 and was selected to six Pro Bowls.

Robinson played on the great Green Bay Packers teams of the 1960s, starting at outside linebacker in coach Vince Lombardi's victories in the first two Super Bowls. He closed his 12-year career with the Washington Redskins.

___

Follow Paul Newberry on Twitter at www.twitter.com/pnewberry1963

___

Online: http://pro32.ap.org/super-bowl-watch and http://twitter.com/AP_NFL

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Mary Wells, singer of ‘My Guy,’ gets posthumous Rock Hall push

(Reuters) – Mary Wells, Motown Records‘ first female star who paved the way for the success of Diana Ross and The Supremes, shot to fame in the early 1960s only to fade away as a footnote of the longtime Detroit record label.

Now, some two decades after Wells’ death in 1992 at age 49, the singer who scored a No. 1 hit with “My Guy,” is receiving a push for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Peter Benjaminson, the author of the first Wells biography, “Mary Wells: The Tumultuous Story of Motown’s First Superstar,” has spearheaded the campaign for the singer, who he said has not received the recognition afforded to the likes of The Supremes or Martha and the Vandellas.

Benjaminson, 67, believes that aside from Wells’ merits as an R&B singer and as Motown’s first big female star, she deserves consideration as a pioneer who crossed the black-and-white racial divide in the United States.

“I think it’s unfair to have Mary, who set the path for so many superstars today, be excluded from an honor like this, which she should’ve gotten a long time ago,” Benjaminson told Reuters by phone from his home in New York’s Harlem neighborhood.

Wells was born into a broken household in Detroit in 1943 and contracted spinal meningitis and tuberculosis at a young age, which left her partially blind and deaf.

After graduating high school Wells set her sights on Berry Gordy, the founder of Motown, with a song she wrote herself, “Bye Bye Baby.”

“Gordy kept refusing (a meeting), but she kept persisting,” Benjaminson said. “Finally, he got so annoyed that he asked her to sing it right there … He was so impressed he signed her up the next day as a Motown singer.”

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“Bye Bye Baby,” rose to No. 45 on the Billboard Top 100 chart in 1960, a rare feat for a black, female singer, Benjaminson said.

“She really paved the way for the other women who came after, including Diana Ross,” Benjaminson said. “She showed how quickly a woman could rise on the charts with Motown.”

Wells was nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986 and 1987, but never made the cut for induction.

“I don’t know what happened in 1986 and 1987, but she’s certainly due the honor this late in the game,” he said.

Benjaminson is hoping first to get Wells inducted into the Legends Hall of Fame at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, a prominent historical venue for African-American musicians.

“I think that would help in getting her into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame,” said Benjaminson, who hopes his book may play a role in resurrecting Wells’ reputation.

Benjaminson has set up a Facebook page called “Induct Mary Wells into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame,” that urges fans to send letters to the foundation that runs the Cleveland, Ohio-based Hall of Fame (http://www.rockhall.com/).

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum was established in 1983 and has inducted some 700 performers, songwriters and record producers, chosen by some 600 artists, music historians and industry members.

After scoring other hits such as “You Beat Me to the Punch,” in 1962, Wells landed atop the chart for two weeks in 1964 with “My Guy,” her final Motown hit.

Wells left Motown at the height of her popularity over compensation issues and never found the same success again. She died in 1992 after a battle with throat cancer.

Benjaminson’s biography of Wells, published in November 2012, is his third book on Motown.

(Reporting by Kurt Anthony Krug in Detroit,; editing by Eric Kelsey, desking by G Crosse)

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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.

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

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