Nation briefs 5/11/16

Freddie Gray cop picks bench trial

BALTIMORE -- A police officer charged in the Freddie Gray case chose Tuesday to stand trial before a judge rather than a jury, eliminating a potential wild card in the emotionally charged case. Officer Edward Nero was one of three officers who arrested Gray when he made eye contact with one of them and ran in a high-crime area in April 2015. The officers took Gray, a 25-year-old black man, into custody, and he was placed in the back of a police van, where he was injured critically during a 45-minute trip to a nearby police station. He died a week later, sparking protests and fueling the Black Lives Matter movement, becoming a rallying cry in a national conversation about the treatment of black men by police. On the day of his funeral, rioting and looting broke out.

Long-term care costs climbing

Long-term care grew more expensive again this year, with the cost of the priciest option, a private nursing-home room, edging closer to $100,000 annually, according to a survey from Genworth Financial. Americans also are paying more for other care options such as home health aides and assisted-living communities, while adult day-care costs fell slightly compared to 2015, Genworth reported in a study released Tuesday. Private nursing-home rooms now come with a median annual bill of $92,378, an increase of 1.2 percent from last year and nearly 19 percent since 2011. That's roughly twice the rate of overall inflation and breaks down to a monthly bill of $7,698.

FDA to re-evaluate 'healthy' definition

NEW YORK -- The Food and Drug Administration will re-evaluate its definition of "healthy," which could change how a range of foods are marketed. In light of evolving research, the FDA said it believes "now is an opportune time to re-evaluate the regulations concerning nutrition content claims, generally, including the term 'healthy.'" The agency plans to solicit public comment on the matter in the near future, said Lauren Kotwicki, an FDA representative, in an email. The FDA allows use of the term "healthy" on packaging only when products meet certain nutrient criteria, which revolve largely around limited levels of fat, cholesterol and sodium. As such, it sent a warning letter last year the maker of Kind fruit-and-nut bars, saying the company's products should not be labeled as healthy because of their saturated-fat levels.

Facebook: Stories not suppressed

A Facebook official said the company has found no evidence to back allegations Facebook contractors suppressed stories of interest to conservatives in its "Trending" section. Facebook vice president of search Tom Stocky wrote: "There are rigorous guidelines in place for the review team to ensure consistency and neutrality," adding the guidelines don't permit political perspectives to be suppressed or one viewpoint or outlet to be prioritized over another. Stocky also said an allegation the site artificially forced the Black Lives Matter movement to trend is "untrue." Facebook responded to a Monday report from Gizmodo on claims from unnamed former Facebook contractors who worked as news curators.

-- From wire reports