Associated Press, Published: January 29 Those efforts to fight obesity in schools? Think younger. A new study finds that much of a child’s “weight fate” is set by age 5, and that nearly half of kids who became obese by the eighth grade were already overweight when they started kindergarten. The prevalence of weight problems has long been known — about a third of U.S. kids are overweight or obese.

President Obama's State of the Union address Tuesday night got the headlines, but few of his proposals will pass and most would make inequality worse by hurting economic growth. The bigger news this week turns out to be in Congress, where House Republicans seem poised for a political breakout on immigration. Speaker John Boehner plans to unveil a general set of immigration reform principles when the House GOP holds its annual retreat Thursday. Some on the right are trying to scare House Republicans into ducking back into their Mitt Romney self-deportation crouch.

MANAGUA, Nicaragua (AP) — Nicaragua's congress has approved a military reform that allows President Daniel Ortega's military chief of staff to remain in his post indefinitely and lets the army take a larger role in the economy. It further concentrates power in hands of the longtime president and his allies. Ortega helped lead the 1970s uprising against dictator Anastasio Somoza, and since returning to the presidency has engineered a series of legal changes allowing him to remain in power indefinitely.

Immigration, John Boehner Immigration, Mario Diaz-Balart Immigration, Latino Voices News . WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republican leaders plan to outline broad immigration principles, including legalization for the 11 million immigrants living here illegally, to the GOP rank and file as they look to revive long-stalled efforts to overhaul the nation's immigration system. Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and other House GOP leaders will measure the willingness of party members to tackle immigration in a midterm election year when they unveil the principles Thursday at the G

Kansas legislator Allan Rothlisberg wants to make sure citizens know exactly how much of their tax money is going toward educating undocumented children. Rothlisberg, a Republican representative from Grandview Plaza, filed a bill Tuesday that would force school districts to request proof of American citizenship from students through documents like birth certificates and social security cards. After requesting such documents, the bill would have school districts submit a report to the state on the number of undocumented students they enroll.

McDonald's Corp. MCD +0.55% Chief Executive Don Thompson said that the fast-food chain has lost relevance with some customers and needs to improve its menu offerings and provide better value. On Thursday, McDonald's reported flat sales and earnings for the fourth quarter. Same-store sales slipped 0.1%—marking a second quarterly decline in 2013—weighed down in part by a steeper-than-expected 3.8% drop during December in the U.S., McDonald's biggest market. After nearly a decade of outperforming other restaurant companies, McDonald's has struggled lately.

Immigrant rights advocates have initiated a campaign on social media to denounce what they say are racial disparities that exist in U.S. immigration policy. They began using the hashtag #Undeportable to post selfies with fake blonde hair and blue eyes. They’re doing it as a way to protest what they believe is preferential treatment that’s given to white immigrants over immigrants of color. The campaign kicked off last week almost immediately after Canadian singer Justin Bieber was arrested for street racing and was later released on a $2,500 bond.

HAVANA (AP) — The secretary-general of the Organization of American States arrived in Cuba on Monday to attend a regional summit, in an unusual encounter 52 years after Cuba was kicked out of the regional bloc. Jose Miguel Insulza, a Chilean, was attending as an observer, so there was no official access to his arrival as was the case with visiting foreign ministers and heads of state.

President Barack Obama devoted only a short portion of his speech to immigration, one of his top policy priorities in 2013. The reason for his brevity could be that the politics surrounding the issue are currently more delicate than ever. House Republicans plan to release priorities for reform as soon as this week, and it's a bad time to antagonize them. It's viewed as better, for now, to let the House GOP have its space to work. Instead, Obama focused on the positive, saying "members of both parties in the House want to" address immigration reform this year and urging them to do it.

The Affordable Care Act is meant to expand access to affordable health care coverage, but the law excludes one group from benefiting: the nearly 12 million undocumented immigrants currently living in the United States. Under the federal health care law, undocumented immigrants are not eligible for any assistance. For example, they are excluded from getting federal subsidies to buy health insurance, and they cannot shop for coverage in the health insurance marketplace. U.S.