Washington, D.C.

Presidential primary has virtually no clout

The District of Columbia gets the first crack at presidential preference among Democrats, but its contest today will have little bearing on the selection of delegates needed to capture the nomination.

Against the national Democratic Party’s wishes, organizers moved the primary up from its usual date in May to bring more attention to the city’s lack of full voting rights in Congress. Washington residents pay federal taxes but are not represented in the Senate and have a limited vote in the House.

Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio, former Illinois Sen. Carol Moseley Braun, the Rev. Al Sharpton and former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean are the only candidates on the ballot.

Chicago

Walking’s benefit shown for weight control

Overweight adults who are not on a diet need only a small amount of exercise — the equivalent of a half-hour of brisk walking per day — to prevent further weight gain, a study found.

Participants who got no exercise during the eight-month study gained an average of almost 2.5 pounds. But 73 percent of those who briskly walked 11 miles a week, or about 30 minutes a day, were able to maintain their weight or even lose a few pounds.

The study was led by Duke University researchers and involved 120 overweight or mildly obese adults who were instructed not to diet during the research. The findings appear in Monday’s Archives of Internal Medicine.

China

Third SARS case suspected

China’s third suspected SARS case emerged Monday when authorities confirmed the hospitalization of a 35-year-old man who, like the two others, lives in the southern province of Guangdong — a region under orders to move aggressively against the disease.

The disclosure comes as China struggles to prevent another outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome, the illness that spread from Guangdong last year, sickening thousands worldwide and hobbling the region’s economy.

The World Health Organization said it had been informed of the new suspected case, even as its medical detectives tested samples gathered in places frequented by the two other patients — a 32-year-old television producer and a 20-year-old waitress. The producer is the only confirmed case of the season.