BRAZIL LOWERS ZIKA ESTIMATES

rio de janeiro » New figures releasedWednesday by Brazil’s Health Ministry as part of a probe into the Zika virus have found fewer confirmed cases of a rare brain defect than first feared.

So far, only 270 of 4,180 suspected cases have been confirmed as microcephaly, with the brain damage associated with the defect ruled out in 462 cases. Researchers are still studying 3,448 of the cases, which were recorded from Oct. 22

Brazilian officials still say they believe there’s a sharp increase in cases of microcephaly and strongly suspect that the Zika virus, which appeared in the country last year, is to

Navy intel chief can’t see secrets B »

washington For more than two years, the Navy’s intelligence chief has been stuck with a major handicap: He’s not allowed to know any secrets.

Vice Adm. Ted “Twig” Branch has been barred from reading, seeing or hearing classified information since November 2013, when the Navy learned from the Justice Department that his name had surfaced in a giant corruption investigation involving a foreign defense contractor and scores of Navy