NEWS OF THE DAY
1 Dr. Oz fights back: Dr. Mehmet Oz says last week’s letter from 10 doctors who accused him of promoting “quack treatments” on his TV show was spurred by his support of labeling for genetically modified foods — a position he says some if not all of those accusers oppose. Oz devoted a portion of Thursday’s show to his response to what he called “a brazen letter” sent to Columbia University, where he is vice chairman of the surgery department and performs heart surgery at Columbia’s affiliated hospital. The letter urged the university to remove him from its faculty. Oz said the letter was meant to silence him and vowed, “We will not be silenced.”
2 Hinckley’s release: If the man who shot President Ronald Reagan is allowed to leave a mental hospital for good, he should have to live under strict conditions, wearing an ankle monitoring device and driving a car with a GPS tracking device, government lawyers said Thursday. Lawyers were discussing potential conditions during the second day of a multiday hearing on whether John Hinckley Jr. should be allowed to live full time with his mother in Virginia. Hinckley’s attorney, Barry Levine, said Wednesday on the first day of hearings that Hinckley is “clinically ready” to live permanently outside the hospital, a position supported by his treatment team.
3 More listeria found: A second ice cream company has shut down production this week after health officials found listeria in a sample of its frozen treats. Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams of Ohio said on its website that it recalled its frozen products. The action follows a similar action by Texas’ Blue Bell Creameries on Monday. Blue Bell’s ice cream was linked to 10 listeria illnesses in four states and three deaths. It wasn’t immediately clear if the recalls are connected. The Nebraska Department of Agriculture found listeria in Jeni’s ice cream it collected at a Whole Foods in Lincoln, Neb.
_ Moose on the loose: Wildlife officials have wrangled a moose that meandered through a park in Idaho’s largest city, the second sighting of the animal captured last year in Boise. The 400- pound young female moose snacked on leaves and lay down in the shade Thursday in the park on the north side of Boise before authorities tranquilized and captured it. The Idaho Department of Fish and Game says wildlife officials moved the same moose out of Boise in June, dropping it off about an hour north. This time, officials will release the moose about two hours north of Boise.
_ Charges dropped: Louisiana authorities on Thursday dismissed weapons charges against real estate heir Robert Durst, who faces a murder charge in Los Angeles, as federal authorities moved forward with their case against him. Orleans Parish District Leon A. Cannizzaro Jr., who is working closely with federal prosecutors, decided to dismiss two state gun charges against Durst: possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a firearm with a controlled substance.