News in Brief:

The number of infants and toddlers living in poverty increased by 26 percent over the last decade, making that group the poorest segment of the population, according to a new General Accounting Office report.

The report says that in some cities and rural areas, more than 45 percent of all infants and toddlers live in poverty.

It also notes that large numbers of poor and "near poor'' young children have parents who are not native English-speakers, are unmarried, do not work, and do not have...