In the news

WORLD

KIEV, Ukraine – Thousands of flag-waving supporters of Ukraine’s prime minister set up camp near the parliament building Tuesday to protest a decision by the pro-Western president to dissolve the legislative body and call for early elections.

The two leaders, whose rivalry dates to the 2004 Orange Revolution that swept President Viktor Yushchenko to power, met in Yushchenko’s office for a four-hour talk to try to resolve the standoff – the most serious political crisis in Ukraine in years.

Yushchenko stood by his order Monday dissolving Ukraine’s parliament and calling for elections, and appealed for support from foreign ambassadors, law enforcement officials and governors as hundreds of his supporters set up their own tents on Independence Square.

Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych said the majority coalition in the 450-seat legislature would continue meeting until the Constitutional Court rules on the validity of Yushchenko’s order.

The crisis, which has been building for months, followed the breakdown of an awkward power-sharing agreement between the president and the prime minister, who is supported by Russia.

Under that pact, which was reached in August, Yushchenko accepted Yanukovych’s return as prime minister in exchange for guarantees he would support the president’s domestic and foreign policies. Yushchenko has since accused Yanukovych of violating that agreement.

NATION

ATLANTA – A woman was killed and a man was critically wounded by a shooting Tuesday inside the building complex that houses CNN’s headquarters. Police described the incident as a “domestic situation.”

A man and a woman were involved in an argument near the main entrance of the complex when the man pulled a gun and shot the woman. Then, the armed man was shot by a CNN security guard responding to the scene, said Atlanta Police Officer James Polite.

Police said the man and woman had a “prior relationship.”

One of the people transported to Grady Hospital was pronounced dead on arrival, hospital spokeswoman Denise Simpson said. Polite said it was the woman who died. The man was in critical condition at the hospital.

CNN reported that the offices of its Internet operations, CNN.com, were immediately evacuated. Video footage showed police pointing guns at a man lying on the ground at the bottom of the escalator going from CNN Center to the Omni Hotel’s lobby.

STATE & LOCAL

RICHMOND – The Virginia State Crime Commission is establishing a task force to study the effect of illegal immigration on the state’s criminal justice system.

The 16-member group will examine crimes by and against illegal immigrants in Virginia and tabulate the financial impact of those crimes.

“Our intent is to define the scope of the problem and try to define where we can be effective” in protecting citizens, said crime commission chairman Sen. Kenneth Stolle, R-Virginia Beach.

The task force members have not yet been selected, but will include representatives from law enforcement, the labor industry and immigrant communities, Stolle said.

The study by the task force could take a year or more to complete.

The number of illegal immigrants in the United States has been estimated at between 11.5 million and 12 million.

Based on 2005 population numbers, Virginia is home to about 250,000 to 300,000 illegal immigrants, according to a 2006 Pew Hispanic Center report.