Briefs

LOCAL & VCU

VCU student benefits from MS breakthrough

Tuesday on “The Early Show,” a Richmond man talked about a breakthrough new treatment for Multiple Sclerosis.

Dr. Richard Burt, the adult stem cell doctor at Northwestern University, has recently published results of a study on treating MS patients with their own adult stem cells.

Edwin McClure, a 24-year-old advertising student at VCU, was one of the patients treated. He says his neurologist referred him to the study after he’d tried “three different drugs over three years that were all pretty much ineffective.”

Before the study, he says, he had to give himself a shot every other day; nonetheless, fatigue, poor balance and dimmed vision limited his activities. Now, McClure says, he no longer has those problems or takes medications for MS.

Brief by WTVR.com

Virginia smoking ban

House of Delegates passed a measure that would curb smoking in restaurants

Monday in a 59-39 vote. Voting yes were 22 Republicans and 37 Democrats. Voting no were 31 Republicans, 6 Democrats and 2 Independents.

A yes vote means the legislator favors restricting smoking in restaurants and bars. Delegates are listed by name and hometown.

Brief by The Associated Press

Va congressional GOP boycotts huddle with Kaine

Gov. Tim Kaine asked Virginia’s members of Congress to come to Richmond to discuss the state’s federal stimulus package needs, but all five of the Commonwealth’s Republican Congressmen were absent.

Kaine, the new Democratic national chairman, appealed Monday to both senators and six House members all fellow Democrats to preserve as much education and discretionary cash for state governments as possible.

The $800 billion package is due for a U.S. Senate vote as early as Monday.

Brief by The Associated Press

Richmond Fed Hires Vice President of ResearchRichmond Fed Hires Vice President of Research

The Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond has hired Ann Battle Macheras as vice president of the regional division of the Research Department, which is based in Richmond.

As of Feb. 17, 2009 Macheras will oversee a professional staff engaged in research and analysis of regional economic conditions, advise bank leaders in this area and support regional outreach efforts. Director of Research John Weinberg said the position is important to the Bank’s strength in recognizing regional economic trends, as well as influencing public understanding of the bank’s work on behalf of America’s economy.

Brief by PRNewswire

NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL

Rescuers search for more victims of Okla twisters

Emergency crews Wednesday searched for more victims amid the wreckage of homes and businesses smashed by a cluster of tornadoes that killed at least eight people. Firefighters moved aside bricks and fallen walls as they sought to ensure there were no additional victims in Lone Grove, where all of the eight victims died Tuesday and 14 people were seriously injured, said Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management spokeswoman Michelann Ooten.

Brief by The Associated Press

20 dead in Afghan assaults

Taliban gunmen wearing suicide vests attacked three Afghan government buildings Wednesday in a coordinated assault that killed 20 people in the heart of Kabul. The attacks in a city dense with barricades and armed guards underscored the difficulty of fending off the Taliban even with abundant troops and weaponry. Five men armed with assault rifles and grenades attacked the Justice Ministry in late morning, shooting at workers and temporarily trapping the minister and scores of others inside, witnesses said. The gunmen appeared to hold the building for about two hours before Afghan security forces regained control about midday.

Brief by The Associated Press

Mugabe rival takes oath as Zimbabwe prime minister

President Robert Mugabe swore in his longtime rival Morgan Tsvangirai as prime minister Wednesday, cracking his nearly three-decade stranglehold on power and conceding they must work together to rescue Zimbabwe from economic and humanitarian disaster.

Tsvangirai has been beaten and was once nearly thrown from a 10th floor window by suspected government thugs. Tsvangirai acknowledged in a speech after the ceremony that many Zimbabweans don’t think the partnership will work, but he said it is the “only viable arrangement.” He promised to begin repairing the economy and healing the country’s other wounds.

Brief by The Associated Press

North Korea appears to be readying missile test

North Korea has been moving missile equipment to a launch pad in a further indication the country is taking steps toward test firing a long-range missile, a news report said Wednesday.

Pyongyang said late last month it would scrap all peace accords with Seoul and has periodically warned of war on the divided peninsula. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is scheduled to visit South Korea next week as part of an Asian trip and North Korea’s recent saber-rattling is seen at least partially as an attempt to grab the attention of President Barack Obama’s new administration.

Brief by The Associated Press