Briefs

LOCAL & VCU

Chesterfield gas pump fire blamed on static electricity

Static electricity sparked a flash fire Tuesday that burned a 10-year-old boy and his mother after they filled their tank at a service station in Chesterfield County, authorities said.

The boy was reported in critical condition last night at VCU Medical Center with burns to his face and torso. His mother suffered less severe burns, apparently to her hands, and was listed in stable condition, Chesterfield fire Capt. Keith Chambers said.

Chesterfield authorities would not release the victims’ identities.

Brief by the Richmond Times-Dispatch

Henrico man convicted of sexually assaulting his daughters

A 48-year-old Henrico County father of four pleaded guilty Tuesday night to sexually assaulting two of his daughters over a span of some 20 years.

In a rare after-hours hearing dominated by more than an hour of testimony from the man’s grown daughter, Judge Gary A. Hicks of Henrico Circuit Court found the man guilty of four counts of aggravated sexual battery against each of two daughters, the younger of whom is now 13. His sentencing is set for May 21.

Brief by the Richmond Times-Dispatch

Two arrested in Henrico in marijuana operation

Henrico County police have discovered a homegrown marijuana operation and arrested an adult couple living there. Javier Alberto Ramos, 36, and Sharon Rideout Nicholas, 35, were arrested at their home Monday night in the 9600 block of Electra Lane off Woodman Road.

A search turned up a gun registered to Nicholas, a pound of cut marijuana and 42 plants, police said. Two children of the couple, boys 1 and 4 years old, are under the care of Child Protective Services.

Charges include possession of a firearm, possession of a controlled substance, drug distribution, conspiracy and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

Brief by the Richmond Times-Dispatch

5 displaced in South Richmond house fire

No injuries were reported, but five people were displaced by a house fire early Wednesday in South Richmond. The fire was reported at 12:30 a.m. in the 1200 block of Richeson Avenue, immediately northeast of the McGuire Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

The first firefighters on the scene found a frame cape with heavy smoke and fire in the second floor. Additional units were summoned, and the fire was declared under control at 1:08 a.m., Lt. Shawn Jones said.

The cause of the fire is under investigation, Jones said.

Brief by the Richmond Times-Dispatch

NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL

Obama tells nation: ‘We are not quitters’

To a nation reeling from recession and facing long-festering problems, President Barack Obama had a simple reminder: “We are not quitters.”

Whatever the problems, the new president promised in the first prime-time speech of his term, “We will rebuild, we will recover and the United States of America will emerge stronger than before.”

Standing before a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night, Obama optimistically sketched an agenda that began with jobs, then broadened quickly to include a stable credit system, better schools, health care reform, reliable domestic sources of energy and an end to the war in Iraq. Specifics will follow, he said, although he conceded more billions might be necessary to stabilize the banking system.

The president drew loud cheers as he made his way down the center aisle, again when he stood, alone, at the podium to speak, and several more times in an address delivered in a hall packed with lawmakers, members of his administration, Supreme Court justices and diplomats.

Brief by The Associated Press

7 wounded by gunfire on Mardi Gras parade route

The shootings of seven people, including a toddler, marred Fat Tuesday partying as ear-piercing gunfire sent revelers ducking for cover and brought Mardi Gras’ final stream of truck floats to a halt.

The 20-month-old child was grazed by a bullet and was not seriously injured. Two suspects were in custody, police said.

Gunshots erupted near the Garden District about 1:40 p.m. as a stream of truck floats passed by after the last major parade, Rex, had ended. Thousands of people partied in the streets on the last day of Carnival before the violence broke out along the oak-lined Uptown streetcar line.

Police spokesman Bob Young said the victims – three men ages 50, 33 and 20, two young women ages 20 and 17, and a 15-year-old boy – were taken to area hospitals.

Brief by The Associated Press

Pakistan court bars opposition leader from office

Pakistan’s Supreme Court barred opposition leader Nawaz Sharif from elected office Wednesday, casting the country into political turmoil just as its government struggles against rising Islamist militancy.

The court also upheld a challenge against the election of Sharif’s brother, Shahbaz Sharif, to a seat in the Punjab Assembly, meaning he cannot continue as head of the provincial government in the country’s most populous and wealthy region.

The court was hearing appeals against a ruling barring Sharif from contesting elections because of a prior criminal conviction. The judges were also considering allegations of irregularities in Shahbaz’s election to the provincial parliament.

The long-awaited decision exposed the growing rift between Sharif, widely considered the country’s most popular politician and head of its largest opposition grouping, and the pro-Western coalition government under President Asif Ali Zardari.

Brief by The Associated Press