Briefs

VCU & LOCAL

Officials endorse Woody for sheriff

Two state senators and a former mayor today endorsed Richmond Sheriff C.T. Woody Jr. in his run for a second term. Voicing support for Woody this morning at the Capitol were Sens. Henry L. Marsh III, D-Richmond, and A. Donald McEachin, D-Henrico, along with former Richmond Mayor Walter T. Kenney Sr.

McEachin said Woody is “second to none” when it comes to protecting residents of the Richmond metro area. Marsh said Woody has faced the challenge of an overcrowded jail and showed concern for prisoners after they are released from jail.

Woody is running against Henrico County sheriff’s Maj. Antionette V. Irving.

Brief by the Richmond Times-Dispatch

Man receives 27.5 years in sisters death

An 18-year-old Virginia man has been sentenced 27-and-a-half years in prison for the 2007 killing of his sister, her attempted rape and a sledgehammer attack on his niece. Spotsylvania Circuit Judge David H. Beck sentenced Walter Leon Smith Jr. yesterday.

In a plea agreement, he was convicted in January of second-degree murder in the death of Betsy Mary Smith and other charges. Smith was originally charged with first-degree murder.

The 2-year-old niece has recovered from the attack.

Brief by the Richmond Times-Dispatch

NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL

Crew retakes pirated US ship

The American crew of a hijacked U.S.-flagged cargo ship retook the vessel Wednesday from the Somali pirates who seized it far off the Horn of Africa, Pentagon officials said.

Capt. Joseph Murphy, an instructor at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy, told The Associated Press that he was called by the Department of Defense and told the crew, including his son Shane, the second in command, had regained control.

At a noon news conference, Maersk Line Ltd. CEO John Reinhart said that the company was working to contact families of the crew.

A U.S. official said the crew had retaken control and had one pirate in custody.

Brief by The Associated Press

Obama looks at climate engineering

The president’s new science adviser said Wednesday that global warming is so dire the Obama administration is discussing radical technologies to cool Earth’s air.

John Holdren told The Associated Press in his first interview since being confirmed last month that the idea of geoengineering the climate is being discussed. One such extreme option includes shooting pollution particles into the upper atmosphere to reflect the sun’s rays. Holdren said such an experimental measure would only be used as a last resort.

Brief by The Associated Press

Italy quake death toll reported at 267

Rescue teams Wednesday pulled more bodies from the buildings shattered by a deadly earthquake in central Italy and Pope Benedict XVI said he would visit the shocked and injured people of the area as soon as possible.

The death toll has reached 267, the ANSA and Apcom news agencies reported, citing police. That is up from the 260 announced earlier in the day by Premier Silvio Berlusconi, who said 16 of the dead were children. He also said 100 injured survivors were in serious condition. Officials had said the toll was being revised upward to reflect the recovery of new bodies.

Officials have already begun discussing rebuilding the fallen region and reopening schools, although they stressed it would take a month or two to have a clear idea of the scope of the damage.

Brief by The Associated Press

Ten men arrested in terror raids

Ten men have been arrested as part of a counter-terrorism operation across the Northwest of England. The BBC has learned officers in the Cheetham Hill area of Manchester are raiding addresses. Counter-terrorism officers also targeted a building at Liverpool, John Moores University and a guesthouse in Clitheroe, Lancashire.

Officers from the North West Counter-Terrorism Unit carried out the raids with support from other forces. Merseyside Police, Greater Manchester Police and Lancashire Constabulary are helping carry out the series of raids, which were launched on Wednesday afternoon.

Brief by bbcnews.com

Rare Jewish ritual performed Wednesday

Devout Jews around the world on Wednesday observed a ritual performed only once every 28 years, saying their morning prayers under the open sky in a ceremony called the “blessing of the sun.”

Tens of thousands of worshippers stood next to the Western Wall in

Jerusalem’s walled Old City, the holiest site where Jews can pray. Hundreds headed to the ancient desert fortress of Masada, while others prayed on the roof of a Tel Aviv high-rise and congregated on roadsides.

Brief by The Associated Press