Local and VCU
Petersburg police investigate fatal shooting
Petersburg police are investigating the shooting death of a man who was discovered at about 9:30 Wednesday morning on the 600 block of Harrison Street. Details were not immediately available.
Police also reported that another person suffering from a gunshot wound arrived at Southside Regional Medical Center Wednesday at about 7:40 a.m. Esther Hyatt, a police spokeswoman, said she had no immediate information about whether the two shootings are related.
Brief by the Richmond Times-Dispatch
Kaine, Md., Del. governors back wind-power accord
The governors of Virginia, Maryland and Delaware have signed a memorandum of understanding to create a formal tri-state partnership for the deployment of offshore wind energy in the Middle Atlantic region.
Gov. Timothy M. Kaine said developing wind is consistent with the state’s energy plan.
The governor’s office said the partnership will build on the region’s significant wind resources.
The three-state plan, through its memorandum of understanding, is to focus on joining resources and information to bring offshore wind energy to the region.
The first tasks under the memorandum of understanding are to: Identify common transmission strategies for offshore wind energy development in the region, discuss ways to encourage sustainable demand for wind and pursue federal policies to advance regional wind power.
Brief by the Richmond Times-Dispatch
Richmond clinic offers H1N1 mist vaccine today
The Richmond Health District held a special H1N1 nasal mist vaccine clinic in downtown Richmond from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday.
Spokesman George Jones said the district has 1,400 doses of the mist vaccine available for walk-in customers in the priority groups who are approved to take it.
The H1N1 vaccine nasal spray is generally approved for healthy people from 2 through 49 years of age who are not pregnant and do not have certain health conditions that put them at risk.
It also is recommended for people from 25 to 49 years of age that live with or care for infants younger than 6 months of age, and for healthcare and emergency medical personnel.
It is not recommended for people with severe egg allergies, anyone with a weakened immune system, people with chronic health problems such as heart disease, asthma, diabetes, and kidney or liver disease.
Brief by the Richmond Times-Dispatch
National and International Salt Lake OKs gay rights laws with Mormon backing
The Mormon church for the first time has announced its support of gay rights legislation, an endorsement that helped gain unanimous approval for Salt Lake City laws banning discrimination against gays in housing and employment.
The Utah-based church’s support ahead of Tuesday night’s vote came despite its steadfast opposition to gay marriage, reflected in the high-profile role it played last year in California’s Proposition 8 ballot measure that barred such unions.
Passage made Salt Lake City the first Utah community to prohibit bias based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Under the two new ordinances, it is illegal to fire someone from their job or evict someone from their residence because they are lesbian, bisexual, gay or transgender.
Utah lawmakers tend to quickly fall in line when the influential church makes a rare foray into legislative politics. So Tuesday’s action could have broad effects in this highly conservative state where more than 80 percent of lawmakers and the governor are church members.
Brief by The Associated Press
Subway driver prayed after woman fell on tracks
The driver of a Boston subway train that stopped just inches short of a woman who had fallen onto the tracks said she expected the worst.
Charice Lewis told CBS’s “The Early Show” on Wednesday that she said to herself, “Please God, let this woman be OK” before getting out of her cab to check. Lewis said the woman just smiled at her.
Lewis got a call from fellow Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority employee Jacqueline Osorio, who was standing on the platform at North Station on Friday night when she saw the woman tumble. Osorio said the scene was “horrific.”
Both were recognized by the MBTA for their actions.
The woman who fell, Sophia Hartdegen, said in a statement that she was grateful to Lewis and all the people who helped her.
Brief by The Associated Press
Brazil blackouts hit up to 60M, spur Olympic fears
Brazil emerged Wednesday from a widespread power outage that plunged as many as 60 million people into darkness for hours, prompting security fears and concern from residents about another black eye for a country hosting the 2016 Olympic Games.
Power went out for more than two hours in Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and several other major cities after transmission problems knocked one of the world’s biggest hydroelectric dams offline. Airport operations were hindered and subways ground to a halt.
A group of muggers took advantage of the darkness to rob people en masse near Rio’s Maracana stadium, which will host the Olympics’ opening and closing ceremonies.
Police said crime did not rise in Rio and fell in Sao Paulo during the outage.
All of neighboring Paraguay also went dark, but for less than a half hour.
Brief by The Associated Press