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Hundreds demonstrate for women’s rights at state Capitol, 31 arrested

Thirty-one women’s rights demonstrators were arrested Saturday in a state Capitol protest that drew hundreds of people and a police response including officers in riot gear.

The rally was the latest held in opposition to contentious General Assembly bills that have drawn attention far beyond the state, including a measure that would require women to undergo a transabdominal ultrasound before having an abortion.

Some protesters, wearing red armbands and holding signs that included “Gov. McDonnell get out of my vagina,” urged the governor to reject the legislation, which is headed to his desk.

Capt. Raymond J. Goodloe of the Division of Capitol Police said 17 women and 14 men were arrested, though representatives of groups involved with the event said they believed more were taken into custody. Goodloe did not have a breakdown on charges, but said those arrested were likely accused of either trespassing or unlawful assembly, both misdemeanors.

Brief by the Richmond Times-Dispatch

Richmond budget to include ballpark money

Richmond Mayor Dwight C. Jones wants to use savings on old debt to pay for the city’s share of financing a new baseball stadium on North Boulevard.

The stadium financing plan is part of the mayor’s ambitious package of priorities for using $62.1 million from repayment of the city’s loan to the Richmond Metropolitan Authority in 1966 to pay off debts, build reserves and jump-start priorities in the 2012-2013 budget he will present to the City Council on Tuesday.

As part of the plan, Jones wants to pay off $26.1 million in debt that carries an average interest rate of 5 percent and then issue $36 million in new debt at an interest rate of 3 percent.

The difference would allow Richmond to save $1.5 million a year for its share of debt service on a $50 million stadium it proposes to build with the Richmond Flying Squirrels and the counties of Henrico and Chesterfield.

“When it’s time to play ball, we want to be ready to step to the plate,” Jones said Friday in a news conference at City Hall to preview his budget proposal.

Brief by the Richmond Times-Dispatch

Virginia Tech civil trial in April 16th tragedy set to begin Monday

The civil action brought by the families of April 16th victims Julia Pryde and Erin Peterson is set to begin Monday morning in Montgomery County circuit court.

In anticipation that it might be harder to select a jury, the court summoned approximately 90 people to report to the courthouse as part of a pool where attorneys for both sides will select a jury panel of seven and two alternates.

The trial could last two weeks.

The families of Pryde and Peterson are suing the commonwealth over the way Virginia Tech officials handled the response to the April 16th massacre at Norris Hall, alleging the university bungled its response to the first set of shootings that morning at West Ambler Johnston Hall.

Brief by the Richmond Times-Dispatch

Syrian forces renew attacks as Red Cross seeks access

Syrian forces launched a fresh assault on Homs on Saturday as the Red Cross pressed forward with efforts to deliver badly needed aid to thousands of people stranded in a besieged neighborhood despite warnings from regime troops of land mines and booby traps.

Two days after they fought their way into the rebel stronghold of Baba Amr, government forces shelled several other neighborhoods of the city, the country’s third-largest with about 1 million people. They included districts where many of Baba Amr’s residents had fled, activists said.

Conditions in Baba Amr are believed to be dire, with extended power outages, shortages of food and water, and lack of medical care. The Red Cross said the regime blocked its entry to Baba Amr on Friday.

“We are still in negotiations to enter Baba Amr,” ICRC spokesman Hicham Hassan said Saturday in Geneva.

The Syrians said they were not letting the Red Cross into Baba Amr because of safety concerns, including land mines, Hassan said, adding that the organization had not been able to verify the danger. The government has not offered an official explanation.

Brief by the Associated Press

Limbaugh apologizes to student for insult

Conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh apologized Saturday to a Georgetown University law student he had branded a “slut” and “prostitute” after fellow Republicans as well as Democrats criticized him and several advertisers left his program.

The student, Sandra Fluke, had testified to congressional Democrats in support of their national health care policy that would compel her college to offer health plans that cover her birth control.

“My choice of words was not the best, and in the attempt to be humorous, I created a national stir,” Limbaugh said on his website. “I sincerely apologize to Ms. Fluke for the insulting word choices.”

Fluke said earlier that she anticipated criticism but not personal attacks from prominent pundits including Limbaugh, and from hundreds of people who have typed even more offensive slurs on Twitter.

“I understood that I’m stepping into the public eye,” said Fluke, 30. “But this reaction is so out of the bounds of acceptable discourse. ... These types of words shouldn’t be applied to anyone.”

Brief by the Associated Press

Environmental damages remain issue after BP deal

BP’s settlement with plaintiffs suing the company over the 2010 oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico may address harm to individuals and businesses, but there is nothing in it that compensates the public for damage to its natural resources and environment, the Justice Department said Saturday.

That’s a potentially critical issue because a separate victims’ claims fund that was set up months after the Deepwater Horizon rig explosion was also meant to cover environmental damages, but it’s now expected to be used to cover the BP settlement with plaintiffs. BP said it expects to pay out $7.8 billion in the settlement with the plaintiffs that was announced Friday.

Brief by the Associated Press

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