Local Leads: 12/18/08

News you need to know

By CHARLIE BRAGALE

Updated 1:49 PM EST, Thu, Dec 18, 2008

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The following stories have been hand-selected by the Assignment Desk at News4

CREDIT CARD RATES
In the most sweeping changes to credit cards in decades, federal regulators on Thursday approved new rules to crack down on so-called unfair and deceptive practices by card issuers, such as raising interest rates on existing debt.
(USAToday)

GOUCHER UNIVERSITY DATE RAPE WARNING
Goucher College President Sanford J. Ungar has sent an e-mail to nearly 1,500 undergraduate students at the private liberal arts college in Towson, warning about allegations of a string of date rapes and urging any victims to come forward. Three "very serious allegations" of sexual assault both on and off campus were reported to the campus public safety office, and date-rape drugs may have been used in all of those cases, Ungar wrote in the message sent out Friday. (Baltimore Sun)

STAFFORD WHOOPING COUGH
A student at Winding Creek Elementary School may have pertussis, according to a Stafford County Public Schools letter sent to parents late last week. Pertussis, also known as whooping cough, is highly contagious. The child who may have been affected is a fifth-grader. (Stafford Co. Sun)

MIKA BRZEZINSKI ROBBED
Washington Mayor Adrian Fenty was confronted face-to-face Thursday with some of the district's crime problems, when it turned out the host of the morning talk show he appeared on had been mugged in the city an hour earlier. MSNBC's Mika Brzezinski was mugged outside a well-known Washington hotel while waiting for a car to pick her up for the 6 a.m. broadcast of the show she co-hosts with Joe Scarborough, "Morning Joe." (Washington Times)

EL POLLO RICO OWNER SENTENCED
The owner of Wheaton restaurant El Pollo Rico was sentenced to three years in federal prison yesterday for conspiring to harbor illegal immigrants, launder money and evade business financial reporting requirements, according to the Maryland U.S. attorney's office. U.S. District Judge Roger W. Titus also ordered Francisco C. Solano, 57, to forfeit $7.2 million worth of illegal gains According to his guilty plea, Solano, who lives in Germantown, employed illegal immigrants from January 1999 through July of last year. (Baltimore Sun)

PRINCE GEORGES COUNTY FURLOUGH SUIT
Five labor unions representing 5,900 furloughed Prince George's County employees are suing the county government, alleging that the order for them to take 10 days of unpaid leave is unnecessary and violates labor agreements. (Gazette)

SALVATION ARMY ONLINE RED KETTLE
The Salvation Army is going online in a effort to raise money for needy families in Montgomery County during the holiday season. The online donation program has been added to the Salvation Army's traditional red kettle bell ringers as the effects of the nationwide economic crisis make themselves felt in Montgomery County, said Capt. Michael Rojas, who leads the county's Germantown headquarters. (Gazette)

NON-PROFITS DONATIONS DOWN
While on the surface the Christmas season looks the same as ever-brightly lit shops filled with exciting looking goods along with the traditional holiday sights and sounds-many in the county are facing a far gloomier outlook.Foreclosures, company closings and job losses are all conspiring to make life supremely strained for many residents, as well as for those who work each year to provide for the basic needs of others-food, shelter, clothing and health care. (Leesburg Today)

FIRST DOGS EXHIBIT
The Newseum’s latest exhibit featuring the history of our country’s “First Dogs” has been a big hit with visitors.
Although the Newseum hosts 250,000 square feet of interactive experiences, the recently opened small hallway display is attracting large crowds. The Newseum is located at 555 Pennsylvania Ave. in Washington, D.C. (Stafford Co. Sun)