The following stories have been hand-selected by the Assignment Desk at News4:
MIND THE GAP
(WASHINGTON POST)
"Michael Murphy has ridden Metro trains for a quarter-century - and he is an amateur hiker - but he said he's never had a scarier challenge than he did on Tuesday afternoon in ascending a Tenleytown Station escalator. Murphy, 51, arrived on a train from his job downtown with the American Sociological Association about 4:10 p.m. and found that two of the three escalators at the Tenleytown exit were out of service. The only functioning escalator was carrying customers down." A bit miffed but not surprised, Murphy, together with at least four other people, selected his route - the closest halted escalator - and started trudging up the long metal path. Huffing and puffing, they neared the top, Murphy recalled, only to be horrified at the obstacle that lay ahead.
CROWD APPLAUDS NEW CARDINALS
(WTOP)
"Pope Benedict XVI formally created 24 new cardinals on Saturday amid cheers in St. Peter's Basilica, bringing a mostly Italian group into the elite club that will eventually elect his successor. Speaking in Latin, Benedict read out each of the names of the new "princes of the church" at the start of the Mass, eliciting roaring applause from the pews and smiles from the cardinals themselves.
Wearing their new scarlet cassocks _ to signify their willingness to shed blood for the church _ the cardinals processed first into the basilica, waving to well-wishers as organ music thundered in a festive yet solemn atmosphere. The basilica was awash in red as some 150 cardinals from around the world came to Rome for the occasion of welcoming in their newest members."
GROUP OFFERS REWARD FOR FT. DETRICK TIPS
(FREDERICK NEWSPOST.COM)
"An organization trying to connect activities at Fort Detrick to cancer cases in the immediate area of the Army post is offering a reward to anyone who can prove tests conducted were done improperly. The Kristen Renee Foundation is offering $100,000 for proof that air, water or soil testing done at Fort Detrick did not comply with Environmental Protection Agency standards or that pertinent documents were altered or destroyed. "It must be documented proof," foundation spokeswoman Susie Funk said Friday. "We want witness testimony that is substantiated. Anything that will hold up." The foundation was started by Florida pastor Randy White in 2008 after his daughter Kristen Renee White, who grew up near Fort Detrick, died of brain cancer. "
ARLINGTON STUDENTS GET IPADS
(WASHINGTON EXAMINER)
"Arlington Public Schools will use a $70,000 donation to buy more iPads for its elementary school and career center students.
The Children’s Fund of Metropolitan Washington gave the school system the grant to support the Virginia Department of Education’s “Beyond Textbooks” initiative, which stresses digital technology in the classroom. The district will buy 120 iPads to be shared among students at Barret, Carlin Springs and Randolph elementary schools and the Arlington Career Center — schools chosen because more than 51 percent of students are on free or reduced lunch and more than 48 percent have limited English proficiency."
