The following stories have been hand-selected by the Assignment Desk at News4:
CLERK HANDS OVER MONEY BUT IS KILLED ANYWAY
A store employee was shot and killed in Northwest Washington on Saturday night during a robbery, D.C. police said. The woman was fatally wounded about 9 p.m. at a corner store in the 5400 block of Georgia Avenue NW in the Brightwood Park area, police said. She was taken to the Washington Hospital Center and pronounced dead less than an hour later, according to authorities. The holdup occurred at La Casa Morata. Two men entered the store and one of them was carrying a handgun, police said. According to preliminary accounts, the woman handed money to the robbers. She was shot in the neck during the incident, police said. It was not immediately clear why the woman was shot after apparently complying with the robbers' demand.
ADOPT A BLACK CAT ON FRIDAY
A local animal shelter wants to make Friday the 13th a lucky day for cat lovers. The Animal Welfare League of Alexandria is launching a pet adoption program this coming Friday for anyone who is willing to buy a black or partially black cat for $13. Most black cats are overlooked because many potential owners are superstitious that the animals will bring them bad luck, says AWLA staff. But with the holidays approaching AWLA staff hopes that the animals will find a home. This year with the economic downturn local animal shelters are housing more pets because owners aren't able to afford them. AWLA says they have experienced an almost 30 percent increase in the number of animals brought to them since January. "Historically, animal shelters should be entering a slower period this time of year because kitten season would be over, but not here. Half of the cats in our adoption room are kittens and more adult cats and kittens are brought here every day," said Martha C. Armstrong, executive director.
(WTOP)
REDSKINS STARTING OVER?
Refreshed after last week's bye, the Washington Redskins hope to push the reset button on their horror of a season Sunday at Atlanta, the first of five straight opponents with winning records. While the bye was a much-needed breather after a tumultuous first seven weeks, the road gets considerably more challenging for the Redskins (2-5). Their three NFC East rivals have five wins apiece, and the Falcons are a formidable foe against whom to begin a renaissance. "I never felt like this," said cornerback Carlos Rogers, who is part of a defense that's just 17 yards a game from being the best in the NFL. "You don't get the full joy out of [ranking in a tie for fourth] the way our season going. All the controversy that been going on around here. There was only two [wins]. We got the win or we [needed] the win to keep Coach [Jim] Zorn. There's always things like that that come in your mind when you win."
(WASHINGTON TIMES)
HEALTH CARE BILL NARROWLY PASSES
Handing President Obama a hard-fought victory, the House narrowly approved a sweeping overhaul of the nation’s health care system on Saturday night, advancing legislation that Democrats said could stand as their defining social policy achievement.
After a daylong clash with Republicans over what has been a Democratic goal for decades, lawmakers voted 220 to 215 to approve a plan that would cost $1.1 trillion over 10 years. Democrats said the legislation would provide overdue relief to Americans struggling to buy or hold on to health insurance. “This is our moment to revolutionize health care in this country,” said Representative George Miller, Democrat of California and one of the chief architects of the bill. Democrats were forced to make major concessions on insurance coverage for abortions to attract the final votes to secure passage, a wrenching compromise for the numerous abortion-rights advocates in their ranks.
(NEW YORK TIMES)
CADET DIES DURING ROAD MARCH
A Virginia Military Institute freshman from Howard County died Saturday after completing a 10-mile road march, VMI officials said. John Alexander Evans, 19, of Highland, collapsed in his room after completing the training march Saturday with members of his class. He was pronounced dead at a local hospital shortly after noon, officials said. Evans was an international studies major and member of the Marine Corps ROTC program. The medical examiner will conduct an autopsy to determine the cause of death.
(BALTIMORE SUN)
