Local Leads: 11/10/08

News you need to know

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

OBAMA / BUSH MEETING AT THE WHITE HOUSE   
President Bush will play host today to the man who plans a quick repudiation of his policies, providing President-elect Barack Obama a tour of the White House before meeting with him in private in the Oval Office. The current and future presidents will smile for the cameras as Obama and his wife, Michelle, visit to the house they and their two daughters will occupy for the next four years. (Washington Post)

OBAMA / INAUGURATION
It's already gotten to be too much for the Office of Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton. Folks on the Hill have been hit with thousands and thousands of calls about tickets for the inauguration of President-Elect Barack Obama, which promises to be one of the largest, if not the largest in the nation's history.  Who in the Washington metro area hasn't gotten calls from relatives and long lost friends looking for a place to crash? Norton's office threw in the towel Friday night, and decided it just couldn't keep up with the emails and calls about tickets for the parade and swearing-in ceremony. After saying early last week that it would take names of those wanting tickets, the office said it would have to stop because it didn't want to continue giving the impression that it would have access to enough tickets.  (Washington Post)

CIRCUIT CITY CHAPTER 11   
Circuit City Stores Inc. has filed for bankruptcy less than a week after it said it would close 20 percent of its stores and three days after it laid off hundreds of employees. The Henrico County-based consumer electronics retailer has been struggling as nervous consumers spend less and credit has become tighter.It filed for bankruptcy protection this morning. Chapter 11 protection typically allows a company to hold off creditors and operate as normal while it develops a financial reorganization plan. Circuit City says it has more than $1 billion in assets and more than $1 billion in liabilities. Courts do not require companies to provide more specific figures in filings.The company says it anticipates it would have money to distribute to unsecured creditors, who get paid last. (Richmond Times Dispatch)  
 
FAIRFAX URBAN SEARCH AND RESCUE TEAM IN HAITI  
Fairfax County's Urban Search and Rescue team continued to scour the rubble of a collapsed school in Haiti on Sunday as the death toll from the incident rose.  A 40-member unit of the squad-including four Prince William-area residents-has been working 12-hour shifts at College La Promesse in Petionville, Haiti, since 2 p.m. Saturday, said Capt. Chris Schaff of the Fairfax fire department. The hillside school, which normally held 500 students, crumbled onto classrooms filled with students and teachers, killing at least 88 people Friday. At least 150 people have been treated for injuries, as well. As of Sunday evening, the Fairfax group still had a lot of excavating to do, Schaff said, but they unfortunately had made more searches than rescues in Petionville, a suburb of Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital and largest city. (Insidenova.com

IMMIGRATION ARRESTS
Federal immigration authorities say there has been a spike in the number of illegal immigrants arrested in the District of Columbia and Virginia over the past year. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials say during fiscal year 2008, which ended Sept. 30, more than 3,100 illegal immigrants were arrested in D.C. and Virginia. That's about 50 percent more than last year's 2,055 arrests. (AP/wtop.com)

DC SCHOOL SECURITY
DC officials hope a team of administrators and beefed up security will help a troubled Anacostia school. DC Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee launched an intervention effort last week at Hart Middle School. The school has faced safety issues, including three teachers being assaulted, a 14-year-old charged with carrying a shotgun and students discharging fire extinguishers in the halls. The school also struggles academically. Rhee spokeswoman Dena Iverson says additional security officers have been sent to the school, while the central office works closely with staff to improve conditions.  (Washington Post / AP)

GAS PRICES
The price of a gallon of gas continues to drop throughout the country, with the average price in the Washington region now at $2.34, according to AAA. The average price has dropped 20 cents from a week ago and 65 cents from a year ago when oil was $96 a barrel.  Crude oil sold for just over $61 a barrel on Friday. (NBCWashington.com)

Contact Us