The following stories have been hand-selected by the Assignment Desk at News4:
FREE BEER!!
As state lawmakers work on a budget that raises North Carolinians' taxes and slashes the services they use, they're also poised to offer something to offset some of the pain — free beer. While wine tastings have become commonplace, states from Vermont to Texas to Washington have moved to let people take a sip of a cold one before deciding what brand to buy. (USAToday)
LOCAL SOLDIER KILLED
A Marine from Montross was killed July 13 in combat in Afghanistan. According to the Department of Defense, Staff Sgt. David S. Spicer, 33, Spicer was one of two Marines killed that day during combat operations in Helmand province. (Free Lance Star)
NANNY ARRESTED
Hyattsville police are looking for families who hired as a nanny a Hyattsville woman they arrested Thursday and charged with several counts of child abuse and child pornography on computers. Officers arrested Aza Hrnjic, 22, a Bosnian national whose work permit expired in April and who was living in the 6000 block of 42nd Avenue, according to Hyattsville City Police. (Gazette)
CRIME RATES DOWN
Violent crime has plummeted in the Washington area and in major cities across the country, a trend criminologists describe as baffling and unexpected. (Washington Post)
DC ADOPTIONS DOWN
The number of D.C. foster children being adopted is falling precipitously, frustrating child welfare advocates who say the city's Child and Family Services Agency is not doing enough to find permanent homes for hundreds of children who are unlikely to be returned to their parents. Only 68 children were adopted in the first nine months of the District's current fiscal year, leaving the city unlikely to reach even last year's total of 119, which was less than a quarter of the roughly 500 children eligible for adoption. Just four years ago, during a major reform push, 314 children -- almost half of those the city sought to place -- were adopted. (Washington Post)
BOOZE AND BOOKS
Loudoun is considering allowing alcohol to be served at libraries and two public park facilities for special events and fund raisers. Alcoholic beverages are not allowed in parks, recreation areas or community centers in the county. One recommendation would allow a one-year trial period for limited alcohol use at the Franklin Park Visual and Performing Arts Center and the Heritage Farm Museum. Another would endorse the Library Board of Trustees' decision to serve beer and wine at select events. (WTOP.com)
