The following stories have been hand-selected by the Assignment Desk at News4:
IN PEANUTS, HE PLEADS THE 5TH
The head of the company linked to a massive salmonella outbreak in peanut products refused to testify at a Congressional hearing Wednesday as lawmakers accused him of caring more about profits than food safety. Peanut Corporation of America President Stewart Parnell invoked his fifth amendment right not to testify, as did the plant manager at the Blakely, Ga., plant implicated in the outbreak, during the hearing before a House subcommittee. Both men also refused to eat recalled products that one lawmaker offered to them from a jar. (USA Today)
IT ALWAYS FEELS LIKE, SOMEBODY'S WATCHING ME
Near midnight on April 22, 2008, the sounds of squealing tires and gunshots reverberated through the neighborhood around 15th and East Capitol Streets. Police cruisers soon converged, casting household façades in blue and red and filling east Capitol Hill bedrooms with a familiar flickering glow. Concerned neighbors looked to the local police Listserv to find out what happened. First District commander David Kamperin wrote the next day that “units responded to the sounds of gunshot. We recovered a handgun from that location and will be reviewing the CCTV to see if it gives us any additional information.” (Washington Citypaper)
MORE RIDERS DOESN'T MEAN MORE MONEY
More people are riding Metro, with the transit agency running 356 million trips on its trains, buses and disability service last year. But even with a 3 percent ridership increase since 2007, all the new passengers didn’t bring in as much fare revenue as Metro officials anticipated. The agency’s rail revenue fell short of projections in December by $1.1 million, according to Metro, with a total revenue of $37.2 million for the month. (DC Examiner)
SMOKING BAN LIGHTS
Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine said Tuesday that House Republicans have failed to honor a deal brokered on a bill that would end smoking in restaurants and bars, but declined to say whether he would veto the measure if it makes it to his desk in its current form. "The amendments are not to my liking; they're counter to the deal that we all announced together and weaken the bill," said Mr. Kaine, a Democrat. "But it is advancing, and that's positive, and there's plenty of time to continue to discuss those amendments." (Washington Times)
