Authorties say a man walked into the bank located inside the grocery store at 4211 Mountain Road and told the teller he was armed, but did not display a weapon.

Police describe the suspect as a man in his 20′s with short brown hair and a mustache. He was wearing a dark colored pullover jacket, sunglasses and a camouflage hat at the time of the robbery.

Anyone with information on this incident or a similar incident is asked to contact Detective C. Van Hoesen of the Anne Arundel County Police Department at 410-222-3469 or Metro Crime Stoppers at 1-866-7-Lockup.

Prince William Police on Thursday announced the arrest of 61-year-old Ralph Justice of Woodbridge. He was charged with conspiracy to commit forcible sodomy.

Justice, who worked at the Prince William County Adult Detention Center, conspired with Michael Rusinack to have Rusinack’s stepson arrested and sent to jail. If all went according to plan, authorities say the Justice would then have left the stepson in place in jail where he could be sexually assaulted.

The intended victim was never hurt.

Rusinack later allegedly embarked on a separate plan to have the man killed.

Rusinack was arrested Saturday. Both men were being held Thursday.

Police said Rusinack had a long-running dispute with the alleged victim, the son of a woman who had been in a relationship with Rusinack.

(TM and Copyright 2012 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2012 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

During the hearing Thursday morning, a Baltimore County judge also ordered 78-year-old Gerald Wiseberg of Boca Raton, Fla., and 51-year-old Michael Reznikov of Brooklyn, N.Y., to surrender their passports. The pair operated Healthy Life Medical Group in Lutherville, and each is charged with conspiring to distribute Schedule II narcotics.

Their office had been dubbed a “pill mill” by some in law enforcement.

Earlier this week, Baltimore County and federal authorities seized non-drug evidence during a search of the clinic, which has been the focus of an investigation for more than a year, and arrested the pair. Authorities say additional arrests are expected.

(TM and Copyright 2012 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2012 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

More than 4.9 million flew through the airport. That’s an increase of 2.6 percent over the same period in 2011, and is a new all-time record for the first quarter of any year.

Total cargo shipments for the first quarter rose 3.2 percent to 57.7 million pounds.

Last year the airport averaged 61,347 passengers each day.

(TM and Copyright 2012 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2012 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

At a news briefing, Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe said the agency’s mail processing network had simply become too big, given declining first-class mail volume and mounting debt. It will now consolidate nearly 250 plants as originally proposed, including 48 this summer, but will stretch out the remainder over a longer time frame in 2013 and 2014.

Earlier this month, nearly half the Senate had written letters to Donahoe asking that he hold off on closing any mail facility until Congress could pass final postal overhaul legislation. The Senate last month passed a bill that would halt many of the closings. The House remains stalled over a separate postal measure allowing for more aggressive cuts.

“To return to long-term profitability and financial stability while keeping mail affordable, we must match our network to the anticipated workload,” Donahoe said. Failure to do so, he stressed, would “create a fiscal hole that the Postal Service will not be able to climb out of.”

Under the modified approach, up to 140 processing centers will be consolidated by next February — roughly 48 in August and about 90 next January and February. Closings would be suspended during the Postal Service’s busy election and holiday mail season. Another 89 closings would occur in 2014.

The consolidations are initially expected to reduce postal staff by 13,000 and save the struggling mail agency roughly $1.2 billion annually. By the time the full round of cuts is implemented by late 2014, the post office will have 28,000 fewer employees with estimated annual savings of $2.1 billion.

The latest postal move comes after vociferous protests from communities across the U.S., particularly those in rural areas, over the mail agency’s initial multibillion dollar cost-cutting plan to close up to 3,700 post offices and 252 mail processing centers. The Postal Service last week backed off the closing of post offices, saying it would cut costs instead by reducing operating hours in 13,000 mostly rural locations.

Thursday’s announcement seeks to allay consumer concerns about immediate, broad-scale cuts to mail processing centers that would have slowed first-class mail delivery of prescription drugs, newspapers and other services beginning this summer and would have virtually eliminated the chance for a stamped letter to arrive the next day.

Under the new plan, about 80 percent of the U.S. areas that currently enjoy overnight first-class mail delivery will continue to do so through the end of next year. After that, barring congressional action, the Postal Service will proceed with additional steps that could slow first-class mail and reduce overnight delivery more significantly, said Megan Brennan, chief operating officer of the Postal Service.

The Postal Service has been grappling with losses as first-class mail volume declines and more people switch to the Internet to communicate and pay bills. The agency has forecast a record $14.1 billion loss by the end of this year. Without changes, it said, annual losses would exceed $21 billion by 2016.

Donahoe stressed that even with the mail agency’s latest moves, it still faces mounting losses without congressional action that would give it more leeway to eliminate Saturday mail delivery and reduce health and labor costs.

If the House fails to act soon, postal officials say they will face a cash crunch in August and September, when the agency must pay more than $11 billion to the Treasury for future retiree health benefits. Already $13 billion in debt, the health payment obligation will force the agency to run up against its $15 billion debt ceiling, causing it to default on the payments.

In many sprawling rural areas like Hope, Alaska, residents say they would have to drive nearly 100 miles for mail services in Anchorage if their local post office couldn’t stay open long enough. Timely delivery from mail processing centers is also particularly valued in the winter months, when hazardous road conditions can make travel to a store or pharmacy difficult if not impossible.

“My wife’s medical plan is basically that prescription drugs are mailed to her,” said Doug Pope, a semi-retired lawyer who lives near Hope, an old gold rush town where the post office faces reduced hours. “There’s a lot of people who will be here for months without going to Anchorage.”

Pope says he’s willing to accept moderate postal cuts, explaining that he’s not sure what else can be done and whether politicians in Washington will do anything about it.

“I do think it’s a sign of a larger, more worrisome trend to me that instead of trying to focus on our larger issues in our society, what we’re trying to do is nickel and dime people on sort of the downstream end of everything,” he said. “But that’s a political issue.”

(TM and Copyright 2012 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2012 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

In the mid-1980′s David Robinson led Navy to unprecedented heights in men’s basketball as a member of the CAA, winning in the conference title before advancing to the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament.

In the 1990′s Old Dominion University, led by Oliver Purnell and Jeff Capel, had multiple appearances in the NCAA, with guys such as Petey Sessoms and Odell Hodge.

George Mason and VCU have made the Final Four this decade. What’s not to like?

VCU left earlier this week to join the Atlantic 10 and now ODU, one of the league’s longtime leaders, has announced plans to join Conference USA. While the move is mainly an effort to engage in 1-A football for the young Monarchs program which made the 1-AA playoffs last year, the league’s basketball program will lose a big brother.

For years, Old Dominion has been a leader in men’s and women’s hoops in the CAA. The women’s team once won 122 straight games at home and made an NCAA Championship game.

ODU and the CAA seemed as synonymous as Oreo cookies and milk. You could argue it had become the flagship school of the CAA.

Old Dominion will be Bowl Eligible in the FBS in 2015.

All of the departures mean next years CAA Tournament in Richmond won’t have many party goers. In fact, only seven teams will be eligible to participate.

VCU is out immediately, while ODU and Georgia State will being kept at home because CAA by-laws state their departures make them ineligible for the conference tournament. Couple that with APR issues that will sideline UNC-Wilmington and Towson and the Richmond Coliseum will be rather empty.

The Tournament is contractually bound to Richmond until 2014. Where then in the future?

Towson Athletic Director Mike Waddell stated this week that the CAA brand needed to be refreshed and frankly, the more I thought about it, he’s right.

But where?

First Mariner Arena in Baltimore is in bad need of a makeover. If it could be done in time for March 2015, the Inner Harbor area of Baltimore is a perfect spot with many hotel options within walking distance to the event.

The tournament set attendance records this year, no doubt buoyed by VCU’s presence and popularity. What will those crowds be like in the future? Some of the early games without VCU had little to no support. Hofstra vs. Northeastern . . . not exactly a huge draw in Richmond?

Moving the tournament closer to the northern schools in the conference doesn’t guarantee that more fans from those programs will show up. But if they start winning more games, perhaps more of those fans might say ‘I can drive there’ or get a better flight into BWI from Boston or Long Island.

Don’t believe me? You can fly Southwest for $62 from BWI to Boston in 90 minutes non-stop. Boston to Richmnd, no non-stops from Boston and shortest flight 4:55 and $155.

You can certainly bring up places like the Palestra, Atlantic City has been hosting the A-10 Tournament, and frankly, in DC, most Arena’s are too big for the CAA except the Patriot Center.

The CAA has been using Showplace Arena for the women’s tournament, but I would hope the men could draw more than 5,000 for the tournament sessions.

The CAA needs to find some new blood. When the A-10 lost Temple they wasted no time acquiring Butler and VCU. The CAA almost seems unprepared for the carnage that has taken place.

Schools like Davidson, are being mentioned as a replacement. I would seek schools like Loyola, Long Island U and perhaps Stony Brook. You create natural rivals for teams like Towson and Hofstra.

People look at the success of the league with teams in the Final Four, but they fail to see why Drexel didn’t get an at-large berth in 2012. The bottom of the league has to be addressed. Towson was historically bad in 2011-12. Pat Skerry took over a roster that was scary and not ready to play in the CAA. The Tigers have some good recruits on the way, but it will still take time for those players to rise to CAA standards, even though the league has taken a major hit with ODU and VCU leaving. Georgia State was very good last year as well. UNC-Wilmington has APR issues and will basically be invisible next year, and Mo Cassara has to revive Hofstra. Two games a year against an LIU or a Stony Brook could help that. Towson heading down the street to play Loyola twice a year would add some spice to a program with a new arena coming. Some wonder how long William & Mary can hang on in the CAA.

Even Liberty, who wants to play football at worst, at a high level of 1-AA, would be worth a phone call, since the CAA is arguably the best 1-AA league in America.

A seven-team CAA Tournament could be a ticket disaster. It won’t be Richmond’s fault. They have been great hosts, but the two schools in the city who helped build the tourney in the town are both in the A-10 now.

Baltimore seems like a logical solution. Waddell is an energetic AD who can lead the way in perhaps making it happen. He needs to get together with George Mason AD Tom O’Connor and other leaders to make sure the CAA of the future is as good as its past.

Police say the man was updated around 1:30 a.m. on May 9 in the 6100 block of Cumberland Avenue.

He was approached by three men as he was leaving his home. One of the suspects displayed a handgun and forced the victim into his own 1998 Honda four-door vehicle. The three men also entered the vehicle and drove the victim to two ATMs and forced him to withdraw cash.

He was then driven to an undisclosed location and forced into the trunk of the car. The suspects then drove around a little longer before stopping in the area of Piedmont Place, near Braddock Road. They then opened the trunk and cut the victim with a knife before instructing him to remain inside the vehicle until they had safely escaped the area.

The victim’s injuries were described as slight and non-life threatening.

Authorities describe the suspects as black males between 18 and 25 years of age. All three were wearing hooded jackets. Two of the men were wearing masks while the third covered his face with a cloth.

Fairfax County Police have released a photo of a suspect vehicle in this case. The photo was taken at Commerce Street Plaza of a vehicle possibly following the victim’s vehicle during the crime.

credit: Fairfax County Police

credit: Fairfax County Police

Police ask anyone with information is to contact Crime Solvers by phone at 1-866-411-TIPS/8477, online at fairfaxcrimesolvers.org or by texting “TIP187” and a message to CRIMES/274637.

“The bond between our two countries is unbreakable,” Obama said at the time. He added later: “The United States will always have Israel’s back.”

Later in the conference, Netanyahu would turn to his left and thank the president.

“My supreme responsibility as Prime Minister of Israel is to ensure that Israel remains the master of its fate,” he said.

The meeting was considered one of the warmer moments during Israel’s relationship with the Obama Administration, which has been described in the past four years by political insiders as cool and strained. Deep concerns from some American Jews and Israelis concerning the likelihood of Iran acquiring a nuclear weapon have been laced with doubts about the Obama Administration taking enough initiative to keep Israel and Iran from engaging in military action.

Skepticism from some American Jewish voters has provided an underlying question of what role the Obama Administration’s evolving relationship with Netanyahu could ultimately play in flipping Jewish voters to Mitt Romney for the general election. For now, that remains a large challenge for Romney. Romney may be unable to capitalize enough on the cool nature of the Obama-Netanyahu relationship to make a dent in any swing states where Jewish voters make a difference, such as Florida, said Kenneth Wald, a political science professor who focuses on Jewish voting patterns at the University of Florida.

“While there may be some shifting and decline in voting for the Democrats, I don’t think Israel will have a lot to do with that,” Wald told CBSDC. “The reason they don’t vote because of Israel is that they don’t see a substantial difference between the two parties on America’s Israel policy. The kinds of things that Romney and the Republican right has been talking about has involved moving the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Frankly, that’s an issue that U.S. Jews don’t care about it.”

A study of American Jewish voters indicates the opposite of initial fears with Obama at least maintaining his 2008 Jewish voter numbers, signaling a similar run at the Jewish electorate that he had in his win against Sen. John McCain. Though recent polling numbers from the Public Religion Research Institute found that Obama was on pace to receive 62 percent of the Jewish vote in November, a considerable drop from the 78 percent he garnered in 2008, Wald told CBSDC that new numbers he analyzed suggest that Obama should expect the votes of almost 75 percent of Jewish voters in the general election.

For Romney, there’s just one swing state where the Jewish vote could help ascend him to the Oval Office: Florida. The Sunshine State has helped decide the last four presidential elections, as the candidate who has won the state has gone on to win the White House.

“The estimate in Florida is that Jews may be 4 percent of the Florida electorate,” Wald said. “It may be the only swing-state where Jews represent a large number of the vote.”

If recent history is any indication, Romney, like other Republican presidential nominees not named Ronald Reagan, will have an uphill climb against past Jewish voting trends if he hopes to make any dent in the Democrats’ hold on the population. Since Ronald Reagan earned 39 percent of the Jewish vote in his 1980 win against  Jimmy Carter, the GOP’s Jewish numbers for the general election have been a roller-coaster – from George H.W. Bush going from 35 percent in 1988 to 11 percent in 1992 and George W. Bush bringing the number back up to 24 percent in 2004 to John McCain plateauing at 22 percent four years later. In fact, the only GOP presidential candidate to score 40 percent of the vote since 1920 is Dwight Eisenhower during his reelection bid in 1956.

While playing off the strained U.S.-Israel relations during the Obama Administration, Romney could very well need to bring the conversation back to the economy if he envisions bringing in more Jewish voters. A recent American Jewish Committee survey found that 80 percent of American Jews polled ranked the economy as the most important factor in their voting trends. If that’s the case, the economy’s rebound must turn flat before the general election, thus strengthening the presumptive GOP nominee’s view on the economy’s future.

“If Romney is to do that, the economy has to go down deeply because, fundamentally, that’s what’s going to drive Jewish votes,” Wald said. “And he would kind of have to soft-peddle on some of his economic policies. If [Romney’s] Jewish vote goes up appreciably and say Obama’s vote goes down from 74 [percent] to 64 [percent], I think the state of economy has to go bad.”

Prince William Police on Thursday announced the arrest of 61-year-old Ralph Justice of Woodbridge. He was charged with conspiracy to commit forcible sodomy.

Police say Justice conspired with Michael Rusinack to have the victim arrested and taken to jail, where he would be left vulnerable to an attack.

Rusinack later allegedly embarked on a separate plan to have the man killed.

Rusinack was arrested Saturday. Both men were being held Thursday at the county jail.

Police spokesman Jonathan Perok said Rusinack had a long-running dispute with the alleged victim, the son of a woman who had been in a relationship with Rusinack.

(© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

The bill from Republican Rep. Trent Franks is similar to bills approved in eight states. It’s a top priority of the National Right to Life Committee, which contends that advances in medical science make clear that abortions after 20 weeks are cruel and inhumane.

But there’s no consensus in the scientific community about when fetuses begin feeling pain.

Franks’ comments came at the beginning of a subcommittee hearing on the bill Thursday. The bill has little chance of becoming law this year, but proponents say they will continue to press the issue.

(© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

The linebacker, who was selected with the 119th overall pick in last month’s NFL Draft, played collegiately at the University of Texas where he was a two-time second-team All-Big 12 selection.

Robinson, 6-foot-4 and 242 pounds, started all 13 games for the Longhorns as a senior, recording 106 tackles, including 10 for a loss, one sack and a safety. He also forced two fumbles.

The 22-year-old spent time at both inside and outside linebacker in college. However, the Redskins have earmarked him to play inside, behind London Fletcher and Perry Riley.

Robinson is the sixth of nine Redskins draft picks to sign with the team. First-round selection Robert Griffin III, third-round pick Josh LeRibeus and fourth-round pick Kirk Cousins have not signed their first NFL contracts yet.

Terms of the deal were not immediately available.

Follow @thechuckcarroll, @granthpaulsen and @1067TheFanDC on Twitter for breaking Redskins news.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A new national report says up to 7.5 million students miss nearly a month of school each year, making them much more likely to drop out before they graduate.

What’s more startling is that only six states track chronic absenteeism. That’s according to a study by Johns Hopkins University researchers released Thursday at events in Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.

The study estimates that up to 15 percent of students nationally are considered chronically absent. That spikes up to one-third of students in urban and rural areas,where students are poor and come from families with little education.

Researchers found absenteeism to be highest in kindergarten and in high school. States that track the issue are: Georgia, Florida, Maryland, Nebraska, Oregon and Rhode Island.

(© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

It’s the Redskins’ shiny, new indoor practice facility, one that Hall of Famer Joe Gibbs, Washington’s coach when the team moved its headquarters from Herndon to Ashburn in 1992, never wanted to see built.

Gibbs, whose 1982 team clinched Washington’s first playoff berth in six years in RFK Stadium’s swirling snow and whose 1987 edition won a spot in the NFC Championship Game by beating host Chicago in frigid Soldier Field, loved to talk about “Redskins weather.”

Rain, snow, wind and sleet were all “Redskins weather” to Gibbs, who coached the burgundy and gold from 1981-92 and from 2004-07. His last two road victories en route to the 2007 playoffs were won in frozen, windswept Giants Stadium and in Minnesota’s Metrodome. Outside or inside, Gibbs didn’t care.

However, Raleigh McKenzie, a near-original Hog and part of two of Gibbs’ three Super Bowl champions, said he wished that he had been able to practice in such a pristine environment instead of the mud and chill of a Washington winter.

“I wish we had had something like this,” McKenzie said last Thursday as the Redskins officially unveiled the facility which was built last season on part of Redskins Park’s parking lot and unused grassy space.

“Joe thought something like this might make sissies out of us, but this is the new millennium,” said defensive end Dexter Manley, Washington’s career sacks leader. “It’s what everybody’s going to.”

Indeed, most teams that don’t have an indoor practice facility of their own have warmer winters than Washington: Arizona, Carolina, Dallas (which hasn’t replaced the one that was wrecked in a 2009 storm but can shift to Cowboys Stadium in half an hour), Jacksonville, Oakland, San Diego and San Francisco. The ever-cheap Bengals are able to use the University of Cincinnati’s bubble when the Bearcats aren’t.

Chicago has been able to practice indoors all the way back to 1990 while Buffalo, Cleveland, Green Bay, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Minnesota, New England, the New York Giants, Philadelphia, St. Louis and Tennessee all followed suit before the turn of the millennium.

So Washington was definitely late to the party and not solely because of Gibbs. Don’t forget that he was away from the Redskins for 13 of the first 17 seasons the franchise called Ashburn home.

Current Redskins coach Mike Shanahan, who spent all but a year and a half of his 25 NFL seasons before coming to Washington in the uncertain climates of San Francisco and Denver, wanted to build a bubble as soon as he took command of the Redskins 28 months ago. But the lockout prevented it and postponed construction into last fall.

The Giants were the ninth straight Super Bowl winner who were able to practice indoors. Is it just a coincidence that Washington hasn’t even won the NFC East since 1999?

“It will help us,” said Shanahan, whose team endured an especially rainy fall in 2011 which left them either soaked or working in a nearby airplane hangar, gym or fitness center en route to a third straight season of at least 10 defeats. “It’s the perfect situation, perfect conditions. If (we have) 40 miles per hour winds, we’re looking forward to going inside and throwing without the wind. It’s a big plus.”

General manager Bruce Allen, noting that the Redskins play their first two games this season in the domes of New Orleans and St. Louis, said that they can do a much better job of simulating the noise of those stadiums than they could with speakers set up alongside Redskins Park’s outdoor fields.

What’s more, Allen said that with the bubble having been built, the Redskins, who have been mulling moving elsewhere in the area, are “hoping” to stay put in Ashburn.

“We’ve been looking at different ways to improve Redskin Park,” said Allen, whose late father George had the previous model built when he became the Redskins’ coach and GM in 1971. “This is going to give us a great opportunity to work when we have some inclement weather. We’re trying to find ways to maximize the players’ health and efficiency.”

Which, along with winning, should be what the NFL is all about after all, right?

David Elfin began writing about sports when he was a junior at Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School. He is Washington’s representative on the Pro Football Hall of Fame selection committee and the author of seven books, most recently, “Washington Redskins: The Complete Illustrated History.” A pre-game regular on 106.7-The Fan the last two Redskins seasons, he has been its columnist since last March.

The Preakness Stakes, the second leg of the Triple Crown, will be contested at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore on Saturday. Six colts who ran in the Kentucky Derby will return for the Preakness including the top two finishers I’ll Have Another and Bodemeister. Also returning are the fourth and fifth place finishers Went the Day Well and Creative Cause as well as also-rans Daddy Nose Best and Optimizer. The remainder of the field will be made up of unproven colts and minor stakes winners that would be a shock should they come anywhere near a winner’s circle on Saturday.

In recent years, the Preakness has been the most predictable of the Triple Crown races with only three winners since 2000 paying more than $10 for a $2 win bet. During that same period the Kentucky Derby has had eleven win payouts over $10 and the Belmont Stakes has had nine. Another thing to consider is colts that compete in the Derby tend to win the Preakness. Since 1997, only three Preakness winners did not run in the Derby. If the trends hold, the winner of this year’s Preakness will be one of the six that ran in the Derby and will go off at odds of less than 4 to 1.

Here is a closer look at the eleven who will line up for the 2012 Preakness Stakes:

Bodemeister
Morning Line Odds: 8-5
While I’ll Have Another won the Kentucky Derby, more attention is being paid to second place finisher Bodemeister. In fact, Bodemeister was made the morning line favorite in this year’s Preakness. From a pace perspective, he ran one of the most impressive Kentucky Derbys in history. He set a blistering pace and only lost by a length and a half. In perusing the past performances of the field for the Preakness, there are no other colts with early speed so Bodemeister should have an easier time of it on the lead. This anticipated pace scenario makes him the one to beat when the gates open on Saturday.

I’ll Have Another
Morning Line Odds: 5-2
I’ll Have Another, the second choice on the morning line, has been perfect in 2012 and enters the Preakness as the only one with a shot at sweeping the Triple Crown. He shipped to Pimlico soon after his Derby win and reports from the scene say he has trained brilliantly over the track. In looking at his past performances, he has the ability to press a fast pace, so watch for him to run close to pacesetter Bodemeister from the start. The question is: Will he have what it takes to make the lead if Bodemesiter is able to set a more reasonable pace in the Preakness?

Went the Day Well
Morning Line Odds: 6-1
While Bodemeister has received all the attention for his valiant but losing effort in the Derby, Went the Day Well also ran a tremendous race to finish fourth. In only his fifth career start, he ran into trouble early in the race and around the first turn. Jockey John Velazquez had to check twice, literally pull back on the reins, when other horses cut into his path. He was eighteen lengths from the leaders with only three beaten when they turned into the backstretch. Just a few hundred yards from the finish, he was moving as fast as any horse in the field, and ended up only two and a half lengths away from the winner in the end. He will get a better trip in the Preakness and could be in a prime position to make a winning move in the stretch.

Creative Cause
Morning Line Odds: 6-1
The California-based Creative Cause is as game a race horse as any among this year’s 3-year-olds. He showed his class in the Derby making it to third in the deep stretch before being passed by Went the Day Well and Dullahan. He finished fifth just three lengths behind the winner. He will run well in the Preakness, as he always does, but it’s hard to figure him turning the tables on the three that finished in front of him in the Derby.

Teeth of the Dog
Morning Line: 15-1
Teeth of the Dog is the lone entry that did not run in the Derby with a chance to fill out the bottom of trifecta and superfecta tickets. He made his graded stakes debut in the Grade 1 Wood Memorial where he finished third at odds of 53 to 1. He comes into this race as a mystery but his trainer Michael Matz has no reason to embarrass himself with an entry in the Preakness that can’t run.

Daddy Nose Best
Morning line: 12-1
After emerging as many racing pundit’s longshot pick leading up to the Kentucky Derby, he ran mid-pack throughout and finished a disappointing tenth. Should he revert to the form he flashed in winning the Sunland Derby in March, he has a chance to fill out the bottom of exotic tickets but he seems a step below the top contenders.

Zetterholm
Morning Line: 20-1
Zetterholm has won three of five career races but all of his wins have come in races restricted to horses bred in New York. The Preakness is a monumental jump in class and it’s hard to comprehend him being competitive against this group.

Optimizer,
Cozzetti,
Tiger Walk,
Pretension
Morning Line: 30-1
The four colts listed on the morning line at 30-1 are all deserving longshots in this year’s field of eleven.

Betting the 2012 Preakness

Knowing the lack of early speed in the race, watch for jockey Mario Gutierrez aboard I’ll Have Another to run close behind Bodemeister from the start. With those two clocking what is sure to be a swift pace on the front-end, look for Went the Day Well to put himself in a stalking position behind the leaders and make a big move to run by them both in the stretch. Creative Cause is the pick to round out the bottom of the superfecta but it might be worthwhile to play some exotic tickets with Teeth of the Dog as well.

1) Went the Day Well
2) I’ll Have Another
3) Bodemeister
4) Creative Cause

For more information, visit the Hello Race Fans Preakness page. For a quick summary for all of this year’s contenders, check out the HRF Preakness Cheat Sheet.

Kevin Martin is the founder of the thoroughbred racing history site Colin’s Ghost and a contributing editor at Hello Race Fans.

The Group of Eight (G8) is a forum for the governments of eight of the world’s largest economies that has met once a year since 1975. It was announced in March that the heads of these governments will be holding their annual summit this year in Frederick County; specifically at Camp David.

Frederick police and Mayor Randy McClement both have alerted its community of the particular high level of attention the G8 host cities usually receive, particularly from protesters.

Mayor McClement says he has been hoping for an opportunity to introduce a large amount of people to the City of Frederick to show them it is a great place to ‘live, work, learn and play’.

McClement welcomes protesters from all over to peacefully assemble and “express their political views” but asks that visitors respect their city, its residents and businesses.

Frederick Police warn its residents that host cities in the past have fallen victim to riots and other significant disruptions.

In a statement Police have released the following list of tips and other measures for businesses to take to remain prepared for whatever may come their way:

• Do not place sandwich boards or other unsecured materials, such as tables and chairs, outside your business that could be damaged or used to cause damage to your property.

• Should you feel uncomfortable or unsafe operating your business due to activity in the area, lock your doors and close your business. Make sure your emergency contact information is up to date.

• Have materials and resources available to secure your business in the event windows or doors become damaged. Some materials to consider are plywood, screws/nails, tools, and items to clean up debris.

• Look out for your fellow merchants and be a good neighbor by offering assistance, keeping them apprised of information, sharing resources, etc… As always, report any suspicious or criminal behavior to police immediately.

For the latest updates throughout the weekend on public safety, traffic and road closures, check G8 Summit Frederick’s Twitter account for frequent updates. Here’s the link for a quick follow.

The Celtics captain put in 24 points in Boston’s 101-91 Game 3 victory over the 76ers in Philadelphia, putting his knee injury behind him and getting aggressive when it came to pretty much every aspect of the game.

“Whether I shot the ball well or not, everything I was going to do was being with aggression,” Pierce said.

Aggressive might be an understatement. Pierce was in attack mode early on, even if his shots weren’t falling. Early in the first quarter, he missed four shots from close range, but it was the fact he fought for the three put-backs in the paint that showed he was determined to make a difference after scoring just seven points in Boston’s Game 2 loss.

He continued to go strong to the basket, following up his early misses with two ferocious dunks. Pierce finishing with nine points in the first 12 minutes of the game. He ended up hitting six of his 17 attempts from the floor, but did most of his damage at — and getting to — the free throw line. After just two trips to the charity stripe on Monday, Pierce found his way to the line 14 times in Game 3, scoring 11 of his points at the line.

Special Coverage: NBA Playoffs

He made it known to all of Philly when he was making his way to the line, following each drive to the hoop with an aggressive scream that would make Mel Gibson’s “Braveheart” jealous.

“Everything I was going to do was going to be aggressive because they were really collapsing on me on the down-screens, on my jumpers,” said Pierce. “I just tried to get to the hole and I was able to get to the line; able to get to the rim a number of times. It’s something I have to continue to do.”

“Paul is just a grinder,” head coach Doc Rivers said following the win. “He really is. You look at him at times and you wonder, ‘How is this guy getting open?’ He just has great fundamentals. He never does it with speed. He just knows how to play basketball. He’s a throwback guy, that he knows how to play basketball. We jokingly call him our ‘professional scorer’ and that’s what he is in a lot of ways.”

“[Pierce] played great for us tonight,” said point guard Rajon Rondo, who scored 23 points of his own while dishing out 14 assists. “Paul has been struggling scoring, but he has been doing the intangibles. On those [first-quarter] drives, he didn’t get some calls early in the game and thought they were fouls, so he went out and was aggressive and finished strong.”

Recap: Thunder Go Up 2-0 On Lakers

Pierce had been just 5-for-20 in the series in the first two games, but helped the Celtics send a message as they took a 2-1 series lead. While he only added four assists, he credited the team’s ball movement for getting the offense going.

“Our offense finally came alive,” Pierce said. “We moved the ball. We knew that’s what we were going to have to do to score 100 points.”

“We just wanted to come out and establish who we are as a team,” Pierce said.

They certainly did that. Now they just need to keep it going on Friday night.

Box Score | Playoffs Schedule

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) Kevin Durant scored 22 points and rattled in the go-ahead basket on a baseline runner with 18 seconds left, and the Oklahoma City Thunder scored the final nine points to rally for a 77-75 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals Wednesday night.

Oklahoma City trailed by seven with 2 minutes left before surging back with a series of defensive stops by its stars to take a 2-0 lead.

Game 3 is Friday night in Los Angeles.

Kobe Bryant and Andrew Bynum scored 20 points apiece for the Lakers, who came up empty on their last six possessions after Bynum’s hook shot made it 75-68 with 2:09 remaining.

Game 2 Photo Gallery (Photo:Layne Murdoch/NBAE via Getty Images)

After struggling throughout the second half, the Thunder suddenly came alive after Scott Brooks called timeout following Bynum’s basket that gave Los Angeles its largest lead of the game.

James Harden drove for a layup before Durant used his height advantage to reach up and tip away a pass from Bryant, who he was guarding. Durant ran out for a right-handed dunk at the other end before Russell Westbrook forced another turnover by aggressively challenging an outlet pass to Bryant along the sideline.

Harden made the next stop, blocking Bryant’s jumper on the next Lakers possession and getting a layup in transition off it to cut the deficit to one in the final minute.

Bryant couldn’t connect again, this time on a 3-pointer, to give the Thunder the ball back with the chance to take the lead and Durant was able to make it happen.

Steve Blake missed a 3-pointer from the right side with about 5 seconds left after Metta World Peace couldn’t get the ball to Bryant on the inbounds play. Durant was then fouled with 0.3 seconds left and made his first try before missing the second on purpose – failing to hit the backboard or rim for a violation.

The Lakers got a desperation try but World Peace’s long pass for Bynum was intercepted by Harden.

Westbrook added 15 points for Oklahoma City, which matched its lowest scoring total of the season but still gutted out the win.

Historically, the loss makes a huge difference. Los Angeles is 29-12 when splitting the first two games of a seven-game series and has lost 17 of 19 when falling into a 2-0 hole. The Lakers’ last comeback was in the 2004 West semifinals against San Antonio.

The Thunder have won all nine of their series after leading 2-0, dating back to the franchise’s days in Seattle.

In a game that was nip-and-tuck throughout, the Lakers started inching away early in the fourth quarter while Westbrook was on the bench.

Bryant drilled a jumper from the left wing and Blake followed with a 3-pointer before World Peace hit one of two free throws for a 69-63 advantage with 7:27 remaining – the Lakers’ largest lead to that point.

Westbrook returned then but only provided the briefest of sparks for the struggling Oklahoma City offense, and Bynum’s second straight basket – on a left-handed hook shot at the left block – made it 75-68 with 2:09 to play.

Until that point, Oklahoma City had made only 7 of 27 shots in the second half while committing eight turnovers.

After getting ripped apart by the Thunder’s pick-and-roll attack and giving up 119 points in Game 1, the Lakers made it an emphasis to put up more resistance in the rematch and it showed. Matt Barnes shuffled back and forth around three Nick Collison screens to contest Harden’s jumper and preserve the Lakers’ 22-21 lead after one quarter.

The Lakers’ defense was at its best just after halftime as they got out of a 48-45 deficit by holding Oklahoma City scoreless for the first 4 minutes and allowing just two baskets in the first 8 minutes. But Los Angeles still couldn’t create any sort of a cushion and Westbrook’s wide-open 3-pointer from the left corner – after World Peace airballed a similar shot on the opposite end – had the Thunder back within 57-56 with 3:31 left in the third.

Notes: The NBA on Wednesday fined Devin Ebanks $25,000 for actions related to his Game 1 ejection and Bynum $15,000 for failing to speak to reporters Tuesday. Bynum, who has had recent disciplinary issues within the team, talked at the Lakers’ morning shootaround Wednesday and called it a make up for skipping the previous day. “I think he’s learning. Is he going to be a perfect citizen the rest of his career? I don’t know,” coach Mike Brown said. “He’s bound to make mistakes. I think everybody makes mistakes.” … World Peace has said he supported Scott Brooks to become Sacramento’s coach back in 2007, when Brooks had been an assistant under Eric Musselman. “Little does he know, if I would have got the job, I was going to ask for him to be traded,” Brooks joked. He then called World Peace, or Ron Artest at the time, the third-best two-way player at the time behind Bryant and Kevin Garnett. … Harden caught World Peace with an inadvertent elbow to the face in the first quarter.

A comprehensive plan from Sens. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Bob Casey, D-Pa., will be laid out this morning to address individuals who abandon their U.S. citizenship in attempts to avoid taxation on profits expected to be made on public companies, according to media reports.

In September, Saverin renounced his citizenship, causing many to speculate he did so to avoid paying as much as $67 million taxes on the profits he is expected to make once Facebook, the social-networking giant, goes public. Since 2009, the Facebook co-founder has lived in Singapore, which has no capital gains tax.

“The senators will call Saverin’s move an outrage and describe a plan to re-impose taxes on expatriates like Saverin even after they flee the United States and take up residence in a foreign country,” according to a release obtained by Talking Points Memo. “Their plan would also bar individuals like Saverin from reentering the country.”

Saverin’s spokesman, Tom Goodman, has refuted the claim that the taxation was the catalyst behind Saverin’s renouncement of his U.S. citizenship, telling Bloomberg that “the calculations and assumptions are not only erroneous, they also further perpetuate the false impression that tax was the reason behind Eduardo’s decision.”

The Army said it will review the diagnoses at all of its medical facilities going back to October 2001. And top Army leaders said they will develop a plan to correct any decisions or policies necessary to make sure that soldiers are receiving the care and treatment they deserve.

The latest reviews were triggered by revelations that the forensic psychiatry unit at Madigan Army Medical Center at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state may have reversed diagnoses based on the expense of providing care and benefits to members of the military.

Over the past several years, the U.S. military has seen a dramatic spike in the number of PTSD and traumatic brain injury cases as the long and deadly wars in Iraq and Afghanistan dragged on. The services have struggled to find better ways to monitor their troops, identify the often invisible wounds and beef up treatment both at the battlefront and when they return home.

“We owe it to every soldier to ensure that he or she receives the care they need and deserve,” said Army Secretary John McHugh, adding that the Army “must ensure that our processes and procedures are thorough, fair and conducted in accordance with appropriate, consistent medical standards.”

The Army review will also scrutinize how well soldiers can participate in the system that assesses their ability to receive medical retirements, including whether the appeal process is adequate and whether any nonmedical factors may affect the diagnosis.

There is also a system-wide review being done by the Army inspector general to determine if psychiatrists overturn PTSD diagnoses to save money. The evaluations are the key first step in determining soldiers’ disability benefits.

Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., who heads the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, said this is the Army’s opportunity to correct the mistakes of the past and ensure that veterans and their families don’t need to “wade through an unending bureaucratic process to get proper access to care.”

“The bottom line is that the Army needs to fix the inconsistencies we have seen in diagnosing the invisible wounds of war,” Murray said. “Out of this review, the Army needs to provide a uniform mental health policy so that service members are given the care they need.”

According to Murray, more than 40 percent of the cases since 2007 that involved candidates for retirement had been overturned. During a recent Senate hearing, she said that of the 1,680 patients screened at Madigan, more than 690 had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. The psychiatric team there reversed more than 290 of those diagnoses.

On Wednesday, she said that so far, based on the review at Madigan, more than 100 service members have had their PTSD diagnosis returned.

The new Army review will be led by Joseph Westphal, undersecretary of the Army, and Army Gen. Lloyd Austin, the vice chief of staff.

Army officials say soldiers sent to war may be checked up to five times, including before being deployed, during combat, once they return home and six months and a year later. Every soldier returning from deployment completes what the Army calls a post-deployment health assessment and a face-to-face interview with a mental health professional. The Army screens soldiers for depression and PTSD, asking questions to find out about any social stressors, sleep disruption and other problems. Those who are detected as having problems go on to a second phase of screening.

Officials say, however, that no test is considered diagnostically definitive for mental illness in general or PTSD in particular.

More than 134,900 Army personnel were diagnosed with traumatic brain injuries between 2000 and 2011. Of those, 75 percent, or more than 100,000, were diagnosed as having a mild or regular concussion. Army policy calls for every service member involved in a blast, vehicle crash or a blow to the head to be medically evaluated

(© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

It worked twice, and the Eastern Conference finals are all even, as a result.

David Clarkson scored a tip-in goal off Adam Henrique’s shot 2:31 into the third period to break a tie and lift the Devils to a 3-2 victory over the Rangers that squared the series at one game apiece on Wednesday night.

“It’s a very hard building to play in, and 1-1 sounds much better than down 2-0,” Devils captain Zach Parise said. “We’re happy. We would have liked to have snuck out of here with two wins, but it didn’t happen.

“We’ll take 1-1.”

For the third straight series, the Rangers are wondering what went wrong in Game 2 after they took the opener. They stressed how important it would be to grab a 2-0 lead, which would have been their first two-game edge in this postseason, but didn’t provide the necessary effort to get it done.

New York was riding high after its 3-0 series-opening win on Monday night, but now has relinquished home-ice advantage again.

“You need to improve as a hockey team every game,” said succinct and disappointed coach John Tortorella, who declined to say what areas were deficient.

Game 3 will be Saturday in New Jersey.

Clarkson built off the momentum created by Ryan Carter’s deflected goal late in the second that tied the game, 2-2. Ilya Kovalchuk had given the Devils a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal in the first. Defenseman Bryce Salvador added two assists, and Martin Brodeur stopped 23 saves for his 108th playoff win.

Clarkson has three goals in this postseason, and every one has been a winner, including the clincher against Philadelphia in Game 5 of the second round.

“Mr. Clutch? I don’t know about that,” Clarkson said. “I’m going to skate up and down and finish the checks and just bounce off people. It’s just a great feeling to be able to contribute. To get a tip on that felt pretty good.”

New Jersey had 26 attempted shots blocked in Game 1, five more than they got through to goalie Henrik Lundqvist. The Devils cut the blocks to 16 on Wednesday and managed to get 27 on goal — two more than New York.

“That team blocks so many shots,” Clarkson said. “It’s unbelievable how many. I think we found a way to shoot it and get sticks on it, and definitely that was big for us.”

Marc Staal and Chris Kreider scored power-play goals in the second for the top-seeded Rangers, who received 24 saves by Lundqvist.

New Jersey got even at 2 when Salvador wound up for a shot at the blue line and fired a drive that Carter — with his back to the net — brilliantly deflected past Lundqvist with 1:51 left in the second. Marian Gaborik stood up straight in front of Salvador, but didn’t drop down as many of his teammates have to try to block the shot. For that, he was pinned to the bench by Tortorella, even through New York’s power play in the third.

Gaborik returned to the ice with 8:40 remaining as the Rangers pressed to tie.

The Devils kept the pressure on the Rangers at the start of the third and wiped out the good work the Rangers displayed in the second.

“It was a much different reaction when we went down by a goal than it was in the first game,” Parise said. “We didn’t change the way we played, and I think that was a big difference. We were comfortable with how we were playing.

“All I think they got was really on their power play.”

After spending much of the first trapped in their own end, the Rangers rebounded to erase their early deficit and briefly take the lead thanks to the previously inept power play.

With Alexei Ponikarovsky off for interference, Staal fired a shot that sailed wide of the net and struck the back boards before popping back in front and pinballing into the net off Salvador and Brodeur at 2:23. The goal was originally credited to Derek Stepan, who was in front, but the puck managed to miss him both on the way toward the net and on the bounce back.

“I saw most of the pucks, but the Rangers came out hard,” Brodeur said. “They were around me a lot, and there were some bad bounces. It’s such a tough place to play sometimes here. There are bad bounces, and the boards are terrible.”

Staal nearly netted another moments later when he ripped a drive that Brodeur had to lunge fully to his left to snare with his glove.

Kreider, the rookie from Boston College, scored for the second straight game to give the Rangers a 2-1 lead at 12:19. Anton Stralman let go a shot from above the right circle that ticked Kreider’s stick and fluttered past Brodeur for the rookie’s fourth goal. He had to wait to get it because it was first given to Stralman before being changed during a commercial break.

But that was hardly the longest delay of the night. Before Kreider’s power-play goal, the action was stopped for about eight minutes as arena workers struggled to get the door to the Devils’ penalty box opened. Travis Zajac stood patiently as he waited to have a seat in the box. He even managed to laugh as did New Jersey coach Peter DeBoer and the usually stoic and agitated Tortorella.

Zajac, who first was sent to the Rangers’ box, stayed in New Jersey’s sin bin for only 1:47 before Kreider scored the Rangers’ second power-play goal of the night.

New York registered the first six shots of the period before New Jersey had its first about eight minutes in, but the teams were even at 17 through 40 minutes.

Lundqvist had a bit of glove magic of his own midway through the second when a shot by Anton Volchenkov was deflected by Kovalchuk but tracked and grabbed by Lundqvist.

The Devils got their elusive first goal of the series, and the all-important lead in the game, when Kovalchuk connected on the power play late in the first period.

After Brian Boyle was sent off for slashing Parise, the Devils continued their puck-possession prowess in the Rangers’ end. New Jersey moved the puck all around the zone in search of a clean shot that could get past the diving New York defense and perhaps challenge Lundqvist, who made 21 saves in the series-opening win.

Marek Zidlicky curled with the puck to the center of the blue line and slid a pass down to the left circle to Kovalchuk, who calmly and patiently drifted in and snapped a shot up and under the crossbar in the upper corner of the net for his sixth goal of the playoffs and fourth on the power play.

“We had to keep going to the net, and I think we were doing some good things,” Clarkson said. “We’ve been playing some good hockey and we’ve got to continue to do it. That is a big win for us.”

The Devils didn’t record a shot on goal until 6:01 in when Patrik Elias put a wrist shot in on Lundqvist, but New Jersey finished the first period with an 8-5 edge in shots — despite having six more blocked by the Rangers.

Whether Brodeur was kidding or not about wanting Rangers to be injured by blocking shots, the home team wasn’t deterred from getting in front of drives. New York forward Brandon Prust was doing a bit of a dance in front of the dangerous Kovalchuk, trying to deny any potential drive, even though he was defending without a stick.

“We have to try to get in lanes,” Rangers captain Ryan Callahan said. “Try to limit their time with the puck. If we do that, they are not going to have time to shoot.”

When Kovalchuk finally scored later in the period, he let out a big yell — part celebration and an exclamation of relief — as he skated in front of the glass behind the net.

“We have built some momentum,” Brodeur said. “And now, we have to try to take that into our building, and make our building a tough place to play.”

NOTES: The Rangers were 10 for 61 (16.4 percent) on the power play in the postseason before Wednesday. This marked the second time they netted a man-advantage goal in consecutive games, but the fourth time they scored two in a game. … The Devils returned defenseman Peter Harrold to the lineup and sat rookie Adam Larsson. Harrold replaced Larsson in the lineup late in the season and started the first nine postseason games. Larsson played in the previous five games.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

NEW YORK (AP) — A super PAC working to defeat President Barack Obama is preparing an ad campaign highlighting Obama’s ties to his controversial former pastor.

A Republican strategist involved in the planning said conservative billionaire Joe Ricketts wants to bankroll an effort publicizing the racially incendiary sermons delivered by the Rev. Jeremiah Wright at a Chicago church Obama once attended. The sermons drew considerable attention and presented a hurdle for Obama in 2008 as he sought the Democratic presidential nomination.

The Republican spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private strategy sessions.

The plan would involve at least $10 million in advertising. News of the campaign was first reported by The New York Times.

Republican Mitt Romney refused to answer questions about the effort as he boarded a plane Thursday in Miami.

(© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

STERLING, Va. (AP) — Drivers are being encouraged to take the toll road connecting Washington Dulles International Airport with Leesburg, Va. to help out several local organizations.

As part of the 7th annual Dulles Greenway “Drive for Charity,” all proceeds from tolls on Thursday will go to the March of Dimes and the Loudoun Abused Women’s Shelter, among other groups.

Proceeds will also benefit the Dulles Greenway Scholarship Program, which awards $1,500 to one senior at each high school in Loudoun County.

The event raised about $235,000 last year. This year, organizers want to raise $30,000 more, meaning 60,000 cars would have to pass through the tolls.

The Dulles Greenway is a privately owned 14-mile toll road.

(© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

ROCKVILLE, Md. (AP) — Montgomery County officials say a young girl has been critically injured after falling from a window and onto a deck in Rockville.

Fire department spokesman Capt. Oscar Garcia says the girl, who is about 2, fell about 10 feet from a home in the 1000 block of Grand Oak Way about 3:20 p.m. Wednesday. Garcia says the girl was unconscious when emergency responders arrived.

He says the girl was taken to a hospital with injuries that are considered life-threatening.

(© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican presidential challenger Mitt Romney and his party raised a combined $40.1 million in April.

The figures put the likely GOP nominee’s fundraising haul closer to the $43.6 million that President Barack Obama and the Democratic Party raised last month. Romney’s campaign pulled in about $12.5 million in March.

April’s reports offer the first fundraising tallies of the general election. Romney began raising cash with the GOP last month.

The new fundraising totals don’t include the hundreds of millions of dollars being spent by “super” political committees that can raise and spend unlimited sums of cash.

Both campaigns’ detailed financial reports are due to the Federal Election Commission by midnight Sunday.

(© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

WASHINGTON (AP) — For the first time, racial and ethnic minorities make up more than half the children born in the U.S., capping decades of heady immigration growth that is now slowing.

New 2011 census estimates highlight sweeping changes in the nation’s racial makeup and the prolonged impact of a weak economy, which is now resulting in fewer Hispanics entering the U.S.

“This is an important landmark,” said Roderick Harrison, a former chief of racial statistics at the Census Bureau, who is now a sociologist at Howard University. “This generation is growing up much more accustomed to diversity than its elders.”

The report comes as the Supreme Court prepares to rule on the legality of Arizona’s strict immigration law, with many states weighing similar get-tough measures.

“We remain in a dangerous period where those appealing to anti-immigration elements are fueling a divisiveness and hostility that might take decades to overcome,” Harrison said.

As a whole, the nation’s minority population continues to rise, following a higher-than-expected Hispanic count in the 2010 census. Minorities increased 1.9 percent to 114.1 million, or 36.6 percent of the total U.S. population, lifted by prior waves of immigration that brought in young families and boosted the number of Hispanic women in their prime childbearing years.

But a recent slowdown in the growth of the Hispanic and Asian populations is shifting notions on when the tipping point in U.S. diversity will come — the time when non-Hispanic whites become a minority. After 2010 census results suggested a crossover as early as 2040, demographers now believe the pivotal moment may be pushed back several years when new projections are released in December.

The annual growth rates for Hispanics and Asians fell sharply last year to just over 2 percent, roughly half the rates in 2000 and the lowest in more than a decade. The black growth rate stayed flat at 1 percent.

The immigrants staying put in the U.S. for now include Narcisa Marcelino, 34, a single mother who lives with her two daughters, ages 10 and 5, in Martinsburg, W.Va. After crossing into the U.S. from Mexico in 2000, she followed her brother to the eastern part of the state just outside the Baltimore-Washington region. The Martinsburg area is known for hiring hundreds of migrants annually to work in fruit orchards. Its Hispanic growth climbed from 14 percent to 18 percent between 2000 and 2005 before shrinking last year to 3.3 percent, still above the national average.

Marcelino says she sells food from her home to make ends meet for her family and continues to hope that one day she will get a hearing with immigration officials to stay legally in the U.S. She aspires to open a restaurant and is learning English at a community college so she can help other Spanish-language speakers.

If she is eventually deported, “it wouldn’t be that tragic,” Marcelino said. “But because the children have been born here, this is their country. And there are more opportunities for them here.”

Of the 30 large metropolitan areas showing the fastest Hispanic growth in the previous decade, all showed slower growth in 2011 than in the peak Hispanic growth years of 2005-2006, when the construction boom attracted new migrants to low-wage work. They include Lakeland, Fla.; Charlotte, N.C.; Atlanta; Provo, Utah; Las Vegas; and Phoenix. All but two — Fort Myers, Fla., and Dallas-Fort Worth — also grew more slowly last year than in 2010, hurt by the jobs slump.

Pointing to a longer-term decline in immigration, demographers believe the Hispanic population boom may have peaked.

DUMFRIES, Va. (AP) — Prince William County police say two people have been shot and injured at a home in the Dumfries area.

Police say they were called to a shooting at a home in the 2900 block of Weatherburn Court about 8:30 p.m. Wednesday. Authorities say two adults were found wounded at the scene and were taken to a hospital. Their injuries did not appear to be life-threatening.

Police said the shooting may have been part of an on-going dispute, but officials declined to release details.

(© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

WASHINGTON (AP) — District of Columbia Mayor Vincent Gray is praising Kenyan McDuffie as the person to replace Harry Thomas Jr. on the city council.

Gray on Wednesday at a news conference called McDuffie an “excellent choice” to serve the rest of Thomas’ term, which runs through 2014. McDuffie beat out nine other Democrats, one Republican and one independent in a Ward 5 special election on Tuesday.

Thomas stepped down from his after pleading guilty to embezzling more than $350,000 from the city.

The election results will be certified on May 30 and then McDuffie can be sworn in.

(© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Prince George’s County police will be at Route 301 and Ballpark Drive in Bowie starting at noon watching passing vehicles. Officers and safety advocates will distribute $1 bills to drivers who have all occupants properly buckled. Those riding without seatbelts will get educational materials and face being fined.

A local bank and the police department are sponsoring the money giveaway.

The program is an extension of the Click It Or Ticket campaign that is run in Maryland and other states.

(© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

In an open letter to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, whom the outspoken wide receiver lovingly refers to as ‘Dad,’ Ochocinco gave a vote of confidence to the head of the league before offering his novel idea.

“Oh by the way, I have a deal for you,” he wrote. “Am having a rebound year and plan to do a lot of celebrating in the end zone. Can my fine money go to supporting ex-players suffering?”

‪Doug Farrar, NFL writer and editor of Shutdown Corner for Yahoo Sports‬, covered joined 106.7 The Fan’s LaVar and Dukes to discuss the suggestion.

“I think what he was trying to say is Goodell is between a rock and a hard place with the inevitable violence of the sport and people’s perception that violence is wrong,” Farrar said. “Well, you can’t eliminate the violence. We all know that. So, I think he was trying to say and he was trying to say, player fines, as much of a story as they are now, should be going to former players. And I agree with what. It’s just with Chad, you have to go passed the 90 minute cartoon to see the two-minute movie.”

Farrar and LaVar Arrington spent the better part of the next 10 minutes discussing the topic and touched on the NFL’s hypocrisy regarding head injuries and health as a whole.

‪

Wang has yet to pitch for Washington this season after hurting his left hamstring during a spring training appearance March 15. He’s slated to make one more start at Triple-A Syracuse as part of his rehab work but was in Washington on Wednesday to throw a bullpen session in front of coaches.

When he does make it to the majors, the Nationals will need to decide how to make room for him on the roster. All five members of Washington’s starting rotation have pitched well this season: Stephen Strasburg, Gio Gonzalez, Jordan Zimmermann, Edwin Jackson and Ross Detwiler.

“Maybe they want me to be a bullpen guy; that’s what I’ve got to do,” Wang said through an interpreter.

Asked whether it’s tough to know he could take someone else’s job in the rotation, Wang said: “It’s really tough for me. All of them and I, we’re close. As a teammate, I really don’t want to see that kind of situation, but … I still need to follow the team, no matter what happens.”

In his most recent start for Syracuse, on Monday, Wang went eight-plus innings, allowing four earned runs and 11 hits with one walk, one strikeout and one hit batter.

“Overall, I feel pretty good. Not bad at all. Just keep working on my stuff,” Wang said.

Three of his five career appearances in relief in the majors came in 2009, the year he had the surgery on his right shoulder that kept him out of the big leagues for two years.

When he returned last season, Wang went 4-3 with a 4.04 ERA in 11 starts. Relying primarily on his trademark sinker, he struck out 25 batters and walked 13 in 62 1-3 innings.

Manager Davey Johnson wouldn’t rule out the possibility of using Wang out of the bullpen. But Johnson did say: “I look at him as a quality starter.”

Wang went 4-3 with a 4.04 ERA in 11 starts for Washington in 2011. Relying primarily on his trademark sinker, he struck out 25 batters and walked 13 in 62 1-3 innings.

In other injury-related Nationals news, catcher Wilson Ramos confirmed what was expected: He will miss the rest of this season. Ramos tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee on a play at the plate on Saturday night, and he said he will have surgery in about two or three weeks, after the swelling goes down.

Closer Drew Storen, meanwhile, took soft toss Wednesday, throwing the ball 100 times, and described the start of his rehab from elbow surgery as “a tedious process … like driving a Ferrari 5 miles an hour.”

Storen, who threw for the first time Monday then took Tuesday off, said his arm felt week but “normal, relatively speaking,” and added that he still expects to be able to pitch “right around” the All-Star break.

(TM and Copyright 2012 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2012 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

The Army says it is reviewing the diagnoses at all of its medical facilities going back to 2001. And top Army leaders say they will develop a plan to correct any decisions or policies necessary to make sure that soldiers are receiving the care and treatment they deserve.

The latest reviews were triggered by revelations that the forensic psychiatry unit at Madigan Army Medical Center at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state may have reversed diagnoses based on the expense of providing care and benefits to members of the military.

(© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Brown died of multiple organ failure Wednesday afternoon at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, the singer’s management confirmed to WPGC Radio.

The 75-year-old had postponed all of his tour days and was hospitalized with pneumonia in recent weeks.

Brown was originally admitted to the hospital on April 18 for complaints about his arthritis. However, doctors discovered blood clots in his legs. The pneumonia reportedly developed as he was recovering from treatment for the clots. He was being treated in the ICU at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore.

Brown was a pioneer in the D.C. music scene and brought go-go into the national spotlight with his 1970′s hits “I Need Some Money” and “Bustin’ Loose.”

PHOTO GALLERY: REMEMBERING CHUCK BROWN

Brown was notoriously loyal to his blonde Gibson ES-335 guitar, which he called “Blondie.” The go-go icon began using the guitar exclusively early in his career.

His family issued the following statement on his official Facebook page Wednesday afternoon:

“The Brown family would like to thank everyone for their love and support over the years. We know that Chuck’s legacy will live on through all of you who have supported him and his creation of Go-Go. His passion, inspiration and drive have always come from his family and fans. He would have wanted all of his fans to know that they meant the world to him and none of his success was possible without them. God bless.”

Brown’s musical influence extended far beyond the boundaries of the nation’s capital. His songs were sampled by some of music’s biggest names including Nelly who sampled the 1979 No. 1 R&B hit “Bustin’ Loose” for his 2002 chart-topping hit “Hot in Herre.”

Brown received an outpouring of support from his famous musical brethren on Twitter.

“I’m sick that we lost Chuck Brown,” said Pharrell Williams of The Neptunes, who also helped produce Nelly’s hit. “So honored that I got a chance to meet him. RIP to the Godfather of Go-Go.”

Rapper Common also offered his condolences online.

“May God bless the soul of The God Father of GoGo Chuck Brown!” he tweeted. “I know the DMV will be celebrating his art and contribution to music this weekend!”

In 2010, Brown’s single “Love,” which featured Jill Scott and Marcus Miller, earned the singer his first Grammy Award nomination for Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals.

Washington Nationals fans voted “Bustin’ Loose” as the team’s official home run song. The song is played each time a Nationals player hits a round-tripper.

D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray extended his condolences to Brown’s family on Twitter.

“RIP to the Godfather of Go-go, a great man, & my friend Chuck Brown,” the mayor posted. “Our thoughts & prayers are w/ his family. What a loss.”

In quotes obtained by the Associate Press, the mayor added: “Go-go is D.C.’s very own unique contribution to the world of pop music. Today is a very sad day for music lovers the world over.”

All-News 99.1 WNEW will have more on this story as it develops. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook for continuing coverage.

Sikh community leaders said they know of no other major metropolitan police department with a written order ensuring that Sikh officers can maintain their appearance, though other law enforcement agencies have made less formal accommodations.

The change will have minimal practical effect, at least initially. The department’s only Sikh officer is a reserve who is scheduled to graduate from the academy in August.

However, advocates for Sikh rights said it is significant.

“I think it’s a step forward not only for civil rights and religious freedom, I think it’s a step forward for law enforcement,” said Jasjit Singh, executive director of the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund, which pushed for the change. He said the public benefits when police departments represent the diversity of the communities they serve.

The special order permits Sikh officers to tie their beard in a knot and tuck it beneath their chin and to wear a turban at all times unless it conflicts with an assigned duty — such as responding to a riot — that requires them to wear a helmet. The turbans are supposed to match the color of the department-issued caps — blue — and display the same badge as seen on the caps.

Police departments routinely ban beards for safety reasons, such as the need to ensure that an officer can be fitted for a gas mask, though exemptions are made for medical conditions. Officers seeking to wear articles of faith on the job would need authorization from the chief, who would decide on a case-by-case basis.

D.C. police officials described their new policy as a commonsense way to preserve religious freedom without compromising an officer’s safety.

“If in fact they had to don, say, a helmet for a protest, then they could wear a smaller a smaller turban — so there are exemptions that could be made to that,” Assistant Police Chief Patrick Burke said in an interview.

The special order took effect last December but was not announced until Wednesday because of scheduling issues and to give the policy some time to be in use, Singh said.

(TM and Copyright 2012 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2012 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

The Culpeper County Sheriff’s Office says it received a call just after 8 a.m. Wednesday that someone pointed a gun at A.G. Richardson Elementary School and Pearl Sample Elementary School.

Deputies made contact with five individuals and determined the gun was a pellet gun.

The five were being questioned. Further details were not made available.

“At no time were any school children in danger,” Sheriff Scott Jenkins said of the incident.

(TM and Copyright 2012 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2012 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

Police say 61-year-old Patricia Greer Parks rear-ended another car as it slowed for traffic in front of her at the intersection of Rockville Pike and Old Georgetown Road around 7:35 a.m.

When officers arrived on the scene they found Parks outside of her 2000 Chrysler Sebring surveying the situation. The driver of the other vehicle, a 2005 Ford Taurus, was also out of her vehicle.

While officers were speaking with the drivers, Parks began to complain of pain and an ambulance was called to the location. Parks, who lived in the 18200 block of Rolling Meadow Way in Olney, lost consciousness en route to the hospital where she was pronounced deceased.

The driver of the Ford Taurus has been identified as 41-year-old Ellen Margaret Girdharry of the 500 block of Lincoln Street in Rockville.

Authorities are continuing to investigate the circumstances surrounding the crash. Police ask anyone who may have witnessed the fatal collision to call 301-840-2435. Callers may remain anonymous.