Norfolk Southern unveils prototype battery-powered switching locomotive

ALTOONA, Pa. — Rail hauler Norfolk Southern Corp. on Monday unveiled a battery-powered prototype locomotive for use in its Pennsylvania rail yard, and the company said it has its eye on hybrid long-haul trains next.

After being sent to the woods, homeless Ga. sex offenders must now find a new place to live

MARIETTA, Ga. — Nine homeless sex offenders scrambled to find housing Tuesday after they were kicked out of a makeshift tent city behind a suburban Atlanta office park where state officials had told them to live.

Porn viewing, other cases of employee misconduct rise at National Science Foundation

ARLINGTON, Va. — A watchdog tasked with stopping fraud involving taxpayer-funded science grants says it has been forced to spend time addressing government employee misconduct, much of it involving pornography.

Va. governor says he knows of no reason to stop execution of Washington-area sniper Muhammad

RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine says he can’t think of any reason he would stop the execution of Washington, D.C.-area sniper John Allen Muhammad.

Gannett expects 3rd-quarter earnings to top Wall Street estimates; sales miss

NEW YORK — Gannett Co., the largest newspaper publisher in the U.S., said third-quarter earnings should far outpace expectations despite a narrow shortfall in revenue, as layoffs and falling newsprint costs help offset weak advertising sales.

Catwalk hikes planned for New River Gorge this spring

FAYETTEVILLE, W.Va. — New River Gorge visitors will be able to walk directly across the canyon on a 30-inch-wide steel span 850 feet above the river starting in the spring.

NAACP, activists protest Va. strip club banner that depicts Obama as the Joker from Batman

RICHMOND, Va. — Activists have gathered outside a Virginia strip club to denounce a banner depicting President Obama as the Joker from Batman.

Gannett expects 3rd-quarter earnings to top expectations; sales miss

MCLEAN, Va. — Gannett Co., the largest newspaper publisher in the U.S., says it expects third-quarter earnings to far outpace expectations despite a shortfall in revenue.

Biologists trying to determine what killed humpback whale found floating in Virginia river

GLOUCESTER, Va. — Biologists are trying to figure out what killed a humpback whale found floating in a Virginia river.

Cab driver: Aspiring rapper suspected of killing 4 in Va. had fight with girlfriend over text

RICHMOND, Va. — An aspiring horrorcore rapper suspected of killing his girlfriend and three others in Virginia told a cab driver that he had a fight with the teenager over a text message he found from another man.

Jury convicts retired Air Force officer of selling secrets to China, faces 20 year sentence

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A jury has convicted a retired Air Force officer on charges of selling classified information on U.S.-China military relations to a Chinese agent and lying to the FBI about it.

Appeals court overturns $5M verdict against Kan.-based protesters at Md. soldier’s funeral

RICHMOND, Va. — A federal appeals court on Thursday tossed out a $5 million verdict against protesters who carried signs with inflammatory messages like “Thank God for dead soldiers” outside the Maryland funeral of a U.S. Marine killed in Iraq.

Federal prosecutors say 2 NC terrorism suspects plotted to attack US military personnel

RALEIGH, N.C. — Federal prosecutors say two North Carolina terrorism suspects plotted to kill U.S. military personnel and obtained maps of a Marine base in Virginia to plan an attack.

W.Va. Sen. Robert Byrd, 91, released from hospital after fall at home, possible infection

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Sen. Robert C. Byrd, the longest-serving senator in history, is out of the hospital.

Virginia Gov. announces SAIC to move headquarters from San Diego to Virginia

McLEAN, Va. — Defense contractor SAIC Inc. announced Thursday that it will move its corporate headquarters from San Diego to the Virginia suburbs.

Va. pastor slain in quadruple killing remembered for devotion to God, daughter

PAMPLIN, Va. — Church members and friends are remembering the Rev. Mark Niederbrock as a father devoted to God who struggled with his daughter’s fixation on macabre music.

Int’l Trade Commission to stop illegal Internet imports of Marlboro cigarettes

RICHMOND, Va. — The International Trade Commission is requiring U.S. Customs & Border Protection to stop the import of counterfeit products illegally bearing the trademarks owned by Philip Morris USA.

Divorce American style: Census says counties in Indiana, Florida have most divorced residents

ISLAMORADA, Fla. — It’s easy to see why bookkeeper Linda Mortimer moved to the Florida Keys 20 years ago: the impossibly blue water, the year-round sunshine, a lifestyle so laid-back that every day is like a Jimmy Buffett lyric.

Colleague: Va. prof sought help with daughter’s obsession with macabre music before killings

FARMVILLE, Va. — A slain mother and daughter from Virginia were in counseling over the teenager’s obsession with macabre music before they were killed.

Virginia county challenged in court for approving Walmart near Civil War battlefield

RICHMOND, Va. — Preservationists and residents filed a legal challenge Wednesday to block construction of a Walmart Supercenter near a famed battlefield where the Civil War began to turn in favor of the North.

Freddie Mac names Fifth Third CFO Ross Kari as new financial chief

McLEAN, Va. — Freddie Mac said Tuesday it has named a new chief financial officer, filling a post that has been occupied on an interim basis for a year.

Smithfield Foods closes 21.7 million stock offer at $13.85 per share

SMITHFIELD, Va. — Pork processor and hog producer Smithfield Foods Inc. on Tuesday priced its public offering of nearly 21.7 million shares at $13.85 per share.

Correction: Virginia Killings story

FARMVILLE, Va. — In a Sept. 22 story about an aspiring rapper suspected in the slayings of four people, The Associated Press misspelled the surname of the suspect’s friend. The correct spelling is Andres Shrim, not Shirm.

FDA ban on flavored cigarettes takes effect, 1 of first visible signs of tobacco regulation

RICHMOND, Va. — The new federal ban on flavored cigarettes took effect on Tuesday, marking one of the first visible signs of the Food and Drug Administration’s new authority to regulate tobacco.

Byrd, longest-serving senator, taken to hospital after fall in Virginia home

WASHINGTON — Robert Byrd, the longest serving senator in history, has been taken to a hospital after a fall at home in the Washington suburbs.

Authorities: 4 slain in small Va. college town bludgeoned to death; suspect is aspiring rapper

FARMVILLE, Va. — Four people found slain in a small Virginia college town were bludgeoned to death, authorities said Tuesday, and the aspiring rapper suspected of killing them befriended two of the victims through a subculture of violent, macabre music.

Former TV journalist Max Page, who oversaw construction of Newseum, dies at 60

VIENNA, Va. — Max C. Page, a top executive at the Newseum and a former broadcast journalist, has died.

CarMax posts steep jump in 2nd-qtr profit on sales boost

RICHMOND, Va. — Car dealership chain CarMax Inc. said Tuesday its fiscal second-quarter profit surged on higher sales and a one-time gain related to its auto financing business.

Carter says Israel must stop building settlements in Palestine to achieve Middle East peace

HARRISONBURG, Virginia — Israel must stop building settlements in the Palestinian territories if peace is ever to be achieved in the Middle East, former President Jimmy Carter said Monday night as he received an award at a Virginia university for his humanitarian efforts.

Trial begins in Va. for Air Force officer accused of selling secrets to Chinese spy

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A former Air Force officer is on trial for providing secret military information to a New Orleans furniture salesman who turned out to be a Chinese spy.