Expedited review
1| Cuccinelli asks Supreme Court to decide Obamacare
The details: Just after a district court in Florida declared Obamacare unconstitutional, Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli asked the Supreme Court to give the issue an expedited review. Cuccinelli won a separate case against Obamacare in federal court in December.
Unemployment falls
2| But few net jobs created
The details: Despite expectations that it would rise slightly, the unemployment rate fell by nearly half a point, to 9.0 percent, in January. However, few net jobs were created — the rate fell primarily because a net 504,000 people quit the labor force.
Recovery soon?
3| Bernanke bullish on America
The details: Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said this week that the economy was on track for a self-sustaining recovery. However, he tempered the good news by predicting “stubbornly” high unemployment.
Better phone & service
4| Verizon iPhone sales soar first day
The details: Consumers were so eager to buy Apple iPhones with Verizon service that preorders had to be cut off after just 17 hours. Verizon announced it had been “the most successful first-day sales in the history of the company.”
Medical advance
5| Protein predicts cancer spread
The details: Cancer researchers at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development have discovered that the presence of a particular protein can predict whether cancers will metastasize or recur. The discovery could significantly increase the effectiveness of cancer treatments.
More legislators
6| N.Va. to gain three seats
The details: Northern Virginia stands to gain two new seats in the House of Delegates and one in the state Senate during redistricting required under the 2010 Census. Outer suburbs in Loudoun and Prince William counties experienced the most explosive population growth.
Enforcement works
7| Illegal immigrants leave in droves
The details: Illegal immigration is down dramatically in local jurisdictions that implement a federal program designed to deport lawbreakers. The illegal immigrant population declined 61.1 percent in Frederick County, Md., and 20.6 percent in Prince William County, Va., between 2007 and 2009.
In the dark
8| Punishing Pepco
The details: A bill requiring Pepco to pay the hotel bills of customers left for days without electricity was introduced in the D.C. Council. The utility is also under investigation in Maryland for its too-frequent power outages.
Not in the bag
9| Va. bags two taxes
The details: Virginia Del. Joseph Morrissey’s, D-Henrico, proposal to impose a 5-cent tax on plastic grocery bags similar to one in the District was killed by the General Assembly. So was Arlington County’s request to jack up its hotel tax.
Humbling memorial
10| Metro honors fallen workers
The details: Metro unveiled a memorial at Metro Center bearing the names of 26 workers who have died on the job since 1980, including Red Line train operator Jeanice McMillan, who was killed in June 2009 in Metro’s worst accident ever.
