National and State News-Monday, April 16th

BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) - A Virginia official says one person has been killed in a shooting at a Virginia Tech dorm. One person is wounded. A posting on the school's Web site says a "gunman is loose on the campus." Students have been told to stay in their homes away from windows.

BAGHDAD (AP) - Six Cabinet ministers loyal to the radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr have resigned. They're protesting the prime minister's refusal to set a timetable for U-S withdrawal. Meantime, at least 13 Iraqi soldiers were killed today in an ambush.

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush starts the week with another push for a war-spending bill that doesn't include troop withdrawals or limitations on his military commanders. He's giving a White House address on the issue this hour. Both the House and Senate have passed bills to fund the war and start drawing troops home.

NEW YORK (AP) - Fierce storms have canceled schools, cut power and grounded hundreds of flights in the Northeast. The suburbs north of New York City are especially hard-hit. Shelters across the region are filling up with evacuees.

WASHINGTON (AP) - Retail sales were up last month as warmer weather and an early Easter put consumers in a buying mood. The Commerce Department reports it was the best showing in three months.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Interstate 81 is open again throughout Schuylkill County, but traffic in some areas is restricted on one lane. Numerous accidents on Interstate 81 between the Pine Grove and Delano exits caused serious backlogs in the region today.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Spokesmen for two electric utilities in eastern Pennsylvania say they have about 90-thousand customers between them without power. The storm has caused power failures for about 50-thousand P-P-L customers and 40-thousand Peco customers.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - A state lawmaker has introduced a bill to make helmets mandatory for motorcycle riders again. Since 2003, helmet use has been optional in Pennsylvania for all except the youngest, least inexperienced riders.

NAZARETH, Pa. (AP) - Northampton County has reached an agreement with about 700 unionized workers at the county nursing home. Those covered by the contract include licensed practical nurses and different types of aides at Gracedale Nursing Home.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - A memorial service is scheduled tonight for one of two people from Harrisburg killed in a hit-and-run crash in Maryland last week. Tonight's service for 25-year-old Lindsay Bender is at from six to nine at Saint Theresa Church in New Cumberland.