At Booker T. Washington High School in Norfolk, contestants including junior Yazjae Pressey compete Friday in a preliminary round of the Exodus National Spelling Bee tour, sponsored by Cory “CoCo Brother” Condrey and State Farm Insurance. Senior Omar Tariq won and will represent Hampton Roads schools in the contest in Atlanta. (Steve Earley | The Virginian-Pilot)

VIRGINIA BEACH A 10-month-old baby, Braxton Taylor, died two years ago at the hands of his foster mother. She’s locked up on a voluntary manslaughter conviction after investigators determined she shook the boy to death.

WILLIAMSBURG The United States is in peril - not so much from foreign threats as from mean-spirited partisan feuds that make it impossible to solve the nation's problems - former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates warned Friday.

NEWPORT NEWS — One of two supervisors fired in connection with the scrap metal case at Newport News Waterworks was reinstated to his job on Friday.

Police discovered two bodies inside a home Friday, hours after receiving a call about a shooting.

 A 48-year-old Newport News man has been charged with sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl.

By Craig Moeller A storm system taking shape over the central U.S. is drawing moisture up from the Gulf of Mexico into the deep south today. This system will eventually produce wet weather for our region late Saturday through Sunday morning.

WILMINGTON, N.C.  A Raleigh school administrator accused of paying a hit man to behead three witnesses in a North Carolina terrorism case is due in federal court.

NORFOLK Peter G. Decker Jr., the flamboyant attorney and judge and powerful political figure who helped revive downtown Norfolk, gave the city its iconic mermaid symbol and raised tens of millions of dollars for charity, died at age 76 today after a four-year fight against cancer.

At 6:25 a.m., the Virginia Department of Transportation was reporting the following traffic issues: James River Bridge Lifts are scheduled for 10:30 and 11 a.m. In Chesapeake, the city reports the following issues: Steel Bridge A lift is scheduled for 7:45 a.m.