A child's playing with fire in a Spotsylvania County home on Thursday evening resulted in $25,000 in damage, Deputy Fire Chief Monty Willaford said. The fire started in a closet and spread through the bedroom of the single-story home in the 8900 block of Jennings Lane off Robert E. Lee Drive, he said. Flames came out a window and damaged a porch....

RICHMOND--The House of Delegates has passed Del. Mark Cole's bill barring state Medicaid money from paying for abortions for poor women whose fetuses could be born severely or fatally disabled. The vote Friday was 64-35. The bill now goes to the Senate for consideration....

LAST FALL, Comcast, the nation's largest residential Internet service provider, launched a program, Internet Essentials, that could provide 3 million low-income children--including thousands in our area--with access to affordable broadband and affordable computers. Through the program, kids all the way from preschool to 12th grade who are in the school free lunch program can get home Internet service for $9.95 a month, a voucher for a $149 computer, free security software and free training....

A 9-year-old boy was placed in child protective services after police learned that he was stealing iPhones, apparently under the direction of two adults. Spotsylvania sheriff's Capt. Mike Harvey said investigators aren't sure about the relationship between the child and the adults, who are both in jail under no bond. Harvey said the boy told police that he thinks they are his parents, but the child did not know his last name and has never been in school....

WHEN IT COMES to energy usage, there is no magic bullet. I read a story in the paper the other day about an electric hybrid car that is getting 145 miles per gallon of gas....

A stolen purse drew far more attention than the alleged thief could have anticipated Thursday evening at the Walmart in Central Park. Police said three good Samaritans chased the suspect down while a fourth called 911 and kept police informed about the incident. The suspect was still being held down by the three men when officers arrived at the nearby Bank of America parking lot a short time later, Fredericksburg police spokeswoman Natatia Bledsoe said....

SPOTSYLVANIA COUNTY Spotswood Baptist Church, 4009 Lafayette Blvd., will present Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University, starting Feb. 8. Advance registration required. Cost is $93 per family. 540/898-0757; spots wood.org. ...

By CATHY DYSON Students and teachers in several Fredericksburg-area schools are finding creative, hands-on ways to help their counterparts in Kenya....

Brenda Royer has her chips and salsa ready--not for a Super Bowl party, but for an event that's almost as big a deal in the dog world. From her King George County living room, Royer will watch a dog she co-owns compete on a national stage....

Heather Marshall doesn't like being called an "extreme couponer." She watches the grocery-store ads with an eagle eye and wakes up at the crack of dawn to get the best deals, but she's not doing it to stock her own pantry....