Week in review

WikiLeaks supporters rally

Supporters of an Army private accused of supplying classified documents to the WikiLeaks website are rallying on his behalf as a federal grand jury meets in Alexandria, Va. to investigate the matter. Bradley Manning's supporters say the grand jury's subpoenas amount to harassment and persecution of people who support government transparency.

Pentagon arrests

One person was taken into custody early Friday after being found near the Pentagon with suspicious materials in his backpack, authorities said, and a motorist found with a gun and what appeared to be a suspicious package near the Pentagon was taken into custody in a separate incident earlier this week.

Friday's incident involved an initially uncooperative man detained after he was found after hours inside Arlington National Cemetery, authorities said. Officers searched his nearby car, but found nothing suspicious inside, said Brenda Heck, special agent in charge of the counterterrorism unit of the FBI's Washington field office. The suspect's name was not released.

A law enforcement official speaking on the condition of anonymity said officials found what appeared to be an unknown quantity of ammonium nitrate, a chemical compound widely used in fertilizers that can be used in explosives with the correct concentration.

Fighting flames

Sixteen wildland firefighters from the Virginia Department of Forestry are helping fight the flames in Arizona, Texas, Georgia and Florida this week. Most of the VDOF resources (11 firefighters and five engines) arrived Monday in Florida to assist the Florida Division of Forestry as it fights more than 250 wildfires burning across that state. Texas has had nearly 3 million acres burn so far this year, and approximately 1 million acres combined are burning in the other three states. VDOF has also contributed radio communications, geographic information systems and public information personnel to the efforts.

Pit bull attack

Police say a Virginia man found dead in his home over the weekend was killed by his pit bull. The Spotsylvania County Sheriff's Department says in a news release that an autopsy found indications of paw marks on the victim's body and defensive wounds on the fingers and hands. Police say the body of 38-year-old David Quyon Haigler was found Saturday in his home by his 18-year-old son. Sheriff's Lt. Col. Michael Timm tells The Free-Lance Star that the 6-year-old pit bull was roaming free in the house. Another 6-year-old pit bull was chained in another area of the residence. Both dogs are being held at the county animal shelter.

Living longer

Here's some good news: if you're from Fairfax County, you could live as much as 15 years longer than men from Holmes County, Miss., according to a study released Wednesday. The study reported that on average, men from Fairfax had the highest life expectancy across the nation: 81.5 years old. Holmes men, with the lowest life expectancy, lived 65.9 years. However, the U.S. had the 37th highest life span internationally, highlighting Americans' lagging life expectancy compared to Europeans, Bloomberg reports. The study, conducted by researchers at the University of Washington, compared life expectancies of men and women in 3,147 US counties. Factors for a lower life expectancy included tobacco use, obesity and high blood pressure.

Unwise loans

Ten percent of Virginia households report using payday lenders, pawnshops and car title loans, according to a study released this week by the University of Virginia. More than 40 percent of Virginia households used loan services to meet basic living expenses. Another 22 percent used the loans to meet unexpected financial demands such as lost income, home and car repairs, or medical expenses.

"Use of these short-term loans threatens the long-term economic security of already vulnerable families," said Qian Cai, director of the U.Va. Demographics and Workforce Group. "Most families are already in or near financial crisis when they turn to these products."

World record

Around three dozen Richmond-area children participated in the World's Largest Swimming Lesson on Tuesday, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported. The organizers of the event hope to top their record last year of 3,971 participants and once again make their way into the "Guinness Book of World Records." Swimming lessons were conducted at pools around the world to stress the importance of teaching children how to swim.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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