By BEN FELLER

WASHINGTON President Barack Obama declared Friday he's found a solution that will protect religious liberty but also ensure that women have access to free birth control, as he rushed to defuse an election-year political uproar that threatened to overtake his administration.

By Bob Lewis RICHMOND A White House mandate that could force Catholic organizations' insurance plans to cover their employees' birth control costs tugs former Gov. Tim Kaine between his Roman Catholic faith and his Democratic ally, President Barack Obama.

Virginians strongly favor drug tests for welfare recipients and many support repealing a requirement that preteen girls be vaccinated against a virus that can cause cervical cancer, according to a new poll conducted by the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.

RICHMOND Schools may be able to stock epinephrine pens to treat students suffering from severe allergic reactions under a bill that advanced Wednesday from a House panel.

NEWPORT NEWS Gwendolyn Ellis-Wilson's office phone was ringing. Again. This time it was an inmate, one of her clients who would soon be released. "Where are you going to be staying? I don't like that neighborhood," she said. Then she probed. "Who are you staying with? Is your mom aware of your status?"

RICHMOND Emergency legislation to fix a flaw in a Virginia law that delayed insurance coverage for autistic children has been signed by Gov. Bob McDonnell.

By Ray Henry  ATLANTA  An executive with the Susan G. Komen for the Cure breast-cancer charity has resigned after a dispute over funding for Planned Parenthood. The resignation came in a letter obtained by The Associated Press.

Karen Handel announced her resignation as vice president for public policy in a letter to Komen officials today.

VIRGINIA BEACH The Virginia Beach Department of Public Health is inspecting a motel where police confiscated two drug-related objects a family reported finding in different rooms over the weekend.

SUFFOLK

For years, residents of the rural village of Hobson have known their drinking water, drawn from an aging community well, did not meet state or federal health standards.

Tonya McKinney was so intent on her daughter receiving the human papillomavirus vaccine that she was willing to pay out of pocket for the shots that protect against cervical cancer.

“I don’t want my daughter to go through a possible cancer experience if there’s something that can prevent it,” McKinney said.