In the midst of a swine flu pandemic, should guests at a wine-tasting party share a single glass? A version of that question faces many Hampton Roads churches, where congregants sip from a shared Communion cup. A Georgetown University doctor warns against such a practice, but it's routine during Communion in Catholic, Episcopal and Lutheran churches.

With the U.S. House expected to vote Saturday on the most significant health care overhaul in more than a generation, one South Hampton Roads congressman is strongly for it, another is vehemently opposed and a third is on the fence.

NORFOLK The number of H1N1 flu vaccine doses coming into Virginia is nearing the 1 million mark this week, and emergency visits for the flu have dropped slightly. Those were the headlines State Health Commissioner Karen Remley delivered Thursday during a news media briefing on the pandemic H1N1 flu, or swine flu, at the Norfolk Department of Health.

By David Rogers 

Health care is big for House Democrats: big like Social Security in the ’30s and civil rights in the ’60s, big like the war stories retold now in party caucuses as lawmakers grapple with the floor vote that is just days away.

RALEIGH, N.C.  The NAACP is in North Carolina to encourage Congress to include a public option as part of health care reform.

NAACP President and CEO Benjamin Todd Jealous will be joined by the Rev. William J. Barber, president of the NAACP North Carolina State Conference, at a news conference this morning in Raleigh.

VIRGINIA BEACH A special H1N1 vaccination clinic for Virginia Beach children who are home-schooled and those residents who attend private schools, child care centers and colleges will be conducted Saturday at Larkspur Middle School.

Angela Mefford's cough early last week seemed run-of-the-mill.
Her husband said he figured it was caused by a change in the weather, or a simple cold. Then the 27-year-old mother of two developed a fever, and last Wednesday she went to the emergency room at Chesapeake Regional Medical Center.

By Patrick O'Connor  The Republicans’ health care bill in the House focuses more on lowering costs than on expanding coverage, party leaders said Monday — setting up a stark divide between the GOP and Democrats who have made near universal coverage a top priority of their bills.

By Chris Frates 

When the insurance industry launched the first full-scale attack on key provisions of health reform, the Democrats’ response was swift, brutal and aimed squarely at Karen Ignagni, a former Democratic Capitol Hill aide who is now the industry’s top lobbyist.

RICHMOND Concerns about swine flu have added at least one more burden to already harried officials prepping for Election Day. Voters heading to the polls can expect to see hand sanitizer available and might notice some differences in the way precincts are set up. It's all aimed at reducing the transfer of germs during a peak period of seasonal illness, officials said.