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Health officials seek answers in deaths of five local children By STEVE STONE, The Virginian-Pilot © February 21, 2003 Last updated 8:58 PM Feb. 20 The Virginia Department of Health is working with local health officials to see if there is any common cause in the deaths of five children that have occurred in as many days. Four of the children died in Hampton Roads, one in Richmond. All of the children were 7 or younger and all suffered from upper respiratory infections. ``We are concerned about the recent deaths of these children, and we are rapidly investigating to determine...

RICHMOND, Feb. 21 -- Five children who died in southeast Virginia in the past week had no contact with each other and did not attend the same schools or take similar medicines, according to state health officials, who also dismissed bioterrorism as a cause of the mysterious deaths. The five boys and girls -- from Richmond, Hampton, Virginia Beach, and Portsmouth -- had one thing in common before their unexpected deaths: an apparent viral infection that caused flu-like symptoms, including sore throat, wheezing, coughing, ear infections, and low-grade fevers

WASHINGTON - A NASA (news - web sites) safety engineer warned days before Columbia broke apart that he feared the shuttle was at risk for a devastating breach near its left wheel, and he suggested people in the space agency weren't adequately considering the threat. "We can't imagine why getting information is being treated like the plague," the engineer wrote in one of a number of e-mails released Friday that describe greater concerns about Columbia's safety in the days before its breakup. Other documents NASA released show that Columbia may have been struck by as many as three large chunks...