MEXICO CITY (AP) — The number of monarch butterflies wintering in Mexican forests declined for a second consecutive year, a government official said Monday.

Alejandro Del Mazo, Mexico’s commissioner for protected areas, said the monarchs clumped in trees covering about 6.12 acres (2.48 hectares) this winter. That was down about 14.7 percent from the 7.19 acres (2.91 hectares) the previous winter.

The monarch butterflies’ migration is measured by the area they cover in pine and fir forests west of Mexico City. Millions of the butterflies make the 3,400-mile (5,500-kilometer) migration from the United States and Canada each year.

Jorge Rickards, director of the World Wildlife Fund in Mexico, which participated in the annual study, said a particularly busy hurricane season across the insects’ migration route could have been a factor.

“These climate phenomena without a doubt have an impact on the migration,” Rickards said.

He also mentioned a March 2016 wind storm and cold snap that devastated the core of the butterfly reserve.

Monarch expert Lincoln Brower, a biology professor at Sweet Briar College in Virginia who co-authored a report about the 2016 storm, pointed to the effects of that storm’s felling of thousands of trees. The salvage logging permitted by the government to remove the downed trees to reduce the risk of forest fires continued to damage the fragile ecosystem, he said.

In a September 2017 article in American Entomologist, Brower wrote that “forest thinning reduces the microclimatic buffering provided by the forest canopy during the winter season, thus increasing the mortality risk to the overwintering monarchs.”

The monarch butterflies wintering in Mexico have been in decline since the winter of 1996-1997 when they covered about 44 acres (18 hectares) of forest. There have been several rebound years, but each has generally been less than the preceding upswing.

Increased use of herbicides in the United States have hurt the prevalence of milkweed, which monarch caterpillars feed on, risking their survival.

Homero Aridjis, an environmental activist who has worked to protect the butterflies’ winter habitat, said the government has supplied insufficient data to allow independent scientists to analyze the colonies. He said new ways to measure the butterfly population are necessary.

Del Mazo said Monday tthat he government is awaiting data from a laser-scanning technology known as LIDAR.

On the positive side, Rickards noted that illegal logging in the Mexico reserve was nearly eliminated last year with the help of gendarmes who patrol the area. He said 1.6 acres (.65 hectare) was lost to illegal logging last year, compared to 29.6 acres (12 hectares) the prior year.

“On one hand, Mexico has done its work as far as controlling logging, but on the other hand Mexico is not free of the global phenomena implied by climate change and we have to be ready to confront and take measures to be able to adapt to this reality,” Rickards said.

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RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — Richmond Police are trying to identify three suspects that broke into vehicles in the Shockoe Bottom neighborhood on two reported occasions and stole items.

At approximately 4:45 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 25, officers responded to a report of two vehicles being broken into at the 00 block of S. 19th Street.

On Jan. 6, sometime between 10 p.m. and 2:45 a.m., three victims reported their vehicles had been broken into in the parking lot of the 1500 block of East Main Street.

Surveillance video shows the suspects driving into the parking lot in an Infinity G35.

In both incidents, the victims reported that their windows had been smashed and items were stolen.

Detectives believe that one suspect was involved in both break-ins.

Detectives ask anyone with any information on these incidents to call Second Precinct Detective T. Wilson at (804) 646-0672 or Crime Stoppers at 780-1000.

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NEW YORK (WCMH) — Amazon is considering a partnership with the nation’s top banks to create a “checking-account-like” product for customers, the Wall Street Journal reports.

The report says Amazon is already talking with banks such as JP Morgan Chase to launch the accounts which would be aimed at younger customers.

“The underlying goal is to further grow its Prime membership through cross-selling into existing J.P. Morgan customers and this could lead to more initiatives down the road,” Dan Ives, chief strategy officer and head of technology research at GBH Insights, told CNBC in an email. “Ultimately, Amazon is in fifth gear, trying to double down on the consumer and the finance vertical looks like the next step (through partnerships) of adding to the Amazon flywheel.”

By law, Amazon would not be allowed to make loans.

“Amazon can collect deposits so long as it’s not issuing loans,” said Dick Bove, equity research analyst at the Vertical Group. “I’d assume that if an arrangement is created that it would be like the Apple Pay arrangement. Apple has a relationship with a number of banks, using their payment systems, but clearly, Apple is not in the banking business.”

This would be just the latest addition to Amazon’s portfolio, which now includes grocery stores and its digital assistant, Alexa. The internet giant, however, is not commenting on the plans.

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CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — Authorities investigated a suspicious package that was found in Chesterfield County neighborhood Monday afternoon.

At around 5 p.m., Chesterfield Police were called to the 6500 block of Watchspring Court for reports of a package containing a ‘suspicious substance.’

Police, along with Chesterfield Fire & EMS and a HAZMAT team, all responded to the scene.

Roughly two hours later, Lt. Proffitt with Chesterfield Police said the substance did not appear to be harmful or dangerous. The package has been collected for further investigation.

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SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — A suspect died and two police officers were wounded in a shootout early Monday in the lakeside Idaho resort town of Sandpoint, authorities said.

The shootout happened at about 3 a.m. after the officers responded to a call from a home and started talking with the person who made the call, Sandpoint Police Chief Corey Coon told reporters.

While they were talking, a man came out of the home and opened fire at the officers, hitting both of them, Coon said. The officers fired back, he said.

The officers were identified Monday afternoon as Eric Clark and Michael Hutter, according to Sandpoint City Administrator Jennifer Stapleton.

She identified the suspect as 28-year-old Brandon Kuhlman of Sandpoint.

Stapleton said Clark was shot in the neck and hand and that he had undergone two surgeries Monday. He was in recovery in a hospital in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, Monday afternoon, she said.

Hutter was shot in the leg and chest, was treated at a local hospital and released Monday, according to Stapleton.

She said Kuhlman began firing at the officers within seconds of their arrival and that the officers sought cover and returned fire when Kuhlman “actively engaged the officers a second time.”

Investigating officers found Kuhlman deceased in the residence, Stapleton said. An autopsy is planned for Tuesday.

The North Idaho Critical Incident Task Force is leading the investigation, Stapleton said.

A charter school near the Ridley Village neighborhood of Sandpoint where the shootout happened decided to cancel classes, Coon said.

Sandpoint is a town of about 7,000 residents on Lake Pend Oreille surrounded by the Selkirk and Cabinet mountain ranges and is home to the Schweitzer Mountain Resort ski area.

It’s about 90 miles (145 kilometers) northeast of Spokane, Washington.

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WASHINGTON (AP) — A former Trump campaign aide spent much of Monday promising to defy a subpoena from special counsel Robert Mueller, even throwing down the challenge to “arrest me,” then backed off his defiance by saying he would probably cooperate in the end.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Sam Nunberg said he was angry over Mueller’s request to have him appear in front of a grand jury and turn over thousands of emails and other communications with other ex-officials, among them his mentor Roger Stone. But he predicted that, in the end, he’d find a way to comply.

“I’m going to end up cooperating with them,” he said.

It was a reversal from his tone throughout the day, when he lashed out at Trump and his campaign and threatened to defy Mueller in a series of interviews.

“Why do I have to do it?” Nunberg told CNN of the subpoena. “I’m not cooperating,” he said later as he challenged officials to charge him.

In the earlier interviews, Nunberg said he thought Mueller may already have incriminating evidence on Trump directly, although he would not say what that evidence might be.

“I think he may have done something during the election,” Nunberg told MSNBC of the president, “but I don’t know that for sure.” He later told CNN that Mueller “thinks Trump is the Manchurian candidate.” A reference drawn from a Cold War novel and film, a “Manchurian candidate” is an American brainwashed or otherwise compromised to work on behalf of an adversarial government.

Shortly after Nunberg lobbed the first allegation, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders rebuffed him during the White House press briefing.

“I definitely think he doesn’t know that for sure because he’s incorrect. As we’ve said many times before, there was no collusion with the Trump campaign,” Sanders said. “He hasn’t worked at the White House, so I certainly can’t speak to him or the lack of knowledge that he clearly has.”

Nunberg also said he thinks former Trump foreign policy adviser Carter Page, a key figure in the Russia investigation, worked with the Kremlin. “I believe that Carter Page was colluding with the Russians,” Nunberg said on CNN. “That Carter Page is a weird dude.”

Page called Nunberg’s accusations “laughable” in a comment to The Associated Press.

The Justice Department and FBI obtained a secret warrant in October 2016 to monitor Page’s communications. His activities during the presidential campaign that raised concerns included a July 2016 trip to Moscow.

In the interviews, Nunberg said he believes the president probably knew about the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting between his eldest son, top campaign staff and a team of Russians, which Trump has denied. And he blamed Trump for the investigation into Russia meddling, telling MSNBC that he was “responsible for this investigation … because he was so stupid.”

A spokesman for the special counsel’s office declined to comment.

During his afternoon tirades, Nunberg detailed his interview with Mueller’s investigators, mocking them for asking such questions as if he had heard Russian being spoken in Trump Tower. He then said he would reject a sweeping demand from Mueller for communications between him and top Trump advisers.

“I think it would be funny if they arrested me,” Nunberg said on MSNBC.

He later added on CNN: “I’m not going to the grand jury. I’m not going to spend 30 hours going over my emails. I’m not doing it.”

Nunberg said he’d already blown a 3 p.m. Monday deadline to turn over the requested communications. He said he’d traded numerous emails a day with Stone and former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon, and said spending 80 hours digging through his inbox to find them all was unreasonable.

But in his call with the AP, Nunberg said he might be more willing to comply if Mueller’s team limits the scope of its request.

“I’m happy if the scope changes and if they send me a subpoena that doesn’t include Carter Page,” he said, insisting the two had never spoken.

He also said he believes the only reason he’s being asked to testify before the grand jury is to provide information that would be used against Stone, a longtime Trump adviser, which he says he won’t do.

Nunberg is the first witness in the ongoing federal Russia investigation to openly promise to defy a subpoena. But he’s not the first to challenge Mueller: Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort filed a lawsuit in January challenging Mueller’s authority to indict him.

It’s unclear how much Nunberg would know about the inner workings of the Trump campaign or the White House. He never worked at the White House and was jettisoned from the Trump campaign early on, in August 2015, after racist social media postings surfaced. Trump filed a $10 million lawsuit against Nunberg in July 2016, accusing him of violating a nondisclosure agreement, but they settled the suit one month later.

John Dean, a White House counsel to President Richard Nixon during Watergate, tweeted Monday that Nunberg can’t flatly refuse to comply with a grand jury subpoena.

“This is not Mr. Nunberg’s decision, and he will be in criminal contempt for refusing to show up. He can take the Fifth Amendment. But he can’t tell the grand Jury to get lost. He’s going to lose this fight.”

Nunberg appeared pleased by his performance, telling the AP that he was “doing something I’ve never seen.”

“They don’t know what’s going on,” he said, speculating that Mueller would not appreciate his comments and suggesting the authorities might send police to his apartment.

His usual cockiness, however, did appear, at times, to ebb. At the end of an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper, Nunberg asked whether the TV anchor thought he should instead cooperate with Mueller.

“If it were me, I would,” Tapper responded, telling Nunberg: “Sometimes life and special prosecutors are not fair, I guess.”

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STAFFORD COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — Two people were arrested on firearms charges following a road rage incident in Stafford County early Monday morning.

Shortly after 12:30 a.m., a deputy with the Stafford County Sheriff’s Office was called to an incident in which the victims reported that a dark-colored vehicle pulled next to them while traveling east on Garrisonville Road and the occupants began yelling at them.

A short time later on Jefferson Davis Highway, in the area of Comfort Inn and Suites, the suspect vehicle again approached the victims’ vehicle. One of the victims reportedly observed one of the suspects brandishing a firearm. The suspect vehicle then pulled in front of the victims’ vehicle with the driver’s side facing northbound. One of the passengers exited the vehicle and punched one of the victims in the face approximately five times, according to police.

Shortly after the incident, another deputy stopped the suspects’ vehicle at Cambridge Street and Truslow Road. Two firearms matching the description provided by the victims were located in the vehicle. Deputies learned that neither suspect had concealed weapons permits.

Both suspects, who have been identified as 25-year-old Yovany Abreu of Stafford County, and 27-year-old Brent Amed Jones of Ruther Glen, were taken to Rappahannock Regional Jail on secure bonds.

Jones is charged with brandishing a firearm, concealed and carry and assault. Abreu is charged with brandishing a firearm, concealed carry, reckless driving and stopping on a highway where dangerous.

Another passenger, 23-year-old Cody Allen Lillard of Stafford County, was charged with public intoxication.

The incident remains under investigation.

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RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — Richmond Police are trying to identify the suspect(s) who damaged lighting fixtures on the T.Tyler Potterfield Memorial Bridge overnight.

The pedestrian and cycling pathway spans the James River from Brown’s Island to Manchester.

The suspect(s) ripped off over 90 light covers and pulled out the LED lighting elements.

The damage done to the lighting fixtures is above the threshold for a felony charge, which is $1,000 in damage.

Detectives ask anyone who saw any suspicious activity on the footbridge last night or early this morning to call First Precinct Lieutenant Anthony Papaleo at (804) 646-0572 or contact Crime Stoppers at (804) 780-1000, online at www.7801000.com or by downloading and using the P3 Tips app on Apple and Android devices. All Crime Stoppers methods are anonymous.

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RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — The ACLU of Virginia sent a letter to all public school superintendents in the Commonwealth urging them not to punish students who walk out of school as a form of protest more harshly than if they are absent from class for any other reason.

In the letter sent March 2, ACLU-VA Executive Director Claire Guthrie Gastañaga acknowledged students may be subjected to discipline for walking out during school hours, but said school administrators also have the opportunity to recognize peaceful protest as a positive civic activity to be admired and encouraged. The letter was sent in anticipation of nationwide student walkouts planned for March 14 and April 20 over the issue of gun violence in schools.

“From the ACLU of Virginia’s perspective, a public school should always seek to impose the fewest and narrowest restrictions on student expression possible given the special circumstances of the school environment,” the letter states. “We strongly question whether being absent from class for a few minutes or even a day creates a substantial disturbance or disruption of school activities or infringes on the rights of other students.”

The letter continues, “Virginia public schools and school divisions would be well-advised, under all the circumstances, to adopt an educational rather than a disciplinary approach to these activities. Just because you can argue that you have the power to discipline students for protesting or walking out doesn’t mean you should choose to do so.”

Click here to read the full letter.

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ALBEMARLE COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — The Albemarle County Police Department is looking for a missing elderly man.

Harry Lewis is 90 years old, 5’10” and 165 lbs. He was last seen on foot around 4:30 p.m. in the Farmington community wearing a black coat, grey cotton pants and blue shoes.

Mr. Lewis is non-verbal and suffers from dementia.

Multiple agencies are in the Farmington area searching for Mr. Lewis, with the Albemarle County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue Team leading the way. A K-9 is also on scene.

This is a developing story. Stay with 8News online and on air for the latest updates.

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RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — Fay Chelmow walks with purpose towards her car. Every trip she makes in the Richmond area is an opportunity to reach another person with a mission she holds close to her heart.

Chelmow, a registered nurse, knows there is detection through education.

She founded ImPACT Virginia, a campaign to fight human trafficking.

This month she is taking the effort from the streets and into hospitals and doctors’ offices for years to come.

Chelmow organized a free human trafficking education and training session at the VCU School of Medicine.

She says up to 88-percent of victims and survivors have some kind of interaction with a healthcare provider while they are being trafficked but are not identified.

“Unless you know the red flags, you’re not going to see it,” Chelmow explains. “So a lot of victims and survivors are falling through the cracks.”

She says the most common signs are scripted answers, or the trafficker will talk for them. People being trafficked are also often very attached to their cell phones.

“The trafficker wants to keep tabs on them, on what they say, what they do, where they are,” Chelmow describes the control the trafficker has.

Chelmow calls human trafficking a ‘big problem’ in the Richmond region for many reasons.

“The intersection of the highways. We have a ton of hotels and motels on the off ramps and on ramps. We have a mix of wealth and poverty. It’s a tourist attraction. We have military bases. We have access to air, sea and land.”

Next week’s training session is designed for medical professionals, but everyone is invited to attend.

Chelmow hopes to educate everyone from law enforcement to community leaders and residents on signs of human trafficking to fight it across the community.

“It’s a multi-billion dollar industry, so it’s not like we can arrest our way out of this. The only way we are going to stop this problem is to go upstream with prevention education.”

The free four-hour training session is March 14 from noon – 4 p.m. at the Hermes A. Kontos Medical Sciences Building, 1217 East Marshall Street in Richmond.

RUSHMERE, Va. (AP) — Authorities in Virginia say a body that washed up on the banks of the James River has been identified as one of two duck hunters who went missing in early January.

Lee Walker, a spokesman for Virginia’s Department of Game & Inland Fisheries, said Monday in an email that the body belongs to Brian Austin Savage.

The cause of death was drowning. The 20-year-old Savage lived in Henrico County.

The body was discovered Sunday in the Rushmere area of Isle of Wight County.

On Jan. 3, Savage and 29-year-old Kyle Englehart had set out several miles north of there, near Jamestown Island. They were last seen leaving the Jamestown Yacht Basin in a 16-foot jon boat. The boat was later found overturned.

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RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — When should you be able to use your phone while driving? That’s the basis of a bipartisan bill lawmakers are debating in Richmond.

Del. Chris Collins (R-Frederick) introduced the legislation. He’s a former police officer and a lawyer.

“The goal is to try and prevent people from utilizing their phone in such a way that they take their eyes off the road for a significant amount of time. That’s where accidents are caused,” said Collins.

Right now, drivers can get fined for reading emails and texts or typing to communicate while driving.

But other screen time is still legal.

“So if an officer pulls somebody over and they say, ‘I saw you texting.’ And they say, ‘Oh, no. I was on Facebook. I was Facebooking.’ That’s not a crime and so a case would be dismissed in court,” said Collins.

His bill, HB181, would change that. It says any use of a handheld device, like a cell phone, that “substantially diverts the driver’s attention” should be punishable by a fine of up to $500.

There would be exceptions for working emergency personnel, drivers reporting emergencies and drivers who are lawfully parked or stopped.

It passed the House.

In the Senate, there is a push to make it even stricter.

Lawmakers in that chamber are considering a substitute that would make Virginia a hands free state, like neighboring West Virginia.

That way, any time a driver is in motion behind the wheel, they can’t have a phone in their hands at all.

Sen. Scott Surovell (D-Fairfax) introduced the substitute.

Under his proposal, drivers would be able to use their device for GPS or music only if mounted to the windshield.

“Hands free is a better way to go,” Surovell said on the Senate floor Monday. “It’s easier to enforce.”

The substitute was agreed to.

But Sen. Mark Obenshain (R-Harrisonburg) did not support it. He thought it was too vague.

He said people could be punished for checking the time on their phone or for not having a tool to connect their GPS to the windshield.

“I suggest if we pass this, it’ll be the most violated law in the books that exists,” said Obenshain.

After discussion, the Senate decided to pass on a vote Monday.

Other possible changes are expected before lawmakers have a final vote. That includes how to ensure law enforcement uniformly enforce the law and that they track who is getting punished for violating it.

Collins said he has heard both sides of the debate and believes the legislation he introduced is a good compromise.

“As technology grows, I’m sure we will all be moving toward hands free,” he said. “But for right now I think, at least for the Virginia legislature, they’re a little cautious about that.”

The last day of session is March 10.

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RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — With plans for a new ballpark in Richmond still fluid, one state agency is looking to leave their location near The Diamond.

The Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority (ABC) and the Department of General Services (DGS) have announced a preferred location and developer being considered for a new ABC headquarters and warehouse. The site is located in Mechanicsville at the intersection of I-295 and Pole Green Road.

DGS tells 8News that if an agreement is reached in July, that ABC would move into the location in 2021.

The headquarters’ current location off Hermitage Road and Robin Hood Road in Richmond is across the street from The Diamond and could be the landing spot for a new baseball stadium for the Flying Squirrels and VCU.

Baseball fan Shep Parsons thinks the location would be perfect for a new ballpark.

“There’s a lot of space over there that really is being underutilized right now,” said Parsons. “With the right kind of motivation and right kind of money it could turn into a beautiful part of Richmond.”

In a statement from Flying Squirrels President & Managing General Partner Lou DiBella and VCU Vice President and Director of Athletics Ed McLaughlin:

“We continue to examine several options for a new ballpark and remain optimistic. We look forward to a solution in the near future.”

A Memorandum of Understanding between VCU and the Flying Squirrels was agreed to in 2016.

• READ: Memorandum of Understanding between VCU & Richmond Flying Squirrels

The agreement includes the following terms:

• Location: The parties anticipate that the location of the new baseball stadium will be in close proximity to the current facility (The Diamond) in the City of Richmond, but off the city-owned 60-acre parcel.

• Cost: Construction is estimated in a range of approximately $50 million to $60 million. As primary users of the new ballpark, the Flying Squirrels and VCU will be major contributors. Annual rent paid by the Flying Squirrels will be “approximately $1 million, or roughly four times their current annual rent at the Diamond.

• Design: The new ballpark will be able to accommodate non-athletic events such as concerts, festivals, or other community events, and it will be substantially similar in size, quality, programming, and amenities to BB&T Ballpark in Charlotte and Coca-Cola Park in Allentown.

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STAFFORD COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — Stafford County Sheriff David P. Decatur announced Tuesday the creation of the Stafford County School Safety Task Force after an uptick of threats targeting schools nationwide.

The Task Force will be made of experts representing several public safety fields as well as members of county school administration. Its goals will be to reduce threats, mitigate the risk of an attack or active shooter scenario in schools, and ensure the community feels safe.

“The Stafford County School Safety Task Force is just one of many measures the sheriff’s office intends to implement in the near future to curb threats to our schools and ensure the community feels safe and protected,” Sheriff Decatur said. “We do not want school safety to become a check-the-box exercise. By creating this new team, we hope to enhance security at our schools and build a robust channel of communication between law enforcement and school staff, teachers, parents and students.”

In light of a series of threats and attacks targeting schools across the nation and in Stafford, the sheriff’s office will continue to maintain extra security and law enforcement presence at all schools in the county through the end of the school year.

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CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — One in six kids in Virginia is part of a family that is struggling with hunger. It is why First Lady Pamela Northam joined the No Kid Hungry Virginia campaign today to focus on the importance of providing nutrition at schools.

She passed out breakfasts at Providence Elementary School as part of the Breakfast After the Bell program. It increases access to breakfast by taking it out of the cafeteria and into the classroom.

“Solving childhood hunger is a critical component to healthy early childhood development,” says Northam. “Breakfast After the Bell removes barriers and helps more students participate in school breakfast. We’re proud of the work our partners and school divisions are doing to expand and strengthen breakfast programs across the state.”

Providence Elementary offers ‘Grab and Go’ breakfasts with a kiosk in the hallway. Students can take a meal item and enjoy it during their school day.

Chesterfield County Public Schools recently received a grant of $120,541 from the American Association of School Administrators, funded by the Walmart Foundation, to expand breakfast programs across the district.

Research shows that hunger has serious consequences for children, including lower test scores, weaker attendance rates, and higher risk of hospitalization and chronic diseases.

Northam’s visit was part of School Breakfast Week, observed nationally March 5-9.

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RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — A death investigation is underway after the body of a man was found in Richmond’s southside Tuesday morning.

Officers were called to Lumkin Avenue just after 6:30 a.m. for a report of a person down.

Richmond Police say a work crew clearing brush along power lines had discovered the body.

The Medical Examiner’s Office will determine the exact cause and manner of death.

Anyone with information about this death investigation is asked to call Major Crimes Detective M. Godwin at (804) 646-5533 or contact Crime Stoppers at 780-1000 or at http://www.7801000.com. The P3 Tips Crime Stoppers app for smart phones may also be used. All three Crime Stoppers methods of contact are anonymous.

Stay with 8News for updates.

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RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — Richmond Police are trying to identify a suspect in a burglary that occurred last week in the city’s Westover neighborhood.

At approximately 6:14 p.m. on Friday, March 2, officers responded to the 5200 block of Media Road for a report of a break-in.

The victim told officers that the door to his garage appeared to be kicked in and that several items of his were stolen.

Surveillance video from the prior morning shows an unknown male arriving at the victim’s residence in a blue pick-up truck. The suspect is seen going into the garage, taking items and putting them into the truck.

The suspect is described as a white male with dark hair, approximately six feet tall and has a short beard.

Anyone with any information about this individual or the vehicle is asked to call Third Precinct Detective M. Sacksteder at (804) 646-1068 or Crime Stoppers at 780-1000 or submit a tip online at www.7801000.com. The P3 Tips Crime Stoppers app for smartphones may also be used. All three Crime Stoppers methods of contact are anonymous.

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SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has become the first person to amass a fortune surpassing $100 billion in Forbes magazine’s annual ranking of the world’s moguls.

The milestone announced Tuesday underscores the growing clout of Bezos and the company he founded in 1994 as an online bookstore.

These days, Amazon sells almost everything imaginable online. It’s now trying help people manage their lives with its digital assistant Alexa, which is implanted in its Echo line of internet-connected speakers.

Forbes estimates Bezos’ wealth at $112 billion as of Feb. 9, up from about $73 billion last year, thanks to Amazon’s surging stock price.

President Donald Trump didn’t fare as well financially during his first year in office. Forbes says his fortune fell by about $400 million to $3.1 billion.

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RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — The Richmond Police Department is trying to locate a missing man, Philip C. Branch, who has been missing since last week.

Branch, 37, of the 700 block of Mosby Street, was last seen early last week in the area of Semmes Avenue. Branch suffers from a medical ailment and detectives believe he could be a danger to himself.

He is described as a black male, about 5’11”, with tattoos on his neck, chest and arms.

Anyone who sees Philip C. Branch or has information on his whereabouts is asked to call Major Crimes Detective G. Brissette at (804) 646-3867 or Crime Stoppers at 780-1000, or www.7801000.com.

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