Regional Briefing

HEALTH

Third Md. Death From Swine Flu

Maryland state health officials said yesterday that a third resident has died of a swine flu-related illness.

Health officials said the person lived on the Eastern Shore and had underlying health issues. Further information about the person is not being released because of privacy restrictions. The other Maryland residents whose deaths were attributed to swine flu also had underlying health conditions.

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report as of July 10 said that 211 people nationwide have died after contracting novel H1N1 influenza. In the mid-Atlantic region, Virginia has reported two H1N1 flu-related deaths and Pennsylvania six.

Nationwide, as of July 10, there have been 37,246 confirmed and probable cases of H1N1 influenza. To date, 732 cases have been confirmed in Maryland. That figure, however, is likely a fraction of the total H1N1 flu cases statewide. Many people who become ill with flulike symptoms are not tested and recover within a week's time, much like seasonal flu.

-- Lori Aratani

LAW ENFORCEMENT

Threats Made Against Judges

An Alexandria man has been charged with threatening to "kill white judges in South Carolina" as well as trying to influence a federal judge who was hearing a civil case in which he was a plaintiff, the FBI has announced.

Stephen H. Rosenberg, 51, is charged with one count of sending e-mail threats to a judge and one count of trying to intimidate a judge. He was arrested at his home yesterday.

According to the indictment, Rosenberg appeared before U.S. District Judge Matthew J. Perry Sr. in May 2007 in South Carolina as part of a civil suit he filed against the state claiming civil rights violations. Since then, Rosenberg is alleged to have sent many e-mails to Perry, including one on April 6 that contained a threat.