In brief: Davis withdraws from mayor’s race

Chicago – U.S. Rep. Danny Davis withdrew his candidacy from the Chicago’s mayor race Friday, leaving former U.S. Sen. Carol Moseley Braun as the only remaining prominent black candidate in the campaign.

Davis, who announced his decision alongside Braun at a New Year’s Eve news conference, said the decision was an act of unity for blacks in the city. The two Democrats had been under pressure from African American leaders in the city for weeks to agree on a so-called consensus candidate to unify black votes.

Some black leaders believe it is necessary for a unity black candidate to compete against former White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, former school board president Gery Chico and others in the campaign to replace retiring Mayor Richard Daley.

Cessna, helicopter collision kills two

Weyers Cave, Va. – A small aircraft collided with a medical helicopter in the air Friday afternoon in rural western Virginia, killing two people on the plane, federal aviation officials said.

Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Jim Peters said the collision occurred about 2:30 p.m., a half-mile north of the Shenandoah Valley Regional Airport in Weyers Cave.

The two people killed were aboard a Cessna 172 plane. Their names weren’t immediately released. Peters said the helicopter, with three people aboard, was damaged but landed safely.

State police spokeswoman Corinne Geller said the helicopter had just dropped off a patient at the University of Virginia Medical Center and was returning to the airport when the accident occurred.

Peters said it appeared the helicopter was attempting to land and the Cessna was taking off when they collided.

Re-enactment of autopsy canceled

Los Angeles – Discovery Channel International has indefinitely postponed the broadcast of a show purporting to re-enact Michael Jackson’s autopsy, the company announced Friday.

The company cited the start of hearings next week in the criminal case against Jackson’s doctor and a request by the late superstar’s estate as reasons for the postponement.

John Branca and John McClain, co-executors of Jackson’s estate, accused Discovery of insensitivity toward the singer’s family in a letter Wednesday demanding that the company cancel plans for the program.

The singer died on June 25, 2009, of what was later found to be acute Propofol intoxication.