Newscast: Friday, August 17, 2012, 5:48 p.m.

Normal 0 MicrosoftInternetExplorer4

Republican gubernatorial candidate Randy Brock says Governor Peter Shumlin’s upcoming 4-day tour of 22 communities hit hard by Tropical Storm Irene has all the appearances of a political junket. Progressives have thrown their support behind Cassandra Gekas, the Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor. Vermont is considering whether to allow online gambling through its lottery, now that the US Justice Department has dropped its longstanding opposition. Vermont’s unemployment has inched up three-tenths of a percentage point to 5 percent last month. Some Vermont farmers say they’re growing more peaches because of changing weather patterns.