Briefly... CITY/REGION

2 shot, 1 fatally, in Grays Ferry

Police were investigating the shooting of two men, one fatally, at 31st and Tasker streets, Grays Ferry, yesterday afternoon.

Police said a 20-year-old man, whom they did not identify, was shot in the thigh and the face and pronounced dead at 3:21 p.m. at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.

An 18-year-old man was shot once in the chest and he remained in critical condition at HUP, cops said.

Police had made no immediate arrests.

Man wounded in West Phila.

A 38-year-old man was shot last night in West Philadelphia at 54th Street and Warrington Avenue, police said.

The man was shot once in the right thigh shortly after 9 p.m. and was taken to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, where he was listed in stable condition, police said.

House OKs gaming expansion

A bill to expand legalized casino gambling received approval yesterday from the state House of Representatives, as legislators try to resolve the final pieces of October's state budget agreement. The vote, 103-92, came after more than 10 hours of debate over two days. Most Democrats supported it; most Republicans were opposed. It is almost certain to face changes in the Senate, which could vote on it today.

Delco Council raises taxes

Delaware County Council yesterday passed a $308.6 million budget that raises taxes by 7.4 percent next year. The tax increase will cost the average homeowner about $47, bringing their county taxes to $680 in 2010.

Guilty plea in Camden killing

Hakeem Pratt, 20, of Camden, pleaded guilty yesterday to first-degree aggravated manslaughter for killing Thaao Macklin, 21, of Camden, about 9 p.m. Aug. 20, 2007. Macklin was at Newport and Thurman streets that night when a vehicle approached him. Pratt fired a shotgun at Macklin from inside that vehicle.

Flu vaccine program expanded

Health-care providers who have immunized patients most at risk of complications from the H1N1 flu virus may now offer the vaccine to anyone, the state Department of Health has announced. The state is expanding the H1N1 vaccination program because about 3.2 million doses of vaccine have been allocated to health officials who administered them to priority groups.

- Staff and wire reports