A man participating in a protest encampment Burlington’s City Hall Park was shot and wounded yesterday. The injury is, reportedly, life-threatening.

Police are unable to report whether or not the gunshot was self-inflicted, but they do not believe that the public should fear being at risk.

Occupy protesters have inhabited the park since late October in objection to the idea that the nation’s financial system is based on the needs of the wealthy.

New England Patriots quarterback and cornerstone Tom Brady will be out for the rest of the NFL season after the team announced he will have knee surgery after being injured Sunday in the first quarter of the Patriots opener against the Kansas City Chiefs.

“After extensive tests this morning, it was revealed that New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady’s left knee, which was injured in the first quarter of yesterday’s game, will require surgery. He will be placed on injured reserve and will miss the remainder of the 2008 season,” the team said in a statement released Monday.

Brady dropped back from the Kansas City 43-yard-line halfway through the first quarter when Chiefs safety Bernard Pollard blitzed. Despite the fact that the blitz was blocked and Brady completed a nearly 30-yard pass to star Randy Moss, Pollard made a last second dive at the quarterback and caught him in the left knee.

Brady was the 2007 NFL Most Valuable Player, and this is a devastating blow not only to his team but the the league in general.