Virginia governor refuses to resign over racist yearbook photo

Ralph Northam reportedly questioning whether he appears in image, despite earlier admission

The Virginia governor Ralph Northam has refused to resign, despite widespread calls for him to step down in response to the publication of a decades-old picture the Democrat admitted showed him dressed as either a member of the Ku Klux Klan or in blackface.

Northam said he would not resign on Saturday morning, according to the Virginia Democratic party. According to reports, Northam was questioning whether he was actually in the photo which, on Friday night, he said showed his younger self.

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Virginia governor apologizes for racist costumes in yearbook photo but does not resign

Image published by conservative website shows person in blackface standing next to person dressed as KKK member

The Democratic governor of Virginia apologized for his appearance in a “racist and offensive” costume in his medical school yearbook, but he defied bipartisan calls to step down Friday evening and intends to serve out his term.

“I am deeply sorry for the decision I made to appear as I did in this photo and for the hurt that decision caused then and now,” said Governor Ralph Northam in a statement.

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Snowstorm takes out power in US mid-Atlantic after five deaths in midwest

A winter storm that contributed to at least five deaths in the US midwest pummeled the mid-Atlantic region for a second day on Sunday, bringing with it an icy mix that knocked out power, cancelled flights and contributed to hundreds of car accidents.

Virginia state police said the driver of a military surplus vehicle was killed late on Saturday after he lost control on Interstate 81 due to slick road conditions.

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Five dead on midwest roads as huge snowstorm heads for Washington DC

  • Parts of Missouri see more than a foot of snow
  • Capital and Maryland face heavy falls on Sunday

A massive winter snowstorm making its way across the midwest and into the US mid-Atlantic region dumped more than a foot of snow in parts of Missouri and contributed to at least five deaths, authorities said on Saturday.

The storm moved into Kansas and Nebraska from the Rockies on Friday, then east into Missouri, Iowa, Illinois and Indiana, covering roads and making driving dangerous.

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Key Democratic senator says Saudi response on Khashoggi ‘strains any credibility’

Sen. Mark Warner said Tuesday that denial of knowledge from the Saudi regime about the disappearance of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi after he visited the Turkish Saudi Consulate "strains" the nation's credibility. "This was not some dark alley, this was inside the Saudi Consulate," Warner, a Virginia Democrat who is the vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, told CNN's Jake Tapper on "The Lead."

Virginia Democrats vying for the US House outraise Republicans…

All four Democratic candidates vying for competitive U.S. House seats in Virginia outraised their Republican counterparts in the latest fundraising period and had more cash on hand going into the final weeks of the mid-term elections. The Virginia numbers are in keeping with national trends as Democrats try to capitalize on President Trump's unpopularity in suburban districts to take control of the House of Representatives.

Kaine, Stewart clash over sexual misconduct in final debate

U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia and GOP challenger Corey Stewart traded accusations of hypocrisy and bad faith Tuesday in a campaign debate heavily focused on sexual misconduct allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and some members of Congress. In their third and final debate ahead of November's Election Day, both candidates tried to draw sharp contrasts with one another.

Plans for new Rivermont station progress but obstacles remain

Plans for the Rivermont Fire Department's new building are progressing through the bureaucratic process, but obstacles remain before construction can begin. The Warren County Planning Commission recently set an Oct. 10 public hearing regarding a conditional use permit for the facility, which is necessary to use the agriculturally zoned land for a fire department.

Ex-Trump adviser Papadopoulos says he’d testify in Senate Source: AP

George Papadopoulos, the former Trump campaign adviser who triggered the Russia investigation, is willing to testify before the Senate intelligence committee, said his lawyer, Thomas Breen. Papadopoulos was sentenced to 14 days in prison last Friday for lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russian intermediaries.

Papadopoulos says he’d testify in Senate Source: AP

George Papadopoulos, the former Trump campaign adviser who triggered the Russia investigation, is willing to testify before the Senate intelligence committee, Thomas Breen, his lawyer, said Wednesday. Now that the criminal case is resolved, Breen said, "we'll make him available upon a proper request."

In simulation, Category 4 hurricane devastated East Coast

Just months ago, disaster planners simulated a Category 4 hurricane strike alarmingly similar to the real-word scenario now unfolding on a dangerously vulnerable stretch of the East Coast. A fictional "Hurricane Cora" barreled into southeast Virginia and up the Chesapeake Bay to strike Washington, D.C., in the narrative created by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Argonne National Laboratory.

Shotgun-toting senator shoots anti-Obamacare lawsuit in new ad for re-election bid

Invoking the same colorful imagery he used in his 2010 re-election bid, West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin released a new ad Monday literally taking aim with a shotgun at the most recent lawsuit against the Affordable Care Act, which would dismantle protections for individuals with pre-existing conditions. "I haven't changed," Manchin asserts in the ad.

States are the battleground in gerrymandering wars

Registration will allow you to post comments on StamfordAdvocate.com and create a StamfordAdvocate.com Subscriber Portal account for you to manage subscriptions and email preferences. Jim Haadsma isn't a high-profile Democratic candidate like Amy McGrath, the ex-Marine fighter pilot seeking to upset an incumbent Republican U.S. representative in Kentucky.

Joe Manchin to bring thousands of publiccomments to Brett Kavanaugh meeting

Sen. Joe Manchin will become the first Congressional Democrat to meet with Judge Brett Kavanaugh, President Trump's Supreme Court nominee, this week. The West Virginia Democrat told WAJR that he has more than 2,000 inquiries from residents of his state, and is fielding more.