A gunman killed 12 people and injured at least four others in Virginia Beach, in the latest deadly mass shooting in the US. Authorities said an employee opened fire and shot indiscriminately in a municipal building on Friday. The gunman died at the scene. Police have identified the suspect but have not yet released his name to the public because they have not yet notified his family.
Continue reading...Category Archives: Virginia
Virginia Beach shooting: 12 dead as city mourns ‘the most devastating day’
At least four others injured after employee opens fire ‘indiscriminately’ inside municipal building
A gunman killed 12 people and injured at least four others in a Virginia municipal building, in the latest deadly mass shooting to roil the United States.
Authorities said an employee opened fire and shot “indiscriminately” Friday afternoon in a Virginia Beach municipal building that houses several city departments.
Continue reading...How eminent domain is blighting farmers in path of gas pipeline
Compulsory purchase – or the threat of it – of property on the route of a pipeline for fracked natural gas has left a slew of grievances and lawsuits in West Virginia and Virginia
In July 2015, Neal Laferriere and his wife, Beth, purchased a home in Summers county, West Virginia. The first time they visited the property after purchasing it, they found stakes outlining what they would later find out to be the route for a gas pipeline.
About two years later, representatives for the Mountain Valley pipeline approached the Laferriere family over the land rights to their property. “The land agent was saying if we don’t come to the table they would just take it via eminent domain,” Laferriere told the Guardian.
Continue reading...‘I will not comply or cooperate,’ Chelsea Manning says before hearing – video
Speaking outside court in Alexandria, Virginia, before being jailed for a second time for contempt of court, Chelsea Manning says of a fresh grand jury subpoena to testify about her contacts with WikiLeaks: 'Attempting to coerce me … is not going to work'. Having already served 62 days in jail, 28 of them in solitary confinement, she now faces up to 18 months in custody
Continue reading...Tech firm apologizes after job ad seeks ‘preferably Caucasian’ candidates
Virginia recruitment company removes discriminatory listing following a backlash on Twitter
The tech industry has long grappled with problems tied to diversity and inclusion, but a job listing this month seeking “preferably Caucasian” applicants has proved a particularly egregious example.
A job listing from Cynet Systems, a tech recruiting firm based in Virginia, sought an account manager who is “preferably Caucasian who has good technical background”. After a number of Twitter users called attention to the listing, it was removed on Sunday.
Continue reading...All the presidents’ busts – in pictures
Standing nearly 20 feet high, 43 US presidents’ busts, remnants from a bankrupted theme park, are stored in Croaker, Virginia, on the property of Howard Hankins who is seeking to restore the massive sculptures. Hankins has launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise money to relocate the statues to a place where they can be visited by all
Continue reading...Paul Manafort: Trump’s ex-campaign chief sentenced to 47 months
- Term announced in Virginia is falls far short of federal guidelines
- Sentencing for other crimes to come next week in Washington
- Follow the latest US politics news
Paul Manafort, the former chairman of Donald Trump’s campaign, has been jailed for nearly four years for bank and tax fraud uncovered during the special counsel investigation into Russian election interference.
Wearing a green prison jumpsuit, Manafort sat still in a wheelchair and betrayed little emotion as the US district judge TS Ellis of the eastern district of Virginia pronounced the sentence, which will be partially offset by nine months already served.
Continue reading...Congress reportedly closer to deal to avert new shutdown – live
Hopes raised for potential deal, reports suggest, to avert another government shutdown when bill expires on 15 February
The NAACP is urging the Senate Judiciary Committee to reject judicial nominees who refused to say that Brown vs. Board of Education, the landmark Supreme Court case that ended segregation in schools, was rightly decided.
A number of Trump judicial nominees considered by Senate Judiciary Committee today refused to say Brown v. Board of Education was correctly decided. For us, that is disqualifying. We urge the Senate to vote NO.
Georgia Rep. Rob Woodall will not seek re-election, per the Atlanta Journal Constitution. It’s a seat likely to be targeted by Democrats.
Breaking: #GA07 Rep. Rob Woodall (R), who won by just 419 votes last fall, to retire. Doesn't change @CookPolitical's Toss Up rating, but does vault #GA07 to the very top of Dems' list of pickup opportunities. https://t.co/XS4PeDhFrA
Continue reading...Virginia: woman who accused lieutenant governor of sexual assault speaks out – live
After attorney general admits wearing blackface in 1980s, lieutenant governor accused of attack in 2004
It was a quiet ending to an eventful day. Thanks for sticking with us, everyone.
Paul Erickson, the boyfriend of Maria Butina, the Russian national who pleaded guilty to a conspiracy to influence US politics during the 2016 presidential election, was indicted by a federal grand jury in South Dakota on charges of wire fraud and money laundering, the Daily Beast is reporting.
The case against Erickson, a conservative US political activist and National Rifle Association insider, does not appear to be linked to the foreign agent case against Butina, who tried to infiltrate the NRA and relay intelligence on American politicians to a Russian government official.
Erickson was arrested on Feb. 6 and entered a plea of not guilty, according to the court filings.
The indictment alleges that Erickson ran a criminal scheme from 1996 to 2018 using a chain of assisted living homes called Compass Care. Erickson also allegedly defrauded investors through a company called Investing with Dignity that claimed to be “in the business of developing a wheelchair that allowed people to go to the bathroom without being lifted out of the wheelchair.” The indictment says he also ran a fraudulent scheme that claimed to be building homes in the Bakken oil fields of North Dakota.
Continue reading...State of the Union one day away as next government shutdown looms – live
We are 11 days away from another potential government shutdown and three days into the political crisis in Virginia
Former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski is hitting the fundraising circuit for the Ohio Republican Party.
New: @CLewandowski_ will be raising money for the Ohio Republican Party in Youngstown, Cleveland, and Sandusky, Ohio, later this month.
Axios obtained President Donald Trump’s private schedules on Sunday which show that a majority of his day is left in unstructured “executive time.”
The unprecedented leak shows Trump’s unique governing style. In contrast to past presidents who had tightly regimented schedules, Trump has much of the day open for freewheeling phone conversations, private meetings and, of course, time watching cable news.
What a disgraceful breach of trust to leak schedules. What these don’t show are the hundreds of calls and meetings @realDonaldTrump takes everyday. This POTUS is working harder for the American people than anyone in recent history. https://t.co/n1HrxmCsiB
Continue reading...Ralph Northam will ‘put Virginia first’ and resign as governor, Democrat says
- Former governor Terry McAuliffe: ‘Ralph is a good, moral man’
- Press conference and Michael Jackson story add to controversy
Ralph Northam will “put Virginia first” and resign as governor, a predecessor and friend of the embattled Democrat said on Sunday, two days after the release of a racist photo from a college yearbook pitched the state into chaos.
Related: Policies that harm black bodies deserve the same outrage as blackface | Shanita Hubbard
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...Snowstorm takes out power in US mid-Atlantic after five deaths in midwest
- Fatalities in midwest all reported on roads on Saturday
- More than 250 flight cancellations at Washington airports
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.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...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.
Pro-growth policies pave way for PEIA aid
Last week, West Virginia's Republican Leadership announced a $100 million funding commitment that significantly stabilizes and strengthens Public Employees Insurance Agency , as well as a proposed 5 percent pay raise for teachers and state employees.
Justice Loughry sees first day of federal trial
Nearly a year after reports first surfaced of extravagant spending on his office, Justice Allen Loughry got his day in court. The former chief justice of the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals sat Wednesday at the defendant's table for the first day of testimony at the Robert C. Byrd United States Courthouse in Charleston.
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.