House Freedom Caucus chair Bob Good faces a challenge from another Republican in the 5th Congressional District in Virginia.

The Virginia Department of Corrections has recorded audio of at least 30 executions over the last three decades, but it has no plans to release the tapes publicly.

The troubled Los Angeles City Council appears headed into a long power struggle, as two disgraced councilmen resist widespread calls for their resignation amid a racism scandal and state investigation.

The office of Virginia's attorney general has handed off jurisdiction in a long-running investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct and other abuses at a hospital that serves vulnerable children.

Never-before-seen video footage played Thursday by the House Jan. 6 committee shows House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other congressional leaders, including Republican allies of Donald Trump, responding anxiously — and angrily — to the insurrection at the Capitol.

Former Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax says he recently met with the FBI to discuss his concerns about the two 2019 sexual assault allegations against him.

Virginia state agencies responding to a severe snowstorm that stranded hundreds of motorists along Interstate 95 in January collectively lost what a report called “situational awareness” amid the growing gridlock.

Forecasts of snow and ice as far south as Georgia have put much of the Southeast on an emergency preparedness footing as shoppers strip store shelves of supplies and road crews treat highways ahead of an approaching weekend storm.

Forecasters' predictions of debilitating snow and ice as far south as Georgia have shoppers scouring store shelves for storm supplies and road crews trying to prevent a repeat of past wintertime debacles.

Outgoing Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring is leaving a progressive legacy behind when he steps down Saturday after eight years.

With more bad weather looming, Virginia officials are seeking to reassure the public they are prepared as they reacted to harsh criticism of their response to a storm earlier this week that left hundreds of motorists stranded on Interstate 95.

Virginia officials are defending their response to the snowy gridlock that resulted on Interstate 95 after a winter storm dumped nearly 11 inches of snow.

The waiting is over for the last of the drivers who got stranded overnight on an interstate highway in Virginia.

The enormous pedestal where the Robert E.

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam says crews wrapping up the removal of a giant pedestal that once held a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E.

Crews working to remove the pedestal where a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E.

The information technology agency that serves Virginia’s legislature has been hit by a ransomware attack that has substantially affected its operations.

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam has announced that his administration will remove an enormous pedestal that until earlier this year held a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E.

Republican Glenn Youngkin spent months talking to voters about his plans to roll back Democrats’ “left, liberal, progressive agenda.”.

Republican Virginia Gov.-elect Glenn Youngkin and outgoing Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam are pledging a smooth transition of power.

Democrats became the dominant political force in Virginia over the past decade, but their grip was weakened in Tuesday's gubernatorial election.

A Virginia governor’s race that appears deadlocked between Democrat Terry McAuliffe and Republican Glenn Youngkin has entered its final hours.

Democrat Terry McAuliffe and Republican Glenn Youngkin raced to fire up their party’s base voters in opposite ends of Virginia on Sunday.

Democrats’ decision to drop a proposal for paid family leave from their massive social safety net and climate change package was met with disappointment and irritation by female voters in Virginia.

Former President Barack Obama has offered a sharp rebuke of the Republican candidate for Virginia governor while campaigning for the Democrat in the closely contested race.

Skeptical Virginia Republicans have come around to Glenn Youngkin, the party's candidate for governor.

Democrat Terry McAuliffe and Republican Glenn Youngkin got off to a combative start in the second and final debate in Virginia’s closely watched gubernatorial election.

About a month and a half out from the finale of the Virginia governor's race, optimism among Democrats in this state long trending blue is increasingly tinged with nervousness.

Democrat Terry McAuliffe and Republican Glenn Youngkin clashed over abortion and vaccination policies in Virginia’s first gubernatorial debate of the general election season.

Democrat Terry McAuliffe and Republican Glenn Youngkin have met in southwest Virginia for the commonwealth’s first gubernatorial debate of the general election season.

A statue of Gen. Robert E.

A towering statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E.

The Supreme Court of Virginia has ruled unanimously that the iconic statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E.

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam has granted posthumous pardons to seven Black men executed in 1951 for the rape of a white woman.

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam’s administration has received notification that the Department of Defense has authorized the use of Marine Corps Base Quantico to house Afghan refugees, as well as a national guard installation in central Virginia.

Top Republicans are battling school districts in their own states’ urban, heavily Democratic areas over whether students should be required to mask up as they head back to school.

President Joe Biden is back on the campaign trail, leading the kind of rally that was impossible last year because of the pandemic.

The House has approved a bill to remove Confederate statues from the U.S. Capitol.

A federal appeals court has upheld a ruling dismissing a defamation lawsuit filed by Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax after CBS News broadcast interviews with two women who accused him of sexual assault.

If a court clears the way, the state of Virginia will not just remove a soaring statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E.

Republican governors running for reelection have begun trumpeting the party’s more hands-off approach to the coronavirus pandemic as they try to flip the script on an issue that helped Democrats win the White House and control of Capitol Hill in 2020.

Terry McAuliffe outperformed even his own campaign’s expectations, winning every city and county in Tuesday’s Democratic primary for Virginia governor.

The Supreme Court of Virginia has heard arguments on whether the state has the right to take down a 131-year-old statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E.

The Supreme Court of Virginia is set to hear arguments in legal challenges to Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam's plan to take down a 131-year-old statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E.

In his quest for a second term as Virginia governor, Terry McAuliffe is heading into next week's five-way Democratic primary with an undeniable lead in public polling, name recognition, endorsements and money.

President Joe Biden started the Memorial Day weekend by visiting a rock climbing gym in northern Virginia as the state lifted all COVID-19 distancing and capacity restrictions at private businesses and much of the nation pushes toward a greater sense of normalcy.

Virginia’s lieutenant governor, Justin Fairfax, has long had lofty political ambitions, and despite facing two unresolved allegations of sexual assault he’s pressing forward with a bid for governor.

As Republicans roll back access to the ballot, Democrats in certain states have been quietly moving to expand voting rights.

Political newcomer Glenn Youngkin has emerged as Virginia Republicans’ nominee for governor, in a year when the GOP hopes to end a 12-year losing streak in statewide races.

Tens of thousands of Virginians are casting ballots to choose GOP nominees for governor and other statewide offices this weekend.

A Virginia town has announced that one of two police officers accused of pepper-spraying and pointing their guns at a Black Army officer during a traffic stop has since been fired.

Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, who is embroiled in a federal sex trafficking investigation, has denied wrongdoing and refused to resign — or even lay low — amid mounting political pressure.

Democratic Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam is backing Terry McAuliffe in the race to succeed him, handing his predecessor one of the contest’s most coveted endorsements.

Virginia has become the first Southern state to legalize marijuana.

Ralph Northam speaks at a news conference to announce the expansion of commuter rail in Virginia at the Amtrak and Virginia Railway Express (VRE) Alexandria Station, in Alexandria, Va. Adults in Virginia could legally possess and grow small amounts of marijuana beginning in July, about three years sooner than initially envisioned, under changes the governor proposed Wednesday, March 31, to legislation passed earlier this year. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)RICHMOND, Va. – Adults in Virginia could legally possess and grow small amounts of marijuana beginning in July, about three years sooner than initially envisioned, under changes the governor proposed Wednesday to legislation passed earlier this year. It would not have legalized marijuana until 2024, which racial justice advocates said was far too long to wait. AdA coalition of advocacy groups — including Marijuana Justice, Justice Forward Virginia, RISE for Youth and the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia — hailed the July 1 legalization date as “the first step toward ending racist marijuana law enforcement.” The Virginia Legislative Black Caucus also praised the amendments.

Republicans argued that the death penalty should remain a sentencing option for especially heinous crimes and to bring justice to victims and their families. In addition to the 23 states that have now abolished the death penalty, three others have moratoriums in place that were imposed by their governors. Jason Miyares, a death penalty supporter, expressed disappointment in the new law. AdRobert Dunham, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center, and a death penalty opponent, said abolishing executions in Virginia could mark the beginning of the end for capital punishment in the South, where the highest number of prisoners are put to death. It is the moral thing to do — to end the death penalty in the Commonwealth of Virginia,” he said.

FILE -This Monday March 15, 2021 file photo shows Virginia Gov. “#Cuomo is pulling a Northam,” tweeted veteran political analyst Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics. Like Cuomo, Northam initially faced nearly unanimous calls from his own party to resign after a scandal erupted over a racist photo in his medical school yearbook. “I don’t see any comparison," said state Sen. Richard Stuart, a Republican and personal friend of the Virginia governor. As for Northam, his senior political adviser Mark Bergman said: “He will never be running for office again."

Kisco, N.Y. New Yorks attorney general has promised a thorough investigation of allegations that Cuomo sexually harassed at least two women. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)It was Andrew Cuomo’s Emmy-winning performance: daily televised coronavirus briefings in which the New York governor projected competence and compassion, helping to calm a nervous nation. To New Yorkers who have watched the Democrat for years, however, the allegations are consistent with how Cuomo maintains his tight grip on power. Assembly member Ron Kim, a Democrat who blasted Cuomo over those deaths, said Cuomo called and threatened to “destroy” him if he didn’t retract his criticism. AdWhile he started as a centrist, he’s since moved to the left — though many progressive lawmakers still view Cuomo with distrust.

First lady Jill Biden waves to Virginia Gov. Citing her late mother's advice, she tells Clarkson things happen for a reason. She also says her divorce freed her to meet Joe Biden and have a family with him. After marrying Joe Biden, Jill Biden helped raise his sons Beau and Hunter after their mother and baby sister died in a car crash in 1972. During her first solo television interview, Jill Biden also discussed her interest in education, military families, cancer research and healing the country.

Virginia State Sen. Emmett Hanger, R-Augusta, front, looks at the vote tally board during a vote on a death penalty abolition bill at the Senate session at the Science Museum of Virginia in Richmond, Va., Monday, Feb. 22, 2021. AdEven last year, death penalty abolition bills in the General Assembly went nowhere. Historically, Virginia has used the death penalty more than any other state, executing nearly 1,400 people since its days as a colony, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. Since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976, Virginia, with 113 executions, is second only to Texas. Michael Stone, executive director of Virginians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, called the vote to abolish capital punishment a landmark moment in the state's history.

(AP Photo/Steve Helber)RICHMOND, Va. – The coronavirus pandemic is again upending the daily routines of the tradition-bound Virginia General Assembly. The situation has led to persistent technical difficulties, an uncharacteristically profane hot mic situation and more serious complaints from lawmakers and advocates alike. Critics say legislating over Zoom has limited transparency, stifled public participation and diluted the democratic process. I mean, given our situation, I think it’s OK," said Megan Rhyne, executive director of the Virginia Coalition for Open Government. The House speaker has said the adjustments - made in consultation with public health experts - were essential and have succeeded in keeping lawmakers and staff healthy.

Three convictions for marijuana possession put an end to that. Thomas, who is Black, is an example of one of the main arguments made in the push to legalize recreational marijuana in Virginia. Democrats in the General Assembly frame this as a social equity issue, a necessary step to ending the disparate criminalization of people of color under the state's current marijuana laws. AdBoth bills also call for dedicating 30% of marijuana tax revenue — after program costs — to a Cannabis Equity Reinvestment Fund. Black Virginians with marijuana convictions say expungement is one of the most important parts, because a criminal record harms their prospects for jobs, housing and credit.

Democratic Sen. Scott Surovell is again sponsoring a bill that would abolish the death penalty, and he has a Republican chief co-patron. (Virginia Department of Corrections via AP, File)RICHMOND, Va. – Virginia moved another step closer to ending capital punishment on Friday when the state House joined the Senate in voting to abolish the death penalty. It's a dramatic shift for Virginia, which has put more people to death over its centuries-long history than any other state. In modern times, Virginia trails only Texas in the number of executions since the Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976. AdLast year, death penalty abolition bills in the General Assembly went nowhere.

(AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)MEXICO CITY — Mexico reported a near-record 1,707 confirmed coronavirus deaths Wednesday, as the country runs out of vaccines. Ad___THE VIRUS OUTBREAK:Spain surpasses 60,000 confirmed virus deaths. British officials say Oxford study backs up their decision to delay second vaccine shot for up to 12 weeks. Ad___OKLAHOMA CITY -- About 11,500 doses of the coronavirus vaccine will be shipped to pharmacies across Oklahoma next week, state health officials said. ___MANAGUA, Nicaragua — Nicaragua’s government says it has approved Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine for emergency use.

— New Zealand’s medical regulator has approved its first coronavirus vaccine, and officials hope to begin giving shots to border workers by the end of March. Tate Reeves says he’s skeptical about a new federal effort to reduce racial disparities in coronavirus vaccination rates. ___BEIRUT — Lebanon has broken its single-day record of coronavirus deaths with 81 as the country continued its nationwide lockdown for the third week. ___LAS VEGAS — Nevada has recorded its deadliest month of the coronavirus pandemic in January after reporting eight additional coronavirus deaths over the weekend. Mike DeWine and his wife received the first dose of the coronavirus vaccine on Tuesday in a procedure streamed live.

FILE - In this Dec. 15, 2020, file photo, a droplet falls from a syringe after a health care worker was injected with the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at Women & Infants Hospital in Providence, R.I. Uncertainty over the pace of federal COVID-19 vaccine allotments triggered anger and confusion Friday, Jan. 15, 2021, in some states where officials worried that expected shipments would not be forthcoming. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File)Governors bitterly accused the Trump administration Friday of deceiving the states about the amount of COVID-19 vaccine they can expect to receive as they ramp up vaccinations for senior citizens and others. Late Friday, Oregon health officials said a case of the variant had been diagnose in the Portland area in a patient who had no travel history. “What we’re seeing is fully in line with the dysfunction that has characterized the Trump administration’s entire response to COVID-19.

FILE - This undated file photo provided by Taylor family attorney Sam Aguiar shows Breonna Taylor in Louisville, Ky. “Jaynes did nothing wrong.”Jaynes was not present during the shooting at Taylor’s apartment in Louisville. In Jaynes’ pretermination letter, Gentry said, the officer committed “extreme violations of our policies, which endangered others.”“Your actions have brought discredit upon yourself and the department,” she wrote. The two officers who shot Taylor, according to ballistics evidence, were not charged by the grand jury. One of those officers was shot by Taylor’s boyfriend during the raid and returned fire.

The statue that has represented Virginia in the U.S. Capitol for 111 years has been removed after a state commission decided that Lee was not a fitting symbol for the state. (Jack Mayer/Office of Governor of Virginia, File)WASHINGTON – A statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee that has represented Virginia in the U.S. Capitol for 111 years has been removed. Ralph Northam said in a statement that workers removed the statue from the National Statuary Hall Collection early Monday morning. Northam had requested the removal and a state commission decided that Lee was not a fitting symbol for the state. Lee's statue had stood with George Washington's statue since 1909 as Virginia’s representatives in the Capitol.

Washington state and county health officials have warned of a spike in coronavirus cases across the state, and pleaded with the public to take the pandemic more seriously heading into the winter holidays. The number of COVID-19 patients in intensive care beds reached 362 on Friday, the most since late August. ___KYIV, Ukraine — Ukraine has introduced tight weekend restrictions as the number of new confirmed coronavirus cases hit a national record. Health Minister Maxim Stepanov said Saturday that Ukraine registered 12,524 new confirmed cases, about 800 more than the previous day. Overall, Russia has reported 1,903.000 confirmed virus cases and 32,834 deaths since the start of the pandemic.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Sally Berens said the five men's cases can go to a grand jury, which will determine whether to issue indictments. Berens on Tuesday denied bond for the three other Michigan residents charged in the case: Kaleb Franks, Daniel Harris and Brandon Caserta. Agent Richard Trask testified that members of anti-government paramilitary groups from several states discussed abducting Whitmer or Virginia Democratic Gov. Authorities found conversations among group members in which they were worried that federal authorities had infiltrated their planning sessions, he said. Berens found that the information presented showed the men had a unified purpose — to kidnap Whitmer — allowing the case to move forward.

Sri Lankans wait to give swab samples to test for COVID-19 in Minuwangoda, Sri Lanka, Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2020. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Authorities in Sri Lanka have banned all public gatherings as a new cluster of coronavirus infections expands in the Indian Ocean island nation. Health officials had raised concerns that infections will rise because of increased travel during the five-day Chuseok harvest holiday that ended Sunday. The figures released by health officials Wednesday brought South Korea’s case total to 24,353 for the pandemic, including 425 deaths. ____OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — Oklahoma’s two largest universities are both delaying the start of their spring semester and canceling spring break because of the coronavirus pandemic.

In a state where Confederate monuments have stood for more than a century and have recently become a flashpoint in the national debate over racial injustice, Virginians remain about evenly divided on whether the statues should stay or go, according to a new poll. The poll conducted this month by Hampton University and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that 46% support removal of Confederate statues and 42% oppose removal. The poll conducted this month by Hampton University and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that 46% support removal of Confederate statues and 42% oppose removal. The 2017 white nationalist rally in Charlottesville that left a counterprotester dead had its origins in a city debate over whether to remove Confederate statues. On another topic, the poll found only about 1 in 4 Virginians support keeping schools in the state completely closed to in-person learning.

Now the coronavirus outbreak is heating up fast in smaller cities in the heartland, often in conservative corners of America where anti-mask sentiment runs high. Wisconsin is averaging more than 2,000 new cases a day over the last week, compared with 675 three weeks earlier. Harvard’s tracking dashboard globalepidemics.org has shown an increasing number of states turning red, indicating over 25 new cases per 100,000 population. Health officials said if virus cases in these neighborhoods continue to build, the city might roll back the reopening in some places and require businesses to close back down. In Joplin, Missouri, a mask ordinance was allowed to expire in mid-August as virus fatigue grew.

The directive comes amid concerns about an uptick in coronavirus cases in certain Brooklyn and Queens neighborhoods with large Orthodox Jewish populations. New York City’s current overall infection rate remains low, but official figures indicate the affected neighborhoods accounted for 20% of the city’s coronavirus cases in recent weeks. ___BOSTON — An outbreak of coronavirus infections at a major Boston hospital has grown to 19 confirmed cases. ___DES MOINES, Iowa — Iowa has reported a jump of 1,086 new coronavirus cases, the second consecutive day of new cases exceeding 1,000. There are currently nearly 985,000 worldwide coronavirus deaths.

RICHMOND, Va. – A Virginia health official is warning of a “severe public health threat” if a planned campaign rally for President Donald Trump goes forward Friday evening. Dr. Natasha Dwamena, a Department of Public Health district director, said in a letter Thursday that the 4,000 people expected to attend Trump's rally at the Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport would be breaking Gov. “The rally poses a concerning public health risk,” Dwamena said in the letter, which was addressed to the private company that leases the hangar where the rally is set to take place. But it's unlikely to make a difference, as the Trump campaign has routinely flouted public health guidelines intended to halt the spread of COVID-19. John Fredericks, a conservative radio host and chairman of the Virginia delegation for the Trump campaign, said Democrats are trying to block the rally for political reasons.

FAIRFAX, Va. – Virginia Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax formally kicked off his campaign for governor Saturday, a year after facing two allegations of sexual assault. Fairfax delivered a campaign speech at the Old Court House in Fairfax in northern Virginia. In February 2019, Fairfax faced calls for his resignation from fellow Democrats after two women publicly accused him of sexual assault. Fairfax has denied the allegations and accused the women of being part of a “smear campaign” to end his political career. Fairfax was elected Virginia's lieutenant governor in 2017.

Ralph Northam’s administration from removing an enormous statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee can proceed, a judge ruled Tuesday, clearing the way for a trial in the fall. Richmond Circuit Court Judge W. Reilly Marchant rejected much of the state’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed by a group of property owners along the residential boulevard where the statue is situated. He did narrow the claims that can proceed, dismissing one count entirely and dismissing two plaintiffs from another claim. Patrick McSweeney, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said the judge's dismissal of one claim doesn't significantly impact his clients' case. Four other prominent statues of Confederate leaders have been taken down from city property along the avenue this summer.

NORFOLK, Va. A Virginia state senator has been charged with damaging a Confederate monument in Portsmouth during protests that also led to a demonstrator being critically injured when a statue was torn down, authorities said Monday. Lucas is a longtime Democratic legislator and a key power broker in the state Senate, joining the chamber in 1992. The monument in Portsmouth consists of a large obelisk and statues of four Confederate military personnel. Felony charges leveled against a sitting state senator are to be taken seriously, and should not be sought out for political gain, he said in a statement. "It is for that reason that the Republican Party of Virginia calls for Senator Lucas to turn herself in.

Rising seniors at the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology gather on the campus in Alexandria, Va., Monday, Aug. 10, 2020. That may be changing soon, as Virginia officials prepare plans to dramatically alter the admissions policy at TJ and 18 other gifted high schools across the state. Some parents and alumni of magnet schools say they are worried the changes will entail relaxing admissions standards and lowering the schools' quality. Virginia Education Secretary Atif Qarni has been leading a task force impaneled by Democratic Gov. He expects the task force could produce recommended changes to the schools admissions policies as soon as Thursday.

Equally up in the air is whether states, which are necessary partners in Trump's plan to bypass Congress, will sign on. Many Republicans have expressed concern that a $600 weekly benefit, on top of existing state benefits, gives people an incentive to stay unemployed. But under Trump's plan, the $400 a week requires a state to commit to providing $100. Asked at a news conference how many governors had signed on to participate, Trump answered: If they don't, they don't. I dont think there will be a huge delay.

GOP leaders said all current Parole Board members should resign, or be fired by Gov. Republicans also want Martins parole immediately repealed and Martin returned to prison to await a new boards decision on whether he should be set free. Alena Yarmosky, Northam's spokeswoman, said the review was procedural and had nothing to do with the merits of the decision to release Martin, who served a 40-year sentence. Governor Northam has spoken with the new Chair of the Parole Board, and reiterated that he expects all notification procedures to be followed, period, Yarmosky's statement said. The things she did, the things this parole board did to us, and theres no recourse, Maureen Clements, one of Connors sisters, said in an interview.

Members of the Nevada National Guard install social distancing stickers while setting up a new temporary coronavirus testing site Monday, Aug. 3, 2020, in Las Vegas. Some Americans have resisted wearing masks and social distancing, calling such precautions an over-the-top response or an infringement on their liberty. We do.The number of confirmed infections in the U.S. has topped 4.7 million, with new cases running at over 60,000 a day. In Virginia, cases have surged so much in cites like Norfolk and Virginia Beach that Democratic Gov. You just dont care as much about social distancing after youve had a couple of drinks.

The governors of at least seven states have ties to companies that received loans through the Small Business Administrations Paycheck Protection Program. Jim Justice's family businesses qualified for loans. Larry Hogan also received loans. Governors' successful efforts to tap the loan program came, in some cases, as they faced pushback against the economic effects of their virus policies. PlumpJack Management Group LLC, Newsom's winery and hospitality company, received a loan worth $150,000 to $350,000.

FILE - In this July 21, 2016, file photo, Jerry Falwell Jr., president of Liberty University, speaks during the final day of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)RICHMOND, Va. As the nation wrestles with how to do more for racial equality, Liberty University a school whose leadership has said it doesn't have a problem is facing its own tough questions. Indeed, McLaurin and other disheartened Black alumni have limited power to force change. But Libertys reckoning over race comes as its share of on-campus Black students has declined in recent years. Internal documents obtained by AP show Black students made up 13% of Libertys resident undergraduates in 2007 and just 5% last year.

(AP Photo/Steve Helber, File)RICHMOND, Va. A Virginia state senator is launching a bid to be the state's next governor, which if successful would make her the nation's first African-American woman to ever lead a state. I have the understanding of where we are in this moment in time, how we got here ... and the vision to take Virginia forward, McClellan said. McClellan is one of several Democrats either officially running or eyeing a possible campaign for their party's nomination to succeed Gov. If she were to win the 2021 contest, McClellan would be Virginias first woman governor, the first African American female governor in the United States and only the second woman ever elected to statewide office in Virginia. I'm not running to make history, I am running to set Virginia on the course I think we need to go," she said.

(AP Photo/Steve Helber)RICHMOND, Va. A judge on Thursday indefinitely extended an injunction preventing the Virginia governor from removing a historic statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee from Richmonds famed Monument Avenue. The 12-ton (11 metric-ton), 21-foot-tall (6.4-meter-tall) statue has stood in a prominent spot along Monument Avenue since 1890. The Lee statue in Richmond has become a rallying point for demonstrators during more than two weeks of protests. The Lee statue is one of five Confederate monuments along Monument Avenue, a National Historic Landmark district. The Lee statue is on state property.

Texas first made it a state holiday in 1980. The Democratic governor is giving every executive branch employee this Friday off as a paid holiday and will work with the legislature later this year to pass a law codifying Juneteenth as a permanent state holiday. The announcement came less than two weeks after Northam announced he was ordering the removal of a statue of General Robert E. Lee along Richmond's prominent Monument Avenue. Earlier this year, Northam signed legislation scrapping Lee-Jackson Day, a state holiday named after two Confederate generals. Northam was joined Tuesday at his news conference by musician Pharrell Williams, who is from Virginia.

People stand around the fallen Christopher Columbus statue at the Minnesota state Capitol in St. Paul, Minn., Wednesday, June 10, 2020. In Bristol, England, demonstrators over the weekend toppled a statue of 17th-century slave trader Edward Colston and threw it in the harbor. On Wednesday night, protesters pulled down a century-old statue of Confederate President Jefferson Davis in Richmond, Virginia, the former capital of the Confederacy. Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney, who has proposed dismantling all Confederate statues in the city, asked protesters not to take matters into their own hands for their own safety. Andrew Cuomo, who is Italian American, said he opposes removal of a statue of Columbus in Manhattans Columbus Circle.

The statues on the Confederate monument are covered in graffiti and beheaded after a protest in Portsmouth, Va., Wednesday, June 10, 2020. Protesters beheaded and then pulled down four statues that were part of a Confederate monument. The spokesman for the Virginia division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, B. Frank Earnest, condemned the toppling of public works of art and likened losing the Confederate statues to losing a family member. For protesters mobilized by Floyds death, the targets have ranged far beyond the Confederacy. Andrew Cuomo, who is Italian American, said he opposes removal of a statue of Columbus in Manhattans Columbus Circle.

___PORTSMOUTH, Va. Protesters in Portsmouth, Virginia, covered statues at a Confederate monument in the city with sheets and bags Wednesday, several hours after the citys council members had a meeting about relocating it. A white sheet that read BLM covered the fence in front of the monument after the Portsmouth city council met Tuesday to discuss its removal, WVEC-TV reported. Mayor John Rowe proposed allocating $100,000 to remove the statue and possibly relocate it to a local cemetery. During the councils meeting Tuesday, Rowe asked the city attorney if Portsmouth has the right to move the 127-year-old memorial. Reporters have a fundamental right to cover the demonstrations were seeing in Delaware and across our country, Delaware Gov.

EDS NOTE: OBSCENITY - An inspection crew from the Virginia Department of General Services inspect the statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee on Monument Avenue Monday June. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)RICHMOND, Va. RICHMOND, Va.Workers for the state of Virginia inspected Richmond's huge statue of Gen. Robert E. Lee on Monday before its planned removal. Virginia's Department of General Services said in a statement that it plans to remove the statue of the Confederate general on a date to be determined, as soon as possible. In Richmond, the Lee statue is on state property. Police officers blocked off streets leading up to the traffic circle that surrounds the Lee statue around 7 a.m. Monday.

RICHMOND, Va. RICHMOND, Va.Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr. apologized Monday for a tweet that included a racist photo that appeared on Gov. Falwell, a stalwart backer of President Donald Trump and the son of the late evangelist the Rev. Organizers of last week's alumni letter responded to Falwell's apology with a note of thanks, adding that they are hopeful that healing and reconciliation can" result from it. In late May, Falwell tweeted his opposition to a mask mandate from Gov. Whether Falwell's apology quells what had become a growing tide of criticism of his leadership style and occasionally inflammatory comments remains an open question.

A rope had been tied around the Confederate statue, which has stood since 1891, The Richmond Times-Dispatch reported, adding that someone urinated on the statue after it was pulled down. Confederate monuments are a major flashpoint in Virginia and elsewhere in the South. Those statues sit on city land, unlike the Lee statue, which is on state property. Thats when a new law goes into effect, which was signed earlier this year by Northam, that undoes an existing state law protecting Confederate monuments and instead lets local governments decide their fate. Wickhams statue stood in Monroe Park, about a mile away from the Lee statue and surrounded by the Virginia Commonwealth University campus.

Protesters sit near the statue of Robert E. Lee on Monument Avenue in Richmond, Va., Wednesday, June 3, 2020. As for the Lee statue, Northam and his predecessor, fellow Democrat Terry McAuliffe, have not previously pressed the issue. The statues on Monument Avenue are among the most prominent collection of tributes to the Confederacy in the nation. A statue of black tennis hero Arthur Ashe, a Richmond native, was erected on Monument Avenue in 1996. "The Lee statue was a constant reminder to Black Virginians of racism, dehumanization, and hate that exists and was prevalent throughout our historyA descendant of Lee, the Rev.

In this photo taken with a drone, a large group of protesters gather around the statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee on Monument Avenue near downtown Tuesday, June 2, 2020, in Richmond, Va. Ralph Northam is expected to announce plans Thursday for the removal of an iconic statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee from Richmond's prominent Monument Avenue, a senior administration official told The Associated Press. Floyd's death has sparked outrage over issues of racism and police brutality and prompted a new wave of Confederate memorial removals. The Lee statue is one of five Confederate monuments along Monument Avenue in Richmond, the former capital of the Confederacy. It has been the target of vandalism during protests in recent days over Floyd's death.

President Donald Trump holds a Bible as he visits outside St. John's Church across Lafayette Park from the White House Monday, June 1, 2020, in Washington. What was unacceptable Monday, she said, was using officers to facilitate a press op.In Richmond, Virginia Gov. Newsham said his officers were not involved in moving the protesters out of Trump's way. Democrat Gerry Connolly wrote a letter to the Secret Service on Tuesday asking for documents to explain their decision-making process. And Democrat Don Beyer, whose district includes Arlington County, called Trumps response to the protesters naked authoritarianism."

RICHMOND, Va. Some governors are rejecting President Donald Trump's request to send National Guard troops to Washington, D.C., for a massive militarized show of force in the nations capital after several days of unrest over the death of George Floyd. Ralph Northam rejected a personal appeal from Secretary of Defense Mark Esper on Monday to send thousands of the states National Guard members to Washington D.C., the governor's office said. John Carney's office said the state did not send troops because Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser did not request additional assistance, a reason Northam also cited. Utah is sending approximately 200 National Guard troops. When the South Carolina National Guard is activated, we are prepared to respond as long as needed, Capt.

NEW YORK Nearly three dozen black alumni of Liberty University denounced school President Jerry Falwell Jr. on Monday, suggesting he step down after he mocked Virginias mask-wearing requirement by invoking the blackface scandal that engulfed the states governor last year. Jerry Falwell, whose legacy the alumni invoked in imploring the younger Falwell to stop this infantile behavior.In response, Falwell said his comment about the blackface scandal was made in defense of Liberty students, including minorities, who would be affected by tuition assistance cuts proposed by Gov. In recent weeks, Falwell has jabbed repeatedly at Northam while downplaying the public health risks of the coronavirus. While your tweet may have been in jest about Virginias Governor, it made light of our nations painful history of slavery and racism, the alumni wrote to Falwell. The rebuke came after an online instructor for Liberty, a black pastor who also teaches at Ithaca College, announced his resignation online in response to the tweet.