AP
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ The U.S. Supreme Court has denied a request from Virginia’s Congressional Republicans to put a new congressional map on hold and allow the 2016 elections to proceed under the old boundaries. The high court issued its denial Monday. Republicans are also asking the court to reverse a decision by a three-judge panel that said lawmakers in 2012 illegally packed too many black voters into the 3rd Congressional District. The court is set to hear arguments on March 21. The new map could help Democrats win the 4th Congressional District, represented by Republican Rep. Randy Forbes. Democrats praised the court’s actions Monday, saying the decision was “encouraging.”
FINCASTLE, Va. (AP) _Botetourt County is putting on hold its plans to move two slave buildings on a former plantation to make way for industrial development. The delay will allow more time for a detailed search of unmarked graves in the area of the former Greenfield Plantation. The Roanoke Times reports that the delay was spelled out in court papers on Monday. Shirley Johnson Lewis is a descendant of slaves who filed a complaint in Circuit Court to block the county’s plan to move the buildings for the construction of an industrial building. Lewis opposes the county’s plan to move the buildings to a new location. While some archaeological studies conducted at the site have found no burial grounds, the county has agreed that additional digging is necessary.
Nicole Lovell
David Eisenhauer
Natalie Keepers
BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) — Two Virginia Tech engineering students have been arrested in connection with the death of a 13-year-old girl whose disappearance last week from her Virginia home set off a frantic, four-day search. Blacksburg Police say David Eisenhauer, 18, was arrested Saturday and charged with first-degree murder and abduction in the death of Nicole Madison Lovell, who disappeared from her home Wednesday. Natalie Keepers, of Laurel, Maryland, was arrested Sunday and faces charges of improper disposal of a body and accessory after the fact in the commission of a felony. Both are being held without bond at the Montgomery County Jail. “Based on the evidence collected to date, investigators have determined that Eisenhauer and Nicole were acquainted prior to her disappearance. Eisenhauer used this relationship to his advantage to abduct the 13-year-old and then kill her. Keepers helped Eisenhauer dispose of Nicole’s body,” Blacksburg police said in a statement.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe and Republican lawmakers are set to announce a major deal on gun legislation. McAuliffe spokesman Brian Coy said the governor and GOP leaders will announce Friday a compromise on gun legislation that strengthens some gun control measures while relaxing others. As part of the compromise, Democrats will reverse course and not revoke reciprocity agreements with 25 states for concealed handgun permits. In exchange, Republicans will include a measure that will prohibit the subjects of permanent protective orders from having firearms. GOP lawmakers have called similar measures in past years a non-starter. Republicans will also agree to require state police to be present at gun shows, where they can provide voluntary background checks on gun purchasers.
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) _ The dean of Virginia Tech’s College of Engineering has been named sole finalist to become president of the University of Texas at Dallas. Richard Benson was selected Monday by the University of Texas System Board of Regents. Benson faces a state-mandated 21-day waiting period before official confirmation to lead UT-Dallas, located in Richardson. Benson would replace David Daniel, who last year moved from his post as UT-Dallas president to serve as deputy chancellor of the UT System. Benson holds a bachelor’s degree in aerospace and mechanical science from Princeton University, a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Virginia and a doctorate in mechanical engineering from the University of California, Berkeley.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Health officials say a Virginia resident who traveled outside the United States has tested positive for Zika, a mosquito-transmitted virus. Health Commissioner Dr. Marissa Levine said Tuesday that the resident traveled to a country where the Zika virus transmission is ongoing. She says this person poses no risk to other residents, because it is not mosquito season in Virginia. Health officials suspect Zika is linked to a wave of birth defects in Brazil in which babies have small heads. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is recommending that pregnant women consider postponing trips to countries and areas in the Caribbean and South America where there are Zika virus disease outbreaks.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Governor Terry McAuliffe has announced that Virginia’s employment level reached 3,856,100 in December 2015, the highest in the Commonwealth’s history. The governor’s office announced Monday that in December, Virginia’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 4.2 percent. Virginia’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was down 0.6 percentage point from December 2014 and remains below the national rate, which was at 5 percent in December. December was the 21st consecutive month of year-over-year employment growth in the Commonwealth, and at 1.5 percent, is the highest growth since September 2011. Also in December, the governor’s office says Virginia had the lowest seasonally adjusted unemployment rate among the Southeast states and the fourth-best rate among states east of the Mississippi River.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Authorities say the number of storm-related deaths in Virginia has risen to five in the wake of the massive snowfall along the East Coast. A man was killed on Saturday in a single-vehicle crash in Virginia Beach that police blamed on speed and icy road conditions, and Virginia Tech filmmaker Jerry Scheeler died Friday while shoveling snow outside his new house in Daleville, local news media reported Sunday. On Saturday, the state medical examiner’s office confirmed three other storm deaths. They included a single-vehicle crash in Chesapeake and deaths in Hampton and southwest Virginia from hypothermia.
STAFFORD, Va. (AP) _ The massive snowstorm that kept most of the Mid-Atlantic at home also snowed in a Virginia midwife, leaving an emergency dispatcher to walk her husband through the birthing of a baby boy. The Stafford County Sheriff’s Office reports that the county’s emergency communications center received a 911 call Saturday afternoon at the height of the storm. The caller said a woman was in labor but the midwife was unable to reach their home because of the storm. While the county’s fire and rescue was sent to the residence, the dispatcher talked the father through the delivery of a healthy baby boy. A news release did not include the dispatcher’s name or the infant’s weight. Also not included: whether the boy was named Jonas.
Mark Herring
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Democratic Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring is asking the U.S. Supreme Court not to put a new congressional map for the state on hold and allow the 2016 elections to proceed under the new boundaries. A three-judge panel earlier this month ordered the state to impose a new redistricting plan crafted by a court-appointed expert. The panel had previously ruled that lawmakers in 2012 illegally packed black voters into the 3rd Congressional District, represented by Democrat Bobby Scott, to make surrounding districts safer for GOP incumbents. The new map could help Democrats win the 4th Congressional District, represented by Republican Rep. Randy Forbes. The state’s Republican members of Congress have asked the Supreme Court to hold off implementation of the new map. The court likely will hear arguments in March.