AP
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ A University of Virginia student has filed a $3 million lawsuit against the state liquor agents involved in his bloody arrest. Martese Johnson filed the complaint Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Charlottesville. It alleges unlawful detention and excessive use of force by four Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control agents. Video and photos of Johnson being pinned to the sidewalk by ABC agents were widely distributed on social media. Johnson, who is black, could be heard on the video calling the officers racist. He was bleeding from a gash in his head. No charges were filed against the officers, and charges against Johnson were dropped. Defendants in the lawsuit are the ABC and the four agents. The state attorney general’s office did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
Jim Webb
WASHINGTON (AP) _ Jim Webb says he is dropping out of the Democratic race for president and is considering his options about how he might “remain as a voice” in the campaign. The former Virginia senator says at a news conference that he is “withdrawing from any consideration” of becoming the Democratic party’s nominee. He has complained that he did not get the chance to make his views fully known at the first Democratic debate. Webb has trailed badly in the field that includes Hillary Rodham Clinton and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. Webb has been polling in the back of the pack with former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley and former Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee.
Gov. Terry McAuliffe
LYNCHBURG, Va. (AP) _ Gov. Terry McAuliffe says smoking marijuana is not sufficient reason to remove a member of a state board or commission. The governor commented Monday after a Roanoke city councilman was charged with misdemeanor possession of marijuana. Councilman Court Rosen was appointed by the fellow Democrat to the Commonwealth Transportation Board in 2014. The 36-year-old Rosen was charged last week after police responded to a report of drug use in a parking lot next to a store. Police issued Rosen a summons. In a statement to The Roanoke Times, Rosen said he made a “terrible mistake.” McAuliffe was questioned by the Times about Rosen during a stop in Lynchburg. He said if everyone was kicked off a state board for marijuana use, the state would have fewer board members.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Virginia’s 2016 teacher of the year is a fifth-grade educator in Salem. Gov. Terry McAuliffe announced Natalie DiFusco-Funk’s selection Monday night. The governor called her “the best of the best.” DiFusco-Funk is a 12-year classroom veteran who teaches at West Salem Elementary School. She earned her master’s in education at Boston College. Salem’s school superintendent, H. Alan Seibert, called DiFusco-Funk a “consummate professional” who makes a positive difference for young children. As for the teacher of the year, DiFusco-Funk says teaching has been a “dream come true.” She was chosen among eight regional candidates. They were honored with a reception at the Executive Mansion in Richmond.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ A law professor says a decline in death sentences in Virginia is at least partly due to more vigorous legal representation during the sentencing phase of capital murder trials. Brandon Garrett of the University of Virginia released results of his study of Virginia’s death penalty Monday. Garrett compared the 21 capital murder trials since 2005 to a group of 20 such trials from 1996 to 2004. He found that the sentencing phase for the older group of trials averaged less than two days while the average for the more recent trials was four days. That’s because defense lawyers are calling more witnesses than before to present evidence that could help their client. More than half the recent trials resulted in life sentences — double the previous rate.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ A law professor says a decline in death sentences in Virginia is at least partly due to more vigorous legal representation during the sentencing phase of capital murder trials. Brandon Garrett of the University of Virginia released results of his study of Virginia’s death penalty Monday. Garrett compared the 21 capital murder trials since 2005 to a group of 20 such trials from 1996 to 2004. He found that the sentencing phase for the older group of trials averaged less than two days while the average for the more recent trials was four days. That’s because defense lawyers are calling more witnesses than before to present evidence that could help their client. More than half the recent trials resulted in life sentences _ double the previous rate.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Gas prices in Virginia are holding steady around the $2 mark, with Richmond claiming the lowest fuel prices _ $1.95 a gallon. The Triple A Mid-Atlantic says the average price for a gallon of regular unleaded fuel this week is $2.03, the same from a week ago and about 90 cents below the pump price of a year ago. That’s considerably lower than the national price for a gallon of gas, $2.26. Across the state, prices range from $2.02 cents in the Roanoke and Charlottesville areas, to $2.01 in the Norfolk region.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Virginia health officials are seeking the public’s input on how to improve Medicaid coverage for substance abuse disorder treatment services. The federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is inviting states to apply for waivers that would allow them to enhance or expand services. Virginia officials are soliciting public comment on that waiver request. The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that Karen Kimsey of the Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services says the waiver would allow the state to target certain populations or add services that haven’t been covered by Virginia’s Medicaid plan. She says the state covered $1.2 million worth of services for about 2,600 people in fiscal year 2014. The state is accepting public comment until Oct. 21.
Gov. Terry McAuliffe
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe is outlawing the open carry of guns in some state-owned building and pushing for tighter gun control measures. McAuliffe signed an executive order Thursday at the Capitol setting up a task force aimed at more robust prosecution of gun crimes. The order also establishes a statewide tip line to report gun crimes, and orders state police to request a trace of every gun involved in a crime in Virginia. U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine and Attorney General Mark Herring joined the governor, along with parents of victims killed in gun-related crimes. McAuliffe has been an outspoken advocate for tighter gun control measures, but has failed to get those efforts past the Republican-controlled General Assembly.
Ashley White and Paul Thomas
PULASKI, Va. (AP) _ A Virginia couple faces felony abuse and neglect charges stemming from their 5-year-old son’s death in a septic tank. Multiple media outlets report that the Pulaski County grand jury indicted Paul Thomas and Ashley White on Tuesday. Each also faces a felony abuse and neglect charge related to the care of their infant daughter. The couple is accused of leaving their son, Noah, and daughter, Abigail, home alone on March 22. The boy’s body was found in a septic tank near the family’s home in Dublin on March 26. The medical examiner determined that the boy drowned and that hypothermia contributed to his death. The couple remains in jail without bond.