AP
CHRISTIANSBURG, Va. (AP) _ About 20 students at a Virginia high school received a one-day suspension for wearing clothing displaying the Confederate flag. Montgomery County Public Schools spokeswoman Brenda Drake says the clothing violated Christiansburg High School’s dress code. Drake says the students refused to comply with the dress code after they arrived at the school Thursday in the clothing. They were given one-day in-school suspensions. But she says a majority of the students didn’t follow in-school suspension rules and were given out of-school suspensions. Confederate symbols have come under increased public scrutiny since the June 17 massacre of nine black worshippers at a church in Charleston, South Carolina. The man charged had been photographed holding the Confederate battle flag.
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) _ The University of Virginia will request about $140 million in additional state funding over the next two fiscal years. The Daily Progress (http://bit.ly/1Kq5Cay ) reports that the university’s Board of Visitors on Thursday approved the request, which includes $90 million in operational funds and $50 million in capital funds. University Vice President for Management and Budget Colette Sheehy says neither financial aid nor faculty salaries were included in the request. About $13 million of the requested funds would go toward improving the university’s information technology security. The university is also hoping to receive $21.5 million to renovate a medical research building. The requests will go to the office of Gov. Terry McAuliffe, which will release a formal budget recommendation in December. The General Assembly will evaluate the recommendation next year.
ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) _ A Lynchburg woman faces charges of bringing a loaded gun to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. The Transportation Security Administration says a TSA officer staffing a checkpoint X-ray machine detected the handgun on Wednesday. The TSA said Thursday that the gun was loaded with seven rounds, along with one round in the chamber. Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Police cited the woman on a weapons charge and confiscated the gun. The TSA says in a news release that the airport’s operations weren’t affected.
Bob and Maureen McDonnell
(Associated Press photo)
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Former Virginia first lady Maureen McDonnell has made her final written arguments to a federal appeals court that is reviewing her public corruption convictions. In a brief filed Wednesday night, McDonnell’s attorneys renewed their claim that federal bribery law applies differently to her than it does to her husband because she was not an elected official. Former Gov. Bob McDonnell and his wife were convicted last year of doing favors for a former vitamin executive in exchange for more than $165,000 in gifts and loans. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Bob McDonnell’s convictions earlier this summer, but he remains free while he appeals to the U.S. Supreme Court. The federal appeals court will conduct a hearing in Maureen McDonnell’s case Oct. 29.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ The Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association says the state’s hospitals are under serious financial strain and need help. The association held a news conference Wednesday at the Richmond Community Hospital to highlight the role hospitals play in Virginia’s economy and the need for government action. Hospitals have tried unsuccessfully to convince the GOP-controlled General Assembly to pass Medicaid expansion. The association is launching a statewide public awareness campaign that will “educate Virginians about the serious challenges facing Virginia hospitals.” Virginia hospitals employ 115,000 people and generate $36 billion in economic activity for the state, according to the association.
UNDATED (AP) – The woman who survived an on-air shooting that killed two TV journalists in Virginia says the gunman never said a word. In her first public comments since last month’s shooting, Smith Mountain Lake Chamber of Commerce executive director Vicki Gardner spoke with Fox News’ Greta Van Susteren in an interview broadcast Tuesday night. Gardner was on live TV Aug. 26 when Vester Flanagan opened fire. WDBJ-TV cameraman Adam Ward and reporter Alison Parker were killed. Gardner says after the initial shots, she instinctively dropped to the ground and got into the fetal position, pretending to be dead. Flanagan returned and shot her in the back. Flanagan later fatally shot himself. Doctors removed a kidney from Gardner and part of her colon. She was released from a hospital Sept. 7.
Jesse Matthew, Jr.
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) _ A grand jury has indicted a man already charged with killing a University of Virginia student with murder in the death of a Virginia Tech student who disappeared in 2009. The Albemarle County Commonwealth’s Attorney Office said Tuesday Jesse Leroy Matthew, Jr. has been charged with the first-degree murder of 20-year-old Morgan Harrington. Harrington vanished after attending a Metallica concert in Charlottesville. Matthew was also charged with abduction with intent to defile. Matthew is charged with capital murder in the September 2014 disappearance and death of 18-year-old University of Virginia student Hannah Graham. Authorities have previously said forensic evidence linked Matthew to Harrington. In June, Matthew was convicted of sexually assaulting and attempting to kill a woman in Fairfax County. He is scheduled to be sentenced in that case Oct. 2.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe says he plans to reappoint his pick to the Virginia Supreme Court over the objections of GOP legislative leaders. McAuliffe reiterated Tuesday his previously stated plans to reappoint Justice Jane Marum Roush to the high court on Wednesday, when her temporary appointment expires. The governor said he has the legal authority to do so. Republican leaders have warned McAuliffe against such a move, saying it could be unlawful. The General Assembly has the final say on supreme court appointments and did not vote to confirm Roush during a special session last month. McAuliffe and Republicans disagree whether the special session is over, since the GOP-controlled House did not adjourn.
(WDBJ7 photo)
MONETA, Va. (AP) _ Police have identified two people who were injured in the crash of a small plane in Moneta. Virginia State Police say the pilot, Jeremiah Anthony Kelner, and a passenger, Victoria Mallett, remain hospitalized. The single-engine Cessna crashed and caught fire on Sunday afternoon about a quarter-mile from the Smith Mountain Lake Airport. Airport manager Mike Matt has said the pilot was trying to land when the crash occurred. State police Sgt. Michael Bailey tells The Roanoke Times (http://bit.ly/1JbqD7P ) that a preliminary analysis indicates the pilot lost power as he tried to gain altitude after overshooting the runway. The plane then hit trees.
vdacs.virginia.gov
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Virginia agriculture officials say they’re optimistic about this fall’s apple crop. The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services says this year’s crop is reading for picking and among the best the state has produced in years. The state’s growers have been harvesting apples since August, when the earliest varieties started ripening. Federal officials anticipate Virginia apple production to total 180 million pounds. Orchards will pick Virginia apples through November. Virginia is home to more than 150 commercial apple growers, as well as many pick-your-own farms that sell directly to the consumer.