AP
WASHINGTON (AP) _ Archaeologists have discovered the human remains of four of the earliest leaders of Jamestown, Virginia, the first permanent English settlement in America. Four burial sites were uncovered after more than 400 years. They were discovered in what’s left of the floor of Jamestown’s historic church. The site is the same church where Pocahontas famously married Englishman John Rolfe. The Jamestown Rediscovery archaeology team revealed their findings Tuesday at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. The museum helped study the burial sites to identify the remains. The team identified the remains of Rev. Robert Hunt, Jamestown’s first Anglican minister; Capt. Gabriel Archer, a rival of John Smith; Sir Ferdinando Wainman, likely the first knight buried in America; and Capt. William West, who died in a fight with Powhatan Indians.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) _ Norfolk Southern’s 23 percent drop in second-quarter profit follows the same story line as other railroads seeing a sharp decline in coal shipments. Norfolk Southern posted $433 million net income, or $1.41 per share. That’s down from $562 million, or $1.79 per share, a year ago. The Norfolk, Virginia, railroad fell just shy of the per-share earnings of $1.42 that analysts were looking for, according to a poll by FactSet. Norfolk Southern’s revenue decreased 11 percent to $2.71 billion because coal volume fell 21 percent and total volume declined 2 percent. That revenue figure was also more meager than expected. Union Pacific and CSX railroads both cited similar challenges when they released results earlier this month.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Gov. Terry McAuliffe has appointed Fairfax Circuit Judge Jane Marum Roush to the Virginia Supreme Court. Roush will succeed Justice LeRoy F. Millette Jr., who is retiring at the end of the month. The appointment, announced Monday, requires General Assembly confirmation. Fairfax County’s 13-member legislative delegation, which includes both Democrats and Republicans, recommended Roush in a letter to McAuliffe in May. Roush is best known for presiding over the 2003 trial of D.C. sniper Lee Boyd Malvo, who is serving life in prison. The Virginia Supreme Court also chose Roush to preside in the ongoing case of Charles Severance, who is charged with killing three people in Alexandria. Roush has been a circuit judge for 22 years.
Former Virginia
Gov. Bob McDonnell
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell is asking that the entire 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reconsider his corruption convictions. McDonnell’s legal team filed a petition Friday for a rehearing of his appeal after a three-judge panel unanimously upheld the convictions earlier this month. A jury in September found McDonnell and his wife, Maureen, guilty of doing favors for former Star Scientific CEO Jonnie Williams in exchange for more than $165,000 in gifts and loans. The former Republican governor, once widely considered a possible running mate to former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, was sentenced in January to two years in prison. His wife was sentenced in February to one year and one day in prison. Both are free on bond while they pursue appeals.
ELLISTON, Va. (AP) — A North Carolina woman has been charged with murder after a body was discovered in a Virginia home where she once lived. Media outlets report 52-year-old Janice B. Widenor was indicted in Montgomery County on a first-degree murder charge earlier this month in the death of 70-year-old James H. Austin. Austin’s body was found inside a home in Elliston where Widenor once lived. Widenor had already been charged with concealing a body in concrete. Authorities in Greensboro, N.C., arrested Widenor and she was extradited to Montgomery County. Montgomery County sheriff’s Capt. Brian Wright has said he believed Austin was an acquaintance of Widenor.
BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) _ Virginia Tech will be closed on Labor Day this year, in part because of crowds expected for a football game against visiting Ohio State. Tech President Timothy Sands wrote in a letter to the Blacksburg community that he finds it “odd” that the university had not closed previously for what he called an important national holiday. The holiday closure will be on Sept. 7, a Monday. That’s the same day the Hokies face the Ohio State Buckeyes at Lane Stadium in a nationally televised game. Sands wrote that the university is considering the possibility of canceling classes on Labor Day in future years.
NATURAL BRIDGE, Va. (AP) _ The animal protection group PETA says it has filed federal complaints against two zoos in Natural Bridge, citing the alleged neglect of monkeys, zebras and other animals. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals says it filed the complaints Tuesday against Natural Bridge Zoo and Virginia Safari Park with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The two attractions have been the targets of complaints and investigations in the past. PETA says visitors reported seeing capuchin monkeys with hair loss and skin issues, zebras and other animals confined to filthy enclosures and a goat with curling hooves. Natural Bridge Zoo is owned by Karl Mogensen, while Virginia Safari Park is owned by Eric Mogensen. Telephone messages left with both men by The Associated Press were not immediately returned.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Virginia’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate held steady at 4.9 percent in June. The Virginia Employment Commission said Tuesday the state’s jobless rate continues to best the national unemployment rate, which was 5.3 percent in June. Virginia’s seasonally adjusted nonfarm employment in June stood at 3.8 million, an increase of 13,400 jobs. That marked the third consecutive monthly gain. Northern Virginia recorded the largest job gains, while the Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News metropolitan area was second in job growth. Job losses were reported in the Richmond area, Lynchburg and the Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford metropolitan area.
Gov. Terry McAuliffe
NORFOLK, Va. (AP) _ Gov. Terry McAuliffe has asked Virginia State Police to increase patrols around military recruiting centers. The action follows the attacks last week on two military facilities in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Four Marines and one sailor were killed. McAuliffe’s request falls short of the actions of some governors who have ordered that their National Guard soldiers be armed. McAuliffe spokesman Brian Coy told The Virginian-Pilot that Maj. Gen. Timothy Williams of the Virginia National Guard advised against arming his soldiers. In some instances, Coy said state police will work with local departments.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ The Virginia Department of Education already offers parents and the public detailed data on schools, school divisions and the state. Now the department is seeking guidance on what additional data should be included in the report cards. Superintendent of Public Instruction Steven R. Staples says a survey of parents and other community members will help the department and the state Board of Education to identify other indicators of a school’s or division’s performance. He says the current format can be confusing. The General Assembly directed the Board of Education to develop the redesigned report cards by October 2016. The 16-item survey can be found at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/schoolreportcards. The survey takes 15 to 20 minutes to complete. It will remain active until Aug. 14.