AP

Kroger LogoROANOKE, Va. (AP) _ The Kroger Co. says its Mid-Atlantic Division stores donated 700 tons of perishable food to food banks in six states last year. Kroger says all 120 stores in the Roanoke, Virginia-based division contributed meat, poultry, produce and dairy products in 2014 to food banks in Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. Among Kroger’s food bank partners are Feeding America Southwest Virginia in Salem, Virginia; the Blue Ridge Food Bank in Verona, Virginia; and the Mountaineer Food Bank and the Huntington Area Food Bank in West Virginia. Kroger Mid-Atlantic spokeswoman Allison McGee says feeding the hungry is a major priority for the company and its associates.

Mark Herring

Mark Herring

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Virginia Attorney General Mark R. Herring has filed a friend-of-the-court brief in support of the government’s bid to end a judge’s roadblock of the Obama administration’s immigration plan. Virginia joins 14 other states and the District of Columbia with the amicus brief filed Monday by Herring’s office. Herring said the administration’s immigration proposals could protect from deportation up to 92,000 undocumented immigrants in Virginia. Justice Department attorneys have filed an emergency motion with a federal appeals court in New Orleans to lift the preliminary injunction issued this year by a judge in Brownsville, Texas, blocking President Barack Obama’s immigration plan. The injunction had been issued on the request of a coalition of 26 states that filed a lawsuit to overturn the plan.

UVA-LogoRICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ The fraternity at the center of a now-discredited Rolling Stone rape article says the story was defamatory and reckless and they are pursuing legal action against the magazine. Phi Kappa Psi said Monday in a statement that the article was viewed by millions, led to members being ostracized and there was vandalism of the fraternity house. The fraternity’s statement came as the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism released a report, saying the magazine’s shortcomings “encompassed reporting, editing, editorial supervision and fact-checking.” The article said a woman named “Jackie” was gang raped at the fraternity house. Police say there is no evidence the attack took place.

UVA-LogoRICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ A report from the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism says a Rolling Stone magazine article about an alleged rape on the University of Virginia campus was a “story of journalistic failure that was avoidable.”  Published on the magazine’s website Sunday night, the report said that “the failure encompassed reporting, editing, editorial supervision and fact-checking.”  Rolling Stone Managing Editor Will Dana posted an apology on the publication’s website Sunday night and said the magazine was officially retracting the story. The report said Rolling Stone’s article may cast doubt on future accusations of rape. It also damaged the reputation of the Phi Kappa Psi chapter at U.Va. and depicted the university administration as neglectful. Click here to read the full report.

UVA-LogoCHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) _ Columbia Journalism School says that on Sunday, it will release its review of a discredited Rolling Stone magazine article that portrayed a graphic rape at a University of Virginia fraternity. The school announced the report’s release date on its website Thursday. It said the report will be released on RollingStone.com and CJR.org at 8 p.m. Sunday. A news conference on the report is scheduled for noon Monday. The Nov. 19 Rolling Stone piece, titled “A rape on campus,” reported on a student identified only as “Jackie” who said she was gang raped at the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity house in Charlottesville. Media investigations into the story quickly raised questions about the report. A four-month Charlottesville Police Department investigation found no evidence of the attack.

Noah Thomas

Noah Thomas

DUBLIN, Va. (AP) _ The parents of a 5-year-old boy found dead in a septic tank have been charged with felony child abuse and neglect.  Pulaski County Sheriff Jim Davis announced the arrests of Ashley Jennifer White and Paul Thomas on Thursday. Authorities have said Noah Thomas was watching cartoons around 8 a.m. March 22 when White went to take a nap with her 6-month-old daughter. When she awoke about 10:35 a.m., Noah was missing. His body was found March 26 in the septic tank on the family’s property. The defendants each face two charges _ one involving Noah, another linked to the infant. They’re being held without bond at New River Valley Regional Jail. It was unclear whether they had an attorney who could comment on the charges.

State-NewsRICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ The Virginia Department of Elections says it has serious security concerns about voting equipment used in about one-fifth of the state’s precincts. A report issued late Wednesday says the State Board of Elections should consider getting rid of the WinVote system. The board is expected to conduct a public hearing on the matter in the next few days. Gov. Terry McAuliffe called for an investigation in response to voting machine irregularities during the November 2014 general election. The state hired a federally certified voting system test lab to assist in the review, which uncovered vulnerabilities in the wireless capability of the WinVote touchscreen machines that are used in 29 localities.

Gov. Terry McAuliffe

Gov. Terry McAuliffe

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ An email obtained by The Associated Press shows that Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s office rebuffed interview requests with a federal agent investigating the U.S. government’s investor-visa program. The Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General twice asked McAuliffe for an interview in the summer of 2014 but said in a recent report that the efforts were “unsuccessful.” McAuliffe spokesman Brian Coy told The AP the governor was too busy “running the commonwealth” to sit down with investigators but offered to provide any specific information agents needed. State records show McAuliffe went on seven out-of-state trips for political or personal reasons in the summer of 2014. The report says McAuliffe and other Democrats received special treatment from a top DHS official in the investor-visa program, but no laws were broken.

Joseph Morrissey

Joseph Morrissey

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Former Virginia Del. Joseph D. Morrissey is no longer facing felony charges related to a sex scandal involving a teenager. A Henrico Circuit Court judge on Wednesday dismissed four charges against Morrissey. Morrissey was facing charges of fabricating a document that he presented as evidence in December, when he was convicted of contributing to the delinquency of a minor involving a 17-year-old girl. The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that the judge ruled a plea bargain Morrissey signed in December involving the teenager absolved him of related potential crimes.  Morrissey recently vacated his House seat to run for state Senate. The Democratic Party ruled Tuesday that he had not submitted enough valid signatures to qualify for the Democratic primary, a decision Morrissey has pledged to fight.

UVA-LogoCHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) _ The University of Virginia has released a new interim policy on sexual misconduct and “gender-based” violence. The policy prompted by an investigation by the U.S. Department of Education is effective immediately. The Daily Progress reports  that the measure was implemented after about a year of work by administrators and students. The policy was expanded to include detailed descriptions of reporting procedures and sexual assault and misconduct education at the university. The Charlottesville school is one of about 150 institutions nationwide being investigated for potential violations of a federal law prohibiting sex-based discrimination in education. According to the new policy, complaints will be examined by the university’s full-time investigator or “an external investigator with relevant experience.” Students and employees also will be allowed to have an adviser at disciplinary hearings.