AP
Photo courtesy Lynchburg Fire Department
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ The rail safety task force appointed by Gov. Terry McAuliffe is set to hold its first meeting.
McAuliffe appointed the task force after the April 30 derailment of a train carrying crude oil in Lynchburg. Nobody was injured in the 17-car derailment. Three of the CSX cars carrying Bakken crude from North Dakota plunged into the James River and one caught fire, prompting a brief evacuation of parts of downtown Lynchburg.
marvamaid.com
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ The Virginia Health Department is advising consumers not to drink Marva Maid Dairy milk in half-pint containers with sell-by dates from May 30 through June 2.
The department issued the advisory Tuesday. Health officials last week began an investigation after receiving complaints from the Henrico County School District about milk with a bad taste and odor. The schools reported several people feeling sick after consuming milk from the Newport News dairy.
Indiana Governor
Mike Pence
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Indiana Gov. Mike Pence is offering moral support to Virginia House Republicans as they oppose expanding Medicaid coverage.
Pence sent a letter to House Speaker William J. Howell last week saying he supports the House GOP’s position to separate a debate on Medicaid from the state budget.
The Republican governor recently announced he is seeking a modified expansion of Medicaid that relies on federal dollars and the state’s Healthy Indiana Plan. The Virginia Senate has proposed a similar alternative Medicaid expansion plan, which the GOP-controlled House has rejected.
Del. Bob Marshall
(Facebook photo)
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Republican Del. Bob Marshall says it’s his duty to try and pursue impeachment proceedings against Attorney General Mark Herring.
A handful of African-American ministers joined Marshall on Tuesday at a Capitol news conference to denounce Herring’s decision to back two same-sex couples challenging state laws. They also criticized Herring’s backing of a constitutional provision barring gay marriage in Virginia.
Ed Gillespie
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Republican Ed Gillespie is facing his first big test in his bid for a U.S. Senate. GOP delegates will pick a candidate Saturday at the Virginia Republican convention in Roanoke to face incumbent Democratic Sen. Mark Warner.
Gillespie is a former lobbyist and Republican National Committee chairman. He is the front runner to win the GOP nomination against Shak Hill, a former Air Force pilot and two others. Hill has tried to position himself as the more conservative choice. Gillespie said he feels very good about his chances of success but says he’s taking nothing for granted and plans on busing in delegates to the convention. Party conventions tend to favor more conservative candidates than primary elections and have produced surprising results.
Lawrence Gaughan
PALMYRA, Va. (AP) — Virginia Democrats in the 5th Congressional District have selected Lawrence Gaughan to challenge incumbent U.S. Rep. Robert Hurt. Democrats hosted a convention Saturday at Fluvanna County High School in Palmyra to pick between Gaughan and Ben Hudson.
Gaughan in an actor who said he recently had a role playing a Secret Service agent in the HBO series “VEEP.” Hudson is a middle school teacher. Gaughan will face Hurt, a Republican who was first elected in 2010 and easily won re-election in 2012. He did not face a primary challenger. The 5th District stretches through central Virginia nearly the entire length of the state.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ State police say eight people died in Virginia traffic accidents over the Memorial Day holiday weekend.
The accidents occurred in the counties of Brunswick, Charles City, Cumberland, Giles, Hanover, Northumberland, Scott and Spotsylvania. State police spokeswoman Corinne Geller says seven of the victims weren’t properly using safety restraints.
Nine people died in Virginia accidents during the holiday period last year and 11 died in 2012.
State police investigated a total of 463 traffic accidents in Virginia over the weekend and arrested 142 motorists on drunken-driving charges. In addition, troopers stopped more than 13,800 speeders and 3,100 reckless drivers.
ALDIE, Va. (AP) _ The Loudoun County Sheriff’s office says a second-grade teacher has been charged with being drunk in public after he was arrested at school. The sheriff’s office says deputies called to Pinebrook Elementary School on Wednesday morning found that Michael Corbett of Leesburg was under the influence of alcohol. He was charged with being drunk in public. Schools spokesman Wayde Byard says no students were exposed to inappropriate behavior or danger as a result of the incident. He says 28-year-old Corbett, who joined the Loudoun school system in 2012, has been placed on administrative leave.
Gov. Terry McAuliffe
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Gov. Terry McAuliffe is vetoing a bill that would have prevented him or his political action committee from raising money from companies seeking loans or grants from a state economic development fund. McAuliffe’s veto was made public Friday. The bill passed with unanimous support from both chambers of the General Assembly. It would have limited donations from companies seeking money from the Governor’s Development Opportunity Fund, a $35 million pot the governor can use to help attract businesses to Virginia. McAuliffe’s veto came after he unsuccessfully tried to amend the bill to include the same fundraising restrictions on state lawmakers. One of the bill’s sponsors, Republican Del. James LeMunyon of Fairfax County, said he plans to reintroduce the bill next year.
Former Virginia
Gov. Bob McDonnell
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ The corruption trial against former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell and his wife, Maureen, is set to go to trial this summer after a judge tossed out a motion to dismiss most of the charges against the couple. U.S. District Judge James R. Spencer also ruled Tuesday that the former first couple should be tried together rather than apart. The McDonnells lawyers had argued that the bulk of the case should be dismissed because prosecutors are trying to criminalize routine political courtesies. They also said Maureen McDonnell was willing to give testimony exonerating her husband in separate trials, but not in a joint trial. The McDonnells were charged in January of accepting more than $165,000 in gifts loans from a dietary supplements maker in exchange for helping promote his products.