AP
Randy Taylor
(Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail photo)
LOVINGSTON, Va. (AP) _ A man charged with killing a missing Nelson County teenager has pleaded not guilty.
Randy Taylor’s trial started Thursday in Nelson County Circuit Court and is expected to last about two weeks. Jury selection began after the 48-year-old Taylor pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and abduction with intent to defile. Prosecutor Anthony Martin told potential jurors that 17-year-old Alexis Murphy’s body hasn’t been found. It took about 9 hours to seat the jury.
Murphy disappeared last August. She was last seen at a gas station in Lovingston. Authorities found her car several days later in an Albemarle County parking lot.
Taylor’s attorney sought a change of venue because of heavy news coverage of the case in Nelson County. Circuit Judge J. Michael Gamble denied the motion in February.
WFIR reporter Velvet Hall contributed to this report
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Federal officials say roughly 216,350 Virginians picked health plans in the new insurance marketplace created by President Barack Obama’s health care law.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released the final enrollment figures on Thursday.
The federal data shows that many Virginia residents who have obtained coverage are older, though about 39 percent are under age 35. More than half are women, and 82 percent are getting financial help to pay their monthly premiums.
Mark Herring
ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) _ Attorney General Mark Herring is telling Virginia colleges that they can grant in-state tuition to thousands of students who were previously considered ineligible because of their immigration status. The policy change, announced Tuesday at Northern Virginia Community College, is a change from the Democrat’s Republican predecessors. In the past, the attorney general’s office had advised that students who entered the country illegally were barred from receiving in-state tuition, even if they were children when they immigrated. Herring says students can qualify for the reduced tuition under a special immigration status created by the Obama administration for certain young people brought to the country as children.
Click here to read the full Attorney General’s news release.
Bob McDonnell
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell has a new job as a visiting professor at Liberty University. School spokesman Johnnie Moore said Monday that so far McDonnell has given lectures on constitutional law and state government. In a statement, McDonnell said he felt privileged to be teaching at the school, which is based in Lynchburg. Liberty University was founded by the late Moral Majority leader Jerry Falwell and is a frequent stop for politicians looking to gain the support of young evangelical voters. The school did not disclose how much McDonnell is paid in his new position. McDonnell and his wife, Maureen, are currently awaiting trial on federal corruption charges. They have pleaded not guilty. McDonnell’s employment at Liberty was first reported by the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Gov. Terry McAuliffe has successfully vetoed two religious expression bills and legislation that would have granted people who receive red-light tickets the right to contest citations in circuit court. The Virginia Senate voted Wednesday to uphold McAuliffe’s vetoes during a one-day legislative meeting commonly referred to as the “veto session.”
McAuliffe had vetoed a bill that would have codified a student’s right to pray at school. Another would have prohibited censorship of sermons given by chaplains of the Virginia National Guard. The American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia praised the Senate’s votes, while the conservative Family Foundation condemned them.
The General Assembly did not take up the state’s proposed $96 billion two-year budget. Republicans and Democrats remain deadlocked on whether the budget should include expanding Medicaid eligibility.
NORFOLK, Va (AP) _ Norfolk Southern Corp.’s first-quarter profit fell 18 percent as severe winter weather slowed shipments and the railroad delivered 1 percent less freight overall.The Norfolk, Virginia, based railroad said Wednesday it earned $368 million, or $1.17 per share, during the January-March period. That’s down from $450 million, or $1.41 per share, a year ago. “Following the extreme winter weather across the U.S. rail network which impacted first-quarter results, we are seeing a rebound in shipments across all of our business,” Norfolk Southern CEO Wick Moorman wrote in a statement. “Our people responded admirably to meet the challenges of the harsh conditions, and we remain focused on delivering superior service to our customers.” Declines in automotive, construction and forest product shipments offset increases in crude oil and liquefied petroleum gas shipments.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Virginia lawmakers are returning to Richmond to consider Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s changes to the General Assembly’s 2014 legislation. Legislators will consider McAuliffe’s vetoes and proposed changes to several dozen pieces of legislation during a one-day session Wednesday. McAuliffe has vetoed two bills concerning religious expression. One would have codified a student’s right to pray at school. The other would have prohibited censorship of sermons made by chaplains of the Virginia National Guard. The governor also vetoed a bill that would give people who receive red-light tickets the right to contest citations in circuit court. That bill passed the House 99-0 and the Senate 38-1. The General Assembly won’t take up the state’s budget. Republicans and Democrats remained deadlocked on whether the budget should include expanding Medicaid eligibility.
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) _ The Virginia Department of Forestry has issued a fire weather watch for the entire state. The advisory issued Wednesday signals an increased threat of wildfires. Forestry officials say the watch has been issued because of predictions of low humidity and high winds, among other factors.
They all add up to an increased wildfire danger.
If those conditions linger, the watch could be upgraded to a red flag warning. The National Weather Service already has issued red flag warning for some areas, including much of southwestern Virginia. That is issued when conditions are ideal for wilderness fires to start easily and spread rapidly.
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) _ A former University of Virginia associate dean has pleaded guilty to child pornography charges. Michael G. Morris pleaded guilty Monday to two counts of distributing or receiving child pornography and one count of possessing child pornography. The 50-year-old Crozet resident entered his plea in U.S. District Court in Charlottesville. Morris faces up to 20 years in prison on the distribution and receipt charges and up to 10 years in prison on the possession charge.
Gov. Terry McAuliffe
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Gov. Terry McAuliffe is celebrating his administration’s accomplishments during its first 100 days in office. The Democratic governor gathered state agency heads at the Library of Virginia on Monday to enumerate improvements Virginia has made in the economy, transportation, health care, education and other areas. McAuliffe says his administration has helped create more than 5,000 jobs since coming into office in January.