Across Virginia
STERLING, Va. (AP) — President Donald Trump is enjoying a unique mix of playing partners for his round of golf Saturday.
The White House says Trump is playing with Lindsey Graham, a Republican senator from South Carolina, and two retired pro golfers, Gary Player and Annika Sörenstam.
Player is the winner of 24 PGA Tour events and 118 international tournaments.
Sörenstam completed her LPGA career with 72 tournament victories and was the dominant female player of her era, earning the Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year award three consecutive years beginning in 2003.
Both are members of the World Golf Hall of Fame.
The group joined the president for a round at Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia.
Photo: Laura Cooper
The yak that escaped his trailer on the way to a slaughterhouse 11 days ago was struck and killed today by a vehicle going along US 29 in Nelson County. “Meteor” was returned to Appalachian Yaks in Buckingham County and buried there. Searchers tried for a week and half to safely corral Meteor, who had already been promised a reprieve from the slaughterhouse.
APPALACHIAN YAKS FACEBOOK POST: This morning we received a call that Meteor had been hit by an unidentified motorist and was severely injured. By the time we could reach the scene, he had succumbed to his injuries. Our greatest fears all along have revolved around his proximity to a major highway. We have spent untold hours searching the fields, forests, and mountains around the county, assisted by local authorities, veterinarians, and other community members, who gave their time and energy to try and help us bring Meteor home safely. Meteor has been brought home to our farm, and laid to rest in a private location. His spirit is now free and has taken flight.
Meteor’s story has brought a lot of attention to our farm and our family. We did not seek out this attention, which has been both positive and negative. To those who have taken the time to hear our story and engage us in constructive dialog, even where our opinions differ, we thank you. Being able to disagree, but do so civilly and without rancor, allows us to be our best selves, and in this time of pain and tragedy, it lifts our spirits.
At this time, we ask for privacy and understanding. It’s hard to say our lives will just go back to normal, but we must make the effort, especially for our children.
Photo: Virginia Lottery
A Richmond-area woman is presumably quite happy she stopped at a Troutville convenience store just off I-81. Deborah Akers was driving home from Christiansburg when she purchased a Virginia Lottery scratcher ticket that was good for $500,000. It is one of the top prizes in the “Super 5s” game.
NEWS RELEASE: Deborah Akers was driving from Christiansburg to the Richmond area where she lives. She stopped at Brughs Mill Country Store at 345 Brughs Mill Road in Fincastle. “I had a $40 winning ticket, so I cashed it in,” she said. She used her winnings to buy four more tickets, including a Super 5s ticket. Hours later, sitting at home watching TV, she pulled out the tickets and began scratching. That’s when she discovered one of her tickets was worth $500,000. “There’s no way! There’s no way!” she later recalled thinking. “I just won half a million!”
The Glen Allen woman had just become the first top prize winner in the Super 5s game, one of dozens of Scratchers available from the Virginia Lottery. The game features prizes ranging from $10 to $500,000. The odds of winning that top prize are 1 in 652,800. The odds of winning any prize in this game are 1 in 3.38. Two more top prize tickets remain unclaimed in this game.
Ms. Akers, who is a paramedic, said she plans to pay bills with her winnings and invest the rest.
(Liberty University photo)
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) – The accrediting body that oversees Liberty University says it has asked the college for more information about recent news reports that have questioned President Jerry Falwell Jr.’s leadership style and personal business interests.Janea Johnson is a spokeswoman for the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. She told The Associated Press on Wednesday that the commission sent Liberty a letter asking it to respond to recent “vast” reports.Johnson declined to provide details about the letter, which Liberty spokesman Scott Lamb says the university hasn’t received. Johnson says the college is accredited and has no sanctions against it.Liberty is the nation’s highest-profile evangelical college. Falwell has previously told AP that the news reports stem from an “attempted coup” orchestrated by disgruntled former board members and employees.
Image: Virginia DMV
CENTREVILLE, Va. (AP) — A coalition of activists is pushing for Virginia to issue driver’s licenses to residents regardless of their immigration status. The Drive Virginia Forward campaign will launch its effort Tuesday with a press conference in Centreville. The Legal Aid Justice Center and the immigrant-advocacy group CASA are among the groups sponsoring the campaign. The awareness campaign will include a seven-day march from Virginia Beach to Richmond beginning Saturday. The group says granting driver’s licenses in Virginia regardless of legal status would befit more than 200,000 immigrants in the state and make roads safer.
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This is the first day of autumn, the time of year when we look forward to colorful fall foliage. But a Virginia Tech tree expert says unless we get a good soaking rain very soon, this year’s color may be a disappointment. John Seiler says the very dry weather since early July is triggering trees to shed some of their leaves earlier — and often with more muted colors. He spoke with WFIR’s Evan Jones:
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The Virginia Department of Health says more reports are coming in from across the state of men who take over-the-counter male enhancement pills being hospitalized for hypoglycemia – very low blood sugar levels. The pills are commonly sold at convenience stores under the brand name “V8”. Symptoms include a racing heartbeat, anxiety and shakiness. Anyone with those symptoms is advised to seek immediate medical care.
NEWS RELEASE: In mid-August, the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) received a report from the Virginia Poison Center of a cluster of patients in the Central Virginia area with severe hypoglycemia (very low blood sugar levels) requiring hospitalization, following use of an over-the-counter pill promoted for male sexual enhancement. The pills are commonly sold at convenience stores and/or gas stations in Virginia. Following the initial report, the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) issued a press release advising consumers not to purchase or use a product sold under the name “V8”.
There are reports of similar illnesses across Virginia, in individuals who have reported taking the pills. As of September 16, 2019 VDH has received additional reports of illness associated with V8 in the Eastern Region (one case), Central Region (four cases) and Southwest Region (six cases). Of those, VDH has confirmed seven cases; four remain under investigation.
Symptoms of severe hypoglycemia include sweating, a racing heartbeat, irritability, anxiety, shakiness and altered mental status. Individuals experiencing symptoms of severe hypoglycemia should seek immediate medical attention. Previously reported cases have recovered with timely medical treatment.
Individuals and healthcare professionals should contact one of Virginia’s three Poison Control Centers at 800-222-1222 about adverse events and side effects of products.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Virginia Democrats are outraising Republicans in the lead up to a closely watched legislative election. New campaign finance reports show House Democratic candidates have $1 million more cash on hand than House Republicans candidates. That’s according to analysis by the nonpartisan Virginia Public Access Project of candidate fundraising for July and August. House Republicans previously held a narrow cash advantage at the end of June.
The new reports show candidates in both parties are receiving huge donations from special interest groups and wealthy out-of-state individuals.
Just four states are having legislative elections this year, and Virginia is the only one where Democrats have a chance of flipping control of the statehouse. Republicans currently have slim majorities in both the state House and the state Senate.
UPDATE: NBC12 in Richmond reports the victims are a man, woman and their 10-year-old son.
UPDATED STATE POLICE NEWS RELEASE: DILLWYN, Va. – The Virginia State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation’s Appomattox Field Office is continuing its investigative efforts into determining the origin and cause of Monday’s fatal fire in Buckingham County. At this time, state police fire investigators, with the assistance of the Buckingham County Sheriff’s Office, are still combing through the burnt debris for evidence to help them determine if the fire was accidental or suspicious in nature.
The Buckingham County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call at 4:54 a.m. Monday (Sept. 16) about a house fire in the 20,300 block of James Anderson Highway/Route 60. Volunteer fire departments from Dillwyn, Buckingham, Toga and Arvonia responded to the scene. The house was engulfed in flames when the first fire crews arrived on scene. Once the blaze was extinguished, fire officials found three deceased individuals inside the residence.
The remains of two adults and a juvenile are being transported to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Richmond for examination, autopsy and positive identification.
STATE POLICE NEWS RELEASE: At 5:59 a.m. Monday (Sept. 16), the Buckingham County Sheriff’s Office requested the assistance of the Virginia State Police with a fatal fire at a residence in the 20300 block of James Anderson Highway. Once fire crews were able to extinguish the fire and make entry into the residence, the remains of three individuals were located inside. The origin and cause of the fire remain under investigation at this time.
HOT SPRINGS, Va. (AP) — Authorities say a 12-year-old boy has died after being struck by lightning in the Virginia mountains.
Media outlets report the Bath County Sheriff’s Office saying the lightning strike occurred Saturday afternoon in the Hot Springs area. The office said the unnamed boy died late Sunday morning.
The office says the local rescue squad initially requested on Saturday a medical airlift for the boy, who wasn’t breathing. But it couldn’t be arranged due to the bad weather. Instead the boy was transported to Bath Community Hospital and later to Roanoke Carilion Hospital.
The sheriff’s agency says the boy was visiting family in the Hot Springs area, but no other details will be released.