Across Virginia
Meredith Watson (CBS News photo)
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) – The second of two women to accuse Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax of sexual assault says she has nothing to gain by going public with her allegation. Meredith Watson said in an interview aired Tuesday with CBS that she’s been subjected to intense scrutiny since accusing Fairfax of raping her when both were students at Duke University in 2000. She said she’s faced particular criticism as a black woman because her accusations have tarred the reputation of Fairfax, who also is black. Fairfax says his encounters with both Watson and his initial accuser, Vanessa Tyson, were consensual, and he says a polygraph test proved it. Watson said Tuesday that Fairfax held her down during the attack and that “if you have to hold someone down, it’s not consensual.”
Photo: Ken Cuccinelli Twitter
WASHINGTON (AP) — As he threatens to shut down the southern border, President Donald Trump is considering bringing on a “border” or “immigration czar” to coordinate immigration policy across various federal agencies, according to four people familiar with the discussions.Trump is weighing at least two potential candidates for the post: former Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach and former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, according to the people, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the conversations publicly.Kobach and Cuccinelli are far-right conservatives with strong views on immigration. Cuccinelli was seen at the White House on Monday.
The planning comes as Trump is threatening anew to close the U.S.-Mexico border as soon as this week if Mexico does not completely halt illegal immigration into the U.S. And it serves as the latest sign that the president plans to continue to hammer his hardline immigration rhetoric and policies as he moves past the special counsel’s Russia investigation and works to rally his base heading into his 2020 re-election campaign.Aides hope the potential appointment, which they caution is still in the planning stages, would serve as the “face” of the administration on immigration issues and would placate both the president and his supporters, showing he is serious and taking action. White House press aides, Kobach and Cuccinelli did not immediately respond Monday to requests for comment.
(Public domain photo)
The call is out for volunteers to help get Blue Ridge Parkway campgrounds and picnic areas ready for the coming year. In Virginia, those campgrounds include Otter Creek, Peaks of Otter and Rocky Knob. “Project Parkway” is set for Saturday, April 27th. WFIR’s Evan Jones has more:
Click here for full “Project Parkway” information.
On a related note, parkway officials will conduct a public preview meeting and open house this Thursday, 4:00-6:00 pm, at the Virginia Horse Center in Lexington.
Click here for full meeting information.
STAFFORD, Va. (AP) — A Virginia woman is accused of embezzling more than $93,000, which she allegedly funneled toward her wedding and buttocks lift, among other expenses.News outlets report 32-year-old Vanessa Cline worked as a bookkeeper for No Limits Construction, replacing another who was convicted of stealing more than $150,000 from the same company.The Stafford County Sheriff’s Office says the owner contacted authorities last week after American Express told him his company’s credit card was behind on payments and would be closed.An internal investigation identified Cline as the culprit and she was arrested Wednesday.A search warrant affidavit says other unauthorized purchases included an all-terrain vehicle, airline tickets, perfume and groceries.Cline is charged with multiple counts of embezzlement, forgery and passing a forged document. Reports didn’t include comment from her.
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) – A Virginia teenager has pleaded guilty to posting a racist threat online that shut down Charlottesville City Schools for two days last week. News outlets report the 17-year-old boy was convicted Wednesday and is set to be sentenced April 24. Assistant Commonwealth Attorney Samantha Markley says the teen told authorities he was bored and joking when he made the school shooting and ethnic cleansing threat targeting a Charlottesville school. The threat was posted on an online forum known for white supremacy and later deleted. Markley says the threat’s content led authorities to believe the danger was imminent. She says responding authorities found no evidence he planned to carry out the threat or associated with white supremacist groups. The city was the site of a deadly white nationalist rally in 2017.
Governor Northam speaking at VDOT Salem office in March, 2019
Governor Northam was in Salem today to announce amendments that would provide $150 million a year for the Interstate 81 Corridor Improvement Fund. The proposed amendment would place a greater burden on trucking companies:
The proposed amendment will be looked at by the General Assembly when lawmakers return to Richmond on Wednesday.
James Fields, Jr.
Fields, 21, was convicted in December of first-degree murder and other state charges for killing anti-racism activist Heather Heyer and injuring dozens of others. A jury found that Fields intentionally plowed his car into a crowd of people protesting against the white nationalists. The “Unite the Right” rally on Aug. 12, 2017, drew hundreds of white nationalists to Charlottesville to protest the planned removal of a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. Hundreds more turned out to protest against the white nationalists. The car attack by Fields came after violent brawling between the two sides prompted police to disband the crowds.
During his state trial, prosecutors said Fields — who described himself on social media as an admirer of Adolf Hitler — drove his car directly into a crowd of counterprotesters because he was angry after witnessing earlier clashes between the two groups. The jury rejected a claim by Fields’ lawyers that he acted in self-defense because he feared for his life after witnessing the earlier violence. More than 30 people were hurt in the car attack. Some who received life-altering injuries described them in anguished detail during the state trial. Jurors in Fields’ state trial recommended a life sentence plus 419 years, although a judge still has to decide on the punishment. Sentencing is scheduled for July 15.
Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring says the first phase of a $3.4 million effort to eliminate the state’s rape kit backlog is complete. Herring announced in a statement Wednesday that testing is complete on 1,770 previously untested kits that were collected before 2014, including some that went untested for decades. As a result of the testing, officials say 239 “hits” were sent to law enforcement agencies for further investigation, including 144 that confirmed the identity of a previously known suspect and 56 in cases that had been previously cleared by arrest. Officials say at least 58 cases have been reopened for investigation or are currently under review for potential reopening. The testing also led to 568 DNA profiles being uploaded into CODIS, the national Combined DNA Index System.
ROANOKE, Va. (AP) _ Five cities and counties in southwest Virginia have filed lawsuits against drugmakers seeking compensation for the public-health fallout from the opioid-addiction crisis. The cities of Bristol, Roanoke, and Salem, along with Roanoke and Alleghany counties, are the most recent Virginia localities to file suit. Nearly 2,000 local governments across the country have filed similar lawsuits. The lawsuits filed Wednesday come a day after OxyContin manufacturer Purdue Pharma and the company’s controlling family agreed to pay $270 million to Oklahoma to settle allegations they helped create the opioid crisis with their aggressive marketing of the drug. A Purdue spokeswoman did not immediately return an email seeking comment on the Virginia lawsuits Wednesday. Federal statistics show that opioids were a factor in a record 48,000 deaths across the U.S. in 2017.