Across Virginia
A former All-American swimmer and women’s rights advocate is set to speak at an area university. WFIR’s Clark Palmer has that story.
Virginia State University officials say a wounded university police officer’s condition has improved to stable. The officer was critically wounded in a shooting near the VSU campus at about 1:30 a.m. Sunday. Police say the off-duty officer was responding to a disturbance at the campus in Petersburg, Virginia. The suspect ran off campus before shots were fired. The suspect remains at large. The university was put on lockdown after the shooting as a precaution. The university says the lockdown has been lifted. The Chesterfield police chief said in a social media post that Virginia State Police and the FBI are assisting in the investigation.
From 7th District Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger Facebook Page
Northern Virginia US Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger announced she will run to be the Commonwealth’s next Governor in 2025.Spanberger said this in a video announcement posted this morning:
Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney is among other Democrats who could run for Governor.
In recent weeks, wildfires have burned throughout the commonwealth and beyond, and one local forester says we’re not out of the woods yet. WFIR’s Alex Torres has more:WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden said America’s veterans are “the steel spine of this nation” as he marked Veterans Day during a visit to Arlington National Cemetery.
In remarks at the Memorial Amphitheater, the commander-in-chief recounted famous battles fought by U.S. troops and said those deployments of soldiers are “linked in a chain of honor that stretches back to our founding days. Each one is bound by a sacred oath to support and defend. Not a place, not a person, not a president, but an idea, to defend an idea unlike any other in human history. That idea is the United States of America.”
Nov. 11, once known as Armistice Day, is the anniversary of the armistice that ended World War I in 1918. Biden said that was “unlike any war the world had ever seen before.”
The ceremony was personal for Biden and first lady Jill Biden.
Biden’s son Beau enlisted in 2003 in the Delaware Army National Guard and deployed to Iraq in 2008 for a year as a member of the 261st Theater Tactical Signal Brigade. A captain, he earned the Legion of Merit and Bronze Star. Beau Biden later served two terms as the state’s attorney general. He died in 2015 of brain cancer.
“We miss him,” the president told the crowd, recounting how he pinned the bars on his son on the day he joined the National Guard.
“We come together today to once again honor the generations of Americans who stood on the front lines of freedom. To once again bear witness to the great deeds of a noble few who risked everything, everything, to give us a better future,” he said, paying tribute to “those who have always, always kept the light of shining bright across the world.”
Biden said that as commander in chief, “I have no higher honor. As the father of a son who served, I have no greater privilege.’’
He said that “our veterans are the steel spine of this nation and their families, like so many of you, are the courageous heart.”
On Wednesday, November 8th at 1:31 p.m., Roanoke Fire-EMS responded to a reported structure fire in the 1500 block of Maiden Ln SW. First arriving units found the residents of the dwelling self-extricating. Upon investigation, Fire-EMS personnel located a small fire in the kitchen quickly extinguished it. Roanoke Fire-EMS transported three individuals to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, and rescued one cat from the residence. No injuries to Fire-EMS personnel were reported. The estimated damages to the structure and its contents is approximately $30,000. The fire was deemed accidental.
The westbound lane of West Main Street at Fort Lewis Church Road is currently blocked due to a multi-vehicle accident. The accident was reported at 6:40 a.m. Drivers should avoid the area. Traffic heading toward Montgomery County will be delayed. There are no additional details at this time regarding the accident.
Photo: Democratic candidate Trish White-Boyd addresses supporters
After the race for Virginia’s Senate district four seat was called in favor of her opponent by the NY Times, Democratic candidate Trish White-Boyd reflected on what she called a job well done. WFIR’s Emma Thomas has that story:
A lot of Virginians are now receiving tax rebate checks in the mail — many arrived yesterday, one day before this election day. But speaking live this morning on WFIR, Governor Youngkin said there is no intentional timing in play. More from WFIR’s Evan Jones:
Party control of the General Assembly is at stake, but don’t be surprised if final resolution is at least one week away. That’s because all absentee ballots postmarked by today and received through the mail by next Monday must be counted.
Youngkin’s comments came in a live interview today on the Roanoke Valley’s Morning News. Click here to see the full conversation:
There could be a lot of new faces in the Virginia Legislature after today’s elections. As WFIR’s Denise Allen Membreño reports this is one of the most impactful legislative elections in decades.