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President Obama commutes sentences of more than 500 nonviolent federal offenders
President Obama used some of his final hours in the White House making good on his promises to help imprisoned nonviolent federal offenders get a second chance. He commuted the sentences of more than 500 federal prisoners. More than a dozen Virginians, including two from Richmond, were among those covered by one of two commutation packages issued by President Obama last week as he and his White House team were packing their bags after eight years of national leadership.
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Petersburg City Council chooses new leader
W. Howard Myers is out and Samuel Parham is in as the mayor of Petersburg. Foiled in his effort to gain a second term, 5th Ward Councilman Myers nominated Mr. Parham to be Petersburg City Council’s presiding officer at a time when the city continues to face severe financial challenges.
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Religious leaders celebrate denial of easement for Dakota Access pipeline
Native American and other religious leaders called the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ decision on Sunday to deny an easement for the $3.8 billion Dakota Access pipeline an answer to prayer.
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While athletes speak out, Trump drops ball
Donald Trump is a political commentator’s dream in the usually news-challenged weeks of late summer when we’re looking for someone to complain about.
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‘Nobody had to wonder whether she would accept the outcome’
Richmond resident and U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, who was tapped to be Hillary Clinton’s vice presidential running mate, introduced her Wednesday before her concession speech. His wife, Anne Holton, former Virginia secretary of education, was by his side:
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Mayor-elect Stoney plans to be ‘hands-on, visible, transparent’
As he looks forward to becoming Richmond’s next mayor, Levar Stoney is planning to be more visible after he takes office. As he puts it, he wants to be a “hands-on, visible and transparent mayor who can be a champion for accountability, measure outputs and inputs and, at the end of the day, say that the buck stops with me.”
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Battle of quarterbacks as VUU tackles Bowie State on Saturday
Virginia Union University’s football defense has sprung a leak at a most inopportune time — with Bowie State University’s explosive offense coming to Richmond. The Panthers are reeling from a woeful 54-21 loss at Chowan University in North Carolina in which the host Hawks rang up a whopping 631 yards total offense.
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Federal appeals court upholds right of city employees to express opinions on social media
Police officers and other government employees do not completely surrender their First Amendment rights when they go to work.
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Ben Carson: A never-ending nightmare
When Ben Carson emphatically declared that he has no government experience that would qualify him to run a federal agency, most took this to mean that he would quietly fade from public attention. We should have known better.
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Teenage shooter involved in infamous D.C. Sniper Case to get new sentencing hearing
A federal judge tossed out two life sentences for one of Virginia’s most notorious criminals, sniper Lee Boyd Malvo, and ordered Virginia courts to hold new sentencing hearings.
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Personal fight overshadows GOP Lt. Gov. campaign
Although three Republicans are running in the June 13 GOP primary for lieutenant governor, all of the drama has come from two of the candidates locked in an intensely personal fight.
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What really happened?
New details change initial police report of Mosby Court events surrounding special agent’s death
Travis A. Ball initially was portrayed as a depraved killer who fatally shot Virginia State Police Special Agent Michael T. Walter in the head without provocation.
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Improvement plan
Richmond School Board hears details after flunking Va. Dept. of Education review
The Richmond School Board has its work cut out for it to get the city’s public school system fully accredited. The Virginia Department of Education, which outlined chronic problems within Richmond Public Schools in a recent report, shared plans for getting the school system back on track at Monday night’s School Board meeting.
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Riverside defeats the Blue Sox in RBI Tournament
Some talented, teenage baseball players have completed the Richmond area portion of their season. Now they’re ready to hit the road.
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Golfer Maurice Allen captivates audience on tour
An African-American is among the top golfers in the world. But he’s not on the PGA circuit, but rather on the long drive tour.
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Golden State takes NBA title
These two questions loom following the Golden State Warriors’ fairly easy stroll to the NBA championship on Monday night: With a youthful, 20-something nucleus, will the Warriors — fueled by the high-test addition of Kevin Durant — continue to dominate the game for years to come?
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City quietly pumps $833,569 more into Monroe Park renovation
The renovation of Monroe Park is a prime example of why Richmond City Council is becoming more aggressive in overseeing city spending.
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Kudos to Bethune-Cookman grads
I could not be more proud of the students at Bethune-Cookman University than if I had raised them myself. Responding to the university’s very late selection of U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos (hereafter referred to as DeVoid, as she is devoid of good sense, history, literacy and even courtesy) for the commencement speaker, graduating seniors chose to turn their back on a woman who described HBCUs as “pioneers of school choice.”
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Trump and the Black Press
At the very beginning of the new administration, and probably in a moment of hubris, Omarosa Manigault, an aide to President Trump, promised that the first newspaper interview with the new
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Obama picks D.C. jurist
President nominates Judge Merrick Garland for U.S. Supreme Court amid GOP pushback
President Obama nominated veteran appellate court Judge Merrick Garland to the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday, setting up a potentially ferocious political showdown with Senate Republicans who have vowed to block any Obama nominee.
