All results / Stories / Free Press staff report
Home again: VMFA returns ancient works to their countries of origin
44 pieces are back in Italy, Egypt and Türkiye
The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA) announced Tuesday that it has deaccessioned and returned 44 works of ancient art following an investigation by the Antiquities Trafficking Unit of the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office and the Department of Homeland Security into the global trafficking of looted or stolen antiquities.
YMCA makes deal on Downtown building
The YMCA of Greater Richmond could become a model for nonprofits seeking to gain revenue from old buildings, while keeping them in operation.
Pressley to become first African-American woman to represent Massachusetts in Congress
Add the name Ayanna Pressley to the list of African-American underdogs who are achieving unprecedented political success. Ms. Pressley scored a stunning upset of 10-term U.S. Rep. Michael Capuano in Tuesday’s Democratic primary, positioning herself to become the first African-American woman to represent Massachusetts in Congress.
McDonnell remains free while high court considers his case
Free Press staff, wire reports Bob McDonnell’s date with prison has been delayed again. The former Virginia governor, convicted of 11 counts of corruption, won a temporary reprieve Monday from the U.S. Supreme Court.
Recovering: Relief efforts begin to help thousands affected by Hurricane Florence; officials report 37 storm-related deaths, including 2 in Virginia
Remnants of Hurricane Florence swept Richmond into the national spotlight Monday when the storm’s wide-reaching bands of high winds and heavy rains spawned tornadoes and flash flooding.
One down
Trump’s first year in office marked by controversy and protests
Less than 24 hours after Donald Trump took office, his presidency started generating controversy. Photographs showing that the crowd at President Trump’s swearing-in was smaller than at Barack Obama’s first presidential inauguration in 2009 caused the first ruckus in his administration — but not the last.
Dr. Wyatt Tee Walker, civil rights icon, chief of staff to Dr. King, dies in Chester
Dr. Wyatt Tee Walker Jr. did all he could to advance civil rights during his long life. He is credited with being the key strategist behind many of the civil rights protests that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. led in seeking to end the racial injustice of Jim Crow in the 1960s.
Early voting begins April 23 for Democratic primary
Early voting for the June 8 Democratic primary will get underway this Friday, April 23 – 45 days ahead of primary day.
Area men named to national 2019 commemoration commission
Two Richmonders will be among the 14 people who will help plan, develop and coordinate next year’s commemoration of the 400th anniversary arrival of the first Africans into English territory in what is now the United States.
House Democrats set to boycott Trump inauguration on Friday
Donald Trump made his name with opulent hotels and a dramatic reality TV show. But his inauguration on Friday, Jan. 20, as the nation’s 45th president is shaping up as a more understated affair, with big names in entertainment staying away. Also staying away are more than 50 Congressional Democrats who plan to boycott in protest of the New York
Anguish of a nation
From memorial services to protests, numerous questions arise after senseless killings
“Can we all get along? Can we get along? Can we stop making it, making it horrible …?” The late Rodney King spoke those memorable words as he called for calm in 1992 after the acquittal of four white police officers who were videotaped savagely beating him triggered riots in Los Angeles.
State executioner who turned against the death penalty dies at 67
For 17 years, Jerry Bronson Givens carried out death sentences as Virginia’s chief executioner. The Richmond native then spent the rest of his life crusading against the death penalty.
Olympian and activist Lee Evans, who took iconic stand at 1968 Mexico City Games, dies at 74
Lee Evans, the record-setting sprinter who wore a black beret in a sign of protest at the 1968 Summer Olympics and then went on to a life of humanitarian work in support of social justice, died Wednesday, May 19, 2021, at age 74.
Richmond School Board shelves school closings
Armstrong High School will not be closed. Nor will four Richmond elementary schools — Cary, Overby-Sheppard, Southampton and Swansboro. And there will be no merger of two alternative schools.
Trump inaugurated amid hail of protests
Republican Donald J. Trump launched his presidency with a blunt inaugural address, a fist pump and promises to give power to the people and put “America first.”
DHR approves 7 state historical highway markers
City’s African burial ground, Washington Park to be recognized; Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup hailed
The Virginia Board of Historic Resources recently approved seven new historical markers that will be placed along roadsides in Virginia. The signs will highlight the City of Richmond’s first municipal African burial ground; three communities founded by formerly enslaved African-Americans after the Civil War; and the life and work of Arthur Crudup, a 20th century blues musician of the Eastern Shore whose song, “That’s All Right,” launched the career of Elvis Presley.
Obamas to deliver commencement addresses
Yes, they will! Former President Obama and his wife, former First Lady Michelle Obama, will salute the Class of 2020 in two separate virtual graduation ceremonies replacing the traditional end of high school and college.
U.S. Supreme Court decisions change church-state separation, allow partial Muslim ban
The First Amendment guarantee of religious freedom has barred the government from meddling with or taxing churches and other faith-based institutions. In exchange, religious institutions generally have not been entitled to receive taxpayer funding. No more.
YWCA Richmond announces 2024 Class of Outstanding Women Awards honorees
Free Press Managing Editor Bonnie Newman Davis among this year’s recipients
For more than 40 years, YWCA Richmond has recognized accomplished women leaders in the Richmond community who one LinkedIn article described as “modeling resilience, empowering their teams to embrace change, learning from failures and persisting in the face of adversity.”
Oprah for president?
That’s the buzz since the 63-year-old media mogul stole the show at the Golden Globe Awards on Sunday night with her speech accepting the Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime achievement.
