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A battle supreme
Dems, civil rights groups and others gearing up for confirmation fight over U.S. Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh
To President Trump, he’s “a judge’s judge” and “a brilliant legal mind” who deserves swift confirmation.
Dems take the House
Voter enthusiasm, coupled with rejection of Trump policies, results in Democrats regaining the U.S. House of Representatives in midterm election
Voters brought an end to one-party Republican rule in the nation’s capital in Tuesday’s election. Propelled by a surge of rank-and-file enthusiasm and widespread urban and suburban dissatisfaction with President Trump, Democrats took control of the House of Representatives for the first time since 2011.
Funeral arrangements announced for ‘Queen of Soul,’ Aretha Franklin
Aretha Franklin, the glorious “Queen of Soul” whose music became the backdrop for a generation and a theme song for both the civil rights and women’s movement, will be laid to rest Friday, Aug. 31, at Woodlawn Cemetery in Detroit.
Obamas choose 2 African-American artists for official presidential portraits
Artist Kehinde Wiley, known for his large, edgy paintings of top music and hip-hop performers such as Michael Jackson, LL Cool J, Notorious B.I.G., Ice T and Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, has been commissioned to paint the official presidential portrait of former President Obama for the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery.
Simone Biles wins 7th title
There’s no disputing that Simone Biles is a champion. After Sunday, she is now a champion seven times over.
Democrats angered as Gov. Youngkin vetoes 25 bipartisan bills
Republican Gov. Glenn A. Youngkin vetoed 25 bills — including some that passed with broad bipartisan support — as he took action on more than 800 bills the divided legislature sent him during its regular session.
Grieving with Pittsburgh
Families of the 11 people killed in the synagogue massacre Saturday begin to bury the dead amid a national outpouring of support
Pittsburgh’s Jewish community began burying its dead following Saturday’s synagogue massacre. Funeral services were held Tuesday for a beloved family doctor, a pillar of the congregation, and two middle-aged brothers known as the Rosenthal “boys.”
Confederate statues go black in Charlottesville
Workers in Charlottesville draped giant black tarps over two statues of Confederate generals on Wednesday to symbolize the city’s mourning for Heather Heyer, the 32-year-old paralegal who was killed while protesting a white nationalist rally. The work began around 1 p.m. in Emancipation Park, where a towering monument of Robert E. Lee on horseback stands. Workers gathered around the monument with a large black covering. Some stood in cherry-pickers and others used ropes and poles to cover the statue as onlookers took photos and video.
Senate passes major criminal justice reform package
The U.S. Senate voted 87-12 Tuesday to usher in the most substantial change to the 1990s tough-on-crime sentencing laws that have ballooned the federal prison population and created a criminal justice system that is seen as costly and unfair.
VMI superintendent resigns after probe ordered of ‘ongoing structural racism’
The superintendent of Virginia Military Institute resigned Mon- day, a week after Gov. Ralph S. Northam and other state officials ordered an investigation into what they characterized as a culture of “ongoing structural racism” at the college.
Former U.S. Sen. John Warner dies at 94
Flags are flying at half-staff over the nation’s capital in honor of former U.S. Sen. John W. Warner of Virginia who died Tuesday, May 25, 2021, at age 94.
Rev. Joseph Lowery, head of SCLC and dean of civil rights veterans, dies at 98
The Rev. Joseph E. Lowery fought to end segregation, lived to see the election of the country’s first African-American president and echoed the call for “justice to roll down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream” in America.
Breakfast with Bernie
Bernie Sanders had breakfast in New York with the Rev. Al Sharpton just hours after trouncing Hillary Clinton in the New Hampshire Democratic presidential nominating contest Tuesday. His meeting with the iconic civil rights leader marked the recognition by Mr. Sanders that his campaign must swiftly broaden its base of support if he has any chance of mounting a long-term challenge to Mrs. Clinton, who consistently polls better among African-American voters.
Elusive copper cornerstone box pulled from Lee pedestal, opened
Conservation experts at the Virginia Department of Historic Resources pulled books, money, ammunition, documents and other artifacts Tuesday from a long-sought-after time capsule found in the remnants of a pedestal on Richmond’s Monument Avenue that once held a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee.
Pharrell Williams says ‘toxic energy’ tanked 2nd ‘Something in the Water’ in Va. Beach
Hometown or no hometown, music superstar Pharrell Wil- liams is pulling his hugely successful “Something in the Water” music festival out of Virginia Beach.
Civil rights groups to commemorate 57th anniversary of historic March on Washington
A series of events led by a coalition of civil rights groups such as the NAACP, the National Action Network and a coalition, including Martin Luther King III and the families of George Floyd, Eric Garner and Breonna Taylor, will commemorate the 57th anniversary of the historic March on Washington that was led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Amelia Boynton Robinson, civil rights activist, dies at 104
Free Press staff, wire reports MONTGOMERY, Ala. Amelia Boynton Robinson helped change America. The first African-American woman to run for Congress served on the front lines during the Civil Rights Movement. Almost beaten to death in a march for voting rights in 1965, she was among those who pushed the country to pass a strong law to finally ensure African-Americans could cast a ballot without facing literacy tests, poll taxes and vicious attacks.
Tax time
Monday, May 17. That’s the deadline for Virginians to file their federal and state income taxes for the year 2020.
Crusading journalist George E. Curry dies at 69
George E. Curry, a pioneering journalist and publisher whose civil rights advocacy helped free a Henrico County woman from federal prison while calling national attention to the disparity in federal drug sentences for African-Americans, died Saturday, Aug. 20, 2016, at a Takoma Park, Md., hospital.
