All results / Stories / Free Press wire reports
Hampton University turns to eSports for creating entrepreneurs
Students at Hampton University soon will be playing video games as part of their studies. The university is building an eSports lab, thanks to a $340,658 technology grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Hugh Masekela, South African jazz musician instrumental in anti-apartheid fight, dies at 78
Trumpeter and singer Hugh Masekela, known as the “father of South African jazz” who used his music in the fight against apartheid, has died after a decade-long fight with prostate cancer, his family said on Tuesday. He was 78.
Rudolfo Anaya, ‘godfather’ of Chicano literature, dies at 82
Rudolfo Anaya, a writer who helped launch the 1970s Chicano Literature Movement with his novel, “Bless Me, Ultima,” a book celebrated by Latinos, has died at 82.
Jimmy Carter still drawing devotees to church
The pilgrims arrive early and from all over, gathering hours before daybreak in an old pecan grove that surrounds a country church. They come, they say, for a dose of simple decency and devotion wrapped up in a Bible lesson. The teacher is the 39th president of the United States, Jimmy Carter.
Virginians to be impacted by new laws now in effect
New state laws went into effect Saturday, July 1, that could impact how Virginians drive, what kind of alcohol they buy and what they wear when they go hunting.
Pat Robertson recovering from stroke
Televangelist Pat Robertson is recovering after suffering an embolic stroke.
Rev. Jesse Jackson, wife remain hospitalized with COVID-19
The Rev. Jesse Jackson said Tuesday that he’s feeling “fairly well” and receiving great care at a Chicago hospital after a breakthrough COVID-19 infection.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu hospitalized
Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu is responding well to treatment for a recurring infection, his daughter, Thandeka Tutu-Gxashe said this week.
DMV reopens for walk-in service without appointments
Virginia’s Department of Motor Vehicles offices are reopening for walk-in service three days a week.
Former Va. Gov. Bob McDonnell files for divorce
Former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell has filed for divorce from his wife of 42 years. Mr. McDonnell confirmed earlier this week that he filed the paperwork. He declined to comment further.
Prosperity preachers to pray at Trump inaugural
Bishop Wayne T. Jackson, who hosted President-elect Donald Trump with his Detroit congregation in September, is among the religious leaders chosen to offer prayers at the new president’s swearing-in next week in Washington. The inaugural committee announced that prosperity gospel preachers Bishop Jackson, who leads Great Faith Ministries International, and Pastor Paula White, a friend of the president-elect, will join four others selected to participate in the inauguration on Friday, Jan. 20.
‘In the Heights’ opens to low numbers
NEW YORK Just when a party was poised to break out in movie theaters, the below-expectation debut of “In the Heights” last weekend dampened Hollywood’s hopes of a swift or smooth recovery at the summer box office.
Gov. Northam issues temporary weapons ban
Fearing a repeat of the deadly violence that engulfed Charlottesville more than two years ago, Gov. Ralph S. Northam declared a temporary state of emergency Wednesday that would ban all weapons, including guns, knives, sticks, bats, chains and projectiles, from Capitol Square through the weekend and until Tuesday.
William Blinn, screenwriter of miniseries ‘Roots’ and film ‘Purple Rain,’ dies at 83
William Blinn, a screenwriter for the landmark TV projects “Roots” and “Brian’s Song” and the Prince film “Purple Rain,” has died. He was 83.
Trailblazing actress Diahann Carroll succumbs to cancer at 84
Diahann Carroll, a versatile singer and stage actress who quietly blazed a trail for African-American women on American television in the late 1960s by playing a widowed nurse and single mother in “Julia,” died Friday, Oct. 4, 2019.
Protesters call for tougher gun laws; blame Trump for deaths of 31 in latest mass shootings
Protesters greeted President Trump’s arrival in Dayton, Ohio, on Wednesday, blaming his incendiary rhetoric for inflaming political and racial tensions in the country, as he visited survivors of last weekend’s mass shootings and saluted first responders.
Former President Obama to speak at Sen. McCain’s funeral
Former Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush will deliver eulogies Saturday at the funeral of U.S. Sen. John McCain, a former prisoner of war during Vietnan and six-term Republican senator from Arizona whose reputation as a maverick is causing a stir even after his death.
Afghan evacuees mark first U.S. Ramadan with gratitude, agony
Sitting cross-legged on the floor as his wife and six children laid plates of fruit on a red cloth in front of him, Wolayat Khan Samadzoi watched through the open balcony door for the sliver of the new moon to appear in the cloudless New Mexico sky, where the sun had set beyond a desert mountain.
‘I believe I witnessed a murder”
Witnesses to George Floyd’s deadly arrest in Minneapolis tell jury of their shock, horror
Darnella Frazier said she sometimes lays awake at night “apologizing to George Floyd for not doing more and not physically interacting and not saving his life.”
