Richmond Bans Guns While City Collapses from Rioters

Richmond Police Department (RPD) officers were seen at the Robert E. Lee monument on Saturday morning posting signs on the recently-passed Richmond city gun ordinance. 

The new ordinance, passed unanimously by the Richmond city council early this month, does not outright ban firearms in public spaces, but it does call for restrictions when a permitted event is taking place.

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Senate Bill on Budget Includes Details on the Proposed Virginia Redistricting Commission

As part of the Senate’s bill for the biennial budget, one amendment offers details and more specifics on the proposed Virginia Redistricting Commission. 

Included in the budget amendment item 4-14 is eligibility criteria for citizen commission members, Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests and public participation in the redistricting process. 

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Commentary: ‘Never Trump’ Now Means ‘Never Constitution’

We went from Never Trump to Never Constitution in a nanosecond, it seems.

Entrenched foes of the president base their opposition on the unproven allegation Donald Trump is staining our democracy and defiling the Constitution. That arc now has reached almost full circle as the president’s enemies, desperate to deprive him of any victory, are concocting harebrained compromises outside the clear boundaries of the Constitution related to the next Supreme Court justice.

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Senator Mark Warner and Republican Challenger Daniel Gade to Debate at Norfolk State University

Senator Mark Warner and his Republican challenger Daniel Gade will convene for a second debate at Norfolk State University (NSU) on Saturday.
According to NSU’s press release, the candidates will debate on “racial disparities and inequities in education, healthcare, economic mobility and the criminal justice system.” NSU is the state’s largest “Historically Black College and University” (HBCU).

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New York City Says Outdoor Dining Will Become ‘Permanent and Year-Round’

New York City plans to make its flourishing outdoor dining economy a permanent fixture of the city’s landscape going forward, municipal officials said in a press release on Friday. 

The city’s “Open Restaurants” program, which has enrolled thousands of establishments since it debuted in June, “will be extended year-round and made permanent,” the city announced in the press release.

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Swing State Democrats Worry Biden’s Low-Key Campaigning Could Backfire

Some Democrats in critical battlegrounds worry that Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden is not campaigning vigorously enough in their states.

While Biden has taken a low-key approach to campaign across the country amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Democratic figures in Texas and North Carolina remarked that his method may not be enough to get him 270 electoral votes.

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San Francisco Sees Rise in Home Burglaries, Homicides

San Francisco, California, has seen increases in burglary and homicide for the first nine months of 2020 amid nationwide unrest compared to 2019, according to police data.

The city, which boasts nearly double the U.S. household median income, has seen a nearly 42% increase in burglary, around a 33% increase in homicide and 31% uptick in vehicle thefts, statistical comparisons to 2019 from the San Francisco Police Department show.

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California Braces for Power Shutoffs and Warm, Windy Weekend

Firefighters and officials at California’s largest utility company braced for hot, dry and windy weather in northern and central areas of the state this weekend that may fan the flames of several major wildfires or ignite new ones.

Pacific Gas & Electric warned Friday it may cut power from Sunday morning to Monday, potentially affecting 97,000 customers in 16 counties, during which forecasters said a ridge of high pressure will raise temperatures and generate gusts flowing from the interior to the coast.

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Absentee Ballots Found in Wisconsin Ditch

Three trays of mail, including absentee ballots were found in a Wisconsin ditch Tuesday, according to Police. Police are now investigating how the mail ended up there.

The Outagamie County Sheriff’s Office said the mail was found around 8 a.m. Tuesday morning near the intersection of highways 96 and CB, and was immediately returned to the U.S. Postal Service, Fox News reported.

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Two Massachusetts Doctors Charged with Criminal Neglect for 76 Coronavirus Deaths at Veterans’ Home

The Massachusetts Attorney General has indicted two doctors on charges of criminal neglect in connection to the deaths of at least 76 veterans’ home residents who died of the novel coronavirus. 

Bennett Walsh, 50, and David Clinton, 71, were indicted by a state grand jury on Thursday in connection to their work at the Holyoke Soldiers’ home in Massachusetts. Each man was indicted on five counts, specifically for charges including “wantonly or recklessly” permitting or causing bodily harm and mistreatment of an older or disabled individual.

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Judge Rules Against Trump Administration, Says Census Counting Must Continue Through October

A judge ruled Thursday night that 2020 Census counting can continue through October 31.

The ruling was issued by California district judge Lucy H. Koh against the Trump administration, which sought to stop counting after Sept. 30, a month before its previously scheduled completion.

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Oregon Governor Sends State Police to Portland for Protests

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown declared a state of emergency Friday as she announced that state troopers and sheriff’s deputies would be sent to Portland through the weekend to help police, in the state’s largest city, monitor a weekend rally by the right-wing group Proud Boys and counter protests by liberal groups

Portland has been roiled by often violent protests for more than three months following the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

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Northam to Stand Down on Church Ban: God Wins

After losing in court last week, Governor Ralph Northam agreed to settle a lawsuit filed by four Madison County men who argued that the governor’s restrictions on churches violated the Virginia Constitution, Bill of Rights, and the Virginia statute for religious freedom. According to The Roanoke Star, the only COVID-19 restrictions remaining against Virginia churchgoers after the Tuesday decision is the mask mandate.

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Trump Picks Conservative Amy Coney Barrett for Supreme Court

President Donald Trump nominated Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court on Saturday, capping a dramatic reshaping of the federal judiciary that will resonate for a generation and that he hopes will provide a needed boost to his reelection effort.

Republican senators are already lining up for a swift confirmation of Barrett ahead of the Nov. 3 election, as they aim to lock in conservative gains in the federal judiciary before a potential transition of power. Trump, meanwhile, is hoping the nomination will serve to galvanize his supporters as he looks to fend off Democrat Joe Biden.

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President Trump Visits Virginia, Draws Massive Crowd

President Donald J. Trump spoke at a campaign rally Friday night in Virginia drawing a crowd of over ten thousand people. 

The event took place in Newport News, Virginia outside of an airport hanger near the Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport.

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Commentary: Black Lives Matter’s Goal to ‘Disrupt’ the Nuclear Family Fits a Marxist Aim That Goes Back a Century and a Half

The organization Black Lives Matter has removed from its website a page that included language condemning America’s “Western-prescribed nuclear family structure.”

The page, titled “What We Believe,” included various public policy positions unrelated to police brutality and police reform. The Washington Examiner discovered on Monday the page had been removed.

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Trump Has Reportedly Chosen His Next Supreme Court Justice Nominee

President Donald Trump will nominate federal Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court of the United States, multiple outlets reported Friday evening.

Sources close to the process said that Trump will announce Barrett as the Supreme Court nominee Saturday, according to the New York Times. Trump is not known to have met with any other candidate for the vacancy, the Times reported, noting that aides warned there is a possibility Trump could change his mind before the announcement.

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Commentary: Hunter Biden’s Millions

Last year Joe Biden made it crystal clear that his son Hunter’s myriad business dealings were not a topic of conversation between father and son.

When Peter Doocy, a Fox News reporter, asked the former vice president about Hunter’s business deals, the elder Biden replied: “I have never spoken to my son about his overseas business dealings.”

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Steve Bannon Presents: The CCP as a Demonic Force with Miles Guo

An all new LIVE STREAM of War Room: Pandemic starts at 9 a.m. Central Time on Saturday.

Former White House Chief Strategist Stephen K. Bannon began the daily War Room: Pandemic radio show and podcast on January 25, when news of the virus was just beginning to leak out of China around the Lunar New Year. Bannon and co-hosts bring listeners exclusive analysis and breaking updates from top medical, public health, economic, national security, supply chain and geopolitical experts weekdays from 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon ET.

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FBI Investigated Steele Dossier Source as a Possible Russian Spy Years Before Trump Probe

The FBI opened a counterintelligence investigation on the primary source for dossier author Christopher Steele, and considered obtaining a warrant to wiretap him in 2010, according to a document released Thursday.

The FBI was also aware of the information about the source, identified elsewhere as Igor Danchenko, by December 2016, according to the document.

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FBI Agent Who Led Flynn Probe Said Mueller’s Team had a ‘Get Trump’ Attitude

An FBI special agent who worked on Crossfire Hurricane told prosecutors last week that he saw little reason to investigate Michael Flynn and that he believed that members of the special counsel’s team prosecuted the former national security adviser in order to “get Trump,” according to a memo released late Thursday.

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Minnesota, Virginia Congressmen Propose Constitutional Amendment to Limit Supreme Court Size at Nine Justices

U.S. Reps. Collin C. Peterson (D-MN-07) and Denver Riggleman (R-VA-05) said they want to make sure that neither political party can ever pack the Supreme Court.

In a bipartisan joint press release issued Thursday, the representatives said they introduced an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to permanently set the number of U.S. Supreme Court Justices at nine.

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Commentary: Biden Better Watch Out, President Trump Is Back on the Campaign Trail

For six months, Joe Biden has been banking on the belief that the coronavirus pandemic would somehow take President Trump — the most effective and hardest working campaigner in history — out of the game.

Biden is in for some bad news: that’s not going to happen. It will take more than social distancing and a basement hideout to protect Joe Biden from the incredible campaign trail magic of Donald Trump.

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TRUMPDATE: Latest from the Team Trump Virginia Campaign for September 26

Welcome to the Saturday edition of our daily Virginia Trump campaign update! We will provide our readers with daily updates on the Trump Virginia campaign from today to November 3 (and after…if need be!).

It’s officially 38 days until the election on November 3 – and three days until President Trump and Joe Biden square off in the first presidential debate.

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Governor and First Lady Northam Test Positive for COVID-19

Governor Ralph Northam announced Friday that he and his wife, First Lady Pamela Northam, have tested positive for COVID-19. The Northams received testing after learning that one of the governor’s staff members tested positive. 
Northam reports that he is asymptomatic; his wife is experiencing “mild symptoms.” The pair plan to isolate for ten days and then undergo another examination, according to the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) guidelines.

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Trump to Virginia: We’re in It to Win It’

As pounding pop songs played and the crowd cheered, Air Force One rolled up behind the stage. President Donald Trump emerged and waved to the 10,000 people standing on the tarmac in Newport News Friday night. An additional 2,000 people were outside the venue, according to campaign officials. 2,000 more people were turned away, for a total of 14,000 people — 9,000 more than organizers expected.

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Former Congressman Ron Paul Hospitalized, Says He’s Okay

Former GOP presidential candidate Ron Paul posted a picture of himself in a hospital Friday but said he was OK after video circulated online of him struggling to speak during an interview.

The 85-year-old former Texas congressman, who ran for president three times, posted a picture on Facebook showing him smiling in a hospital gown and giving a thumbs-up. “I am doing fine. Thank you for your concern,” he said.

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Another Mayor Forum, Another Day of Riots in Richmond

Five candidates for mayor faced off in Coburn Hall at Virginia Union University on Thursday evening. The two-hour event was live-streamed and Facebook reported over 28 thousand views late Thursday. Former Governor and Richmond Mayor Doug Wilder co-moderated the event, lending an air of political weightiness to the debate. The evening’s questions focused largely on government efficiency and the current crises facing the city, showcasing a variety of experience and ideology in the candidates.

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Commentary: No Reason for Senate GOP to Wait Until After Election to Confirm Trump’s Ginsburg Replacement to Supreme Court

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is under enormous pressure from his Democratic colleagues not to confirm whoever President Donald Trump may nominate to replace the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court before the election.

But in truth, there is simply no reason, neither constitutional nor political, for Trump and McConnell to wait at all.

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Health Officials Seek to Block Trump Rally in Virginia

A Virginia health official is warning of a “severe public health threat” if a planned campaign rally for President Donald Trump goes forward Friday evening.

Dr. Natasha Dwamena, a Department of Public Health district director, said in a letter Thursday that the 4,000 people expected to attend Trump’s rally at the Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport would be breaking Gov. Ralph Northam’s executive order generally banning gatherings of more than 250 people. She said the rally should be canceled, rescheduled or scaled down to comply with the governor’s order.

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Pelosi Says ‘Large Number’ of Dems Wanted Her to Shut Down Government to Stop GOP Filling Court Vacancy

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday that she rejected calls from fellow Democrats outside of the chamber who wanted her to shut down the federal government over the Senate GOP’s handling of the Supreme Court vacancy.

“I have the privilege of being a leader in the most diverse party in every possible way including opinion. A large number of people outside, not in the House, but outside wanted me to shut down government because of what they’re doing on Justice Ginsburg. Shut down government? I’m not a big believer in shutting down government,” she

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Over 120 Arrests Recorded at Louisville Riots, Reports Say

Over 120 people were arrested during riots in Louisville, Kentucky following a grand jury decision to charge one of three officers involved in the death of Breonna Taylor, who was killed during the execution of a narcotics warrant in March.

A total of 127 people were apprehended between Wednesday and Thursday for damaging businesses, jumping on city vehicles and violating curfew, according to the Associated Press. Garbage crews have since begun to clear the damage reportedly caused by rioters, AP reported.

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Thousands of Voters Had Already Cast Their Ballots Before RBG Died

Hundreds of thousands of Americans have already voted in states around the country, including tens of thousands who had cast their ballots before the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the possible impact it may have on the election.

Multiple states, including some critical battlegrounds, have seen massive turnout in early voting compared to 2016 as hundreds of thousands of voters have lined up outside early-voting locations or have sent in their mail-in ballots for either President Donald Trump or Democratic nominee former Vice President Joe Biden.

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Data Proves That Most Newly-Reopened Schools Are Safe from Coronavirus

The latest data from health experts seems to be proving that reopening schools is not nearly as dangerous as some fearmongers warned, and that newly-reopened schools are not nearly as likely to experience surges in the coronavirus, as reported by the Washington Examiner.

The data comes from the National COVID-19 School Response Data Dashboard, which is run by researchers at Brown University. Their research showed that in the period from August 31st to September 13th, there were only about 230 new coronavirus cases for every 100,000 students, and about 490 new cases for every 100,000 staff members. The study sample consisted of over 550 schools, with 300 of them featuring in-person classes.

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Trump Will Win Virginia, Delegation Chairman Says Following Poll Showing Biden and President in 5 Point Race

A new poll shows Joe Biden leading President Donald Trump by only 5 points, nearly at the margin of error of 3.9 percent, but the president’s delegation chairman says that does not factor in Trump’s grassroots effort.

The Judy Ford Wason Center for Public Policy at Christopher Newport University released the poll, which is available here.

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Military Mail-in Ballots Cast for Trump Discarded in Pennsylvania, Federal Investigation Finds

Nine military mail-in ballots cast for President Donald Trump were discarded at a local Pennsylvania board of elections office, a federal investigation concluded.

The FBI and Pennsylvania State Police began an investigation Monday at the request of Luzerne County District Attorney Stefanie Salavantis, U.S. Attorney David Freed said in a statement. Salavantis requested federal assistance following reports of issues with a small number of ballots at the Luzerne County Board of Elections.

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New Survey Finds Millennials Much More Intolerant than Boomers

A new survey of 2,000 demographically representative adults who were asked 51 worldview questions found Millennials are the least tolerant Americans and the most likely to seek revenge.

Most congressional staffers are members of the Millennial and Baby Buster generation, with the Millennials tending to be in higher-level positions such as legislative directors.

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Commentary: Everyone Calm Down About Elections Breaking America Talk

First off and very quickly, if you’re into podcasts? Check out Joe Rogen’s interview with the UK Spectator’s Douglas Murray regarding how social justice warriors will undoubtedly double down during the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic.

Worth the 20 minutes on background as you go about your day.

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Martha Boneta Commentary: Let’s Do Talk About President Trump’s Coronavirus Response—It’s Actually Quite a Success

Talk in Washington has turned to the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and what President Trump will do to replace her—and Democrats aren’t happy about it.  

First, they know Republicans probably have the votes to approve a qualified nominee if the president appoints one. Second, they don’t like that it takes the focus off what they see as a winning campaign issue—President Trump’s response to covid-19. 

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Virginia Second Congressional District Candidate Scott Taylor Talks About His Current Race and How Virginia Is in Play for Trump

Thursday morning on The John Fredericks Show, host Fredericks welcomed Scott Taylor to the show to discuss how Virginia is in play and the binary choice exists between Biden and Trump.

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Virginia Senate Committee Advances a Bevy of House Bills to Floor

Democrats in the state Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee on Thursday advanced numerous House bills relating to policing and justice reform and COVID-19. 

All together the Committee considered 20 bills during the meeting and hastily reported 19 to be considered on the Senate Floor on Friday or sometime next week. 

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Jill Biden Pays Homage to Levar Stoney While Richmond Crumbles

Jill Biden spent Thursday in Virginia, starting her day meeting with educators and military leaders in Hampton Roads, then heading to Richmond where she met Mayor Levar Stoney in front of the Voter Registrar’s Office, and then going to Henrico with Virginia House Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn (D- Fairfax) for a round-table with working mothers.

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Fairfax County Public Schools Paid ‘Critical Race’ and ‘Antiracism’ Theorist Ibram Kendi $20,000 for One-Hour Virtual Presentation

Virginia’s Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) paid critical race theorist Ibram X. Kendi $20,000 to give an hour-long virtual presentation. Kendi is the bestselling author of “How to Be Antiracist,” a book of circular definitions used to explain critical race theory.

The average teaching assistant earns $23,000 a year; the staff spent nearly that much for a 45-minute lecture and 15-minute Q&A. 

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