Virginia

RICHMOND (Virginia, US), March 31 (NNN-AGENCIES) — An ex-British jihadist on federal trial in the US has said he was fighting on behalf of “suffering Muslims”.

El Shafee Elsheikh, 33, stands accused of hostage-taking and conspiracy to commit murder as part of a group of Daesh militants, known as the “Beatles” for their British accents.

But in court on Wednesday, Elsheikh claimed he was not part of the group.

The group is said to have tortured and beheaded hostages in Syria, including several journalists and aid workers.

ALEXANDRIA, Va., March 30 (Reuters) - A former British national accused of engaging in "brutal hostage-taking" as an alleged member of an Islamic State cell nicknamed "the Beatles" appeared in a U.S. federal court on Wednesday for the start of his criminal trial.

El Shafee Elsheikh, 33, is standing trial in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, just outside Washington, on charges including lethal hostage-taking and conspiracy to commit murder.

Jan 3 (Reuters) - A federal judge on Monday barred the U.S. Department of Defense from punishing a group of Navy SEALs and other special forces members who refused COVID-19 vaccines on religious grounds.

U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor, acting in response to a lawsuit filed on behalf of 35 special forces service members, issued a preliminary injunction blocking the Navy and Defense Department from enforcing the mandate.

RUTHER GLEN, Va. (AP) — Road crews struggled to reach hundreds of motorists on Tuesday after they were stranded all night in freezing temperatures along a 50-mile stretch of Interstate 95 in Virginia where tractor-trailers jackknifed in the ice and snow, state police said.

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Conservation experts in Virginia’s capital Tuesday pulled buttons, coins, documents and other artifacts from a time capsule found in the remnants of a pedestal that once held a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee.

The lead conservator for the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, Kate Ridgway, said that the measurements and material, copper, match historical accounts, so they believe it’s the 1887 time capsule they’ve been looking for.

“It does appear that this is the box we expected,” she told reporters.

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — A jury ordered 17 white nationalist leaders and organizations to pay more than $26 million in damages Tuesday over the violence that erupted during the deadly 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville in 2017.

After a nearly monthlong civil trial, the jury in U.S. District Court deadlocked on two key claims but found the white nationalists liable on four other claims in the lawsuit filed by nine people who suffered physical or emotional injuries during the two days of demonstrations.

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy of New Jersey narrowly won reelection in his reliably blue state while a Republican political newcomer delivered a stunning upset in the Virginia governor’s race, sending a warning to Democrats that their grip on power in Washington may be in peril.

In Virginia, Glenn Youngkin became the first Republican to win statewide office in a dozen years, tapping into culture war fights over schools and race to unite former President Donald Trump’s most fervent supporters with enough suburban voters to notch a victory.

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — The Biden administration announced Wednesday it is putting new export limits on Israel’s NSO Group, the world’s most infamous hacker-for-hire company, saying its tools have been used to “conduct transnational repression.”

The company, whose spyware researchers say has been used around the world to break into the phones of human rights activists, journalists, and even members of the Catholic clergy, said it would advocate for a reversal.

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Tight races for governor unfolded in Virginia and New Jersey late Tuesday with the Democratic candidates narrowly trailing their Republican rivals in states that President Joe Biden easily captured a year ago.

Near midnight, the elections were still too early to call. As the vote count progressed, both races looked to be tight.

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — The first major test of how voters feel about Joe Biden’s presidency is unfolding in Virginia, where a governor’s race that was supposed to be a comfortable win for Democrats is instead ending in suspense.