Virginia

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (AP) — Four were engineers who worked to maintain streets and protect wetlands. Three were right-of-way agents who reviewed property lines. The others included an account clerk, a technician, an administrative assistant and a special projects coordinator. In all, they had served the city of Virginia Beach for more than 150 years.

Washington, Jun 1 (PTI) A disgruntled veteran public utilities employee stormed a government building in the US State of Virginia and fired indiscriminately at his co-workers, killing at least 12 people and wounding six others, police said Saturday.

The gunman, whose identity has not been released, was killed when police responded to the shooting in the southeastern coastal city of Virginia Beach.

YORKTOWN, Va. (AP) — In suburban Philadelphia, it took a little over eight minutes into the question-and-answer session at freshman Rep. Madeleine Dean’s town hall for someone to ask about impeachment.

The topic was broached in Southern California, as Rep. Katie Porter fielded other questions on health care, homelessness, border security and the minimum wage.

And in military heavy Yorktown, along coastal Virginia, another newly elected Democrat, Rep. Elaine Luria, never got asked about it at all.

ASHBURN, Va. (AP) — Sunglasses shield your eyes from the infrared lights that give oxygen to your body’s cells. Uggs boots, rubber gloves and shorts are the only protection from freezing temperatures as cold as minus 200 degrees. Then comes the sensory deprivation of floating pitch black in 1,000 pounds of Epsom salt while meditation music plays.

And that’s just at work. At home is a custom-made mattress designed to get just the right about of sleep.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — Former Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning was ordered back to jail Thursday for refusing to testify to a grand jury, even after telling a judge she’d rather “starve to death” than cooperate with prosecutors.

U.S. District Judge Anthony Trenga ordered her to remain incarcerated at the Alexandria jail either until she agrees to testify or until the grand jury’s term expires in 18 months. He also imposed fines that will kick in at $500 a day after 30 days and $1,000 a day after 60 days.

FALLS CHURCH, Va. (AP) — Former Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning was released from a northern Virginia jail Thursday after a two-month stay for refusing to testify to a grand jury.

Manning spent 62 days at the Alexandria Detention Center on civil contempt charges after she refused to answer questions to a federal grand jury investigating WikiLeaks.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Google affiliate Wing Aviation has received federal approval allowing it to make commercial deliveries by drone.

It’s the first time a company has gotten a federal air carrier certification for drone deliveries.

The approval from the Federal Aviation Administration means that Wing can operate commercial drone flights in part of Virginia, which it plans to begin later this year.

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — In a case that stirred racial tensions across the country, a self-avowed white supremacist pleaded guilty Wednesday to federal hate crime charges in a deadly attack at a white nationalist rally in Virginia, admitting that he intentionally plowed his speeding car into a crowd of anti-racism protesters, killing a woman and injuring dozens. James Alex Fields Jr. of Maumee, Ohio, pleaded guilty to 29 of 30 federal charges stemming from the “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville on Aug. 12, 2017.

FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) — Actor Johnny Depp is suing his ex-wife, actress Amber Heard, in a $50 million defamation lawsuit, citing a piece she wrote for The Washington Post about domestic abuse.

The complaint, filed Friday in the Circuit Court of Fairfax, Virginia, said that, while Depp was not named in the Post article, it was clear Heard was talking about him. The lawsuit called her ongoing allegations of domestic abuse “categorically and demonstrably false.”

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Embattled Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax compared himself to Jim Crow-era lynching victims in a surprise speech Sunday, as he resists widespread calls to resign prompted by allegations of sexual assault.

Fairfax strongly defended himself and lashed out at his critics from his rostrum in the state Senate as the 2019 legislative session was coming to a close.