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RICHMOND, Va. — A towering statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee in Richmond, Virginia, is set to come down on Wednesday, more than 130 years after it was built as a tribute to a Civil War hero who is now widely seen as a symbol of racial injustice, state officials said Monday. “Virginia’s largest monument to the Confederate insurrection will come down this week,” Gov. Ralph Northam said in news release on Monday. “This is an important step in showing who we are and what we value as a commonwealth.” The imposing, 21-foot (6.4-meter) tall bronze likeness of Lee...

President Joe Biden told Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards to 'just holler' for help on Monday after Hurricane Ida ravaged the gulf coast and referred to his senior adviser, former Rep. Cedric Richmond, as 'boy.' Biden introduced Richmond, a New Orleans native who quit Congress to serve in the White House, by a term that some see as derogatory. Richmond joined Biden on the virtual call with governors, mayors and officials from the states impacted by Hurricane Ida, which has killed at least one person and left millions without power. Biden announced Richmond would be the administration's point person on...

A couple from Richmond, Va. was arrested on Monday with loaded guns near the U.S. Capitol, authorities said. United States Capitol Police (USCP) said in a statement that Titus Hayes and his wife Nicole Carter were each charged with four weapons charges related to the incident. There was no information indicating that they were targeting a member of Congress of the Capitol complex.

WASHINGTON — A U.S. appeals court ruled Tuesday that the federal law banning handgun sales by licensed dealers to anyone under 21 is unconstitutional.A panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, based in Richmond, Virginia, voted 2-1 to declare the law invalid. "Our nation's most cherished constitutional rights vest no later than 18. And the Second Amendment's right to keep and bear arms is no different," the majority opinion said.The ruling, sure to be appealed, was a victory for a Virginia woman, Natalia Marshall. She wanted to buy a handgun to protect herself from her abusive...

Republican Sens. Mitt Romney (Utah) and Josh Hawley (Mo.) — who certainly did not find common ground on another recent issue — Marco Rubio and others are seeking ways to address family poverty and its impact on family stability. Many Hill Democrats and the Biden administration have the same aim. The drive to reduce or eliminate child poverty is not limited to the Congress and the White House. Mayors for a Guaranteed Income has formed, with mayors across the country from Eric Garcetti of Los Angeles, to Levar Stoney of Richmond, Va., finding funding for experiments in their jurisdictions with...

Headq'rs Maryland Volunteers in Virginia, may 22d, 1861. General Order. Having been assigned by his Excellency the Governor of the State, and Advisory Council, to the command, for the present, of such volunteers from Maryland as may offer their services, the undersgned advisen immediate organization into companies of not less than fifty men, who will elect their own officers. The certificates of election will be returned to the commanding officer, who will forthwith procure the proper commissions. Each company will consist of one Captain, one First and one Second Lientenant , four Sergeants, four Corporale, and at leagt forty-two privates....

One Richmond family got a shocking delivery last month when 80,000 pennies were dumped on their front lawn. Now, they're using the money to help those in need. "I just turned 18. When I was in the middle of class, my dad came by. He had rented a trailer," Avery Sanford, a Deep Run High School senior, said. "He pulled up in front of the house and turned the trailer on so it dumped out all the pennies on the grass and my mom came out and was like, 'What are you dumping in my yard?' She didn't know who...

More than a dozen gravestones and memorials were toppled and spray-painted in Hollywood Cemetery on Saturday, causing more than $200,000 in damage, according to the Richmond police, who are investigating the vandalism. “The desecration of graves is just a cowardly act that we cannot tolerate,” Police Chief Gerald Smith said at a Monday news conference asking the community for tips or any information about the incident. Vandals entered the cemetery shortly after 1 a.m. Saturday, he said. It appears the vandals used a sledgehammer to knock over headstones and used black spray paint on some. The graffiti was not legible,...

Rep. Cedric Richmond said the refusal of the vast majority of GOP members of Congress to recognize presumptive President-elect Joseph R. Biden as the winner of the 2020 race underscores how President Trump has “absolutely neutered” the Republican Party. During an appearance on CNN, Mr. Richmond, who Mr. Biden tapped as a senior adviser in the White House Office of Public Engagement, was asked to weigh in on a Washington Post report that found that 27 out of the 249 Republicans in the House and Senate acknowledged Mr. Biden won the election.

Richmond Circuit Court Judge Bradley B. Cavedo has filed a defamation suit against GOP U.S. Senate candidate Daniel Gade, asserting that during an Oct. 3 debate at Norfolk State University Gade falsely accused him of being "a known segregationist" and a "racist judge." The suit asserts: "Gade also stated that Cavedo had written that 'Black people are parasites' who would suck billions of dollars out of our economy.' None of these statements are true." Cavedo, citing damage to his personal and professional reputation, seeks $2 million in compensatory damages and $350,000 in punitive damages. Gade's campaign has said his assertions...

After almost three years at the helm of Richmond's public schools Superintendent Jason Kamras, a one-time education adviser to Barack Obama and devotee of Marxist professor Cornel West, has emerged as something much worse than an incompetent liberal do-gooder lording his Princeton and Harvard degrees over unsuspecting inner city black kids. Kamras is a full-blown, far-left extremist spreading the poisonous teachings of Black Lives Matter and promoting Democrat policies which have led to some of the lowest proficiency test scores in the state. Twenty-two out of 44 schools in his district are not fully accredited, one out of four students...

A Virginia judge has dissolved one injunction but imposed another preventing Virginia’s governor from removing an enormous statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. The new 90-day injunction bars the statue’s removal while claims in a lawsuit filed by a group of Richmond property owners are litigated. Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring has filed a pending motion to dismiss the case. …

Fires were set, windows were smashed and 16 people were arrested as demonstrations continued for a second night in Virginia’s capital city, Richmond’s police chief said at a news conference Monday. The protests on Sunday evening followed demonstrations Saturday night that had been billed by some as support for protesters on the other side of the country in Portland, Oregon. That city has been experiencing ongoing tensions between protesters and U.S. agents at the federal courthouse. Richmond police Chief Gerald Smith said his department saw a flyer calling for demonstrations Sunday that carried the same tone of “intimidation” and ”wanting...

**SNIP** Chief Smith took the podium and immediately addressed the planned Monroe Park profanity-laced flyer circulating on social media. He said that the flyer was provoking ‘intimidation’ and was “clearly from outside of Richmond.” **SNIP** Smith continued to discuss the riots that led to a dump trick being set on fire - and said he will bluntly refer to those who took park as “rioters.” Six individuals were arrested for Unlawful Assembly throughout the course of the night. Smith said that officers were assaulted with bricks and batteries - and thanked Richmond Fire Department for their swiftness in tending to...

Protesters in Richmond, Virginia, promising to stand with violent Portland, Oregon, activists, are threatening their own clashes with police Saturday night at the city’s Monroe Park, near the controversial memorial to Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. In a profanity-laced flier, the protesters promised to “f--- shit up” and encouraged activists to “do what you want.” It also attacks President Trump, federal authorities, and members of the Richmond and Virginia State Police: “F--- the feds. F--- RPD. F--- VSP. F--- Trump.” The flier has come to the attention of the Department of Homeland Security. Monroe Park has been the headquarters for...

Morgan Bullock is an African-American Irish dancer from Richmond, Virginia. After a TikTok video of her lightning-footed jigs went viral, she was accused of "cultural appropriation." Then she got a call from Riverdance...

On 60 Minutes, Anderson Cooper took a deep dive into the debate over the removal of Confederate monuments. Cooper sat down with Mayor Levar Stoney of Richmond, Virginia. "The monuments are just a symbol of the effort to ensure African Americans stayed, maybe not in physical bondage, but in bondage in political and economically in this country and in this city," said Stoney, who added, "Those who chose to erect those monuments, and the figures who are glorified in those monuments, they made some serious attempts to ensure that people who look like me would never hold any political office,...

It has become clear beyond a reasonable doubt that many politicians live in trembling fear of the left-wing mob that is committed to tearing down every statue or symbol that commemorates American history. Look no further than an unsettling situation that unfolded in Virginia last week. In Richmond, Virginia, an American flag was put on display at the construction site for the new General Assembly building. That makes sense, since it was just ahead of the Fourth of July, America’s birthday. However, based on the reaction from government officials, one would think that it was the Confederate flag that was...

For a century, Monument Avenue has showcased some of the Confederacy’s most revered figures. Soon, there will be a blank canvas. Over the past week, the Richmond Times-Dispatch asked demonstrators, residents, artists and community leaders what they'd like to see on the new Monument Avenue. There were suggestions of new statues, honoring a more inclusive set of heroes. Others wanted a space for performance or reflection, while some felt the empty pedestals should stay as a historical testimony of their own. One point of agreement was that it must be a communitywide conversation. Through restrictive covenants, real estate companies long...

An American flag presented at a Richmond, Va., construction site was taken down almost as soon as it went up Friday after city officials voiced concerns that it could be a "target" for demonstrators and protesters. Since the death of George Floyd in police custody in late May, protests and marches have continued throughout the nation. While most demonstrations have remained peaceful, officials worried the flag could pose a "safety risk" for the July Fourth weekend, according to The Washington Post. "Over the past month we've seen buildings and structures around Capitol Square vandalized and flags, dumpsters, a bus and...