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A Virginia high school teacher has sparked outrage on social media after posting a TikTok video in which he argues that expecting students to behave, follow directions and sit quietly is 'the definition of white supremacy.' Josh Thompson, an English teacher at Blacksburg High School in Montgomery County, specifically referred to his district's use of Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS), a model educators use to keep students focused and respectful in school. It is not clear how parents or students at the school are reacting to Thompson’s video or if they’ve seen it, but many Twitter users are asking...

A Virginia high school teacher posted a video criticizing the concept of students behaving themselves and sitting quietly in class as part of White supremacy. "I stated that PBIS is White supremacy with a hug and a lot of y'all wanted to know more about that," the teacher said in the video that was originally posted to his TikTok account in May. The teacher was referring to Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS), which is framework used by Virginia public schools "to support positive academic and behavioral outcomes for all students." The teacher appears to be Josh Thompson, an English...

A Virginia Tech linebacker allegedly stomped his Tinder date to death after he discovered the woman named 'Angie' he's had oral sex with was actually a man. Ismemen David Etute, 18, was charged in the death of Blacksburg restaurant manager Jerry Paul Smith after allegedly punching and stomping the 40-year-old multiple times on May 31. Etute matched with Smith on Tinder but Smith's profile indicated he was a woman named 'Angie,' Etute's attorney James Turk told DailyMail.com

Heather Waldron and John Hawley are losing their four-bedroom house in the hills above Blacksburg, Va. A teenage daughter, one of their five children, sold her clothes for spending money. They worried about paying the electric bill. Financial disaster, they say, contributed to their divorce, finalized in April. Their money problems began when the University of Virginia Health System pursued the couple with a lawsuit and a lien on their home to recoup $164,000 in charges for Waldron’s emergency surgery in 2017. The family has lots of company: Over six years ending in June 2018, the health system and its...

A Virginia man who adopted a stretch of highway under the name Darth Vader donned the costume of the Star Wars character while cleaning up roadside trash. Darth Vader, aka Henry Wakley, was spotted Thursday wearing a version of the Sith Lord's costume with an orange reflective vest at the side of Route 460 in Blacksburg. Wakley adopted the stretch of highway last year and a sign at the side of the road states it was adopted by "Darth Vader." Wakley, who spends most of his time in New Zealand on business, said he decided to don Darth Vader's robes...

A 13-year-old girl allegedly abducted and killed by two Virginia Tech students was stabbed to death, according to preliminary results, Montgomery County Commonwealth’s Attorney Mary Pettitt said at a news conference today. A formal report of the cause of death has not yet been completed, Pettitt said. CW Attorney: Natalie Keepers will be charged with accessory before the fact, in addition to current charges in death of 13 y/o Nicole Lovell, 13, of Blacksburg, Virginia -- the city where Virginia Tech is located -- went missing Jan. 27, the Blacksburg Police Department said. Her body was found on Saturday in...

The Virginia Tech student charged with killing teen Nicole Madison Lovell knew the girl and an investigation shows that he used that relationship to abduct her before disposing of her body with the assistance of another Tech student, police said Sunday. Blacksburg police announced the second Tech student’s arrest, one day after Tech freshman David Edmond Eisenhauer, 18, of Columbia, Maryland, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder and abduction. Lovell’s remains were discovered Saturday in Surry County, North Carolina. The second Tech student, Natalie Marie Keepers, 19, of Laurel, Maryland, was arrested Sunday morning and faces a felony charge...

"This has been an extremely fast investigation within the just past 12 hours," Blacksburg Police Chief Anthony Wilson said in a news release. "And we still have a great deal to do as there are multiple interviews to conduct and evidence" to collect and analyze "as we reconstruct the timeline of events leading up to Nicole’s tragic death." Nicole was reported missing Wednesday and was last seen in Blacksburg between midnight and 7 a.m., police said. A report issued after her disappearance said she had undergone a liver transplant and required prescription medicine daily. Nicole's mother, Tammy Weeks, said in...

If you are on Facebook, here are some pictures. http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=152923&id=58619051495&l=7213d22826 Neighbors report a mushroom cloud that hovered over the high school. The girl's basketball team saw cracks during their morning practice. The boys team practice was postponed. An engineer was called out and he evacuated the building 20 minutes before it collapsed.

BLACKSBURG -- Several thousands people gathered on Virginia Tech’s Drillfield this morning to form a giant message of thanks to the world for its support after the April 16 massacre. Photos of the event are posted on hokiesthanktheworld.org. Dressed in the school colors of maroon and orange, and surrounded by fall foliage of the same hues along the Blue Ridge Mountains, the crowd was arranged to form Tech’s "VT" logo, and under it, "THANKS YOU." At 11:10 a.m., a satellite aimed to capture the image as the thousands waved up at the sky.

Two students, 15 others hospitalized on day shooting memorial dedicated

AMERICANS BELIEVE that for every problem there is a solution. If we think and work hard enough, we believe we can solve every problem. Of course, we also live with the obdurate presence of contingency and uncertainty. We know that too, for we believe in Murphy's Law. But the media assume that this tragedy was avoidable and start blaming: the administrators were negligent despite the fact that their hands were tied. The gun store should never have sold firearms to Seung-Hui Cho. All relevant information concerning mentally ill persons should be known to the police and to gun store operators,...

Colleges face dilemma deciding fate of mentally ill students http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/metro/stories/MYSA042007.01A.campus.mental.health.35bbf82.html http://tinyurl.com/3xtbcl Web Posted: 04/20/2007 12:30 AM CDT Melissa Ludwig Express-News Campus administrators, health professionals and police, caught between federal privacy and anti-discrimination laws and the need to protect their campuses, face a daunting challenge deciding the fate of mentally ill students. Before 23-year-old Virginia Tech student Cho Seung-Hui gunned down 32 students and teachers Monday, his violent, lurid work in a creative writing class sparked a string of efforts to get him help. In 2005, after complaints from two female students that Cho was harassing them and a tip that...

BREAKING NEWS MSNBC staff and news service reports Updated: less than 1 minute ago BLACKSBURG, Va. - At least 22 people were killed Monday in a shooting rampage on the Virginia Tech campus, police said. They said the gunman was among the dead.

(CAIR-MD/VA) has been told by Muslim community leaders in Blacksburg, Va., that a recent incident involving burned Qurans left outside a local mosque was not bias-motivated. According to those leaders, the Qurans were burned accidentally...

The grievance industry went into overdrive last month when burned Korans were reportedly discovered at a local mosque in southwest Virginia. The Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations issued an immediate press release on June 16 calling for "Americans of all faiths to obtain and read the Quran after burned copies of Islam's revealed text were found" in a shopping bag at the front door of the Islamic Center of Blacksburg. Repent, all ye infidels! Incensed CAIR officials contacted the FBI and pressured authorities to treat the incident as possibly "bias-related." CAIR-MD/VA Director of Civil Rights Shama Farooq lectured that "A...

BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) -- Police are investigating whether a hate crime took place when someone left a bag of burned Korans in front of an Islamic center. Members of the Islamic Center of Blacksburg were shocked when they arrived at the building for Saturday prayers and found a plastic shopping bag filled with burned copies of the Koran at the front door. "It is a shame that people are so ignorant," said Idris Adjerid, 20, a member of the center. Mr. Adjerid told the Roanoke Times that he has attended the center since 1997 and nothing like this has happened...

BLACKSBURG - An official at the Federal Bureau of Investigation said Thursday that his office has not taken on an investigation into burned Qurans left at the door of a Blacksburg mosque over the weekend. Kevin Foust, who supervises the Roanoke FBI office, said Thursday that his staff is working with the Blacksburg Police Department and U.S. Attorney John Brownlee's office "to determine whether or not we will open a federal investigation" into the incident. In the meantime, "we have offered any resources we have available" to help Blacksburg police in their investigation, Foust said. Members of the Al-Hedaya mosque,...

Burned Qurans Left at Va. Muslim Center By Associated Press June 16, 2005, 9:52 PM EDT BLACKSBURG, Va. -- A bag stuffed with burned Qurans was left in front of an Islamic center, shocking members when they arrived for prayers. The torched copies of the Muslim holy book were inside a plastic shopping bag, members of the Islamic Center of Blacksburg said. They said the bag had been placed at the center's front door sometime before Saturday prayers. "It is a shame that people are so ignorant," member Idris Adjerid said. Kevin Foust, the agent in charge of the Roanoke...

Burned texts left at Islamic Center Blacksburg police have not determined if the Qurans were burned as a hate crime. By Joe Eaton 381-1665 The Roanoke Times BLACKSBURG - Members of the Islamic Center of Blacksburg were stunned when they arrived at the building for prayers Saturday afternoon. Outside the building, a plastic shopping bag filled with burned copies of the Quran sat in front of the door. Blacksburg police say they do not have any leads on who left the burned religious books, but they are investigating the incident as a possible hate crime. On Tuesday afternoon, as a...