A three-judge panel in Michigan has ruled that chalking a tire is a Fourth Amendment search, explaining further that it does not constitute a reasonable search.
Fastest Growing City In Virginia May Surprise You
When it comes to the fastest area of population growth in the Commonwealth, one may speculate the suburbs of Northern Virginia next to Washington, D.C., or Hampton Roads, or Richmond, but you’re all wrong.
Republican Bill Set To Raise Nationwide Age Limit For Smoking, Vaping To 21
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will introduce legislation next month to raise the age limit for people to purchase tobacco products and vaping devices from 18 to 21, but it will have exemptions for those who serve in the military.
‘Database Of House Members’ Released To Publicly Share 400-Year House Of Delegates History
400 years to the day after George Yeardley arrived in the British colony of Virginia to assume the governorship, the House of Delegates released its ambitious, multi-year project to record and share biographical sketches and legislative information on the men and women who have served as Burgesses or Delegates since 1619.
Republican D.J. Jordan Raises Most Funds In First Quarter For First-Time Candidate
D.J. Jordan, the Republican candidate for the 31st House of Delegates District, will face Delegate Elizabeth Guzman (D-Dale City) at the ballot box in November.
Northam Cancels Appearance At Marsden Fundraiser After Protests
Over two months after Virginia Governor Ralph Northam (D) came out with his wholehearted support of a highly controversial late-term abortion bill, his subsequent “infanticide” comments on the matter, and was hit with the release of racist photos from his past, the national media has packed up and left Richmond, but Virginians across the Commonwealth have not forgotten.
In the latest fallout from his scandals, Northam’s appearance at a fundraiser in Northern Virginia for a Democratic state senator ahead of the 2019 elections was cancelled after dozens of protesters showed up.
Last week, it was announced that Northam would be attending a campaign kickoff event for State Senator Dave Marsden (D-Burke) in the legislator’s home district.
Even though Marsden backed widespread calls for the governor to step down from office beginning February 1 in order to allow Virginians heal from the emergence of the shocking, racist photos, he completely flipped on his position to place a stark condemnation on Northam.
Just days after the announcement of the event, the Fairfax County NAACP and the Virginia GOP started to organize a protest as photos reportedly showing the governor appearing in blackface or dressed in KKK robes remain unexplained.
Although the two groups are on different sides of the political aisle, they have found one thing they can agree on: their dislike for Governor Northam.
Less an one hour before Northam was scheduled to appear at the fundraiser, his presence was cancelled due to “safety concerns.”
In a short interview in defense of the embattled governor, NBC 4 reports that Marsden, after having the headliner of his reelection fundraiser drop out because of protesters, still does not see Northam as a liability.
“He’s been an effective leader, and we want to work with him,” Marsden said.
When asked about his blatant flip flop on his call for Northam to resign, Marsden added, “Politics is a tough business…We made a recommendation to the governor that he might step aside…he chose to stay and do what the people elected him to do.”
What Marsden actually means is that in an election year, lawmakers have principles, but if they are not conducive to getting reelected, they can be changed.
2020 Democratic Presidential Candidates Begin To Make Their Way To Virginia
Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke is scheduled to make appearances all over Virginia next week as the Commonwealth becomes a 2020 battleground state.
AG Barr Suggests That ‘Spying Did Occur’ On Trump’s Presidential Campaign
During a Wednesday Senate budget hearing, Attorney General William Barr’s testimony was riddled with inquires into the investigation regarding collusion between Russia and the 2016 campaign of President Donald Trump and the release of White House Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s nearly 400-page report. Though, one of the main takeaways from Barr’s responses was that he believes “spying did occur” on Trump’s presidential campaign, also suggesting the origins of the Russia investigation may have been mishandled.
Barr, however, did not specify what “spying” in particular had occurred, but may have implied about a situation regarding a surveillance warrant the FBI obtained on an associate of Trump’s campaign.
This news comes after Washington has been reacting to Barr’s four-page letter he sent to Congress detailing the findings of the Mueller report. After much contention with the news of the report through the attorney general, lawmakers demanded a release of the full report.
A redacted version of the special counsel’s investigation findings was said by Barr to be coming forth within one week.
Nevertheless, the attorney general is set to review the origins of the 675-day investigation, which stated Trump’s presidential campaign did not collude with the Russian government, and explained the evidence revealed in the investigation was “not sufficient to establish that the President committed an obstruction-of-justice offense.”
Regardless, the tides may begin to shift in the president’s favor as the focus will now be on who spied on his 2016 campaign.
Barr told senators on Wednesday he believed the Trump campaign had been spied on, but “the question is whether it was adequately predicated,” AP reports. He says he believes that “spying on a political campaign is a big deal.”
The Justice Department’s inspector general has already been investigating the early days of the FBI’s Russia probe, but Barr said he is looking to pull together the different reviews underway within the DOJ and see if there are remaining questions that need to be addressed.
SCOTUS Ruling On Right-To-Work Shows Nearly All Workers Choose Not To Unionize
The Supreme Court’s decision in Janus v. AFSCME shows that right-to-work laws are not inherently union busting, but create an atmosphere wherein a union does not have to exist when workers are given freedom of choice.
Trump, Pence Commit To Flipping Virginia Republican In 2020
The first push in flipping the Commonwealth red is the upcoming 2019 elections, with all 140 seats in the General Assembly on the ballot in November.