Mayoral candidate Kim Gray is running to increase transparency in Richmond’s government, return to a community-based planning model, and improve Richmond’s schools. Her resume includes jobs for two former governors, eight years as a school board member, and four years as council member of Richmond’s Second District. Her political roots run to her childhood.
Read MoreDay: September 30, 2020
Commentary: Pelosi Holds Millions of Small Businesses Hostage While Working Families Struggle
At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, when a lot less was known about the virus and how to counter it, and while the nation was still ramping up production of testing and hospital resources including ventilators needed, 25 million jobs were lost across the country, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
Since labor markets bottomed in April, 13.8 million jobs have been recovered, as states have begun steadily reopening in the months since.
Read MoreU.S. Intel Flagged Alleged Clinton Campaign Plan to Link Trump to Russian Hacking, Intel Chief Says
U.S. intelligence officials submitted an investigative referral to the FBI in September 2016 regarding an alleged plan by Hillary Clinton to link Donald Trump to Russia’s election interference efforts, according to John Ratcliffe, the director of national intelligence.
Ratcliffe noted in the letter, which he sent to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, that U.S. intelligence is not certain whether the allegation underlying the referral was based on fabrications from Russian intelligence agencies.
Read MoreCommentary: Implicit Bias Training Is a Total Waste of Taxpayer Dollars
Police officers in a majority of states are now mandated to receive “implicit bias training,” where they are informed they are subconsciously racist and must admit to and deliberately overcome their racism.
The trainings, which exploded in popularity following the Ferguson riots in 2014, directly respond to accusations that racist police officers are shooting unarmed African Americans. Following the death of George Floyd, multiple states, including Michigan, New Jersey, and Texas, joined the list of states mandating the training for all their officers.
Read MoreFBI Source’s Claim About Michael Flynn Was Inaccurate, Special Agent Said
The FBI’s lead agent on its investigation of Michael Flynn told prosecutors that a confidential source’s allegation about an incident involving the former national security adviser in 2014 was likely false, according to a government document.
Special Agent William Barnett said in an interview with a federal prosecutor on Sept. 17 that the Crossfire Hurricane team obtained the information about Flynn from a confidential human source (CHS) who provided information regarding Carter Page.
Read MorePoll: Support for School Choice Increases by 10 Percentage Points in Four Months
A RealClear Opinion Research poll of 2,020 registered voters in August saw a 10-point increase in support of school choice policies since its last poll in April, from 67 percent to 77 percent.
The American Federation for Children describes school choice as the right for parents to use the tax dollars designated for their child’s education in a school of their choice. The tax dollars would follow the child, not be tied to a nearby school system. Funding could be used for public, private, charter, or homeschool education, whichever method the parents believes provides the best learning environment for their child.
Read MoreChristian Group Raises $500K+ for Kenosha Shooter Kyle Rittenhouse
A Christian crowdfunding site has raised over half a million dollars to help 17 year-old Kenosha, Wisconsin, shooter Kyle Rittenhouse with legal fees, New York Post reports.
The GiveSendGo site, created shortly after Rittenhouse shot three Black Lives Matter protesters, and left two dead during a violent night of unrest in Kenosha on Aug. 25. Sponsored by a group called “Friends of the Rittenhouse family,” based in Atlanta, Georgia, set an initial goal of $500,00 but had surpassed that by Monday, with nearly $523,000 in contributions.
Read MoreJoe Biden Staffer Suggests Orthodox Catholics, Jews and Muslims Shouldn’t Be on Supreme Court
One of Joe Biden’s staffers suggested Monday that Orthodox Catholics, Jews, and Muslims should be disqualified from serving on the Supreme Court due to their “intolerant” views.
Biden campaign Deputy Data Director Nikitha Rai criticized Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett’s religious views in a Twitter conversation Monday night with Brookings Institute Senior Fellow Shadi Hamid.
Read MoreBiden’s Texas Political Director Implicated in Massive Mail-In Ballot Harvesting Scheme in Harris County
A Biden Campaign operative in Texas is attempting to rig the 2020 election with the help of others in a massive ballot harvesting scheme, according to two private investigators who testified under oath that they have “video evidence, documentation and witnesses” to prove it. With the help of mass mail-in ballots, the illegal ballot harvesting operation could harvest 700,000 ballots, one Harris County Democrat operative allegedly bragged.
Read MoreBiden Doesn’t Name Single Law Enforcement Group That Supports Him
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden didn’t name a single law enforcement group or agency that has endorsed him during the presidential debate Tuesday night.
Biden chose not to respond to the question posed by President Donald Trump during a discussion on law and order. Trump noted that several law enforcement groups have endorsed his reelection campaign.
Read MoreTRUMPDATE: Latest From the Trump Team Virginia Campaign for September 30
Welcome to the Wednesday edition of our daily Virginia Trump campaign update! We will provide our readers with daily updates on the Trump Virginia campaign from today to November 3 (and after…if need be!).
It’s officially 34 days until the election on November 3 – and 31 days until early voting in Virginia closes. The deadline to register to vote in time for the 2020 election is October 13.
Read MoreVCU Faculty Are Considering Requiring Courses on Racism
Faculty at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) are currently considering making a change to the university’s general education requirements by adding a courses on racism.
The classes would be required for all freshman and grouped under the subject diversities of human experiences, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
Read MoreVirginia Department of Health Launches New Pandemic Metrics Dashboard
The Virginia Department of Health (VDH) on Monday launched a new pandemic metrics dashboard with more specific, aggregated data to show where COVID-19 is spreading in Virginia’s different regions and any changes occurring over time.
The new dashboard will be updated weekly and features three different tabs: About the Data, Daily Region Metrics, Weekly Transmission Extent. Additionally, School Metrics from the CDC are included within the dashboard.
Read MorePresident of Preserve America Chris LaCivita Talks About His Super PAC and Defining Joe Biden
Tuesday morning on The John Fredericks Show, host Fredericks welcomed political consultant Chris LaCivita to the show to discuss his super PAC Preserve America and their focus on moving the needle for President Trump in the upcoming election.
Read MoreBlue Steal: Steve Bannon Focuses on Pennsylvania and Florida and Urges the Trump Campaign to Get on the Offensive
Tuesday morning on The John Fredericks Show, host Fredericks welcomed political figure and strategist Steve Bannon to the show to discuss the Trump campaign’s response to the Trump tax hit pieces and that his focus was now on the election in Pennsylvania and Florida.
Read MorePortsmouth NAACP Tries Again to File Charges Against Council Members Moody, Psimas
The Portsmouth Magistrate has again rebuffed Portsmouth NAACP leaders in attempts to file charges against Portsmouth council members Bill Moody and Elizabeth Psimas. NAACP branch President James Boyd and Vice President Louie Gibbs went to the magistrate on Friday to present emails that they said showed Moody and Psimas committing a misdemeanor violation of the city charter.
Read MoreRichmond Mayor Proposes ‘Racially Equitable’ Affordable Housing Plan
Richmond Mayor Levi Stoney proposed a “racially equitable” affordable housing plan on Tuesday.
The mayor will give a majority of the city-owned land parcels to Maggie Walker Community Land Trust. The organization’s mission statement is “to foster racially equitable communities” within their constructed affordable housing.