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Here’s a recap of the top stories on the morning of Wednesday, May 26, 2021:
Following court-ordered mediation, the Virginia Employment Commission will work to resolve a backlog of pandemic-related jobless claims by Labor Day. As Whittney Evans reports, legal aid groups sued last month on behalf of residents.
Lawyers for Dylann Roof asked a federal appeals court in Richmond yesterday to overturn his conviction. Roof is the White Nationalist who killed nine people at an historically Black church in Charleston, South Carolina six years ago. He was sentenced to death in 2017, after being convicted on federal murder and hate crimes charges for the massacre. Roof told jurors there was nothing wrong with him psychologically. He wrote in a jailhouse journal he had no remorse for the killings. His attorneys say the trial court wrongly found Roof competent to stand trial and argued competency hearings were inadequate.
Yesterday, a U.S. Senate health committee approved the Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act. The bill, introduced by Senator Tim Kaine, is aimed at addressing burnout in healthcare workers. Patrick Larsen has more.
It’s been almost three months since Virginia Commonwealth University freshman Adam Oakes died. Yesterday, the Office of the Medical Examiner found that Oakes’ death was caused by “ethanol toxicity” -- or alcohol poisoning. Officials are considering the death an accident. The 19-year-old died in late February after an alleged incident of hazing by the VCU chapter of the Delta Chi fraternity. The group has since been suspended from campus. VCU is currently conducting an independent review of all Greek life organizations and practices.
- While Richmond’s local history museum, The Valentine, has reopened during the pandemic the studio of Edward Valentine, the museum’s namesake, remains closed. VPM’s Roberto Roldan recently spoke to museum officials about how they’re reckoning with the artist’s racism.
