News
Don Scott becomes first Black Speaker in Virginia Legislature's 400 year history
Don Scott, Speaker the Virginia House of Delegates, has had a meteoric rise in the Statehouse. The Delegates unanimously voted him in as Speaker on Wednesday.
Shaban Athuman/VPM
hide caption
toggle caption
Shaban Athuman/VPM
Don Scott, Speaker the Virginia House of Delegates, has had a meteoric rise in the Statehouse. The Delegates unanimously voted him in as Speaker on Wednesday.
Shaban Athuman/VPM
The Virginia General Assembly unanimously elected Democrat Don Scott as house speaker on Wednesday, making him the first Black speaker in the Virginia House of Delegates’ history.
Del. Scott approached the podium to cheers and a standing ovation as he took the oath of office and began his term as the leader of the House.
“My first immediate emotion is just gratitude. I’m very grateful,” said Scott, tearing up as he thanked his 88 year old mother and his wife, watching from the gallery.
“The historic nature of this moment is not lost on me,” he told the House.
“I pray that it is a proud moment for all of us, as we nominate Delegate Don Scott as our next speaker of the house,” said Del. Luke E. Torian in his nomination speech.
“Over 400 years ago, people who looked like Delegate Scott gave their sweat blood and tears to build this Capitol,” Del. Torian elaborated. “And I would say that is probably only right and fitting and appropriate that 400 years later, a person of color, an African American, whose ancestors helped to build this capital now stands to help lead this House of Delegates.”
From prison to politics
Scott says the Navy ships docked in his district, like the USS Kearsarge (LHD-3), are a reminder of a call to public service that started with his time in the Navy as a young man.
Shaban Athuman/VPM
hide caption
toggle caption
Shaban Athuman/VPM
Scott says the Navy ships docked in his district, like the USS Kearsarge (LHD-3), are a reminder of a call to public service that started with his time in the Navy as a young man.
Shaban Athuman/VPM
Scott, a 58 year-old Navy veteran and lawyer representing the Southeastern Virginia city of Portsmouth, quickly distinguished himself in the Democratic Caucus in part thanks to his unconventional path to the statehouse.
As a law student, Scott was convicted on a drug-related charge in 1994 and spent nearly eight years incarcerated in federal prison. After his release, Scott built a successful career as a trial lawyer in Portsmouth, which put him in the public eye and drew attention to his past.
In 2018, while in the midst of defending a city councilman accused of forgery, a local reporter learned of Scott’s time in prison and contacted him for a story. Scott hadn’t tried to keep his conviction a secret, but now it was widely known, and on the front-page of the Sunday paper.
“When you have a conviction, which I had a felony conviction that’s now 30 years old, you never really feel comfortable,” Scott told NPR, from his office in Portsmouth. “You always feel like you have to be careful on how far you can go and you put limits on yourself.”
That changed for Scott when a friend reached out after reading the article.
“You’re free now,” Scott remembers the friend texting. “So whatever you want to do now, you can do it.”
And what Scott wanted to do was run for office.
Scott credits the women in his life, including his wife, Dr. Mellanda Y. Colson Scott, for restoring his self-confidence and ambition after prison.
Shaban Athuman/VPM
hide caption
toggle caption
Shaban Athuman/VPM
Scott credits the women in his life, including his wife, Dr. Mellanda Y. Colson Scott, for restoring his self-confidence and ambition after prison.
Shaban Athuman/VPM
A platform built on personal experience
Scott won his first race for the Virginia House in 2019. He ran on a platform of criminal justice reform, shaped by his time on both sides of the legal system. Scott says, those experiences gave him another edge on the campaign trail, too.
“I used to always say the worst thing that will happen to me will not be losing an election,” he muses.
Scott grew up in Texas; one of six children raised by a single mother who struggled to make ends meet. Scott remembers meals of mayonnaise sandwiches and long hours at the local library, which his mother leaned on for free childcare. The young Scott turned into a voracious reader, which he says contributed to him going to college.
After serving in the Navy as a surface warfare officer, Scott went to law school. It was there, in his last year, that a federal court convicted him of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute crack cocaine. Scott says that he was only picking up money for a dealer he knew, and had no intention of selling the drugs himself. He was sentenced to 10 years, and graduated from law school before heading to prison.
Released nearly 8 years later, Scott took a job in Delaware as a case manager on a workforce program for people on public assistance, and worked his way up the career ladder. Now married and with a young daughter, Scott says the constant travel was hard on his family. So he tapped his law degree, passed the bar exam and took a job in a firm, where he is still a partner.
As minority leader, Scott was tasked with retaking the state legislature during the 2023 elections. His stump speeches focused on abortion access and combatting internal threats to democracy.
Shaban Athuman/VPM
hide caption
toggle caption
Shaban Athuman/VPM
As minority leader, Scott was tasked with retaking the state legislature during the 2023 elections. His stump speeches focused on abortion access and combatting internal threats to democracy.
Shaban Athuman/VPM
Headwinds turn to headway in the Virginia Capitol
Scott entered the General Assembly in 2020 and started introducing legislation on criminal justice reform. He introduced nearly a dozen bills to change the commonwealth’s parole, records expungement, and probation policies. But the freshman delegate quickly ran into a roadblock: his own Democratic party, which held the majority in the Virginia Statehouse at the time and killed Scott’s bills, nearly all upon their first committee hearing.
Then, things shifted.
Not long into Scott’s first term, the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis sparked protests in state capitals across the country. Suddenly, the issues Scott had tried to tackle were top of mind in Richmond.
Scott revived some of his old bills on earned sentence credits and limited probation, which passed this time.
Going toe-to-toe with Virginia’s conservatives
In legislative sessions, Scott’s confrontational style full of quips and asides on the floor contributed to his quick rise within the Democratic caucus.
Early in 2022, Scott took on Gov. Glenn Youngkin after the Republican set up a “tipline” for Virginians to anonymously report educators for teaching so-called “divisive concepts” like Critical Race Theory.
“What I’ve seen from his day one activities is not someone who is a man of faith, not a Christian, but someone who wants to divide the Commonwealth,” Scott proclaimed to the Virginia House of Delegates, amid boos and jeers from the Republican side of the aisle.
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin came to see Scott in his office after the Delegate criticized the Gov.’s policies on critical race theory.
Steve Helber/AP
hide caption
toggle caption
Steve Helber/AP
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin came to see Scott in his office after the Delegate criticized the Gov.’s policies on critical race theory.
Steve Helber/AP
Scott took it in stride. “I know the truth hurts. I don’t want to make you cry, like saying ‘critical race theory,’ because I know it hurts your feelings.”
Scott says soon after that, Youngkin, who often speaks publicly about his faith, asked Scott to the governor’s mansion.
“I said, he ain’t the principal and I ain’t a student,” laughs Scott. “If you want to see me, come over here. And to his credit, he came, he came to see me.”
The exchange raised Scott’s profile again, and less than six months later, he was chosen as house minority leader. After serving just three legislative sessions, Scott was now responsible for taking back the chamber from Republicans in the 2023 election.
Building on Black history at the Virginia Statehouse
Virginia Democrats did win control of the legislature last fall, and chose Scott as their nominee for speaker.
Before he headed to Richmond for the first day of the new legislative session, Scott gathered supporters in his district for a sendoff party.
As Scott spoke to the crowd, he took a moment to appreciate his rise: from the child of a poor single mother, to leader of America’s first statehouse. He expressed gratitude to the Black legislators who served before him.
“We didn’t even see ourselves ever even raising our hand to run for speaker of the house, let alone achieve it,” he recounted them telling him after his nomination.
“So I’m so grateful that I get the opportunity standing on those giants,” Scott told the crowd. “And want y’all to, when you see me in the room, understand I carry all of y’all with me.”
Scott also took a moment to recognize the enslaved Virginians who built the state Capitol.
Don Scott thanks his supporters during a sendoff party in his home district, before heading to Richmond for the opening of the 2024 legislative session.
Shaban Athuman/VPM
hide caption
toggle caption
Shaban Athuman/VPM
Don Scott thanks his supporters during a sendoff party in his home district, before heading to Richmond for the opening of the 2024 legislative session.
Shaban Athuman/VPM
“Every time I walk into that Capitol y’all – and this is true, I promise you – I see ghosts,” he told the crowd.
“I see our ancestors who were in there, who were emptying people’s urine and emptying the spittoons, building the buildings, breaking their backs while people made decisions about whether they were human or not.”
That history continues with Scott’s ascension as the first Black speaker.
Jahd Khalil is a reporter for VPM News
In this photo illustration, The Onion website is displayed on a computer screen, showing a satirical story titled Here’s Why I Decided To Buy ‘InfoWars’, on November 14, 2024 in Pasadena, California.
Mario Tama/Getty Images North America
hide caption
toggle caption
Mario Tama/Getty Images North America
The satirical website, The Onion, has a new deal to take over Infowars, conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’s far-right media company. If approved by a Texas judge, the deal would take away his Infowars microphone, and allow The Onion to resume its plans to turn the website into a parody of itself.
Families of those killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, who sued Jones for defamation, want the sale to happen. They’re still waiting to collect on the nearly $1.3 billion judgement they won against Jones for spreading lies that they faked the deaths of their children in order to boost support for gun control. That prompted Jones’s followers to harass and threaten the families for years.
The families are also eager to take away Jones’s platform for spewing such conspiracy theories. The deal not only would divorce Jones from his Infowars brand, but it would turn the platform against him by allowing The Onion to mock his kind of conspiracy mongering and advocate for gun control.
The families “took on Alex Jones to stop him from inflicting the same harm on others” by using “his corrupt business platform to torment and harass them for profit,” said Chris Mattei, one of the attorneys for the families. “When Infowars finally goes dark, the machinery of lies that Jones built will become a force for social good, thanks to the families’ courage and The Onion’s vision, persistence and stewardship.”
A mourner visits the Sandy Hook Permanent Memorial on the 10th anniversary of the school shooting on Dec.14, 2022 in Newtown, Connecticut. Twenty-six people were shot and killed, including 20 first graders and 6 educators, in one of the deadliest elementary school shootings in U.S. history.
John Moore/Getty Images
hide caption
toggle caption
John Moore/Getty Images
For its part The Onion called it a “significant step in an effort to transform one of the internet’s more notorious misinformation platforms into a new comedy network for satire.” The company says it could announce its new rollout of Infowars in a matter of weeks if the judge approves the deal.
“Eight years, almost to the day, after the Sandy Hook parents first filed suit against Alex Jones, they’ll finally get some justice, and even some money,” said Ben Collins, CEO of The Onion. “This is a chance to make something genuinely new out of a very broken piece of media history.”
On its website Monday, The Onion posted a satirical message from the fictional CEO of its parent company, Global Tetrahedron, “Bryce P. Tetraeder,” stating a “dream is finally coming true.”
Jones’s posted on X Monday that “The Onion Has Fraudulently Claimed AGAIN That It Owns Infowars!!!” adding that “The Democrat Party Disinformation Publication Is Publicly Bragging About Its Plan To Silence Alex Jones’ Infowars And Then Steal & Misrepresent His Identity!”
On a podcast in March, Jones alluded to the impending demise of Infowars, saying, “We’re getting shut down. We beat so many attacks. But finally, we’re shutting down like the middle of next month,” before insisting, “We’re going to be fine.”
Jones suggested Monday he would appeal any court decision to approve the leasing deal. And even if he loses control of Infowars, Jones could continue to broadcast from another studio, under another name.
Jones’s attorneys did not respond to a request for comment.
More than a year ago, a federal bankruptcy judge rejected The Onion’s first attempt to buy Infowars through a bankruptcy auction, saying the process was flawed. Since then, the bankruptcy court clarified that because Infowars’ parent company, Free Speech Systems, is not itself in bankruptcy, its property should be handled instead by a Texas state receiver. That cleared the way for the new pending deal to lease Infowars to The Onion, with the hope that a future sale could be approved.
In papers filed in state court, the Texas receiver said he “determined that licensing the Intellectual Property is in the best interest of the receivership estate.”
The deal calls for The Onion to pay $81,000 a month to license the Infowars.com domain and brand name, which the receiver says will “cover carrying costs to preserve and protect the assets of the receivership estate” until an appeal filed by Jones is decided and the path is cleared for a sale.
Jones’s personal bankruptcy case is proceeding in federal bankruptcy court, where a trustee continues to sell off Jones’s personal property, including cars, homes, watches and guns, with proceeds intended for the families.
A memorial to massacre victims stands near the former site of Sandy Hook Elementary on Dec. 14, 2013 in Newtown, Connecticut, one year after Adam Lanza shot and killed 20 first graders and six adults at the school.
John Moore/Getty Images
hide caption
toggle caption
John Moore/Getty Images
US negotiators to head to Pakistan and Iranian cargo ship seized – a recappublished at 00:37 BST 20 April
Tankers in the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday
Here’s a recap of the latest developments.
US negotiators will head to Pakistan on Monday with the intention of holding further talks on ending the war, Trump says – but Iranian state media cites unnamed officials as saying Tehran has “no plans for now to participate”.
The prospect of further high-level negotiations – a White House official says Vice-President JD Vance will attend – comes amid reports of fresh attacks on commercial vessels.
Trump says the navy intercepted and took “custody” of an Iranian tanker attempting to pass through the US blockade, “blowing a hole” in the ship’s engine room in the process.
Earlier, in the same post announcing his representatives would travel for more talks, Trump renewed his threat to destroy Iranian energy sites and bridges if no deal is reached.
Reports in Iranian media over the weekend suggest Iran is continuing to work on plans to potentially apply a toll to ships passing through the strait – although it’s unclear if such a move will be implemented.
Iranian state TV cites unnamed officials as saying that “continuation of the so-called naval blockade, violation of the ceasefire and threatening US rhetoric” are slowing progress in reaching an agreement.
Trump also accused Iran of violating the ceasefire, saying more commercial ships have been attacked by Iran in the Strait of Hormuz.
A UK maritime agency reported two commercial ships came under fire in the strait on Saturday.
Iran’s foreign minister had said on Friday that the strait would be opened – which was shortly followed by Trump saying the US naval blockade of Iranian ports would remain in place until a deal is reached. Iran has since said the strait is closed again.
new video loaded: 8 Children Killed in Louisiana Shooting, Police Say
By Christina Kelso
April 19, 2026
-
News1 minute ago
The Onion has agreed to a new deal to take over Infowars
-
New York2 hours agoGotti Grandson Is Sentenced to 15 Months for Covid Relief Fraud
-
Detroit, MI2 hours agoWhy a Detroit family’s $300 brick repair job turned into a fraud investigation
-
San Francisco, CA2 hours agoSea lion pup found in San Francisco’s Outer Sunset malnourished but ‘feisty’
-
Dallas, TX2 hours agoDallas Cowboys 2026 NFL Draft debate heats up
-
Miami, FL2 hours agoMan arrested in Miami for alleged sexual battery on 10-year-old girl – WSVN 7News | Miami News, Weather, Sports | Fort Lauderdale
-
Boston, MA3 hours agoFormer BYU star Clayton Young crushes lifetime best in Boston — on short notice
-
Denver, CO3 hours agoColorado boasts two of the best coffee shops in the Americas, according to new ranking