Virginia
Republican investment in Virginia coming ahead of election, GOP Chair says
NAACP urges Biden to halt weapons to Israel
SAs the 2024 U.S. presidential election draws near, pressure is mounting on President Joe Biden to do more to facilitate the end of the war in Gaza.
Virginia’s Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin doubled down on an idea that has been kicked around among pollsters and campaign folks recently: The commonwealth is in play for conservatives in the 2024 General Election.
Virginia has trended blue during presidential races since 2008 but some in the Republican Party believe that could change in November. And a recent poll conducted by Roanoke College shows the two presumptive nominees, President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, neck-in-neck with each garnering support from 42% of voters surveyed.
On CNN’s The Lead with Jake Tapper on Thursday, Youngkin echoed the optimism of Trump’s campaign manager, Chris LaCivita, who told NBC in May that Republicans have an opportunity to expand the map in Virginia.
“It is pretty stunning that in 2020 we saw Joe Biden win by 10 points, and I was fortunate enough to win by two [in 2021], but now we see Virginia very tight,” Youngkin said. “I think America and Virginia is ready to really give President Trump the White House back.”
The Democratic Party of Virginia disagreed with Youngkin’s assertion and said the governor has kowtowed to the former president throughout his term as head of the commonwealth.
“Youngkin’s governorship is over and while he continues to beg for attention from Trump and his cronies, like Chris LaCivitia, Virginia Democrats will beat Republicans and Trump just like they did in 2020,” Democratic Party Chair Susan Swecker said.
Both parties investing in the commonwealth?
Virginia’s Democratic Party, though skeptical of Trump’s ability to win in November, isn’t taking the election for granted. Virginia Democrats, along with the Biden-Harris campaign, have invested resources in the commonwealth over the last few months.
The Biden-Harris campaign has opened six offices across Virginia in both rural and urban areas with more expected to be opened in the coming months. The campaign has also launched a Black voter outreach program in Virginia.
“Trump is toxic and has no campaign presence in Virginia, while the Biden campaign is working to win every vote across the commonwealth,” State Senate President Pro tempore Louise Lucas, a Democrat, said. “[Trump is] welcome to waste his time campaigning here.”
And while it’s true that the Trump campaign has yet to invest heavily in the commonwealth, money, manpower and energy are coming soon to Virginia, Republican Party Chair Rich Anderson said.
“They are building out their operation in Virginia and will soon unveil their team and other particulars. My state party staff and I will meet with them in the near term to nail down the role that RPV will play in partnership with the RNC and the Trump 2024 team,” he said.
Trump’s campaign has said publicly and affirmed to Anderson privately that it considers Virginia to be a top-tier, in-play state, Anderson said.
What about Trump’s convictions, Nikki Haley’s voters, and Independents?
When asked by Tapper, Youngkin predicted that Independent voters in the commonwealth would vote for Trump. Independent voters made up 27% of those surveyed in the recent Roanoke College poll that saw the two presumptive nominees neck-in-neck.
He pointed to the economy, national security, energy policy and the southwestern border as reasons why he believes Virginia will swing red in November.
Roughly 35% of voters in Virginia’s Republican primary voted for Nikki Haley. A number of those voters who attended campaign rally in February in Richmond told USA Today that they would not vote for Trump even if he were the Republican nominee.
Youngkin told Tapper that he believes the Republican Party in Virginia is coming together to support the presumptive nominee, regardless of past candidates and differences of opinion. He also said that he believes voters won’t be swayed away from the former president despite his 34 felony convictions on counts of falsifying business documents.
Virginia
Eastern Michigan WR Oran Singleton Jr. Commits to West Virginia
West Virginia has landed its second commitment out of the transfer portal, and its first on the offensive side of the ball.
Sunday evening, Eastern Michigan wide receiver transfer Oran Singleton Jr. announced his pledge to the Mountaineers.
This past season for the Eagles, Singleton caught a team-high 64 passes for 639 yards and two touchdowns. Prior to arriving at Eastern Michigan, Singleton played one year at Akron and then made the move to the junior college level to play for Hutchinson CC. There, he led the team in receptions (31) and was second in yards (419).
West Virginia will continue to add to the wide receiver room in the coming days and weeks as they look to replace the departure of Justin Robinson along with the potential departures of Traylon Ray Ric’Darious Farmer and Hudson Clement.
Singleton will have one year of eligibility remaining.
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Virginia
WVU loses Hansberry, beats Mercyhurst in non-conference finale
Still without Tucker DeVries, Sunday’s game against Mercyhurst would be West Virginia’s final opportunity to figure things out ahead of their holiday break, followed by the gauntlet that is the Big 12.
While the Mountaineers would ease past the Lakers, they couldn’t do it without suffering another injury. Starting center Amani Hansberry was injured in the opening minute and did not return as West Virginia beat Mercyhurst 67-46 at the WVU Coliseum to close non-conference play.
The Mountaineers persevered the early departure of Hansberry by getting inside on the Lakers. After a Jonathan Powell 3-pointer, eight of WVU’s next 13 points came at the rim as they took a 16-7 lead in the opening eight minutes of action.
While the Lakers would be able to keep the West Virginia lead in single digits, a late 11-3 run helped West Virginia into halftime with a 35-22 lead.
While West Virginia shot 50 percent from the field in the first half, the second half would have a much different feel to it.
West Virginia made only one basket, and that came on a score from Eduardo Andre just a minute into the second half. After that, though, West Virginia’s offense went silent, and it allowed the Lakers to get back into the game.
Mercyhurst went on an 8-0 run from the 17:23 mark until the 14:46 mark of the second half, as West Virginia’s lead was cut to 38-30. The Mountaineers would respond appropriately, though, going on a 16-0 run themselves, pushing the lead to 24 with 8:13 to play.
During the run, it was a plethora of players who got involved for the Mountaineers. Five different players scored during the run, including Javon Small, who scored on a fastbreak dunk after a steal from Joe Yesufu. The dunk would be Small’s 1,000th career point.
Mercyhurst countered with a 5-0 run, but that didn’t faze the Mountaineers in the slightest. West Virginia scored the next nine points as they continued to lock down on defense.
Mercyhurst would score only 11 points in the final 14:45 of the game, shooting 22 percent from the field in the second half and 28 percent from the field on the afternoon. West Virginia held Mercyhurst to shoot only 5-for-17 from beyond the arc.
The Mountaineers shot 48 percent from the field despite struggling mightly from three as they shot 5-for-19 from beyond the arc. Small led West Virginia with 19 points on the afternoon.
West Virginia now will be off until Dec. 31, when they open Big 12 play on the road against No. 8 Kansas.
Virginia
Virginia woman falls victim to bitcoin scam, loses more than $30,000 – WTOP News
A Richmond, Virginia, woman lost more than $30,000 after police say she fell victim to a scam.
Click here for updates on this story
RICHMOND, Virginia (WTVR) — A Richmond, Virginia, woman lost more than $30,000 after police say she fell victim to a scam.
CBS 6 Crime Insider Jon Burkett spoke to Frank Oley, her financial adviser and Greg Wade, a Richmond detective about how this happened.
The woman got an email which appeared to be from PayPal.
“It was about the purchase of some type of malware and if you didn’t want it to call a certain number,” Wade said.
She then called the number and got swindled.
“After the transaction was done, he said, ‘You added too many zeroes,’ and, ‘Oh, my God, I’m going to lose my job, it’s Christmas time and I have kids,’ laid it on thick to her. This client being such a nice, honest and decent person felt sorry for this guy,” Wade explained.
The woman felt so bad she withdrew a total of $34,300 from two banks in an effort to pay for what she thought was her mistake.
The scammer instructed her to load the cash into a bitcoin machine along Azalea Avenue. It took her two hours and 873 separate transactions to do.
Detective Wade got a search warrant and told the store to shut the machine down. A representative came to open it, and the woman’s money was still there.
Her money is being held as evidence for now, but she will get it all back.
“The good news is with George, the Richmond City Police Department, we got the money back,” Oley said.
Wade says the scammer was traced to a location outside the United States.
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