My name is Barbara Null and it would be an honor represent the citizens of the Stonehouse District on the Board of Supervisors. Having represented my neighbors in Stonehouse on the James City County Planning Commission for the past three years, I know the tremendous influence these serving in local government can have on our county. Those who serve on the Board of Supervisors, as well as citizen panels like the Planning Commission, can shape the future of our beautiful county, affecting the quality of life for all of us.
The entire Planning Commission, with input from the residents of the county, worked tirelessly on the comprehensive plan for 2045. Our goal was to protect our county’s rural character, and the comp plan does that. Our citizens spoke and this is the plan they wanted.
As supervisor, I will continue to be a voice for the citizens of Stonehouse District. I promise to take every decision seriously and ask for citizen input to help make my decisions. I will work for you, not the larger overreaching government. As a fiscal conservative, I will vote for protecting the rights of the citizens and will stand up against tax increases and demand fiscal responsibility of our county.
Our county is one of the most beautiful and, certainly, most historic in the commonwealth and the nation. My aim is to keep it that way. I will work to keep it a great place to live, preserving its beauty for the future while maintaining its affordability for the present. And I will always be available, accessible and responsive to my neighbors in Stonehouse District, actively seeking their input and suggestions to ensure our county remains a great place to live and work for generations to come. When elected, being your representative will be my only job!
A native Virginian, I was born in Arlington. I am the daughter of a United States Navy World War II Ace pilot who perished in a carrier accident in 1952. Wanting to make my dad proud, I became a commercial pilot years ago. Continuing the family’s history with the Navy, my son is a Navy veteran who served in Special Warfare at Dam Neck and my daughter-in-law is a Chief Warrant Officer 2 with the Navy. I have two grandchildren, ages 7 and 9.
As a 36-year employee of United Airlines, I worked in responsible positions as a supervisor, purser and flight attendant. During my career, I also received my commercial pilot rating and became chief pilot for Executive Aviation at Capital City Airport. Along the way, I was a fox hunter, skydiver and skier, as well as devoting time as a volunteer with many organizations.
I am a current member of the James City County Planning Commission and previously served on the Planning Commission in another locality. I also served for five years on the Architecture Review Committee for Colonial Heritage. I proudly served as an officer of elections in James City County and elsewhere.
I am a volunteer in police service with the James City County Police Department. I am an associate member of the Virginia Sheriffs’ Institute and former associate member of the Fraternal Order of Police Associates. I also volunteered at Habitat for Humanity.
I was the former chairman of the Williamsburg-James City Republican Committee, and former president of the Greater Williamsburg Republican Women. My years of commercial piloting bring quick and accurate decision making under difficult situations. My years on the Planning Commission have provided in-depth familiarity with county issues. The qualifications and experience I bring on day one will make me an effective and caring supervisor for the people.
Barbara Null lives in James City County and is running for the James City County Board of Supervisors Stonehouse seat.
Two men who were active-duty members of the Marines Corps when they stormed the U.S. Capitol pleaded guilty on Monday to riot-related criminal charges.
Joshua Abate and Dodge Dale Hellonen are scheduled to be sentenced in September by U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes. Both pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building, according to a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s office for the District of Columbia.
Many Capitol rioters are military veterans, but only a few were actively serving in the armed forces when they joined a mob’s attack on Jan. 6, 2021.
A third active-duty Marine, Micah Coomer, also was charged with Abate and Hellonen. Coomer pleaded guilty to the same misdemeanor charge in May and is scheduled to be sentenced by Reyes on Aug. 30.
All three men face a maximum sentence of six months of imprisonment.
As of May 19, the Marines were still in the service. No additional information was available Monday.
David Dischley, an attorney for Abate, declined to comment on his client’s guilty plea. An assistant public defender who represents Hellonen didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
Authorities arrested the three men in January: Abate at Fort Meade, Maryland; Coomer in Oceanside, California; and Hellonen in Jacksonville, North Carolina.
Witnesses stationed with Coomer at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia and with Hellonen at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina identified them in videos of the Jan. 6 riot, according to the FBI. A third witness — also a Marine — identified Abate from footage captured inside the Capitol, the FBI said.
During a June 2022 for his security clearance, Abate said he and two “buddies” had walked through the Capitol on Jan. 6 “and tried not to get hit with tear gas,” according to an FBI special agent.
“Abate also admitted he heard how the event was being portrayed negatively and decided that he should not tell anybody about going into the U.S. Capitol Building,” the agent wrote in an affidavit.
After the riot, Coomer posted photos on Instagram with the caption “Glad to be (a part) of history.” The angles of the photos and the caption indicated he had been inside the Capitol on Jan. 6, the FBI said. The phone number listed for Coomer in his military personal file matched the Instagram account.
Coomer drove to Washington on the morning of Jan. 6 from his military post in Virginia. He attended then-President Donald Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally with Abate and Hellonen before they entered the Capitol. Inside the Rotunda, they placed a red “Make America Great Again” hat on a statute before taking photos of it, prosecutors said. The three men spent nearly an hour inside the Capitol before leaving.
Less than a month after the riot, Coomer told another Instagram user that he believed “everything in this country is corrupt.”
“We honestly need a fresh restart. I’m waiting for the boogaloo,” he wrote, according to the FBI.
When the other user asked what that term meant, Coomer wrote, “Civil war 2.”
“Boogaloo” movement supporters use the term as slang for a second civil war or collapse of civilization. They frequently show up at protests armed with rifles and wearing Hawaiian shirts under body armor.
Over 1,000 people have been charged with federal crimes for their conduct at the Capitol on Jan. 6. Approximately 600 of them have pleaded guilty, mostly to misdemeanors punishable by maximum terms of imprisonment of six months or one year.
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Associated Press writer Lolita Baldor in Washington contributed to this report.
Our deepest values may undergo a rather harsh inspection at any moment. Luxurious Venus in Leo is making an uncooperative quincunx to stern Saturn in Pisces at 5:59 am EDT, leaving us wondering if we deserve to experience even the simplest of life’s pleasures. It’s easy to be dramatic as the Moon in Aries squares Pluto afterward, but life should take a calmer turn when the Moon drifts into Venus-ruled Taurus. There are still ways to enjoy what’s available to us.
Aries
March 21 – April 19
You may notice a few lingering issues keeping you from fully enjoying yourself. There is an awkward angle between Venus in your fun 5th house and Saturn in your subconscious sector, so while you may be in the mood to let your inner child run free, old baggage could bubble up that keeps you from being quite as free as you would like. Don’t let a dark mood color your entire experience right now! Take a deep breath, then try again tomorrow.
Taurus
April 20 – May 20
Social obligations could get in the way of your desire to follow your own path. You’re probably delighted to curl up on the couch as luxury-loving Venus moves through your 4th House of Home, turning your abode into the best joint in town. Even so, her aggravating quincunx to Saturn in your 11th House of Networks might have people demanding you come and play your part in a group affair. It may feel like an imposition, but you’ll likely have a hard time saying no.
Gemini
May 21 – June 20
What you want to do and what you have to do will almost definitely be two different things today. Feel free to try bouncing around your neighborhood and seeing what’s happening as Venus spins through your 3rd House of Local Community, but you could have to buckle down when she aligns with Saturn in your 10th House of Career. Perhaps your boss has a big ask, when you’d rather just float along — or your responsibilities simply take precedence. A casual attitude won’t cut it.
Cancer
June 21 – July 22
Trying to attain both your highest ideals and most basic needs may strain you at present. You’re likely focused on feathering your nest as Venus visits your 2nd House of Income, but her stressful angle to Saturn could leave you wondering if it’s all worth it. Sometimes it can be difficult to step back and ask yourself what’s the point of it all. Do you really need every shiny new thing? Instead of being dangerously destabilized, try to enact more altruistic money habits.
Leo
July 23 – August 22
Enjoying yourself isn’t going to be as easy as you’d wish on a day like this. Venus is highlighting the good things in life as she rolls through your sign and bestows her bounty upon you. Unfortunately, her odd quincunx to Saturn in your deeply intense 8th house could drag up everything but uncomplicated fun. Be prepared to tackle some complicated financial or legal matters that require a serious game face. If you persist with patience, you can still find success.
Virgo
August 23 – September 22
Romanticizing your current life may delight you, but that doesn’t mean everyone else will regard things with rose-colored spectacles. Venus is gracing your dreamy 12th house, bringing a bit of ease and grace in her wake, but she’s also making an unusual angle to stern Saturn in your partnership sector. Saturn pushes you to face reality, which could manifest in an important person pointing out a few flaws in your plans. Try to find an even balance between being optimistic and realistic.
Libra
September 23 – October 22
Adjustment is key at the moment — fortunately, Libra, it should be the kind of shifts you’re best at handling. You’d probably enjoy bouncing around and playing with friends while your ruler Venus spins through your social sector, but she’s going to make a fussy quincunx to Saturn in your responsible 6th house, so you may need to tend to a few chores before you can kick up your heels. The quicker you tend to these matters, the sooner you can get them over with.
Scorpio
October 23 – November 21
Creative capacity is increased for you at this moment, even if you don’t consider yourself an artist. There’s a rare angle between aesthetic Venus in your 10th House of Reputation and Saturn in your 5th House of Self-Expression, and together, they’re urging you to show off quite a bit. The only thing to consider is that Saturn takes itself seriously, so you may feel like you need to pull off some major debut. Don’t overwhelm yourself with high standards! Enjoy the artistic process.
Sagittarius
November 22 – December 21
Matters close to home may keep you from spreading your wings as much as you’d like right now. Venus in your adventurous 9th house is complicating things with stern Saturn in your homey 4th house, so you could need to tend to matters under your roof before you can broaden your horizons. Your travels might need to wait for another day, because Saturn won’t let you avoid these matters! Fortunately, you should feel worlds better once everything’s out of the way.
Capricorn
December 22 – January 19
Everything could seem a little bit heavier today, as though a weighted blanket has settled over life. With Venus in your private 8th house, you’re probably keen to hold your cards close to your chest. Uncomfortable conversations may arise, even if you’d rather not discuss those topics, when Venus aligns with Saturn in your communications sector. Be prepared to establish a line of what you’re willing to discuss! People should respect your boundaries, but you must be the one to set them.
Aquarius
January 20 – February 18
Financial matters could presently get in the way of an important relationship. Venus is in your partnership sector, doing her best to help you enjoy yourself in tandem with the people who mean a lot to you. That being said, her connection to Saturn in your income sector could create tension around money. Maybe you don’t have enough money for date night, or a close friend expects you to go all out when you’ve got a tight budget. Don’t overspend just to appease someone.
Pisces
February 19 – March 20
You may come off a little bit cold today, even if that’s not your intention. People are potentially willing to make life easier for you as Venus moves through your 6th House of Daily Routine, but she’s going to make a quincunx to cold Saturn in your own sign. That could leave you creating a less-than-stellar impression! It’s one thing if you’re in a serious business meeting, but you don’t need to bring your most powerful self to every interaction. Give yourself permission to chill.
Some argue that great power war is inevitable. Russian tanks roll across the heart of Europe. China dramatically increases capability across all domains. Great powers are back with a vengeance. Analogies drawn from the Cold War and World War II return. Multipolarity challenges the United States’ hegemonic position. Deterrence makes its way back into strategic thought. Great nations with big armies renew conversations about power balancing. Theorists are proud to make realism great again. Like an elastic band snapping into place, Army culture returns to familiar conversations about relative combat power, fires, and maneuver.
The military is expert at retroactively creating narratives. However, just because a narrative resonates does not mean it is true or complete. As the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine is reviewed, it is critical that the lessons learned and the narratives that are derived from those lessons, are thoroughly examined for bias. For example, in what ways does the Ukraine war resemble our definition of Large Scale Combat Operations? While there is more armor artillery in action than in our collective memory recalls, is quantity truly a quality all its own? Or, from a strategic standpoint, is it more important to examine this conflict as the outcome of unmanaged nuclear non-proliferation, insufficient security guarantees, the failure of understanding autocratic thinking, but the value of security assistance? While certainly dangerous, are Large Scale Combat Operations inevitable amongst great powers, or only possible when a minor power is in play?
While geopolitical dynamics may resemble historical conditions that lead in the past to direct great power wars, today states are more interdependent than ever, are restricted by the nuclear weapons revolution in military affairs, and are constrained by the costs of conventional war. The proper lesson for us to draw from history is that conflict abhors a vacuum, and threats will take advantage of whatever domain is available. Certainly an argument should be made for increasing traditional lethality in the force, but must that come at the expense of other required capabilities? If we believe that wars are prevented in competition and that adversaries will use all available ways and means in conflict, then the Army must consider diverse solutions to deter and win in both Large-Scale Combat Operations (LSCO) and non-LSCO Multi-Domain Operations.
What is so great about these powers anyway?
What makes a great power great? Although definitions vary, the common thread is that great powers can exert themselves beyond their near abroad to achieve goals. Today, to be a great power, actors extend their capabilities at a global scale through their level of capability, geographic reach, but also recognition as such by other nations.[1] For example France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy, Japan, United States, Russia/USSR, and China were each considered great powers.
Great powers may interact within the world cooperatively or competitively. When competition between two powers leads to direct military clashes, conflict occurs. Where cooperation occurs both states benefit from the transaction, while in competition or conflict, one or both powers suffer. The dynamics of these interactions create a hierarchy of states, first formally recognized in the 1814 Concert of Europe.
Realists argue that states vie to be the most powerful while limiting other states’ ability to overtake them. The resulting phenomenon of states allying with the leading nation through bandwagoning or against the leading power through balancing is known as balance of power theory.[2] When one power is on the rise, another declines – which puts them on a crash course for a zero-sum conflict.[3] The current dominant narrative puts China on the rise, Russia trying to rise, and the United States in relative decline.[4] Realists would point to this as a recipe for a coming conflict.
But is great power war inevitable? Since the Concert of Europe, great powers fought each other from the Hundred Days War to World War II. However, during the same period, there were as many small and/or proxy wars as great power wars. After World War II, the dynamic towards hybrid confrontation continued towards distributing conflict in such a way, that it reduced the likelihood of existential defeat. “The resultant Cold War was an approximately 40 year-long political, military and economic confrontation between the USA and the Soviet Union and their respective allies… [that] never escalated into direct military confrontation between the superpowers, but involved an unprecedented arms race with both nuclear and conventional weapons as well as plethora of proxy conflicts.”[5] Korea, Vietnam, and Russian-Afghanistan wars were the closest that Great Powers came to direct conflict, but they remained proxy wars. What can we attribute to this nearly 80-year lack of Great Power Conflict?
(Not) Going Nuclear
In the pre-WW II examples, Great Powers could gain from conflict. Zero-sum outcomes incentivized the use of force and created conditions for increasingly lethal battlefield capabilities. Increased capability extended the scale of vertical escalation possible. This trend continued until the Cold War. The parallel expansion of nuclear arsenals created a new dynamic. As Bull points out, “it is only in the context of nuclear weapons and other recent military technology that it becomes pertinent to ask whether war could not now be both ‘absolute in the results’ and take the form of a single instantaneous blow’ in Clausewitz’ understanding of those terms.”[6] In other words, nuclear weapons capped the escalation race, especially once stockpiles ensured Mutually Assured Destruction. At that point, winner-takes-all possibilities shifted to a likely lose-lose situation.
If vertical escalation is capped, what are other choices? Investments in hypersonics, long-range precision fires, future vertical lift, space, and cyber capabilities extend geographic range, all support horizontal escalation options. Alternatively, great powers could avoid military confrontation with each other, instead choosing to escalate both vertically and horizontally in the diplomatic, informational, and economic elements of national power. In the Cold War, that led to the exclusive use of proxies. Today, adversaries reverse complex interdependence to employ “hostile acts outside the realm of armed conflict to weaken a rival country, entity, or alliance” known as gray-zone aggression, which leads to a sort of diagonal escalation. [7]
If Large-Scale Combat Operations do occur, the likelihood of fighting through a Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear environments are high. Yet, no new major Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear capabilities are currently being introduced at this time in the U.S. Army. So how serious is the Army about large, scale combat operations in their most likely forms?
The idea of purely conventional or unconventional wars is a fiction — all conflicts are both. Colin Grey calls this false dichotomy a strategic “categorical confusion”. Hybrid wars are fought at varying intensities and scales, depending on the means available, the creativity of ways imagined, and the ends desired by the adversary. As the resources required to employ and the potential destruction of lethal means increases, the more likely conflict will press ways horizontally into multiple domains and dimensions. While conflict in multiple domains is likely, large-scale multi-domain operations remain less likely between two great powers due to the conventional material costs and the slippery slope toward nuclear weapon use. If Large-Scale Combat Operations do occur, the likelihood of fighting through a Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear environments are high. Yet, no new major Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear capabilities are currently being introduced at this time in the U.S. Army. So how serious is the Army about large, scale combat operations in their most likely forms?
Panic at the LSCO
Yet in the U.S. Army today, what is old is new again. Large-Scale Combat Operations harkens back to the Army’s historical victories and provides a clearer purpose than small wars or counterinsurgency, making it particularly palatable to Army culture. However, the Army’s operational concept is Multi-Domain Operations (MDO), not Large-Scale Combat Operations. While multi-domain operations acknowledge the very real possibility of Large-Scale Combat Operations, it does not forecast their inevitability over other forms of conflict, competition, or even cooperation. So while all Large-Scale Combat Operations are Multi-Domain Operations, not all Multi-Domain Operations are Large-Scale Combat Operations. When great powers prepare only for “great” (LSCO) wars, they prevent the single striking blow, but leave themselves vulnerable to death-by-a-thousand cuts, all while holding a metaphorical tourniquet of capabilities. Instead, the Army’s approach to the future must include the full-spectrum of operations.
Virginia Tech is gaining momentum on the recruiting trail, landing four more prospects in the last couple of days.
The Hokies now have 11 known commitments for the 2024 class, according to analyst Chris Coleman of Tech Sideline.
Tech gained commitments from rising senior linebacker Gabriel Williams, who is considered a 4-star prospect; 3-star offensive lineman Aidan Lynch; 3-star defensive tackle Andrew Hanchuk and cornerback Marcellus Barnes. They announced their decisions on social media.
Williams, a 6-foot-4, 195-pounder from St. Vincent Pallotti High in Laurel, Maryland, is ranked No. 85 nationally by On3 and No. 1 in his state, and No. 215 nationally by 247 Sports and No. 4 in Maryland. That puts him among the top recruits landed by Brent Pry, who is entering his second year as the Hokies’ coach.
According to Coleman, Williams also has scholarship offers from Boston College, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Maryland, Notre Dame, Ole Miss, Penn State, Tennessee, Southern California, Virginia and West Virginia.
Lynch, 6-7 and 275 pounds, is from Mount Olive High in New Jersey. He officially visited Vanderbilt and was in line to visit Georgia.
Hanchuk, a 6-5, 260-pounder from Midpark High in Cleveland, took an official visit to Tech over the weekend and committed Sunday, according to 247 Sports, which rates him the 45th-best overall player in Ohio. He also has an offer from West Virginia.
Barnes, rated a 3- or 4-star recruit depending on the service, also considered Florida State, Ole Miss, Georgia, Mississippi State, Michigan State and Baylor. He’s from McCallie School in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
COLLEGE MEN’S BASKETBALL
CNU team among national champs honored at White House
Vice President Kamala Harris saluted more than a thousand college athletes from championship teams, including Christopher Newport’s men’s basketball squad, who gathered Monday at the White House South Lawn, saying that sports have a “very special way of bringing people together.”
President Joe Biden had been scheduled to greet the athletes, but he had a root canal and was unable to attend the outdoor event on an overcast morning.
“You inspire so many across our country, people you may never meet,” Harris said. “You remind all of us of what we can achieve.”
The event included 47 teams from 19 sports, though there was one notable exception. Georgia’s football team declined to attend the event because the date was “not feasible given the student-athlete calendar and time of year.”
The championship teams spanned the NCAA divisions that include large universities and smaller colleges, such as CNU. There was the women’s bowling team from Vanderbilt, the men’s ice hockey team from Hobart, the men’s gymnastics and women’s water polo teams from Stanford, among others. — Associated Press
— Christopher Newport University (@CNUcaptains) June 12, 2023
ODU gains 6-10 prospect
Old Dominion coach Jeff Jones announced the signing of Sam Hood as part of a 2023 recruiting class that has risen to seven players. Hood, a 6-foot-10 forward from Raleigh, North Carolina, joins the Monarchs from Brunswick Community College.
He averaged 9.5 points and 4.6 rebounds per game while hitting 56% from the floor and 35% from 3-point range last season in junior-college competition.
“I think Sam is a real sleeper,” Jones said in a release. “He will provide us with size, athleticism and a versatile offensive skill set.”
COLLEGE MEN’S SOCCER
Kellam’s Howes among W&M recruits
Back/midfielder Hamilton Howes, part of a Class 6 Kellam team that finished 21-0 and won its first VHSL state championship, was announced by William & Mary coach Chris Norris as one of 11 additions for the fall season.
The transfers are forward Merlin Luke-Miny (from Wellington College in New Zealand), goalkeeper Cole McNally (Wake Forest) and back/midfielder Dylan Middlebrook (Villanova).
Besides Howes, the incoming freshmen are: goalkeeper Ryan Eapen (Morris Plains, New Jersey), backs Alex Kochell (Midlothian High) and Evan Rabush (Leonardtown, Maryland), forward Austin Hagen (Austin, Texas), midfielders Alexandros Katsari-Hoefer (South Lakes High in Northern Virginia) and Aidan Morrison (Denver, North Carolina) and midfielder/forward Gabe Ruitenberg (Riverdale, New Jersey).
COLLEGE TENNIS
Cavaliers, Hokies land major awards
ACC players from the state of Virginia received some of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s most notable annual awards.
Andres Pedroso, who coached UVA to its second consecutive NCAA team title, was the men’s Coach of the Year. Virginia Tech’s Ryan Fishback gained the men’s Arthur Ashe Leadership & Sportsmanship Award.
The women’s Arthur Ashe Leadership & Sportsmanship Award went to Virginia’s Natasha Subhash, a three-time All-American. Also, the women’s Coach of the Year was former William & Mary coach Brian Kalbas, who guided North Carolina to its first NCAA team championship.
ODU, W&M recruits ranked by website
Old Dominion’s men’s recruiting class was ranked third and William & Mary’s was 21st among mid-majors by Tennis Recruiting Network. Schools in all conferences except the Ivy League and Power Five (ACC, Pac-12, Big 12, Southeastern and Big Ten) were considered.
ODU’s mark was based on one prospect: Connor van Schwalkwyk, a Namibian Davis Cupper who will join his brother Codie with the Monarchs.
W&M’s ranking stemmed from Oliver Hague of Manchester, England, and Nikita Bortnichek of Moscow.
The host Martinsville Mustangs held off the Peninsula Pilots 11-10 Monday night, dropping the Pilots to 2-7 in the Coastal Plain League season.
The Pilots led 7-5, but the Mustangs (2-4) scored five runs in the bottom of the fifth and remained ahead.Peninsula got two-run doubles from Aaron Manias, who has committed to play for Nebraska next season, and Henry Garcia. Trey Morgan, a Hampton High graduate who is the longest-tenured Pilot, added an RBI single.
SOFTBALL
UVA assistant to help coach Team USA
Mike Roberts, associate head coach and pitching coach with the Virginia Cavaliers, has been tabbed by USA Softball as one of six coaches at the U.S. Women’s Fastpitch camp today through Thursday in Vero Beach, Florida.
The camp will feature a 28-player invite list of current and former athletes representing 19 NCAA Division I universities from seven conferences: American (1), ACC (5), Big 12 (7), Big Ten (1), Conference USA (1), Pac-12 (6) and SEC (7).
AUTO RACING
Drivers from Smithfield, Portsmouth, Virginia Beach win at Dixieland Speedway
Brent Robinson of Smithfield won the pole and led all 30 laps Friday night in the Allstar Late Model class on dirt at Dixieland Speedway in Elizabeth City, North Carolina.
He held off past track champion Larry Jackson of Elizabeth City, the runner-up. Walker Arthur took third place.In other divisions:
Stock Fours: Portsmouth’s Justin Bohn gained his second consecutive victory. He held off Elizabeth City’s Colleen Stevens, who was a lifetime-best second.
Super Fours: Virginia Beach’s Rickie Waters was declared the winner after the two drivers who crossed the finish line ahead of him, apparent winner Cody Keith and Eric Hill, were disqualified because of vehicle rules violations. Ron Winterburn then was scored second.
Waters leads the standings, with Kyle Barnes second.
Sportsman: Troy Brickhouse ended almost a two-year victory drought. He started in the pole position and led all 20 laps in his hometown. Suffolk’s Brad Adams was the runner-up.
Brickhouse moved into second place in points, trailing leader Mark Gonzales by 26 heading into Friday’s 8 p.m. races.
Troy Brickhouse celebrates a Dixieland Speedway victory in the Sportsman division on June 9, 2023, in his hometown of Elizabeth City, North Carolina. COURTESY OF BRIAN WHITE
Super Street: Kevin Bray of Maple, North Carolina, won twice.
First, he took the checkered flag in a race that had been suspended the previous week because of heavy fog and mist. Kolton Stevens placed second.
The regularly scheduled race featured the same 1-2 finish. Stevens leads the standings by 14 points.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Pat Sajak is taking one last spin on “Wheel of Fortune,” announcing Monday that its upcoming season will be his last as host.
Sajak announced his retirement from the venerable game show in a tweet.
“Well, the time has come. I’ve decided that our 41st season, which begins in September, will be my last. It’s been a wonderful ride, and I’ll have more to say in the coming months. Many thanks to you all,” the tweet said.
Sajak, 76, has presided over the game show, which features contestants guessing letters to try to fill out words and phrases to win money and prizes, since 1981. He took over duties from Chuck Woolery, who was the show’s first host when it debuted in 1975.
Along with Vanna White, who joined the show in 1982, Sajak has been a television mainstay. The show soon shifted to a syndication and aired in the evening in many markets, becoming one of the most successful game shows in history. Sajak will continue to serve as a consultant on the show for three years after his retirement as host.
“As the host of Wheel of Fortune, Pat has entertained millions of viewers across America for 40 amazing years. We are incredibly grateful and proud to have had Pat as our host for all these years and we look forward to celebrating his outstanding career throughout the upcoming season,” said Suzanne Prete, executive vice president of game shows for Sony Pictures Television.
In recent years, some of Sajak’s banter and chiding of contestants have become fodder for social media. That prompted Sajak to remark in his retirement post about doing another season: “(If nothing else, it’ll keep the clickbait sites busy!)”
Southside Darnell Parker (19), right, and Nic Poole (8) celebrate after scoring in the first inning. Peninsula and Private schools defeated Southside 10-8 in the All-Tidewater Baseball Classic Game at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia on June 12, 2023. (Billy Schuerman / The Virginian-Pilot)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump arrived in Florida on Monday ahead of a history-making federal court appearance on dozens of felony charges accusing him of illegally hoarding classified documents and thwarting the Justice Department’s efforts to get them back.
Trump’s Tuesday afternoon appearance in Miami will mark his second time since April facing a judge on criminal charges. But unlike a New York case some legal analysts derided as relatively trivial, the Justice Department’s first prosecution of a former president concerns conduct that prosecutors say jeopardized national security, with Espionage Act charges carrying the prospect of a significant prison sentence.
Ahead of his court date, he and his allies have been escalating efforts to undermine the criminal case against him and drum up protests. He’s ratcheted up the rhetoric against the Justice Department special counsel who filed the case, calling Jack Smith “deranged” as he repeated without any evidence his claims that he was the target of a political persecution. And even as his supporters accuse the Justice Department of being weaponized against him, he vowed Monday to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate President Joe Biden and his family if Trump is elected to a second term.
Trump landed in Miami around 3 p.m. Monday and got into a waiting SUV. He was expected to huddle with advisers before his court appearance, as he looks to line up additional lawyers following the departure before his indictment last week of two attorneys who had handled the defense for months.
He’s encouraged supporters to join a planned protest at the Miami courthouse Tuesday, where he will face the charges and surrender to authorities.
“We need strength in our country now,” Trump said Sunday, speaking to longtime friend and adviser Roger Stone in an interview on WABC Radio. “And they have to go out and they have to protest peacefully. They have to go out.”
“Look, our country has to protest. We have plenty to protest. We’ve lost everything,” he went on.
He also said there were no circumstances “whatsoever” under which he would leave the 2024 race, where he’s been dominating the Republican primary.
Other Trump supporters have rallied to his defense with similar language, including Kari Lake, the unsuccessful Republican gubernatorial candidate in Arizona who pointedly said over the weekend that if prosecutors “want to get to President Trump,” they’re ”going to have to go through me, and 75 million Americans just like me. And most of us are card-carrying members of the NRA.”
Trump’s calls for protest echoed exhortations he made ahead of a New York court appearance in April, where he faces charges arising from hush money payments made during his 2016 presidential campaign, though he complained that those who showed up to protest then were “so far away that nobody knew about ’em,” And just like in that case, he plans to address supporters in a Tuesday evening speech hours after his court date.
After his court appearance, he will return to New Jersey, where he’s scheduled a press event to publicly respond to the charges. He’ll also be holding a private fundraiser.
Trump supporters were also planning to load buses to head to Miami from other parts of Florida, raising concerns for law enforcement officials who are preparing for the potential of unrest around the courthouse. Miami Mayor Francis Suarez said the city would be ready, and police chief Manuel A. Morales said downtown could see anywhere from a few thousand up to 50,000 protesters. He said the city would be diverting traffic and possibly blocking streets depending on crowd size.
“Make no mistake about it,” Morales said. “We are taking this event extremely serious. We know there is a potential of things taking a turn for the worse but that’s not the Miami way.”
The Justice Department unsealed Friday an indictment charging Trump with 37 felony counts, 31 relating to the willful retention of national defense information. Other charges include conspiracy to commit obstruction and false statements.
The indictment alleges Trump intentionally retained hundreds of classified documents that he took with him from the White House to his Florida estate, Mar-a-Lago, after leaving the White House in January 2021. The material he stored, including in a bathroom, ballroom, bedroom and shower, included material on nuclear programs, defense and weapons capabilities of the U.S. and foreign governments and a Pentagon “attack plan,” the indictment says. The information, if exposed, could have put at risk members of the military, confidential human sources and intelligence collection methods, prosecutors said.
Beyond that, prosecutors say, he sought to obstruct government efforts to recover the documents, including by directing personal aide Walt Nauta — who was charged alongside Trump — to move boxes to conceal them and also suggesting to his own lawyer that he hide or destroy documents sought by a Justice Department subpoena.
Some fellow Republicans have sought to press the case that Trump is being treated unfairly, citing the Justice Department’s decision in 2016 to not charge Democrat Hillary Clinton for her handling of classified information through a private email server she relied on as secretary of state. But those arguments overlook that FBI investigators did not find any evidence that Clinton or her aides had willfully broken laws regarding classified information or had obstructed the investigation.
New Hampshire Republican Gov. Chris Sununu, speaking Sunday on CBS News, said there was a “huge difference” between the two investigations but that it “has to be explained to the American people.”
The Justice Department earlier this month informed former Vice President Mike Pence that it would not bring charges over the presence of classified documents in his Indiana home. A separate Justice Department special counsel investigation into the discovery of classified records at a home and office of President Joe Biden continues, though as in the Clinton case, no evidence of obstruction or intentional law-breaking has surfaced.
Trump’s own former attorney general, William Barr, offered a grim assessment of Trump’s predicament, saying on Fox News that Trump had no right to hold onto such sensitive records.
“If even half of it is true,” Barr said of the allegations, “then he’s toast. I mean, it’s a pretty — it’s a very detailed indictment, and it’s very, very damning. And this idea of presenting Trump as a victim here — a victim of a witch hunt is ridiculous.”
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Colvin reported from New York. Associated Press writers Adriana Gomez Licon in Miami and Terry Spencer in Doral, Florida contributed to this report.
Follow Eric Tucker on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/etuckerAP
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More on Donald Trump-related investigations: https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump
The beach volleyball teams of Macy Jerger/Megan Rice and Hagen Smith/Logan Webber won the women’s and men’s championships Sunday at the $20,000 AVP Tour Series Virginia Beach Open.
It was the first AVP title at any level for both tandems. Like the other $20K tournaments on the schedule, the Virginia Beach Open is a springboard toward larger AVP events, which carry prize money of $125,000 or $300,000.
The top four women’s teams and men’s pairs earned entry into tbhe main draw of AVP Pro Series Hermosa Beach Open, set for July 7-9 in California.
The women’s teams that secured spots are Jerger/Rice, Lexy Denaburg/Carly Kan, Kelly Reeves/Jessica Gaffney and Ashley Pater/Sarah Wood. The men’s teams are Smith/Webber, John-Michael Plummer/Lev Priima, John Hamilton/Travis Mewhirter and Andrew Dentler/Jacob Landel.
The tournament began with an open qualifier Friday, followed by 24-team main draws for women and men. After pool play, 16 men’s and 16 women’s pairs competed in single-elimination brackets.
Jerger and Rice, the fifth seeds, knocked off top-seeded Kimberly Hildreth/Teegan Van Gunst 23-25, 21-14, 15-11 in the semifinals. In the final, Jerger and Rice overcame third-seeded Carly Skojdt and Geena Urango 22-20, 21-16.
The hardest challenge in single elimination for Smith and Webber came against top-seeded Billy Allen and Alison Cerutti – a three-time Brazilian Olympian and 2016 gold medalist – in the final, a 21-13, 22-20 match.
Smith is the son of beach volleyball Hall of Famer Sinjin Smith, who won 139 tournaments between 1977 and 2001 and represented the United States in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
From Left: Eden Amato, a Landstown High School freshman and Icarus Landaker, a Princess Anne High School senior during a rally Monday afternoon, June 12,2023, in parking lot outside of the Holland Road Annex to show support for the LGBTQ resolution before the start of the Virginia Beach School Board meeting. (Bill Tiernan / For The Virginian-Pilot)
