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    The White House is defending President Joe Biden’s order that federal employees get vaccinated against COVID-19 after a federal appeals court blocked it. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans on Thursday rejected arguments the nation’s chief executive has the same authority as a private corporation's CEO to require employees be vaccinated. The ruling from the 16-judge appeals court reversed a ruling by a three-judge appellate panel that upheld the vaccination requirement. Opponents of the policy say it was an encroachment on federal workers’ lives that neither the Constitution nor federal statutes authorize. The White House on Friday cited the high compliance rate among federal workers in defending the order.

      A northern Virginia police officer has been fired after fatally shooting a shoplifting suspect last month after a foot chase at a busy shopping mall. Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis announced the dismissal Thursday and released body camera footage showing the Feb. 22 shooting of Timothy McCree Johnson outside Tysons Corner Center. Davis said the two officers who chased Johnson used their weapons. The one who shot the fatal round was fired, and the other remains on restricted duty during the investigation. A lawyer for the fired officer says the shooting was justified because the officer saw Johnson reaching for his waistband. A lawyer for Johnson's family characterizes the shooting as an execution, saying that justice will be sought.

        The U.S. Army is identifying a decorated 20-year soldier as one of the five people killed in a shooting at a South Carolina home. Command Sgt. Maj. Carlos Evans, 38, was killed Tuesday night by a former soldier in the slaying that officials say left three sleeping children dead before the shooter killed himself. Officials say Evans worked with the children’s mother and happened to be at the home. The Virginia native joined the Army in July 2002 and served in Iraq and Kuwait. The U.S. Army says Evans was awarded the Bronze Star Medal and another recognition for valor under fire. State Sen. Thomas McElveen, a Democrat who represents Sumter, says Evans “was a hero.”

          Proposals in several states would allow or require schools to deadname transgender students or out them to their parents without consent. Transgender kids and their families say the proposals could eliminate K-12 public schools as one of the last remaining havens to explore their identities. The stated aim of the bills is to give parents greater control over their childrens' education. Some parents and teachers argue they have a right to know. But others warn the proposals could jeopardize children's health and safety. And some teachers say the reporting requirements force educators to betray the trust of their students or risk losing their job.

            The lawyer for the family of a Virginia man fatally shot by police after he allegedly stole a pair of sunglasses called the death “an execution.” Timothy McCree Johnson's family and their lawyer viewed body camera video of the shooting for the first time Wednesday. The Fairfax County Police Department shared the footage with them nearly a month after two officers ran after Johnson and then shot him outside one of the busiest malls in northern Virginia. Attorney Carl Crews said nothing in the video shows anything to explain officers' justification for opening fire. Police plan to release the video to the public Thursday. No criminal charges have yet been filed.

              Pay is notoriously low for school support staff who shuttle America’s children to schools, feed them in cafeterias and provide classroom assistance to students who need the most help. School support staffers earn, on average, about $25,000 a year in Los Angeles, barely enough to get by in one of the expensive cities in America. The pay is a driving factor behind a three-day strike that has shut down the entire Los Angeles school system and put a spotlight on the paltry pay of support staff that serves as the backbone of schools nationwide.

                Authorities say two inmates in a Virginia jail used primitive tools to create a hole in the wall of their cell and escape and were found hours later at an IHOP restaurant nearby. A statement from the Newport News Sheriff’s Office says the inmates exploited a construction design weakness and used tools made from a toothbrush and a metal object to access to untied rebars between the walls. Officials say they then used the rebar, escaped from the cell and scaled an outside wall. They were discovered missing Monday evening but were taken into custody again early Tuesday after patrons at an IHOP called police.

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                Content by Salem Tourism. For pickers and antiques aficionados, everything old is new again, and there’s certainly plenty of charming territory to explore in the welcoming town of Salem on the northwest outskirts of Roanoke, Virginia.

                On Tuesday, the Danville Police Department hosted a community walk on Arnett Boulevard. Officials said neighbors were "very responsive" as officers reminded the residents to keep valuables locked away and out of sight of vehicles to prevent theft, an problem that's increased in recent months…

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