Va. moves to restore civil rights to felons

Va. moves to restore civil rights to felons

RICHMOND, Va.

The door opened Monday for tens of thousands of nonviolent felons in Virginia to regain the right to vote, with state officials outlining steps each will have to take to recapture their basic civil rights.

Gov. Bob McDonnell has said up to 100,000 disenfranchised felons ultimately could be added to the voter rolls, serve on a jury or hold political office.

“For past offenders, our goal is to grant civil rights back to as many as possible,” McDonnell said in a statement. “This is the right thing to do for all Virginians to help make the commonwealth a safer and better place.”

2 more bodies found in wreckage

LAC-MEGANTIC, Quebec

Police have recovered two more bodies in the wreckage of a runaway oil train’s explosive derailment that killed 50 people in a Quebec town.

Provincial police Inspector Michel Forget said Monday that 37 bodies have been recovered and 13 remain missing.

The coroner’s office says two more bodies have been identified, bringing the total of those identified to 11.

The unmanned train hurtled down a seven-mile incline July 6, derailed and ignited. All but one of its 73 cars was carrying oil, and at least five exploded, destroying the downtown of Lac-Megantic.

The train was owned by Montreal, Maine & Atlantic railway.

Parish priest Steve Lemay says a memorial Mass for the victims will take place July 27.

Woman sentenced in Rwanda fraud

CONCORD, N.H.

A federal judge sentenced a New Hampshire woman Monday to the maximum 10 years in prison for lying about her role in the 1994 Rwanda genocide, saying the United States cannot be a haven for those who slaughter out of hatred and ignorance.

Rwanda native Beatrice Munyenyezi declined her right to address the court after U.S. District Judge Steven McAuliffe imposed her sentence.

Munyenyezi, 43, was convicted in February of entering the United States and securing citizenship by lying about her role as a commander of one of the notorious roadblocks where Tutsis were singled out for slaughter. She also denied affiliation with any political party, despite her husband’s leadership role in the extremist Hutu militia party.

Giant panda has twins at Ga. zoo

ATLANTA

A giant panda named Lun Lun gave birth Monday at Zoo Atlanta to two tiny cubs, the first twin pandas born in the United States since 1987, zoo spokeswoman Keisha Hines announced.

The 15-year-old panda went into labor Monday afternoon and gave birth to the first cub at 6:21 p.m. and the second two minutes later. Hines said zookeepers who had been anticipating only one cub based on a recent ultrasound were surprised by the firs twin panda births at Zoo Atlanta.

Manning lawyers to judge: Drop charge

FORT MEADE, Md.

Lawyers for the Army private who leaked a trove of classified government documents urged a judge Monday to dismiss a charge he aided the enemy, saying prosecutors failed to prove Pfc. Bradley Manning intended for the information to fall into enemy hands.

The charge is the most serious and carries the most severe punishment — life in prison — in the case against Manning, who has acknowledged sending hundreds of thousands of documents to the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks.

Associated Press