(FORT BRAGG, N.C.) (AP) — Legal experts say Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl’s brutal captivity by Taliban allies carried significant weight in a judge’s decision to spare him prison time for leaving his post in Afghanistan.

Criticism by President Donald Trump also appeared to push the judge toward leniency.

Army Col. Jeffery Nance didn’t explain how he formulated his sentence that also included a dishonorable discharge. But the judge had to consider complex arguments for and against leniency.

Prosecutors unsuccessfully fought for a prison sentence. They cited soldiers who were injured when they searched for Bergdahl. But the defense argued that Bergdahl had suffered enough. He spent five years as a captive of the Taliban and also suffered from mental illnesses.

Former Army lawyer Eric Carpenter says an unusual amount of factors were in Bergdahl’s favor.

President Donald Trump called the sentence “a disgrace.”

 

15-year-old suffers gunshot wound to the chest

(Danville, Va.) — A Danville teenager was shot in the chest Friday night. Danville Police were called to SOVAH Health just before 10 p.m. after receiving a report of a gunshot victim. The 15-year-old was transferred to the hospital by private vehicle. He was later taken by helicopter to Carilion Roanoke Memorial, where he is…

 
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Facebook to locate data center in Henrico County

(Richmond, Va.) (AP) — Facebook plans to build a massive new data center in Virginia.

The social media giant announced Thursday that it selected a spot in Henrico County, just outside Richmond, to build a new $750 million foot data center.

Company officials said it would be one of the most advanced and energy-efficient data centers in the world.

Facebook is partnering with electric utility Dominion Energy to offset the energy used by the data center with power produced by new solar installations around the state. Dominion said it will file a new energy rate with state regulators later this month.

Facebook will be eligible for millions of dollars in state and local tax breaks for the new project, which officials said will create thousands of construction jobs and 100 full-time employees when complete.

 
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Lawsuit over Confederate statues moves forward

(Charlottesville, Va.) — A judge in Virginia says a lawsuit over Charlottesville’s plans to remove a Confederate statue should go forward.

Judge Richard Moore ruled against the city’s request to drop the lawsuit.

A group of plaintiffs sued after Charlottesville’s City Council voted earlier this year to remove a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. Among other things, they say doing so would violate a state law that protects memorials for war veterans.

Controversy over the statue sparked an August rally of white nationalists that descended into violent chaos. Charlottesville has since shrouded the monument with a black shroud as a symbol of mourning for the woman who was killed.

The city council has also since voted to remove another statue of Confederate Gen. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson.

 

 

 
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