(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…

(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.

(Danville, Va.) — Patton Street between Craghead and Lynn streets is now closed to through traffic to allow for the start of a storm water drainage project that will affect traffic for six months or more.

The project not only will affect traffic, but Danville bus routes as well.

Danville Transit has established a detour of certain routes due to the construction.

The project will relocate storm water drainage that will be installed along Patton Street in front of the Municipal Building and the James F. Ingram Courthouse.

The project will be conducted in five phases. In the first phase, no through traffic will be allowed between Craghead and Lynn streets. Lynn and Market streets will remain open during this phase, which is expected to take one month to complete, weather permitting. (Photo: Richard T. Davis)