In other news

Local

The statue of M.W. “Teedy” Thornhill, Lynchburg’s first black mayor, was unveiled Aug. 19 to honor the legacy and accomplishments he made during his time in office. Thornhill was elected to city council in 1976 and then served as mayor from 1990 to 1992. 

According to The City of Lynchburg website, Thornhill was a prominent civil rights activist, was president of the Lynchburg Voter’s League for over 40 years and owned Community Funeral Home. 

The statue’s development began in 2015, and $70,000 was raised to finish the project, according to ABC 13 News. The statue stands at the roundabout on Fifth Street, where the funeral home he owned is located. 

Thornhill died in 2016 at 95 years old after battling an ongoing illness. 

According to WDBJ7, his wife, Frances Scruggs Thornhill, said, “I have no words to adequately express how we feel, but I will be reminting if I did not make an attempt so thank you, thank you, thank you.”

State

The U.S. government is battling RMS Titanic, Inc. due to the company’s planned expedition to retrieve historical items from the Titanic. 

The dispute is being held in the U.S. district court in Norfolk, Virginia, which oversees Titanic salvage affairs. According to the RMS Titanic, Inc. website, in 1994, the U.S. federal court granted the company the sole right to recover artifacts from the wreck. 

The government’s issue with this planned retrieval is due to a pact signed in 2019 with Britain. 

The treaty states, “Mindful that further, if not properly regulated, risk disturbing the remains of those for whom the RMS Titanic is their final resting place and the integrity of the wreck and its reminding artifacts.” 

The U.S. argues engaging with the Titanic is regulated by federal law and the treaty, and that doing so will possibly disturb the artifacts and possible human remains, according to AP News.

National

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has detected two new variants of the coronavirus labeled BA.2.86 and EG.5, which have been on the rise in the United States for several weeks. 

According to data from the CDC, the week of Aug. 19 ended with more than 15,000 cases, and the number continues to increase. 

Regarding the BA.2.86 variant, the CDC website states, “It is too soon to know whether this variant might cause more severe illness compared with previous variants.” 

The CDC adds that the majority of the U.S. has antibodies either from the vaccine, previous infection of the virus, or both. 

Denny is a news reporter for the Liberty Champion