CHESAPEAKE, Va. (WAVY) -- Where should you turn if you've been harmed by a doctor? What should you do if reporting that harm leads to a dead end?
A dead end is where women found themselves after filing complaints against Dr. Javaid Perwaiz —women like Susan Anderson, who began seeing the obstetrician-gynecologist in the late 1980s.
Perwaiz diagnosed Anderson with precancerous cells in her uterus because she was bleeding between menstrual cycles. The OB-GYN performed six procedures on her to treat the precancerous cells before giving her a partial hysterectomy in 1988. When Anderson's symptoms continued after the surgery, she sought a second opinion. Her new OB-GYN confirmed the worst: The partial hysterectomy was unnecessary, and the other surgeries she'd endured left the lining of her uterus "paper thin."
In 1991, Perwaiz sent Anderson a medical bill for $1,140. When she didn't pay, Perwaiz sued her in Chesapeake Circuit Court and won. As part of the lawsuit, Anderson wrote a letter to the circuit court judge. The letter was a cry for help — a plea for someone to step in and take a closer look at Perwaiz.
"I do not feel that I owe Dr. Perwaiz the $1,140.00 he states I owe him because the surgeries performed by Dr. Perwaiz on myself were not only unnecessary, but irreversible," Anderson wrote to the judge.
"I hope that the courts will look at all of the evidence presented and come to the same conclusion that I have. Dr. Perwaiz is a disgrace to his profession and has taken advantage of trusting women for too long," Anderson continued. "Between the monies paid him by myself and the insurance companies, I feel he has been paid very well indeed for ruining my life."
Anderson wrote a similar letter to the Virginia Board of Medicine on June 4, 1991. She asked the agency to investigate Perwaiz but said she never got a response.
"Didn't get a response. Nothing was done. That's the sad part, and all these other people have suffered beause of it," Anderson said.
Twenty-eight years would pass between Anderson's letters to the Chesapeake Circuit Court judge and the Virginia Board of Medicine before authorities would step in to remove the scalpel from Perwaiz' hands. The OB-GYN was arrested in November 2019 after a nurse raised the same types of concerns Anderson had to the FBI. A year later, a federal jury convicted Perwaiz of performing unnecessary surgeries on procedures on unsuspecting women to profit off of a health insurance fraud scheme.
Anderson wasn't the first, or the last, person to raise questions about Perwaiz' medical judgment. 10 On Your Side investigators discovered that in the decades before his arrest, patients and a local hospital reported Perwaiz to the Virginia Board of Medicine, women filed lawsuits against him in Portsmouth and Chesapeake, nurses raised concerns about him to their supervisors at Chesapeake Regional Medical Center and Bon Secours Health Center at Harbour View, and an insurance company audit labeled him an extreme outlier compared to his peers.
Despite a long list of red flags, Perwaiz continued to practice and profit for nearly 40 years, with only one minor blip — a brief suspension of his license in 1996 after he pleaded guilty to federal tax evasion.
The long list of complaints our investigators discovered left us with a question: Could healthcare authorities have stopped Perwaiz before the FBI stepped in?
"This is a failure of action, and many patients had to pay the price," said Azza AbuDagga, who earned a doctorate degree in health policy and administration from Pennsylvania State University.
AbuDagga has been a health services researcher for the nonprofit consumer advocacy organization, Public Citizen, since 2013. Public Citizen has published 38 reports on healthcare provider discipline and oversight since 1997.
10 On Your Side investigators spoke with AbuDagga and her colleague, Public Citizen's Health Research Group Co-founder Dr. Sidney Wolfe, about the warning signs that permeated Perwaiz' career. The experts agreed that the issues that allowed Perwaiz to flourish are systemic problems in regulating the healthcare system.
"Although this is sad and disheartening, unfortunately, it is not uncommon. We've seen from the work that we've been doing that some physicians can keep practicing, and they can sort of go through the cracks in the healthcare system, and that's due to failures we have in terms of the way the medical profession self-regulates itself," AbuDagga said.
Wolfe said that one way the healthcare industry regulates doctors is through the National Practitioner Data Bank, which was established by U.S. Congress in 1986. The database contains three types of information about doctors: payouts from medical malpractice lawsuits, board of medicine actions, and hospital disciplinary actions that last 30 days or longer.
The problem? The public doesn't have access to the National Practitioner Data Bank. Only insurance companies and hospitals can access the data.
"It's a good question why it is not made public," Wolfe said. "If it were, these kinds of problems would not drag on for 10 or 20 or 30 or 40 years, because people would not knowingly go to a doctor who has been found to do these kinds of things."
Wolfe said that Congress has the power to make the National Practitioner Data Bank public, but the American Medical Association is determined not to let that happen.
The agencies with the most power to hold doctors accountable are state medical boards, AbuDagga and Wolfe said. But even those agencies have limitations. Both experts said that state boards of medicine are generally comprised of physicians, creating a conflict of interest because doctors are expected to regulate each other.
"The medical board is comprised mostly of physicians who are members of the state medical associations," AbuDagga said. "The culture that prevails is that they're willing to gently slap the physician on their hands for wrongdoing."
The Virginia Board of Medicine is the agency charged with licensing and regulating doctors in the commonwealth. The Virginia Board of Medicine is made up of 18 governor-appointed Virginians. Most of them are doctors who have different specialties and come from different parts of the state.
10 On Your Side investigators attempted to go directly to the Virginia Board of Medicine for answers about Perwaiz.
Our investigators began contacting the Virginia Board of Medicine about Perwaiz in early December 2019, just weeks after the OB-GYN was arrested. In several emails, we requested information about the board's process when complaints are filed, copies of transcripts from hearings that the Virginia Board of Medicine held in connection to hearings about Perwaiz, and an on-camera interview with the agency.
Virginia Department of Health Professions spokesperson Diane Powers provided 10 On Your Side investigators with documents that were already publicly available on the Virginia Board of Medicine's website and declined WAVY's request for an on-camera interview.
In February 2020, 10 On Your Side investigators Jason Marks and Kevin Romm drove to Richmond to attend one of the Virginia Board of Medicine's quarterly meetings. Their goal was to speak with the Board president about why WAVY's interview was declined, but the journalists were stonewalled.
"I answered you yesterday," Powers told Marks in a confrontation captured on camera. "I told you that we respectfully decline the invitation."
"Right, so I'm here to talk with the board to ask the president of the Board why we were declined an opportunity to talk to someone from the board, which is a public entity," Marks told Powers.
Powers declined several more interview requests from WAVY journalists. She said that the Virginia Board of Medicine is prohibited by law from expanding on any Order of the Board. 10 On Your Side investigators also asked Powers about requesting copies of complaints about Perwaiz that were made by the Virginia Board of Medicine. She said that complaints against physicians are kept confidential.
There are only two public complaints against Perwaiz on the Virginia Board of Medicine's website. These are two incidents in which the Virginia Board of Medicine took adverse action against the OB-GYN.
One public record was filed in 1996 when the Virginia Board of Medicine suspended Perwaiz' medical license for less than six months after he pleaded guilty to federal tax evasion. He claimed that luxury cars were actually expenses for his medical practice.
The other public record was filed in 1984 after Maryview Hospital accused Perwaiz of performing unnecessary hysterectomies on more than a dozen women and having sex with one of his patients. Perwaiz received a slap on the wrist: The Virginia Board of Medicine censored him for bad recordkeeping and "lack of judgment" in his sexual relationship with his patient. On the latter issue, the Virginia Board of Medicine advised him to "use more discretion in the future."
Virginia Del. Steve Heretick, who is not a physician, served on the Virginia Board of Medicine from 2003 until 2014. He became the president of the Virginia Board of Medicine in 2007, and was the first non-physician in that role. Heretick is also the state representative for the parts of Portsmouth and Chesapeake where Perwaiz practiced.
Heretick spoke with 10 On Your Side after several chapters of "The Patients v. Perwaiz" were released on WAVY.com. He is the only former member of the Virginia Board of Medicine who granted our investigators an interview.
Heretick said that the Virginia Board of Medicine licenses about 75,000 healthcare workers and receives about 2,000 complaints about physicians each year. Some of them are simple — patients who are upset because they had to wait too long for their doctors. Others are more complicated, like patients who make malpractice allegations against physicians. All complaints are looked at by an investigative team that reports to the Virginia Board of Medicine, Heretick said.
Heretick was not on the Virginia Board of Medicine on the dates that 10 On Your Side discovered some patients and a local hospital filed formal complaints against Perwaiz.
10 On Your Side questioned Heretick about the Virginia Board of Medicine's decision to simply reprimand Perwaiz in 1984. He called the decision "appalling" and said that founded allegations as serious as the ones made by Maryview Hospital would be met with harsher punishment by the current Virginia Board of Medicine.
"The types of problems that are listed here, and there are many, including many, many patients, including allegations that the doctor was engaged in sexual contact with a patient — any one of these violations today would be grounds for revocation of the doctor's license," Heretick said.
Heretick said the current Virginia Board of Medicine is governed by different rules and leadership than the one that reprimanded Perwaiz nearly 40 years ago, but he is concerned that the Board did not pay more attention to the OB-GYN given the red flags in his history.
"It is a huge disappointment to me, both as a former member of the Board of Medicine and as a legislator in the Commonwealth of Virginia today, that we have anyone like this practicing," Heretick said.
Heretick provided clarity on why the Virginia Board of Medicine could not issue an emergency suspension of Perwaiz' medical license in 2019 when approached about it by federal prosecutors who were investigating the OB-GYN. He said that the Virginia Board of Medicine is required to see evidence against a physician before suspending a doctor's license, but prosecutors were not willing to share it with the agency.
"If the Board of Medicine had simply acted unilaterally on the say-so or the request of the United States attorney, Dr. Perwaiz would have certainly, would have been well within his rights to appeal any decision by the board to a circuit court, which almost surely have reinstated his license, because again there was no evidence given to the board which supported these allegations," Heretick said.
10 On Your Side asked the U.S. Department of Justice why it declined to share evidence with the Virginia Board of Medicine, but have not received a response to that question. In a January interview, federal prosecutor Elizabeth Yusi said that the Virginia Board of Medicine's decision not to issue an emergency suspension of Perwaiz' medical license in 2019 forced her office's hand.
Federal authorities decided to arrest Perwaiz to ensure he would not be able to perform surgeries on women while they completed their investigation into the OB-GYN.
In the first eight chapters of "The Patients v. Perwaiz," 10 On Your Side investigators laid out the red flags that permeated Perwaiz' career, including several complaints to the Virginia Board of Medicine, a written warning to Chesapeake Regional Medical Center by Maryview Hospital after the facility took away his privileges in the wake of the unnecessary hysterectomies in the 1980s, several nurses who said they reported Perwaiz to their superiors at local hospitals, and an Optima Healthcare audit that labeled the OB-GYN an outlier compared to his peers.
Over his nearly 40-year career, officials never took serious action against Perwaiz despite resurfacing red flags. Those few disciplinary actions issued by the Virginia Board of Medicine did not stop the OB-GYN from practicing medicine for any substantial period of time.
"Clearly there were red flags all over. This physician shouldn't have been able to maintain his practice for so long," AbuDagga said.
Ultimately, Perwaiz was stopped by the federal government in 2019 and convicted for the health insurance fraud scheme by a jury a year later. The government's case against him spanned 10 years due to limitations in their ability to obtain medical records, but in an unusual move, prosecutors put out a call for victim impact statements from any patient or colleague who believes they were impacted by Perwaiz' crimes.
"I would say that he hurt a lot of people, a lot of innocent people, that put their trust in him, and believed in him, because that's what we are supposed to do. He hurt so many people. He really needs to ask for their forgiveness, and he needs to spend a lot of time alone with God," Anderson said.
CHESAPEAKE, Va. (WAVY) -- If you are a fan of drive-in movie theaters, you're in luck.
One man enjoyed drive-in theaters so much as a child, he just opened up his own in Chesapeake.
For years, the land off of 3064 Yadkin Road in Chesapeake has been used for paintball.
But the owner, Bobby Weeks, saw another use for the land: the new Chesapeake Family Movie Park, a drive-in movie theater.
Since October of last year, they have been working to build the 40-foot screen where families can drive up and watch the latest movies.
“Because of the pandemic, and what we got here is called social distancing at its best. You sit in the car with your family and enjoy a nice movie. We do have a concession stand out here and we only sell prepackaged food," said Tim Lemon, a spokesman for the new business.
The lot fits about 100 cars.
Lemon says, with many theatres being closed and it starting to get warmer out, he wanted to add something to his community that he used to enjoy as a kid.
“My parents used to hide us in the trunks underneath covers so people wouldn’t see us in the car. So if you been looked in the back on the truck you would have found me back there.”
No need to hide this time. For $30 per car, you and your family can pack in and visit the Chesapeake drive-in movie park.
“We also have the FM transmitter. The FM transmitter means you can take and listen to the movie right in your car just turn it to our station, which is 89.7 and you can hear the whole movie," he said.
Military, seniors and first responders get discounts. Lemon says they are hoping to show comedy shows or small concerts in the future.
“It’s great for date night. Girls night out, boy's night out, family night out, so pack your cars and SUVs," he added.
Movie's play on Friday and Saturday evenings at 7:45 p.m.. This week, "Croods 2" is playing.
(NEXSTAR) -- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday that COVID-19 was the third leading cause of death in the United States in 2020.
The preliminary data, released Wednesday, estimates that the COVID-19 pandemic caused about 375,000 American deaths in 2020.
Ahead of COVID-19 were heart disease, which killed 690,000 people last year, and cancer, which killed 598,000, the CDC said.
COVID-19 increased the overall death rate in the country as well. From 2019 to 2020, the estimated death rate increased by 15.9%, from 715.2 to 828.7 deaths per 100,000 population.
Black people and American Indians had the highest age-adjusted death rates, and there were more reported deaths among men than women.
COVID-19 was especially fatal for a handful of groups, including males, adults ages 85 and up, American Indians, Alaska Natives and Hispanics.
It's possible the death rate from COVID-19 is higher, as some deaths may not have been correctly reported, especially at the start of the pandemic.
RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- Five years ago today, Virginia State Police Trooper Chad Dermyer was gunned down while on duty at the Greyhound Bus Station in Richmond. It’s a day Dermyer’s State Police Unit will never forget and for Dermyer’s father, it was the worst day of his life.
"I wish I could forget that day,” said John Dermyer.
Today, John Dermyer wears a shirt with his son's badge number 756 every single day.
The father of the fallen state trooper said he has about 200 of them.
"I figured I am going to wear them every day until the day I die," He said. "I have a lot of pride in what Chad did in his short life."
37-year-old Trooper Chad Dermyer was at the Greyhound Bus Station participating in a classroom training designed to teach troopers how to detect suspicious activity when he was shot and killed.
"The first shot that was fired was directly at the Trooper,” said State Police Spokesperson Corinne Geller said on scene that day.
Dermyer, who had just joined the department's counter-terrorism unit, had only been talking with a man, who we now know had a lengthy criminal record, for a few minutes before he pulled out a gun and shot the trooper.
"This is one of the saddest days in the City of Richmond that I have ever seen,” said Richmond City Councilwoman Reva Trammell that day.
The loss of Dermyer weighs heavy at the Virginia State Police Headquarters in Richmond.
"Five years is a significant anniversary, but really we don't ever forget about him,” said State Police Captain Cliff Kincaid.
Kincaid drove Dermyer's car back from the bus station and parked it in front of State Police Headquarters in the trooper's memory. Law enforcement and community members placed flowers on the car, turning it into a makeshift memorial.
Dermyer’s portrait now hangs in the State Police Memorial Gallery. Kincaid remembered when Dermyer first interviewed for the counter-terrorism unit. He said he was so approachable that he really stood out.
"He's all we were talking about for two months," "Kincaid said. "He made such a good impression everybody couldn't wait for him to come to the unit."
Shortly after graduating from the State Police Academy, Dermyer pulled over a mustang. His intuition led to the arrest of Tonya Slaton and the discovery of her son's remains. He had been missing for more than a decade. Slaton later pled guilty to voluntary manslaughter.
Dermyer’s father remembers when he made that arrest. He said, "He called me right after he figured out what was going on in that."
Kincaid said. "He saw a stain or something or a bleach spot in the backseat of the car and it just didn't ring right. He had skills to know that a situation maybe just wasn't right,” said Kincaid.
The Trooper and former Newport News Police Officer, known for his big smile, loved to interact with the community and play ball with the neighborhood kids. Family and fellow officers share stories of him buying candy bars for children with their parent’s permission. Kincaid told 8News he just seemed to understand people and have the ability to communicate with them as well.
After his death, there was an outpouring of support from the community. A Richmond company put up a billboard in his memory. T-shirts bearing his name raised more than $100,000 dollars for Dermyer’s family. He left behind a wife and two kids.
In 2017, a Newport News bridge was renamed after the fallen trooper. Thousands attended his funeral to remember a life taken too soon.
"The state of Virginia through that whole thing was absolutely phenomenal,” said Dermyer’s Dad.
He said he now has about 2,000 Facebook friends just from Virginia so he can see why his son loved the state.
Dermyer's dad also told us his grandkids, Chad’s children, are living with a new normal.
GLOUCESTER, Va. (WAVY) -- A Gloucester family is turning to the community for help getting their loved one home.
Corena Chambers, the woman brutally attacked by her husband last year, will soon be out of the hospital.
Corena’s family said she’s come a long way but her journey is far from over. They’re in need of a wheelchair-accessible vehicle so they can continue her care.
It’s been nine months since Corena nearly lost her life, and it’s a day her family will never forget. Corena was found severely beaten in their home on Aberdeen Creek Drive back in July.
Sixty-year-old Dennis Chambers pleaded guilty to the brutal attack and the death of their infant daughter in February. He’s awaiting sentencing.
Her mother and brother, Lou and Johnny Musick, described the months since the attack as a living nightmare.
“It’s just been rough,” Johnny Musick said.
The 25-year-old mother’s road to recovery has been intense.
“She’s had two strokes, one right after brain surgery that’s currently left her in about the state that she’s in now -- paralyzed on her right side,” Johnny Musick said.
After months in hospitals and rehabilitation facilities, Corena is finally getting released soon.
However, she’ll need around-the-clock care, and the family is facing one more obstacle: finding the wheelchair-accessible vehicle.
“To get her back and forth to all of her doctor's appointments and taking her places she wants to go,” Johnny Musick said.
The family said a wheelchair-accessible vehicle could be as much as $40,000. They started an online fundraiser to offset the cost.
The family is hopeful the community can help bring Corena home. In the meantime, they’re grateful a new chapter is on the horizon.
“She defeated the odds on that,” Lou Musick said. “Thank you everybody who prayed for her.”
We’re told Corena is expected to be released sometime in the next two weeks.
If you’d like to help, click here.
SUFFOLK, Va. (WAVY) -- Police and fire-rescue crews responded to a crash involving a vehicle and Amtrak train Wednesday night in downtown Suffolk.
Suffolk officials said the crash happened around 6:30 p.m. in the 100 block of Pinner Street and East Washington Street in downtown Suffolk.
Just before 7 p.m., Amtrak officials said service on the Amtrak train had been temporarily suspended after it "came into contact" with a vehicle on the track.
The train was heading to Norfolk.
The woman driving the passenger car involved in the crash received emergency medical assessment by Suffolk Fire & Rescue at the scene. She did not need to be taken to a hospital, and was the sole occupant of the car.
Amtrak said there were no reported injuries to passengers or crew members.
There was no derailment, and that is the only crossing that was affected. The crossing was expected to reopen "shortly," officials said around 7 p.m.
Investigations by Amtrak and Suffolk first responders are underway.
Stay with WAVY.com for updates.
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) -- A judge has ruled that Virginia Beach's current voting system -- in which everyone can vote for all City Council and school board members regardless of what district they live in -- violates the Federal Voting Rights Act of 1965.
The judge ruled Wednesday that the system "denies Hispanics, African Americans, and Asians equal access to the electoral and political process."
The ruling instructs the city to stop using the existing at-large voting system.
The judge's ruling comes after Gov. Ralph Northam signed Virginia Beach Del. Kelly Convirs-Fowler’s H.B. 2198, which would start in 2022 and makes it so voters will only elect two or three council members and school board members every other year under the new system — unless City Council asks the General Assembly to switch them to an all-at-large system.
The two sides of the federal case -- the City of Virginia Beach and residents Latasha Holloway and Georgia Allen -- will now reappear in court to decide if the judge will rule on a specific type of replacement system that's different than the one the state-imposed through recent legislation.
"We are reviewing the court's decision. The City attorney will brief the city council in closed session on Tuesday," a city spokeswoman said.
Residents and groups, from the NAACP to the Tea Party, have lobbied council to change the unique system for years.
Allen and Holloway filed the complaint about the voting system originally in 2017. They said the system that's been in place for the last 50 years violates the Voting Rights Act of 1965 because it “has the effect of diluting or minimizing ‘minority voting strength’ and was adopted to “promote racially discriminatory objectives.”
In filing the legislation for the 2021 General Assembly session, Fowler argued that the system that allowed voters in the city to vote for all 11 council members -- even though seven of them represent specific districts -- “disenfranchises voters” because a candidate could currently have the support of all the people in the district they represent, but lose the election.
However, those in the business, tourism and agriculture communities in Virginia Beach have fought to keep the system of the past 50 years in place. Under that system, they had the ear of all members of council, but under the new district system, they would only have five.
Stay with WAVY.com for updates.
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (WAVY) -- Some walk, some ride bikes, and others catch a ride with friends. With little advanced publicity, patients in severe pain are showing up at the new dental clinic inside the Riverside Primary Care Clinic on 25th Street in downtown Newport News.
Riverside shares space with the Community Free Clinic of Newport News which offers dental care for those without insurance. The new practice is operated by Dr. Richard Sweeney, a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Dentistry alum who specializes in treatment for at-risk patients.
In other words: no appointment, no problem. Under the Riverside Health System-based model, no one is ever turned away.
"People are coming in off the streets quite literally saying 'Please, please, please help me.' All too often, a person will come into our office and they haven't seen a dentist in over 30 years; back when their parents took them," said Sweeney.
His practice, with one treatment room, covers patients who have Medicare, Medicaid, or other insurance.
When many of his patients open their mouths for an examination, he sees up close what happens when health is neglected from head to toe.
"You take a look at someone's mouth you see grossly decayed teeth; you see fugal infections. You see chronic gingivitis, bleeding, and oral cancer at its worst. These are all indicators that someone has not been part of the health system," said Sweeney.
Because the clinic is connected to the Riverside Health System, Sweeney can quickly connect patients with specialists who treat chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, and cancer.
"Uncontrolled diabetes, untreated diabetes, cardiovascular diseases -- all kinds of diseases -- where the risk factors show themselves in the mouth.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, 40% of low-income, working-age adults, have untreated tooth decay. Sweeney wants patients to know dental problems such as an abscess can kill.
"A single bacteria can go from your mouth all the way to your heart and travel around your body, so please do not ignore dental care because the rest of your body is counting on you," said Sweeney.
Dental services are offered Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at 727 25th Street, Newport News, Virginia, 23607.
To schedule an appointment call 757-316-5210.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon on Wednesday will sweep away Trump-era policies that largely banned transgender people from serving in the military, issuing new rules that offer them wider access to medical care and assistance with gender transition, defense officials told The Associated Press.
The new department regulations allow transgender people who meet military standards to enlist and serve openly in their self-identified gender, and they will be able to get medically necessary transition-related care authorized by law, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal decisions not yet made public.
The changes come after a two-month Pentagon review aimed at developing guidelines for the new policy, which was announced by President Joe Biden just days after he took office in January.
Biden's executive order overturned the Trump policy and immediately prohibited any service member from being forced out of the military on the basis of gender identity. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin then gave the Pentagon two months to finalize the more detailed regulations that the military services will follow.
The new rules also prohibit discrimination based on gender identity. Their expected release Wednesday coincides with International Transgender Day of Visibility.
Austin has also called for a reexamination of the records of service members who were discharged or denied reenlistment because of gender identity issues under the previous policy. Results of that review have not been released.
Until a few years ago, service members could be discharged from the military for being transgender, but that changed during the Obama administration. In 2016, the Pentagon announced that transgender people already serving in the military would be allowed to serve openly, and that by July 2017, they would be allowed to enlist.
After Donald Trump took office, however, his administration delayed the enlistment date and called for additional study. A few weeks later, Trump caught military leaders by surprise, tweeting that the government wouldn’t accept or allow transgender people to serve “in any capacity” in the military.
After a lengthy and complicated legal battle and additional reviews, the Defense Department in April 2019 approved a policy that fell short of an all-out ban but barred transgender troops and recruits from transitioning to another sex and required most individuals to serve in what the administration called their “birth gender.”
Under that policy, currently serving transgender troops and anyone who had signed an enlistment contract before the effective date could continue with plans for hormone treatments and gender transition if they had been diagnosed with gender dysphoria.
But after that date, no one with gender dysphoria who was taking hormones or had transitioned to another gender was allowed to enlist. Troops that were already serving and were diagnosed with gender dysphoria were required to serve in the gender assigned at birth and were barred from taking hormones or getting transition surgery.
The new policies being released Wednesday are similar to those developed in 2016.
As of 2019, an estimated 14,700 troops on active duty and in the reserves identify as transgender, but not all seek treatment. There are more than 1.3 million active-duty troops and close to 800,000 in the National Guard and Reserves.
Since July 2016, more than 1,500 service members were diagnosed with gender dysphoria; as of Feb. 1, 2019, there were 1,071 currently serving. According to the Pentagon, the department spent about $8 million on transgender care from 2016 to 2019. The military’s annual health care budget tops $50 billion.
All four service chiefs told Congress in 2018 that they had seen no discipline, morale or unit readiness problems with transgender troops serving openly in the military. But they also acknowledged that some commanders were spending a lot of time with transgender people who were working through medical requirements and other transition issues.
HAMPTON ROADS, Va. (WAVY) -- Organizations and advocates throughout Virginia, including in Hampton Roads, will be hosting multiple events Wednesday to recognize the 12th Annual International Transgender Day of Visibility.
Transgender Day of Visibility celebrates transgender and non-binary individuals and uplifts the community’s triumphs, contributions and resilience. The day brings attention to the discrimination facing the community, while recognizing transgender and non-binary people’s successes.
“This day is important because it’s essential that we visibly honor and celebrate the brilliance and beauty of the transgender community, but it’s also a call to action because trans and non-binary Virginians, especially Black and brown trans women, continue to face discrimination and violence." said Vee Lamneck, Equality Virginia Executive Director. "This day is both a celebration and a reminder of why we must continue to fight for a safer and more welcoming Virginia.”
One of the events, called Transgender Day of Visibility 2021 will be held virtually from 11 a.m. to noon and again from 7-8 p.m.
Another event, Transgender Day of Visibility, is an in-person event that will be held at the Southeastern Transgender Resource Center at 3519 Colley Avenue in Norfolk from 12-7 p.m.
For more information, click on this link.
CHESAPEAKE, Va. (WAVY) -- The Chesapeake Health Department will start phase 1c of COVID-19 vaccinations on Wednesday.
The health department says it will still prioritize people in phases 1a and 1b, but they're excited to be able to expand availability to even more people.
Phase 1c includes more essential workers such as those in food service, utilities, legal services, media and more.
Supply is still limited however, but if you're in 1c and pre-registered, you'll be contacted by the health department.
Shots should opening to the general public soon after. President Biden says 90% of adult Americans will be eligible for a shot come April 19.
For more stories and resources on the vaccine, visit WAVY's vaccination page.
WASHINGTON (NewsNation Now) — President Joe Biden will unveil the first phase of his “Build Back Better” package Wednesday that would unleash $2 trillion in new spending on four main hard infrastructure categories — transportation; public water, health and broadband systems; community care for seniors; and innovation research and development.
The president is set to deliver a speech in Pittsburgh Wednesday afternoon outlining the size and scope of his plan. NewsNation will livestream the speech in the player above.
Biden says his proposal for a series of infrastructure investments would require $2 trillion in spending over eight years but could create millions of jobs.
Funding for the plan will come from raising the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28%, the people familiar with the proposal said, which would unwind the lower corporate rate put in place by the Trump administration.
At a private briefing Tuesday for the top lawmakers of both parties, the administration shared plans for the first phase with Democratic committee chairmen and the top Republicans on the panels. The details were provided by people familiar with the call and granted anonymity to discuss it.
The White House team led by National Economic Council Director Brian Deese explained that the $2 trillion in spending would unfold over eight years, paid for by the corporate tax increases over 15 years.
That's an accounting maneuver outside of the traditional 10-year budget window used by Congress, meaning it will likely run into trouble with budget rules and will need to be adjusted.
The next phase would focus on soft infrastructure investments in child care, family tax credits and other domestic programs, paid for by tax hikes on wealthy individuals and families.
Funding Biden’s infrastructure initiative with tax hikes has been controversial. Raising the corporate tax rate would generate some $700 billion over 10 years, one of the people at the private briefing said. Biden promised on the campaign trail not to raise individual taxes on those earning less than $400,000 but new details on the individual tax hikes were scant at Tuesday's briefing.
Even though Republicans were invited to join Tuesday’s briefing, key GOP leaders are already panning the package as too big and too costly for them to support.
“It seems like President Biden has an insatiable appetite to spend more money and raise people’s taxes,” said Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana, the GOP whip, in an interview.
Scalise predicted that, if approved, the new spending and taxes would “start having a negative impact on the economy, which we’re very concerned about.”
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the president believes there’s “more that can be done to make the corporate tax code fair, to reward work not wealth, to ensure that we can invest in the future industries that are going to help all people in this country.”
Biden's new package proposes a massive investment on par with Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal or Lyndon Johnson's Great Society.
Sweeping in scope, the ambitious plan aims to make generational investments in infrastructure, revive domestic manufacturing, combat climate change and keep the United States competitive with China, according to administration officials.
Emphasizing urgency, the administration wants to see progress on the new legislation by Memorial Day and have it passed over the summer, White House officials said.
Unlike the swift passage of the COVID-19 bill that exposed the president to criticism for going it alone with only Democratic votes, White House officials believe this time there will be far more opportunity to win some GOP support on Capitol Hill.
As the committees in Congress begin to tackle individual provisions — including those on transportation, China and others — some legislation could be peeled off for bipartisan support. Then Congress will work through the tax increases separately, according to officials.
An official at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce who insisted on anonymity to discuss the private talks said the administration is genuinely interested in working with Republicans on infrastructure, even though the tax hikes would likely be a nonstarter.
A closer look at where the money is going and where it's coming from:
— $115 billion to modernize the bridges, highways and roads that are in the worst shape. The White House outline estimated 20,000 miles (32,187 kilometers) of roadways would be repaired, while economically significant bridges and 10,000 smaller bridges would get fixed.
— $85 billion for public transit, doubling the federal government's commitment in an effort to shorten the repair backlog and expand service.
— $80 billion to modernize Amtrak's heavily trafficked Northeast Corridor line, address its repair backlog and improve freight rail.
— $174 billion to build 500,000 electric vehicle charging stations, electrify 20% of school buses and electrify the federal fleet, including U.S. Postal Service vehicles.
— $25 billion to upgrade air travel and airports and $17 billion for waterways and coastal ports.
— $20 billion to redress communities whose neighborhoods — typically nonwhite — were divided by highway projects.
— $50 billion to improve infrastructure resilience in the aftermath of natural disasters.
— $111 billion to replace lead water pipes and upgrade sewer systems.
— $100 billion to build high-speed broadband that provides 100% coverage for the country.
— $100 billion to upgrade the resilience of the power grid and move to clean electricity, among other power projects.
— $213 billion to produce, preserve and retrofit more than 2 million affordable houses and buildings.
— $100 billion to upgrade and build new schools.
— $18 billion to modernize Veterans Affairs hospitals and clinics, and $10 billion for federal buildings.
— $400 billion to expand long-term care services under Medicaid.
— $180 billion invested in research and development projects.
— $300 billion for manufacturing, including funds for the computer chip sector, improved access to capital and investment in clean energy through federal procurement.
— $100 billion for workforce development.
Biden's plan would finance projects by:
— Raising the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28%, one of the measures that over 15 years would cover the cost of the infrastructure program and then help to reduce the budget deficit.
— Imposing a 21% global minimum tax, so that companies cannot avoid taxes by shifting income to low-tax countries.
— Making it harder for businesses to merge with foreign companies to avoid U.S. taxes, a process known as inversion.
— Eliminating tax breaks for companies that shift assets abroad, and denying deductions for offshoring jobs.
— Imposing a 15% minimum tax on the income that corporations report to shareholders.
— Eliminating tax preferences for the fossil fuels sector.
— Increasing IRS audits of large corporations.
Today is the transition day. The day of change. The semicolon of the workweek. The day weather happens. The clouds thicken. The temperatures rise. Then fall. The wind gusts. The rain falls. The thunder rumbles.
That's my attempt at slam weather poetry... I'll stick to weather. A cold front is on the way and it's ready to shake things up.
After a beautiful sunrise this morning clouds will continue to thicken up. The southwesterly breeze will take us into the mid to upper 70s this afternoon! Expect a warm and balmy day. The good news, the majority of the daylight hours will be dry, it's not until early this evening that thunderstorms start to spark up.
We'll look for the radar to become active after 4pm, where showers and solid thunderstorms will take us into the evening. We are in a level 1 risk (1 out of 5) for severe weather, so do anticipate these thunderstorms to be on the stronger side. Damaging wind will be our main threat, stay weather aware! Then, as the storms move offshore, tonight rain sticks around. Low lying areas may see some rain build up.
There will be some rain around Thursday morning, but it should be slowly tapering off. What will be more notable is the winter wind that blasts in the colder air. Temperatures on Thursday should start in the low 50s before dropping into the 40s by the afternoon. Wind gusts could be upwards of 30mph out of the northwest.
However, with the colder air blasting in, comes the dry air mass. A big area of high pressure will set up shop by the time the weekend starts and as a result, expect a whole lot of sunshine. Beautiful weather expected this weekend and it should hold into next week, all while temperatures will moderate back into the 60s.
Stay safe, stay stoked! - Meteorologist Steve Fundaro
NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) -- Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam will visit the new community vaccination center in Norfolk as it opens at full capacity for appointments this week.
Northam will visit the clinic, located in the former Macy's store at 880 North Military Highway, Wednesday morning.
During his visit, Northam will tour the site and hold a media availability.
Northam's visit is not open to the public. The clinic is also vaccinating people by appointment only.
The vaccine site is run by the Federal Emergency Management Agency through a partnership with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Health and Human Services (HHS), Virginia Department of Emergency Management (VDEM), Virginia Department of Health, (VDH) and the City of Norfolk.
The city had already been using the mall as a vaccination site since early February, but that was run by the local health department and not federal partners.
Now, Volunteer Hampton Roads and FEMA are expected to administer about 3,000 doses per day at full capacity.
The Macy's site is one of several similar sites in Virginia, with others in Portsmouth, Petersburg, etc. The federal government has said the spot was selected due to its central location and other criteria such as socioeconomic status, minority status, languages, etc.
If you want to get the vaccine, you must register at https://vaccinate.virginia.gov or call 1-877-VAX-IN VA (1-877-829-4682), 8 a.m. – 8 p.m. If you’re eligible, you’ll be contacted for an appointment.
RICHMOND, Va. (WAVY) -- Virginia Governor Ralph Northam has proposed legalizing the possession of marijuana beginning July 1.
“Our Commonwealth is committed to legalizing marijuana in an equitable way,” said Governor
Northam.
The change would allow for simple possession (up to an ounce) for adults 21 and older by July 1.
The marijuana legalization bill was passed in February to begin the process of legalization in 2024.
However Northam's proposal would move up legalization of possession by 3 years, but not legalized sale of recreational marijuana. That still won't start until 2024.
The governor also announced he is proposing changes that advance public health protections, set clear expectations for labor protections in the cannabis industry, and begin to seal criminal records
immediately.
Theses changes come in the form of amendments to Senate Bill 1406, sponsored by
Senators Adam Ebbin and Louise Lucas, and House Bill 2312, sponsored by Majority Leader
Charniele Herring, which legalize the adult-use of marijuana in the gommonwealth.
This story is developing. Stay with WAVY.com for updates.
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) -- Questions remain on what exactly happened at the Oceanfront on Friday night.
After the violence subsided, 10 people had been shot, eight were hurt and two people were dead in multiple shootings.
A local man, 25-year-old Donovon Lynch, was shot and killed by police. That shooting is under investigation.
While law enforcement is trying to piece together a complicated puzzle, the community is mourning.
On Tuesday night, hundreds of friends, family and strangers stood side by side to honor the life of Donovon Lynch, a man described by friends as an “intelligent, kind and passionate human being who always made anyone around him smile.”
His father spoke to 10 On Your Side and said his son was a good man.
The vigil Tuesday night took place under a tree on the corner of 20th Street and Pacific Avenue, near where Lynch was killed.
Family and friends lit candles in his honor -- but the glow of those candles could never match the glow of Lynch's person.
Many people also left shoelaces. Donovon Lynch owned his own business related to shoes. Those at the vigil said the laces tie them all together.
"Donovon was a prince. On his way to being a king,” said one speaker at the vigil.
“It’s not how Dom was supposed to have went out -- it’s not it,” another speaker said.
Donovon Lynch's sister, Lauryn Lynch, spoke at the vigil, at times in tears.
“If he had to come get me at 1 o’clock in the morning from a hair appointment, he was going to come and get me. He might have been a little mad 'cause he was losing sleep and had to go to work in the morning, but it didn’t matter. He was still going to come get me,” she said.
That was Donovon Lynch -- described by those closest to him as driven, compassionate and very punctual.
“He used to be like 'I thought you told me you were ready.' So I would tell him I was ready because I was thinking it would take longer. Every time if it was three o’clock. Then it would be time,” Lauryn Lynch said.
And in that spirit, Tuesday night, Lauryn Lynch made clear that the focus was about how her brother lived, not how he was taken.
“Trying to paint my bother to be something that isn’t even in our blood to be,” she said.
But just the same the circumstance couldn’t be ignored.
Lauryn Lynch said what makes her angry is that her older brother was taken by an employee of the city he loved.
Donovon Lynch was shot by a police officer on 19th Street after police said he brandished a weapon. His family has said he had a concealed carry permit and discounted police's statements about his actions leading up to the shooting.
His cousin was angry after hearing from the police chief Tuesday that the shooting that started the chaos at the Oceanfront last Friday -- before a police officer came into contact with Donovon Lynch and fatally shot him -- was gang-related.
28-year-old Deshayla Harris was shot and killed Friday night around the same time. Police have not yet arrested any suspects in connection with her death.
Neudigate said they’ve charged several people so far, and from interviews, he said they know they are associated with two local gangs. On Tuesday, police announced they had arrested three more people on charges relating to selling weapons to convicted felons. Another man is accused of hitting a police officer with a car.
They said Donovon Lynch stood for none of that violence.
And now, his loved ones won’t stand for anything less than justice. No matter how long it takes.
His sister says Donovon Lynch is certainly watching over them all.
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) -- A Virginia Beach police special operations team is investigating after explosives were found in the 400 block of Coconut Lane.
Police said they were on the scene around 9 p.m. Tuesday. Dispatchers said police responded around 6:55 p.m.
Surrounding residences were informed as a precaution and have been evacuated as the special operations team investigates.
Stay with WAVY.com for updates.
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PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) -- The Virginia Department of Emergency Management is putting out an important reminder to the public regarding community vaccination clinics for the COVID-19 vaccine.
Officials say there are no walk-up vaccine spots available. If you don’t have an appointment, you will be turned away.
It’s a problem that’s affecting the mass vaccination site in Portsmouth.
People are showing up at the Sportsplex to get a shot without an appointment. It happened as recently as Tuesday morning.
“Approximately 90% of the people in line were just hoping by chance that they were gonna be able to get vaccinated,” said Lauren Opett, with VDEM. “At no time was the Portsmouth site accepting walk-ups.”
VDEM said misinformation on social media and by word of mouth led to the confusion.
The issue is causing long lines and delays for those who pre-registered in advance.
“There’s obviously a set number of appointments made in a time frame and when we have more people coming than are allotted in that time frame, it extends the line,” Opett said.
There are 1,000 doses a day being administered at the Sportsplex and all are by appointment only.
If you’re holding out hope for a leftover dose, officials said don’t waste your time.
“Each clinic has a plan to use those doses, whether it’s to call from a waiting list or to vaccinate clinic staff, emergency responders or other pre-determined groups,” Opett said.
You will have to show proof of appointment to get your shot.
The state is working to vaccinate everyone who’s pre-registered in Phase 1b. If you’re still waiting, be sure your information is up to date. You’ll be contacted by email or phone.
“It doesn’t always show up in the phone as a number you would recognize so just encouraging people to sort of have some leniency when answering their phone for unknown numbers,” Opett said.
Officials are also reminding the public to be patient. With increasing supply, they say your turn is coming.
To pre-register online, click here or call 1-877-VAX-IN VA (1-877-829-4682), 8 a.m. – 8 p.m. If you’re eligible, you’ll be contacted for an appointment.
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) -- Virginia Beach police responded to the Lynnhaven Mall Tuesday evening after a fight broke out and a weapon was allegedly brandished.
Dispatchers received a call around 5:50 p.m. after the fight broke out between an unknown number of people, police said.
Police confirmed there is no active shooter, and said that no shots were fired.
The suspects involved in the incident were no longer on scene, police said.
Police said it's unknown if there are any injuries.
Police are still on scene investigating.
Photos from social media showed multiple officers, some armed with long guns, at the mall.
Stay with WAVY.com for updates.
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) -- A Virginia Beach family is searching for the person they say is responsible for injuring their loved one outside of a local store.
Margaret Burgess says her brother, Kevin Baird, was at the Lowe's near the intersection of Virginia Beach Boulevard and Great Neck Road last Thursday looking for a dishwasher.
"He was exiting the store and he got run over by a bicyclist. They just nailed him, knocked him down and left him there. He was completely unconscious and he still till this moment has no recollection of the accident," she said.
Burgess says Baird, who had a stroke about 10 years ago, was injured on the left side of his body and was only released from the hospital Monday night. He's now in a rehabilitation facility and will be there for at least two weeks due to COVID restrictions his sister said.
The accident has set him back, according to Burgess.
"He's made a little bit of progress. The bad thing is we won't be able to see him for two weeks. We won't be able to see him. He worked hard to come back from his stroke," she said. "So, I know he's going to work hard from there. Hopefully, by the time of that two-week quarantine, we'll have him home."
Burgess says she knows that other people stopped to help Baird after he was hit and that the store, who was also helpful, has video of the incident.
10 On Your Side reached out to the Lowe's who referred us to the corporate office.
Burgess is now only looking for answers as to who hit Baird and why they left the scene.
"Whoever did this, accidents happen. We all do that. We all make mistakes but for someone to knock him down unconscious and leave him on the sidewalk is just horrifying to me. It's like, who does that? It's not something people should do," she said. "I just want to know what you were thinking? Why? Why didn't you stop and help him? Why didn't you help him?"
If you have any information and would like to contact the family, please email Kara Dixon at kara.dixon@wavy.com.
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) -- Virginia Beach police have arrested three more people in connection with shootings Friday night at the Oceanfront. They are charged with violations relating to the sale of firearms.
The shootings -- one of which was officer-involved -- left two dead and several others injured late Friday night. A police officer also sustained minor injuries after being struck by a car.
Police announced Tuesday afternoon they had arrested three men after executing search warrants Sunday in the 100 block of Shoreview Court and 900 block of Atlantis Drive. The Virginia Beach Police Department's Special Investigations Bureau was assisted by Virginia State Police and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Those arrested and their charges include:
So far, six men have been arrested in connection with the shootings. Three of them -- 22-year-old Ahmon Jahree Adams, of Chesapeake, 18-year-old Nyquez Tyyon Baker, of Virginia Beach, and 20-year-old Devon Maurice Dorsey Jr. -- were arrested Saturday and charged with seven counts of felonious assault, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, and reckless handling of a firearm.
A seventh man, Malik Kearney, is charged with driving under the influence and hit-and-run for allegedly hitting the officer with a car.
Virginia Beach Police Chief Paul Neudigate said officers on patrol responded to the first shooting at 20th Street and Atlantic Avenue around 11:20 p.m. Friday.
Officials say the initial investigations into the incident revealed that a group of people were involved in some type of conflict which turned into a fight.
Five men pulled out guns and started shooting. An officer on a bike in the area saw Adams shooting and told him to drop the gun, according to court documents.
Baker allegedly admitted to shooting into the crowd and handing the gun off to someone else.
Baker, Adams and Dorsey were in court for the first time on Monday.
29-year-old Deshayla E. Harris, of Norfolk, was killed in the second shooting of the night, in the 300 block of 19th Street. Police said she was a bystander. There have been no arrests in this shooting.
Police said they believe Lynch brandished a weapon before he was shot by an officer. That shooting is still under investigation, and body camera footage is not available.
Lynch was from Virginia Beach and is a cousin of Pharrell Williams, the music artist said Monday.
