Execution tapes returned to Dept. of Corrections and more Va. headlines

The State Capitol. (Ned Oliver/ Virginia Mercury)

After a news story revealed the existence of execution recordings at the Library of Virginia, the state Department of Corrections asked for the tapes back. The library granted the request, returning materials donated in 2006 by a former prison employee.—Associated Press

Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., will play a key role in an upcoming congressional debate over whether to reauthorize a warrantless surveillance program used by America’s intelligence community. “One of the things the community’s got to do a better job of is explaining, in practical nonclassified terms, how valuable this tool is,” Warner said. “And they’ve not done that as well as they should.”—POLITICO

Highland County’s Maple Festival won’t have a Maple Queen this year because the tiny county doesn’t have enough young women interested in entering the pageant.—Cardinal News

Virginia could be getting its first Buc-ee’s travel center after the Texas-based chain of supersized convenience stores revealed plans for a 74,000-square-foot store in New Kent County.—Richmond Times-Dispatch

A hot air balloon was forced to make an emergency landing Sunday at a Hopewell middle school.—Progress-Index

by Staff Report, Virginia Mercury

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