Virginia AG authorizes probe of statue-removal contract

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A special prosecutor says Virginia’s attorney general has authorized an investigation into efforts by Richmond officials to take down the city’s Confederate monuments last year. That includes a $1.8 million contract that was given for the statues to be removed. The statues were taken down over the summer, and an inquiry into the contract between the city and a Richmond-area construction company owner was initiated after a political rival of Mayor Levar Ston