Organized Smuggling Ring Steals $620K | Patch PM

President Donald Trump cited a non-existent policy about military members being forbidden to receive religious items at hospitals. Plus, record profits ring up for Virginia's liquor stores and dozens charged in an organized crime ring. Here are the top local news stories worth reading and talking and knowing about on Friday, May 5, as pulled from our Virginia and Washington, D.C., Patch sites.

President Trump Says Soldiers Can't Receive Religious Gifts; They Can

A strange comment by President Donald Trump as he signed an executive order on religious liberty reportedly raised some eyebrows at the Pentagon. Trump made the bizarre claim that members of the U.S. military were forbidden from giving or receiving religious items at military hospitals — a claim that is 100 percent false.

Dozens Charged In Organized Crimes Around Virginia

Investigations in Fairfax County and around Virginia have led to 43 people charged in Henrico County for over 740 crimes. The charges come after a two-year investigation into banking fraud, cigarette trafficking and money laundering that originated in Fairfax County. The crime ring cost one bank an estimated $620,000.

Alexandria Makes Top 25 Most Diverse Cities List

Alexandria is the 21st most diverse city in the U.S. and the most diverse city in Virginia, according to a new report by the personal financial website WalletHub.

Movies Out This Weekend: 'Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2,' 'Chuck' And More
Liev Schreiber is New Jersey-born boxer Chuck Wepner, and Elle Fanning is a transgender teen. Find out what to see and what to skip.

More Virginia/DC news:

• Virginia ABC Stores Ring Up Record Profits
• Heroin Dealers Busted in Stafford: Police
• Terror Warning: Feds Warn Of Vehicle-Ramming Attacks
• Herndon Man Sexually Abused Teenage Boy for 4 Years: Police
• Where To Get Free Ice Cream In Northern Virginia Tuesday

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