WEATHER ALERT
Virginia citizens make plans to vote after finding they've been wrongly purged from rolls
Read full article: Virginia citizens make plans to vote after finding they've been wrongly purged from rollsSome voters in Virginia are making alternate plans to cast ballots after learning that their registrations were mistakenly canceled by the state.
Appeals court again blocks construction on Mountain Valley Pipeline
Read full article: Appeals court again blocks construction on Mountain Valley PipelineA federal appeals court has again blocked construction on a segment of a contentious natural gas pipeline being built through Virginia and West Virginia.
Deal could make classmates of students with disabilities wear masks in Virginia
Read full article: Deal could make classmates of students with disabilities wear masks in VirginiaDisabled students can request that their peers be required to wear masks in class in 12 Virginia schools under the terms of a settlement reached Monday.
Virginia General Assembly passes bill banning racial discrimination in Governor’s Schools admissions
Read full article: Virginia General Assembly passes bill banning racial discrimination in Governor’s Schools admissionsThe Virginia General Assembly on Wednesday passed a watered-down version of legislation that bans racial discrimination in in admissions policies at Virginia's highly regarded Governor's Schools.
Bill to end school mask mandates advances in Virginia Senate
Read full article: Bill to end school mask mandates advances in Virginia SenateA bipartisan majority in the Virginia Senate voted Tuesday to advance legislation that would ban public school systems from imposing mask requirements on students.
Virginia Supreme Court rejects GOP redistricting nominees
Read full article: Virginia Supreme Court rejects GOP redistricting nomineesThe Supreme Court of Virginia, now tasked with drawing new legislative districts in the state to conform with the 2020 census, on Friday rejected all three Republicans nominated to help it in its task.
New redistricting committee all but gives up map effort
Read full article: New redistricting committee all but gives up map effortVirginia's new bipartisan redistricting committee all but gave up its effort to draw new congressional maps after committee members could not find consensus on what constitutes a politically fair map.
Congressional maps challenge Virginia redistricting panel
Read full article: Congressional maps challenge Virginia redistricting panelAfter failing in its effort to draw new maps for General Assembly districts, Virginia's new bipartisan redistricting commission is facing similar hurdles as it tries to map out congressional lines.
Bipartisan redistricting panel starts off with partisan maps
Read full article: Bipartisan redistricting panel starts off with partisan mapsA new bipartisan redistricting commission is looking at two sets of distinctly partisan maps as it sets out to draw new boundaries for Virginia's General Assembly districts.
78-year-old man found buried in Virginia backyard, man’s son charged in his death
Read full article: 78-year-old man found buried in Virginia backyard, man’s son charged in his deathThe body of a 78-year-old northern Virginia man was found buried in his backyard Wednesday and his son has been charged with second-degree murder, police said.
Northern Virginia fuels state’s growth, but at slower rate
Read full article: Northern Virginia fuels state’s growth, but at slower rateVirginia continued its trend toward a top-heavy state as population growth in the northern part of the state outpaced the rest of the commonwealth, according to census data released Thursday.
Campaign finance reports: McAuliffe leads Youngkin in cash
Read full article: Campaign finance reports: McAuliffe leads Youngkin in cashDemocrat Terry McAuliffe significantly outraised Republican Glenn Youngkin in the most recent campaign-finance reports,. McAuliffe also holds a significant lead in cash on hand.
Elite Virginia public school accepts more Blacks and Hispanic students, decreasing Asian representation
Read full article: Elite Virginia public school accepts more Blacks and Hispanic students, decreasing Asian representationA premier public high school in northern Virginia has dramatically increased the number of Black and Hispanic students offered admission under a new application system that some Asian American parents say discriminates against their children.
Judge reinstates Virginia teacher suspended for speaking out against school’s proposed transgender policy
Read full article: Judge reinstates Virginia teacher suspended for speaking out against school’s proposed transgender policyA judge on Tuesday ordered a northern Virginia school system to reinstate a suspended gym teacher who spoke out at a school board meeting against a proposal requiring that transgender students be addressed by their preferred pronouns.
Virginia GOP nominee's independence from Trump up for debate
Read full article: Virginia GOP nominee's independence from Trump up for debateVirginia Republicans rejected the most pro-Trump candidate at their recent nominating convention, but whether the party achieved any measure of independence from Trump is up for debate.
Political newcomer Youngkin wins Virginia GOP governor race
Read full article: Political newcomer Youngkin wins Virginia GOP governor racePolitical newcomer Glenn Youngkin has emerged as Virginia Republicans’ nominee for governor, in a year when the GOP hopes to end a 12-year losing streak in statewide races.
Judge won’t try Black man in courtroom with white portraits
Read full article: Judge won’t try Black man in courtroom with white portraitsFALLS CHURCH, Va. – A Black defendant’s right to a fair trial would be harmed if the jury heard the case in a courtroom lined with portraits of white jurists, a northern Virginia judge has ruled. The walls of those rooms are lined with portraits of retired judges who are overwhelmingly white, he said. Dawn Butorac, the chief public defender in Fairfax County, called the judge's ruling “a very, very, very small step in a long overdue journey to battle systemic racism” in the judicial system. Bernhard's ruling does not affect whether other judges in the courtroom must take judicial portraits into account. Earlier this year, a judge ordered a portrait of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee removed from a courtroom in Louisa County.
Falls Church to removes Thomas Jefferson and George Mason school names
Read full article: Falls Church to removes Thomas Jefferson and George Mason school namesVa. – A school board in a northern Virginia city has voted unanimously to change the names of a high school and elementary school named for founding fathers George Mason and Thomas Jefferson. The vote Tuesday by the school board in Falls Church came despite a community survey that showed broad support for keeping the names of George Mason High School and Thomas Jefferson Elementary. In the survey, just 26% thought the George Mason name should be changed, while only 23% felt that the Thomas Jefferson name should be changed. It will cost more than $100,000 to change the names, according to estimates. Mason is the city’s only public high school.
Puppy pipeline runs from Georgia northward to adoptive homes
Read full article: Puppy pipeline runs from Georgia northward to adoptive homes(Kim Williams/The Lost Dog and Cat Rescue Foundation via AP)MACON, Ga. – Packed in a dog crate, a 3-year-old boxer mix named Sky took flight earlier this month. She was one of a half-dozen dogs who got the ride of their lives flying from Macon, Georgia, to new homes in Virginia. “We have had the most incredible outpouring of people in the D.C. suburbs that have a strong desire to rescue dogs and cats during this pandemic,” Williams wrote in an email. “The northern Virginia-D.C. area is actually having a hard time keeping up with the demand for rescue dogs,” Williams said. Of 360 dogs rescued from Georgia this year by the group, about 200 traveled by transport vans from Albany in southwest Georgia.
Poll: Virginia voters say virus, not economy, most important
Read full article: Poll: Virginia voters say virus, not economy, most importantFALLS CHURCH, Va. – Enacting restrictions to prevent the spread of the coronavirus is more important than removing them to get the economy going, according to a majority of Virginia voters polled this month. In April, during some of the strictest coronavirus restrictions, Trump tweeted “LIBERATE VIRGINIA,” an apparent reference to both gun control measures and COVID-19 restrictions. About 7 in 10 Republicans emphasized the importance of removing virus restrictions to help the economy. The October poll showed just 39% planning to vote on Election Day, with another 31% planning to vote early in person. By contrast, about two-thirds of Republicans say they will vote in person on Election Day.
Hackers publish public school district’s stolen data online
Read full article: Hackers publish public school district’s stolen data onlineFALLS CHURCH, Va. – Computer hackers who obtained information about a Virginia public school district’s students and employees have posted stolen data online, school officials said Friday in an email to parents and staff. The Fairfax County Public Schools didn’t specify the nature or volume of the data that was stolen in the ransomware attack last month. Hackers use ransomware software to steal data and threaten to publish or block access to it unless a target pays a ransom. School district spokeswoman Lucy Caldwell said officials believe “only a subset of individuals, including a limited number of students” were affected by the ransomware attack. Caldwell said the district will offer free credit-monitoring services to all district employees and their spouses and any others who were affected.
Lawsuits challenge Virginia’s sexual orientation protections
Read full article: Lawsuits challenge Virginia’s sexual orientation protectionsFALLS CHURCH, Va. – A conservative legal group has filed lawsuits challenging a new Virginia law that bars discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The lawsuits filed this week in state and federal court by Alliance Defending Freedom argue that the new law infringes on their clients' religious freedoms. Earlier this year, Virginia became the first southern state to extend anti-discrimination protections to include sexual orientation and gender identity. Alliance Defending Freedom, based in Scottsdale, Arizona, has filed similar lawsuits this year in Minnesota, Washington state and Louisville, Kentucky. While the court ruled in favor of the baker, it did so on narrow grounds that left the broader question in dispute.
Poll: Virginians about evenly divided on Confederate statues
Read full article: Poll: Virginians about evenly divided on Confederate statuesFALLS CHURCH, Va. – In a state where Confederate monuments have stood for more than a century and have recently become a flashpoint in the national debate over racial injustice, Virginians remain about evenly divided on whether the statues should stay or go, according to a new poll. The poll conducted this month by Hampton University and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that 46% support removal of Confederate statues and 42% oppose removal. The 2017 white nationalist rally in Charlottesville that left a counterprotester dead had its origins in a city debate over whether to remove Confederate statues. On another topic, the poll found only about 1 in 4 Virginians support keeping schools in the state completely closed to in-person learning. According to the poll, only 27% of Virginians say K-12 schools should not reopen at all, and 22% say the same about colleges.
States on hook for billions under Trump's unemployment plan
Read full article: States on hook for billions under Trump's unemployment planEqually up in the air is whether states, which are necessary partners in Trump's plan to bypass Congress, will sign on. Many Republicans have expressed concern that a $600 weekly benefit, on top of existing state benefits, gives people an incentive to stay unemployed. But under Trump's plan, the $400 a week requires a state to commit to providing $100. Asked at a news conference how many governors had signed on to participate, Trump answered: If they don't, they don't. I dont think there will be a huge delay.
AP-NORC poll: Very few Americans back full school reopening
Read full article: AP-NORC poll: Very few Americans back full school reopeningFairfax County Public School buses parked at a middle school in Falls Church, Va., Monday, July 20, 2020. Very few Americans believe schools should return to normal operations this fall, a new poll says, even as President Donald Trump insists thats what parents and students want. The poll, conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, finds that only about 1 in 10 say daycare centers, preschools and K-12 schools should start the school year like any other. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
A phone call, a song: Small gestures soothe COVID-19 stress
Read full article: A phone call, a song: Small gestures soothe COVID-19 stressIn a time of anxiety and isolation, simple acts of kindness from hospital workers are giving comfort to patients and their families. (Inova Fairfax Hospital via AP)A phone call sounds like such a small thing. In another hospital, a guitar-playing nurse sings ‘’Amazing Grace” outside patients’ rooms. And in another, doctors show smiling photos of themselves so COVID-19 patients can see the faces behind the masks. Many hospitals treating COVID-19 patients have adopted strict no-visitor policies and patients’ only human contact is with masked and gloved medical workers.
U.S. Navy civilian among Virginia’s 8 coronavirus cases, not a 9th case
Read full article: U.S. Navy civilian among Virginia’s 8 coronavirus cases, not a 9th caseFALLS CHURCH, Va. – A U.S. Navy civilian has tested “presumptive positive” for the coronavirus, according to the U.S. Navy. The Navy also confirmed to 10 News that this case is not a new case, but one of the previous eight cases already announced by the Virginia Department of Health. The purpose of the Navy’s announcement was, “just letting the public know that one of the individuals in the Virginia numbers is a Navy Civilian,” according to CDR Denver Applehans. [Where are Virginia’s coronavirus cases? Personnel that the individual immediately identified having close contact with have been notified and are asked to remain at their residence to self-monitor their health.