The Tampa Bay Rays should declare in writing whether they want to pursue an existing financing plan for a new $1.3 billion ballpark or walk away from the deal.

A combination of hurricane damage to Tropicana Field and political delays on financing means it is highly unlikely the Tampa Bay Rays’ planned new stadium will be ready for the 2028 season, if at all.

Major League Baseball hopes to find the Tampa Bay Rays a temporary home near their fanbase for the start of the 2025 season if their home field can't be repaired in time.

The Bradley Free Clinic’s Hope Initiative, which helps people with substance abuse, is expanding its services throughout Virginia.

A shooting injured four people at Virginia State University early Wednesday, police said. Charges are pending against multiple suspects, and there was no further threat to the community, officials said.

With numerous colleges and universities located near Route 460 in Virginia VSP troopers will be increasing patrols along the heavily traveled route.

Governor Glenn Youngkin delivered remarks on the priorities for the commonwealth after taking action on 50 pieces of legislation on Thursday, signing 30 bills into law and vetoing 20.

Gov. Youngkin announced more than $1.9 million in Growth and Opportunity for Virginia (GO Virginia) grant awards for eight programs.

A Virginia State University police officer was in stable condition Sunday after being critically wounded in a shooting near campus, university officials said.

Gov. Glenn Youngkin has issued a State of Emergency as the threat of wildfires continues to grow in the Commonwealth.

A new study says that in a little more than five years the world will likely be unable to stay below the internationally agreed temperature limit for global warming if it continues to burn fossil fuels at its current rate.

The Tampa Bay Rays won their 12th straight game to start the season, one short of the major league record, as Randy Arozarena hit a three-run homer in a 9-7 victory over the Boston Red Sox.

The Tampa Bay Rays became the first major league team since the 1987 Milwaukee Brewers to open the season with 10 straight wins, getting a solo homer from Brandon Lowe in the eighth inning to beat the Boston Red Sox 1-0.

The Tampa Bay Rays matched the best start to a major league season in 20 years, routing the Oakland Athletics 11-0 for a 9-0 record as Drew Rasmussen combined on a one-hitter and Brandon Lowe hit a grand slam.

Romain Grosjean opened his third season in IndyCar by winning the pole in qualifying on the downtown streets of St. Petersburg.

Brandon Lowe and Yandy Díaz homered as the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Cleveland Guardians 6-4.

The Virginia State University College of Education is offering free tuition to graduate students who commit to a full-time teaching position in Richmond or Petersburg.

The Baltimore Orioles’ winning streak ended at 10 when Christian Bethancourt hit his first home run for Tampa Bay and the Rays rallied for a 5-4 victory.

A cold snap in Florida is different than in other places.

A boy took a knife to his elementary school and stabbed a 6-year-old classmate during recess, Petersburg police said.

A family attorney says items believed to belong to Brian Laundrie have been found in a Florida wilderness park.

Boston Red Sox star shortstop Xander Bogaerts has tested positive for COVID-19 and been pulled from a game at Tampa Bay.

Democrat Terry McAuliffe asked a court to dismiss a lawsuit filed by Virginia Republicans that seeks to remove him from the ballot in this year's closely watched race for governor over an alleged paperwork error.

A jury in Virginia has awarded $300,000 in damages to a woman who sued a police officer for excessive force and false arrest after she was forced face-down onto the pavement during a traffic stop.

Boston Red Sox pitchers Nick Pivetta and Josh Taylor have combined on a no-hitter through seven innings against the Tampa Bay Rays.

The Tampa Bay Rays’ 11-game winning streak came to an end when Brad Keller pitched seven strong innings and Salvador Perez hit a tiebreaking RBI single to give the Kansas City Royals a 2-1 victory.

Two young children were wounded, one critically, when they were shot while playing outside of a Virginia apartment complex, authorities said.

Colton Herta has rebounded from a first-lap crash in the IndyCar season opener to win the pole on the downtown streets of St. Petersburg.

(Photo by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic)ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – The NFL announced Friday that 7,500 health care workers vaccinated for the coronavirus will be given free tickets to next month's Super Bowl to be played in Tampa, Florida. Most of the health care workers who will get free game tickets will come from the Tampa Bay area and central Florida, Goodell said. Tampa Mayor Jane Castor said the NFL's decision is a perfect way to honor health care workers at such a high-profile event. This Sunday's two conference championships will determine which teams meet in the Super Bowl. If Tampa Bay wins, the Buccaneers will be the first team ever to play in a Super Bowl on their home field.

FILE: Manatee resting at Three Sisters Springs (Crystal River NWR) while shading over a school of mangrove snappers. ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – A manatee was found in a Florida river with the word “TRUMP” etched into its back. Now, the search is on for the person or people responsible. More: https://t.co/79kyPRLXyX pic.twitter.com/ds8Ju5qVMv — Center for Bio Div (@CenterForBioDiv) January 11, 2021The manatee was found in north Florida’s Homosassa River. Anyone with information about the crime is asked to call the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation at 888-404-3922.

Iota became a Category 2 hurricane late Sunday afternoon, and the U.S. National Hurricane Center warned it would likely be an extremely dangerous Category 4 storm when it approached the Central America mainland late Monday. It was already a record-breaking system, being the 30th named storm of this year’s extraordinarily busy Atlantic hurricane season. It hit Nicaragua as a Category 4 hurricane, killing at least 120 people as torrential rains caused flash floods and mudslides in parts of Central America and Mexico. Eta was the 28th named storm of this year’s hurricane season, tying the 2005 record for named storms. The official end of hurricane season is Nov. 30.

HOPEWELL, Va. – A Petersburg man has been charged with murder in the fatal shooting of a man who was found mortally wounded inside a Hopewell home. Hopewell police said Daemon Dashawn Clarke was apprehended Saturday by members of the U.S. Clarke is accused of killing 32-year-old Marcus Parker, of Petersburg, who was found with life-threatening injuries Thursday after police responded to a report of a person being shot. Parker later died at VCU Medical Center in Richmond. The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that police have not released a potential motive in the killing or said whether Clarke and Parker knew each other.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Tampa Bay Rays became the first major league team since at least 1901 to start a batting order with all left-handed batters. Rays manager Kevin Cash stacked his lineup with lefties on Friday night against Boston Red Sox right-hander Andrew Triggs. Triggs was making just his second start for the Red Sox, who claimed him off waivers from San Francisco on Aug. 19. We’ve added a couple of left-handed hitters,” Cash said. “Thinking about it last night after the game, we don’t know their pitcher very well, Triggs.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. Tampa Bay Rays ace Blake Snell reported for work, after all. The 27-year-old Snell made headlines in May when he said he opposed the idea of players taking further pay reductions to start the season during a pandemic that it was not worth the health risk. But he said Friday it wasn't difficult to start playing again after the players' agreement with Major League Baseball included their full pro-rated salaries. I would say it wasnt tough when it came down to what the (union) agreed on," he said. But as far as the workout today, it went really well.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. Baseball's minor leagues canceled their seasons on Tuesday after Major League Baseball decided not to provide any players to its affiliated teams amid the coronavirus pandemic. The National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues, the minor league governing body, made the long-expected announcement. The Professional Baseball Agreement between the majors and the minors expires after this season, and MLB has proposed reducing the minimum affiliates from 160 to 120. MLB already had told clubs to retain expanded 60-player pools, of which 30 players can be active during the first two weeks of the season starting in late July. These are unprecedented times for our country and our organization as this is the first time in our history that weve had a summer without minor league baseball played, National Association president Pat OConner.

WFTS via CNNST. PETERSBURG, Florida (CNN) - A Tampa woman is suing the Don Cesar Hotel, alleging severe injuries she suffered after liquid nitrogen was poured into her drink, WFTS reported. According to the lawsuit, Stacey Wagers was celebrating her birthday with a friend on Nov. 11, 2018, when the incident happened. She claims that a waiter who was using liquid nitrogen on another guest's dessert, to make it smoke, added the chemical to her water. "She lost about 26 pounds as a result of this because she couldn't eat," attorney with Morgan and Morgan Adam Brum said. Brum said Wagers reacted to the liquid nitrogen within seconds.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - A tragic death may result in new life for others. On Friday night, 17-year-old Jacquez Welch didn't stand up after being part of a group tackle during his school's football game in St. Petersburg, Florida, according to WFTS. AVM is a tangle of abnormal blood vessels connecting arteries and veins in the brain, according to the Mayo Clinic. Jacquez's mother, Marcia Nelson, said during a news conference that her son's collapse had nothing to do with football. The family is working on making her son an organ donor to seven people, according to Nelson.

Several people reported stabbed at a plasma center in Virginia. PETERSBURG, Va. - A 20-year-old suspect attacked a Petersburg, Virginia, plasma donation center on Thursday with a weapon similar to a machete, injuring several people, police said. The man, who is from Petersburg, hid the weapon when he walked into Octapharma Plasma center and asked to use the restroom, Petersburg police Capt. The suspect then later attacked people inside the center, injuring four, Chambliss said. People inside the center ran out through the back door and called police, according to Chambliss.