Author: Markus Schmidt

Spanberger taps Daniel Young to lead government watchdog office
Gov. Abigail Spanberger has appointed Daniel Young, a former federal prosecutor whose cases included an $80 million defense procurement fraud scheme, as Virginia’s next state inspector general. Young’s appointment is subject to confirmation by the General Assembly. The state inspector general serves a four-year term and oversees an office responsible

Virginia overdose deaths drop as Chesapeake offers free Narcan training and more headlines
• “Former Virginia Rep. Elaine Luria says Hung Cao is ineligible for Navy secretary post after Trump nomination.” — 13newsnow • “Virginia overdose deaths continue to drop as Chesapeake offers free Narcan training.” — WTKR • “Virginia lawmakers call Petersburg’s Perry Street Lofts displacement disgraceful.” — WRIC • “At least

Trump doesn’t have the power to limit mail-in voting, lawmakers tell US Supreme Court
The hotly contested U.S. Postal Service rule restricting mail-in voting usurps Congress’ authority, as well as states’ power to administer elections, more than 250 current and former members of Congress said in a filing to the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday. All 47 members of the U.S. Senate Democratic Caucus,

Trump’s trade war with Canada escalates as new tariffs launch
WASHINGTON — Canada’s retaliatory tariffs on American goods kicked in Tuesday, escalating a trade war with one of the largest U.S. trading partners that President Donald Trump continued to antagonize over the holiday weekend. Trump posted an AI-generated cartoon image of himself Sunday evening in which he is depicted as

Restitution delivered for Virginia families in 6-year housing discrimination case
Damien and Angela Smith and their friends Amanda and Michael Mills said Wednesday they feel a sense of relief at the conclusion of their years-long housing discrimination case. Each couple has received nearly $420,000 in restitution, Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones announced this week The families had retreated to a

Advocacy group seeks answers in Dominion merger
(The Center Square) – A Virginia advocacy group is asking regulators to require Dominion Energy and NextEra Energy to provide additional information as the State Corporation Commission reviews their proposed merger. Clean Virginia filed a motion to compel Tuesday, arguing the companies have not fully answered questions involving enforcement of merger conditions, competition, costs to…

Consumer sentiment tumbles as Virginians feel pressure from inflation, new poll finds
Virginia consumer sentiment fell sharply in August, wiping out modest gains from earlier in the year as renewed inflation and a lackluster labor market weighed on household finances, according to a new Roanoke College poll released Thursday. The Virginia Index of Consumer Sentiment fell to 59.6, down 7.8 points from

Wittman voted 60 times to undo the Affordable Care Act. Then he backed extending its subsidies.
In 2017, U.S. Rep. Rob Wittman, R-Westmoreland, touted voting to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act 60 times. Nearly a decade later, he was one of just 17 Republicans nationwide to vote to extend expired ACA subsidies, before Congress ultimately let them lapse. The expired subsidies have spurred 94,000

As sports betting surges, Virginia weighs how to curb gambling harms
As college football season gets into full swing over Labor Day weekend, sports betting companies, public health experts and Virginia lawmakers are confronting a question that has grown more pressing since wagering moved into smartphones: How can the industry keep gambling from becoming an addiction? Representatives from those groups gathered

Cumberland county residents split on proposed gas plant, slated to be second largest in the nation
In a crowded school cafeteria in Cumberland Monday evening, residents of the rural county gathered to hear Dominion Energy representatives detail the gas plant the utility is pitching to the local leaders and state regulators. The Cumberland Energy Center will be able to generate three gigawatts of power, making it










