Category: The Center Square
Virginia exports caught in Canada tariff fight
(The Center Square) – Virginia sent about $3 billion in goods to Canada last year, putting the commonwealth’s largest export market in the middle of an escalating American tariff fight with Canada. Canada accounted for about 15% of Virginia’s $19.1 billion in goods exports in 2025, according to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.…
ICE arrests more than 1,300 over two weeks in Virginia, Maryland
(The Center Square) – Homeland Security arrested 1,328 people it says are illegally in America on a sweep through Virginia and Maryland Aug. 1-14. Among the charges filed, in addition to being unlawfully in the United States, were murder, attempted murder and rape. Lawmen and prosecutors say many of those taken away were members of…
New law lets Virginia schools start earlier
(The Center Square) – Virginia students can head back to class earlier under a change to state law giving local school boards more flexibility over when the school year begins. The change comes as students across the Richmond area return to classrooms this week. The law, which took effect July 1, allows school divisions to…
Last Virginia gun ban case put on hold
(The Center Square) – The last pending state court challenge to Virginia’s new assault weapons restrictions has been put on hold as courts await guidance from the U.S. Supreme Court. A Lancaster County judge Friday granted a stay in John Crump, et al. v. Jeffrey S. Katz, a challenge to Virginia’s restrictions on certain semiautomatic…
J&J loses attack on talc researchers, couldn’t prove malice
(Legal Newsline) – Researchers who published a paper claiming 75 cancer patients had no “known exposure to asbestos” other than Johnson & Johnson cosmetic talc even though some had sued over other exposures cannot be accused of trade libel, a judge has ruled. No jury could conclude Theresa S. Emory, John C. Maddox and Richard…
Virginia, Maryland have mixed financial picture
(The Center Square) – Virginia avoided all eight financial warning signs in a new study, though several local governments and school systems did not. Maryland received one state-level warning, while some of its counties, cities and school systems showed more financial pressure. The Reason Foundation study looked at audited financial reports and measured governments in…
Virginia revenues finish $939M above forecast
(The Center Square) – Virginia closed fiscal 2026 nearly $939 million above its general fund revenue forecast, even as employment fell and Gov. Abigail Spanberger cautioned lawmakers against assuming the gains will continue. State finance officials presented the year-end numbers Wednesday to the General Assembly’s Joint Money Committees. Virginia ended the fiscal year with 43,600…
Virginia Beach pauses new data center permits
(The Center Square) – Virginia Beach has temporarily stopped issuing permits for new data centers while city officials work on rules for where and how the facilities can be built. City Council unanimously approved the moratorium Tuesday. It will last up to 12 months or end sooner if council adopts a data center ordinance. Data…
Prosecutors say ‘no dispute’ the 86 47 seashells could be Comey threat to Trump
(The Center Square) – “No serious dispute” is possible against an arrangement of seashells spelling out 86 47 on a North Carolina beach as a potential threat against President Donald Trump, says the U.S. Department of Justice. Former FBI Director James Comey posted a photograph from the Outer Banks on social media in May of…
ICE still blocked from churches of Cooperative Baptists, Quakers, Sikhs
(The Center Square) – Agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement are blocked from entering churches of Cooperative Baptists, Quakers and Sikhs to carry out enforcement operations unless they have a warrant, or in certain specified circumstances, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled. Upholding last year’s preliminary injunction, the appellate court’s unanimous decision…
