Category: Virginia Mercury

• “In a small Virginia town, distrust of Big Tech hampers Trump’s AI push.” — South China Morning Post • “In Virginia’s Navy country, the Iran war tests a GOP incumbent.” — The New York Times • “Virginia Beach Schools enters partnership with OpenAI to bring ChatGPT to educators.” —

Democrat-led states and voting rights groups re-filed lawsuits Wednesday to block the Trump administration from executing a new regulation to restrict mail-in voting, while a federal judge lifted a nationwide pause on the policy in line with this week’s U.S. Supreme Court decision that handed the administration a procedural win.

Virginia is set to receive at least $353 million from Meta Platforms Inc. under a major multistate settlement that would also require the parent company of Facebook and Instagram to adopt new safeguards aimed at protecting children from addictive features and harmful content.  The agreement, announced Wednesday, could reach more

• “SpaceX Starlink launch seen across Central Virginia.” — WSET • “More than 1,300 people arrested by ICE in Virginia and Maryland.” — Al Jazeera • “Gov. Spanberger warns beef imports will harm Virginia cattle farmers.” — WAVY • “Rural Virginia communities face real and lingering consequences from labor and

Amazon Web Services is changing course on how a King George data center project will get its water after an application to renew a groundwater permit allowing withdrawals of up to 6.4 million gallons annually from the Potomac aquifer raised concerns. The tech giant is set to construct a major

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday handed a procedural victory to President Donald Trump on an executive order to curb mail-in voting, but the administration is still fighting a separate ruling that limits a portion of the order and remains in effect — complicating the administration’s temporary win.  In light of

Virginia students continued to make progress in reading and math last school year, posting gains that moved them closer to pre-pandemic performance levels, the Virginia Department of Education announced Tuesday. Across the commonwealth, students’ proficiency in math and reading increased by 0.4% from the prior school year. Over the past

Gov. Abigail Spanberger on Tuesday ordered Virginia agencies to step up efforts to prevent eligible residents from losing Medicaid and food assistance as sweeping federal changes are set to take effect next year.  The governor announced Executive Order 20 to boost the state’s implementation efforts of H.R.1, a reconciliation bill

I read every noise rule in Virginia that could reach a data center. There are 73 of them across 43 jurisdictions, and the one that stopped me was not a decibel limit. It was a budget line. It is in a Loudoun County staff report from September 2016. The county

Just days after failed trade talks between President Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney prompted new sweeping tariffs and threats of retaliation, U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., sat down with Virginia agricultural and forestry producers Monday to hear how the escalating trade dispute could affect an industry already