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Friday Read Declaration of Independence: A Transcription

National Archives

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

VaNews July 4, 2025


Jefferson letter goes on sale for $90,000

By SANDY HAUSMAN, WVTF-FM

Thomas Jefferson signed the Declaration of Independence alongside another leader of the time – Benjamin Harrison the Fifth. He was serving as governor of Virginia, and the two corresponded often about the important issues of the time. Shortly after the American Revolution, Jefferson wrote to Harrison about a subject that remains controversial today. . . . The Second Amendment did not yet exist, but Jefferson was adamant that people have the right to defend their country.

VaNews July 4, 2025


Wittman, Kiggans back Trump bill, despite Medicaid cuts

By MICHAEL MARTZ, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Subscription Required)

Rep. Rob Wittman, R-1st, and Rep. Jen Kiggans, R-2nd, may have crossed the line they drew for protecting Virginia's Medicaid program, voting on Thursday to pass the budget package that would make deeper cuts to the health care safety net than the bill that the House of Representatives had approved in late May. Wittman and Kiggans, facing reelection challenges in swing districts next year, had signed letters to Republican leaders that said they could not support legislation that would reduce Medicaid health coverage for vulnerable populations.

VaNews July 4, 2025


‘This is not the Virginia way’: U.Va. alumni respond to President Ryan’s resignation

By BRANDON KILE, Cavalier Daily

After seven years serving in the position, University President Jim Ryan publicly announced his resignation Friday following demands from the Department of Justice for him to step down from the role. The Cavalier Daily invited University alumni to share their thoughts on the situation via email, and many who responded expressed negative feelings about the news. In their responses, many alums criticized the Trump administration for overstepping its boundaries and abusing its power for political gains. Many also criticized the Board of Visitors for accepting Ryan’s resignation and for failing to uphold the values of the University.

VaNews July 4, 2025


Renewables face setback under sweeping federal spending bill

By SHANNON HECKT, Virginia Mercury

Congress on Thursday afternoon passed the sweeping spending package dubbed the “one big beautiful bill,” marking a major legislative win for President Donald Trump — but clean energy advocates say it could derail future renewable projects. The House approved the measure after the Senate significantly revised the original proposal. For a moment, the renewable energy industry was stunned by provisions that included a proposed tax on solar and wind power, along with an accelerated phase out of Biden-era tax credits. Although the final version of the bill dropped the proposed tax, it also eliminated the electric vehicle tax credit established under the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act.

VaNews July 4, 2025


Virginia county says April ransomware attack exposed employee SSNs

By JONATHAN GREIG, The Record from Recorded Future News

Government employees working for the county of Gloucester in Virginia had Social Security numbers and other sensitive data stolen during a ransomware attack in April. The county sent 3,527 current and former employees notices this week warning that their personal information was accessed by hackers who breached county systems on April 22. In addition to Social Security numbers, names, driver’s license numbers, bank account information, health insurance numbers and medical information was also stolen during the incident.

VaNews July 4, 2025


Ramadan: Losing pandemic-era tax credits would devastate Virginia

By DAVID RAMADAN, published in Richmond Times-Dispatch (Subscription Required)

Across Virginia, too many families still gather around the kitchen table facing impossible choices — what to pay now, what to delay, what to go without. But in recent years, one essential need has been made a little easier: health insurance. For over 350,000 Virginians, expanded access to affordable coverage through the federal marketplace has been a lifeline. That relief is thanks to the Enhanced Premium Tax Credits (EPTCs) — a bipartisan response to the pandemic that helped lower premiums and stabilize working families. But this progress is now at risk. These tax credits are set to expire at the end of the year unless Congress acts. If they’re allowed to lapse, premiums will skyrocket — and the consequences will be felt immediately.

Ramadan served in the Virginia House of Delegates from 2012 to 2016. He is a professor of practice at the Schar School at George Mason University and a scholar at the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia.

VaNews July 4, 2025


Loudoun Supervisors Support Dominion Plans for Transmission Line in Existing Rights-of-Way

By HANNA PAMPALONI, Loudoun Now

County supervisors this week affirmed support for plans by Dominion Energy to build a transmission line up through south Loudoun using existing rights-of-way. The Morrisville to Wishing Star line is planned to span three counties and will be 36.5 miles long. Of those, 4.8 miles are planned in Loudoun from the Mosby substation, which is south of Braddock Road and just north of the county line, to the planned Wishing Star substation, which will be built north of Rt. 50 along Northstar Boulevard.

VaNews July 4, 2025


A year before declaring independence, colonists offered ‘Olive Branch’ petition to King George III

By HILLEL ITALIE, Associated Press

Alarmed by the policies of President Donald Trump, millions turned out last month for protests around the United States and overseas. Mindful of next year’s 250th anniversary of American independence, organizers called the movement “No Kings.” Had the same kind of rallies been called for in the summer of 1775, the response likely would have been more cautious. “It (‘No Kings’) was probably a minority opinion in July 1775,” says H.W. Brands, a prize-winning scholar and chair of the history department at the University of Texas at Austin.

VaNews July 4, 2025


Report: South Korean car maker is interested in a former ethanol plant site in Hopewell

By BILL ATKINSON, Progress Index (Metered paywall - 10 articles a month)

Hopewell is an apparent finalist to be the host city of an automobile-customization plant that could bring as many as 3,000 manufacturing jobs to town. South Korea-based Global Autotech Co. LLC is interested in the former Green Plains ethanol plant on South 6th Avenue, according to a report from the DBS Public Affairs Group, Hopewell’s legislative consulting firm.

VaNews July 4, 2025