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‘This is not what students want’: Students react to Ryan’s resignation

By NAIMA SAWAYA, Cavalier Daily

Following University President Jim Ryan’s resignation from his position Friday, The Cavalier Daily asked students to share their reactions via an online form. Of the 121 responses received, all but one student expressed concern about Ryan’s resignation and what it meant for the University, its students and the state of higher education in the United States. “My immediate reaction was shock, then anger, then grief,” third-year College student Alex Minter wrote. “Shock that an administration claiming it supports academic freedom has gone so far into doing the opposite, anger that a popular, if flawed, president is leaving and grief over what will come next.”

VaNews June 30, 2025


Walkinshaw wins Democratic nomination for Virginia’s Eleventh Congressional District

By ANDREW KERLEY, Virginia Scope

Fairfax County Supervisor James Walkinshaw beat out nine other candidates in a contentious firehouse primary on Saturday to become the Democratic nominee for Virginia’s 11th Congressional District in Northern Virginia. His opponent in the general election will be the Republican nominee, Stewart Whitson. “I’m honored and humbled to have earned the Democratic nomination for the district I’ve spent my career serving,” Walkinshaw said in a statement Saturday night.

VaNews June 30, 2025


Dem Walkinshaw, GOP's Whitson to vie for Connolly's congressional seat

By ANDREW CAIN, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Subscription Required)

Democrat James Walkinshaw, who spent a decade as Rep. Gerry Connolly's chief of staff, will face Republican Stewart Whitson, a U.S. Army veteran and former FBI special agent, in a Sept. 9 special election to fill the seat of the late Northern Virginia congressman. Walkinshaw, a member of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors since 2020, prevailed in a 10-candidate field in Saturday's Democratic nomination contest that included state Sen. Stella Pekarsky, D-Fairfax, and Del. Irene Shin, D-Fairfax. ... In the GOP nominating contest, Whitson prevailed in a field of seven candidates that included Mike Van Meter, who lost to Connolly by about 34 percentage points in 2024.

VaNews June 30, 2025


Walkinshaw wins Virginia primary to replace Rep. Connolly, his former boss

By TEO ARMUS, DARANEE BALACHANDAR AND LAURA VOZZELLA, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)

Fairfax County Supervisor James Walkinshaw won the Democratic nomination to replace Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Virginia) in Congress, leveraging an endorsement from the late lawmaker — who had long enlisted him as a top aide — to win a crowded race animated by growing frustrations with the party establishment. His victory, announced Saturday night following a party-run primary, capped a breakneck special-election contest in Virginia’s 11th Congressional District against two state lawmakers and several political newcomers, many of whom called for a shake-up on Capitol Hill.

VaNews June 30, 2025


Sperry: Federal spending bill would sever ‘vital link’ for health care

By BOBBIE JO SPERRY, published in Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

As a family physician who has practiced in Hampton Roads for more than 17 years, I’ve had the privilege of caring for thousands of families — from newborns to grandparents. Time and again, I’ve seen how access to health care saves lives. And for many in our community, Medicaid is the vital link that makes that care possible. In 2019, Virginia took a monumental step forward by expanding Medicaid. More than 630,000 Virginians gained insurance — many for the first time. ... But now, that progress is under threat. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projects that 7.6 million Americans could lose Medicaid coverage under the House-passed budget reconciliation bill.

Sperry of Yorktown is a family physician who has been practicing in Hampton Roads for more than 17 years.

VaNews June 30, 2025


Spanberger Rallies Warren County Democrats at Apple House Event in Linden

By MIKE MCCOOL, Royal Examiner

Democratic nominee for governor Abigail Spanberger made a lively and well-attended stop at the Apple House in Linden on Friday morning, addressing a packed house as part of her eight-day bus tour across Virginia. The tour, which is taking her to all corners of the Commonwealth, aims to connect directly with voters and share her message of affordability, safer communities, and stronger public schools. Spanberger, who served as U.S. Representative for Virginia’s 7th District from 2019 to 2025, is the Democratic Party’s nominee in the 2025 Virginia gubernatorial election, running against Republican nominee and current lieutenant governor Winsome Earle-Sears.

VaNews June 30, 2025


Spanberger, other Democrats vying for office draw hundreds at Williamsburg campaign stop

By BEN SWENSON, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)

The Democratic nominees for statewide office stopped near Williamsburg on Saturday as part of an eight-day, 40-stop campaign tour of Virginia. Abigail Spanberger, candidate for governor; state Sen. Ghazala Hashmi, who is vying to be the commonwealth’s next lieutenant governor; and Jerrauld “Jay” Jones, who is running for attorney general; were joined by Jessica Anderson, who is seeking to represent Virginia’s House of Delegates District 71. The event, hosted by the Historic Triangle Democrats at Lafayette High School in James City County, drew approximately 400 attendees.

VaNews June 30, 2025


Yancey: Trump administration forces out the UVa president; 7 things to know (or wonder about)

By DWAYNE YANCEY, Cardinal News

The president of Virginia’s flagship university is leaving, pushed out by the Trump administration. The actual facts available are few. Let’s review what little we do know, then focus on what we don’t know. The background: President Donald Trump came into office vowing to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion programs and started on day one by signing the first in a series of executive orders. Over the coming weeks, multiple colleges in Virginia moved to eliminate their DEI offices.

VaNews June 30, 2025


Federal overreach will not end with President Ryan

Cavalier Daily Editorial

Throughout the last months, the Department of Justice has pressured University President Jim Ryan to step down, alleging that the University had violated a federal order to dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion programs. This was an unprecedented and invasive ultimatum — lose vital federal funding for the University, or resign. Yesterday, Ryan submitted his resignation to the Board of Visitors, putting an end to his tenure of seven years and choosing to put the longevity of the institution and the security of its students above his own job. As the six students who make up this Editorial Board, we mourn the resignation of an iconic University leader and condemn the unprecedented circumstances which forced him into it.

VaNews June 30, 2025


Federal judge grants request to keep Job Corps open amid lawsuit, but program’s future remains uncertain following Supreme Court ruling

By ELIZABETH BEYER, Cardinal News

A federal judge in New York this week extended a temporary restraining order against the federal government’s attempt to shut down Job Corps centers across the country — including two in Virginia — but a subsequent U.S. Supreme Court ruling raises questions about whether the order will stand. The National Job Corps Association, along with contractors who administer Job Corps sites, sued the U.S. Department of Labor after it ordered the closure of 99 federally contracted sites across the country, including the Blue Ridge Job Corps Center in Marion and the Old Dominion Job Corps Center in Amherst.

VaNews June 30, 2025