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Critics clash with Gov. Youngkin over Medicaid, SNAP impacts of 'Big Beautiful Bill'
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin is throwing his support behind the Republican-led “Big Beautiful Bill,” a sweeping federal budget package that’s stirred controversy over its potential impact on low-income Americans. Youngkin, in an interview with WUSA9 Wednesday, called the need to pass the bill “very important” and emphasized its promises of tax relief, border security funding and fiscal responsibility. . . . “I don't believe there will be people who need services who will have to go without,” the governor said.
Virginia increases funding for agricultural conservation projects aimed at Chesapeake Bay cleanup
Despite funding cuts across the board for programs and agencies on the federal level, Virginia farmers are seeing a win for conservation projects. The state is showing a dedication to sustainable farming measures by allocating $223 million for agricultural practices that stop pollutants and sediment disturbances that lead to runoff into the Chesapeake Bay. It is a $16 million increase over the last fiscal year, leading to the fourth year of increasing funding from the state.
UVa board meeting abruptly canceled after Ryan resignation
Several minutes after it was set to begin, a special meeting of the University of Virginia’s governing Board of Visitors over a "resignation faculty matter" was abruptly canceled “as it was no longer needed,” according to school officials. ... The virtual meeting scheduled for 11:30 a.m. Wednesday was called to “discuss a faculty resignation personnel matter,” as announced on the board’s website on Tuesday evening. At around 11:35 a.m. — with more than 300 people waiting online for the meeting’s livestream to begin — the link suddenly stopped functioning. The meeting was then listed as canceled on the board’s calendar.
Loudoun's congressional delegation rips Trump tax and spending bill
President Donald J. Trump says his transformative tax and spending cuts bill will increase Americans prosperity and security, but the members of Loudoun County’s congressional delegation say its effect will be ruinous. The Senate passed the bill July 1 in a 50-50 vote, with Vice President JD Vance casting the tie-breaking vote. The House of Representatives, which passed an earlier version of the bill and sent it to the Senate, took it up again July 2. Trump had demanded passage by July 4. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Virginia, and Sen. Mark R. Warner, D-Virginia both voted no. In a written statement July 1, they called the bill “disastrous legislation,” saying it slashes Medicaid and other social safety net programs to fund tax cuts for the rich.
The first Democrat to declare for a House seat from Virginia's fifth congressional district
A small crowd gathered in the shade of a picnic shelter at Crozet Park near Charlottesville to hear from a man who’d like to represent them in Congress – but from the moment he spoke it seemed people were not quite ready for that election. “Morning everybody!” the candidate called out. The crowd continued to chatter until someone finally insisted they quiet down. 58-year-old Paul Riley ran for a seat in the U.S. House two years ago but lost in the Democratic primary to Gloria Witt. Now he’s back, having learned an important political lesson.
Dumfries data center proposal draws fervor at town hall
Residents of a Dumfries-area retirement community turned out in droves for a Tuesday town hall to discuss proposed data center development near their property, a relative novelty for eastern Prince William County compared with such projects on the county’s western end. Supervisor Andrea Bailey, a Democrat representing the Potomac District, hosted the town hall at her district office in Dumfries for residents of the Four Seasons at Historic Virginia 55-and-over community off Dumfries Road and west of Interstate 95. The project, dubbed “Lexora Park,” could include as many as five data centers, according to an April 9 concept plan.
Trump’s tax bill would send an iconic Smithsonian spacecraft to Texas
The Smithsonian’s Air and Space Museum could lose the iconic Discovery space shuttle to Houston if a pair of Texas senators get their way. President Donald Trump’s massive tax and immigration bill passed the Senate on Tuesday with language effectively ordering the shuttle’s move to Texas. It would set aside $85 million to transport Discovery and construct a home for it at Space Center Houston, the official visitor center for NASA’s Johnson Space Center — which itself oversaw more than 100 shuttle launches over two decades. But the Smithsonian, which has housed the shuttle at its Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Northern Virginia since 2012, estimated that the true cost would be north of $300 million.
Fed’s hidden immigration weapon – Virginia’s surveillance network
Hundreds of Flock Safety cameras capturing images of motorists across Virginia weren’t supposed to be used for immigration enforcement. But they were. At least five Virginia counties shared data collected by Flock Safety automatic license plate readers (ALPRs) with federal authorities for immigration enforcement, despite prohibitions against using the surveillance for such operations, according to law enforcement logs. About 50 immigration-related enforcement searches were conducted in Flock data in Fairfax, Chesterfield, Isle of Wight, Loudoun and Stafford counties between June 2024 and April 2025, according to an analysis of the logs. . . . The logs reveal how data from more than 1,000 cameras tracking Virginia motorists was shared widely between agencies, and potentially used beyond its original purpose for criminal investigations and locating missing persons.
Yancey: Attorney general opens criminal investigation into baby giraffes missing from the Natural Bridge Zoo
Attorney General Jason Miyares has opened a criminal investigation into the whereabouts of the two baby giraffes missing from the Natural Bridge Zoo, it was revealed in court Wednesday. That announcement came amid an all-day hearing on contempt of court charges against three people involved with the zoo: two members of the family that has run the Rockbridge County attraction and an animal property rights activist. They were charged with impeding court orders to cooperate with moving the four adult giraffes that had been awarded to the state after an animal cruelty trial.
GMU's Innovation District in Prince William receives $2.6M from state
The Innovation District in Manassas is receiving a $2.6 million Growth and Opportunity for Virginia state grant in part to bolster George Mason University’s programming at its Science and Technology Campus. Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced the grant along with seven others June 27. . . . Specifically in Prince William, George Mason University is launching the Innovation District at its Science and Technology campus in Manassas to drive growth in life sciences, emerging technologies, aerospace and defense, cybersecurity and data infrastructure.