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The Trump staffers who set out to reshape their alma maters
Less than a decade ago, Gregory W. Brown helped fundraise for the University of Virginia by posing for pictures in his old dorm room. Now he is central to the Trump administration’s effort to crack down on his alma mater for promoting diversity, equity and inclusion programs, as one of two Justice Department leaders and U-Va. alumni to threaten sweeping funding cuts and compel the school’s president to resign. Brown is one of several key architects of President Donald Trump’s wide-reaching campaign to root out liberal ideology from higher education who graduated from the prestigious universities the president has emboldened them to transform. Driven by personal experience, the staffers are pushing to overhaul the progressive culture they feel has come to dominate elite colleges and universities.
New Chesapeake Bay cleanup plan includes staggered goals after 2025 deadlines weren’t met
Cleaning up the Chesapeake Bay is a big feat, and the targets from a plan set in 2014 with a deadline of this year weren’t quite met. The new Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement has four thematic goals with staggered goals and varying targets to meet for each subcategory. Maryland Secretary of Natural Resources Josh Kurtz said that those main goals are “healthy landscapes, clean water, engaged communities and thriving habitat and wildlife.” He said by breaking them down, officials were hoping to make them easier to navigate and give everyone involved clear and attainable targets, compared to the 2014 plan.
Richmond grapples with legacy of Confederate statues amid Trump DEI orders
Ideas of how to memorialize and teach American history continue to clash five years after the purge of Confederate statues along Monument Avenue. Many cheered as the statues came down, witnessing a landmark moment that many considered impossible in their lifetime. Others still wish to see them restored. Two months into his new administration, President Donald Trump signed an executive order titled “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History.” . . . Legal experts and analysts say the order is unlikely to revive Richmond’s monuments, as they were local and state property, not under the jurisdiction of the federal government. But the president’s actions signal his willingness to wrest control of cultural institutions and mold American national identity.
Candidate facing bestiality porn charges makes the ballot in Patrick County
A man facing 10 felony charges of attempting to possess bestiality materials has made the ballot for a seat on the Patrick County Board of Supervisors. Malcolm Roach Sr., 70, of Stuart was arrested by the Patrick County Sheriff’s Office on June 9 and was released the same day on a $7,500 secured bond, Sgt. Michael Harris said via email on Thursday. Harris declined to provide the incident or arrest report, citing the ongoing investigation. Roach filed the paperwork necessary to run for the board of supervisors seat on June 11, according to the Patrick County Registrar, two days after his arrest. The signatures, or petitions, he collected in order to make it onto the ballot were notarized on June 4, before his arrest.
Virginia lands $16.4M from new opioid settlement with drugmakers
In another major legal win in the fight against the opioid crisis, Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares announced Thursday that the commonwealth could receive up to $16.4 million as part of a sweeping $720 million multi-state settlement with eight generic drug manufacturers accused of flooding communities with addictive painkillers. “Years ago, pharmaceutical companies exploited Virginians, treating them like test subjects while pushing dangerous, addictive drugs into our communities while lining their pockets,” Miyares said in a statement. . . . Virginia helped negotiate the deal alongside attorneys general from California, Colorado, Illinois, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Tennessee, and Utah. The announcement marks another step in Virginia’s broader legal effort to hold opioid manufacturers accountable — efforts that have now resulted in over $1.1 billion in secured settlements for the state.
Residential solar industry weighs impacts of tax credit loss, potential rate changes
Solar installers are staring down a potential one-two punch of changes that could drastically alter the math for residential customers who are considering whether to invest in panels. A federal tax credit that can help a homeowner offset thousands of dollars of the cost of buying solar panels is set to expire at the end of this year, thanks to the federal megabill dubbed the “One Big Beautiful Bill.” Separately, Virginia utility regulators are deciding whether to allow Appalachian Power and Dominion Energy to reduce how much they credit future residential solar panel owners for the electricity they generate beyond what they consume.
The White House says it’s investigating antisemitism. Faculty at George Mason U. suspect a coordinated ouster attempt.
When the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) notified George Mason University on July 1 that it was opening an antisemitism investigation based on a recent complaint, the university’s president, Gregory Washington, said he was “perplexed.” Compared with other campuses, where protesters had ransacked buildings and hunkered down in encampments, George Mason had been relatively quiet over the past year, he said. His administration had taken extensive steps to improve relations with the Jewish community, enacted strict rules on protest, and communicated all of that to the OCR during a previous antisemitism investigation that remained open. By the next day, though, there were signs that the new probe was part of a coordinated campaign to oust him.
These Younger Democrats Are Sick of Their Party’s Status Quo
A number of prominent younger Democrats with records of winning tough races are forming a new group with big ambitions to remake their party’s image, recruit a new wave of candidates and challenge political orthodoxies they say are holding the party back. Members of the initiative, Majority Democrats, have different theories about how the national party has blundered. . . . According to Ms. Smith, members include: former Representative Abigail Spanberger, the Democratic nominee for governor of Virginia; Representative Mikie Sherrill, the party’s candidate for governor of New Jersey; Senators Ruben Gallego of Arizona and Elissa Slotkin of Michigan; members of Congress from highly competitive districts including Representatives Jared Golden of Maine, Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington, Gabe Vasquez of New Mexico and Kristen McDonald Rivet of Michigan; and the mayors of Cincinnati, Denver, Scranton, Pa., Newport News, Va., and Kansas City, Mo.
As part of FEMA Review Council, Youngkin to assess state, federal disaster coordination
In the wake of deadly flooding in central Texas and New Mexico that claimed over 100 lives with nearly 200 still missing, scrutiny of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which provides disaster recovery services and funding, has mounted. Before the floods, the federal government had announced plans to eliminate or remake the agency and is now reviewing its procedures, funding, and execution of agency missions, a process in which Virginia’s governor is taking an active role.
Historical markers approved for Lucy Addison in Roanoke, small newspaper in Highland County
The Virginia Department of Historic Resources has approved nine new historical markers across Virginia, including one for the famed Roanoke educator Lucy Addison, as well as the weekly newspaper in the smallest county in the state. Other notable markers include one in King William County to call attention to the Virginia “racial integrity” act of 1924 that was used to erase the existence of Native American tribes in the state, something that has since been called a “paper genocide.” The department notes that markers aren’t meant to “honor” a particular person or event but rather to recognize history that has happened.