Graham Moomaw, Virginia Mercury State Sen. Jennifer McClellan, D-Richmond, defeated Republican pastor Leon Benjamin in Tuesday’s special election for a Richmond-centered seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, a victory that will make her Virginia’s first Black congresswoman. McClellan, a corporate attorney who has championed progressive causes like abortion access …
Read More »Virginia Governor Opposes Shielding Menstrual App Data From Search Warrants
Graham Moomaw, Virginia Mercury A proposal to put menstrual data stored on period-tracking apps beyond the reach of Virginia authorities failed in the state House of Delegates Monday after Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s administration expressed opposition to the idea for the first time. The legislation, which had passed the Democratic-controlled Senate …
Read More »Biden Visits Virginia To Tout Economic Progress
President Joe Biden spoke at a union hall in northern Virginia Thursday afternoon, attempting to cast himself as a defender of the middle class by leaning into his economic accomplishments and contrasting them with the Republican proposals he says would be catastrophic for Americans’ pocketbooks. “We’re moving in the right …
Read More »Yet Another Mass Shooting in US as Gunman Kills at Least 6 in Virginia Walmart
A gunman opened fire inside a Chesapeake, Virginia Walmart late Tuesday, killing at least six people and wounding others in the latest mass shooting in the United States, which has seen more than 600 this year alone. Reuters reported that local police “have so far not provided any details about …
Read More »After Chesapeake, UVA Shootings, Virginia Gov. Youngkin To Propose Mental Health Agenda
Charlie Paullin, Virginia Mercury Following the second mass shooting in Virginia in as many weeks that left 7 dead as of midday Wednesday, Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin said his administration plans to propose legislation to the General Assembly this winter to bolster mental health resources. While offering few details to …
Read More »Youngkin Administration Overhauls Virginia Transgender Student Policies
Nathaniel Cline, Virginia Mercury Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s administration quietly released a document Friday overhauling Virginia’s policy on the treatment of transgender students, citing “parental rights.” The “Model Policies on the Privacy, Dignity, and Respect for all Students and Parents in Virginia’s Public Schools” published by the Virginia Department of …
Read More »Virginia AG Announces 20-Person ‘election integrity unit’
Graham Moomaw, Virginia Mercury Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares is creating a new unit dedicated to ensuring “legality and purity in elections,” his office announced Friday. The 20-person team, the attorney general’s office said, will investigate and prosecute potential violations of election law and be a legal resource for state …
Read More »Former Trump Aide Mark Meadows Removed From North Carolina Voter Roll Amid Election Fraud Investigation
Mark Meadows, chief of staff for former President Donald Trump and a former N.C. congressman, was removed from North Carolina voter rolls this week after officials confirmed he was also registered to vote in Virginia. Macon County Board of Elections Director Melanie Thibault confirmed to the Asheville Citizen Times this week that …
Read More »Virginia School Boards Sue Gov. Youngkin For Lifting Mask Mandate
An executive order about mask-wearing inside schools by new Virginia Governor Glen Youngkin went into effect Monday morning. A few hours after the order went into effect, officials announced that school boards of seven school districts filed a lawsuit to challenge Youngkin’s executive order. Alexandria City, Arlington County, City of …
Read More »Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin Ends School Mask Mandates On First Day In Office
On Saturday, Republican Glenn Youngkin was sworn in as Virginia’s 74th Governor. He’s the first Republican governor in the state in over a decade. Youngkin defeated former Democratic Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe in November of last year. Just hours after being sworn in, Youngkin signed nine executive orders and two executive …
Read More »Virginia Election: Glenn Youngkin wins Virginia governor’s race
Republican Glenn Youngkin has won the Virginia governor’s race, defeating Democrat Terry McAuliffe, and snapping a losing streak for GOP statewide candidates in the commonwealth. The Associated Press projected Youngkin as the race winner after midnight. “Together, we will change the trajectory of this commonwealth,” Youngkin told a crowd of …
Read More »Key races to watch in November 2 elections
In Virginia, polling shows Terry McAuliffe and Glenn Youngkin in a tight race that’s focused on abortion and schools. Also worth watching: November elections in Atlanta, Boston, Minneapolis, New Jersey and more. Terri Rupar Originally published by The 19th The year after a presidential contest is not a big one …
Read More »Robert E. Lee Statue In Richmond, Virginia, Removed; Cut Into Pieces
History was made in Richmond Wednesday when one of the country’s largest Confederate monuments, a 21-foot-tall bronze statue of Robert E. Lee on a horse, was taken down on the city’s famous Monument Avenue more than 130 years after it was erected in the former capital of the Confederacy. View …
Read More »Virginia Gov. Northam grants posthumous pardons to ‘Martinsville Seven’
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam on Tuesday granted posthumous pardons to seven Black men who were executed in 1951 for the alleged rape of a White woman. He said he granted the pardons because the men were tried by an all-White jury, without due process and executed because they were Black, …
Read More »Charlottesville Removes Statues Of Confederate Leaders
Charlottesville’s statues of Confederate Gens. Robert E. Lee and Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson were removed within a span of eight hours Saturday — capping a years-long effort by many to rid the city of the monuments. The statue’s removal came more than five years after racial justice activists had renewed a …
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