Virginia budget impasse threatens school funding, poses potential staffing challenges By Nathaniel Cline Virginia Mercury Virginia’s education leaders say they are optimistic about the proposed K-12 funding in the state budget, but their outlook is tempered by uncertainty as state leaders and the governor have yet to reach an agreement on...

By Ashley Murray |   D.C. Bureau |  Gov & Politics WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Democrats, police officers who defended the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 insurrection and their legal advocates spoke out Tuesday against the Trump administration’s proposed $1.776 billion “anti-weaponization” fund. The press conference, organized by liberal litigation organizations...

By Ashley Murray |   D.C. Bureau |  Gov & Politics WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s nearly $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund appeared to be on shaky ground Monday as he continued to face opposition from his own party. Trump had not yet made a public announcement by late afternoon, but several media...

Virginia lawmakers are set to return to Richmond as budget deadline nears By Markus Schmidt Virginia Mercury Virginia lawmakers are set to return to Richmond this month for another attempt to reach a budget deal, with just days until the start of the new fiscal year and no agreement yet on...

By Charles Owens For Bluefield Daily Telegraph Glenwood — Less than a month after it was dedicated, the new Rainbow Pet Memorial Bridge in Mercer County has already been vandalized. Area officials, including members of the Mercer County Coalition for Healthy Communities, held a ribbon cutting and dedication ceremony on May...

By Matthew Young For HDMedia Charleston kicks off 30 years of Pride in the Capital City this June. A worldwide observance first recognized in West Virginia in 1997, Pride Month got its start in 1970 after parades were held in New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago and San Francisco in response...

Is Dominion’s plan to merge with NextEra good or bad for Virginians? By Ivy Main Virginia Mercury Man, even the Pope doesn’t like data centers. In his new encyclical on artificial intelligence, Pope Leo XIV laid out the dangers of the mad rush to replace humans with AI. Amid the concerns...

May rains help ease Virginia drought, but dry conditions persist By Shannon Heckt Virginia Mercury Many parts of Virginia ended May with soaking rains after reports showed 80% of the state was experiencing “severe drought” conditions. While the rain that moved through much of the state  helped ease some of the...

By Ashley Murray |   D.C. Bureau |  Gov & Politics WASHINGTON — Transgender military members won a temporary victory against the Trump administration in federal appeals court Monday when two judges ruled a policy banning them from service violated their constitutional right to equal protection under the law. Judges Judith W. Rogers...

By Jennifer Shutt  |   D.C. Bureau |  Gov & Politics WASHINGTON — Democratic Party leaders from a dozen states traveled to Washington, D.C., at the end of May to press for their voters to cast the first ballots in the next presidential primary. State representatives argued that diversifying the early states...