WMRA Daily

A woman arrested by federal agents near Harrisonburg is charged with resisting officers... Food pantries brace for increasing demand, just as SNAP benefits end... Jeff Schapiro surveys a busy week in Virginia politics....

A viral video shows a woman being aggressively detained by two federal agents near Harrisonburg... Given a choice between jail and telling authorities what happened to two missing baby giraffes, the manager at Natural Bridge Zoo chooses jail... Legislation pushed by Democrats to allow mid-decade redistricting moves forward in the General Assembly....

Virginia Democrats release language for their proposed constitutional amendment to redraw congressional maps… Although the governor is stepping in to fill the gap in food assistance, local food banks are bracing for more shortages… Local educators react to the decision by Virginia’s education board to raise SOL proficiency standards….

A judge rules that the criminal cases against a former leader of Nexus may go ahead... Democrats convene in Richmond to begin redrawing the state’s congressional maps, while Republicans complain about the effort... A Valley health center uses local grant funding to treat jaundice in newborn babies....

A man is in custody after an hours-long standoff with Harrisonburg police near EMU... State officials scramble to figure out how to keep the most vulnerable among us fed... What might Virginia Republicans do to slow down the Democrats’ efforts to redraw the state’s congressional districts?

Governor Youngkin declares a state of emergency in response to the federal shutdown... In a surprise announcement, Democrats reconvene the General Assembly over redistricting... Jeff Schapiro has thoughts about that and more in Virginia politics....

The Justice Department and UVa strike a deal to end federal investigations into the school’s admissions practices... Federal food assistance benefits for nearly 800,000 Virginians may start running out in November... Our series of candidate conversations continues with Jena Crisler, the Democratic challenger in the Valley’s 35th district....

JMU suspends a fan who heckled the lieutenant governor at last weekend’s home football game... We follow up in our reporting on the candidates for the District Three seat on Rockingham County’s school board, currently held by Matt Cross... Our candidate conversations series continues with Republican incumbent Delegate Chris Runion, in Virginia’s 35th House district....

Merck breaks ground on a $3 billion facility in Elkton expected to create 500 jobs... A Harrisonburg food pantry expands its offerings... Opposition to Rockingham County school board member Matt Cross intensifies....

UVa says it will not agree to demands in a “compact” with the Trump administration…Saturday’s “No Kings” rallies across Virginia include a continuation of previous protests in Woodstock…As power bills rise, the politics of energy take center stage in the race for governor….

The candidates for attorney general meet in a much-anticipated debate...An appeals court rules that Nexus owes $811 million in restitution and penalties...The Blue Ridge Free Clinic expands its care to mental health services....

UVa faculty respond to the Trump administration’s demand that the school sign a “compact” to get access to federal funding...We explore how the candidates for governor approach 2nd Amendment rights... Meanwhile, Republican candidate Winsome Earle-Sears is lacking one important endorsement – that of the president....

Court cases get underway involving several bridge protesters in Shenandoah County...Virginia airports refuse to air a controversial, and probably illegal, video featuring Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem...School board candidates in Albemarle County attend a forum, but some board races elsewhere in Virginia don’t have any candidates on the ballot....

Local school officials condemn Rockingham County school board member Matt Cross for posting a video of a student fight in a Harrisonburg public school...We visit one Valley vineyard enlisting the help of patrons to fight the spotted lanternfly invasion...The Virginia Department of Health takes the lead from the CDC in its controversial new vaccine advice....

The candidates in Virginia’s gubernatorial election clashed in a debate last Thursday night, while nuclear power appears to be a shared interest between Democrats and Republicans in the commonwealth... The federal shutdown has halted flood insurance in Virginia... the state may soon lift restrictions on harvesting blue catfish... journalist David Poole talks about his new book ahead of his appearance for WMRA’s Books and Brews...

Last night the candidates for governor debated in Norfolk. It was the only debate between republican Winsome Earle-Sears and Democrat Abigail Spanberger ... Virginia is celebrating today over the announcement that a multi-national drug company plans to build two new manufacturing facilities in Albemarle County ... Democrats are outraising Republicans in key races for the House of Delegates.

A former Nexus executive is now in custody, awaiting sentencing…State senate Democrats warn UVa not to accept President Trump’s political demands…Our series of candidate conversations continues, with Democrat Makayla Venable, running in Virginia’s 36th House district….

Charlottesville residents revive a federal lawsuit against Sentara Health for alleged price gouging…Enrollment is down at Virginia’s community colleges, perhaps one result of a stronger economy…We profile the Blue Ridge Abortion Fund and its mission of providing care, increasingly, to women from states that have restricted abortion since the Dobbs decision….

WMRA explores the latest arrest data from ICE…Republicans call for Democrat Jay Jones to withdraw from the race for attorney general after controversial texts he sent come to light…Elected officials in Richmond grapple with a coming drop-off in college enrollment….

Virginia’s ACLU sues ICE for allegedly detaining young people unlawfully at Farmville’s detention center and elsewhere...Meanwhile, Albemarle County’s Circuit Court Clerk says recent detentions at the courthouse by ICE agents have a chilling effect on court attendance...The Roanoke Times and Richmond Times-Dispatch will eliminate their Monday print editions....