July 21, 2025
Va. was the only state to see unemployment rise in June
With Virginia’s unemployment rate being the highest it’s been in four years, data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics says that it’s the only state to see an unemployment rate rise in June. According to a report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released on Friday, July 18, the unemployment rate in Virginia rose again in June, to 3.5%, saying, “Virginia had the only rate increase,” while Illinois decreased by 0.2% and Maine by 0.1%. 8News previously reported that Virginia’s unemployment rate has increased steadily to 3.4% in May since January, per the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Virginia’s rate is 0.6% lower than the national rate of 4.1%.
Youngkin: It’s not too late for Earle-Sears to win
Back from addressing Iowa Republicans who were eager to hear how he won office in a state that’s been leaning Democratic, Gov. Glenn Youngkin says it’s not too late for Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears to be elected the next governor of Virginia. “Now’s the time I just remind everybody that in the summer of 2021, I was down all summer,” Youngkin said Friday on WRVA’s Richmond Morning News with Rich Herrera. On a different radio show Friday, state Sen. Mark Peake, R-Lynchburg, chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia, fired back when conservative radio host John Fredericks called Earle-Sears’ campaign a “clown car.” “It’s not a clown car and I think we are fixing it as we speak,” Peake told Fredericks ...
Virginia parents seeking subsidized child care have 90 days to get a job
There is a new job requirement rule for some families receiving state-subsidized child care in Virginia. The rule, which took effect July 1, requires parents of children participating in the Child Care Subsidy Program who are unemployed — and aren’t in an approved education or job training program — to find a job within 90 days or risk losing care. Before July 1, there was no limit on the amount of time parents could utilize the child care program while searching for a job.
68,000 Virginians impacted by SUN Bucks technical issues
The same day the statewide issuance of Virginia SUN Bucks began, around 68,000 people across the Commonwealth were impacted by technical difficulties within the system. A statement from Petersburg on Friday, July 18, informed the public that tens of thousands of households did not receive Virginia SUN Bucks — a one-time grocery benefit program for qualifying families — as scheduled due to technical difficulties.
Kaine urges young people to get involved in politics
Tim Kaine has spent most of his adult life in politics. He was first elected to public office in 1994, serving on Richmond’s city council. Four years later he became mayor, and would then go on to be Virginia’s lieutenant governor and governor. He’s now in the U.S. Senate where he’s served since 2012. Constituents find him thoughtful, likeable and always an optimist. He told worried students in Charlottesville that things will get better. "I mean I think there will be some damage along the way and some challenges," he admits, "but I think we’re going to be okay."
George Mason prepares for a future with less federal funding
Before the 2024 election was decided, George Mason University was already preparing for the political fallout. As candidates campaigned on slashing federal funding for “woke” institutions, university leadership braced for what President Gregory Washington warned would be a shifting research landscape. His message to campus: federal research dollars may decline—prepare accordingly. That preparation took shape last fall as the Grand Challenge Initiative, a five-year, $15 million plan to realign the university’s research priorities around pressing societal problems. Now, as the Trump administration resumes scrutiny of diversity programs and freezes grants to elite universities, Mason’s early pivot appears prophetic.
UVa. Student Council passes resolution to uphold student voices during presidential search
Student Council representatives unanimously passed a non-binding resolution during a virtual meeting June 14 that aims to affirm the voice of students in the search for a new University president. The resolution requests that five students be included on the search committee, and that the Board of Visitors provides key updates to the student body throughout the search process.
Immigration charges on the rise in Roanoke’s federal court
President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown has led to a sharp increase in the number of undocumented immigrants who find themselves in Roanoke’s federal court. So far this year, 32 people have been charged with illegally entering the country after previously being deported, the most common immigration charge brought in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia. There were just 13 such cases in the district during the entire four years of former President Joe Biden’s administration, according to figures from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Off-on switch: How federal funding uncertainty is impacting one after school program in Arlington
These days, the federal funding spigot gets turned off and then on again with dizzying speed. The Education Department paused more than $6 billion in federal funds for after school and other enrichment programs earlier this month. But after an outcry from a group of Republican senators, a portion of that money dedicated to supporting after school programs has been unfrozen, according to the Associated Press. That’s a bright spot for one Arlington nonprofit reeling from federal cuts. But it also underscores how tenuous federal funding has become for community organizations.
Roanoke schools navigate federal funding freeze
The Trump administration has frozen $6 billion in Department of Education funding that affects a wide swath of programs. Roanoke's public school system will be especially hard hit because of its high rates of economically disadvantaged students and English learners. The city's school system is still figuring out the details, but based on last year's programs, could be facing roughly $3.8 million in frozen federal funding.
Health Wagon, Mission of Mercy host free medical, dental clinics in Wise County
The blue sheet of paper in Martha Waddell’s hand contained a checklist of over a half-dozen medical procedures the Haysi resident was to undergo Friday at the Move Mountains medical mission. Waddell was among the first 200 people to be seen at The Health Wagon’s annual free health care event Friday morning, undergoing a biopsy for a suspicious lesion on her right arm, a bone density scan and an echo cardiogram for her heart.
Virginia man accused of stockpiling bombs, using Biden photo for target practice, pleads guilty
A Virginia man pleaded guilty Friday in a federal case that accused him of stockpiling the largest number of finished explosives in FBI history and of using then-President Joe Biden’s photo for target practice. Brad Spafford pleaded guilty in federal court in Norfolk to possession of an unregistered short barrel rifle and possession of an unregistered destructive device, according to court documents. Each count carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. His sentencing is scheduled for December.
Youngkin must advocate for FEMA, Virginia as part of reform council
The Atlantic hurricane season was only days old when President Donald Trump announced in June that he plans to terminate the Federal Emergency Management Agency later this year. With Trump, it’s never certain if he will follow through on his promises, but even the threat of ending FEMA is chilling to communities across the country. For Hampton Roads, where the summer is spent with one eye on the tropics, dismantling FEMA would sever a vital lifeline for emergency preparation and recovery that has served this community well. Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who was tapped by Trump for a FEMA Review Council, should be a forceful advocate for saving FEMA, knowing that the agency’s demise would be a danger to the commonwealth.
Today’s column is in the form of a consumer advisory: how to avoid getting tricked in the marketplace. Some of this should be simple. If some guy shows up at your door, says he’s part of a road crew that has some leftover asphalt and he’ll patch your driveway for a cut rate, don’t believe it. If you get a text purporting to be from your bank that says you need to send your account number to resolve a problem, don’t believe it. And if a candidate for governor says they intend to do away with the car tax, don’t believe that, either. We should know by now not to fall for the first two; Virginians may still need some warnings about the promise of a car tax repeal.
Surovell: Virginia deserves leaders who will stand up for workers
As Senate majority leader, I wake up every morning thinking about how to create more opportunities for Virginia families — not how to defend policies that rip jobs away from our communities. Yet that’s exactly what we’re witnessing from Gov. Glenn Youngkin, Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears and Attorney General Jason Miyares as they cheer on devastating job losses across our commonwealth. The numbers are staggering and heartbreaking. A new comprehensive analysis by the University of Virginia’s Weldon Cooper Center reveals that approximately 11,100 federal civilian jobs in Virginia have already been eliminated this year, with an additional 10,500 positions at risk in the coming months.
Toscano: For Youngkin, a big bill is coming due
Twenty-six billion dollars. That’s the staggering price tag Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s own Department of Medical Assistance Services (DMAS) just placed on the Virginia impact of President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (OBBBA). Over the next 14 years, this federal wealth redistribution bill will stretch Virginia’s budget, strain our hospitals, raise insurance premiums and harm many of our most vulnerable friends and neighbors. For weeks, Youngkin has dismissed warnings from Democrats as exaggerated and “made up.” But now, with these sobering estimates coming from his own administration, denial is no longer an option. The damage may not be immediate, but it will be deep.
