RICHMOND, Va. Glenn Youngkin will visit Germany, Denmark, Finland and Switzerland next week for his third international trade mission as Virginia governor. Youngkin, a Republican, will meet with Finland's president, government officials, strategic business associations, company executives and global industry leaders to further strengthen Virginias economic and cultural connections," his press office said Wednesday as it announced his itinerary. This economic development trade mission with strong European partners will build on business relations, our shared priorities and highlight the Commonw ..read more

RICHMOND, Va. -- Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney will no longer be running for governor in 2025 but will instead run for the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor. "I imagine that it will be tough," said Stoney. "But I know one thing coming from this campaign, we're going to be all positive talking about how we can go about lifting people up all across the Commonwealth, to ensure working families get a fair shot, whether they live in Abingdon or whether they live in Accomack." At a bank ribbon-cutting ceremony Tuesday, Stoney spoke about the economic growth he said his administration has b ..read more

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) Democratic Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney announced Tuesday he is dropping his bid for Virginia governor in 2025, avoiding a nomination contest with U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger, and will instead run for lieutenant governor. A former member of ex-Gov. Terry McAuliffes administration and a two-term mayor of the capital city, Stoney said he had wrestled with the decision since he and his wife welcomed their first child in March. While his campaign had sought to make the case in a memo just weeks ago that a Stoney-Spanberger primary would be competitive, he said Tuesday that while ..read more

RICHMOND, Va. -- Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney has announced that he will no longer be running for Governor of Virginia. Instead he plans to run for the office of Lieutenant Governor. In a release today Stoney stated, "After careful consideration with my family, I believe that the best way to ensure that all Virginia families do get the change they deserve is for our party to come together, avoid a costly and damaging primary and, for me to run instead for Lieutenant Governor." Levar Stoney announced his candidacy for Governor back on December 4, 2023. He joined a field that already housed Virgi ..read more

RICHMOND, Va. -- Virginia's governor signed a law Thursday that allows the state's colleges and universities to directly pay athletes through name, image and likeness deals. The law signed by Gov. Glenn Youngkin bypasses an NCAA rule that prevents schools from paying athletes under NIL guidelines. It takes effect on July 1. NIL rules, enacted in 2021, allow college athletes to agree to deals with local and national businesses that compensate them for advertising or personal appearances. At some schools, it has led to players being granted brand new trucks to drive throughout the season for exa ..read more

RICHMOND, Va. -- RICHMOND, Va. (AP) Leaders of the Democratic-controlled Virginia General Assembly said Wednesday that they reached an 11th-hour compromise with Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin to extend negotiations over the state budget in an attempt to avert gridlock. The move marks a change in course from what had been expected as recently as Tuesday and was made in an effort to reduce tensions surrounding the budget negotiations, top leaders said. Youngkin and Assembly Democrats, at odds over tax policy and other provisions of the next two-year spending plan, have spent the weeks since the ..read more

RICHMOND, Va. -- The way localities can choose to help pay for new school construction and renovation is up for debate this week at the Virginia General Assembly. Governor Glenn Youngkin (R - Virginia) vetoed a bill passed by the Democratic-controlled General Assembly that would have allowed Virginia cities and counties to add a one-percent sales tax to fund school construction and renovation projects if approved by voters in a referendum. A 2021 report found over half of Virginia's schools are over 50 years old and replacing them would cost around $25 billion. "We know from a state perspectiv ..read more

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin and the Democratic lawmakers who control the Virginia General Assembly have spent months at odds over taxes. The way to find compromise and get a new two-year budget done on time, Youngkin said Monday, is to set aside talk of cuts or increases for now and simply stick with the tax policy status quo. In a speech in Richmond, the governor outlined a lengthy package of amendments to the budget the General Assembly sent him in March, including a proposal to eliminate a new lawmaker-backed sales tax on digital goods and services. He also laid out co ..read more

RICHMOND, Va. Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed 88 bills Friday and vetoed 11 others, including legislation that advocates said would have helped protect women and medical practitioners from potential extraditions related to abortion services that are legal in Virginia. Youngkin said in a statement that the measures would undermine the nation's longstanding legal framework for extraditions. But in a move that surprised some observers, the governor signed separate legislation, which is supported by abortion rights groups, that prohibits the issuance of search warrants, subpoenas or court or ..read more

RICHMOND, Va. -- Savannah Morris was only 15 years old when she received a life-changing diagnosis. "I was in the middle of high school, it was the spring of my sophomore year," she reflected. That's when she found out she had Crohn's disease, an inflammatory bowel disease. She's had several surgeries in the 10 years since her diagnosis, and now, she must wear an ostomy pouch every single day. She said she pays roughly $150-200 about every two weeks, out of pocket, for new pouches. Though she'll stay on her parents' insurance, she worries about how she'll afford the pouches, as well as medica ..read more