Category: The South

 

The South

Virginia (13), North Carolina (15), and Florida (29) add 57 electoral college votes to the total.

Virginia Democrat Stalls Arena Project After Gov. Youngkin Suggests Party Doesn’t Want ‘A Strong America’

Tom Pappert
Gov. Glenn Youngkin

Key Virginia Democrats pulled their support from the proposal by Governor Glenn Youngkin to build a new sports complex in Alexandria, Virginia for the Washington Wizards and Capitals, and did not place a bill to advance the initiative on the Senate schedule on Monday.

State Senator Louise Lucas (D-Portsmouth) first indicated she would use her power as the Senate Finance Chair to block the bill in a Saturday post to X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, in which she slammed Youngkin for suggesting Democrats do not want “a strong America” in his speech at the 28th Mock Convention at Washington and Lee University.

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Judge Warns Fani Willis Could Face ‘Disqualification’ in Trump Case Due to Nathan Wade Relationship

Tom Pappert

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee warned on Monday that District Attorney Fani Willis could face “disqualification” from prosecuting her case against former President Donald Trump as a result of her admitted relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade, who she appointed to oversee the case.

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D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser Reveals Efforts to Stop Gov. Youngkin’s Plan to Move Wizards, Capitals to Virginia

Tom Pappert

Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser on Sunday authored an opinion column offering reasons why Monumental Sports and Entertainment should abandon its plans to move to Alexandria, Virginia, where Governor Glenn Youngkin is working with the General Assembly to build a new entertainment complex for the Washington Wizards and Capitals.

Bowser revealed the offer made to keep the sports teams in the district, stressed the city’s ownership position over the Capital One Arena property and outlined a series of concerns about the possible move.

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Bill Ackman on Washington Post Hit Piece: ‘The Public Has Been Again Misled’

Michael Patrick Leahy

Bill Ackman, the highly successful investor and Harvard graduate whose criticism of Claudine Gay’s history of plagiarism led to her resignation as President of Harvard University, published a lengthy tweet on his X account Saturday evening responding to an article about him published by The Washington Post earlier in the day, “How a liberal billionaire became America’s leading anti-DEI crusader.”

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Virginia Legislation to Limit Removal of Explicit Content from Schools Advances

The Center Square

Democratic-sponsored bills meant to inhibit censorship of books with sexually explicit content are advancing through the Virginia House of Delegates and the Senate this session — and not just along party lines.

House Bill 571, sponsored by Del. Karrie Delaney, D-Fairfax, passed the House Education Committee Wednesday 14-8, with two Republicans — Del. Carrie Coyner, R-Chesterfield, and Del. Baxter Ennis, R-Chesapeake — voting for the legislation. 

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Data Center Bill Dies in Virginia House

The Center Square
Josh Thomas

A Virginia House of Delegates subcommittee tabled a bill Thursday that would have restricted data centers from being constructed within a half mile of state and national parks statewide.

Just before the committee voted on the bill, its patron, Del. Joshua Thomas, D-Prince William, made an impassioned plea in a last-ditch effort to move it forward — to no avail.

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Virginia Bishops Urge Action Against Assisted Suicide Legislation as Bills Advance in General Assembly

Tom Pappert
Virginia Catholic Bishops

Two Virginia bishops issued a letter through the Virginia Catholic Conference on Monday urging Catholics to oppose legislation in the Virginia General Assembly that would legalize physician assisted suicide within the commonwealth. The legislation passed a second committee vote on Thursday.

Bishop Michael Burbridge of Arlington and Bishop Barry Knestout of Richmond warned in their letter that bills “to legalize physician assisted suicide” are “moving rapidly” through the General Assembly. The bishops wrote, “We are alarmed and deeply saddened by this development. Human life is sacred and must never be abandoned or discarded.

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Virginia Democrats Kill Gov. Youngkin’s Tax Proposal Until at Least 2025

Tom Pappert
Lucas stuart

Democrats in the Virginia State Senate have beaten the attempt by Governor Glenn Youngkin and Virginia Republicans to cut the commonwealth’s income tax rates and reform Virginia’s sales tax until at least 2025.

SB 632, filed by State Senator Richard Stuart (R-Montross), was continued into 2025 on Tuesday in an overwhelming vote by the Senate Subcommittee on Finance and Appropriations, led by State Senator L. Louise Lucas (D-Portsmouth).

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Anti-Bullying Virginia Bill Aims to Enhance Protections for Specified Classes of Students

The Center Square
Sad Person

 Virginia’s House of Delegates Education Committee voted on several influential bills Monday morning, including one on student bullying, the implications of which may be unclear.

The legislation was created with the belief that naming groups of students often targeted most by bullying would force schools to proactively develop a plan for responding to specific bullying situations quickly and appropriately.

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Virginia Democrats Seek to Allow ‘Anti Rent Gouging’ Ordinances, Spend $100 Million in ‘Long-Term Direct Rental Assistance’

Tom Pappert
House for Rent

Democrats in the Virginia General Assembly seek to allow local cities and towns to enact “anti rent gouging” ordinances that would regulate what property owners can charge renters and when rent can be raised, and additionally seek to add $100 million to the budget to fund “long-term direct rental assistance” for 5,000 families via vouchers.

Delegate Nadarius Clark (D-Suffolk) introduced HB 721 in early January to allow “any locality” to adopt an “anti-rent gouging” ordinance that would force landlords to provide two months of written notice in the event of a rent increase, prevent landlords from raising rent more than once within a 12-month period, cap how much rent can be increased and allow communities “to establish an anti-rent gouging board” to create regulations “by which landlords may apply for and be granted exemptions” from the legislation.

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Virginia House Passes Bills to Ban Firearm Sales, Increase Minimum Wage

Tom Pappert

The Virginia House of Democrats successfully passed HB 1 and HB 2, which would see the minimum wage in the commonwealth raised to $15 per hour by 2026 and make the sale or transfer of “assault firearms and certain ammunition feeding devices” a misdemeanor criminal offense.

Filed by Delegate  Jeion Ward (D-Hampton), HB 1 would see Virginia’s current minimum wage of $12 per hour increased to $13.50 per hour in 2025 before increasing to $15 per hour in 2026. It passed through committee with partisan votes, and narrowly passed in the House of Delegates with 51 votes in favor and 49 votes against.

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‘There’ll Probably Be Some Changes’: Trump Hints at RNC Shake-Up When Asked About McDaniel

Admin

Former President Donald Trump suggested in an interview Sunday that “some changes” could be coming to the Republican National Committee when asked about Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel’s performance.

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Virginia Legislation to Limit the Use of License Plate Readers Advances

The Center Square
License Plate Reader

A bill to limit and expand law enforcement’s use of license plate readers passed out of a Virginia House subcommittee, sparking questions during a debate about the age-old dance between government overreach and public safety.

House Bill 775 from Del. Charniele Herring, D-Alexandria, would institute statewide regulations governing the use of the technology and enable law enforcement to use them on highways managed by the Virginia Department of Transportation.

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Virginia Congressman: Commission Is ‘Rewriting History,’ Deserves Investigation

The Center Square
Bob Good Speaking

In two letters to government officials, Virginia Congressman and Chair of House Freedom Caucus Bob Good, R-Lynchburg, demanded “accountability and transparency” from the Naming Commission.

The commission was established in 2021 to recommend renaming military assets showing honor to the Confederacy for the Department of Defense.

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Virginia Democrats Shut Down Social Media Regulations After Gov. Youngkin Promised Bills to Protect Commonwealth Kids

Tom Pappert
Kids Phone

Two bills put forward by Republicans in the Virginia House of Delegates were defeated in the a subcommittee by Democrats on Monday, just months after Governor Glenn Youngkin said promised to file bills targeting social media companies, particularly TikTok, to protect children in the commonwealth.

Defeated by a margin of two votes, HB 1161 would have required social media platforms to obtain a verifiable form of parental consent for minors to use the platform and for parental consent to be obtained a second time before social media companies could collect personal data from minors.

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Gov. Youngkin Announces Virginia Permit Transparency Website, Expanding Program Hailed as ‘Model for Other States’

Tom Pappert
Glenn Youngkin

Governor Glenn Youngkin announced on Wednesday the Virginia Permit Transparency (VPT) website, expanding a program Forbes hailed as “a model for other states” to include three Virginia agencies with more to follow.

The governor’s office explained in a press release that the VPT provides the public with “a centralized platform” to track daily status of their permit application.

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Health Insurance Costs in Virginia Rising Despite Low Levels of Healthcare Spending, Study Finds

Kaitlin Housler

The Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association (VHHA) is bringing awareness to a new study showing health insurance premiums and deductible costs among Virginians are rising despite the state’s overall healthcare spending remaining below national levels.

“When it comes to health care spending, Virginia is in the enviable position of having expenditure rates that remain well below national levels. The same cannot be said for health insurance costs, unfortunately,” the VHHA said in a press release. “On the contrary, the amount that individuals and families across the Commonwealth spend on annual health insurance premiums and out-of-pocket deductibles continues to rise sharply year-over-year.”

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Virginia Lawmakers Push Richer Employer-Provided Benefits to Workers

The Center Square
Working Mom

Calling her state and America behind “the entire industrialized world,” a Virginia senator is one of two lawmakers pushing legislation to implement an employer-provided benefit to workers.

“Virginia and our entire nation are woefully behind the entire industrialized world when it comes to helping workers when their families need them,” Sen. Jennifer Boysko, D-Fairfax, said Monday explaining a paid famil and medical leave program.

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Virginia First Lady Suzanne Youngkin, Attorney General Miyares Hold First Event for ‘It Only Takes One’ Fentanyl Awareness Initiative

Tom Pappert

First Lady of Virginia Suzanne Youngkin and Attorney General Jason Miyares on Tuesday held an event for their new fentanyl awareness initiative, called It Only Takes One. They were joined by Roanoke City Mayor Sherman Lea and the parents of a child who died after overdosing on fentanyl.

“Fentanyl is killing our young people and hurting families across the Commonwealth,” Youngkin said during her speech at the event. She added, “By bringing attention to the dangers of this illicit drug, while giving a voice to victims, we aspire to save lives. Ultimately, caring for one another is our higher calling.”

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Commentary: Virginia’s Veterans Deserve Better

Virginia Star Staff
US Veterans

Ranger Buddy, Wing Man, Swim Partner.

The Armed Services drills individuals from day one that you are part of a team. The military member is not alone. The chain of command has your back. But this doctrine, while well-known to those who have served in the military, may soon change depending on the outcome of an ongoing legislative debate in Richmond.

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House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green: DHS Secretary Mayorkas’ Refusal to Enforce Laws Produced ‘Catastrophic’ Results

Kaitlin Housler

House Committee on Homeland Security Chairman Mark Green (R-TN-07) delivered opening remarks on Tuesday during a full committee markup for articles of impeachment against Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

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Mayorkas Mails Letter to GOP House Saying Impeachment Allegations ‘False,’ Won’t Testify in Process

Just the News

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Tuesday issued a fiery defense against the impeachment articles he faces, calling the allegations “false” and urging Congress to fix the U.S. immigration system through legislation.

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Virginia State Senator Louise Lucas Suggests Democrats Will Stop Cooperating with Youngkin if He Vetoes $15 Minimum Wage Bill

Tom Pappert

Virginia State Senator L. Louise Lucas (D-Portsmouth) indicated on Friday that Governor Glenn Youngkin (R) could see Democrats, who narrowly control the Virginia General Assembly, end their cooperation if he vetoes her bill to raise the commonwealth’s minimum wage to $15 per hour.

In a post to X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, the senator predicted that Youngkin “will quickly find the cooperative tone from Democrats changing” should the governor veto her minimum wage bill.

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Virginia Attorney General Miyares Launches Media Campaign for Operation Ceasefire to Address Gun Violence

Tom Pappert

Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares confirmed on Thursday a $2.8 million media campaign to support Operation Ceasefire, the campaign he began in 2022 to lower gun violence throughout the commonwealth.

A trailer for the attorney general’s campaign, posted to YouTube last month, reveals an upcoming “public awareness and media campaign” titled Ceasefire Virginia. Miyares intends to reach “young people who may be considering gang or violent criminal activity” by targeting them on social media.

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Collective Bargaining Advances to Virginia House Committee

The Center Square
VA Collective Bargaining

Two bills to expand collective bargaining in the commonwealth came before the House Labor and Commerce Subcommittee #2 Thursday, one by Del. Katrina Callsen, D-Albemarle, for public transportation providers and the other by Del. Kathy Tran, D-Fairfax, for all public employees in Virginia.

The subcommittee quickly voted to incorporate Callsen’s bill into Tran’s HB 1001, expanding collective bargaining for public sector employees from something authorized at the local level to a universal right for all, including state employees.

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Youngkin Declared Biden Can’t ‘Deal with Our Border’ Before Announcing ‘Virginia Stands with Texas’

Tom Pappert
Youngkin Border

Governor Glenn Youngkin responded on Wednesday to President Joe Biden referring to former Governor Terry McAuliffe as the “real governor” of Virginia before he later announced “Virginia stands with Texas” in the standoff between Governor Greg Abbott and the Biden administration over Abbott’s efforts to protect the state’s southern border.

Biden launched a Tuesday campaign event by greeting Virginia and “the real governor, Terry McAuliffe,” which White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre insisted was a joke. After Biden’s apparent attempt at comedy, Youngkin told 12 On Your Side on Wednesday that he was not surprised the president “doesn’t know who the Governor of Virginia is.”

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Biden Administration Stiffed Nonprofit That Helped with Afghanistan Withdrawal, Virginia Democrats Claim

Tom Pappert
Tim Kaine

The Biden State Department reportedly failed to pay nearly $700,000 to the Northern Virginia Emergency Response System (NVERS), a nonprofit partnership of Virginia governments, hospitals, and other private sector groups, after it was called to support the Biden administration’s relocation of Afghan citizens in the aftermath of the 2021 withdrawal of the United States military from Afghanistan.

A letter addressed to Secretary of State Antony Blinken detailing the unpaid debt was signed by six Democrats representing Virginia in Congress, including Senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner, as well as Representatives Jennifer Wexton (VA-10), Don Beyer (VA-08), Abigail Spanberger (VA-07), and Gerry Connolly (VA-11).

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‘Clearly Not About Women’s Health’: Virginia Bishop Condemns Biden Abortion Rally

Virginia Star Staff
Bishop Michael F. Burbidge

Roman Catholic Bishop Michael Burbidge of Arlington condemned President Joe Biden’s promotion of abortion at a Virginia rally on Tuesday evening.

Burbidge spoke out following the president’s rally in Manassas where Biden advocated for codifying Roe v. Wade into law. Both Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris condemned Republican efforts to protect the unborn as they spoke before a massive “RESTORE ROE” banner.

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Senator Marsha Blackburn Endorses Senate Candidate Bernie Moreno, Explains Push for the Epstein Flight Logs

Kaitlin Housler

U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) joined Wednesday’s edition of Outside the Beltway with John Fredericks to discuss her endorsement of Ohio U.S. Senate candidate Bernie Moreno and her continued push to release Jeffrey Epstein’s private plane flight logs.

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Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association Rebrands Its VHHA Shared Services Division

Kaitlin Housler
Surgery

The Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association (VHHA) announced the rebranding of its VHHA Shared Services division, which delivers products and resources to help Virginia hospitals and health systems improve their clinical, financial, and operational performance.

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Virginia State Senate Unanimously Passes Bill to Ban Universities from Giving ‘Special Treatment’ to Legacy Admissions

Tom Pappert
College Students

The Virginia Senate unanimously passed on Tuesday a bill that would ban colleges and universities in the state from giving preferential treatment or consideration to legacy admissions, which are typically the family members of graduates.

Passed with 39 votes in favor and one senator not voting, the summary for SB 46 reveals the lawmakers voted to prohibit “any public institution of higher education from providing any manner of preferential treatment in the admissions decision to any student application on the basis of such student’s legacy status,” which the bill defines as those students with a familial connection to either an alumnus or a donor.

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Trafalgar Pollster Finds 22.5 Point Trump Lead in Final Survey Before New Hampshire Primary

Just the News

Trafalgar group founder Robert Cahaly on Monday forecast a major victory for former President Donald Trump in New Hampshire ahead of the Tuesday primary election, contending that most supporters of Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis had rallied behind the former president following the latter dropping out of the race.

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SCOTUS Sides with Open Borders Biden Admin, Clears the Way for Feds to Remove Razor Wire Barrier in Eagle Pass, Texas

The Center Square

A divided U.S. Supreme Court sided with President Joe Biden’s administration on Monday, clearing the way for federal authorities to remove razor wire installed in Eagle Pass along the U.S.-Mexico border by Texas law enforcement.

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There is One Administrator for Every Three Undergrads at University of Virginia, Analysis Finds

Virginia Star Staff

The University of Virginia employs one full-time administrator for every three undergraduates at the school, according to an analysis conducted by The College Fix.

This is roughly a 9.3 percent increase from the 2013-14 school year, according to the analysis, which used data provided by UVA to the federal Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System.

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Virginia U.S. Rep. Bob Good Formally Endorses Donald Trump for President

Tom Pappert

Representative Bob Good (R-VA-05) formally endorsed former President Donald Trump in his third bid for the White House in his Monday appearance on The John Fredericks Show after previously endorsing Governor Ron DeSantis last May.

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YoungkinWatch: Virginia Democrat Files Bill Supporting Governor’s Plans for Washington Capitals, Wizards Sports Complex in Alexandria

Tom Pappert

Virginia Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell (D-Richmond) filed SB 718 on Friday to form the Virginia Sports and Entertainment Authority and Financing Fund to oversee the funding and eventual construction of the new sports complex to house the Washington Capitals and Washington Wizards proposed by Governor Glenn Youngkin in December.

The Authority that would be created by Surovell’s bill would consist of nine members, including six appointed by Virginia’s governor and three appointed by elected leaders in Alexandria, Virginia, where the new complex is being contemplated.

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Youngkin Signs Executive Order Establishing Artificial Intelligence Standards

The Center Square
Glenn Youngkin

Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed an executive order to implement artificial intelligence standards and guidelines he says will protect Virginians.

Executive Order 30 will implement AI educational guidelines for the classroom and policy and information technology standards. He says it will “safeguard the state’s databases while simultaneously protecting individual data” for Virginians.

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Virginia Bill Would Let All Criminals Ask for Release from Prison After 15 Years Regardless of Crime

Tom Pappert

A bill in the Virginia General Assembly, submitted by Delegate Rae Cousins (D-Richmond), would allow convicted criminals in the commonwealth to petition for their sentence to be terminated after serving 15 years, regardless of the crime they committed.

Cousin’s HB 855, according to the bill’s summary, “Provides a process for a person serving a sentence for any conviction or a combination of any convictions who remains incarcerated in a state or local correctional facility or secure facility” and meets criteria established in the law.

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Trump Campaign Warns Rep. Bob Good ‘Won’t Be Electable’ After DeSantis Endorsement

Tom Pappert
Bob Good

A campaign manager for former President Donald Trump warned Representative Bob Good (VA-05) “won’t be electable” after the Virginia Republican broke with Trump and endorsed Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in the 2024 GOP presidential primary.

Chris LaCivita, who advised the former president’s campaign before his recent promotion to co-campaign manager, told Cardinal News on Wednesday, “Bob Good won’t be electable when we get done with him.”

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YoungkinWatch: Governor Says 2023 Revenues Met Expectations After Forecasting Recession in New Budget

Tom Pappert
Glenn Youngkin

Governor Glenn Youngkin said in a Monday statement that Virginia revenues met his office’s expectation during the first half of the 2023 fiscal year. The governor’s confirmation comes as he seeks to pass his new budget, which forecasts a “mild recession” in the next two years.

Youngkin’s office confirmed in its press release that “general fund revenues for December 2023 remain in line with updated revisions to the official revenue forecast,” and state revenues grew by 0.2 percent and 7.1 percent over the course of the year.

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Conservative PAC Releases Ad Targeting Rep. Bob Good for Private Remarks About Trump

Tom Pappert

A conservative political action committee in Virginia released a new ad targeting Representative Bob Good (R-VA-05) on Monday, highlighting a video published in December that appeared to show Good repeatedly criticize former President Donald Trump after stating he would not make similar remarks in public.

The narrator for Virginians for Conservative Leadership PAC’s 30-second commercial declared, “For cameras, Bob Good says Trump’s okay,” but called him “two faced” and a “fake” in private, before cutting to the December video.

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Virginia Right Help, Right Now Program Exceeds Expectations, Committee Learns

The Center Square
John Littel

In the first meeting of the Senate Education and Health Committee for the 2024 legislative session, Secretary of Health and Human Resources John Littel spoke to the committee, reviewing the department’s current priorities and progress.

A little over a year into the governor’s Right Help, Right Now plan, designed to help address the national mental health crisis as it has manifested in the commonwealth, the program has exceeded expectations in some areas.

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Fulton County DA Fani Willis Under Fire for Paying Alleged Married Lover to Prosecute Trump, Bar Complaint Filed

Rachel Alexander

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who is prosecuting former President Donald Trump and others connected to him, is facing accusations she violated ethics rules by appointing her married lover as chief prosecutor on the case.

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