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Virginia Attorney General Miyares asks SCOTUS to uphold ‘divest or ban’ law against TikTok
Following the passage of a federal law earlier this year that calls for the owners of social media app TikTok to either sell it or be subject to a ban on the app in the U.S., Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares filed an amicus brief Friday urging the Supreme Court to uphold the law. TikTok […]
Harris triumphs over Trump in Virginia
Updated Nov. 6 at 3:17 a.m. With 98% of votes counted, the Associated Press called the presidential contest in Virginia for Vice President Kamala Harris, giving her the state’s 13 Electoral College votes. Harris’ win continues a blue streak that began with Barack Obama’s win here in 2008. She garnered 51.9% of Virginia’s votes and […]
Virginia asks Supreme Court to block order to reinstate 1600 people stripped from voter rolls
On Monday, Virginia filed an emergency stay asking the Supreme Court to block a federal court’s order for the state to add 1,600 people back to the voter rolls. The removals stemmed from an executive order by Gov. Glenn Youngkin, and are at the center of two lawsuits the state is facing from voter rights […]
No, FEMA Helene funds aren’t going to undocumented immigrants, despite Youngkin appointee’s tweet
We’re four weeks away from electing the country’s next commander-in-chief and Virginia’s representatives in the U.S. Senate and Congress, and in the wake of one of the most devastating hurricanes the Southeast has seen in years. It’s an especially bad moment to be spreading misinformation online. It seems Rooz Dadabhoy has a poor sense of […]
After 235 years, America still isn’t ready for President Kamala Harris
The question burning at the center of American public opinion since the first presidential debate: If President Joe Biden steps down, who will replace him as the Democratic nominee for president of the United States? The most obvious answer appears to be the nation’s second-in-command, Vice President Kamala Harris. But her candidacy would face nearly […]
Racially regressive policies and actions move Virginia in the wrong direction
Virginia’s experiencing a decidedly regressive spring. Shenandoah County’s school board has graced the state with the distinction of being first in the nation to rename schools after Confederates, after removing the Lost Cause-era monikers a few years ago. Bills to stop the state from issuing license plates that honor the Confederacy and others to end […]
Who do you think you are? Ask the Library of Virginia.
We’re moving soon and our new house sits on land that’s been in my family for generations. Wanting a clearer picture of the ancestors who passed the property down to us, my husband and I asked my aunts, our family historians, to do some genealogical sleuthing. They identified our long-dead relatives who settled the land […]
Blocking most reproductive health bills isn’t a route to ‘common ground,’ governor
Gov. Glenn Youngkin recently took action on a flurry of Virginia legislators’ measures related to reproductive health, mostly blocking bills designed to preserve the public’s access to abortions and birth control as these same issues roil national debates and as other states pass laws that restrict womens’ bodily autonomy and roll back decades of abortion […]
Solar spectacle: 15 questions and answers about Monday’s solar eclipse
Let’s avert our eyes from Virginia’s state budget battle for a moment and look toward the skies. Actually, before you do that, make sure you have a pair of special solar viewers. That’s right, ladies and gentlemen and children of all ages, we have a solar eclipse on the way. Enjoy these 15 questions and […]
Will Virginia tribes finally get their say?
Amid the partisan polarization that defined much of Virginia’s 2024 General Assembly session, a measure that would codify the state’s commitment to consult with federally recognized Native American tribes before issuing permits for projects that could impact their cultural and historic resources won bipartisan support in both chambers and made it into the legislature’s budget. […]
It’s me again
Hello again, Mercury readers. I’m halfway through the first week of my new role as lead editor here but I’m not new to the Mercury at all. I first met you in 2018, when I began contributing reports and columns as a freelancer. Some of the best work of my career I wrote on assignment […]
People or profits: arena drama reflects a familiar struggle
A proposal to build an arena in Alexandria for two pro sports teams may not be dead, but it’s facing increasingly uncertain odds after Virginia legislators declined to add it to the two-year state budget they released right before the legislative session ended. The situation reflects Virginia’s perennial challenge of balancing developments to boost the […]