News

Recovery efforts in Wednesday night’s midair collision between a commercial jet and Army helicopter responsible for killing 67 people continue as the plane’s cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder have been recovered.

The National Transportation Safety Board said Thursday evening that CRJ700’s black boxes have been “sent to NTSB labs for evaluation.”

The discovery of the vital flight data information comes as efforts continue in the recovery of victims. American Airlines flight 5342 en route from Wichita, Kan., and an Army Blackhawk helicopter collided while the commercial jet was on approach to land at Reagan Washington National Airport.

With President Donald Trump back in the White House and congressional Republicans eying Medicaid cuts, Virginia Democrats are moving to safeguard the state’s health care safety net.

Sen. Creigh Deeds, D-Charlottesville, a veteran of 32 years in state government, called the 2018 Medicaid expansion one of the “most meaningful” votes in his career. At the time, the Democrats struck a compromise with Republicans, agreeing to a “trigger” that would automatically roll back the expansion if federal funding were cut.

Democrats on the House Privileges and Elections Committee are blocking five appointments from Gov. Glenn Youngkin. This is in addition to the nine appointments that the state Senate already blocked.

The committee removed a former Democratic state senator as well as a Dominion Energy employee from the list of appointments they approved Friday morning.

One of the blocked appointees is former Democratic state senator Lionell Spruill. Youngkin appointed him to serve on the Norfolk State University Board of Visitors.

A lawsuit challenging the Prince William Digital Gateway – a rezoning that would allow up to 37 data centers at the edge of Manassas National Battlefield Park – survived an effort to dismiss it Thursday when a judge said she needed more evidence about a key element of the case.

The ruling breathes new life into a lawsuit filed by Gainesville area residents who are upset about the county supervisors’ decision to open 1,700 acres of farms and homes to industrial data center development. The lawsuit was filed by the Oak Valley Homeowners’ Association and 10 residents who aim to undo the rezoning decision.

Federal employees were reportedly informed that they must stop including their pronouns at the end of emails, one of President Donald Trump’s latest actions to root gender ideology and diversity, equity and inclusion policies out of the federal government, reports The Center Square.

ABC News reported on the memo, which gave employees until 5 p.m. EST Friday to make the change, which applies not just to emails but all federal communications.