David Williams enlisted in the Navy in Norfolk, became a Marine Corps infantry officer with two combat tours in Iraq, served as a State Department diplomat, and rose to CIA Chief of Station. Now the combat veteran and intelligence officer is running in Virginia’s August 4 Republican primary for U.S. Senate, arguing the Commonwealth needs someone who can actually beat longtime incumbent Democrat Mark Warner in November.
Rick Smithers is not currently a resident of Virginia’s 7th District—but he says he’ll move the day after the primary if voters choose him. In this Potomac Local News interview, the pastor, veteran, construction business owner, and recent public-policy doctoral graduate lays out why he’s running in the Republican primary for the seat that includes Stafford, Fredericksburg, Spotsylvania, Prince William and surrounding localities.
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The University of Mary Washington will open its Fall 2027 application on Aug. 1 through its website or the Common App and has joined the Common App Direct Admissions program for eligible Virginia students, the University of Mary Washington reported. Direct admission offers are non-binding, waive the application fee and give students an early indication of acceptance along with details on more than 100 majors, scholarships, the new Piscopo Rodgers Science Fellows program, the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree and other pathways.
The Fredericksburg-based public liberal arts university said the initiative reduces barriers in the college search process and aligns with its longstanding focus on access and student success for Virginia applicants, who can activate it simply by adding UMW to their Common App list.
Prince William County police have arrested a Woodbridge man in the shooting death of a 16-year-old boy last month.
Damon Jamon Atwater, 25, of Woodbridge, faces charges of second-degree murder and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. The arrest comes weeks after the July 5 shooting in the 16700 block of Blackjack Oak Lane.
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Philip Harding, Harvard grad, Republican, former presidential fellow and founder of Impact Junkie, is running in the August 4 Republican primary for Virginia’s 7th District against Eugene Vindman, a Democrat.
In this Potomac Local interview, he hammers on government overreach, rising taxes under the current state leadership, parental rights in schools, and the moral case for cutting waste rather than piling more debt on our kids. He wants stronger families, less red tape, and a return to the American dream he says the rest of the world still envies.
The Manassas City School Board on Tuesday, July 28, approved the 2026-27 Student Code of Conduct on a 6-1 vote, choosing a version with no explicit reference to artificial intelligence. The decision capped two weeks of discussion that began when Board Member Sara Brescia proposed clear language banning unauthorized use of tools such as ChatGPT.
Two options were presented:
“Petty Officer 2nd Class Jose Medina, a native of Dumfries, Virginia, serves aboard USS Chosin, a U.S. Navy warship participating in the biennial Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise in and around the Hawaiian Islands,” Navy Office of Community Outreach reported. Medina graduated from Potomac Senior High School in 2017, joined the Navy five years ago, and now serves as an information systems technician.
Medina said he enlisted seeking adventure after college did not work out and credited growing up in Dumfries with teaching him respect and the ability to work with diverse people—skills that help him in the Navy. RIMPAC 2026, the world’s largest international maritime exercise involving 31 nations, runs under the theme “Partners: Integrated and Prepared.”