Associated Press

UPDATED: Trump announces $22B plan to remake Dulles Airport

Published July 29, 2026 at 2:50PM | Updated July 29, 2026 at 6:48PM

Mobile lounges at Dulles International Airport with the main terminal building in the background (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

President Donald Trump officially unveiled his sought-after plan to renovate Dulles International Airport this afternoon (Wednesday) at an Oval Office event with U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.

A presentation of the proposal, which is expected to cost approximately $22 billion and eliminate the airport’s polarizing mobile lounges or “people movers,” was shared this spring by the newsletter Airport Architecture.

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Virginia study of data centers’ impact on groundwater calls for tighter regulations

By Associated Press

Published July 24, 2026 at 4:45PM

FILE - Cars drive past data centers in Ashburn, Virginia, on July 16, 2023 (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey, File)

By SARAH RANKIN Associated Press

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia, the world’s largest data center hub, has released a long-delayed study that examined the state’s eastern region groundwater supply and the resource-hungry industry’s possible impact on it, finding declines are likely in a critical aquifer due to population growth and industrial use, and urging stricter regulations.

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NOW: Outdoor activities, trash service canceled in Fairfax due to wildfire smoke

By Angela Woolsey and Associated Press

Published July 17, 2026 at 10:30AM | Updated July 17, 2026 at 11:51AM

Wildfire smoke around the Reston Town Center Metro station (via Fairfax County government/X)

Hazardous air quality levels due to wildfire smoke have been reported in the D.C. region, prompting cancellations of outdoor activities across Fairfax County.

Early this morning (Friday), the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG) issued a Code Purple Air Quality Advisory for the region after conditions considered “very unhealthy” for everyone were recorded in D.C., Northern Virginia and parts of suburban Maryland by 9 a.m.

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JUST IN: Unhealthy air expected in D.C. region Friday due to wildfire smoke

By Angela Woolsey and Associated Press

Published July 16, 2026 at 4:45PM

A watercraft sits in the Detroit River near the skyline during poor air quality due to smoke from Canadian wildfires Thursday, July 16, 2026, in Detroit (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Fairfax County hasn’t yet seen clear evidence of the wildfires raging in Canada and Minnesota, but that could change tomorrow (Friday), as smoke continues wafting toward the East Coast.

The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG) are both forecasting Code Red air quality tomorrow for Northern Virginia and the greater D.C. region, meaning conditions will be unhealthy for everyone.

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Trump administration sues Virginia over assault weapons ban

By Angela Woolsey and Associated Press

Published July 1, 2026 at 5:30PM | Updated July 2, 2026 at 1:12PM

FILE - Assault style weapons and hand guns are displayed for sale at Capitol City Arms Supply on Jan. 16, 2013, in Springfield, Ill. (AP Photo/Seth Perlman, File)

Virginia is facing another lawsuit over its newly adopted but not-yet-enacted ban on future sales and manufacturing of assault firearms.

The Trump administration sued the Commonwealth of Virginia and Virginia State Police in federal court today (Wednesday), arguing that its planned restrictions on gun sales violate the Second Amendment.

News

BREAKING: Herndon man sentenced to life for double murder in ‘au pair affair’

By Mary Stachyra Lopez and Associated Press

Published June 5, 2026 at 1:45PM | Updated June 5, 2026 at 3:08PM

Brendan Banfield speaks during his sentencing on June 5, 2026 (screenshot via Law and Crime video pool feed)

A Herndon man was sentenced in Fairfax County Circuit Court today to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murder of his wife and a stranger he lured to their home through a fetish website.

Brendan Banfield, a former IRS law enforcement officer, claimed that he shot Joseph Ryan after he came across Ryan attacking his wife on the morning of Feb. 24, 2023. But earlier this year, a jury convicted him of murder after prosecutors argued that Banfield and the family’s au pair, Juliana Peres Magalhães, set Ryan up in a scheme to murder Christine Banfield, a pediatric intensive care nurse.

News

Ex-CIA official charged with stealing millions of dollars in gold bars from federal government

By Associated Press and Angela Woolsey

Published May 28, 2026 at 11:45AM

The CIA seal next to a U.S. flag at the agency's Langley headquarters (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

A former senior CIA official with top secret-level clearance is accused of stealing hundreds of gold bars worth more than $40 million from the federal government and stashing them in his home.

David Rush was arrested and charged with criminal theft of public money last week, according to federal court filings in Virginia, where he lives.

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Dominion Energy could be acquired by Florida utility in $67B merger

By Associated Press

Published May 18, 2026 at 11:15AM

FILE - A Dominion Energy lineman lifts himself up to work on a power line in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024, in North Augusta, S.C. (AP Photo/Artie Walker Jr., File)

By MICHELLE CHAPMAN AP Business Writer

NextEra Energy is seeking to acquire Dominion Energy in an all-stock deal valued at about $67 billion, creating a massive power company as the energy needs of artificial intelligence drive demand higher in the U.S.

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JUST IN: Va. Supreme Court strikes down Democrats’ redistricting plan, giving GOP a win

By Associated Press

Published May 8, 2026 at 11:05AM | Updated May 8, 2026 at 6:52PM

A person votes in the Virginia redistricting referendum at Lake Braddock Secondary School, Tuesday, April 21, 2026, in Burke, Va. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

By DAVID A. LIEB and GEOFF MULVIHILL Associated Press

The Virginia Supreme Court on Friday struck down a voter-approved Democratic congressional redistricting plan, delivering another major setback to the party in a nationwide battle against Republicans for an edge in this year’s midterm elections.

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DOJ investigation part of ‘pattern’ of partisan attacks, Fairfax prosecutor’s office says

By Angela Woolsey and Associated Press

Published May 8, 2026 at 9:15AM

Fairfax County Commonwealth's Attorney Steve Descano (staff photo by Jared Serre)

The Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office isn’t backing down on its policy guidance for cases involving undocumented immigrants as defendants.

A day after the U.S. Department of Justice announced it’s investigating the policy for potential civil rights violations, a spokesperson for the prosecutors’ office criticized the probe as “the latest example of the Trump Administration’s own ‘pattern or practice’ of misusing the Justice Department to launch partisan attacks.”