Author: Associated Press

Founded in 1846, the AP today remains the most trusted source of fast, accurate, unbiased news in all formats and the essential provider of the technology and services vital to the news business.

Countywide

White House begins firing federal workers amid shutdown, as Democrats call move ‘illegal’

By Associated Press and Angela Woolsey
Russell Vought, Office of Management and Budget director, listens as he addresses members of the media outside the West Wing at the White House in Washington, Monday, Sept. 29, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House budget office said Friday that mass firings of federal workers have started in an attempt to exert more pressure on Democratic lawmakers as the government shutdown continues.

Russ Vought, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, said on the social media site X that the “RIFs have begun,” referring to reduction-in-force plans aimed at reducing the size of the federal government.

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Countywide

JUST IN: Candidates in Virginia governor’s debate clash over shutdown and violent rhetoric

By Associated Press
Virginia Republican gubernatorial candidate Winsome Earle-Sears, left, and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger, right (AP Photo)

By OLIVIA DIAZ, STEVE PEOPLES and THOMAS BEAUMONT Associated Press

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia gubernatorial candidates Republican Winsome Earle-Sears and Democrat Abigail Spanberger faced off Thursday for the first and only time on the debate stage in a fiery affair that was combative from the very first answer.

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Countywide

Trump administration threatens no back pay for federal workers in shutdown

By Associated Press
A sign that reads "Closed due to federal government shutdown," is seen outside of the National Gallery of Art on the 6th day of the government shutdown, in Washington, Monday, Oct. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

By LISA MASCARO AP Congressional Correspondent

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s administration is warning Tuesday of no guaranteed back pay for federal workers during a government shutdown, reversing what has been longstanding policy for some 750,000 furloughed employees, according to a memo being circulated by the White House.

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Countywide

Government funding vote fails again in Senate as hopes fade for quick end to shutdown

By Associated Press
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., left, and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., return to their offices after meeting with reporters on the third day of the government shutdown, at the Capitol in Washington, Friday, Oct. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

By STEPHEN GROVES, MARY CLARE JALONICK and MATT BROWN Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Hopes for a quick end to the government shutdown faded Friday as Democrats refused to budge in a Senate vote and President Donald Trump readied plans to unleash layoffs and cuts across the federal government.

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Countywide

Justice Department fires key prosecutor, adding to turmoil in N. Va. federal attorney’s office

By Associated Press
The Albert V. Bryan U.S. Courthouse in Alexandria (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

By ALANNA DURKIN RICHER and ERIC TUCKER Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department fired a top national security prosecutor amid criticism from a right-wing commentator over his work during the Biden administration, further roiling the prominent U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia after the ousting of other senior attorneys in recent weeks, according to people familiar with the matter.

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Around Town

Starbucks closing Fair Lakes store as part of company’s North American cuts

By Jared Serre and Associated Press
The closing Starbucks location in Fair Lakes' East Market (staff photo by Jared Serre)

As of now, a Starbucks store in Fair Lakes is the brand’s lone Fairfax County location on the chopping block.

The last day of business for the cafe, located at 12599 Fair Lakes Circle in East Market, will be tomorrow (Saturday), an employee confirmed to FFXnow.

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News

Virginia U.S. attorney indicts ex-FBI director James Comey for Congressional testimony

By Associated Press
Former FBI director James Comey is sworn via videoconference before testifying during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Capitol Hill Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2020, to examine the FBI "Crossfire Hurricane" investigation (Ken Cedeno/Pool via AP, File)

By ERIC TUCKER, ALANNA DURKIN RICHER and MICHAEL KUNZELMAN Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — James Comey was charged Thursday with lying to Congress in a criminal case filed days after President Donald Trump appeared to urge his attorney general to prosecute the former FBI director and other perceived political enemies.

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Countywide

White House budget office tells agencies to draft mass firing plans ahead of potential shutdown

By Associated Press
Capitol Police officers adjust security barriers around the East Plaza at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025 (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

By SEUNG MIN KIM Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House is telling agencies to prepare large-scale firings of federal workers if the government shuts down next week.

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Countywide

Trump administration to withhold magnet school funding from FCPS

By Angela Woolsey and Associated Press
A Fairfax County Public Schools bus (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

The Trump administration is moving forward with a threat to withhold over $3 million in grant funding for Fairfax County’s public magnet schools.

The U.S. Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights gave Fairfax County Public Schools and districts in Chicago and New York City until Tuesday (Sept. 23) to agree to stop giving students access to locker rooms and restrooms corresponding with their gender identity or risk losing funding for specialty magnet schools.

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News

Reston military contractor appeals order to pay $42M to former Abu Ghraib detainees

By Associated Press
A courtroom sketch depicts former Abu Ghraib prison detainee Salah Al-Ejaili at the trial of CACI, a Reston-based military contractor accused of contributing to the abuse and torture of detainees in U.S. District Court in Alexandria on April 16, 2024. (image by Dana Verkouteren via AP)

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Appellate judges heard arguments Tuesday in an appeal brought by a U.S. military contractor ordered to pay $42 million for contributing to the torture of three former detainees at Iraq’s Abu Ghraib prison, with judges questioning the accuracy of some legal filings by the contractor.

The three-judge panel in the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments and questioned attorneys for nearly an hour in the appeal brought by Reston, Virginia-based CACI, which is challenging last year’s civil lawsuit that led to a finding against it. The judges did not immediately issue a ruling. It’s not clear when an opinion could come.

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