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UPDATED: Pregnant asylum seeker who was detained at Dulles will return to Ghana

By Charlotte Rene Woods / Virginia Mercury

Published May 29, 2026 at 8:30AM | Updated May 29, 2026 at 6:01PM

Dulles Airport main terminal (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

After 10 days spent detained at Dulles International Airport, Ghanaian asylum seeker Anabella Gyasi and her son will go back to her home country. A judge with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia ordered Friday that the pregnant woman cannot stay in the airport any longer.

“For the reasons stated from the bench, the Court finds that the welfare of the petitioners and the interests of justice are best served by allowing petitioners to return home immediately,” Judge Leonie M. Brinkema wrote after an emergency hearing the morning of May 29 in Alexandria.

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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Spanberger vetoes bills on retail weed sales, class action lawsuits and more from Fairfax legislators

By Emily Leayman

Published May 20, 2026 at 3:45PM

Person weighs marijuana (via Add Weed/Unsplash)

Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) has vetoed legislation from numerous Democratic Fairfax County legislators relating to a marijuana retail market, class action lawsuits and other issues.

Yesterday, Spanberger rejected the General Assembly-passed versions of HB 642 and SB 542, which would have set up a retail market for recreational marijuana on Jan. 1, 2027 — more than five years after Virginia became the first state in the South to legalize possession of the drug by adults.

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Judge dismisses lawsuit alleging FCPS retaliated against teacher for abortion claims

By Mary Stachyra Lopez

Published May 11, 2026 at 2:45PM | Updated May 13, 2026 at 10:13AM

Zenaida Perez speaks during a press conference in front of the Fairfax County Courthouse on Oct. 29, 2025 (staff photo by Jared Serre)

A federal judge has dismissed a Centreville High School teacher’s lawsuit alleging retaliation and violations of whistleblower protection laws by Fairfax County Public Schools after she claimed that school staff helped minors obtain abortions.

In his memorandum opinion, issued May 8, Judge Anthony J. Trenga wrote that the teacher, Zenaida Perez, had “failed to plead facts which, when viewed most favorably to her, plausibly give rise to a claim for whistleblower retaliation.”

News

Man’s Arlington abduction arrest might trigger more jail time for Reston cases

By Angela Woolsey

Published May 11, 2026 at 9:15AM

Giant Food in Reston's North Point Village Center (via Google Maps)

A man who pleaded guilty to two assaults committed in Reston last year could face additional jail time for those crimes following his arrest last week in Arlington.

Koby Berry, 28, was charged with assault and attempted abduction with the intent to defile by Arlington County police last Thursday (May 7) after he allegedly covered the mouth of a woman and tried to push her further into a bathroom at a Pentagon City shopping center the previous day.

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In wake of Fairfax murder-suicide, new Va. laws aim to prevent similar violence

By Charlotte Rene Woods / Virginia Mercury

Published April 29, 2026 at 10:00AM

A Fairfax County Police Department vehicle parked in the driveway of Cerina and Justin Fairfax's house in Annandale (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Editor’s note: This story references domestic violence and suicide. If you or someone you know is struggling with this issue, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or text “START” to 88788. The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline can be called or texted at 988. You can also visit the website.

Two years before Dr. Cerina Fairfax was shot and killed by her husband, former Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, she had tried to leave him.

Countywide

Va. Supreme Court considers whether to block voter-approved US House map favoring Democrats

By Associated Press

Published April 27, 2026 at 11:15AM | Updated April 27, 2026 at 2:18PM

Signs are seen outside the Fairfax County Government Center during the Virginia redistricting referendum, Tuesday, April 21, 2026 (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

By GARY D. ROBERTSON and DAVID A. LIEB Associated Press

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia Supreme Court judges on Monday questioned whether the state’s Democratic-led legislature complied with constitutional requirements when it sent a congressional redistricting plan to voters, in a case that carries high stakes for the balance of power in the U.S. House.

News

Fort Belvoir nurse charged with plotting to assist separatist fighters in Cameroon

By Associated Press

Published April 27, 2026 at 8:30AM | Updated April 27, 2026 at 10:50AM

A general view of Bamenda, Cameroon, Tuesday, April 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Welba Yamo Pascal)

A U.S. Army major employed as a nurse on a military base near Washington, D.C., has been charged with conspiring to provide financial and tactical support to separatist fighters in his native Cameroon, according to court records unsealed last week.

Maj. Kenneth Chungag, a nurse who lives and works on Fort Belvoir in Virginia, is accused of using his military training and experience to assist the Ambazonia Defense Forces in Cameroon.

News

Fairfax High student sentenced to jail for groping multiple girls

By Angela Woolsey

Published April 21, 2026 at 2:45PM | Updated April 21, 2026 at 4:19PM

Fairfax County Commonwealth's Attorney Steve Descano speaks outside the Fairfax County Courthouse following a Fairfax High School student's sentencing for assault (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

A Fairfax High School student will serve more than four months in jail for reportedly groping multiple girls in the school’s halls.

Israel Christopher Flores Ortiz, an 18-year-old who’s currently a junior at Fairfax High, was sentenced today (Tuesday) to 180 days in jail for each of the nine fellow students he was found guilty of assaulting earlier this year.

News

Tysons media company’s merger blocked for now by federal judge

By Associated Press and Angela Woolsey

Published April 21, 2026 at 8:30AM

FILE - Chairman, President and CEO of Nexstar Broadcasting Group Perry Sook attends the 24th Annual Broadcasting and Cable Hall of Fame Awards at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York on Oct. 29, 2014. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)

A federal judge has blocked a $6.2 billion merger of local television giants Nexstar Media Group and Tysons-based rival Tegna until an antitrust lawsuit is resolved.

U.S. District Court Chief Judge Troy L. Nunley in Sacramento, California, made the ruling late Friday (April 17) afternoon, finding that eight attorneys general and DirecTV were likely to prevail in their legal bid to stop the merger. The attorneys general, all Democrats, and DirecTV contend the merger will lead to higher prices for consumers, stifle local journalism and that the deal runs afoul of federal laws designed to protect against monopolies.