The Trump administration’s cuts to SNAP are sending an estimated 130,000 vulnerable Virginians off the food subsidy program. A network of nearly 100 food pharmacies in Virginia is struggling to fill the gap – and provide families with healthy produce and food.
Read moreThe mounting costs of the Iran War
An Iranian soldier stands amidst the wreckage of a U.S. aircraft that crashed in area near Isfahan, Iran on Monday, April 6, 2026.Iran's Revolutionary Guards said a US aircraft that had been searching for the crew member of a missing US fighter jet had been destroyed, Iranian media reported. US President Donald Trump said earlier that the second crew member from the American fighter jet that crashed inside Iran was "SAFE" following a search and rescue operation. Photo by Behnam Tofighi/UPI
The U.S. conflict in the Middle East has sent more than 50,000 service members into combat since February.
Read moreThe centuries-old question of Rights on Virginia’s ballot
Adam Jennison, 13, of NW DC, middle, and Madeleine Joseph, 13, of Northwest Washington, take their first peek at the actual Bill of Rights document at the National Archives. File Photo/Alamy
Two November ballot issues for Virginia voters have deep roots in human rights
Read moreAmidst cuts, a rural diabetes clinic struggles to provide care
Federal cuts and policy changes have pushed more than 113,000 patients out of Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program in Virginia. The changes have cut reimbursements that sustain clinics in communities like Franklin, a city in the middle of Virginia's diabetes belt.
Read moreVirginia’s endless war - Voting rights
A restoration of rights form that Richard Walker used to check a former convict’s voting rights status during a fish fry in Richmond. File Photo by Cianna Morales/WHRO
A constitutional amendment on November’s ballot could enshrine the right to vote for ex-felons. It’s the latest chapter in the Commonwealth’s centuries-old fight over a foundational question.
Read moreGuns, militias and a long-running Virginia debate
U.S. Army Soldiers assigned to the Virginia Army National Guard’s 1st Battalion, 116th Infantry Regiment, 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team march to their posts near the U.S Capitol building Jan. 17, 2021, in Washington, D.C. At least 25,000 National Guard men and women conduct security, communication and logistical missions leading up to the 59th Presidential Inauguration. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Tech. Sgt. Lucretia Cunningham)
The Founders argued over the state’s authority to control armed forces. It remains a flashpoint.
Read moreThe unending compromise of the Electoral College
Voters fill out their ballots at the early voting location at the Long Bridge Aquatics and Fitness Center on October 21, 2024 in Arlington, Virginia., DC. Photo bySamuel Corum/Sipa USA
The Founders deadlocked over how a President should be elected. Virginia’s leaders feared a popular vote.
Read moreVirginia’s redistricting failure – a symptom of a larger problem?
Political signs offer opposing views on redistricting ahead of the April 21 Virginia referendum. Source // Wikimedia Commons
George Washington believed the House of Representatives should be close to the people. The Founders failed to anticipate a century of Congressional stagnation with a fast-growing population.
Read moreLiving for Coal, Dying for Breath
As coal production in Southwest Virginia wins White House support, miner protections stall under the Trump Administration. Miners, their families, and the community struggle with the illnesses the industry leaves behind.
Read moreThe unchecked President and the Virginian debate
U.S. President Donald Trump signs executive orders during an indoor inauguration parade at Capital One Arena on January 20, 2025 in Washington, DC. Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Pool/Sipa USA
A strong executive worried the nation’s Founders. Centuries later, the debate continues.
Read moreDOGE cuts wiped out years of growth in Virginia’s federal civilian jobs
In February 2025, Goodyear announced that 850 workers would be laid off from their Danville, Virginia, plant. The layoffs here were part of a larger trend across the state as manufacturing took a down turn. Photo by Christopher Tyree//VCIJ
In most years, the Commonwealth has gained federal civilian workers. The Trump administration’s cuts took away more than 20,000 government jobs last year.
Read moreVirginia anti-violence programs slashed in federal cuts
Alex De Paula, former program director of Safer Together, speaks about the anti-violence initiative in April 2024, at Chrysler Hall in Norfolk, Virginia. The three-year, $2 million program was cancelled this year after the Trump administration stopped funding its federal grant. (handout photo)
A Portsmouth nonprofit built a program to aid victims of gun violence in Hampton Roads. It was one of several anti-crime projects in Virginia to lose its funding to the Trump administration’s cuts this year.
Read moreAfter DOGE, a life upended
Tanna Price helped governments around the world build their economies and root out corruption. News of USAID cuts reached her in Sri Lanka. Almost a year later, Price and thousands of other professionals like her look toward an uncertain future.
Read moreA Virginia farmer faces a tumultuous season, future
U.S. tariffs and immigration enforcement have challenged Virginia farmers as the harvest season ends. For one Virginia farmer growing soybeans and tobacco, the next season seems uncertain.
Read moreFor Virginia foodbanks, growing demand amidst federal cuts
Pansy Frye and other volunteers load boxes of nonperishable goods for area seniors as part of a federal program at the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank distribution center in Charlottesville, Tuesday, November 12th. Photo by Christopher Tyree
The Trump administration canceled 94 million pounds of food aid in recent months. Here’s what didn’t make it to Virginia charities.
Read moreFederal cuts and shutdown heighten food insecurity across Virginia
SNAP beneficiaries will temporarily receive assistance through the Virginia Emergency Nutrition Assistance as government shutdown locks up funding for the federal program. Photo by: Spencer Platt/Getty Images
Federal actions hit hardest on needy families in small cities and rural, southwest counties, according to a VCIJ at WHRO analysis.
Read moreUnder Trump, a lifeline for young women in rural Virginia fights to survive
Since 1967, Job Corps has been a fixture in Marion, Va. The residential campus on Main Street has trained generations in health care skills. Despite bipartisan support under previous administrations, the Trump administration is trying to close it.
Read moreFor Virginia farmers, a bumper harvest amid growing uncertainty
Kenney Barnard, 75, oversees migrant workers at Hoot Owl Hollow Farm in Amelia Court House, Va. on August 4, 2025. Many of the seasonal employees, coming from Mexico on H-2A visas, have worked on Hoot Owl Farm for years.
President Donald Trump’s tariffs and aggressive immigration enforcement have shaken markets and migrant labor.
Read moreNew $100,000 H-1B visa fee could stun Virginia companies, universities
Virginia’s businesses, nonprofits and schools employ thousands of foreign professionals. President Trump’s proclamation raising the cost of H-1B visas to $100,000 could send shockwaves through tech companies, universities and even public schools
Read moreVirginia surveillance network tapped thousands of times for immigration cases
A Flock camera on South Main Street in Bridgwater, Virginia, captures the comings and goings of traffic. The town has five strategically placed Flock cameras. They capture images of nearly 60,000 vehicles every month. Photo by Christopher Tyree // VCIJ
As federal immigration enforcement accelerated, police agencies outside of Virginia searched the Commonwealth’s network of Flock Safety cameras thousands of times over a 12-month period, according to an exclusive analysis by the Virginia Center for Investigative Journalism at WHRO.
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