Latest Virginia Headlines

All the headlines from our Virginia Topic Page, ordered by recency.

McKesson to Pay $37M to Resolve West Virginia Opioid Suit

May 6 2019 // Drug distributor McKesson Corp has agreed to pay $37 million to resolve a lawsuit by the state of West Virginia alleging it helped fuel a U.S. opioid epidemic by failing to stop suspicious orders of painkillers by...

Virginia Glass Products Employee Crushed to Death by Plate Glass

May 3 2019 // A Virginia man was crushed to death when plate glass he was loading onto a truck fell on top of him.Henry County Sheriff’s Capt. Wayne Davis said Damarcus Laquan Calloway died April 22. Calloway was an employee of...

West Virginia Hospitals Seek Damages from Opioid Companies in New Lawsuit

May 3 2019 // Hospitals in West Virginia have banded together to sue some of the country’s largest opioid companies, saying they flooded Appalachia with powerful painkillers and forced medical centers to deal with the financial...

Federal Flood Repair Projects in West Virginia Behind Schedule

May 1 2019 // Hundreds of federally funded flood disaster assistance projects in West Virginia are behind schedule. The Intelligencer reports it’s been more than a year since the flood damage was declared a disaster, yet about 43...

Alphabet’s Wing Is First Commercial Drone Unit Certified as Airline

Apr 24 2019 // An offshoot of Alphabet Inc.’s Google has become the first drone operator to receive government approval as an airline, an important step that gives it the legal authority to begin dropping products to actual...

Business Moves

Apr 15 2019 // NSM, Embrace Pet InsuranceProgram specialist NSM Insurance Group has acquired Embrace Pet Insurance, a Cleveland-based national provider of pet health insurance for dogs and cats. Embrace offers an accident and illness...

Virginia Prosecutors Charge Anti-Opioid Addiction Drug Maker with Fraud

Apr 12 2019 // Federal prosecutors say the company that makes a drug meant to curb opioid addiction has been lying for years about the relative safety of its product.Prosecutors in Virginia filed fraud charges Tuesday against...

Southeast States Push Industry Over Cleanup of Toxic Coal Ash Ponds

Apr 11 2019 // It’s the other dirty problem for U.S. coal — one that could cost utilities billions to clean up.Even as the Trump administration tries to revive the industry, some states are pushing utilities including Duke...

Virginia Woman Accused of Embezzling $93K from Company for Wedding

Apr 1 2019 // A Virginia woman is accused of embezzling more than $93,000, which she allegedly funneled toward her wedding, among other expenses.News outlets report 32-year-old Vanessa Cline worked as a bookkeeper for No Limits...

NOAA Retires Hurricane Names Florence, Michael

Apr 1 2019 // The names of two hurricanes that caused widespread devastation from Florida to Virginia last year have been retired.The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says Florence and Michael will be replaced with...

West Virginia to Receive $14.6M in Federal Funds to Fight Opioid Addiction

Mar 25 2019 // West Virginia will receive $14.6 million in federal funds to fight opioid addiction. U.S. Sens. Joe Manchin and Shelley Moore Capito announced the funding in a news release Thursday from the U.S. Department of Health and...

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Acquires Virginia’s McLean Insurance Agency

Mar 25 2019 // Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has acquired Potomac Falls, Va.-based McLean Insurance Agency Inc.Established in 1971, McLean Insurance Agency offers retail property and casualty, life and employee benefit brokerage and...

NTSB Says Impaired Truck Driver Likely Cause of GOP Train Crash in Virginia

Mar 25 2019 // A trash truck driver who had marijuana in his system likely caused a fatal collision last year with an Amtrak train that was carrying Republican lawmakers, federal investigators concluded.The National Transportation Safety...

W. Virginia Electric Company Worker Killed in Accident at Customer Home

Mar 22 2019 // Police in West Virginia say an electric company employee has died in an accident at a customer’s home.News outlets report the accident happened Wednesday morning in the Harts community of Lincoln County. State police...

Harmful Dry Cleaning Chemical Detected in W. Virginia Town’s Drinking Water

Mar 19 2019 // Officials say the drinking water in a West Virginia community along the Ohio River contains a harmful chemical widely used by dry cleaners.State Bureau for Public Health spokeswoman Allison Adler said in an email Wednesday...

Blankenship Files $12B Suit Against Media Over Failed W. Virginia Senate Bid

Mar 18 2019 // Former coal baron Don Blankenship is suing several news outlets and media personalities, claiming he was defamed during his failed bid for a U.S. senate seat in West Virginia.Blankenship’s suit was filed Thursday in...

West Virginia Pipeline Firm Ordered to Pay $3.7M in Overtime Violations

Mar 18 2019 // A natural gas pipeline construction management company has been ordered to pay $3.7 million in back wages and damages to safety inspectors for failing to pay overtime wages. The U.S. Labor Department says in a news release...

Consumer Advocacy in an Age of Consumer, Insurer Options

Mar 18 2019 // Years ago, insurance consumer advocates in the states were most often focused on getting consumers access to insurance at fair prices. They still advocate on those issues, of course, but today some are looking beyond these...

Business Moves

Mar 18 2019 // Aon, Willis Towers WatsonAon Plc said it’s no longer pursuing a combination with rival insurance brokerage Willis Towers Watson Plc, a day after confirming that it was considering a merger. The company reported it...

AM Best Revises Outlooks for Virginia Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Company

Mar 14 2019 // AM Best has revised the outlooks to positive from stable and affirmed the financial strength rating of A- (excellent) and the long-term issuer credit rating of “a-” for the members of the Virginia Farm Bureau...