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“This is not a case that, under normal circumstances, would warrant remote, in-person hearings. But this is not a normal case.” — Samuel Towell, State Corporation Commissioner

Virginia State Corporation Commission members hear testimony. (Photo by Shannon Heckt/Virginia Mercury)
By Shannon Heckt
The State Corporation Commission has ordered additional chances for the public to officially testify in the case to approve or reject the proposed $67 billion NextEra-Dominion merger, Virginia regulators said Thursday.
In addition to the three days for telephonic testimony already planned at the beginning of the case, the commissioners mandated three in-person hearings across Dominion’s Virginia coverage area.

A SNAP welcome sign is displayed in a storefront. Virginia is rolling out new chip-enabled EBT cards designed to better protect food assistance benefits from theft and fraud. (Photo by Getty Images)
By Markus Schmidt
Virginia is replacing traditional food-assistance benefit cards with chip-enabled versions designed to make it harder for thieves to steal SNAP benefits from families. About 749,000 state residents receive assistance through the program.
Gov. Abigail Spanberger announced Thursday that the state has begun mailing new Electronic Benefits Transfer cards equipped with chip-and-tap technology to households enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

First responders pour water on the fire on scene following an attack at the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001 in Arlington. (Photo by Federal Bureau of Investigation via Getty Images)
COMMENTARY
By Bob Lewis
There are times when I sit alone and think back — trying to unearth details best left buried — and it all still feels like a nightmare, one that hasn’t softened even through the gauzy filter of 25 years gone by.
It’s not just in the reliving of the undiluted horror from that cool, clear second Tuesday morning of September in 2001. Not since Pearl Harbor had murder at such mass scale touched our shores, and we didn’t know how to handle that.
By Amanda Watford
Twenty-five years after 9/11, the surveillance infrastructure built and expanded in its aftermath has become part of a far larger digital ecosystem — producing tools that can collect and analyze information on a scale unimaginable in 2001.
The terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, did more than reshape the nation’s approach to terrorism. They changed the architecture of American intelligence and policing. They expanded how government agencies collect, share and analyze information, and brought national security tools deeper into ordinary law enforcement.
NEWS TO KNOW
Our daily roundup of headlines from Virginia and elsewhere.
“After DCA collision, Virginia senators to introduce bill restricting flights.” | The Washington Post
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