Democratic U.S. Sen. Mark Warner (left) faces Republican challenger Bert Mizusawa in his bid for a fourth term in the Senate. (Photos courtesy of campaigns)
By Markus Schmidt
U.S. Sen. Mark Warner says he wants one final term to help undo the damage he believes President Donald Trump has caused. His Republican challenger, Bert Mizusawa, argues Virginia would be better served with a senator Trump will actually listen to.
The two candidates made their cases in two separate phone interviews with the Virginia Mercury on Monday, three weeks before the Nov. 3 election.
Warner, a three-term Democrat, is seeking a fourth term against a retired U.S. Army major general who has extensive national security experience but little money to compete with the incumbent.
Medical professionals and medical students in opposition of abortion hold signs at the 2026 Virginia March For Life in Richmond. (Photo by Charlotte Rene Woods/Virginia Mercury)
By Charlotte Rene Woods
As OBGYN Dr. Christina Francis stood in Virginia's General Assembly Building earlier this month to speak against a proposed reproductive rights constitutional amendment, she said that voters “should not look at this as a political issue.”
But the ballot referendum to enshrine reproductive rights into Virginia's constitution — along with the surge of states enacting bans, restrictions or protections like Virginia’s proposal — has prompted doctors here and across the nation to wade into the increasingly-heated political discourse.
Heath Kelsey with the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Sciences presents the 2026 Chesapeake Bay Watershed Report Card in Woodbridge. (Photo by Shannon Heckt/Virginia Mercury)
Chesapeake Bay gets a C+ in overall health, Va. and Md. leaders say work to protect it must continue
By Shannon Heckt
The Chesapeake Bay earned a C+ on the annual report card that calculates improvements or losses in key indicators of health and conditions in the estuary and surrounding areas. This is the highest the Bay has ever scored since the record-keeping began in 2006.
At the announcement in Woodbridge on Tuesday, Virginia leaders said the score reflects the impact continuous clean up efforts have in the Bay, however slow the progress may be.
By Nathaniel Cline
Students face pressure to do well from family expectations, peer competition, college admissions, and a broader achievement-focused culture. Some Virginia education experts say it is leading them to rely on artificial intelligence, at the expense of strengthening their own creative and critical thinking skills.
“They want to do well, and so they tend to turn to AI as a shortcut to completing assignments or getting assistance,” Alexandria City School Teacher Bernadette Desario said. “While I understand that they want to use that, we still want to see what it is that they know, and we want to see their own creativity and their own thought process.”
ICYMI
Virginia AG launches voter protection unit ahead of midterm elections | By Markus Schmidt
New poll: In Virginia’s 2nd District, Luria leads Kiggans by 3 points | By Markus Schmidt
Va. lawmakers, Spanberger grapple with loss of federal healthcare funds for trans youth | By Charlotte Rene Woods
COMMENTARY: Study provides a remedy for coal dust in Newport News. Good luck getting terminal operators to pay. | By Roger Chesley
COMMENTARY: Spanberger’s energy plan dazzles – and disappoints | By Ivy Main
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