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“I don’t think there’s a clear picture of what exactly is happening in schools with technology and … that’s the problem with not having a policy or some sort of acknowledgment of what’s actually happening.” — Keena McAvoy, mother and co-founder of DMV Unplugged
Over 40% of teens with the highest social media use rate their overall mental health as poor or very poor. (Photo by Daniel de la Hoz/Getty Images)
By Nathaniel Cline
Former educators and parents say Virginia leaders must implement guidelines to regulate the digital tools students use in schools, arguing that technology is obscuring the essential learning methods they need most.
Virginia parents and educators are urging leaders, including the Board of Education, to reduce excessive classroom screen time by considering a draft policy that prioritizes distraction-free learning, physical books, writing, and face-to-face interaction.
Healthcare payment concept with stethoscope and big money US dollar. (Stock photo by Getty Images)
By Charlotte Rene Woods
Of a total $189 million in Rural Health Transformation Fund awards that Virginia received late last year, $122 million has been allocated so far to various entities around the state, state health officials announced Friday.
The money is meant to hire and retain rural healthcare providers, invest in healthcare technologies and strengthen the industry’s workforce in rural areas.
An attendee of the Virginia March For Life in April. (Photo by Charlotte Rene Woods/Virginia Mercury)
If Va.'s reproductive rights amendment passes, challengers say they’ll fight to overturn it in court
By Charlotte Rene Woods
A legal challenge to amend the ballot language for Virginia’s pending reproductive rights constitutional amendment has been in limbo since June. Even if no movement on the case happens before Election Day, counsel for the plaintiffs said this week, they will seek to invalidate the vote.
Josh Hetzler, a lawyer with the Founding Freedoms Law Center said, “If the amendment passes, we would seek to be in court as soon as possible to ask the court to overturn the result, similar to how it happened with the redistricting amendment.”
By Yiqing Wang/WHRO
West Nile virus is showing up in Virginia Beach mosquitoes at a level the city’s biologist says she has not seen in four years.
Virginia has reported six human cases so far this year, including one in the Eastern Region, though Virginia Beach officials said Aug. 19 that no human cases had been reported in the city.
But the city has detected the virus in 50 mosquito pools collected from 24 locations this season. In each of the previous two or three seasons, only one or two pools tested positive.
By Ariana Figueroa
The U.S. Department of Treasury’s recent proposed regulation to limit refunds for certain tax credits based on immigration status is the latest move by the Trump administration to restrict noncitizens’ access to federal benefits.
In President Donald Trump’s return to the White House, he has employed a governmentwide approach to fulfilling his immigration agenda that includes not only the central campaign promise of mass deportations, but curtailing what few federal benefits some immigrants had.
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