State and National Government
A former GOP Congressman from Virginia is publicly considering running against Senior Democratic U.S. Senator Mark Warner in 2020. Warner is currently running unopposed as WFIR’s Ian Price reports:
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RICHMOND, Va. (AP) – A trial is set to begin in a lawsuit filed by women’s health groups seeking to overturn restrictions on abortion providers in Virginia.The lawsuit is among legal challenges filed in at least a dozen states over what abortion-rights groups call Targeted Restrictions on Abortion Providers.The trial is scheduled to begin today in federal court in Richmond as a handful of states have recently passed tough new anti-abortion laws, including Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, Ohio and Kentucky.The lawsuit challenges four Virginia laws, including a physician-only law that bars nurse practitioners and physician’s assistants from performing first-trimester abortions.Another law requires women seeking an abortion to undergo an ultrasound at least 24 hours before it is performed.The case will be decided by a judge, not a jury.
Senator Tim Kaine says a committee he sits on is working on legislation designed to lower the cost of prescription drugs. Kaine says it is a matter that he and his colleagues hear about all the time from constituents. More from WFIR’s Evan Jones:
A Virginia U.S. Senator with an active role in reauthorizing the Higher Education Act used a commencement address at Old Dominion University over the weekend to highlight some changes he wants to make. WFIR’s Ian Price has more:
Image: Liberty University
Vice-President Mike Pence told Liberty University’s 2019 graduating class that freedom of religion is under assault in the United States, and attacks on people of faith must stop. Pence delivered the commencement ceremony’s keynote address at Williams Stadium, two years after President Trump spoke to the 2017 graduates. Pence said the Trump administration will always work to protect religious liberty. Here is a portion of his address:
A tweet from Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr. earlier this week about President Trump getting “bonus time” was facetious and not to be taken seriously. At least that’s what our political analyst tells WFIR’s Ian Price:
From Jerry Falwell Jr.’s official Twitter account
Sen. Mark Warner
Virginia’s Mark Warner is one of the Democratic Senators sponsoring legislation along with Republicans co-sponsoring legislation to protect the integrity of U.S. elections. But it may not be the last election interference related legislation from Virginia’s Senior Senator, as WFIR’s Ian Price has more:
WFIR/Evan Jones
It looks like supporters of extending passenger rail service from Ronaoke to the New River Valley must be willing to be patient. The state has money set aside for a study — but to this point, nothing more. The state’s latest six-year rail spending plan as drafted contains no additional money that would be needed to make extension of that service possible. WFIR’s Evan Jones has more: