Monday, January 5, 2026

Good Morning! On this day in 1781, the former patriot hero-turned-traitor Benedict Arnold led a band of 1,600 largely Loyalist troops in a British raid on Richmond. He easily captured the capital city, which was lightly defended.

In our Friday poll, we asked whether Virginia is right to attempt to regulate the amount of time children may spend using social media apps. You can see the results below.

Some readers emphasized there's no substitute for good parenting. "I don't think Virginia should monitor what kids do with social media. I think that responsibility falls on the parents," one reader said. "PARENTS need to regulate their children's social media time!!" another added. Although, as a third reader quipped, "Parents need supervision, too."

The Virginia Flyover always welcomes your thoughts on the stories we cover. Just hit reply to reach us.

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Take The Flyover with you. Busy day? Listen to our daily 15-minute podcast while commuting, cooking, or walking the dog—your Flyover fix, anywhere.

Miyares Seeks to End Dream Act

Attorney General Jason Miyares asked a federal judge to invalidate the Virginia Dream Act, a state law enacted in 2020 that allows students living in the U.S. illegally to pay the same tuition as in-state legal residents.

The Trump administration sued Virginia last week seeking to overturn the law. After his filing, Miyares posted on social media that "rewarding non-citizens with the privilege of in-state tuition is wrong and only further incentivizes illegal immigration."

Miyares will be replaced on Jan. 17 by Attorney General-elect Jay Jones, who is likely to reverse the decision if possible. Jones called the federal lawsuit an attack on students.

Three groups—the Legal Aid Justice Center, the ACLU of Virginia, and the Dream Project—filed an emergency motion with the court looking to delay any settlement until Miyares leaves office.

State Grants GO Virginia Funds

The state government will provide $6.2 million in grants to a total of 10 projects through the Growth and Opportunity for Virginia program.

"GO Virginia continues to be a catalyst for innovation and opportunity across the Commonwealth," outgoing Gov. Glenn Youngkin said. "We are strengthening Virginia's workforce, advancing key strategic industries, and keeping Virginia competitive for years to come."

The funding is aimed at training workers for skilled trades, AI-related fields, life and health sciences, and advanced manufacturing.

GO Virginia has supported 147 projects with $72 million in state funding since it began in 2022.

Virginia Responds to Venezuela Strikes

Support for the American attacks on Venezuela broke along partisan lines in Virginia.

Republican lawmakers supported the strikes, which they said were aimed at cracking down on illegal drug trafficking. Democrats questioned whether the raids, which were conducted without congressional approval, were constitutional.

Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine promised to bring a "bipartisan resolution stipulating that we should not be at war with Venezuela absent a clear congressional authorization" up for a vote as soon as possible.

Virginians gathered at small rallies in Richmond, Roanoke, and Charlottesville to protest the military strikes.

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➤ Statewide: Republican Del. Joe McNamara plans to introduce a proposal to repeal the 1% tax on groceries, a move that could reduce state revenue by $250 million. "We don't need to be balancing our state budget off of people buying groceries," McNamara said. (Details)

➤ Richmond: Lawmakers intend to vote on four proposed constitutional amendments—involving voting rights, same-sex marriage, abortion access, and redistricting—as soon as they convene on Jan. 14. If passed, they could be put before voters as soon as April. (Details)

➤ Statewide: The Virginia State Police reported that hate crime incidents increased by roughly 25% from 2023 to 2024. The largest jump involved bias against religion, especially Judaism. (More)

➤ Virginia Beach: Police arrested a man who had 28 felony warrants related to credit card fraud. They identified him by using the city's license plate recognition technology. (More)

➤ Altavista: Timothy Wayne Dudley, a lawmaker on the Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors, was charged with shoplifting. The alleged incident happened in November. (Details)

➤ Statewide: The Department of Conservation and Recreation will provide $5 million in matching grants to help shore up dams across the Commonwealth. (More)

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➤ James Madison football will start from scratch under a new coach in 2026. The NCAA playoff team also lost all 11 of this year's offensive starters to either the transfer portal or graduation. (More)

➤ The Washington Commanders finished a disappointing 5-12 season with a 24-17 win at Philadelphia. (Wrap)

➤ UVA women's basketball remained undefeated in conference with a 91-87 win at Florida State in double overtime. (Score)

➤ Virginia Tech women's basketball sits at 1-3 in the ACC after an 85-60 loss at No. 13 Louisville. (Final)

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➤ Reston-based MetroStar, which was launched at George Mason University, will sponsor a scholarship program at the school for students who intend to work as government contractors. (Details)

➤ O'Reilly Auto Parts opened a large distribution center in Stafford County. (More)

➤ DF Ventures sold Compass at City Center, a residential community in Newport News, for $75.5 million. (Details)

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➤ Several roadways in Henrico County will be closed for at least the rest of the year to allow for construction at the site of the former Glenwood Farms apartment complex. (Details)

➤ The Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles will roll out a new online grant system to make it easier for groups to apply for highway safety funding. (More)

➤ Loudoun County will launch its first flag football league for girls this spring. It will be available for middle- and high school-aged students. (Details)

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