Tuesday, May 12, 2026

Good Morning! On this day in 1864, a force of nearly 20,000 Union troops crashed into Confederate lines at the Battle of Spotsylvania. After almost a full day of fighting at what became known as the Bloody Angle, the Confederates pulled back. Both sides suffered heavy casualties.

Virginia Tech softball will play as a No. 2 seed in the Baton Rouge Regional of the NCAA tournament. The team will face South Alabama on Friday and either LSU or Akron on Saturday in a double-elimination format. It’s the seventh straight year the team has qualified for the field.

The Hokies earned their bid after finishing as the runner-up to Florida State in the ACC tournament in Charlottesville over the weekend. In our Sunday edition, we mistakenly cited UVA, the tournament’s host school, as the winner rather than crediting the Seminoles. We regret the error. For their part, the Cavaliers also made the field and will play Indiana in Knoxville.

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Police Investigate Hampton Roads Shootings

Portsmouth police are searching for two persons of interest after a pair of weekend shootings left one person dead and another hospitalized.

Images of the suspects were taken by surveillance cameras at a convenience store where the victim was found.

A reporter for TV station WAVY was getting gas when the gunfire erupted. “You could just hear rapid fire,” Karina Garcia said. “I duck in my vehicle. I’m covering myself with my hands above my head. And I’m just thinking to myself, this cannot be happening.”

Police also responded to another shooting about an hour later, but authorities said there is no connection between the events and there is no known threat to the public.

All told, at least 10 weekend shootings took place in Hampton Roads, killing four people.

Speed Cameras Operating

Virginia State Police turned on speed-monitoring cameras in a work zone between mile markers 143 and 150 on I-81 yesterday. The speed limit in the area is 60 mph.

“The goal is to slow people down so the contractors and VDOT can work on the roadways safely,” Sergeant Rick Garletts said.

While the cameras are now active, they will only issue warnings for the next 30 days. After that, violations will carry a $100 civil penalty, but will not result in points on a license. Drivers will be able to challenge citations they think were issued erroneously.

Squirrels Soar

The Richmond Flying Squirrels took five of six games at home from Akron last week to improve to 25-7, the best record in professional baseball. The team has a seven-game lead in its division of the Double-A Eastern League and plays on the road at Erie this week.

The team closed out the homestand with a 6-0 victory. The Flying Squirrels have a 16-2 home record so far in their first season at CarMax Park.

Sunday was the fifth annual Disability Inclusion Day in Richmond. “So many things that went into this design of this ballpark, from the ramps to the accessibility to make it truly inclusive,” the executive director of Friendship Circle of Virginia said.

Richmond was the only team in minor league baseball to draw more than 9,000 fans on Mother’s Day. Overall, the team ranks second in minor league average attendance and leads all Double-A teams in that category.

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➤ Morocco: An Army soldier from Richmond was found dead off the coast of Africa a week after he was reported missing from a training site in Morocco. First Lt. Kendrick Lamont Key Jr. and another soldier disappeared after they entered the water during a hike. (Details)

➤ Virginia Beach: In spite of warm air temperatures, the Atlantic Ocean at the beach is still cool. The average water temperature at the Oceanfront is in the mid-60s in May and increases to 79 degrees in the summer months. (More)

➤ Washington, D.C.: Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano and Sheriff Stacey Kincaid are scheduled to testify before a House Judiciary subcommittee on Thursday to discuss the county’s immigration policies. Cheryl Minter, whose daughter was murdered at a bus stop in February, will also speak. (Details)

➤ Roanoke: Retiring Virginia Tech President Tim Sands was inducted into the Roanoke Blacksburg Technology Council Hall of Fame for his efforts to expand the region’s role in healthcare, biotech, and advanced manufacturing. (More)

➤ Franklin County is considering changing its zoning rules to ban data centers from using private wells and to impose stricter limits on cooling-system noise. No data centers are planned in the county at this time. (Details)

➤ Suffolk: Larry Fulgham, a 37-year-old who was arrested last year during a human trafficking investigation, pleaded guilty to three charges and will serve 10 months in prison. (More)

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➤ Shenandoah University baseball, the Old Dominion Athletic Conference champion, will face Farmingdale State in the first round of the NCAA DIII baseball tournament. Mary Washington, Lynchburg, Christopher Newport, Marymount, Bridgewater, and Randolph-Macon also made the field. (Bracket)

➤ UVA baseball hosts Richmond this afternoon. (Stats)

➤ ODU baseball beat No. 8 Coastal Carolina this weekend, giving the Monarchs their first series victory over a top 10 team since 2022. Coastal Carolina hadn’t lost a conference series in more than two years. (More)

Yesterday’s Results: NBA | NHL | MLB | NCAAB | Soccer

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➤ The average price of gasoline in Virginia rose 12.9 cents per gallon in the week that ended yesterday, according to the tracking site GasBuddy. The average is $4.29, up 29.1 cents since last month and $1.34 from last year. (Details)

➤ KBR Wyle Services warned it will lay off 118 workers at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility when its contract ends on June 30. (More)

➤ RoVa Labs, a 40,000-square-foot biotech incubator, opened in Roanoke. The $26 million public-private investment is expected to create as many as 250 high-wage jobs within five years. (Details)

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➤ The Virginia Museum of History & Culture named filmmaker Ken Burns the winner of The Commonwealth Prize, an award established this year to commemorate the country’s semiquincentennial. (Details)

➤ Two Virginia fishermen tied a world record by landing and then releasing a 17.32-inch black crappie. They reeled in the large fish on Dec. 12 in Lake Chesdin. (More)

➤ A father and his daughter walked together last weekend as both earned undergraduate degrees from Virginia Union University. Reggie Tennyson completed his studies at age 64, alongside his youngest daughter, Ragine. (Details)

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