Friday, October 30, 2026

Good Morning! On this day in 1748, Martha Wayles Skelton Jefferson was born. She married Thomas Jefferson in 1772, bore six children—only two of whom survived to adulthood—and supported the Patriot cause. Weakened by frequent pregnancies, she died in 1782 at age 33, months after the birth of her last child.

Are you ready for Halloween? There are plenty of spooky festivities planned across the Commonwealth this weekend. Learn more in Top Stories.

Does your car insurance renew automatically? Convenient, sure. But you could be overpaying. Today’s sponsor, Money.com, makes it easy to compare rates, switch, and save. Check your new rate now.

Virginia Sees Early Flu Activity Rise

Flu activity is climbing earlier than usual in Virginia. The virus accounted for 1.24% of emergency department visits in the week ending Oct. 24—nearly four times the rate at the same point last year and up from about 0.4% in the week ending Oct. 3, according to state health data.

Doctors in Central Virginia report seeing mostly Influenza A cases weeks ahead of the typical late-November-to-December uptick.

Overall respiratory illness statewide remains low but is trending upward, following early surges already underway in several Western states. Vaccination is lagging: as of mid-October, 9.9% of Virginians had received a flu shot, compared with about 20% by the end of October last year.

State Health Commissioner Dr. Cameron Webb and local physicians urge residents 6 months and older to get vaccinated now. The shot takes about two weeks to build protection.

Navy Closes $1.7 Billion Barracks Deal

The U.S. Department of War and the U.S. Department of the Navy announced the financial closing of a $1.7 billion project to modernize unaccompanied housing for thousands of sailors in Hampton Roads.

The initiative, known as Homeport Hampton Roads Phase II, will construct or renovate 8,098 beds over five years in Newport News, Norfolk, and Virginia Beach.

The agreement with Hunt Military Communities replaces aging facilities such as Huntington Hall and is projected to save taxpayers more than $325 million by leveraging private capital. Long-term sustainment funding will increase 400% to maintain high-quality housing throughout the project’s life.

Officials said the investment supports sailors’ quality of service while advancing broader infrastructure modernization priorities. A $40 million state loan to Newport News, which can be forgiven once the project is complete, helped support the effort.

Virginia Gears Up for Halloween

A variety of Halloween events are planned across Virginia this weekend, including corn mazes, pumpkin patches, and ghost tours.

Kings Dominion’s Halloween Haunt and Busch Gardens Williamsburg’s Howl-O-Scream are running select nights through Nov. 1. Both parks pile on haunted houses, fog-filled scare zones, and after-dark coasters, with Busch Gardens adding daytime, kid-friendly trick-or-treating at its Sesame Street Forest of Fun.

In Lynchburg, the Presbyterian Cemetery Ghost Walk, which started Thursday, runs through Saturday with six costumed “spirit guides,” one telling the story of at least 72 people buried in unmarked graves, their plots once marked only by seashells.

The Hampton Roads area offers a variety of Halloween events, including Pet-O-Ween, a pet-friendly celebration involving animal charities, pet and animal vendors, and costumes.

Dear Reader,

Every year, auditors count how many copies America’s biggest newspapers actually put in people’s hands. The new numbers are brutal.

Of the 25 largest papers in the country, 24 shrank last year. Average decline: 12.5%. Nearly a quarter-million daily papers, gone in a single year. The Denver Post now prints about 24,000 copies a day. The Arizona Republic, 33,000. The Houston Chronicle, 35,000. The Dallas Morning News, under 40,000. These are metros of millions. And the steepest collapse in the country belonged to The Washington Post: down 21% in a single year to fewer than 88,000 print copies.

The industry will tell you it’s the internet. It’s a convenient story, because it means none of this is their fault.

Here’s the story they won’t tell: Americans didn’t stop caring about the news. They stopped trusting the people delivering it. Somewhere along the way, the papers stopped reporting what happened and started campaigning for what they wanted to happen—and their readers noticed. Trust in the media now sits at the lowest level ever recorded.

So no, that’s not an audience drifting away. That’s a jury coming back with a verdict.

And here’s the part the industry really doesn’t want to talk about: those readers didn’t give up on news. They went looking for someone who would just tell them the truth. Millions of them found their way to The Flyover’s network of morning news publications built on one simple deal:

We call things what they are.

We keep the spin out and trust you with the facts.And The Virginia Flyover stays free.

It turns out that when you just give people the facts and trust them to think for themselves, people respond.

So today I’m asking: will you help us continue? If news that plays it straight is something you want to see thrive, will you stand behind us?

Chip in and support the news that gives it to you straight—and free, every morning.

Will you make a generous donation to support The Virginia Flyover?

While the biased legacy media is failing, will you join our movement to keep the bias out of the news, free to your inbox every morning? I’d be grateful if you did.

Make a generous donation to support The Virginia Flyover.

Give $10
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Our promise: we answer to you. Help us keep it.

— Cole
CEO, The Flyover

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Car insurance rates change all the time, and the company that offered you the best deal six months or a year ago might not be the most competitive today. Yet many drivers simply let their policies renew without checking what else is available.

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➤ Southwest & Southside: Registrars in Roanoke, Lynchburg, Danville, and Martinsville say they expect a smooth Nov. 3 election and have received no requests for federal monitors. (More)

➤ Hampton Roads: Overall crime in Portsmouth fell nearly 3% in the third quarter from a year earlier, police reported, though aggravated assaults and robberies both rose. (More)

Richmond: A woman was shot in the shoulder Thursday afternoon outside the Republican Party of Virginia’s downtown Richmond offices. Staff aided her before she was taken to a hospital, and officials said the incident was unrelated to party operations. (More)

➤ Northampton County: The county’s board of supervisors voted unanimously on Tuesday to seek the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources’ help managing the county’s growing deer herd, reversing an earlier decision after farmers and health experts raised concerns. (More)

➤ Dinwiddie County: More than a dozen customers reported bad gasoline from an Exxon station, prompting a state investigation that halted sales at six pumps after drivers faced costly vehicle repairs. (More)

➤ Charlottesville: Voter registration in UVA’s campus precinct is up about 20% from the end of November 2024, according to election forecaster Chaz Nuttycombe of State Navigate. (More)

➤ Statewide: Virginia Tech is leading a four-year, $1.15 million USDA-funded project to develop “precision feeding” technology that uses real-time data from robotic milking systems to tailor each dairy cow’s diet, aiming to trim feed costs and cut ammonia emissions. (More)

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➤ James Madison fell 24-21 in overtime to Troy after leading 21-7 at halftime Thursday night, as turnovers and a late Trojans rally erased their early advantage in the Sun Belt matchup. (See Stats)

➤ UVA football (4-4) travels to No. 14 Wake Forest (6-1) on Saturday, looking to steady a .500 season despite a lengthy injury list that has thinned the roster. (See Preview)

➤ Kaden Honeycutt leads the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship by 43 points over Layne Riggs entering tonight’s pivotal Black’s Tire 200 at Martinsville Speedway, with just two races remaining. The race starts at 6 p.m. (See Preview)

➤ No. 19 UVA women’s soccer hosted No. 12 Louisville on Thursday night in Charlottesville in its regular-season home finale, with the nationally ranked Cavaliers chasing an ACC tournament seed. (More and See Who Won)

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➤ Skip the oven and grill for this genius microwave hack. Rocket Chef delivers crispy, juicy meals in minutes! Turn your microwave into a searing hot grill for burgers, grilled cheese, pizza, leftovers and more. Learn More

➤ Carilion Clinic will purchase more than 5 acres of Christiansburg’s Huckleberry Park for $5 million to develop a medical facility, according to the mayor, after the town council unanimously approved the sale to help offset park construction costs. (More)

➤ A 99-room Home2 Suites by Hilton will be built in Ridgeway near Martinsville Speedway, with Shamin Hotels investing $20 million. Groundbreaking is set for December and completion is expected in spring 2028. (More)

➤ Woods Farm in Boones Mill, a Franklin County family farm open since the late 1940s, will close permanently on Saturday, citing rising costs and fewer customers. (More)

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Still Paying the Same Car Insurance Rate?

The average U.S. driver now pays about $194 a month for car insurance. If you’ve been with the same insurer for years, it may be worth checking whether you’re still getting a competitive rate.

Shopping around can uncover lower-priced options, and comparing quotes only takes a few minutes.

Money’s car insurance comparison tool can help you see rates from providers in your area and find out whether switching could put more money back in your pocket.

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➤ Residents across Virginia’s Eastern Shore reported multiple loud booms and home-shaking vibrations Wednesday, with social media speculation pointing to possible sonic booms from military T-38 aircraft training offshore. (More)

➤ The Buffalo Soldiers & Troopers Motorcycle Club honored Matthew E. Otey Sr., a 105-year-old World War II veteran and surviving Buffalo Soldier, with a plaque at his Richmond home. Otey turns 106 on Dec. 20. (Watch Video)

➤ Two bobcat kittens found after their den was disturbed during land clearing in Chatham are getting round-the-clock care at the Southwest Virginia Wildlife Center in Roanoke. The litter is unusually late; bobcat kittens are typically born in spring. (See Photos)

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The following stories are featured exclusively on The Flyover Podcast—a daily show that gives you the most important headlines in under 15 minutes.

➤ Protesters clashed with riot police in Madrid, demanding the prime minister’s resignation after Wednesday’s train crash killed nearly seventy people. (Hear Details)

➤ Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang reportedly grew close to a suspected Chinese spy whom U.S. intelligence spent a year tracking. (Hear Story)

➤ A popular WNBA star said the FBI is monitoring roughly 20 people tied to stalking and threats against her. (Listen Now)