Virginia Icon Sunk to Create Reef

The SS United States, a record-setting ocean liner built at Newport News Shipbuilding and delivered in 1952, was sunk off the Florida coast on Wednesday to become the world’s largest artificial reef.

Crews flooded the 990-foot ship in a controlled, explosive-free sinking about 25 miles southwest of Destin-Fort Walton Beach, and the ship settled in 180 feet of water. Longer than the Titanic, it surpasses the carrier USS Oriskany as the largest vessel ever sunk as a reef.

The liner set a transatlantic speed record on its maiden voyage that still stands, carrying passengers from Hollywood stars to a young Bill Clinton before it was mothballed in 1969. The $13.5 million project aims to draw divers and anglers.

Some 3,000 workers built her in Hampton Roads in 1950 and 1951. Pieces of the liner remain in Newport News: her bell at Christopher Newport University and a 34-ton propeller at The Mariners’ Museum.

Newport News Reimagines Its Harbor

Newport News is spending about $9.5 million to add a public waterfront market to its Seafood Industrial Park, Virginia’s largest commercial seafood port by landed value, with retail seafood sales, food vendor stalls, food trucks, and boat moorings. 

The roughly 7,600-square-foot market will sit on the 39-acre East End harbor off Jefferson Avenue. 

A companion dredging-and-dock project is replacing the harbor’s aging piers, with new docks expected by late spring 2027. The market itself is targeted for mid-2028. 

The project grew out of the city’s Choice Neighborhood Initiative to revitalize the Southeast Community.

Lawmakers Rethink Killer Outing Privileges

Virginia state Sens. Dave Marsden and Scott Surovell, both Fairfax Democrats, are weighing changes to a law that lets the state behavioral health commissioner grant unescorted community outings to some violent patients, even over a judge’s objection. 

People found not guilty by reason of insanity go into the custody of the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services rather than prison, even in killings. A judge must approve a conditional release, but not unescorted outings of up to 48 hours. 

The push follows the case of Abdulloi Toshpulodzoda, found not guilty by reason of insanity in his landlord’s 2019 killing. Toshpulodzoda fled to Tajikistan in July on an unescorted pass. 

A state inspector general report found that Dr. Azure Baron, who leads the Northern Virginia Mental Health Institute and approved his privileges, engaged in misconduct, including manipulating patient risk-management plans.

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➤ Arlington: Secretary of War Pete Hegseth on Thursday awarded the Joint Service Commendation Medal to Spc. Thomas Iglesias, the Army sentinel who reprimanded him and his aides for laughing and talking while posing for photos at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. (More)

➤ Richmond Public Schools confirmed that personal data stolen in an Oct. 21 cyberattack, potentially including Social Security numbers, addresses, and driver’s license numbers, has surfaced on the dark web. The district expanded free identity monitoring to current and former students and staff. (More)

➤ Norfolk: The city’s new Granby Street bike lanes, built with pedestrian upgrades along a 2-mile stretch near Wards Corner, have cut corridor travel times, wth city officials calling the project a blueprint for other potential bike lanes. (More)

➤ Campbell County: Region 2000 voted in a special meeting to move forward with a 60-acre expansion of the Livestock Road Landfill, which would add about 24 years of life to a facility otherwise set to fill up by 2029. The plan still needs county rezoning. (More)

➤ Bedford County: Newly released documents show an investigator concluded in 2017 that crime-scene blood typed as O, which was key to Jens Soering’s 1990 conviction in the 1985 Haysom murders, was likely type A, matching victim Derek Haysom. Soering’s attorney says the finding should overturn the conviction. (More)

➤ Manassas: The Manassas Chorale performs at Carnegie Hall on Nov. 16 for a concert marking the nation’s 250th anniversary, featuring Joseph M. Martin’s The Four Freedoms with the Distinguished Concerts Orchestra. The group, founded in 1994, has sung there before. (More)

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➤ Jayden Daniels overcame two late interceptions to throw a 32-yard touchdown pass to Stefon Diggs with less than a minute remaining, lifting the Washington Commanders to a 24-21 win over the New York Giants on Thursday Night Football. (Watch Video)

➤ UVA advanced to the ACC women’s soccer final with a 1-0 semifinal win over top-seeded Notre Dame on Addison Halpern’s 38th-minute goal. The Cavaliers play for the title Sunday at noon on ESPNU. (See Stats)

 ➤ Hampden-Sydney, unbeaten in ODAC play, hosts rival Randolph-Macon Saturday in the 131st edition of “The Game,” with the ODAC title and the conference’s automatic NCAA playoff bid on the line. (More)

➤ UVA football hosts California Saturday at 3:30 p.m., and their home finale against North Carolina, known as “the South’s Oldest Rivalry,” will kick off at 12:30 p.m. on Nov. 21 at Scott Stadium, airing on CW Sports. (More)

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➤ Kalahari Resorts & Conventions opened its $900 million Spotsylvania resort Thursday, anchored by Virginia’s largest indoor water park at 175,000 square feet. The 1.38 million-square-foot complex off I-95 adds 907 guest rooms, a convention center, and roughly 1,500 jobs. (See Video)

➤ Family Service of Roanoke Valley, marking its 125th anniversary, launched the public phase of a $1 million campaign to expand mental health services and renovate its building. The nonprofit has nearly $895,000 pledged and aims to finish by Dec. 31. (More)

➤ VCU Health held a ribbon-cutting for a new 24-bed pediatric acute care unit on the 11th floor of the Children’s Tower at the Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU. The $37 million unit raises the hospital’s acute care capacity to 72 beds. (See Rendering)

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➤ Kings Dominion will debut its new Hops & Harvest Festival from Nov. 14-29, transforming International Street with seasonal foods, craft beverages, live entertainment, and family activities on select afternoons. (More)

➤ A VCU trial called the HERO Study is testing whether guided breathing exercises can ease veterans’ long-term concussion symptoms, and researchers are recruiting local service members to take part. (More)

➤ Trails of Purpose, a Chesapeake nonprofit founded in 2019 that offers free equine therapy and counseling to veterans and first responders coping with trauma, is asking the public for support. The group says operations cost about $30,000 a month. (More)

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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. 

➤ Authorities say an HOA dispute over a man’s apartment turned into a deadly shooting at a Washington, D.C., gym. (Hear Story)

➤ New housing data suggests holiday-season closings may give buyers their smallest price markup of the entire year. (Hear Details)

➤ Spain’s first general strike in 14 years has escalated into street clashes just weeks before national elections. (Listen Now)

Do you order a pre-cooked turkey, roast your own, or smoke your turkey for Thanksgiving?

1. Order it pre-cooked
2. Roast it myself
3. Smoke it
4. I don’t eat turkey

Yesterday’s Results:

Do you remember your kindergarten teacher’s name? 

1. Yes: 43%
2. No: 57%

How did Kings Dominion get its name?

Show me the answer

If you’re a fan of our Trivia section, you’ll love our new book, The Flyover Book of Trivia 2027, an illustrated collection of 100 of our favorite questions and answers. (Buy It Now)