VDOT Eases July Fourth Travel

VDOT expects heavy travel as Virginia marks America’s 250th anniversary, and will pause most highway work zones and lift temporary lane closures statewide from noon today through noon Monday to ease Fourth of July traffic.

The lift covers interstates and other major roads for the long holiday weekend, though some semi-permanent work zones will remain.

Williamsburg, the capital of revolutionary Virginia, headlines the celebrations with a daylong July 4 event capped by drones and fireworks. Travelers are urged to build in extra time in that area.

In Hampton Roads, VDOT is steering beach and Outer Banks traffic to the I-664 Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge-Tunnel to skip construction at the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel. Drivers can map peak backups on 511’s Holiday Travel tool.

Hundreds of New Laws Now in Effect

Hundreds of new Virginia laws took effect Wednesday, from a statewide school-day ban on student cellphones to a rule requiring employers to post salary ranges in job listings. Also new as of July 1: broader renter protections, new noncompete limits, and reviews of certain older marijuana convictions.

They stem from more than 1,100 bills Gov. Abigail Spanberger acted on after this year’s Democrat-controlled General Assembly session.

The session’s most contested measure stalled at the gate. A ban on selling or making certain semi-automatic firearms and magazines holding more than 15 rounds was set to begin Wednesday, but a Southwest Virginia judge blocked enforcement while court challenges proceed.

The law would apply only to future sales, exempting antique and manually operated rifles and current owners.

Rare Declaration Copy Debuts at Yorktown

A rare 1833 copy of the Declaration of Independence went on public view on Wednesday at the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown.

The document anchors Give Me Liberty: Virginia & The Forging of a Nation, Virginia’s signature exhibition for the nation’s 250th anniversary. Senior curator Sarah Meschutt called its survival “a miracle” and its condition pristine.

Printed in Washington from an 1823 engraved plate, the copy sits in a climate-controlled case that regulates humidity and temperature. It will remain on view through January 2027.

The exhibition reaches beyond the founders, spotlighting the Revolution-era roles of Native Americans and black Americans and tying the Declaration’s ideas to later civil rights struggles. A multimedia display revisits Patrick Henry’s “Give me liberty or give me death” speech.

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➤ Statewide: Virginia is rejoining the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a multistate carbon market for power plants that it left under former Gov. Glenn Youngkin. Officials expect reentry to raise consumer energy costs and have drafted a rebate plan to offset it. (More)

➤ Chantilly: Quick-thinking Virginia first responders formed a human chain in a Chantilly pond to rescue a woman trapped in her sinking car after she crashed Sunday afternoon. She suffered only minor injuries. (See Photos)

➤ Chesterfield County: Virginia’s new budget sets aside $10.6 million to help clean up the bankrupt Shoosmith Landfill, which produces about 50,000 gallons of toxic leachate a day. Officials call it only a first step toward closing the site. (More)

➤ Hampton Roads: The U.S. Department of Transportation is lending the region up to $310.2 million to build more express lanes and a toll system on the I-64/I-464 corridor, part of a planned Hampton Roads Express Lanes Network. (More)

➤ Chesapeake Bay: Virginia’s new budget puts $2 million toward a menhaden study by the Virginia Institute of Marine Science. Anglers and conservationists say the Bay’s menhaden are declining, while the reduction-fishing industry says there’s no evidence of overfishing. (More)

➤ Staunton: Mary Baldwin University has been placed on probation for a year by its accreditor, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, which cited the school’s failure to meet financial-responsibility standards. The university remains accredited during the review. (More)

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➤ Washington Nationals pitcher Cade Cavalli sparked a benches-clearing incident at Fenway Park after yelling at Red Sox first baseman Willson Contreras following a fourth-inning strikeout. Contreras charged the mound, and the whole event ended with four players and coaches ejected. (More)

➤ Virginia finished No. 21 in a CBS Sports ranking of the best overall college athletics programs for the 2025-26 season. Virginia Tech came in at No. 51. (More)

➤ Four Virginia courses made Golfweek’s annual ranking of the top 100 public-access courses in the country, led by Primland’s Highland Course at No. 37 and the Omni Homestead’s Cascades Course at No. 38. (More)

➤ The Wizards are not entertaining trade offers for Anthony Davis, according to ESPN, despite speculation about a possible reunion with LeBron James in Golden State. Washington plans to pair Davis with Trae Young and No. 1 overall pick AJ Dybantsa next season. (More)

➤ Yesterday’s Results: World Cup | Wimbledon | MLB

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➤ Hitachi Energy broke ground on a $457 million expansion in South Boston that it claims will make it the largest large-power-transformer plant in the United States. The Halifax County project will add about 826 jobs and spur new workforce housing, with production expected around 2029. (More)

➤ Colorado-based Stack Infrastructure said its AI data center at Pittsylvania County’s Berry Hill megasite will move forward now that the new state budget preserved data-center tax exemptions. It has promised $100 billion and 2,500 jobs over 30 years, the largest investment in Southside history. (More)

➤ Rural King, a farm-and-home retailer, will invest $40 million to open a distribution center in Henry County’s Patriot Centre Industrial Park, creating 150 jobs at an average wage of nearly $59,000. The company is taking over a 500,000-square-foot warehouse once used by VF Corp. (More)

➤ Virginia’s ban on styrofoam food containers impacted all vendors on July 1. Roanoke chain Macado’s estimates the switch will cost it more than $115,000 a year. (More)

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➤ Alumni and community members held a funeral-themed protest outside Virginia Wesleyan University in Virginia Beach on the eve of its official renaming to Batten University on July 1, mourning what they called the erasure of the school’s historic identity. (More)

➤ Also in Virginia Beach, a bear turned up in the backyard of a Breck Avenue family that had never seen one in 15 years there, spotted around 10:30 p.m. Friday by a friend who was dog-sitting. (Watch Video)

➤ Giant Mexican folk-art creatures called alebrijes—fantastical papier-mâché animals in bright colors—are on display at Henrico County’s Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden through Sept. 27. The exhibit, Creatures of a Dreamworld, is the collection’s first showing on the East Coast. (See Photos)

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➤ Researchers highlighted five habits that are guaranteed to help you fall asleep quicker and stay asleep longer. (See Habits)

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Do you agree with Virginia’s styrofoam ban?

1. Yes
2. No
3. Not sure

Yesterday’s Results:

What’s your favorite Judy Collins hit? 

1. Both Sides Now: 23%
2. Send in the Clowns: 20%
3. Who’s Judy Collins?: 20%
4. Amazing Grace: 16%
5. Chelsea Morning: 10%
6. Other: 11%

What’s the name of the home Richard Lee built in Westmoreland County?

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