D.C., VA Children’s Hospitals Make ‘Best’ List

Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C., landed on U.S. News & World Report’s Best Children’s Hospitals Honor Roll for the 10th straight year, one of just 11 hospitals nationwide to make the 2026-27 list.

The rankings, now in their 20th year, evaluated nearly 200 hospitals across 11 pediatric specialties. Children’s National Hospital ranked in all 11 and remains the highest-ranked children’s hospital in D.C., Maryland, and Virginia.

Three Virginia hospitals made the national specialty lists. UVA Children’s Hospital in Charlottesville led the Commonwealth with nine ranked specialties, followed by Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU with six and Inova L.J. Murphy Children’s in Falls Church with one.

Children’s National Hospital earned top-10 national marks in six fields, including cancer and neurology, and tied Philadelphia and Pittsburgh for the top spot in the Mid-Atlantic.

Rural Virginia Needs 5,000 Nurses

Employers in Southwest and Southside Virginia advertised more than 5,000 open registered nurse jobs in a single week, according to a new state health workforce report.

The report is the first in a planned quarterly series from George Mason University’s Center for Health Workforce, which tracks healthcare job ads across Virginia’s nine GO Virginia economic regions. It took a snapshot during the first week of September.

Nurses topped the list, but there’s also demand for nursing assistants, licensed practical nurses, and social service aides across the region, along with radiologic technologists and physical therapists.

Dr. Bill Hazel, a former state health secretary who now leads the nonprofit funding the research, said the goal is to steer training dollars where the jobs are.

Senators Target Reagan Nat’l Airport Crowding

Virginia’s U.S. Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner, both Democrats, introduced a bill last week to cap arrivals and cut flights at Ronald Reagan National Airport, a year-and-a-half after a deadly midair collision near the Arlington hub.

Their DCA Air Safety Act would limit the airport to 28 arriving planes per hour—down from the 36 in place when an American Airlines jet and an Army Black Hawk collided over the Potomac on Jan. 29, 2025, killing 67.

The bill would also spread out takeoffs and landings, and eliminate 30 flight slots over five years, including some long-haul flights added under a 2024 law. Several near-misses have occurred near the airport since the crash.

Kaine said any reform package that ignores the airport’s overcrowding is “dangerously insufficient.” 

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➤ Newport News: On Monday, a witness testified at the murder trial of Carlos Johnson Jr., 46, that Johnson directed him to drive victim Keir Johnson’s car across the James River Bridge the day the 34-year-old mother and her 8-month-old daughter, Chloe, vanished in 2017. (More)

➤ Henrico County’s school system is limiting student screen time, joining a growing pushback against classroom technology. A petition supporting the effort has gathered thousands of signatures. (More)

➤ Mechanicsville: Celebrity chef Guy Fieri will sign bottles of his Santo tequila and meet fans at the Virginia ABC headquarters at 7450 Freight Way on Sept. 29 at 5:30 p.m. The brand is a collaboration with rocker Sammy Hagar. (More)

➤ Roanoke County: Tyler K. Jones, 29, of West Virginia was sentenced to 13 years for a 2022 shooting on I-81 in Roanoke County, where he fired multiple rounds at a pickup after it merged into his lane, seriously wounding the driver. (More)

➤ James City County: Speed cameras are now actively ticketing drivers in I-64 work zones after police shifted from warnings to enforcement, citing motorists caught speeding past posted construction zone signs. (More)

➤ Hopewell’s city council voted to convert the 1928 Beacon Theatre from an LLC to a nonprofit, expand its board from four to 14 members, and exempt it from property taxes as the Tri-Cities music venue nears its 100th anniversary. (More)

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➤ Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin appeared in a campaign video for Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party alongside Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Ovechkin has long been one of Putin’s most prominent supporters in professional sports. (More) 

➤ Public records from UVA reveal the ACC has been quietly lobbying Senate offices on the Protect College Sports Act, a bill that would set federal rules for college athlete pay. The records show the league coordinated on gambling enforcement, realignment, and the bill’s language. (More)

➤ Virginia Tech tight end Luke Reynolds and defensive end Mylachi Williams earned ACC weekly honors after the Hokies’ 44-21 win over Old Dominion. Reynolds caught eight passes for 108 yards and two scores. (More)

➤ Yesterday’s Results: MLB | Soccer | NCWVB

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➤ Dominion Energy and NextEra pledged new benefits to win state approval that include four years of $10 monthly residential bill credits—funded partly by shifting credits away from large data centers—plus 600 new Virginia jobs. Regulators begin hearings in November. (More)

➤ A Northern Virginia developer is exploring building three or four data centers on a 236-acre former coal mine near Cleveland in Russell County, with power potentially coming from Appalachian Power’s nearby Clinch River Plant. Preliminary engineering is underway. (More)

➤ Virginia Commonwealth University’s board approved $182 million in construction contracts for two projects: a nearly 1,000-bed residence hall opening in fall 2028, and a new School of Dentistry building set for 2030. (More)

➤ Navy Lt. Cmdr. Jordan Foley’s veteran business incubator, founded in 2020 after a Naval Academy classmate died by suicide, has grown to nine food trucks as the Robert Irvine Foundation’s official truck program. (More)

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➤ Mutts with a Mission, a Virginia Beach nonprofit that trains service dogs for veterans and first responders, is recruiting volunteer “puppy raisers” to house and socialize dogs during their first months before formal training begins. (More)

➤ A tailless baby opossum will become an educational ambassador at the Roanoke-area Southwest Virginia Wildlife Center after her siblings chewed off part of her tail, leaving her unable to survive in the wild. The public can bid on naming rights at the center’s annual gala. (Watch Video)

➤ Virginia has an estimated 460 trees for every resident, ranking 30th nationally, well behind neighboring West Virginia, which has 1,674, but ahead of North Carolina and Maryland. Alaska tops the list with 43,401 per person, while California trails with 20. (See Map)

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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. 

➤ Doctors say prediabetes can show warning signs years before a diagnosis, and most people miss them completely. (Five Findings)

➤ The Anthropic and Nvidia CEOs took the same stage hours apart and collided over whether AI is moving too fast. (Hear Story)

➤ Prosecutors have shifted course in the case against Rob Reiner’s son, Nick, accused of murdering his parents. (Hear Details)

How do you feel about speed cameras?

1. They’re necessary
2. They’re a nuisance
3. I’m indifferent—I don’t speed

Yesterday’s Results:

Have you attended a boxing match?

1. No: 45%
2. Not gonna happen: 32%
3. Yes: 19%
4. Not yet: 4%

Which airline made the first official landing at the newly opened National Airport—now named the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport—after the airlines drew straws for the honor?

Show me the answer