The Associated Press

National Symphony Orchestra to utilize Alexandria venue amid Kennedy Center shutdown plans

By Emily Leayman and The Associated Press

Published August 18, 2026 at 1:45PM

Music Director of the National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) Gianandrea Noseda conducts the orchestra during a rehearsal at Milan’s La Scala theatre, Italy, on Feb. 26, 2024. (via Antonio Calanni/Associated Press file)

Alexandria’s Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall and Arts Center will be among the landing places for the National Symphony Orchestra amid the Kennedy Center’s planned shutdown for renovations.

Forced from the Kennedy Center following approval of a reconstruction project by allies of President Donald Trump, the NSO will split its 2026-27 season among six venues in Washington, D.C., and the capital’s suburbs.

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Virginia sticks to childhood vaccine schedule, rejecting Trump’s order to space out shots

By Emily Leayman and The Associated Press

Published August 12, 2026 at 10:00AM

A vaccine (Mufid Majnun/Unsplash)

After President Donald Trump issued an order seeking more spaced out childhood vaccinations, the Virginia Department of Health joined other medical experts in backing the existing childhood vaccination schedule.

President Donald Trump on Monday signed an executive order calling for revamped childhood vaccine recommendations that promote his long-held but discredited theory that childhood shots should be spaced out into separate medical visits.

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No evidence of cyclosporiasis outbreak in Va., Alexandria health officials say

By Emily Leayman and The Associated Press

Published July 17, 2026 at 9:15AM

This undated photo taken through a microscope provided by the CDC shows Cyclospora cayetanensis oocysts found in a fresh stool sample which had been prepared with a formalin solution and stained with safranin. (CDC via AP)

The intestinal illness spreading in parts of the U.S. has been raising food safety concerns, but health authorities in Alexandria say there’s little cause for alarm locally.

Cyclosporiasis is an infection caused by a parasite believed to be linked to some types of imported fresh produce. The illness is most often associated with watery diarrhea, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It can last a few days to upward of a month, but some people do not show symptoms.

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NextEra, Dominion Energy seek merger as AI drives energy demand in the U.S.

By The Associated Press

Published May 18, 2026 at 10:00AM

A Dominion Energy lineman lifts himself up to work on a power line in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024, in North Augusta, S.C. (AP Photo/Artie Walker Jr., File)

NextEra Energy is seeking to acquire Dominion Energy in an all-stock deal valued at about $67 billion, creating a massive power company as the energy needs of artificial intelligence drive demand higher in the U.S.

It is one of the biggest proposed mergers so far this year and would create the world’s biggest regulated electric utility business by market capitalization, the companies said on Monday.

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Democrats ask the Supreme Court to halt a Va. ruling blocking new congressional districts

By The Associated Press

Published May 11, 2026 at 5:05PM

Charles Houston Recreation Center on Election Day, April 21, 2026 (staff photo by James Cullum)

Democrats on Monday filed an emergency appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court seeking to halt a Virginia ruling invalidating a ballot measure that would have given their party an additional four winnable U.S. House seats.

The move came after the Virginia Supreme Court on Friday struck down a constitutional amendment that voters narrowly passed just last month. The 4-3 state court decision found that the Democratic-controlled legislature improperly began the process of placing the amendment on the ballot after early voting had begun in the Virginia’s general election last fall.

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Alexandria NAACP, elected officials slam Virginia Supreme Court’s redistricting ruling

By Emily Leayman and The Associated Press

Published May 11, 2026 at 1:45PM

Signs supporting and opposing redistricting on April 6, 2026 in Old Town Alexandria (staff photo by James Cullum)

Elected officials representing Alexandria have joined the Alexandria NAACP in condemning the Virginia Supreme Court’s overturning of the redistricting referendum.

Voters had narrowly approved the referendum to redraw Virginia’s congressional districts — with 51.69% in favor — on April 21. The Virginia Supreme Court struck down the voter-approved constitutional amendment in a 4-3 ruling Friday (May 8), with the majority citing procedural violations in how the amendment was placed on the ballot.

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UPDATED: Virginia Supreme Court strikes down Democrats’ redrawn US House maps

By The Associated Press

Published May 8, 2026 at 11:00AM | Updated May 8, 2026 at 3:16PM

Voters at Mount Vernon Recreation Center in Del Ray on Election Day, Nov. 4, 2025 (staff photo by James Cullum)

The Virginia Supreme Court on Friday struck down a voter-approved Democratic congressional redistricting plan, delivering another major setback to the party in a nationwide battle against Republicans for an edge in this year’s midterm elections.

The court ruled 4-3 that the state’s Democratic-led legislature violated procedural requirements when it placed the constitutional amendment on the ballot to authorize mid-decade redistricting. Voters narrowly approved the amendment on April 21, but the court’s ruling renders the vote’s result meaningless.

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Virginia Supreme Court hears challenge to voter-approved redistricting amendment

By Emily Leayman and The Associated Press

Published April 27, 2026 at 11:45AM

Signs at Mount Vernon Recreation Center in Del Ray on Election Day, April 21, 2026 (staff photo by James Cullum)

Virginia Supreme Court judges on Monday questioned whether the state’s Democratic-led legislature complied with constitutional requirements when it sent a congressional redistricting plan to voters, in a case that carries high stakes for the balance of power in the U.S. House.

A Republican challenge to the redistricting plan, which could net Democrats four additional seats and won narrow voter approval last week, contends that the General Assembly violated procedural rules by placing the constitutional amendment before voters to authorize mid-decade redistricting. If the court agrees that lawmakers broke the rules, it could invalidate the amendment and render last week’s statewide vote meaningless.

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Virginia redistricting amendment passes narrowly, but legal challenges remain

By Emily Leayman and The Associated Press

Published April 22, 2026 at 11:45AM

Signs supporting and opposing redistricting on April 6, 2026 in Old Town Alexandria (staff photo by James Cullum)

The redistricting amendment passed in Virginia Tuesday will allow Democrats to pursue redrawn congressional district maps for the 2026 midterm elections.

The Associated Press called the race in favor of the redistricting amendment’s passage at 8:49 p.m. Tuesday. According to unofficial results from the Virginia Department of Elections, more than 1.5 million votes (51.45%) supported the amendment and more than 1.4 million (48.6%) opposed.

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Virginia redistricting election will go forward while court considers appeal

By The Associated Press

Published February 13, 2026 at 3:30PM

Virginia State Capitol in Richmond (staff photo)

Virginia voters will get to cast ballots on a congressional redistricting plan benefiting Democrats while a court battle plays out over the legality of the effort.

The Virginia Supreme Court said Friday that a statewide referendum can be held April 21 on whether to authorize mid-decade redistricting, and the court will decide sometime later whether the plan is legal.

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Buddhist monks on 2,300-mile ‘Walk for Peace’ will pass through Old Town on Monday

By Katie Taranto and The Associated Press

Published February 7, 2026 at 8:30AM | Updated February 8, 2026 at 7:10PM

Buddhist monks who are participating in the, "Walk For Peace," are seen with their dog, Aloka, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)

Alexandria will recognize a group of Buddhist monks on a 2,300-mile journey to D.C. on Monday as they near the end of their months-long “Walk for Peace.”

The group of monks, who began their pilgrimage on Oct. 26, 2025, at a Vietnamese Buddhist temple in Texas, are expected to pass through Old Town on Monday and interact with passersby at Christ Church (118 N. Washington Street) around noon.