WMRA and WEMC | Public Radio of the Shenandoah Valley and Charlottesville: More News, Less Noise.

Saudi Arabia and China are accused of using sports to cover up human rights abuse

What do China, Saudi Arabia and Qatar have in common? The answer might not be as obvious as you think. But all three countries are accused of human rights violations, and all three are also playing host to some of the largest and most lucrative sporting events in the world. China is hosting the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, Qatar is putting on next year's soccer World Cup and Saudi Arabia has invested heavily in staging high-profile, international sporting events. But human rights...

WMRA & WEMC Holiday Programming 2021

Valley resident reports phone scam

Coronavirus Live Updates

The omicron variant is cause for concern — but not panic, Biden says

By Krishnadev Calamur • 10 hours ago

Updated November 29, 2021 at 1:17 PM ET

President Biden said Monday that while travel restrictions imposed on travelers from several southern African nations would slow the entry of the omicron variant of the coronavirus, "it cannot prevent it."

"Sooner or later, we're going to see cases," he said in an address to the American people.

The World Health Organization warns of very high risk posed by the omicron variant

By Scott Neuman • 12 hours ago

The World Health Organization is warning that the new omicron variant of the coronavirus poses a "very high" global risk because of the possibility that it spreads more easily and might resist vaccines and immunity in people who were infected with previous strains.

For patients with long COVID, chronic fatigue syndrome may offer a guiding star

By Mallory Yu • 17 hours ago

Before she became sick with a coronavirus infection in January, Semhar Fisseha was a healthy, active 39-year-old.

She took walks every day and planned summer vacations with her nine-year-old daughter. Now, even activities that many people take for granted can come at a big cost.

"I woke up with a deep fatigue," she says in an audio diary one October morning.

"I had a four-activity day yesterday — I showered, I bathed my daughter, I went for a walk, and I washed the dishes."

Fisseha also experiences chest pain and a racing heart.

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Valley resident reports phone scam

By Randi B. Hagi • 6 hours ago

The Augusta County Sheriff's Office got word of a phone scam happening in the area on Monday morning. WMRA's Randi B. Hagi reports.

Brain surgery... without a scalpel?

By Randi B. Hagi • Nov 24, 2021

Researchers at the University of Virginia have developed a way to operate on the brain - without a scalpel. WMRA's Randi B. Hagi has more.

The growing popularity of 'Buy Nothing'

By Jessie Knadler • Nov 23, 2021

As inflation soars and many people still struggle financially post-pandemic, a national movement in which goods and services are exchanged for free is growing. WMRA’s Jessie Knadler takes a look at the Buy Nothing movement taking hold in Lexington.

Post-pandemic, free school meals continue in some districts

By Randi B. Hagi • Nov 22, 2021

The pandemic prompted the U.S. Department of Agriculture to provide universal free lunches to all K through 12 students through next spring. But some local school divisions were already providing free meals -- and will continue to do so post-pandemic -- under another federal program. WMRA's Randi B. Hagi reports.