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                Relations between the two neighbors hit a low point this month, with fighting killing people on both sides of the border. At issue is a rise in militancy in Pakistan since the Taliban took over Afghanistan.
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                Judge Indira Talwani acknowledged this will leave millions of people without assistance starting Saturday. Two dozen Democratic-led states had sued over the administration's decision to suspend SNAP.
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                "67," pronounced "six seven," spread from a rap song, through sports and social media, to classrooms and homes across the U.S. But even the artist who coined it struggles to define it.
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                Some 42 million people in the U.S. who rely on SNAP benefits could soon join the already long lines at the nation's food banks and pantries that are also serving struggling federal workers.
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                        A woman arrested by federal agents near Harrisonburg is charged with resisting officers... Food pantries brace for increasing demand, just as SNAP benefits end... Jeff Schapiro surveys a busy week in Virginia politics....
WMRA Local News Features
    
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                        Required scores for Standards of Learning tests, or SOLs, will be raised for Virginia’s K-12 students. These so-called “cut” scores measure the minimum outcome students need to achieve proficiency in the tests. WMRA’s Ayse Pirge reports.
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                        A man is in custody after an hours-long standoff with Harrisonburg police near EMU Sunday.
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                        Despite the proliferation of music streaming platforms in recent years, local record stores are seeing increased traffic, especially among young people. WMRA's Zack Furr reports.
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                        Jena Crisler is the Democratic candidate running for the House of Delegates to represent Virginia’s 35th District, which includes parts of Augusta, Rockingham, Bath and Highland Counties. Her opponent is Republican incumbent Chris Runion. Crisler, a semi-retired physician, is a first-time candidate. WMRA’s Calvin Pynn asked Crisler what inspired her to run for public office.
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                        Chris Runion is the incumbent Republican candidate running for re-election to the House of Delegates to represent Virginia's 35th District, which includes parts of Augusta, Rockingham, Bath and Highland Counties. He previously represented Virginia's 25th District from when he first took office in 2020 until 2023. WMRA's Calvin Pynn asked Runion about what he's learned during his first few years in the House of Delegates.
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                        The race for the Rockingham County School Board District Three seat has been filled with controversy and chaos over the past few months, partly because of the record and actions of the Republican incumbent, Matt Cross. In the second part of a two-part series, WMRA’s Bridget Manley examines who is supporting each of the candidates and how the race might unfold with a third candidate in the mix.
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                        The race for the District Three seat on the Rockingham County School Board has intensified, with a growing divide in county Republican support between two of the three candidates. In the first of a two-part series, WMRA’s Bridget Manley reports on the background of incumbent candidate Matt Cross, and how support has shifted after several controversial actions.
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                        "No Kings" protesters packed the Reservoir Road sidewalk in Woodstock for two hours Saturday morning. This event, while one of an estimated 2,600 gatherings across the country that day, was also part of a seven month streak of weekly demonstrations here against the Trump administration. WMRA's Randi B. Hagi reports.
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                        As WMRA previously reported, three political demonstrators have ongoing court cases in Shenandoah County for defying state troopers' demands that they leave two different bridges on two separate occasions. In court on Tuesday, bailiffs initially prevented members of the public from entering the courtroom, while prosecutors agreed to abandon one charge that was improperly applied to the protesters. WMRA's Randi B. Hagi reports.
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                        The spotted lanternfly has descended upon grape vines, fruit orchards, and maple trees in more than half of Virginia's counties, including the entire Shenandoah Valley. One local vineyard is arming their patrons to help swat out the invasive insects. WMRA's Randi B. Hagi reports.
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                        In 1997, journalist David Poole launched a one-employee nonprofit to shine light on a blind spot in Virginia’s lax campaign finance system. Over the next quarter century, the Virginia Public Access Project assumed an increasingly larger role in state politics.
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                        Makayla Venable is the Democratic candidate running to represent the 36th District in Virginia House of Delegates. The District – which includes Staunton, Waynesboro, and parts of Augusta County – is currently represented by incumbent Republican candidate Ellen Campbell. Venable is a first-time candidate but has a background working in healthcare which, as she told me, influenced her to run for office.
WMRA's local interviews with house candidates in our region and all election coverage from our public radio partners.
            
            
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