(WSET) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke to Congress on Wednesday.
Senator Tim Kaine (D-Virginia) is one of over 70 politicians who missed Netanyahu’s address.
Sen. Kaine said he had a commitment on his calendar at William and Mary for months, so he couldn’t attend the prime minister’s address. He said he’s read coverage of the speech and has heard many of Netanyahu’s past addresses.
What I think people who attended the speech, and in my own reading of it, we’ve got to get a hostage deal and a ceasefire,” Sen. Kaine said. “That’s gonna be the best thing for Israel, the best thing for suffering Palestinians, the best thing for tension in the region. That has seemed tantalizingly close, but we’re not there yet, and I think that’s what the prime minister’s focus should be.”
Kamala Harris condemns flag burning during Netanyahu address: ‘Should never be desecrated’
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Kaine said a ceasefire is the only way the U.S. will be able to provide needed humanitarian aid to suffering Gazans and ultimately have a conversation of peace between the two states.
In response to the speech, thousands of protestors rallied on Capitol Hill opposing Netanyahu’s visit.
ABC13 asked the senator for his thoughts on that protest. He said they have the right to speak their minds, but violence isn’t acceptable.
I condemn any burning of the U.S. flag, any protest that gets into violence,” Sen. Kaine said. “I get why people feel strongly about it, I feel strongly about it, but you express that in a peaceful way, not in anything that suggests violence.”
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Senator Mark Warner (D-Virginia) attended Netanyahu’s address to Congress. He told reporters Thursday that he was deeply disappointed by one major aspect of the address. Sen. Warner said Netanyahu was impassioned and he agrees that Israel has the right to defend itself, but he said the prime minister didn’t acknowledge the suffering and death of more than 40,000 Palestinians.
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Warner said there can’t be a release of hostages without a ceasefire in Gaza and he thinks the only way to get permanent peace is a two-state solution.
We’ve seen this hope for a ceasefire and those hostages released dashed time and again, and it’s gonna take both parties, both the Israeli government and the Hamas leadership, to make compromises,” Sen. Warner said.
Warner said he thinks those compromises will bring forward the hostage yield and an ultimate ceasefire.
Signs that say, “Don’t Fairfax Me” and “Vote No” are appearing in rural parts of Virginia in opposition to gerrymandered maps being voted on in a special election.
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‘Don’t Fairfax Me’: Northern Virginians fight redistricting plan
As the special election that will determine the fate of a plan to redraw Virginia’s congressional districts approaches, the state’s largest jurisdiction has started being referenced as a verb in messaging opposing the initiative.
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Signs that say, “Don’t Fairfax Me” and “Vote No” started appearing in rural parts of Virginia, Cardinal News reported. And on social media, Del. Wren Williams, whose district includes several counties in the southwestern portion of the state, defined “Fairfaxphobia.”
Early voting has been underway for weeks, but on April 21, voters will decide whether to OK a plan that would redraw Virginia’s congressional map. Currently, the state has elected six Democrats and five Republicans across its 11 districts. The proposed map could give Democrats a 10-1 advantage, experts say.
Virginia Democrats argue the step comes in response to President Donald Trump’s push for redistricting in Republican-led states. Republicans have been critical of the effort.
Williams is describing “Fairfaxphobia” as a fear that political power concentrated in Fairfax County will make decisions for the whole state and create policies impacting some communities that they can’t afford.
“We don’t want to be Fairfax County,” Williams told WTOP. “We don’t want skyscrapers. I don’t want to have to go somewhere outside and walk around to find some patches of grass to touch. I am interested in rural life, a little bit easier, a little bit simpler, a little bit more laid back, not as fast paced.”
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“Fairfaxphobia” graphic circulated to represent the fear that political power concentrated in Fairfax County will make decisions for the whole state. (Courtesy of Wren Williams)
As part of the proposed map, Williams said, “at least five districts run up and split up Fairfax County, which will eventually lead to five sitting congressional members from the county of Fairfax, and that’s just not representative of the entirety of the commonwealth.”
Jeannette, a longtime Northern Virginia resident, said people who live in the northern part of the state “are seen as an anomaly, maybe to the rest of Virginia, given our, I think, collective more liberal leaning. And I understand why they’re saying that, but I think we should separate that from the goal of the referendum.”
Dave Lincoln, meanwhile, said Friday he hadn’t heard about the signs in rural parts of the state but, “I guess it’s — we are what we are.”
Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell called the campaign disappointing, because “Fairfax County does a lot for the entire state. If it wasn’t for Fairfax, our state would have the economy of Mississippi.”
The “Don’t Fairfax Me” signs say they’re paid for and authorized by a political action committee called “New Vision VA.” Dominion Energy made a $25,000 donation to the PAC, according to the Virginia Public Access Project.
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Yves Fischer, who lives in Alexandria, said the messaging and advertising on the redistricting referendum are confusing.
For Tiffany, “I guess they’re saying ‘Don’t Fairfax’ Virginia, because obviously we are a much more educated, classy, professional, employed area, and we, of course, are going to vote ‘yes’ on this.”
In Springfield on Friday afternoon, Ann said she hadn’t seen or heard about the signs, but, “It should be a big ‘no.’ It’s not right. It’s not fair to most Virginians.”
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ABINGDON, Va. (WCYB) — The made in Southwest Virginia artisan and craft market returns April 11, 2026.
The Southwest Virginia Cultural Center in Abingdon will host more than 20 local artists.
Those artisans will offer demonstrations of their work and they’ll also be selling some of their crafts.
“We want to give this opportunity for community members to come out, as the weather is warming up and as spring is rolling around, to meet these makers and take home a little bit of Southwest Virginia,” Ryan Vaughan with the Friends of Southwest Virginia said.
A new West Virginia law aims to boost the state’s coal and natural gas sectors while more than tripling its electricity generation capacity to 50 gigawatts by 2050.
The measure, signed Thursday by Republican Gov. Patrick Morrisey, is designed to turn West Virginia into an energy hub for the data center industry. By sending more electricity to the regional grid and leveraging his state’s relatively lax regulations, Morrisey and his allies are looking to lure data centers to the state, as well as power those beyond its borders.
“We know there’s virtually unlimited need for energy in our country,” Morrisey said at a bill signing of H.B. 5381. “PJM and our grid operators, they’re starving for states to step up and take the lead. And that’s what West Virginia is doing.”
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The new law calls for the state’s Office of Energy to produce rolling five-year plans to keep the state’s existing coal-fired power plants operating through 2050, while also developing new “baseload” energy powered by gas, nuclear, geothermal and hydrogen.
