Virginia
‘Podunk’: GOP hopeful for U.S. Senate denigrates small town paper rather than answering questions about Super PAC
Republican candidate for U.S. Senate Hung Cao again failed to address critical questions about spending by the Unleash America super PAC when asked by a conservative talk show host on Tuesday, May 21.
But he did continue his attacks on the story that prompted critiques from members of his own party.
Instead of explaining why the money raised by the super PAC did not go to Virginia Republican candidates for state office in 2023, Cao again called the report that prompted the allegations a “hit job” and referred to the Staunton News Leader, which reported the story, as a “podunk local newspaper” on an episode of the Alec Lace show Tuesday.
The story was published in USA Today as well as The News Leader. The reporter is part of the USA Today Network’s Elections team, covering Virginia elections for the network’s two commonwealth papers, The News Leader in Staunton and The Progress-Index in Petersburg. The story was published in nine other Gannett newspapers across the country.
Skipped out on a local candidate forum, misremembered dates and promises
Cao did not attend a Senate candidate forum last Friday morning, which took take place in Augusta County just outside of Staunton, home of the Staunton News Leader. Staunton is in the Shenandoah Valley, a reliably red part of the commonwealth for Republican legislators in both state and federal offices.
Cao repeated an earlier stated falsehood on the Alec Lace Show, that he was out of the super PAC by May of 2023. In fact, a memo from his Senate campaign legal counsel said that Cao resigned from the PAC on June 15, 2023.
Cao told Lace that he didn’t promise to donate money raised by Unleash America to Republican candidates in Virginia’s 2023 elections. Multiple recordings available online show Cao saying otherwise on conservative talk shows and in newspapers in early 2023.
Cao also told Lace that federal super PACs, such as Unleash America, cannot donate to state-level candidates. In fact, Virginia has no limits on campaign contributions.
A different interview, and a different story
When Cao launched Unleash America in February 2023, the super PAC had one stated goal: To get Republicans elected during Virginia’s 2023 statehouse contests to support Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s agenda, as reported by the Staunton News Leader and USA Today.
The PAC raised $103,489 in individual contributions from around the country, which Cao called a “minimal amount” in an earlier interview with John Fredericks, another conservative talkshow host. Cao’s principal U.S. Senate campaign committee, Hung Cao for Virginia, contributed $45,000 to the super PAC, for a total of $148,489 raised by Unleash America between January and December 2023.
After Republicans lost the House of Delegates in Virginia and failed to flip the Senate, analysis of Unleash America’s expenditures showed no support of any kind, in-kind or otherwise, for Virginia’s Republican candidates.
In that earlier interview with Fredericks, Cao said “a lot of the money was reimbursed.” However, according to Federal Election Commission filings, money raised by Unleash America was paid to people who worked on Cao’s failed 2022 Congressional campaign as well as his current bid for the U.S. Senate.
“Start up costs a lot, you have to have lawyers, you have to have compliance people, you have to have start up fees, so a lot of the money was moved over from the old campaign to keep it alive,” Cao told Fredericks, apparently referring to the cost to launch his bid for the U.S. Senate.
Where did the money go?
About $12,500 of the money donated to Unleash America was spent on legal fees, according to FEC filings.
Another $37,514 from the super PAC was paid to John Ryan O’Rourke. O’Rourke is Cao’s 2024 Senate campaign manager and was his campaign manager during his 2022 bid for Congress. In the same year that O’Rourke received payment from Unleash America, he also received $96,168 from Hung Cao for Virginia, Cao’s Senate campaign committee.
Another $22,867 of Unleash America’s money went to K2 & Co., a communications firm Cao had employed during his 2022 Congressional campaign and also during his 2024 Senate campaign. K2 & Co. was paid $15,000 by Cao’s Senate campaign on October 3, 2023.
The super PAC also paid $29,403 for list rentals, $18,576 for digital fundraising, $6,398 in meeting and lodging expenses as well as bank fees and $3,904 in earmark fees to WinRed, a fundraising arm of the Republican Party.
Federal Election Commission filings show that Unleash America did not contribute any of the $148,489 it raised to Virginia’s Republican candidates in 2023.
BIG STONE GAP, Va. (WCYB) — About 100 seniors from across Southwest Virginia spent the day enjoying food, games and fellowship at the Mountain Empire Older Citizens Organization’s annual summer picnic.
The event was held at Bullitt Park in Big Stone Gap and brought together seniors from seven congregate senior sites across several Southwest Virginia counties.
Attendees enjoyed a cookout, played yard games, tried their luck at bingo and caught up with friends.
Organizers said events like the annual picnic give seniors a chance to enjoy activities they may not otherwise have the opportunity to experience.
“It’s exactly what the program is designed for,” MEOC Nutrition Director Kristen Rutherford said. “To add nutrition and education but also promote socialization and prevent loneliness for seniors. A big part of seniors’ lives is that they’re isolated a lot of times. I love it, especially the games that they’re playing. I love that because they’re getting exercise.”
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Organizers said the summer picnic is one of two major events they host each year, along with a Christmas celebration.
Cyclosporiasis public health update from Virginia Department of Health
Virginia reported 10 cases of Cyclosporiasis as of July 7. Learn the symptoms, travel risks, and infection prevention.
Cyclosporiasis has been causing illness throughout the United States. As of July 7, the Virginia Department of Health is reporting 10 cases of Cyclosporiasis but is not currently investigating any local outbreaks, according to a press release from state health officials.
Cyclosporiasis is an infection of the intestine caused by a parasite called Cyclospora.
Anyone can get cyclosporiasis. It is more common in people who travel to tropical areas, but the infection can occur in many different countries. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control has received reports of 145 cases of cyclosporiasis acquired in the United States of people who became sick from May 1 through June 16.
The majority of cases and outbreaks are reported during the spring and summer months, although infections can occur year-round. Most outbreaks of cyclosporiasis have been linked to imported fresh produce.
Cyclosporiasis is not spread directly from person-to-person. Infected people pass Cyclospora in their feces, but this form of the parasite cannot make people sick. The parasite needs time in the environment to change into a form that can make people ill. This form of the parasite then can infect someone by entering the body through the mouth, typically by eating or drinking something that is contaminated with Cyclospora.
Cyclospora infects the intestines and usually causes watery diarrhea. Other symptoms can include loss of appetite, weight loss, bloating, increased gas, stomach cramps, nausea, vomiting, muscle aches, low-grade fever, and fatigue. Symptoms usually appear within one week after exposure and if not treated, the illness can last from a few days to a month, or longer.
How to prevent cyclosporiasis
- Wash all fruits and vegetables thoroughly under running water before eating, cutting, or cooking.
- Wash hands carefully with soap and water before and after food preparation and after using the bathroom or changing diapers.
- Travelers, especially to tropical areas, should avoid eating raw or undercooked foods or drinking untreated water.
If you have symptoms of cyclosporiasis, contact your healthcare provider.
People who have diarrhea should rest and drink plenty of fluids. Specific antibiotics are sometimes prescribed.
Staunton News Leader reporter Monique Calello covers healthcare in the Shenandoah Valley and in Virginia. Connect with her at mcalello@newsleader.com.
(WSET) — If you haven’t spotted them yet, you probably will soon.
The peak of spotted lanternfly season is just beginning, and the heat isn’t stopping them. It may actually be speeding up their development.
Virginia Cooperative Extension Agent Scott Baker says this year, the eggs began hatching roughly two weeks earlier than they did last year. He says this is because of some warmer-than-normal temperatures in the spring and summer months.
READ ALSO: Shark Week returns to Lynchburg Aqua Zoo with interactive exhibits, live shark feedings
The sooner lanternflies hatch, the sooner they progress through their stages of immaturity to adulthood, where they become the recognizable, winged adults.
That’s when you’re most likely to see them flying around in your backyard.
“So based on the temperatures that we have accumulated this year, people should begin to see the adults now, and then they will continue to see more and more adults, less of the immature stages,” Baker says. “And I would say by the end of July or early August, they’ll be seeing only adults”
Even though these pesky bugs are a nuisance, Baker says they don’t actually do that much damage.
When the invasive species first migrated south to Virginia around 2021, Baker says experts took more caution towards them. Now they appear to be less destructive, except to specific grapevine plants.
READ ALSO: Copper theft blamed for power outage that affected over 1,000 in Danville
Baker adds that other animals adapt by feeding on the lanternflies, which helps to control the population.
“The longer that the insect is in a particular area, the more we are seeing things start to feed on them, like other insects, spiders, birds,” Baker says. “I think Mother Nature, over time, will begin to help us regulate the population outside of what we can do, which is good news.”
If you have any concerns about handling your plants as these bugs hit peak season, agents at the Virginia Cooperative Extension are a free resource and happy to help.
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