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Virginia House, Senate and Gov. Youngkin to spar over state budget

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Virginia House, Senate and Gov. Youngkin to spar over state budget


The Democratic-controlled Virginia Senate and House of Delegates on Thursday each passed their own proposed version of the next two-year state budget, documents lawmakers will start to work from to fashion a compromise spending plan to send to Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin.

Both chambers signed off on amendments to the 2024-2026 budget Youngkin first proposed in December, overhauling the governor’s vision and stripping out all but one component of his proposed tax policy changes.

The House and Senate both opted to keep Youngkin’s pitch to expand the sales tax to cover digital services including streaming subscriptions, closing what he calls the “Big Tech” loophole, but they ditched his call to lower income tax rates and raise the state’s sales tax. Instead, they’re proposing a higher level of general fund spending, including larger pay raises for teachers and other public workers, and K-12 education allocations above what Youngkin envisioned.

PROTECTION OF CONTRACEPTION ACCESS ADVANCES IN VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE

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Democratic leaders from both chambers said their proposals were structurally balanced and citizen-focused.

Both bills passed on a bipartisan basis but only after Republicans voiced objections to dozens of individual provisions, including a signature Democratic proposal to increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2026.

Each chamber will now take up the other’s plan and reject it, sending the bills to a conference committee, a small delegation of lawmakers who meet behind closed doors to hash out a compromise.

In recent years, that process dragged on well past the close of the part-time Legislature’s session, with lawmakers struggling to reach agreement. This year’s session is scheduled to end in just over two weeks.

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, bottom center, arrives in the Virginia House chambers to give his State of the Commonwealth address at the state Capitol in Richmond, Va., on Jan. 10, 2024. The Democratic-controlled Virginia Senate and House of Delegates on Feb. 22 each passed their own proposals for the next two-year state budget, which lawmakers will use to create a compromise spending plan to send to Youngkin. (AP Photo/Steve Helber, file)

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Republican Del. Barry Knight of Virginia Beach, who was recently removed from the committee that oversees the budget process without explanation, criticized the House plan in a speech, warning it overspends and focuses too heavily on Democratic priorities.

“In a negotiation, everyone needs a little something. If we want to avoid an impasse and not be here in June still fighting over this, this pie should have three slices: one for the Senate, one for the House and one for the executive branch because all are equal partners,” he said.

Democrats called his criticisms unfounded, and Del. Luke Torian, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, said he is optimistic lawmakers are on track to finish the budget work on time this year.

With lawmakers set to take up the work of finding compromise, here are points of agreement, differences and items of interest in the two chambers’ bills:

TAXES

Youngkin campaigned on a promise to lower taxes and in his first two years in office succeeded in signing approximately $5 billion in tax relief — some in the form of one-time rebates — into law.

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In December, he announced he was pushing for a cut to the income tax rate, something he said would draw more people and jobs to the state, while seeking to offset that revenue reduction by increasing the sales tax rate and adding the tax on digital services.

Democratic lawmakers and liberal advocacy groups criticized Youngkin’s proposed tax plan as a regressive handout to the wealthy. Republicans weren’t universally on board either.

Democratic Sen. L. Louise Lucas of Portsmouth, who chairs her chamber’s Finance & Appropriations Committee, said in a hearing Sunday that the governor’s proposal was “not sustainable,” especially in light of recent findings by the state’s legislative watchdog that raised concerns about the current funding formula for public schools.

House Republican Leader Todd Gilbert has said Democrats “hijacked” Youngkin’s plan, dumping the cuts but keeping part of the increase, which he said would harm families struggling with the aftermath of steep inflation. He sought unsuccessfully Thursday to remove that provision.

“What you’re doing with this new tax is making it so that now people have to Netflix, pay another tax, and then chill,” he said.

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NORTHERN VIRGINIA SPORTS ARENA

The future is murky for a Youngkin-backed proposal to move the NHL’s Washington Capitals and NBA’s Washington Wizards to Alexandria from the nation’s capital, and the competing budget proposals did nothing to make it clearer.

While the House included language enabling the proposal in its version of legislation that makes updates to the budget for the current fiscal year — a separate bill that passed Thursday — the Senate did not.

Lucas, who also did not allow a standalone bill to be heard in her committee, has said repeatedly that she has concerns about the financing structure for what she has taken to calling the “GlennDome.”

Torian, who’s carrying the House standalone version of the bill, told reporters the conference committee would give members a chance to “reason together” over a possible path forward.

Monica Dixon, a top executive at the teams’ parent company, Monumental Sports & Entertainment, said the bipartisan vote to pass the budget bill with the enabling language was an encouraging step forward.

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POLLUTION REDUCTION PROGRAM FIGHT

The House spending plan, but not the Senate’s, contains language directing the state to rejoin the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a carbon cap-and-trade program Youngkin has pulled Virginia from in a move that’s being challenged in court.

The language in the House bill essentially makes Virginia’s participation in the program, which Democrats and other advocates say will help combat climate change, a condition of the budget.

House Republicans, who along with Youngkin say the program is functionally an ineffective tax on ratepayers, raised questions Thursday about whether that approach was constitutional.



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Man shot, killed by Virginia trooper ID’d after crash ends in deadly stabbing attack

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Man shot, killed by Virginia trooper ID’d after crash ends in deadly stabbing attack


Virginia State Police have identified the man who was shot and killed by a trooper after a crash ended in a stabbing attack on Interstate 495 Sunday afternoon.

Jared Llamado, 32, of McLean, died at the hospital on Sunday after he was shot.

RELATED | 2 dead, dog killed after stabbing spree, trooper shooting on I-495 in Fairfax County

Investigators said Llamado was confronted by the trooper who opened fire around 1:17 p.m. The trooper was responding to a report of a road rage incident and found Llamado with a knife, according to a news release.

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Four stabbing victims, all women, were also found at the scene, along with a dog that was also stabbed.

Michelle Adams, 39, died from her injuries. The dog also did not survive. The three other women were all taken to the hospital with serious injuries, according to VSP. 7News is not identifying the surviving victims.

Investigators said the stabbings stemmed from a crash in the southbound lanes of I-495.

The trooper who opened fire was not hurt and is on leave pending the outcome of the investigation into the use of force.

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Investigators said they do not believe the attack is connected to terrorism.



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Two dead after I-495 road rage incident leads to stabbing, Virginia State Police shooting – WTOP News

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Two dead after I-495 road rage incident leads to stabbing, Virginia State Police shooting – WTOP News


A road rage incident led to a shooting involving the Virginia State Police on Sunday on Interstate 495. Four individuals were also stabbed.

Two people are dead Sunday in Annandale, Virginia, after a road rage incident led to a shooting involving Virginia State Police on Interstate 495.

A release issued by the Virginia State Police said a trooper fatally shot a man after responding to a report of a road rage incident on the southbound lanes of I-495 just before 1:30 p.m. at exit 52, near the Little River Turnpike.

The man, transferred to a hospital with serious injuries, has been pronounced dead. VSP said the trooper shot in self-defense after the man confronted him with a knife.

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The trooper did not suffer any injuries during the altercation.

Officials found four stabbing victims at the scene, but only identified a 39-year-old woman and a dog. Both the woman and the dog died.

Early findings suggest the stabbings took place after a crash on the Capital Beltway. The crash remains under investigation.

The VSP’s release comes after the main lanes of the Capital Beltway Outer Loop, before Little River Turnpike, were closed to traffic for several hours, only recently opening the express lanes. Main lanes between Arlington Boulevard and the Little River Turnpike remain closed.

Stay with WTOP for the latest developments.

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Virginia Huffman Obituary February 27, 2026 – Ott & Lee Funeral Homes

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Virginia Huffman Obituary February 27, 2026 – Ott & Lee Funeral Homes


Mary “Virginia” Huffman, 82, of Pelahatchie, Mississippi, passed away on February 27, 2026.

Born on February 28, 1943, in Morton, Mississippi, she was the daughter of Carl and Nannie Mae Bradshaw. She married the love of her life, Jimmy Lavell Huffman, on June 14, 1963, and together they built a life rooted in faith, family, and hard work. Virginia devoted nearly 50 years to teaching high school math, beginning at Morton High School and later serving at East Rankin Academy. Generations of students were shaped by her steady guidance, high expectations, and deep belief in their potential. Many would say they entered college prepared because they had learned from “Mrs. Huffman.” Her students knew the famous “Mrs. Huffman look,” but no one understood it quite like her children and grandchildren. To many, she was more than a teacher—she was a mentor, encourager, and second mother.

A faithful member of Cross Roads Baptist Church, Virginia was a true matriarch and prayer warrior whose life was anchored in her love for the Lord. She woke each morning to study the Word of God and carried that faith into every conversation, classroom, and season of life. She played piano and organ, sang in the choir, and on Sunday mornings could often be found at home practicing the piano before church—something her family dearly loved listening to. She served her church and community with quiet devotion. Whether tutoring students during the summer, helping families in need, or visiting church members, she consistently lived out a servant’s heart.

She loved farm life—raising chickens and cows, cutting hay, tending her flower beds, and cooking for the people she loved. She was especially known for her strawberry pies, egg custard, and caramel cake (see Cheryl Moore for the recipe). She faithfully attended her grandchildren’s sporting events and found her greatest joy in cheering on her family. She loved deeply and wholeheartedly, treating not only her own children and grandchildren as treasures, but embracing many others in her community as if they were her own.

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She is survived by her husband, Jimmy Lavell Huffman; her children, Connie Goodman (Mike), Karen Jones, and Jade Huffman; her grandchildren, Christin (Colby) (Candace), Christopher (Victoria), Dillon, Marley, Halle (Elijah), Kyla Kate, and Eli; her great-grandchildren, Autumn, Titus, Sophia, Liam, Scarlett, Luke, and Ava; and her siblings, Paul (Joyce) and Delilah.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Carl and Nannie Mae Bradshaw; her in-laws, Clyde Sr. and Zora Huffman; her son, Scot Huffman; and her sisters, May Erving and Maxine Strong.

Virginia will be remembered as a woman of unwavering faith, steadfast strength, and extraordinary love. Her legacy lives on in the family she nurtured, the students she prepared, and the countless lives she covered in prayer.

Visitation will be held from 5:00 pm – until on Sunday, March 1, 2026 at Cross Roads Baptist Church in Pelahatchie and again on Monday, March 2, 2026 from 12 pm – 1 pm.  

Services will be held at 1pm Monday, March 2, 2026 at Cross Roads Baptist Church with burial in the church cemetery.  

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Bro. John Vaughn, Bro. Gary Morris and Bro. Steven Platt will officate the services.

Pallbearers will be Tim Wolverton, Colby Boyd, Christopher Wilson, Dillon Pettigrew, Eli Huffman and Elijah Moore.

Ott and Lee Funeral Home in Morton is honored to serve the Huffman family.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the Cross Roads Baptist Church Building Fund.

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