RICHMOND — Virginia’s House of Delegates voted unanimously Friday to repeal restrictions recently imposed on a college tuition program for military families, but Senate leaders do not intend to take the bill up when that chamber meets Monday, saying they want to limit any repeal to one year.
Virginia
Virginia House votes to repeal restrictions on military tuition program
Created in 1930 to aid the families of World War I veterans, the program has expanded over the years to include out-of-state residents, graduate students and relatives of service members with non-combat-related injuries. The price tag has risen exponentially in recent years, from $12 million in 2019 to more than $65 million last year. Universities have borne the cost or passed it to other students.
Amid warnings that the program was unsustainable, legislators and Youngkin agreed to new restrictions, which require participants to tap federal aid, such as Pell Grants, before accessing the state program, and limit eligibility to Virginia residents pursuing undergraduate degrees.
They also require military families to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), which uses a formula to calculate how much families can afford to pay for higher education. The wealthiest participants would pay a portion of the “expected family contribution,” expected to be capped at about $3,750 a year.
Current participants were grandfathered in, as was anyone who applied to college before May 15 under the budget language, which also provides $20 million to colleges and universities to offset waiver costs.
Those changes drew swift and vocal pushback from military families, leading Youngkin and the Democrats who lead the House and Senate to promise fixes. But they have not been on the same page about just what to do.
Youngkin and the House have favored fully repealing the restrictions until the issue can be studied, while Senate leaders have leaned toward more limited tinkering.
The House gathered for about an hour Friday to pass a bill to repeal the changes and provide $20 million a year for the next two fiscal years to cover some of the cost.
“It’s often been said if you find yourself in a hole you don’t want to be in, stop digging. Mr. Speaker, today I’m glad that we stopped digging,” Del. Mike A. Cherry (R-Colonial Heights) said on the floor ahead of the vote, praising Democratic and Republican leaders who’d pledged to “not weaponize” the issue.
But Senate Majority Leader Scott A. Surovell (D-Fairfax) said that the measure will not move forward in the Senate, which on Monday will meet for a second time to try to advance its own fix.
“It will not be considered,” he said.
Senate leaders are backing a new bill to postpone the restrictions until July 1, 2025, provide $65 million over the next 12 months to cover the cost, and require the state’s Joint Legislative and Audit Review Commission to review the program and make recommendations by Sept. 1.
“We’re willing to repeal the new restrictions for one year … and use the surplus to take the burden off other students who are currently funding the program,” Surovell said.
House Speaker Don L. Scott Jr. (D-Portsmouth) said he was confident the two sides will eventually work out their differences.
“Regardless of what happens on Monday, we’re very, very close in concept,” Scott said. “I think everybody recognizes that the way the program is designed now, it can’t go on like that. But we want to make sure that we get it right.”
Scott said he would support means-testing and other restrictions once the issue has been fully studied.
“I’m a disabled veteran as well. I can afford to pay for my daughter’s tuition,” he said. “So I think we need to do some means-testing. We need to get some residency requirements. I think we need to take a look at it and see what’s doable.”
The Senate initially met June 18, when Democratic leaders hoped to pass a bill to lift the Pell Grant and FAFSA requirements for relatives of veterans killed in the line of duty or disabled in combat, but not those with non-combat disabilities. They met for more than five hours that day but did not advance the legislation.
Youngkin praised the House’s action Friday and leaned on the Senate to fall in line with that plan.
“Our veterans, first responders, and their families have spoken, and we have heard them,” he said in a written statement. “Now it is time for the Senate to pass the bill on Monday, so I can sign it immediately. … If the Senate Democrat Leadership does not support a repeal of the language, they are holding our veterans, first responders, and their families, hostage.”
BRISTOL, Va. (WCYB) — Crews put out a house fire in Bristol, Virginia, on Wednesday morning, according to officials.
The Bristol, Virginia Fire Department was dispatched at 3:09 a.m. for the fire in the 900 block of Vermont Avenue. The house was unoccupied at the time fire crews arrived on the scene.
Firefighters encountered heavy smoke and flames in the front of the house. They were able to quickly extinguish the fire under challenging conditions. The fire scene remains active and an investigation is underway. No injuries have been reported.
Powerball, Mega Millions jackpots: What to know in case you win
Here’s what to know in case you win the Powerball or Mega Millions jackpot.
Just the FAQs, USA TODAY
The Virginia Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at June 2, 2026, results for each game:
Mega Millions
Mega Millions drawings take place every week on Tuesday and Friday at 11 p.m.
15-26-43-48-60, Mega Ball: 12
Check Mega Millions payouts and previous drawings here.
Pick 3
DAY drawing at 1:59 p.m. NIGHT drawing at 11 p.m. each day.
Night: 4-5-7, FB: 9
Day: 8-7-6, FB: 5
Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.
Pick 4
DAY drawing at 1:59 p.m. NIGHT drawing at 11 p.m. each day.
Night: 7-0-6-5, FB: 8
Day: 1-1-9-0, FB: 1
Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.
Pick 5
DAY drawing at 1:59 p.m. NIGHT drawing at 11 p.m. each day.
Night: 2-9-1-0-4, FB: 0
Day: 5-9-4-1-7, FB: 0
Check Pick 5 payouts and previous drawings here.
Cash Pop
Drawing times: Coffee Break 9 a.m.; Lunch Break 12 p.m.; Rush Hour 5 p.m.; Prime Time 9 p.m.; After Hours 11:59 p.m.
Coffee Break: 10
After Hours: 14
Prime Time: 04
Rush Hour: 13
Lunch Break: 06
Check Cash Pop payouts and previous drawings here.
Millionaire for Life
Drawing everyday at 11:15 p.m.
16-33-41-50-52, Bonus: 01
Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Center for Community Journalism (CCJ) editor. You can send feedback using this form.
Virginia
First boat to Bermuda wins — Virginia man prepares for 753-mile voyage from Annapolis – WTOP News
Kevin Sherwood’s boat is one of 21 in this year’s Annapolis to Bermuda Oceans Race, or A2B, which dates back to 1979.
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DC-area man hopes to race from Annapolis to Bermuda by boat
The boat that Kevin Sherwood of Springfield, Virginia, bought is still in dry dock as he makes final repairs and preparations ahead of the whole reason he bought the “Bay Retriever” in the first place.
If all goes as planned, he’ll get it in the water Wednesday, and starting at noon on Friday, he’ll be heading south down the Chesapeake Bay on a 753-mile voyage to Bermuda.
Sherwood’s boat is one of 21 in this year’s Annapolis to Bermuda Oceans Race, or A2B, which dates back to 1979. He’ll be joined by a crew of four others in a race he said is among the most challenging on the East Coast.
“I bought this boat in 2022 specifically for the Bermuda race,” Sherwood said. “Since I bought this, everything we’ve done has been prepping for it.
“Plenty of sailors never leave the Chesapeake. It’s very different when we’re dealing with ocean waves, ocean weather, all kinds of different conditions. So, the boat really needs to be set up for it.”
The bay, being both relatively shallow and surrounded by land, can make for ideal sailing; if something still goes wrong, help isn’t far away.
Heading out in the blue waters of the Atlantic Ocean to an island more than 600 miles off the coast can present more difficult circumstances. Yet, if you go on the race’s website, you’ll see a long list of people hoping to get picked up by a boat to help take part.
“We’re out of rescue range for a portion of the trip. They’ll ask a passing freighter to come help you if you have a problem,” Sherwood said. “We are on our own out there.”
Some boats will have full galleys available to help cook meals for the crew. But Sherwood’s vessel, being smaller, has been stocking up on food and water from the grocery store.
He and the crew will take turns sailing and resting in the cabin down below. A “leak loss” — imagine a hammock, more or less — will catch anyone if the boat leans one way while they’re sleeping, lest they fall to the floor.
Of course, that assumes they’ll have strong winds and waves. Sherwood, who has done this race twice before, said that’s not always the case.
“My first Bermuda race, we had plenty of nothing going on,” he said. For two days, the winds were so calm Sherwood’s team was “barely making two knots.”
Two years ago, he saw more clouds than stars and sun, and waves were running 12-15 feet high.
“The last couple of races we haven’t seen many sunsets because of clouds, fog, rain, that sort of thing,” Sherwood said. “But when you are out there all alone and just the stars, it’s incredibly detached. There’s really nowhere left in the country to get this isolated.”
Of course, having access to Starlink means there is some connection out on the water — though, if you’re on duty, you’re too focused to care. If you’re not, you’re probably resting.
“There’s definitely parts I’m going to hate,” he said. “There’s parts I’m going to be asking myself, ‘Why am I doing this? Why am I here?’ But it’s just such an awesome team sport. When I go off watch, I’m trusting the other guys to keep sailing, keep racing, to keep us safe, to keep the boat moving fast. We get to detach from the world.”
(WTOP/John Domen)
WTOP/John Domen
(WTOP/John Domen)
WTOP/John Domen
For how long is anyone’s guess. Weather and winds will determine the time it takes to get there.
“If conditions are amazing, we’ll get in on Tuesday,” he said. “If conditions are great, Wednesday. If they’re average, Thursday, and if they’re terrible, Friday.”
Those following from home can track Sherwood and everyone else in the race online. Whenever he arrives, he said workers on the docks will have a “Dark n’ Stormy” — one of Bermuda’s national drinks — waiting for them.
He’ll also be hoping to be handed a trophy he can sail back with, but that’s not the most important thing right now.
“There’s a point of pride just for completing this; 753 miles of ocean sailing is a big deal,” he said.
“So, yeah, I mean, I want to do well, but my first goal is just to make it back here safely in two and a half weeks. My next goal is to make it to Bermuda safely. Then my third goal is to finish well and get a podium finish again.”
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