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Virginia Supreme Court considers whether to block voter-approved US House map favoring Democrats

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Virginia Supreme Court considers whether to block voter-approved US House map favoring Democrats


The Virginia Supreme Court on Monday will hear arguments in a Republican challenge to the redrawn congressional map that was approved by voters last week and could net Democrats four additional U.S. House seats.

The case contends that the Democratic-led General Assembly violated procedural requirements by placing the constitutional amendment before voters to authorize mid-decade redistricting. If the court agrees that lawmakers broke the rules, it could invalidate the amendment and render last week’s statewide vote meaningless.

The Virginia court proceedings mark the latest twist in a national redistricting battle between Republicans and Democrats seeking an advantage in a November election that will determine whether Republicans maintain their narrow majority in the U.S. House.

President Donald Trump urged Texas Republicans to redraw districts to their favor last year in an attempt to win several additional House seats. That set off a chain reaction of similar moves in other states, leading to the voter approval last week of Virginia’s new map.

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Next up is Florida, where Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has included congressional redistricting on the agenda for a special session of the GOP-controlled Legislature beginning Tuesday.

On Sunday, Trump said he was in favor of the Florida attempt and criticized the Virginia amendment that was pushed by Democrats.

“It’s a very bad thing for our country. Very, very bad,” he told Fox News Channel’s “The Sunday Briefing.”

A poster on the Virginia redistricting referendum is seen during voting at Mason Square, Tuesday, April 21, 2026, in Alexandria, Va. Credit: AP/Julia Demaree Nikhinson

So far, the two major parties have battled to a near draw. Republicans think they could win up to nine more seats under revised districts in Texas, Missouri, North Carolina and Ohio. Democrats think they could win as many as 10 additional seats under new districts in California, Utah and Virginia. But legal challenges remain in both Virginia and Missouri.

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Virginia currently is represented in the U.S. House by six Democrats and five Republicans who were elected from districts imposed by a court after a bipartisan redistricting commission failed to agree on a map after the 2020 census. The new districts, which narrowly won voter approval last Tuesday, could give Democrats an improved chance to win 10 districts.

At issue before the state Supreme Court is whether those districts should be invalidated because of the process used by lawmakers.

Because the state’s redistricting commission was established by a voter-approved constitutional amendment, lawmakers had to propose a new constitutional amendment to redraw districts themselves. That required approval of a resolution in two separate legislative sessions, with a state election sandwiched in between, to place an amendment on the ballot.

In January, a judge in rural Tazewell County, in southwestern Virginia, ruled that lawmakers failed to follow their own rules for adding the redistricting amendment to a special session last fall. Circuit Judge Jack Hurley Jr. also ruled that lawmakers failed to initially approve the amendment before the public began voting in last year’s general election and that the state had failed to publish the amendment three months before the election, as required by law. As a result, he said, the amendment is invalid and void.

The Virginia Supreme Court placed Hurley’s order on hold and allowed the redistricting vote to proceed before hearing arguments on the case. Republicans have filed at least two additional legal challenges, which also are winding their way through the courts.

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Virginia Lottery Powerball, Pick 3 Night results for June 6, 2026

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Virginia Lottery Powerball, Pick 3 Night results for June 6, 2026


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The Virginia Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.

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Here’s a look at June 6, 2026, results for each game:

Powerball

Powerball drawings are held Monday, Wednesday and Saturday at 11 p.m.

16-32-55-59-64, Powerball: 03, Power Play: 3

Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.

Monday, June 08, 2026

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Pick 3

DAY drawing at 1:59 p.m. NIGHT drawing at 11 p.m. each day.

Night: 9-1-7, FB: 0

Day: 0-5-5, FB: 9

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.

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Night: 7-2-0-4, FB: 1

Day: 7-7-1-4, FB: 3

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: 1-0-3-5-6, FB: 2

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Day: 3-6-9-6-2, FB: 5

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: 08

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Prime Time: 06

Rush Hour: 11

Lunch Break: 05

Check Cash Pop payouts and previous drawings here.

Cash 5

Drawing every day at 11 p.m.

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14-19-20-25-41

Check Cash 5 payouts and previous drawings here.

Bank a Million

Bank a Million draws are held every Wednesday and Saturday at 11 p.m.

07-13-15-27-32-40, Bonus: 17

Check Bank a Million payouts and previous drawings here.

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Millionaire for Life

Drawing everyday at 11:15 p.m.

03-13-18-35-48, Bonus: 04

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.

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Virginia trooper rescues kitten from I-395 in Alexandria

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Virginia trooper rescues kitten from I-395 in Alexandria


A tiny kitten had quite the adventure Friday night in Northern Virginia.

A driver spotted the little guy on I-395 near King Street in Alexandria and called the authorities just before midnight.

A Virginia State Police trooper helped rescue the kitten, who is about 4 weeks old. The trooper took the kitten to a nearby animal hospital for food, water and medical care.

The kitten is okay, Virginia State Police said, but it is still not known how the kitten got onto the highway in the first place.

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One Strength, One Weakness of Virginia Tech Men’s Basketball’s 2026-27 Roster

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One Strength, One Weakness of Virginia Tech Men’s Basketball’s 2026-27 Roster


For Virginia Tech men’s basketball, the 2026-27 season is still around five months away — the roster itself, though, looks like a recipe that is nearly done cooking. Here’s a look at what I think is one strength and one weakness of the 2026-27 roster:

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Strength: In the aggregate, there’s a lot of depth.

Last year’s Virginia Tech unit struggled to find much stability, in large part because of injuries that chipped away at its depth for extended stretches.

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Forward Tobi Lawal missed nine games with an ankle injury, while guard Tyler Johnson was sidelined for the first 15 ACC games with a lower-body injury. German big Antonio Dorn also dealt with a nagging back injury that limited his effectiveness in the latter two-thirds of the season. Those injuries forced the Hokies to shuffle roles, lean heavily on a smaller group of contributors and operate with a rotation that felt further from a true nine- or 10-man group than desired.

That lack of depth made it difficult for Virginia Tech to sustain consistency over the course of ACC play. When injuries mounted, the Hokies didn’t always have enough proven options to absorb those losses without noticeable drop-off.

Virginia Tech, though, should have more depth at its disposal this coming season. The Hokies should be able to run a nine-man lineup this season — returning guards Ben Hammond and Tyler Johnson, forwards Amani Hansberry and Sin’Cere Jones, transfer guards Ethan Copeland (Stetson), Isaiah Elohim (Florida Atlantic) and Jaylen Curry (Oklahoma State), transfer forward Kuol Atak (Oklahoma) and transfer big Miles Heide (San Diego State).

Weakness: Virginia Tech may not have a takeover option.

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The biggest question with Virginia Tech’s roster may not be whether the Hokies have enough capable scorers, but whether they have a clear-cut player who can consistently take over games when the offense stalls.

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Hammond averaged a team-high 14.9 points per game in league play last season, which is certainly strong enough to suggest he can be Virginia Tech’s primary offensive option. The next step is whether he can ascend from productive ACC scorer to legitimate All-ACC caliber guard. I think that jump is within reach, but for now, it remains more of a projection than a certainty.

At the moment, Virginia Tech does not have a definitively proven player who feels like a nightly threat to pour in 25 or so points. The Hokies have players who can score, and they should have more balance than they did last season, but balance is different from having a go-to takeover scorer.

Then again, that has been true for Virginia Tech for several years. Outside of streaky stretches from Avdalas, the Hokies have not consistently had that kind of explosive offensive centerpiece. If Hammond reaches another level, this weakness could soften quickly.

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