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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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Southwest, Central Virginia Weather | 6 p.m. – June 27, 2026

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Southwest, Central Virginia Weather | 6 p.m. – June 27, 2026


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Virginia Thomas – Scranton Times-Tribune

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Virginia Thomas – Scranton Times-Tribune



Virginia Thomas


OBITUARY

Virginia Thomas, Lake Ariel, formerly of Newton Twp., died Wednesday evening at the Regional Hospital in Scranton. She was the widow of Charles Thomas who died in 2013.

Born in Newton Twp., she was the daughter of the late Frank and Francis Hunt Richards. She was a caring person who was considered a good friend by those who knew her. She was a loving mom who will be deeply missed.

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Surviving is a son, Richard Lewert, Eynon; two daughters, Karen Lewert, Archbald and Kathy Agostini, Old Forge; and two stepdaughters, Tina Lysak and Tammy Motovidlak.

A memorial service will be held on Tuesday at 5 pm at Lawrence E. Young Funeral Home and Cremation Services, 418 S. State St., Clarks Summit. Friends may pay their respects from 4 pm until the time of the service.

Virginia Thomas

June 24, 2026



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Vandals smash windows of nearly 3 dozen cars in Arlington Mill

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Vandals smash windows of nearly 3 dozen cars in Arlington Mill


Residents of an Arlington community are banding together to help each other in the wake of a string of vandalism. The neighborhood of Arlington Mill in southwest Arlington has been targeted for the last week, and nearly three dozen cars have had their windows smashed out, county police said.

Residents say they’re frustrated, frightened and aggravated that no one has been caught.

Evidence of the damage is everywhere in the neighborhood, with glass all over the road and in the grass. So many cars have been damaged that workers from a local auto glass repair shop came through the neighborhood and stuck their business cards under windshield wipers.

“It’s just frustrating,” Jose Santos said.

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He parks his car in a lot where multiple cars have had their windows smashed out.

“They put up signs inside all the buildings, right now, trying to tell people, ‘Hey, leave your belongings at home,’” Santos said.

Police say the first calls came in last week, reporting multiple windows smashed in Arlington Mill, up and down the intersection of 7th Road S. and S. Florida Street.

Then even more cars were damaged late Sunday into Monday.

One witness saw three males and guessed they were between 18 and 24 years old.

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Arlington County police say they’ve increased patrols in the neighborhood.

“We’ve had three incidents in the Arlington Mill neighborhood over about the last week, in which suspects broke the windows to about 35 vehicles parked in the neighborhood,” Ashley Savage of the Arlington County Police Department said.

Police say it doesn’t appear anything valuable has been stolen from the cars, but the peace of mind that’s been taken from Arlington Mill is invaluable, and nearly three dozen people have car windows to replace.



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