West Virginia

Foster care lawsuit: State attempting to shield more docs from scrutiny, attorneys suing state say • West Virginia Watch

Published

2 years ago

June 18, 2024

Foster care lawsuit: State attempting to shield more docs from scrutiny, attorneys suing state say • West Virginia Watch

Attorneys suing state officials over its troubled foster care system say the state is attempting to shield emails, documents and more that could shed light on how the state has responded to the crisis.

The West Virginia Department of Human Services — formerly part of the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources — has already been sanctioned this year for its role in failing to preserve emails from former top foster care officials related to the case.

West Virginia attorneys, along with New York-based nonprofit A Better Childhood, filed the lawsuit on behalf of children in 2019, alleging the mistreatment of thousands of kids in state foster care.

In new filings this month, the attorneys said that state officials requested deliberative process privilege to exempt at least 2,610 documents from being reviewed as part of the suit.

The privilege can allow records, including certain emails and policy drafts, to be withheld in the interest of protecting confidential information that could include decision making.

Additionally, attorneys said that DoHS did not specify why documents like news releases, meeting minutes and drafts about agency decision making could be shielded from the case. Instead, attorneys said, DoHS sent a log with “meaningless descriptions” of what was being withheld.

“Defendants should not be permitted to withhold documents nor prevent answers at depositions by asserting deliberative process privilege,” the plaintiffs wrote on June 13.

The foster care lawsuit was filed against state foster care leaders and Gov. Jim Justice.

Attorneys for DoHS and the governor’s administration argued that deliberative process privilege was necessary given the wide range of discussions staff had in emails about the child welfare system.

Subjecting those documents, including emails, to public scrutiny could create a “chilling effect” on staff and “would harm the process and integrity of executive decision-making,” they explained.

“Defendants have provided Plaintiffs with nearly 700,000 documents in response to Plaintiffs’ document requests, including tens of thousands of emails of public servants at high levels of the [DoHS] and the governor’s office, many of whom have key roles in policy development,” said attorneys for the state in a filing earlier this month. “Of these hundreds of thousands of documents, [DoHS] withheld only 2,610 documents on claims of deliberative process privilege, based on the individual review of each document.”

Additionally, Deputy Secretary of Children and Adult Services Cammie Chapman argued that some of her communications should be left out of the suit due to media coverage on West Virginia foster care.

“The child welfare system is subject to intense scrutiny by the media,” she wrote. “When DoHS personnel know that their internal deliberations could be splashed across headlines as part of decontextualized quotes — indeed, full contextualization would often require statutorily-protected information about specific foster children, families, or reporters — they are far less likely to be forthcoming about their ideas or to advocate their beliefs with candor.”

She added that the information could be “used to fuel ad hominem attacks in online media,” which could harm employees.

State lawmakers have accused DoHS of hiding how it cares for more than 6,100 children in state custody, including hundreds who reside out of state in facilities, hospitals or with family members.

Recently, media were stonewalled in their efforts to learn if Child Protective Services checked on a 14-year-old Boone County girl who was found emaciated. Police said they’d made a referral in the high-profile case a year prior to her death.

West Virginia has the nation’s highest rate of children coming into foster care. There aren’t enough foster homes to take care of children, and kids end up in hotels, motels, offices and cabins due to the shortage.

The state has implemented foster care reforms in recent years, like increasing pay for CPS workers. DoHS is also working to decrease the number of foster children who live in facilities, including ones that are out of state.

The state has unsuccessfully sought to dismiss the 2019 foster care suit and could pay possibly $172,000 in sanctions, according to fees requested by plaintiffs.

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West Virginia

West Virginia Lottery results: See winning numbers for Powerball, Lotto America on Jan. 10, 2026

Published

7 hours ago

January 11, 2026

Press Room

Are you looking to win big? The West Virginia Lottery offers a variety of games if you think it’s your lucky day.

Lottery players in West Virginia can choose from popular national games like the Powerball and Mega Millions, which are available in the vast majority of states. Other games include Lotto America, Daily 3, Daily 4 and Cash 25.

Big lottery wins around the U.S. include a lucky lottery ticketholder in California who won a $1.27 billion Mega Millions jackpot in December 2024. See more big winners here. And if you do end up cashing a jackpot, here’s what experts say to do first.

Here’s a look at Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026 results for each game:

Winning Powerball numbers from Jan. 10 drawing

05-19-21-28-64, Powerball: 14, Power Play: 3

Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Lotto America numbers from Jan. 10 drawing

06-15-20-22-25, Star Ball: 10, ASB: 02

Check Lotto America payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Daily 3 numbers from Jan. 10 drawing

6-3-7

Check Daily 3 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Daily 4 numbers from Jan. 10 drawing

3-0-6-8

Check Daily 4 payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

When are the West Virginia Lottery drawings held?

Powerball: 11 p.m. ET on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
Mega Millions: 10:59 p.m. ET Tuesday and Friday.
Lotto America: 10:15 p.m. ET on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
Daily 3, 4: 6:59 p.m. ET Monday through Saturday.
Cash 25: 6:59 p.m. ET Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday.

Winning lottery numbers are sponsored by Jackpocket, the official digital lottery courier of the USA TODAY Network.

Where can you buy lottery tickets?

Tickets can be purchased in person at gas stations, convenience stores and grocery stores. Some airport terminals may also sell lottery tickets.

You can also order tickets online through Jackpocket, the official digital lottery courier of the USA TODAY Network, in these U.S. states and territories: Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Puerto Rico, Washington D.C., and West Virginia. The Jackpocket app allows you to pick your lottery game and numbers, place your order, see your ticket and collect your winnings all using your phone or home computer.

Jackpocket is the official digital lottery courier of the USA TODAY Network. Gannett may earn revenue for audience referrals to Jackpocket services. GAMBLING PROBLEM? CALL 1-800-GAMBLER, Call 877-8-HOPENY/text HOPENY (467369) (NY). 18+ (19+ in NE, 21+ in AZ). Physically present where Jackpocket operates. Jackpocket is not affiliated with any State Lottery. Eligibility Restrictions apply. Void where prohibited. Terms: jackpocket.com/tos.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a USA Today editor. You can send feedback using this form.

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West Virginia

West Virginia Lottery results: See winning numbers for Mega Millions, Daily 3 on Jan. 9, 2026

Published

1 day ago

January 10, 2026

Press Room

Are you looking to win big? The West Virginia Lottery offers a variety of games if you think it’s your lucky day.

Here’s a look at Friday, Jan. 9, 2026 results for each game:

Winning Mega Millions numbers from Jan. 9 drawing

12-30-36-42-47, Mega Ball: 16

Check Mega Millions payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Daily 3 numbers from Jan. 9 drawing

5-4-4

Check Daily 3 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Daily 4 numbers from Jan. 9 drawing

3-0-4-6

Check Daily 4 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Cash 25 numbers from Jan. 9 drawing

01-05-06-07-12-13

Check Cash 25 payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

When are the West Virginia Lottery drawings held?

Powerball: 11 p.m. ET on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
Mega Millions: 10:59 p.m. ET Tuesday and Friday.
Lotto America: 10:15 p.m. ET on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
Daily 3, 4: 6:59 p.m. ET Monday through Saturday.
Cash 25: 6:59 p.m. ET Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday.

Winning lottery numbers are sponsored by Jackpocket, the official digital lottery courier of the USA TODAY Network.

Where can you buy lottery tickets?

Tickets can be purchased in person at gas stations, convenience stores and grocery stores. Some airport terminals may also sell lottery tickets.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a USA Today editor. You can send feedback using this form.

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West Virginia

West Virginia set to welcome No. 22 Kansas – WV MetroNews

Published

2 days ago

January 9, 2026

Press Room

West Virginia set to welcome No. 22 Kansas – WV MetroNews

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — A half hour or so had passed since West Virginia men’s basketball coach Ross Hodge recorded his first Big 12 win with the Mountaineers holding off Cincinnati 62-60 on Tuesday night.

Hodge expressed feeling fortunate that his team was able to overcome a late lapse where saw a six-point lead became a five-point deficit, and WVU (10-5, 1-1) avoided falling victim to a poor finish that was problematic in narrow neutral-site setbacks to Clemson and Ohio State.

Yet as is generally the case in the Big 12, there was little time to savor the result, and it was time to turn the attention to No. 22 Kansas, Saturday’s opponent for a noon tip inside Hope Coliseum.

The matchup against KU and its two-time National Champion head coach Bill Self airs on FOX.

“I have a ton of respect for coach Self and Kansas. Thankful, honestly. That would be the emotion. Thankful to be in this league,” Hodge said. “This is the third best basketball league on the planet. It’s the NBA, the Euro League and the Big 12. With that comes really good catches and really good players. More than anything, an appreciation and thankfulness. Once the ball gets tipped, it really is like your team is trying to out-execute his team and you don’t spend a lot of time thinking about any of that other than how can I help our guys execute better in these stretches and play better defense. That’s where your mind is.”

Jan 6, 2026; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers head coach Ross Hodge celebrates after defeating the Cincinnati Bearcats at Hope Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-Imagn Images

For at least one night, Hodge was able to breathe a sigh of relief after late three-pointers from both Honor Huff and Treysen Eaglestaff, the latter of which came with the shot clock winding down in a well-defended attempt out of desperation that was instrumental in helping the Mountaineers prevail past the Bearcats.

Later Tuesday night, KU (11-4, 1-1) overcame a 15-point deficit with inside 5 minutes remaining, staging one of its infamous improbable rallies at Allen Fieldhouse to defeat TCU in overtime, 104-100.

“We didn’t guard. We didn’t rebound,” Self said. “Our body language stunk for a good portion of the game. We played with different energy levels individually throughout the game. We were spectators and didn’t create activity. There were a lot of things we didn’t do the other night, but at the end of the day, we should show ourselves that we can do it, because we did it under the most intense, pressure-packed situations.

“That’s why the last 4 minutes of a game are the most important 4 minutes, because if you make a mistake, you can’t recover. Even though we made a couple mistakes in the last 4 minutes, it was still about as well-played as any stretch that we’d had during the game and when it counted the most.”

Self has been displeased with the Jayhawks’ defense over two Big 12 games, with KU allowing 181 points, including 168 through regulation.

“We just haven’t been connected on the defensive end like we were prior to Christmas,” he said.

WVU presents a quality chance for KU to rectify its defensive issues as the Mountaineers are 15th among 16 Big 12 teams in overall scoring (74.1 points per game) and scoring within Big 12 games (60.5). At 45.4 percent, WVU ranks 14th in the league in field goal percentage.

But Self knows his team must be aware at all times of Mountaineer guard Honor Huff, who leads the conference with 60 three-pointers and made 6 of 10 against UC after going 1 for 8 the previous outing at Iowa State.

Huff has at least four made threes in eight games this season as well as another in which he shot 3 of 4 from distance. Additionally, Eaglestaff is 14 for 34 from long range over the last five contests.

“They let their shooters shoot it and they have three guys that can, but two of them really can and will shoot a lot of them,” Self said. “We have to do a great job of defending the arc.”

The Mountaineers continue to be solid defensively and rank second to Houston in scoring defense among Big 12 teams at 61.5 points. WVU held Cincinnati to 22 for 62 shooting and 10 two-point field goals.

“You have to be able to play long stretches of quality basketball to win games. We were fortunate to win if I’m being really honest,” Hodge said. “Our first shot defense was good. Holding a team to [35] percent from the floor is good enough to win. [WVU’s] nine assists to 15 turnovers is not going to win you games a lot of nights. We did out-rebound them [37-33]. We got to the free-throw line. We didn’t necessarily make them at the rate we need to [7 for 13], but we made the big ones late.”

Jan 6, 2026; Lawrence, Kansas, USA; Kansas Jayhawks guard Darryn Peterson (22) shoots as TCU Horned Frogs forward Xavier Edmonds (24) defends during the second half of the game at Allen Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images

The Mountaineers will be tasked with trying to limit one of college basketball’s most feared offensive players and top pro prospects in 6-foot-6 KU freshman Darryn Peterson.

Peterson has played in only six games due to a hamstring injury and scored a career-high 32 points against the Horned Frogs, but sat out the extra session with cramping.

He is averaging 22.5 points on 50 percent shooting and has made multiple treys in all six games, while shooting better than 43 percent beyond the arc.

“He feels good. He’s full speed,” Self said.

Tre White, a 6-7 swingman, is the team’s second-leading scorer at 15 points, followed by 6-10 forward Flory Bidunga (14.3 points, 9.1 rebounds) and guard Melvin Council Jr. (13.7 ppg).

WVU, which has yet to record a Quad 1 or Quad 2 victory, is 10-0 at home this season and 7-5 against the Jayhawks in Morgantown.

“In this league, you better take care of home,” Hodge said. “It’s the Big 12. Every game is going to be challenging in its own way.”

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