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![Connor Thonen-Fleck addresses reporters while his parents stand by his side](https://woub.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/AP24120616965885-e1714542393860-900x422.jpg)
Judges rule that the West Virginia and North Carolina transgender care coverage policies discriminate
By: Leah Willingham | AP
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CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia’s and North Carolina’s refusal to cover certain health care for transgender people with government-sponsored insurance is discriminatory, a federal appeals court ruled Monday in… Read More
![The West Virginia Capitol dome is seen through some trees with a blue sky and a few clouds behind.](https://woub.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/AP24052731483459-e1708638484411-900x422.jpg)
A West Virginia bill that adds work search to unemployment and freezes benefits is made law without signature
By: Leah Willingham | AP
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CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — People receiving unemployment benefits in West Virginia will need to do more to prove they are searching for jobs to collect state benefits under a new… Read More
![Jim Justice](https://woub.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Coach-Justice-e1533844070174-900x422.jpg)
West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice vetoes the bill that would have loosened school vaccine policies
By: Leah Willingham | AP
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CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Republican Gov. Jim Justice on Wednesday broke with West Virginia’s GOP-majority Legislature to veto a bill that would have loosened one of the country’s strictest school vaccine… Read More
![West Virginia Governor Jim Justice](https://woub.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/091918Justice3-e1538772746314-900x422.jpg)
West Virginia’s governor signs a vague law allowing teachers to answer questions about origin of life
By: Leah Willingham | AP
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CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia Republican Gov. Jim Justice signed a law Friday that supporters say promotes the free exchange of ideas in science classrooms, despite objections from opponents… Read More
![The West Virginia Capitol dome is seen through some trees with a blue sky and a few clouds behind.](https://woub.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/AP24052731483459-e1708638484411-900x422.jpg)
West Virginia legislative session ends with pay raises, tax cut and failure of social issue bills
By: Leah Willingham | AP
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CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — The Republican-dominated state Legislature in West Virginia on Saturday concluded a 60-day session marked by budget disputes and controversial social issue bills that advanced but ultimately… Read More
![The West Virginia Capitol dome is seen through some trees with a blue sky and a few clouds behind.](https://woub.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/AP24052731483459-e1708638484411-900x422.jpg)
West Virginia’s House OKs a bill to allow teachers with training to carry guns and removes local power to reject them
By: Leah Willingham | AP
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CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia’s Republican-controlled House of Delegates voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to allow teachers and other school staff who undergo training to carry guns in K-12 public schools…. Read More
![The West Virginia Capito building as seen from across the river in spring](https://woub.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/shutterstock_1301147023-e1672867302357-900x422.jpg)
West Virginia advances a bill that would require age verification for internet pornography
By: Leah Willingham | AP
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CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — People in West Virginia would need to present some form of state-sponsored age verification before accessing internet pornography under a bill that advanced Monday in the… Read More
![West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice delivers his annual State of the State address at the state Capitol in Charleston on Jan. 11, 2023.](https://woub.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/ap23012066592768-db2b2b2f3d90abc99bd91c496982079632bba7a6-scaled-e1685560573498-900x422.jpg)
A bill decriminalizing drug test strips in opioid-devastated West Virginia heads to the governor
By: Leah Willingham | AP
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CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A bill that would decriminalize all dtrug test strips used to detect deadly substances in West Virginia, the state with the nation’s highest overdose rate, is headed to… Read More
![SNAP logo](https://woub.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/UUFSO5DOS5DG7OU4GENNLUAOC4-e1553806445699-900x422.jpg)
West Virginia advances a bill to add photos to all SNAP cards, despite enforcement concerns
By: Leah Willingham | AP
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CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A committee of lawmakers in West Virginia’s Republican-majority Legislature is advancing a bill that would require photo IDs to be added to the SNAP cards low-income… Read More
![A person pulls a gun from the back of their pants. Their trigger discipline leaves something to be desired as their finger is brushing up against the trigger. They could easily Pelexico Burress themselves](https://woub.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/concealed_carry_generic_-_praphab_louilarpprasert_shutterstock.com_-scaled-e1647296479684-900x422.jpg)
West Virginia’s Senate OKs a bill to allow veterans and retired police to provide armed security in schools
By: Leah Willingham | AP
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CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — County education boards in West Virginia could contract with military veterans and retired law enforcement officers to provide armed security at K-12 public schools under a… Read More
![Farmland is seen with solar panels from Cypress Creek Renewables, Oct. 28, 2021, in Thurmont, Md.](https://woub.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/ap22157519437556_custom-9b99c3cd343918c386f3afab877d33e6c02013e6-scaled-e1654544225400-900x422.jpg)
Coal-producing West Virginia is converting an entire school system to solar power
By: Leah Willingham | AP
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CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — An entire county school system in coal-producing West Virginia is going solar, representing what a developer and U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin’s office touted on Wednesday as… Read More
![Huntington High School senior Max Nibert holds signs he plans to use during a walkout students are staging at Huntington High School in Huntington, W.Va.](https://woub.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/AP23300702572916-e1698775665985-900x422.jpg)
A West Virginia school system mandates religious training following a revival assembly lawsuit
By: Leah Willingham | AP
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CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A West Virginia school district has passed a policy mandating annual religious freedom training as part of a lawsuit settlement after an evangelical preacher held a… Read More
![An empty morgue with one light on and a table in the middle.](https://woub.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/shutterstock_1075409891-e1697664435179-900x422.jpg)
West Virginia pathologists perform twice as many autopsies as industry standard amid shortages
By: Leah Willingham | AP
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CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Forensic pathologists in West Virginia are being asked to perform at least twice as many autopsies as the national best practice standard, resulting in significant delays,… Read More
![Staffer Mackenzie Hunt smiles as a child raises her hand to answer a question during a lesson on shapes and colors on the playground at Living Water Child Care and Learning Center.](https://woub.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/AP23272554067167-e1696431536519-900x422.jpg)
Child care programs just lost thousands of federal dollars. Families and providers scramble to cope
By: Leah Willingham | AP
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WILLIAMSON, W.Va. (AP) — Kaitlyn Adkins is studying law to help families in her community impacted by the opioid epidemic at the heart of West Virginia coal country. But to… Read More
![Police units responds to the scene of an emergency.](https://woub.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/shutterstock_1549338884-e1694456248142-900x422.jpg)
The family of a West Virginia 13-year-old who was struck and killed by off-duty deputy demands a jury trial
By: Leah Willingham | AP
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CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — The family of a West Virginia 13-year-old who was struck and killed by an off-duty sheriff’s deputy with his marked cruiser last year has filed a civil suit… Read More
![Materials prepared for the first-ever Appalachian "Save a Life Day" naloxone distribution event are displayed on a free Narcan access box](https://woub.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/AP23256769916575-e1694717501991-900x422.jpg)
Communities across Appalachia band together for the first-ever 13-state Narcan distribution event
By: Leah Willingham | AP
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CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — An effort to destigmatize the use of Narcan that started as a pilot in two West Virginia counties has expanded to all thirteen states in Appalachia this… Read More
![Iris Sidikman, harm reduction coordinator at the Women's Health Center of West Virginia, holds a wound care kit the clinic has on hand for intravenous drug users seeking care in the clinic parking lot in Charleston, W.Va.](https://woub.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/wound-care-kit-e1691364434971-900x422.jpg)
As clinics pivot post-Roe, battle rages over syringe service in opioid-ravaged West Virginia
By: Leah Willingham | AP
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CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Staff at Women’s Health Center of West Virginia know what it’s like to provide controversial health services that government officials have sought to ban or restrict…. Read More
![Red and blue lights, as if from a police vehicle](https://woub.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/AP_955471929341-900x422.jpg)
West Virginia officer will not face charges for striking, killing 13-year-old with cruiser off-duty
By: Leah Willingham | AP
Posted on:
CHARLESTON W.Va. (AP) — An off-duty deputy sheriff in West Virginia who struck and killed a 13-year-old girl with his marked cruiser last year will not face criminal charges in… Read More
![The West Virginia Capito building as seen from across the river in spring](https://woub.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/shutterstock_1301147023-e1672867302357-900x422.jpg)
The West Virginia House passes a bill to cut personal income tax by half
By: Leah Willingham | AP
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CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia’s Republican-dominated House passed a proposal to reduce the state’s personal income tax by 50 percent Wednesday, rejecting a call by Democrats to drop the… Read More
![A gavel sits upright on a table](https://woub.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/shutterstock_1194443488-e1671468824492-900x422.jpg)
West Virginia announces an $83 million opioid settlement with Walgreens
By: Leah Willingham | AP
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CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia has settled for $83 million with Walgreens for the pharmacy store chain’s role in perpetuating the opioid crisis in the U.S. state with the… Read More
![The West Virginia Senate Chambers](https://woub.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/AP_18254536329662-e1549388675204-900x422.jpg)
West Virginia’s GOP-controlled Senate fast-tracks “CRT” and health bills in first day of session
By: Leah Willingham | AP
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CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — The Republican-dominated Senate in West Virginia fast-tracked two monumental health proposals and another bill that would restrict how subjects like race are taught in the classroom… Read More
![The West Virginia Capito building as seen from across the river in spring](https://woub.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/shutterstock_1301147023-e1672867302357-900x422.jpg)
West Virginia’s governor pitches 50 percent income tax cut over 3 years
By: Leah Willingham | AP
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CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice unveiled his most ambitious personal income tax proposal yet Wednesday: a 50 percent reduction over the next three years. The Republican… Read More
![A gavel sits upright on a table](https://woub.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/shutterstock_1194443488-e1671468824492-900x422.jpg)
A judge says West Virginia can keep its ban against transgender school athletes
By: Leah Willingham | AP
Posted on:
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia’s ban on transgender athletes competing in female school sports is constitutional and can remain in place, a federal judge ruled Thursday. “I recognize that… Read More