AUDIO: Many Outer Banks restaurants claim to serve American wild-caught shrimp. But new genetic testing reveals what’s actually on their plates.

JUST IN: Dominion Energy’s Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Project off the Virginia Beach coast is one of five major offshore wind projects around the U.S. whose leases were “paused” today by the U.S. Interior Department, citing unspecified national security concerns. Read more: tinyurl.com/2ce64zdz

Virginia’s gun homicide rate from 2020 to 2024 matched the national average, but more than a quarter of those deaths occurred in Norfolk, Portsmouth, Newport News and Hampton.

Virginia Beach schools stopped including class rank on student transcripts after parents raised concerns that the practice did not follow division policy and could affect college admissions.

South Korean manufacturing company LS Cable & System Ltd. plans to build a $689 million complex in Chesapeake that would employ more than 430 people.

JUST IN: The Veterans Health Administration has signed a lease to build a new VA outpatient clinic across from the Norfolk Premium Outlets in Virginia Beach. Read our full coverage here: tinyurl.com/4df5arjd

Winter is here—and before the snow and ice arrive, Dominion Energy crews are already preparing to keep the lights on. WHRO News Digital Producer Alexis Mitchell got a behind-the-scenes look at how Dominion gets ready for whatever winter brings.

Chesapeake resident Christina Kimbrough started Free Life to create and support gatherings that provide nonalcoholic drinks. She's found a growing community of people who want to connect and have fun and not rely on alcohol to feel relaxed or accepted.

Federal prosecutors have alleged Chesapeake Sheriff David Rosado of abusing his authority to coerce employees into supporting his 2025 campaign. Read more here: tinyurl.com/yv4s8rcv

Caring for a loved one with dementia can quickly become overwhelming, especially when communication breaks down. A Norfolk-based educator explains how simple changes in how we communicate could reduce stress for patients and caregivers.

Suffolk on Wednesday postponed a vote to rezone 72 acres near downtown for a housing development that’s drawing strong opposition from some residents.

Northern Virginia’s Tanna Price spent years helping countries fight corruption as a USAID contractor before her career abruptly ended in Sri Lanka amid Trump-era foreign aid cuts and the elimination of her role by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency. Read more here: tinyurl.com/54nweuv2

AUDIO: Sentara Health is trying to hire hundreds of anesthesiologists and nurse anesthetists as it tries to bring anesthesia services in-house at three major Hampton Roads hospitals.

"Beyond the Mountains," a collection of 38 black-and-white images by Danny Lyon, is opening at the Chrysler Museum of Art on Friday.

Featuring traditional high-energy Irish tunes, ballads and a star-studded roster, "A Celtic Christmas" tour is coming to Richmond on Sunday and Newport News on Monday, Dec. 22.

The South Eastern Family Project provides residential care for women across Hampton Roads, including those who are pregnant or postpartum and those leaving hospitals or jail.

Williamsburg revised its proposed Rent Ready program after many students, landlords and residents said the voluntary rental inspection and certification effort wouldn’t work as intended.

Chesapeake Regional Healthcare has opened a new outpatient center at the corner of Battlefield Boulevard and Hanbury Road — a site the health system said is designed to streamline care and shorten the time it takes for patients to get imaging test results.

The destroyer USS Gravely returned to Norfolk Saturday after a second tour in the Caribbean this year. Since September, the U.S. has struck 23 small boats, killing at least 87 people. The Trump administration has said without providing evidence that the boats were carrying drugs.

AUDIO: Williamsburg took another step toward completing designs for a new regional library branch building. City Council on Thursday approved more than $1 million to finish a third of the design.

PHOTOS: The Navy destroyer USS Forest Sherman is home for the holidays after 7 months in Europe and the Red Sea. The USS Forrest Sherman left Norfolk in May. The destroyer is part of the USS Ford Carrier Strike group, which is in the Caribbean. Read more here: tinyurl.com/vnzjkm6c

Concerns about flooding around large solar farms have become a point of contention in Virginia, with rural residents blaming runoff from the panels and developers insisting that existing rules are enough.

Details about an August Virginia Wesleyan University Alumni Council meeting sheds light on a name change process that was a closely held internal campaign that left some of the members feeling pushed aside.

NEW: Subsidies for the Affordable Care Act appear set to expire for millions of Americans at the end of the year after competing health care related bills failed to advance in the Senate on Thursday.

James City County is moving forward with plans to construct a new government center.

A man vandalized a Norfolk mosque Sunday night. While police are asking the public for help to identify him, others helped clean up. Read more here: tinyurl.com/4w9frfp9

The 113,000-acre refuge is managed by a federal system that has lost a quarter of its staff under the Trump administration. Local leaders say declining maintenance and canceled grants have halted education programs and reduced public access to the swamp.

Virginia Beach City Council on Tuesday focused flood-protection funding toward seven projects in communities that faced significant impacts from Hurricane Matthew in 2016.

Encyclopedia Virginia, a program of Virginia Humanities, has released a free e-book that brings together some of the state’s most essential stories from the early years of the American Revolution.

If Hampton Roads wants direct flights across the pond, the region needs to show how much, two business leaders told Norfolk City Council members Tuesday afternoon.

NEW: Virginia Beach City Public Schools is offering free, unlimited teletherapy to all students in grades six through 12, a new effort to expand mental-health support across a district with one of the largest student populations in Virginia. Read more here: tinyurl.com/2us2sm67

If you're in Norfolk and recognize this person - contact law enforcement, and then contact me. They vandalized crosses all along the walls of a mosque in Park Place. Thankfully the community came together and repainted the walls this morning. More at @whropublicmedia.bsky.social soon.

An Australian delegation visited Newport News this week for the keel laying of the USS Barb, the newest Virginia-class submarine. The ceremony came just a day after the U.S. advanced the AUKUS shipbuilding pact, drawing Australia’s deputy prime minister to the event.

The Hampton Roads Housing Crisis Hotline, run by the nonprofit ForKids, is seeing record demand as more residents fall behind on rent and face eviction. Staff received more than 77,000 calls in 2024 and 2025 — a surge driven largely by the region’s lack of affordable housing.

This fall, an international effort called Project Monarch used new, ultra-light transmitters to follow hundreds of butterflies from Canada to Cuba, offering the most detailed look yet at their 3,000-mile journey. Read our full coverage here: tinyurl.com/rtue2y9d

Chesapeake Regional Healthcare is the first in Hampton Roads to use the new Da Vinci 5, a robotic system that lets surgeons remove lung tumors through tiny ports instead of a major incision.

Suffolk school officials are urging the city to replace and expand aging, overcrowded buildings, but city leaders say limited funding and major road projects complicate the timeline.

Avid cyclist Robert Cass and volunteers at Norfolk’s Rose Marie Arrington Recreation Center are refurbishing donated and found bicycles to give to 25 kids in the surrounding Diggs Town neighborhood. Read more here: tinyurl.com/45w3e9hx

A new hospital set to open in Isle of Wight County in January will cut the travel time for residents of Western Tidewater, who have long had to drive for half an hour or more for full-service emergency and inpatient care. Read more here: tinyurl.com/2rtphdyp

Anthony White, a maintenance mechanic at Sentara Virginia Beach General Hospital, has created festive murals at the hospital for more than 30 years. Read more here: tinyurl.com/2kcku64h

A new West Health–Gallup survey ranks Virginia among the top states, citing strong hospitals, Medicaid expansion and long-term investment in primary care. Still, one in five Virginians say they can’t afford recommended treatment.

A Navy investigation found that four major incidents involving the USS Harry S. Truman Strike Group during its recent Red Sea deployment were preventable and placed more than 100 sailors at risk. Read our full coverage here: tinyurl.com/3kftwck5

Outer Banks home collapses have accelerated as storms and rising water erode the shoreline. The collapses leave behind debris and costly cleanups, but homeowners have little incentive to act early because federal flood insurance only pays after a house falls.

Adm. Karl Thomas officially took over this week at Fleet Forces Command based in Norfolk after being confirmed by the Senate in October.

President Donald Trump’s shift in federal housing policy means some organizations providing housing assistance have to quickly change how their programs operate in order to qualify for federal funding.

JetBlue announced Wednesday it will add another nonstop destination to and from Norfolk International Airport: San Juan, Puerto Rico. Flights will run on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays starting March 27. Read more here: tinyurl.com/y2hhj8wy

ICYMI: Virginia Senator Mark Warner announced he will run again to keep his seat in the U.S. Senate. Warner has held his senate seat since 2009. Warner has to get through party primaries before the November 2026 elections. Right now, 3 other Democrats have declared their candidacy for his seat.

Virginia Beach officials outlined a proposal to give residents a digital parking voucher worth $50 for use in designated Oceanfront zones. If approved, registration would begin early next year and vouchers would take effect in April. Read more here: tinyurl.com/4yuf9yvw

Inflation is raising the cost of growing Christmas trees. But a larger-than-usual supply may soften price hikes, according to the Virginia Christmas Tree Growers Association. Growers planted heavily after a years-long shortage from the 2008 recession, and those trees are now ready to sell.

The newest proposal uses the previous draft as its foundation — with more than 50 changes focused on small businesses, economic justice and public safety. Read more here: tinyurl.com/wtekr7pf