FRIDAY, JULY 17, 2026

Good morning! On this day in 1775, Virginia’s Third Revolutionary Convention convened at St. John’s Church in Richmond amid the collapse of royal authority. Delegates formed a military structure for defense, created the influential Committee of Safety as an executive body, and solidified the colony’s transition toward self-governance and independence.

Virginia State Police issued a report stating that violent crime has dropped to a five-year low across the Commonwealth. Learn more in Top Stories.

Today’s sponsor is Miso Robotics, offering investors the opportunity to get in early on an AI-powered restaurant automation company before it goes public.

Violent Crime Drops to 5-Year Low

Violent crime in Virginia fell 5.9% in 2025 to its lowest level in five years, according to the Virginia State Police’s annual Crime in Virginia report.

The state logged 18,693 victims of violent crime, which includes murder, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault—down from the prior year. Reported homicides dropped 13.9%, from 439 to 378, and reported rapes saw the steepest decline at roughly 16%.

Firearms were involved in 73.7% of homicides, and nearly half occurred in a home, state police said. Petersburg, Newport News, Roanoke, and Richmond ranked highest for violent crime.

Motor vehicle thefts fell 21%, and drug offenses dropped 6%. The agency published the figures in an online dashboard for the first time this year.

Canadian Smoke Hazes Virginia Skies

Smoke from Canadian wildfires spread over Virginia this week, turning skies a hazy yellow-orange that forecasters expect to linger today.

The Washington region, including Northern Virginia, fell under a Code Orange air-quality alert as smoke settled closer to the ground, with feels-like temperatures pushing toward 105 degrees.

While much of the smoke remained at thousands of feet above Central Virginia, sparing ground-level air quality for a time, experts urged residents with asthma or heart conditions to keep windows closed and limit time outside.

Fine-particle pollution, or PM2.5, poses the greatest risk to children, older adults, and people with respiratory illness.

Canada has seen roughly 4.5 million acres burn so far this season, and the fires show no sign of easing.

Diarrhea Parasite Cases Climb

Virginia has recorded 37 cases of cyclosporiasis, a parasite that causes weeks of watery diarrhea, with the Virginia Department of Health reporting a rise in cases this week. The cases aren’t clustered in any one area.

Nationally, the CDC has counted more than 7,000 cases and calls it one of its largest foodborne outbreaks in years, far above the 249 confirmed by this time in 2025. No single food source has been identified.

The parasite spreads through contaminated food or water, not person to person, and is often tied to fresh produce. Health officials urge Virginians to wash produce thoroughly, though only cooking reliably kills it.

Symptoms include watery diarrhea, bloating, and nausea, and they can persist for weeks without treatment. Severe cases can lead to dehydration.

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Big Money Gets In Pre-IPO in AI

AI stocks now make up about 45% of the S&P 500. But, in AI, the smart money increasingly moves sooner because the biggest breakout gains often happen when investors get in before companies go public. In fact, last year, a whopping 67% of private-stage investments were in AI companies, up from 9% in 2022.

And yet, those opportunities are almost always reserved for the 1%.

Restaurant robotics pioneer Miso Robotics isn’t, and 40K everyday folks like you have already joined big money players like industry powerhouse Ecolab as investors.

Miso’s Flippy Fry Station AI robot has logged 200K+ hours in kitchens across the $1T fast-food industry. Its tech is used by big-name customers like White Castle, Jersey Mike’s, Cinnabon, and more. And Miso just acquired ~300 patents from Zume Pizza, a food robotics pioneer that raised $450 million.

Flippy alone represents a $4B/year revenue opportunity in the US. Become an early-stage shareholder in Miso today. Hurry to earn bonus shares.

➤ Statewide: Virginia closed fiscal year 2026 with a preliminary $936.3 million General Fund surplus, as tax collections beat expectations on strong payroll withholding and higher income-tax payments. (More)

➤ Fairfax County: Police are deploying AI-enabled body cameras and response drones, including Axon Body 4 cameras that translate 57 languages in real time, useful in a county where more than 180 languages are spoken. (More)

➤ Harrisonburg: The city council pledged to remove Flock Safety license plate cameras and end its contract in late July, after residents packed a council meeting to protest the cameras. (More)

➤ Roanoke: Residents and businesses are pressing the city to address a growing deer population they say is causing significant problems around town. (More)

➤ McLean: Former Gov. Glenn Youngkin joined McLean-based venture studio Red Cell Partners as partner and chairman, returning to private investment after leaving office in January. The firm builds national security, cyber, and healthcare startups. (More)

➤ Virginia Beach: The city council advanced the long-stalled Historic Kempsville project, approving a survey of the 10-acre site near Princess Anne and Witchduck roads to pursue development that preserves the area’s historic character. (More)

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➤ The ACC overhauled its football tiebreaker rules for 2026 after last season’s five-way tie sent five-loss Duke to the conference championship game over higher-ranked Miami. Duke went on to defeat Virginia for the title. (More)

➤ UVA football coach Tony Elliott named Missouri transfer Beau Pribula the Cavaliers’ starting quarterback entering preseason camp, following the program’s record-setting 11-win season in 2025. (More)

➤ Liberty University field hockey standout Bethany Dykema earned a place on the U.S. women’s national team roster for the FIH Women’s World Cup. (More)

➤ Yesterday’s Results: The Open | MLB | WNBA

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➤ Dominion Energy and Florida-based NextEra Energy filed for regulatory approval of their roughly $67 billion merger. The deal would create the largest U.S. regulated electric utility, serving about 10 million accounts. (More)

➤ Meanwhile, Dominion Energy is moving ahead with a proposed 3-gigawatt natural gas plant in Cumberland County, a project that has divided nearby residents. (More)

➤ Emerson Intelligent Platforms will close its Albemarle County facility near Charlottesville, cutting 139 jobs as it folds the unit into parent Emerson’s DeltaV platform. An earlier round cut 87 jobs last year. (More)

➤ Virginia dropped RiverStreet Networks from several rural broadband projects after years of delays, once the company told the state’s broadband office it couldn’t secure funding to connect more than 30,000 potential customers. (More)

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“Cobots” Are Transforming This $1T Market

They’re not replacing humans; they’re working with them. That’s the promise of “cobots,” or collaborative robots.

In a robotics market NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang called “one of the largest industries ever,” the cobot segment is projected to grow 15X by 2035.

And Miso Robotics is proving its value in the $1T fast-food industry.

Their Flippy fry station AI robot boosts restaurant profits up to 4X, already logging 200K hours in live kitchens alongside human employees for brands like White Castle.

Flippy carries $4B/year in U.S. revenue potential on its own. And that's just one piece of Miso’s platform.

Big-name brands like Jersey Mike’s and Cinnabon just became customers. Industry powerhouse Ecolab already invested. Join them as an early-stage shareholder in Miso today. Hurry for bonus shares.

This is a paid advertisement for Miso Robotics’ Regulation A offering. Please read the offering circular at invest.misorobotics.com

➤ A bald eagle rescued from a Smithfield pool with life-threatening lead poisoning was successfully released back into the wild July 10 at Chippokes State Park after six weeks of treatment and rehabilitation by the Wildlife Center of Virginia. (See Photo)

➤ A Tudor’s Biscuit World deposit bag holding more than $430, sealed in a wall since 1992, surfaced during renovations at the Western Virginia Water Authority. The authority donated the cash to Tudor House, a mental-health nonprofit, for crisis comfort bags. (See Photo)

➤ The 2nd Annual Suffolk Pickle Palooza returns to Downtown Festival Park this Sunday, offering free pickle-inspired foods, live music, craft vendors, and family fun from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. (More)

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➤ 7 Hidden Signs Your Body Is Crying Out for Magnesium. Think your anxiety, muscle tension, and irregular heartbeat are just part of getting older? Think again. Groundbreaking research reveals how a single mineral deficiency could be behind dozens of common complaints after 50. Even more intriguing? Many of the medications commonly prescribed to older adults might be making this deficiency worse. Before you accept another prescription, there's something crucial you need to know about magnesium. (Learn more)

The following stories are featured exclusively on The Flyover Podcast—a daily show that gives you the most important headlines in under 15 minutes. Clicking the links will take you directly to these stories:

➤ President Trump's longtime teleprompter operator is accused of using inside knowledge of the president's speeches to win $100,000 in bets. (Hear Details)

➤ Pentagon Chief Pete Hegseth is now mandating annual testosterone screening for service members over 30 years old across the entire military. (Hear Episode)

➤ The Trump administration is moving to fence off a historic public square beside the White House, escalating a broader security overhaul. (Listen Now)