FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2026

Good Morning! On this day in 1862, Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia began fording the Potomac at White’s Ford near Leesburg, opening the Maryland Campaign and carrying the war north of the river for the first time.

Virginia’s economy is growing despite statewide job losses. Learn more in Top Stories.

What are your Labor Day weekend plans? Hit reply and let us know.

Today’s sponsor is AutoCamp, bringing boutique hotel comfort to the growing outdoor lodging market through major partnerships with Hilton and Airstream while offering investors a chance to participate in its expansion.

Gunman Dies in Waynesboro School Shooting

A 19-year-old forced his way into Westwood Hills Elementary School in Waynesboro on Wednesday morning, shot a staff member, and then killed himself in the school library.

Police identified the man as Anthony I. Ignatiadis-Isabelle of Waynesboro. He was not a student and had no ties to the district, Superintendent Jeffrey Cassell said.

Officers reached the Rosser Avenue school within minutes of a 9:12 a.m. report of a suspicious person and found the suspect dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. No students were in the library.

The wounded staff member, an adult, suffered a non-life-threatening injury and was treated and released. Police Chief David Shaw said the school requires visitors to be buzzed in and that the entry was forced.

Westwood Hills closed Thursday, and a prayer vigil was held Wednesday night. The investigation is ongoing.

Virginia Grows but Keeps Shedding Jobs

Virginia’s economy will grow 0.5% in 2026 even as the state loses about 18,050 jobs, a second straight year of employment decline, according to a new University of Virginia forecast.

The Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service forecast upgraded its outlook from the contraction it projected in May. Economists said the split between rising output and falling employment points to productivity gains rather than broad hiring.

Professional services (down by about 9,500 jobs) and manufacturing (down by about 4,400 jobs) led the losses, with the consulting sector hit by federal funding cutbacks. Fairfax County employment has fallen 2.1% since January 2025.

Retail and government added the most positions, while healthcare hiring slowed. The state’s labor force has shrunk by tens of thousands, keeping unemployment near 3.9%.

Lawmakers Ponder Curbs on Gambling

Sports-betting companies, health experts, and lawmakers met in Richmond on Wednesday to debate how to keep Virginia’s fast-growing gambling market from fueling addiction.

The Responsible Gaming Roundtable, hosted by the Sports Betting Alliance, came as college football season opened. Since legalizing sports betting in 2020, Virginia has grown to five casinos and 11 betting permit holders.

Bettors wagered more than $589 million on sports in June, and legal betting has generated over $400 million in tax revenue since 2021. Industry leaders said more than half of online bettors use at least one responsible-gaming tool.

Researchers cautioned that risk falls hardest on young people. A 2024 national survey found 17% of sports bettors showed a sign of problem gambling, with adults 18 to 34 most at risk.

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Hilton Hotels Enter High-Growth World of Outdoor Lodging

Hilton Hotels didn't become a global hospitality giant by standing still. When they see a category worth backing, they move.

So it didn’t take long for them to form a first-of-its-kind partnership with AutoCamp.

AutoCamp brings boutique hotel comfort to the great outdoors, an industry estimated to be $732B. As the first outdoor lodging brand ever bookable on Hilton.com, AutoCamp’s 700+ rooms are in front of 200M+ Hilton Honors members who can earn and redeem points on every stay.

In fact, direct AutoCamp bookings on the Hilton channel are up 30% year-over-year.

It’s not just Hilton Hotels partnering with Autocamp, either. Iconic American travel brand Airstream also formed an exclusive partnership. In total, AutoCamp’s model has earned more than $150M in location revenue since inception.

For investors, it's a signal: some of the travel industry’s largest players are partnering with AutoCamp in the outdoor lodging race. Become an AutoCamp shareholder before they expand to 10,000+ rooms.

➤ New River Valley: Localities across the valley will receive millions in federal relief nearly two years after Hurricane Helene, funding park restoration, wastewater repairs, and debris removal. (More)

➤ Blacksburg: A Virginia Tech expert warned that the state's water and wastewater systems are becoming targets for cyberattacks that could threaten public health, agriculture, manufacturing, and data centers. (More)

➤ Williamsburg: A Virginia court convicted Karyann Parkinson of child delinquency, giving a suspended six-month jail sentence, after she let her 5-year-old walk alone to a nearby pond. (More)

➤ Richmond: Police arrested Tyler Holstrust, 33, after he used a brick to smash the windshields of 81 vehicles in a downtown lot near Main Street Station on Sept. 1, damaging cars belonging largely to VCU Medical Center workers. He faces eight misdemeanor counts. (See Photos)

➤ Sterling: Lt. Gov. Ghazala Hashmi opened her Energy Costs Listening Tour at the Dreamscapes Performing Arts Center, where more than 100 residents raised concerns about the proposed Dominion-NextEra merger and its effect on electric bills. (More)

➤ Virginia Beach: Three employees suffered burns in a grease-related incident Wednesday night at The Hampton Social in the Atlantic Park complex. (More)

➤ Portsmouth: Court records show a federal judge authorized the FBI to wiretap a phone tied to state Sen. Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth, from March 6 to April 5, weeks before agents raided her office and a co-owned cannabis shop. (More)

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➤ Virginia Tech opens as 55.5-point favorites over VMI Saturday in head coach James Franklin’s debut and quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer’s likely first start. (More)

➤ UVA men’s basketball will face UConn at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 20, the schools confirmed, months after the marquee matchup was first reported. (More)

➤ The Virginia High School League denied appeals from Chesterfield County's L.C. Bird and Midlothian high schools to drop from Class 6 to Class 5, keeping both in the top classification for the 2027-31 cycle. (More)

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➤ Google secured a grading permit to begin site work for its planned data center in Botetourt County, clearing the way for construction as opponents keep questioning the project’s water and energy demands. (More)

➤ Minneapolis-based Wealth Enhancement acquired Dickerson Jackson & Associates, a Glen Allen advisory firm managing more than $376 million in client assets, expanding the national manager’s Virginia footprint. (More)

➤ A six-year fair-housing case ended with two couples being paid about $417,000 each after they said a Smith Mountain Lake campground refused to rent to their group because it included a black man. (More)

➤ Convenience-store chain Wawa gave guests and city officials a first look at its new Salem store ahead of the public opening, marking Wawa's continued push into the Roanoke Valley. (More)

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How Solving Camping’s Biggest Problem Earned $150M+

Most people love the idea of being outdoors. Almost nobody loves what it takes to get there.

Campsites book months in advance. Gear’s expensive and collects dust. RV ownership’s a financial and logistical burden. Hotels are comfortable, but lose the very thing people were chasing in the first place.

AutoCamp solves all that. Guests arrive with a suitcase, check in like a hotel, and wake up at an iconic outdoor destination like Yosemite or Joshua Tree. But instead of hard ground and outhouses, they have a boutique room or custom-designed Airstream trailer with a spa-inspired bathroom.

And travelers can’t get enough, with 1M+ happy campers so far. That’s earned $150M+ in location revenue for property owners operating with the Company’s Brands since inception.

Now you can invest as AutoCamp works to scale from 9 locations to 100+.

This is a paid advertisement for AutoCamp's Regulation CF offering. Please read the offering circular at invest.autocamp.com

➤ The Virginia Creeper Trail Conservancy and construction firm Kiewit launched a stewardship fund for the 34-mile rail trail, with the Kiewit Companies Foundation matching the first $10,000 in donations. (More)

➤ Virginia’s first quarter 2026 cost of living index sits at 99.1, ranking the Commonwealth 24th nationally and essentially matching the U.S. average, with housing, utilities, and grocery costs all close to typical national levels. (See Map)

➤ Los Angeles Lakers coach and Cave Spring High School alum JJ Redick returned to Roanoke County on Wednesday, inspiring students at the Summit Sportsplex 13 years after leaving home. (More)

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The following stories are featured exclusively on The Flyover Podcast—a daily show that gives you the most important headlines in under 15 minutes.

➤ The U.S. military destroyed another vessel accused of refueling drug traffickers off the coast of South America. (Full Story)

➤ Popular baby wipes have been recalled after federal testing revealed bacteria that can cause life-threatening infections in infants. (Hear Details)

➤ The nation's largest school district has pulled the plug on artificial intelligence for most of its students. (Listen Now)