Don Scott, Sen. Louise Lucas to speak during Virginia State University Commencement
PETERSBURG, Va. (WAVY) – Virginia Speaker of the House Don Scott and Virginia Senator Louise Lucas are set to speak during Virginia State University's (VSU) Spring 2025 Commencements.
The university expects to confer 650 degrees Saturday, May 17, across two ceremonies.
The first ceremony will take place at 8:30 a.m. and Scott will deliver the keynote address. The second ceremony will take place at 1:30 p.m., with Sen. Lucas as the guest speaker.
The university says both ceremonies will be viewable via live stream on both the university's YouTube and Facebook pages.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
14 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Missouri House releases special session schedule
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — The Missouri House of Representatives has announced the schedule for its special session next week in Jefferson City. According to Ben Peters, the director of communications for the House, the special session will begin Monday afternoon and end on Wednesday. The first two sessions are referred to as 'technical sessions,' which means the House is in session but only to advance legislation on the calendar or other matters that do not require a vote. Last week, the Missouri Senate approved Senate Bill 3, which clears the way for stadium financing that could keep the Kansas City Chiefs and Royals in Missouri. It's expected that the House will take up its version of the bill next week.
Yahoo
14 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Escobar: GOP budget bill would cut health care, give breaks to rich
EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — The Republican budget bill — often called the 'big, beautiful bill' by supporters of President Donald Trump — would cut health care, nutrition programs and explode the national debt, said U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-Texas. The bill, which has passed the U.S. House and is being discussed by the Senate, would also give 'massive tax breaks' to the 'millionaire and billionaire class,' Escobar said. That was one of the messages that Escobar delivered during a town-hall meeting Saturday, June 7 at Horizon High School in Horizon City. Escobar said that the town-hall meeting was an opportunity to listen to consituents, talk to them and answer their questions. She said the Republican budget bill is the big topic of converstation and concern. 'It passed out of the House a couple of weeks ago. The Senate is working on it now,' said Escobar, who voted against the bill when it came up before the U.S. House in late May. 'It will result in cuts to health care benefits, cuts to nutrition programs. It will explode the national debt, all of this in order to give the millionaire and billionaire class massive tax breaks,' Escobar said. 'It is important for people to understand what is in the bill,' Escobar continued. 'We still have an opportunity to stop it and kill it on the Senate side and come up with a bipartisan product that reflects our nation's values.' The Trump Administration's plans to 'pause' the Job Corps program, including a center here in El Paso, is 'devastating news,' she added. 'The reason they gave for the pause in the program were financial issues that happened with the program during the pandemic,' Escobar said. She added that she wasn't sure why the Trump Administration was targeting the program. A lawsuit has been filed against the 'pause' and the move is likely to be found illegal by the courts, she added. Michael Aboud, the chairman of the El Paso County Republican Party, called Escobar a 'tax-and-spend Democrat.' 'I don't understand why she would want El Pasoans or anyone to pay more taxes,' Aboud said. 'Our taxes are already way too high. She is upset because President Trump is cutting waste and is going to reduce our taxes. 'I don't see how you can be against that. I think it is nonsensical, unless you are greedy and just want to spend the people's money,' he added. Escobar has represented Texas' 16th Congressional District since 2019. She announced in April that she will be seeking another two-year term. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
44 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Biles, Gaines clash over MN trans softball star as MSHSL defies Trump's order
Biles, Gaines clash over MN trans softball star as MSHSL defies Trump's order originally appeared on Bring Me The News. A story that has gained national attention in recent weeks reached a fever pitch on Friday when a transgender girl led her Minnesota high school softball team to a state championship. Bring Me The News has elected to refrain from identifying the teenager despite local and national media, and some elected officials, identifying the high school junior. After the junior pitched every inning of every game (as is typical in high school softball during the tournament) to lead her team to a state championship, the issue served as fuel for a public spat between 12-time NCAA All-American swimmer turned political activist Riley Gaines and 23-time Olympic gold medal-winning gymnast Simone Biles. Gaines, who is against transgender girls competing in female sports, mocked the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) for not accepting comments on its X post featuring the state champion softball team. "Comments off [laugh out loud]," Gaines wrote. "To be expected when your star player is a boy[.]" Biles responded to Gaines: "You're truly sick, all of this campaigning because you lost a race. Straight up sore loser. You should be uplifting the trans community and perhaps finding a way to make sports inclusive OR creating a new avenue where trans feel safe in sports. Maybe a transgender category IN ALL sports!! But instead… You bully them… One things for sure is no one in sports is safe with you around!!!!!" Gaines failed to mention that the MSHSL hasn't accepted comments on its X posts for as far back as Bring Me The News can see. However, the MSHSL does allow comments on Facebook posts, but the softball tournament photos shared on X weren't published on Facebook. The league did post photos of student-athletes and championship teams during recent state tournaments for track & field, adapted softball, adapted bowling, robotics, basketball, hockey, swimming and diving, and wrestling. Notably, publishers can turn off comments on individual Facebook posts, so why the MSHSL omitted softball photos from Facebook is unclear. When the pitcher's team clinched a spot in the state tournament last week, U.S. Rep. Tom Emmer, who represents Minnesota's Sixth Congressional District, reposted Gaines after she singled out the high school junior — and he did so using his official House Majority Whip account. 'Last night, a team of hardworking female athletes in Minnesota were denied a state title because our state's 'leaders' refuse to stand up for reality, safety, and fairness,' Emmer wrote on X. "This insanity must end." The original post from Gaines named the pitcher, featured video from a game, and referred to the teen as a "man." Gaines, 25, has pursued politics after swimming at the University of Kentucky. In her final competitive swim meet, she tied for fifth place with the University of Pennsylvania's Lia Thomas, who became the first openly trans woman champion in NCAA history. After the race, Gaines told media that she was "in full support of her and full support of her transition and swimming career." Gaines admitted that the transgender opponent was "just abiding by the rules that the NCAA put in place." Since then, Gaines has used the race as a platform to build support from Republican lawmakers in a crusade to ban transgender athletes from youth sports. The NCAA changed its policy in February to limit the participation of transgender women in college sports, in response to an executive order from President Donald Trump. Transgender athletes are allowed to play under Minnesota State High School League bylaws, which has not been altered in response to President Donald Trump's February executive order titled "Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports." The White House executive order states: "In recent years, many educational institutions and athletic associations have allowed men to compete in women's sports. This is demeaning, unfair, and dangerous to women and girls, and denies women and girls the equal opportunity to participate and excel in competitive sports." The MSHSL bylaw states: "In accordance with applicable state and federal laws, rules and regulations, the Minnesota State High School League allows participation for all students consistent with their gender identity or expression in an environment free from discrimination with an equal opportunity for participation in athletics and fine arts." A week after Trump signed the executive order, the MSHSL issued a statement saying the order conflicts with the Minnesota Human Rights Act and the state Constitution. The MSHSL asserts that it was not defying the executive order because the order provided a 60-day window to conform. At the time, the league stated that it was "seeking guidance to better understand how to proceed in the future." Despite the cushion to comply, the U.S. Department of Education announced in February that it was investigating the MSHSL, saying, "state laws do not override federal antidiscrimination laws." More than 120 days have passed since Trump signed the order, and it's unclear if the MSHSL will change its bylaws ahead of the 2025-26 school story was originally reported by Bring Me The News on Jun 7, 2025, where it first appeared.
