The VPM Daily Newscast contains all your Central Virginia news in just 5 to 10 minutes. Episodes are recorded the night before.
Listeners can subscribe through NPR One, Apple Podcasts, Megaphone, Spotify and wherever you get your podcasts.
Here’s a recap of the top stories on the morning of Dec. 6, 2024:
Calls grow for new Red Onion State Prison investigation
Reported by VPM News’ Megan Pauly
There are now multiple online testimonies from people incarcerated Red Onion State Prison alleging they set themselves on fire to get out of the Wise County facility — citing racism and abuses.
Most are recorded by Prison Radio correspondent Kevin “Rashid” Johnson, who has been incarcerated at Red Onion several times for at least a decade, but will be transferred to another prison as part of a settlement agreement. According to his attorney, Johnson didn’t burn himself but has been reporting on the situation. From Dec. 26, 2023 until March 5, he went on a hunger strike in an attempt to be moved to another facility.
In one recording published Oct. 18, Johnson recalled a conversation he had with Ekong Eshiet, one of the incarcerated men who burned themselves.
“He told me simply that the racism and abuses, the hard and inhumane conditions at Red Onion, was so intolerable that he and others were setting themselves on fire in desperate attempts to be transferred away from the prison,” Johnson said.
Anthem BCBS reverses plans to put time limits on anesthesia coverage
Reported by NPR News
One of the country's largest health insurers has reversed its decision to no longer pay for anesthesia care in certain states if the surgery or procedure goes beyond a particular time limit.
The original move by Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, which would have started next year, alarmed doctors and policymakers. "There has been significant widespread misinformation about an update to our anesthesia policy. As a result, we have decided to not proceed with this policy change," the company said in a statement to NPR on Thursday afternoon.
"To be clear, it never was and never will be the policy of Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield to not pay for medically necessary anesthesia services," the company added. "The proposed update to the policy was only designed to clarify the appropriateness of anesthesia consistent with well-established clinical guidelines."
The announcement blazed a trail of fury and fear across social media, with users joking about being woken up mid-surgery and worrying about their doctors having to rush through procedures.
In other news:
- House of Jackson Ward's first Black homeowner to be rebuilt (Richmond Times-Dispatch)*
- Will Trump and Republicans quash the FBI headquarters move to Maryland, pivot to Virginia instead? (Virginia Mercury)
- Guide Service breaks from UVA to give unsanctioned historical tours (The Cavalier Daily)
In case you missed it:
- Higher Education owner faces 160 years in prison for running 'open drug market' (The Daily Progress)*
- Government defends approval of coastal Virginia wind project (Bloomberg Law)*
This outlet utilizes a paywall.
