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 February 18, 2025:
Bills targeting alleged campus terror connections fail in General Assembly
Reported by VPM News’ Megan Pauly
Among the legislation that hasn’t survived this year’s General Assembly session were several bills that critics said targeted Palestinian voices on college campuses.
One bill, introduced by Sen. Bill Stanley (R–Franklin County), sought to prohibit colleges from allowing individuals or groups with a connection to terrorist organizations to operate on their campuses.
Virginia college students and staff said the bill targeted them and their free speech rights — a claim Stanley denied. Members of Students for Justice in Palestine were particularly concerned the bill could be used to ban their organizations from Virginia campuses.
In fall 2023, the chancellor of Florida’s university system ordered universities to disband SJP chapters over the group’s call for a national day of resistance on campuses across the U.S. and Canada.
Virginia Commonwealth University student Selma Ait-Bella spoke in opposition to Stanley’s legislation in late January. She said it was “paving the way for silencing students and faculty who dare to speak out against oppression, leaving them afraid of being labeled under this bill's broad and biased terms.”
Spike in demand for free clinics means longer waitlists, cutbacks
Reported by VPM News’ Adrienne Hoar McGibbon
Free health care clinics are seeing a surge in demand. From 2022 to 2023, Virginia providers say they saw a 44% increase in traffic.
State lawmakers this year initially proposed a $4 million hike for the clinics’ budgets, but both House and Senate versions of the bill ended up allocating $500,000 dollars.
Sharon Brown, who goes to the Free Clinic of Powhatan, was born with a heart defect, and manages high blood pressure and diabetes.
“I need my medication, and I tried Medicaid and Medicare, and they denied me, because they say I make too much money,” Brown said.
Care providers say the budget proposals likely won’t offer enough funding — and could force them to cut services.
News you might have missed from around the commonwealth
- Boysko removed from committee posts after anti-casino testimony (Richmond Times-Dispatch)*
- Waynesboro election officials to appeal order to certify vote (The News Virginian)*
*This outlet utilizes a paywall.
