By Leann Ray | Editor-in-chief

“Every day it seems like you’re not hearing something or hearing something completely different. It’s definitely nerve-wracking … in summer time right before school, the kids always seem to go through a growth spurt. Someone always needs pants.” — Regina Smith, of Clendenin, who applied for the state’s school clothing allowance program on the second day it opened

Gov. Patrick Morrisey continues his water listening tour in Southern West Virginia on Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026. (Photo courtesy of Gov. Patrick Morrisey’s X account)

By Amelia Ferrell Knisely

PRINCETON, W.Va. — Gov. Patrick Morrisey, facing scrutiny for the state’s handling of the school clothing allowance program, has shifted his focus this week from financial instability to fraud.

Protestors gather outside of Huntington City Hall as they respond in opposition to Flock Safety items listed on the Huntington City Council agenda on Monday, July 13, 2026, in downtown Huntington. (Photo by Ryan Fischer/The Herald-Dispatch)

By Lori Kersey

Weeks after Huntington City Council voted to move forward with the purchase of a $2.1 million Flock surveillance system, organizers against the proposal are starting an effort that, if successful, would prohibit the devices in the city.

NATIONAL

Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche, whose nomination advanced in the Senate on Tuesday, told faith leaders in a call on July 30 that he would take action to restrict mail-order access to abortion medication. (Photo by Shauneen Miranda/States Newsroom)

By Kelcie Moseley-Morris

Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche is one step closer to confirmation after the Republican Judiciary Committee voted to advance his appointment on a party-line vote on Tuesday, and based on promises he made to faith leaders around the country last week, that means national anti-abortion actions may be one step closer as well.

By Ariana Figueroa

WASHINGTON — A federal judge lifted a stay Wednesday on the termination of temporary protections for hundreds of thousands of Haitians in order to comply with a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that cleared the way for the Trump administration to remove their legal status and open them up for deportations.

By Shauneen Miranda

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is urging Republican senators to “release their holds” and pass a measure making daylight saving time permanent nationwide.

By Shauneen Miranda

WASHINGTON — Dr. Erica Schwartz will be the next director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, after the U.S. Senate confirmed her nomination Wednesday.

By Ariana Figueroa

WASHINGTON — The Department of Health and Human Services plans to award a $150 million contract to a small Texas firm — with no specialty in immigration law and run by a former Trump official — to provide legal services to tens of thousands of unaccompanied immigrant children, according to a Wednesday pre-published notice in the Federal Register.

By Sam Gauntt

WASHINGTON — The deployment of National Guard troops hailing from all across the country to Washington, D.C. is expected to cost taxpayers more than $1.4 billion in additional funds through 2029. Text

COMMENTARY

Gov. Patrick Morrisey is going on a listening tour of Southern West Virginia to hear residents’ concerns about drinking water. (Photo by Sarah Ladd/Kentucky Lantern)

By Quenton King

Beautiful clean water. Four counties. Two days. Hardly any notice.

That describes the water listening tour that Gov. Patrick Morrisey announced Tuesday morning with Marshall President Brad Smith in Huntington, West Virginia, an area we all of course associate with bad water, I guess? 

ICYMI

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