By Leann Ray | Editor-in-chief
“I’ve been out there. I know what it feels like, and I’ve lost numerous friends. And if I can save one more person, I’m gonna do it. I don’t care if it is stopping cars on the street. If I can save one person, it was worth my whole day.” — Lee Ann Elkins of Fayette County
Lee Ann Elkins (right), who’s part of Recovery Point Charleston, waits for an opportunity to pass out Narcan from a sidewalk on Charleston West Virginia’s West Side Thursday morning. Volunteers hoped to pass out hundreds of doses of the opioid overdose reversal drug during the 2026 Save a Life Day. (Photo by Lori Kersey/West Virginia Watch)
By Lori Kersey
“Free Narcan!” Abby Jewell called to drivers from the sidewalk at an intersection on Charleston, West Virginia’s West Side Thursday morning.
When a bus operator waiting at a red light opened his door, Jewell walked onto the vehicle and handed a box of the medication to a passenger.
Jewell was one of a handful of women from Recovery Point Charleston who helped distribute naloxone during Save a Life Day, an annual event that aims to lessen the stigma surrounding the drug, which blocks the effects of opioids, and get the medication into the hands of as many people as possible.
Gov. Patrick Morrisey looks at flooding damage in Fayette County, West Virginia on Aug. 19, 2026. The state has experienced multiple major flooding events in the last few months, including one earlier this week in Boone and Lincoln counties. (Photo courtesy of the West Virginia Office of Gov. Patrick Morrisey)
By Lori Kersey
West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey has issued a state of emergency for two counties in Southern West Virginia after heavy rains this week caused flash flooding.
NATIONAL
A sign noting the acceptance of electronic benefit transfer cards for food aid is displayed at a grocery store in California. New data shows millions of Americans have lost food stamps since the passage of a major law last year. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
By Kevin Hardy
Tens of thousands of Americans continue to lose access to food assistance each month, even as Congress debates slowing down major cuts to federal food stamps.
By Jane Norman
WASHINGTON — U.S. District Court Judge Timothy Kelly early Thursday issued an order that temporarily blocks President Donald Trump’s ban of three news organizations from the White House.
By Ariana Figueroa
WASHINGTON — Government investigators Thursday released a report that found the Department of Homeland Security wasted more than $20 million in federal funding in its rapid expansion of immigration detention, including warehouse purchases strongly opposed in numerous U.S. communities.
By Jennifer Shutt
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Food and Drug Administration appeared to disappoint senators from both political parties Thursday with how she answered questions about medication abortion access during her confirmation hearing.
By Ashley Murray
WASHINGTON — Despite skyrocketing fuel prices and sinking approval ratings for President Donald Trump’s conflict in Iran ahead of the November midterms, Senate Republicans blocked Democrats’ efforts Thursday to check the president’s unfettered military action in the Middle East.
ICYMI
Thanks for reading First Watch. Did you know our weekend digest is also free? Sign up here. And if you enjoyed today’s edition, please forward to a friend. Increasing our readership helps us cover more news.