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Federal officials to take over inspections when troubled Boar’s Head plant reopens

Summary

  • Boar’s Head plant in Jarratt, Virginia set to reopen
  • Facility linked to deadly
  • At least 90 days of strict federal monitoring planned
  • Oversight shifts from state inspectors to federal officials

Federal inspectors will assume direct oversight of a troubled deli meat plant when it reopens after last year’s deadly listeria outbreak, U.S. Agriculture Department officials said.

The Jarratt, Virginia, factory is set to resume operations in the coming months. It will face at least 90 days of heightened monitoring and inspections by federal and Inspection Service officials. Previously, inspections were conducted by state officials who operated on behalf of the agency.

The change aims to “ensure the establishment consistently and effectively implements its corrected food safety plans,” USDA officials said in a statement. It calls for stricter enforcement if lapses occur.

The plant was shuttered nearly a year ago when listeria-tainted liverwurst caused the outbreak that killed 10 people, sickened dozens and forced a recall of more than 7 million pounds of deli products. USDA officials lifted the plant’s suspension in July.

In the years before the outbreak, state inspectors documented numerous problems at the plant, including mold, insects, liquid dripping from ceilings and meat and fat residue on walls, floors and equipment, records showed. They were operating under a cooperative agreement, the Talmadge-Aiken program, that allows state inspectors to conduct federal inspections.

The shift to direct underscores the severity of the problems at the Boar’s Head plant, said Sandra Eskin, a former USDA official who now heads STOP , a consumer advocacy group. It raises concerns about communication between state and federal officials when problems occur, she added.

“Given its history, it’s particularly important that there be robust oversight of that plant,” Eskin said.

Boar’s Head officials said in a statement that they have worked with state and federal regulators “to ensure the successful and safe reopening of the Jarratt facility.”

The company said it has boosted food safety practices in Jarratt and other sites aimed at reducing or eliminating listeria in finished products.

The company has declined to comment on documents obtained by The Associated Press that showed that sanitation problems persist at other Boar’s Head sites in three states.

Between January and July, inspectors in Arkansas, Indiana and a second site in Virginia reported problems that include instances of meat and fat residue left on equipment and walls, drains blocked with meat products, beaded condensation on ceilings and floors, overflowing trash cans and staff who didn’t wear protective hairnets and plastic aprons or wash their hands.

Officials at the 120-year-old company based in Sarasota, Florida, hired a chief food safety officer in May. It also brought in a panel of experts, including Mindy Brashears, a food safety expert nominated by for a second term as the USDA’s undersecretary for food safety.

Brashears, who now directs a food safety center at Texas Tech University, did not respond to requests for comment about Boar’s Head. An automatic email reply said she was traveling out of the country until next week.

Powell to give his last Jackson Hole speech under watchful gaze of Wall Street and the White House

Summary

WASHINGTON (AP) — Just three weeks ago, Federal Reserve Chair spoke to reporters after the central bank had kept its key interest rate unchanged for a fifth straight meeting and said the job market was “solid.”

His assessment was important because if the job market is healthy, there is less need for the Fed to cut its key interest rate, as President has demanded. Two days later, the Department issued a report that cast doubt on that assessment, showing hiring was weak in July and much lower than previously estimated in May and June.

So, there will be a lot of attention paid by Wall Street and the White House to Powell’s high-profile speech Friday at the Fed’s annual economic symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. If the famously data-dependent Powell shifts gears and takes a gloomier view of the job market, that could open the door for a rate cut at the Fed’s next meeting in September.

Powell could also stick to the cautious approach he’s maintained all year and reiterate that the central bank needs more time to evaluate the impact of Trump’s sweeping tariffs on inflation.

Most economists expect Powell to signal that a rate cut is likely this year, but won’t necessarily commit to one next month. That could disappoint Wall Street, which has put high odds on a September cut.

Powell’s speech, his last address at Jackson Hole as chair before his term ends in May, will occur against a particularly fraught backdrop. About a week after the jobs numbers, the latest inflation report showed that price growth crept higher in July. Core prices, which exclude the volatile food and categories, rose 3.1% from a year ago, above the Fed’s 2% target.

Stubbornly elevated inflation pushes the Fed in the opposite direction that weak hiring does: It suggests the central bank’s short-term rate should stay at its current 4.3%, rather than be cut. That would mean other borrowing costs for mortgages, auto loans, and business loans, would stay elevated.

“So the plot has thickened,” said David Wilcox, a former top Fed economist and now director of economic research at Bloomberg Economics and also a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute. “The dilemma that the Fed is in has become, if anything, more intense.”

Powell is also navigating an unprecedented level of public criticism by Trump, as well as efforts by the president to take greater control of the Fed, which has long been independent from day-to-day .

Most observers credit Powell for his nimble handling of the pressures. An iconic moment in his tenure was Trump’s visit to tour the Fed’s renovation of its office buildings last month. Trump had charged that Powell mismanaged the project, which had ballooned in cost to $2.5 billion, from an earlier estimate of $1.9 billion.

With both the president and Fed chair in white hard hats on the building site, in front of cameras, Trump claimed the cost had mushroomed even further to $3.1 trillion. Powell shook his head, so Trump handed him a piece of paper purporting to back up his claim.

Powell calmly dismissed the figure, noting that the $3.1 billion included the cost of renovating a third building five years earlier.

“That was just such a classic Powell,” said Diane Swonk, chief economist at KPMG. “He just doesn’t get fazed. He’s got a humility that oftentimes I think is lacking among my colleagues in economics.”

Powell appeared to at least temporarily assuage Trump during the tour, after which the president backed off his threats to fire the Fed chair over the project.

The attacks from Trump are the latest challenges for Powell in an unusually tumultuous eight years as Fed chair. Not long after being appointed by Trump in 2018, Powell endured the president’s criticisms as the Fed slowly raised its key rate from the low levels where it had remained for years after the 2008-2009 Great Recession.

Powell then found himself grappling with the pandemic, and after that the worst inflation spike in four decades that occurred as government stimulus checks fueled spending while crippled supply chains left fewer goods available.

Powell then oversaw a rapid series of rate hikes that were widely predicted to cause a recession, but the economy continued plugging ahead.

In his latest attempt to pressure the Fed, on Wednesday Trump called on Fed governor Lisa Cook to step down, after an administration official, Bill Pulte, accused her of mortgage fraud. Pulte is head of the agency that regulates mortgage giants Fannie Mae and .

Cook said in a statement that she wouldn’t be “bullied” into resigning and added that she was preparing to answer the charges.

For Powell, there’s a difficult decision to make on interest rates. The Fed’s “dual mandate” calls for it to keep prices stable while seeking maximum employment. But while the weak jobs data suggest the need for a cut, many Fed officials fear inflation will get worse in the coming months.

“There is still a fair amount that’s still outstanding,” Raphael Bostic, president of the Fed’s Atlanta branch, said in an interview, referring to tariff-led price hikes. “One feedback we’ve gotten both in our surveys and from direct conversations (with businesses) suggests that many still are looking to see the price that they charge their customers increase from where we are today.”

Other economists, however, point to the sharp slowdown in housing as a sign of a weak economy. The housing market remains mired in a slump partly due to elevated mortgage rates, even though sales of existing homes did rise in July. has also been modest this year, and growth was just 1.2% at an annual rate in the first half of 2025.

“There’s not a lot to like about the economy right now outside of AI,” said Neil Dutta, an economist at Renaissance Macro. “The weakness in the economy isn’t about tariffs,” but instead the Fed’s high rates, he added.

Tariffs aren’t keeping Walmart from attracting shoppers and outpacing Target

Summary

  • posts 4.6% rise in comparable Q2 sales
  • Growth driven by groceries, delivery and apparel
  • Walmart continues to outpace rival
  • Target reports another quarter of declining sales

NEW YORK (AP) — Walmart Inc. powered through an uncertain economic environment and tariff concerns to deliver solid second-quarter financial results Thursday, showing it keeps pulling in shoppers and outpacing peers like Target.

The nation’s largest retailer reported a 4.6% quarterly increase in comparable sales — those coming from established stores and online channels. Company executives said Walmart was attracting customers, particularly higher-income shoppers who may have avoided its stores in the past, with fast deliveries, and trendier clothes.

The company, based in Bentonville, Arkansas, also raised its annual profit and sales outlook.

Walmart’s results differed notably from those of rival Target, which on Wednesday reported another quarter of comparable sales declines. The Minneapolis-based company has struggled to find its footing as customers defect to Walmart and other stores where they think they will find greater bargains and increasingly, the same or better merchandise.

Target’s board of directors named a 20-year company veteran on Wednesday to succeed CEO Brian Cornell when he steps down after 11 years in early 2026.

Walmart said its profitable e-commerce operations, advertising revenue and selection of products with high profit margins have given it flexibility to absorb extra costs from the range of tariffs President  has put on foreign products.

Walmart CEO Doug McMillon told investors Thursday that the impact of tariffs also has been gradual enough to mute changes in behavior. When the discounter raised prices on certain items, it’s observed lower- and middle-income customers trading down to lower-priced options or foregoing purchases, he said.

The company will continue to see its costs increase as it replenishes inventory at post-tariff price levels, McMillion said.

“We’re doing what we said we would do,” he said. “We’re keeping our prices as low as we can for as long as we can. Our merchants have been creative and acted with urgency to avoid what would have been additional pressure for our customers and members.”

A growing list of companies, including Procter & Gamble, E.lf. Cosmetics, Black & Decker and Ralph Lauren, told investors in recent weeks that they planned to or already had raised prices because of tariffs, though modestly.

None of that has derailed consumer spending. Shoppers spent at a healthy pace in July, particularly at the nation’s auto dealerships, as signs emerged that ‘s trade policies were taking a toll on jobs.

Some of that spending may have been shoppers buying furniture and other imported items to get ahead of expected price increases, analysts said.

On Tuesday, Home Depot, the nation’s largest home improvement retailer, reported improved sales during its latest quarter as consumers remained focused on smaller projects. Like Walmart, Home Depot’s performance missed ‘s expectations.

The Atlanta-based company also said shoppers should expect modest price increases in some categories as a result of additional costs from tariffs, which are taxes on imports. Home Depot reported comparable sales increase of 1.4% in line with what home improvement rival Lowe’s reported on Wednesday.

But it’s Walmart that serves as a barometer of spending given its outsized power in American retailing. The company maintains that 90% of U.S. households rely on Walmart for a range of products, and more than 150 million customers shop on its website or in its stores every week.

Walmart said in May that prices had started to increase in late April and got higher in May. But it said Thursday that it had introduced 7,400 price rollbacks, or temporary discounts, across the aisles in the latest quarter.

The company said it earned $7.03 billion, or 88 cents per share, for the three-month period that ended July 31. That compares with $4.50 billion, or 56 cents per share, a year ago.

Sales rose nearly 5% to $177.4 billion. Walmart’s 4.6% growth in U.S. comparable sales during the second quarter was slightly higher than its first-quarter gain of 4.5%. Groceries and health and wellness items fueled the growth, the company said.

Global e-commerce sales rose 25%, above the 22% growth in the first quarter.

The retailer said roughly one-third of deliveries from its U.S. stores in recent weeks were orders requesting delivery in three hours or less, and 20% of those orders made it to customers in a half-hour or under.

Despite Walmart’s solid quarter, its stock price was down close to 5% late Thursday morning as its earnings per share came in below what analysts had expected. Analysts were expecting 73 cents per share on sales of $175.93 billion for the quarter, according to FactSet.

Per share results, excluding effects of charges related to certain legal matters and from business restructuring, was 68 cents, Walmart said.

One $450 million expense was tied to settlements over worker and shopper injury claims, Walmart said. A company spokesperson said the cost per claim was increasing but not the total number.

For the year, Walmart raised its per-share estimates to a range of $2.52 to $2.62, up from a previous estimate of $2.50 to $2.60. It said 2025 sales are anticipated to increase 3.75% to 4.75%, more than it projected in May.

US home sales rose in July as mortgage rates eased a bit and home prices grew more slowly

Summary

  • Existing home sales rose 2% in July from June
  • Annual sales pace reached 4.01 million units
  • Sales edged up 0.8% from July 2024
  • Home prices rose for the 25th straight month, but more slowly

Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes rose in July as were encouraged by a modest pullback in , slowing home price growth and the most properties on the market in over five years.

Existing home sales rose 2% last month from June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.01 million units, the National Association of Realtors said Thursday.

Sales edged up 0.8% compared with July last year. The latest sales figure topped the 3.92 million pace economists were expecting, according to FactSet.

Home prices rose on an annual basis for the 25th consecutive month, although the rate of growth continued to slow. The national median sales price inched up just 0.2% in July from a year earlier to $422,400.

That was the smallest annual increase since June 2023. Even so, the median home sales price last month is the highest for any previous July, based on data going back to 1999.

“The ever-so-slight improvement in housing affordability is inching up home sales,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist. “Wage growth is now comfortably outpacing home price growth, and buyers have more choices.”

The has been in a sales slump since 2022, when mortgage rates began climbing from historic lows. Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes sank last year to their lowest level in nearly 30 years.

This year’s spring homebuying season, which is traditionally the busiest period of the year for the housing market, was a bust as stubbornly high mortgage rates put off many prospective homebuyers. Affordability remains a dauting challenge for most aspiring homeowners following years of skyrocketing home prices.

First-time homebuyers, who don’t have home equity gains to put toward a new home purchase, accounted for 28% of homes sales last month, down from 30% in June, NAR said. Historically, they made up 40% of home sales.

The average rate on a has remained elevated this year, although it has been at a nearly 10-month low of 6.58% the last two weeks.

Homes purchased last month likely went under contract in May and June, when the average rate ranged from 6.76% to 6.89%. Mortgage rates eased in July, dropping briefly to 6.67%.

As home sales have slowed, the number of unsold homes on the market has been rising.

There were 1.55 million unsold homes at the end of last month, up 0.6% from June and 15.7% from July last year, NAR said. That’s the most homes on the market since May 2020, early on in the COVID-19 pandemic.

Still, the inventory remains well below the roughly 2 million homes for sale that was typical before the pandemic.

July’s month-end inventory translates to a 4.6-month supply at the current sales pace, down from a 4.7-month supply at the end of June and up from 4 months in July last year. Traditionally, a 5- to 6-month supply is considered a balanced market between buyers and sellers.

Homes are also taking longer to sell. Properties typically remained on the market for 28 days last month before selling, up from 24 days in July last year, NAR said.

Home shoppers who can afford to buy at current mortgage rates or pay in cash are likely to benefit from the slower growth in prices and increased supply of properties on the market.

It’s not uncommon now for sellers, especially those in Southern and Western markets, to lower their asking price and offer incentives such as money for closing costs or repairs in order to sweeten the deal, real estate agents say.

In July, some 20.6% of homes listed for sale had their price reduced, according to Realtor.com. That’s down slightly from June.

“One can say that things are a little better today as a buyer, compared to say just a couple of years ago,” Yun said.

30-year mortgage rate steady at 10-month low

Summary

The average rate on a 30-year U.S. mortgage held steady this week at its lowest level in nearly 10 months, an encouraging sign for prospective who have been held back by stubbornly high home financing costs.

The long-term rate was unchanged from last week at 6.58%, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. A year ago, the rate averaged 6.46%.

Borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, popular with homeowners refinancing their home loans, edged lower. The average rate dropped to 5.69% from 5.71% last week. A year ago, it was 5.62%, Freddie Mac said.

Stubbornly high have helped keep the U.S. housing market in a sales slump since early 2022, when rates started to climb from the rock-bottom lows they reached during the pandemic. Home sales sank last year to their lowest level in nearly 30 years and have remained sluggish this year.

For much of the year, the average rate on a 30-year mortgage has hovered relatively close to its 2025 high of just above 7%, set in mid-January. Since last week, the average rate has been at its lowest level since Oct. 24, when it averaged 6.54%.

Mortgage rates are influenced by several factors, from the ‘s interest rate policy decisions to bond market investors’ expectations for the economy and .

The main barometer is the 10-year Treasury yield, which lenders use as a guide to pricing home loans. The yield was at 4.34% at midday Thursday, up from 4.29% late Wednesday.

The yield has been mostly rising this month as bond traders weighed how data on inflation and the job market, and the potential economic impact of ‘s tariffs, may influence the Fed’s interest rate policy moves.

The central bank has so far been hesitant to cut out of fear that Trump’s tariffs could push inflation higher, but data showing hiring slowed last month have fueled speculation that the Fed will cut its main short-term interest rate next month.

A Fed rate cut could give the job market and overall economy a boost, but it could also inflation, which could push bond yields higher, driving mortgage rates upward in turn.

“Even if the Fed cuts the short-term federal funds rate in September, which is largely expected, it is not likely that we will see a big drop in mortgage rates,” said Lisa Sturtevant, chief economist at Bright MLS.

Economists generally expect the average rate on a 30-year mortgage to remain near the mid-6% range this year.

That may not be low enough to spur a meaningful increase in home sales.

While the housing market slowdown is forcing many sellers to lower their asking price and even pay for a buyer’s closing costs, among other incentives, affordability remains a major hurdle for many aspiring homeowners.

Home price growth has slowed nationally, but the median sales price of a previously occupied U.S. home remains near the all-time high of $435,300 set in June. And while prices are down from a year ago in many metro areas in the South and West such as Miami, Denver and Austin, they haven’t come down nearly enough to offset years of soaring prices.

“Lower mortgage rates and slower price growth — or even year-over-year price declines — is going to be necessary to improve affordability and bring more homebuyers into the market,” Sturtevant said.

Ex-Virginia House Speaker Gilbert resigns as U.S. attorney after 1 month

Todd Gilbert, the former Republican speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates, resigned Wednesday after a little more than a month as the for the .

A spokesperson for the district confirmed Gilbert’s resignation effective 5 p.m. Wednesday. Robert N. Tracci, the federal district’s first assistant U.S. attorney, has assumed the role of acting U.S. attorney.

The Western District did not provide a reason for Gilbert’s departure, and Gilbert did not immediately return messages for comment Wednesday night. He simply posted an “Anchorman” meme on X, which said, “Boy, that escalated quickly.”

Former Virginia Speaker of the House Todd Gilbert posted an "Anchorman" meme to X after his Aug. 20, 2025, resignation as U.S. attorney for the Western District of Virginia.
Former Virginia Speaker of the House posted an “Anchorman” meme to X after his Aug. 20, 2025, resignation as U.S. attorney for the Western District of Virginia.

Virginia’s U.S. Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner, both Democrats, were involved in recommending Gilbert for the Western District top prosecutor position in April.

Kaine and Warner’s spokespeople released this statement Thursday on Gilbert’s resignation: “The senators were surprised to learn this news. After a thorough interview process that included the input of a bipartisan panel of former Virginia U.S. attorneys and other well-respected members of the Virginia legal community, the senators recommended two candidates. Todd Gilbert was among them because he was exceptionally qualified to execute the duties of this role.”

Gilbert stepped down as House minority leader in June because he was in the running for the Western District attorney job, and he resigned as delegate for his district once he received President ‘s nod for the post. He was sworn in July 14 and was awaiting U.S. Senate confirmation at the time of his resignation.

Gilbert, who served nearly 20 years as a state delegate, was a prosecutor in and the counties of Warren, Frederick and Shenandoah earlier in his career, and had a private law practice while serving in the House. He was speaker of the House from 2022 to 2024 while Republicans regained control of the chamber.

BWXT launches subsidiary to deliver commercial nuclear fuel

SUMMARY:

  • forms new to commercialize advanced
  • Subsidiary will bolster BWXT’s TRISO manufacturing capabilities
  • Company expects market growth by decade’s end

-based plans to launch a subsidiary dedicated to the commercialization of fuel for the next generation of nuclear reactors, according to an announcement made this morning.

Called BWXT Advanced Fuels, the new company will pursue partnerships to deliver TRISO nuclear fuel for an anticipated “coming wave” of advanced nuclear reactors under development or in planning stages, such as small modular reactors, sodium-cooled reactors and high temperature gas reactors (HTGRs).

Josh Parker, senior director of BWXT Advanced Fuels, declined to say how much BWXT plans to invest to launch the subsidiary. Based in Lynchburg, Parker, who is currently the subsidiary’s only employee, said it’s too soon to determine how many employees the subsidiary will hire. “We’ll have more news about that as we kind of get this thing rolling and moving,” he added.

A major item on the BWXT Advanced Fuels’ to-do list, Parker said, is to “go out there and try to make decisions based on what we’re seeing in the market.” One of those decisions, he said, will be whether the subsidiary can be based out of an expanded BWXT facility in Lynchburg or if it will require building a separate facility.

BWXT first began manufacturing TRISO, or tristructural isotropic particle fuel, in partnership with Idaho National Laboratory under the Department of ‘s (DOE) Advanced Gas Reactor Fuel Development Program in 2003.

Described by the Department of Energy as “the most robust nuclear fuel on Earth,” TRISO comprises carbon and silicon layers surrounding a uranium fuel kernel. The fuel is able to withstand high temperatures and resist corrosion, both of which have been identified as challenges for the next generation of nuclear reactors.

Currently, BWXT produces TRISO on a low-rate production scale, according to Parker. “We can supply probably one to two reactors a year out of what we have here in Lynchburg — depends on the size of reactors,” he said.

BWXT recently completed designing and manufacturing TRISO fuel for the Department of ‘s Project Pele, the nation’s first mobile nuclear microreactor.

By the latter part of this decade, BWXT expects the market for TRISO to take off. “We need to be prepared to expand that capacity and to produce it at a larger scale,” Parker said.

On Aug. 12, the U.S. Department of Energy announced plans to work with 11 advanced reactor projects “to move their technologies towards deployment.” That news followed a May executive order, issued by President , directing national leaders to reform processes for reactor testing and establish a new pilot program for reactor construction and operation outside the National Laboratories.

“You’ve got to have reactors over here that are going to buy the fuel and use the fuel,” Parker said. “So we’re looking at the market to make sure that is actually occurring and that these reactor developers might be successful. Indications are really good.”

Two other U.S. companies produce TRISO in lab-scale operations: Standard Nuclear and TRISO-X, both of which are headquartered in Tennessee.

BWXT Advanced Fuels is in talks with a “whole bunch” of potential clients about purchasing its TRISO, according to Parker, though he declined to give specifics. “There’s about a dozen or so advanced reactors that are using TRISO that are in stages of development where they’re looking to either pilot a facility or demonstrate a facility in the next five years,” he said.

A Fortune 1000 company, BWXT has approximately 8,700 employees — including about 2,840 in Virginia — and reported $2.7 billion in fiscal 2024 revenue, up from $2.49 billion the previous year.

In February, BWXT announced it had received $2.1 billion in Navy contracts to manufacture nuclear components for Virginia- and Columbia-class submarines, and in July, it won an additional $2.6 billion in Navy contracts for components. In early 2025, the company also completed its $100 million purchase of L3Harris’ Aerojet Ordnance Tennessee, in Jonesborough, Tennessee; in April, BWXT bought land in Tennessee for a centrifuge plant.

Virginia Wesleyan University to be renamed Batten University

SUMMARY:

Next year, Virginia Wesleyan University will officially change its name to Batten University.

The new name, which will take effect on July 1, 2026, honors Virginia Beach philanthropist Jane Batten, a former chair of the Virginia Wesleyan Board of Trustees, and her family, who have supported the Virginia Beach private university for decades.

Promoting the new name, the university’s website says the renaming honors a decade of progress, the philanthropic legacy of the Batten family, and the university’s “bold future.”

“There is no other visionary philanthropist like Jane Batten,” President Scott Miller said in a statement. “Her progressive thinking and innovative vision for this university have made it what it is today.”

Nancy DeFord, chair of the university’s board, made the announcement Wednesday afternoon during a celebration of the Batten family’s legacy. Jane Batten’s involvement with Virginia Wesleyan dates back to 1978, when her daughter Mary enrolled. Jane Batten began serving on the school’s board of trustees in 1981, and in 1995, she became the first woman to chair the board.

In 1998, Jane’s husband, Frank Batten Sr., the billionaire former CEO of Landmark Communications and co-founder of The Weather Channel, honored her service to VWU with a gift to the university that created the $22 million Jane P. Batten Student Center, which opened in 2002.

Frank Batten Sr., who died in 2009, built the national media enterprise Landmark Communications, which once owned more than 50 newspapers, including the Virginian-Pilot, Daily Press and Roanoke Times in Virginia. Batten chaired the Associated Press in the 1980s and co-founded The Weather Channel, which Landmark sold in 2008 for $3.5 billion to NBCUniversal. Other Landmark holdings included real estate website Homes.com, which was sold for $156 million in 2019 to Arlington County-based CoStar Group.

The Battens would continue to make gifts to Virginia Wesleyan, including endowing faculty positions and student scholarships. In 2015, Jane Batten made a major contribution to the university, aiding the $20 million Greer Environmental Sciences Center, which featured an adjacent geothermal field, greenhouse, and garden. The following year, she established and endowed the Batten Honors College.

More recent initiatives funded by Jane Batten include a 2020 collaboration between VWU Global Campus and Lakeland University in Tokyo, as well as the Jane P. Batten & David R. Black School for International Studies, which opened in 2024.

She also provided one of two lead gifts to relocate the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art from the Virginia Beach Oceanfront to VWU’s campus, with the new museum slated to open in early 2026.

Last year, Batten donated $100 million to establish the William & Mary Batten School of Coastal and Marine Sciences. She and her family have also made significant donations to the University of Virginia, Old Dominion University and

Scholarships bearing the Batten name have helped thousands of students, VWU said. The university based its most recent 10-year plan on Jane Batten’s ideals and credits it for helping drive significant growth in VWU’s enrollment, academic offerings, facilities and global reach.

Chartered in 1961 as a private liberal arts college, Virginia Wesleyan is situated on a 300-acre campus in Virginia Beach and has about 2,100 students enrolled in undergraduate and graduate programs. The university also has a Tokyo campus and instructional sites at two correctional centers in Chesapeake. Next year, the Sentara College of will be integrated into the university, pending accreditation approval.

Mining company partners with Virginia Tech on rare earths plant

SUMMARY:

  • plans to invest $10 million on separation pilot plant at Virginia Tech
  • U.S. government considers establishing rare earth a matter of national security
  • Aclara Resources is seeking location for full-scale separating facility

Canadian mining company Aclara Resources plans to invest about $10 million to establish a rare-earth elements separation pilot plant at the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center, according to the company’s chief operating officer.

Rare earths are a group of 17 elements used to manufacture a wide range of high-tech products, including smartphones, electric vehicles and semiconductors, and has a monopoly on many of the elements and their .

The company plans to hire seven new workers for the pilot plant in . They will process rare earth feedstock from an Aclara mine in Brazil with solvent extraction technology to separate out high-purity light and heavy rare earth elements.

Aclara COO Hugh Broadhurst said he expects the facility to be up and running quickly: “Starting from September through Q4 this year, we’re going to be ramping up our operations there.”

The project will be conducted in cooperation with Virginia Tech.

Aclara Technologies, the company’s U.S.-based , recently signed a nonbinding memorandum of understanding with the university, which, according to the parties, “lays the groundwork for a long-term academic and scientific alliance that includes Aclara’s rare earths separation pilot plant.”

“We’re going to be hiring Virginia Tech staff and students to supplement our own staff,” Broadhurst said, adding that students will also be able to do research at the facility.

Aclara first contacted Virginia Tech about a partnership earlier this year, according to Aaron Noble, head of the department of mining and minerals engineering in Virginia Tech’s College of Engineering.

In the past decade, Virginia Tech faculty members have led more than 64 federally sponsored rare earths projects totaling over $32 million in research funding. Additionally, Virginia Tech faculty have filed 11 invention disclosures related to rare earths and since 2021.

A partnership allows Aclara to layer Virginia Tech’s “extensive experience in rare earths” with the company’s operational know-how, according to a statement from Francisco Haussmann, a project superintendent for Aclara.

National security matter

China has a large stock of rare earth reserves and processes 90% of rare earths. Rare earth deposits can be found in other parts of the globe, but the United States has only one active rare earths mine, the Mountain Pass mine in California.

A July article in Econofact, an economic policy publication from Tufts University, summed up why that should matter to Americans: “The U.S. has almost no domestic capacity to process and refine rare earths into end-use components. … Dependence on China for these key components remains a vulnerability in the manufacturing supply chains for many military and high-technology products.”

“It’s something that various funding and federal agencies have been looking at for the last decade and trying to build both technology and human capacity for that, but we’re kind of getting to the point where [we’ve] got to do something now,” Noble said.

The urgency partially stems from China’s April announcement that it would impose export restrictions on seven rare earths as retaliation for tariffs imposed by . In June, China announced a deal that would loosen rare earths exports to the United States.

The two countries have paused tariff increases through Nov. 10, while U.S. and Chinese leaders negotiate a deal, but even without the trade war, experts view domestic processing of rare earths as an important goal to reduce supply chain dependency on China.

Establishing the pilot rare earths separation plant in Blacksburg, Broadhurst said, is a step toward addressing “a critical vulnerability for the United States and other countries.”

Building facilities needed to process rare earths is one thing; the United States also needs to bolster its workforce. The nation’s mining industry as a whole faces a shortage.

Virginia Tech is one of only 14 mining engineering programs in the United States. Last year, the university’s Department of Mining and Minerals Engineering graduated fewer than 30 students, according to Noble. A department job fair held in Blacksburg each year typically attracts representatives from about 50 companies.

The talent situation is even more grim when it comes to rare earths.

“Right now, China has all the capability, all the expertise, all the talent,” Noble said. “We’re trying to rebuild that outside of China, and that’s part of what this partnership is about.”

Students who work at Aclara’s pilot plant could find themselves working for the company after graduation.

Aclara is currently seeking a U.S. site — probably in the Southeast, according to Broadhurst —  to construct a full-scale rare earths separation plant by early 2029. The company, he says, has not yet determined how long the pilot plant will remain operational or if it will continue to run after the full-scale plant is running.

“Our customers are located in the U.S.,” Broadhurst said, “so it really makes sense for us to root ourselves in the United States so that we can provide product to them reliably and sustainably.”

Mary Washington Healthcare, UMW plan to launch medical school

SUMMARY:

is planning to partner with the University of Mary Washington to launch a new medical school — a move designed to address the shortage of in the region.

Dr. Christopher Newman, who became president and CEO of Mary Washington Healthcare in March and also serves on the university’s board of visitors, confirmed to Virginia Business that the university and health system are in “serious planning stages” for launching a medical school, which would be the first in Northern Virginia.

Newman pitched to UMW President Troy D. Paino the idea of the two entities collaborating on the creation of a medical school after a feasibility study conducted by national consulting firm Tripp Umbach had recently wrapped up, finding the proposed school viable. Numerous discussions about the proposed medical school also were held this summer with state representatives, Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s administration and community stakeholders, Newman added.

“We’re really starting to push things forward,” Newman said. “And the university has put it in their six-year strategic plan, which they are presenting to the state.”

The boards for the health system and the university plan to take up the matter this fall and will likely vote in 2026 to officially move forward with the project. The medical school would also require approval from the State Council of and the Virginia .

Starting a new medical school typically costs around $200 million, Newman said, but a significant portion of that funding has already been invested through completed or in-progress facilities. For example, the health system broke ground in June on a $40 million, 39,000-square-foot building, located across from its Mary Washington Hospital, that will house a conference center and education facility, featuring a training space, classrooms, office space and simulation spaces. Construction is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2026.

Initially, the Mary Washington Healthcare Conference Center will serve as home to a graduate program the health system launched in 2023, which includes physician residencies and fellowships. However, Newman said, the building could also be used in the future to house the medical school’s programs.

In addition to the center, medical school courses could also take place in various training clinics in the region, as well as UMW facilities like the hospital.

If approvals line up and “everything goes perfectly,” Newman said, the first class of about 100 medical students would be able to start learning at the medical school in 2029.

Shortages driving medical school

One of the main drivers for launching a medical school is what Newman describes as an “extreme physician shortage” in the Fredericksburg region.

“You would have an easier time finding a primary care doc in rural Wyoming or South Dakota than you would in the Fredericksburg region,” he said. “And folks that are moving into this area are definitely feeling that. And we’re also one of the fastest-growing regions in the country, particularly [in] the state of Virginia, and that’s only compounding the issue.”

Mary Washington Healthcare has approximately 1,000 credentialed health care providers, of which the health system employs 600, and the remainder are either private practice physicians or contracted physicians. And that’s “nowhere near the need,” Newman said. “So, we probably need twice that right now to be able to provide adequate access to the community.”

The health system has discussed investing millions into subsidizing tuition for medical students, he said, “because … on average, it’s about $100,000 a year a cost to train a medical student, and we want to keep the tuition reasonable so that we can attract local Virginia students into the medical school that would have a commitment of staying in the region.”

Newman noted that only about 25% of medical school graduates in Virginia remain in the state, and he hopes to change that, with Mary Washington offering a “community-focused” medical school.

While there are regulatory hurdles and details that need to be ironed out before the project can get underway, the health system and university feel “very optimistic” about bringing a medical school to the Fredericksburg region, Newman said.

Level 2 trauma center

In other news regarding the health system, Mary Washington Hospital announced on Wednesday that it had successfully been redesignated as a Level 2 trauma center by the .

The hospital says the redesignation recognizes Mary Washington Healthcare’s ongoing investment in advanced trauma care, medical staff expertise and specialized facilities designed to handle complex and life-threatening injuries.

“Our trauma center has always stood as a beacon of hope in moments of crisis,” Newman said in a statement. “This redesignation reflects our relentless pursuit of excellence and our dedication to ensuring patients receive the best possible care — right here at home. It means fewer transfers and faster access to life-saving treatment for our community.”

One level below the top Level 1 designation, Level 2 trauma centers include “24-hour immediate coverage by general surgeons, as well as coverage by the specialties of orthopedic surgery, neurosurgery, anesthesiology, , radiology and critical care,” according to the Falls Church-based American Trauma Society. However, it may need to transfer a patient to a Level 1 center to address more complex cases. Specialty requirements may be fulfilled by on call staff.

The designation makes Mary Washington Hospital the ninth Level 2 trauma center in the state, according to the state health department.

Mary Washington Healthcare is a nonprofit health care system that provides inpatient and outpatient care at over 80 facilities, including Mary Washington Hospital, a 471-bed tertiary hospital; Stafford Hospital, a 100-bed community hospital; four emergency departments; and a multispecialty graduate medical education program.