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Virginia, Google partner to launch AI training courses

SUMMARY:

  • launched online platform to offer free and low-cost training, certifications
  • Gov. Glenn stressed AI’s growing role across all industries, highlighting the need for broad workforce readiness
  • Virginia has experienced a surge in AI-related job postings

With worming its way into almost every job sector, employees are increasingly finding themselves needing to know how to use the emerging technology to avoid being left behind.

To address this, Virginia is launching an online platform that will provide job seekers free and low-cost artificial intelligence certification courses.

on Tuesday, while speaking at ‘s office, announced the launch of VirginiaHasJobs.com/AI, which he described as an “AI career launch pad.”

Developed by in partnership with the Grow with Google program, the website is designed to help working-age Virginians gain experience in using AI and prepare for its growing role across industries. According to Secretary of Labor Bryan Slater, Virginia has experienced a surge in AI-related job postings, with approximately 31,000 listings.

The new website includes free and low-cost courses and learning opportunities. These range from beginner courses on AI fundamentals and practical workplace applications of AI to certification training, bootcamps and degree programs offered by Virginia community colleges and universities.

According to a news release from the governor’s office, Virginia Works will provide career certificate scholarships, giving Virginians free access to high-demand career and AI training. The governor’s office says that any Virginian can visit the website, sign up for a scholarship, enroll in eligible programs and develop AI knowledge and skills.

During the press conference in Reston, Youngkin said, “Artificial intelligence is being incorporated in just about every single job in America.” For example, he said that in the manufacturing industry, AI drives much of the processes, but technicians are still needed to optimize it and improve it. In marketing jobs, he said AI capabilities help customize messaging.

“So what we’re seeing is that AI is becoming a critical component of a broad set of employer needs and employee capabilities,” Youngkin said. “And therefore it doesn’t matter whether you have a college degree or not, it doesn’t matter whether you had deep experience or not, because artificial intelligence skill sets are at the cutting edge.”

Youngkin’s office says Virginians can apply for scholarships to two types of programs — Google AI essentials courses that teach foundational AI skills and best practices and Google career certificates, which offer in-depth, job-ready training in high-demand fields such as cybersecurity, data analytics and project management.

“The site was developed with people in mind that are looking, that are searching,” Youngkin said. “And so they can come find the job opportunities that they think are interesting. They can find the course sequence that gets them there. And guess what? They can find jobs.”

Grow with Google Head of Partnerships Bronagh Friel said in a statement that the website “will help equip more Virginians with the in-demand skills to secure great jobs, advance their earning potential and drive a prosperous future for the state.”

The governor’s office says that globally, 86% of graduates say the AI skills taught in the AI Essentials course will improve their productivity and efficiency at work. Additionally, 70% of Google’s career certificate graduates report experiencing a positive on their careers — such as a raise, new job or promotion — within six months of completion.

Trump administration fires 17 immigration judges in 10 states, including Virginia

WASHINGTON (AP) — Seventeen immigration court judges have been fired in recent days, according to the union that represents them, as the pushes forward with its mass deportations of immigrants in the country.

The International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, which represents immigration court judges as well as other professionals, said in a news release that 15 judges were fired “without cause” on Friday and another two on Monday. The union said they were working in courts in 10 different states across the country — California, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Ohio, Texas, Utah and .

“It’s outrageous and against the public interest that at the same time Congress has authorized 800 immigration judges, we are firing large numbers of immigration judges without cause,” said the union’s President Matt Biggs. “This is nonsensical. The answer is to stop firing and start hiring.”

Firings come with courts at the center of administration efforts

The firings come as the courts have been increasingly at the center of the Trump administration’s hardline immigration enforcement efforts with Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers arresting immigrants as they appear at court for proceedings.

A spokeswoman for the Executive Office of Immigration Review, which is the part of the Justice Department that oversees the courts, said in an email that the office would not comment on the firings.

The large-scale arrests began in May and have unleashed fear among asylum-seekers and immigrants appearing in court. In what has become a familiar scene, a judge will grant a government lawyer’s request to dismiss deportation proceedings against an immigrant. Meanwhile, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers are waiting in the hallway to arrest the person and put them on a fast track to deportation as soon as he or she leaves the courtroom.

Immigration court judges are also dealing with a massive backlog of roughly 3.5 million cases that ballooned in recent years. Cases can take years to weave their way to a final determination, with judges and lawyers frequently scheduling final hearings on the merits of a case over a year out. Unlike criminal courts, the government isn’t required to provide lawyers to everyone going through ; immigrants can hire their own lawyer but if they can’t afford one they represent themselves — often using an interpreter to make their case.

Senator alleges one firing is punishment

Democratic U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois alleged that one of the judges fired was essentially being punished for talking to him during a visit the senator made a few weeks ago to the Chicago Immigration Court.

In a news release Tuesday, Durbin said the judge “took time to show me the court and explain its functions.” He said after the visit, the judge received an email from the Justice Department telling her that all communications with congressional offices should be routed through headquarters and that immigration judges shouldn’t be talking directly with members of Congress.

“Her abrupt termination is an abuse of power by the Administration to punish a non-political judge simply for doing her job,” said Durbin, who’s the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Courts are getting a cash infusion

Under recently passed legislation that will use $170 billion to supercharge immigration enforcement, the courts are set to get an infusion of $3.3 billion. That will go toward raising the number of judges to 800 and hiring more staff to support them.

But the union said that since the Trump administration took office over 103 judges have either been fired or voluntarily left after taking what was dubbed the “Fork in the Road” offers at the beginning of the administration. The union said that rather than speeding up the immigration court process, the Justice Department’s firings would actually make the backlogs worse. The union said that it can take as long as a year to recruit, hire and train new immigration court judges.

There are currently about 600 judges, according to the union figures. Immigration courts fall under the Justice Department.

Maryland Supreme Court disbars Virginia lawyer for abusing courts, financial misconduct

Summary

  •  found -based attorney violated several  rules in dispute over family trust
  • High court found he had filed meritless lawsuits against his sister in multiple courts
  • Also found to have misused trust funds for personal expenses and legal fee

A Virginia-based attorney has been disbarred in Maryland for abusing the judicial process and engaging in financial misconduct in his role as the legal representative and fiduciary of his mother’s trust, the Maryland Supreme Court held.

In an opinion filed Monday written by Justice Peter Killough, the state’s highest court explained its reasoning for the court’s March per curiam order disbarring Gary Pisner from the practice of law in Maryland.

The justices agreed with a hearing judge’s findings that Pisner violated a handful of ethics rules, including rules relating to competence, safekeeping property and bringing meritorious claims.

Specifically, the high court wrote, Pisner failed to maintain adequate transactions records of a revocable trust he and his sister became the beneficiaries and co-trustees of in January 2009 following the death of their mother and refused to produced documentation when ordered by the court. According to the high court, Pisner “actively concealed” trust records to avoid disclosing them during his  proceedings and failed to produce sufficient documentation to permit an accounting of the trust.

In 2009, Pisner distributed approximately $1.19 million to himself while his sister received $1.06 million, and in 2010, he received $136,410.93 despite a lack of supporting source documentation, while his sister received $54,894.78. Many of the unauthorized distributions were used for Pisner’s personal expenses, the high court wrote, including legal fees, credit card payments and educational costs.

Among other ethical violations, the justices found Pisner also “repeatedly misused the judicial system” by initiating a number of lawsuits with legal theories that lacked merit.

According to the high court, Pisner, in identifying himself as an attorney of his mother’s trust, filed a lawsuit against his sister in Circuit Court alleging the trust had “ceased to function” in accordance with its terms. Pisner also filed a separate lawsuit against his sister in the Superior Court for the District of Columbia while the trust litigation remained pending, as well as a second lawsuit against his sister in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland with “nearly identical” allegations.

“[Pisner] pursued identical claims in multiple forums without curing a plainly fatal legal defect, indicating an absence of any good faith basis for relief and no effort to seek a legitimate change in the law,” Killough wrote. “These violations were not without consequence. The Hearing Judge found that Respondent’s frivolous filings caused actual harm to others.”

Those harms, the high court wrote, included those against whom Pisner filed lawsuits incurring substantial legal expenses and experiencing increased liability insurance premiums, in addition to the expense of judicial resources in multiple jurisdictions.

Pisner disputed the sufficiency of the disciplinary petition, alleged investigatory and discovery misconduct, and contested the credibility of witnesses; the high court found he offered no evidence to support those claims. Though Pisner had no prior history of , the justices found is warranted.

Pisner did not immediately respond to requests for comment, and bar counsel for the Maryland declined to comment.

Pisner was admitted to the in 1989. He remains in good standing in Virginia and the District of Columbia (where his membership is inactive), and is listed as retired from the Pennsylvania Bar, according to those jurisdictions’ attorney directories.

U.Va. medical school dean set to leave for new job

SUMMARY:

  • U.Va. medical school and chief health affairs officer is finalist for UTHealth Houston presidency
  • has been at U.Va. since 2021
  • She and former CEO Dr. Craig Kent were subject of letter of no confidence in 2024

Dr. Melina Kibbe, the ‘s medical school dean and chief health affairs officer at Health, is the sole finalist for the presidency of the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, UTHealth announced this week.

Kibbe has been at U.Va. since 2021. Her tenure at U.Va. has been challenging, as both she and Dr. K. Craig Kent were subject of a vote of “no confidence” by 128 physicians in 2024, who called for their resignations. Kent resigned as CEO of UVA Health in February, following a closed-session meeting of the U.Va. Board of Visitors.

Kibbe remained in place, although a false letter of resignation made the rounds around the same period, forcing UVA Health head Dr. Mitch Rosner to state publicly that it was a hoax.

In response to UTHealth’s announcement Monday, Rosner released this statement: “During her tenure as dean of the University of School of Medicine and chief health affairs officer for UVA Health, Dr. Melina R. Kibbe has played a vital role in crafting and advancing UVA Health’s 10-year strategic plan, which seeks to expand UVA Health’s biomedical research enterprise and make U.Va. the nation’s top public academic health system.

“We are excited that Dean Kibbe has been named the sole finalist for the presidency of The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, and we wish her well as the hiring process moves forward.”

A vascular surgeon who researches novel therapies for vascular disease, Kibbe said in a statement provided by UTHealth, “It’s an extraordinary honor to be named as sole finalist for the presidency at UTHealth Houston, an institution that stands at the forefront of health education, research and patient care. UTHealth Houston is uniquely positioned to shape the future of in Texas and beyond.”

She remains the sole finalist during a state-required 21-day waiting period before officially being named president.

In the 128 faculty members’ letter to the U.Va. board, Kent and Kibbe were accused of creating a “culture of fear and retaliation” that “compromised patient safety.” The letter also accused the UVA Health leaders of “excessive spending on C-suite executives and support” and “failure to be forthcoming on significant financial matters.”

Then-President Jim Ryan and members of the UVA Health board defended Kibbe and Kent, but the university hired a law firm to perform a third-party investigation into the letter’s allegations. Following the investigation, Kent resigned. In April, a group of 21 doctors released a letter saying that some current and former board members “advanced a false narrative” that the 128 physicians who called for Kent and Kibbe to resign in 2023 were “motivated by greed.”

U.Va. did not yet disclose who will serve in Kibbe’s position when she leaves, nor what the timeline will be for a search for her replacement. Currently, U.Va.’s president, UVA Health’s CEO and U.Va.’s provost posts are all filled on an interim basis, following Ryan’s resignation in June and former Provost Ian Baucom’s departure to become president of Middlebury College.

Jennifer “J.J.” Wagner Davis, the university’s executive vice president and chief operating officer, is U.Va.’s acting president, until the board of visitors names a longer-term interim president to serve until a permanent replacement for Ryan is in place. On Tuesday, the board announced it is seeking suggestions from university community members for the interim president, in a portal that will remain open until July 25.

Omniplex lays off 199 Chantilly workers

Chantilly-based security firm World Services will lay off 199 employees on July 31, following the termination of an Web Services contract.

However, an Amazon spokesperson indicated that the employees will have the chance to interview for positions with the new vendor.

Omniplex, a subsidiary of -based , notified the state of the on Monday, in compliance with the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act. A letter written by Constellis human resources representative Tanni Wiersema said that its contract with IAD- is being terminated on July 31, and that the contract is the only source of work for the employees.

The majority of the positions are unarmed security officers, according to Omniplex’s letter.

Because IAD-Chantilly notified Omniplex of the contract termination on June 20, Wiersema said the company was unable to provide the 60-day layoff notice required by the WARN Act.

According to the letter, the 199 employees were working at 25316 Prediction Lane in Chantilly. While the letter does not specify what was being done at the location, datacentermap.com — an online database of — says the address is an Amazon Web Services location.

The website says that does not list its data center locations publicly and that all AWS listings in its database are based on publicly available information from third parties, open databases, property registries, construction applications, permits, tenders, news coverage and its own research.

“As part of our regular course of business, we regularly evaluate our vendor partners based on a number of factors and make changes to meet our business needs,” said Amber Plunkett, Amazon spokesperson, in a statement. “As a result of that recent review, we’re changing security vendors. Employees of our current vendor will have the opportunity to interview for positions with other contracted vendors.”

Omniplex did not immediately return requests for comment.

Wiersema’s letter says that the layoffs are expected to be permanent, and employees will not have bumping rights to another position. The employees are not represented by a union.

isn’t the only location where Omniplex is laying off employees. Link NKY, a Kentucky publication, reported last week that Omniplex filed a announcing it was laying off 73 workers in Kentucky by July 31. According to a letter written by Constellis HR representative Krystle Figueroa, the Kentucky layoffs follow a recent termination of Omniplex’s contract with AWS.

According to Omniplex’s LinkedIn page, it specializes in providing professional background investigations, intelligence support and physical security services to corporations and government agencies nationwide.

US stocks drift after an encouraging report on inflation

Summary

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stock indexes are drifting around their record levels on Wednesday following a better-than-expected update on inflation across the country.

The S&P 500 was virtually unchanged in early trading and just below its all-time high set last week. The Industrial Average was up 62 points, or 0.1%, as of 10 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was edging back by 0.1% from its own record set the day before.

eased in the bond market after a report said inflation slowed by more last month at the wholesale level than economists expected. The data offer some encouragement after a report on Tuesday suggested President Donald Trump’s tariffs are pushing up the prices U.S. shoppers are paying for toys, apparel and other imported products.

Trump’s tariffs are making their weight felt across financial markets. ASML, the world’s leading supplier of chipmaking gear, warned that it can’t guarantee any growth next year, after delivering an expected 15% growth in sales for 2025.

Conditions still look strong for ASML’s customers in the artificial-intelligence business, but CEO Christophe Fouquet said in a video that “the level of uncertainty is increasing, mostly due to macroeconomic and geopolitical consideration. And that includes, of course, tariffs.”

Shares of ASML, which is based in the Netherlands, that trade in the United States fell 10.8%.

Stocks of several U.S. banks helped to offset that after they reported stronger profits for the latest quarter than analysts expected.

PNC Financial Services Group climbed 1.5% following its better-than-expected quarterly report, thanks in part to loan growth despite what CEO Bill Demchak called “an uncertain macro environment.”

Bank of America and Goldman Sachs both swayed between modest gains and losses after likewise reporting better profit than analysts expected.

Johnson & Johnson jumped 4.4% after the drug and medical device giant beat analysts’ sales and profit targets and raised its full-year forecasts for both. CEO Joaquin Duato said it expects “game-changing approvals and submissions” in the second half of 2025 on an array of products, including for lung and bladder cancer.

GrabAGun, an online retailer of firearms and ammunition, swung sharply in its first day of trading after combining with Colombier Acquisition Corp. II and taking its spot on the under the ticker “PEW.” Donald Trump Jr., the son of President Trump, is joining the company’s board. The stock quickly went from an early gain of 19% to a drop of 31% before moderating its loss, with a few halts in trading a long the way.

In stock markets abroad, indexes were mixed amid mostly modest movements.

Stocks rose 0.7% in Jakarta after Trump said Tuesday that he plans to charge imports from Indonesia a tariff of 19%, instead of the 32% that he had threatened earlier, after reaching a trade deal.

Indonesia’s central bank also cut its key interest rate by 0.25 percentage points on Wednesday, to 5.25%.

“We have calculated everything and discussed everything. The most important thing for me is my people, as I must protect the interests of our workers,” Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto told reporters, adding that “this is our offer, and we are not able to give more (to the United States).”

In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury fell to 4.45% from 4.50% late Tuesday.

Wednesday’s encouraging report on inflation could give the some confidence that it can resume cutting interest rates later this year in order to give the economy a boost.

Wall Street loves lower interest rates because they juice prices higher for stocks and other investments, and Trump himself has been clamoring for the Federal Reserve to cut rates more quickly. But the Fed has been keeping interest rates on hold this year because lower rates can also give inflation more.

Fed Chair  has been insisting that he wants to see more data about how tariffs affect the economy and inflation before making a move.

Claude Moore foundation hires new exec director

The announced Monday that its board of trustees has appointed  John H. Cook IV as its next .

His appointment follows the June retirement of longtime Executive Director J. Hamilton Lambert, who led the foundation for more than 34 years.

In his new role, Cook will oversee the foundation’s investments in nonprofit organizations that advance workforce development, education and human services in Loudoun County and across the state.

Based in , the foundation provides assistance exclusively for charitable and educational purposes. Since its founding in 1987 by the late Dr. Claude Moore, it has awarded more than $115 million in grants, including more than $20 million to Claude Moore Scholars, a health care education program that has reached more than 35,000 students. The foundation says in the 2025 round of scholars grants, funding went to 18 grantees for application in 56 school systems across Virginia.

Cook’s priorities include supporting Claude Moore Opportunities — a statewide organization that aims to strengthen Virginia’s health care workforce pipeline, and maximizing the potential of Moorefield, the foundation’s primary endowment asset in Loudoun County.

At attorney, Cook most recently served as the foundation’s full-time chief council, a role he held since 2021, according to his LinkedIn. He was in private practice from 1990 to 2010, acting as lead counsel on more than 100 jury trials. He later worked at Glasheen, Valles & Inderman, a Texas-based personal injury law firm, from 2011 to 2019. Cook has a bachelor’s degree from Texas Tech University and received his law degree from George Mason University’s School of Law.

“I am honored to continue J’s stewardship of Dr. Moore’s legacy,” Cook said in a statement. “The foundation’s impact across Virginia has been profound, and I look forward to building on its work to expand opportunity and transform lives across the commonwealth.”

The tariff-driven inflation that economists feared begins to emerge

Summary

  • June rose to 2.7%, up from 2.4% in May
  • Price hikes seen in goods affected by Trump’s tariffs
  • Tariffs blamed for reversing months of easing inflation
  • Trump claims inflation is over, presses Fed to cut rates

WASHINGTON (AP) — Inflation rose last month to its highest level since February as President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs push up the cost of everything from groceries and clothes to furniture and appliances.

rose 2.7% in June from a year earlier, the Labor Department said Tuesday, up from an annual increase of 2.4% in May. On a monthly basis, prices climbed 0.3% from May to June, after rising just 0.1% the previous month.

Worsening inflation poses a political challenge for Trump, who as a candidate promised to immediately lower costs, but instead has engaged in a whipsawed frenzy of tariffs that have jolted businesses and consumers. Trump insists that the U.S. effectively has no inflation as he has attempted to pressure  Chair into cutting short-term interest rates.

Yet the new inflation numbers make it more likely that the central bank will leave rates where they are. Powell has said that he wants to gauge the economic impact of Trump’s tariffs before reducing borrowing costs.

Excluding volatile food and energy, core inflation increased 2.9% in June from a year earlier, up from 2.8% in May. On a monthly basis, it picked up 0.2% from May to June. Economists closely watch core prices because they typically provide a better sense of where inflation is headed.

The uptick in inflation was driven by a range of higher prices. The cost of gasoline rose 1% just from May to June, while grocery prices increased 0.3%. Appliance prices jumped for the third straight month. Toys, clothes, audio equipment, shoes, and sporting goods all got more expensive, and are all heavily imported.

“You are starting to see scattered bits of the tariff inflation regime filter in,” said Eric Winograd, chief economist at asset management firm AllianceBernstein, who added that the cost of long-lasting goods rose last month, compared with a year ago, for the first time in about three years.

Winograd also noted that housing costs, a big inflation driver since the pandemic, have continued to cool, actually holding down broader inflation. The cost of rent rose 3.8% in June compared with a year ago, the smallest yearly increase since late 2021.

“Were it not for the tariff uncertainty, the Fed would already be cutting rates,” Winograd said. “The question is whether there is more to come, and the Fed clearly thinks there is,” along with most economists.

Some items got cheaper last month, including new and used cars, hotel rooms, and airfares. Travel prices have generally declined in recent months as fewer international tourists visit the U.S.

A broader political battle over Trump’s tariffs is emerging, a fight that will ultimately be determined by how the U.S. public feels about their and whether the president is making good on his 2024 promise to help the middle class.

The White House pushed back on claims that the report showed a negative impact from tariffs, since the cost of new cars fell despite the 25% tariffs on autos and 50% tariffs on steel and aluminum. The administration also noted that despite the June bump in apparel prices, clothing prices are still cheaper than three months ago.

“Consumer Prices LOW,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “Bring down the Fed Rate, NOW!!!”

For Democratic lawmakers, the inflation report confirmed their warnings over the past several months that Trump’s tariffs could reignite inflation. They said Tuesday that it will only become more painful given the size of the tariff rates in the letters that Trump posted over the past week.

“For those saying we have not seen the impact of Trump’s tariff wars, look at today’s data. Americans continue to struggle with the costs of groceries and rent — and now prices of food and appliances are rising,” said Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.

Many businesses built up a stockpile of goods this spring and were able to delay price hikes, while others likely waited to see if the duties would become permanent.

More businesses now appear to be throwing in the towel and passing on costs to consumers, including Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, which has said it raised prices in June. Automaker Mitsubishi said last month that it was lifting prices by an average of 2.1% in response to the duties, and Nike has said it would implement “surgical” price hikes.

Powell said last month that companies up and down the supply chain would seek to avoid paying tariffs, but that ultimately some combination of businesses and consumers would bear the cost.

“There’s the manufacturer, the exporter, the importer, the retailer, and the consumer, and each one of those is going to be trying not to be the one to pay for the tariff,” the Fed chair said. “But together, they will all pay for it together—or maybe one party will pay it all. But that process is very hard to predict, and we haven’t been through a situation like this.”

Trump has imposed sweeping duties of 10% on all imports plus 30% on goods from China. Last week the president threatened to hit the European Union with a new 30% tariff starting Aug. 1.

He has also threatened to slap 50% duties on Brazil, which would push up the cost of orange juice and coffee. Orange prices leaped 3.5% just from May to June, and are 3.4% higher than a year ago, the government said Tuesday.

Overall, grocery prices rose 0.3% last month and are up 2.4% from a year earlier. While that is a much smaller increase than after the pandemic, when inflation surged, it is slightly bigger than the pre-pandemic pace. The has also placed a 17% duty on Mexican tomatoes.

Families have cut spending on food as prices rise. Cassidy Grom, 29, her husband, and his mother are eating out less and try to stretch grocery store rotisserie chickens as far as possible, using them in salads and the bones for soup.

“It feels like a miracle if I’m able to leave the grocery store without spending $100,” the Edison, New Jersey resident said. “We’re trying to save for a house, we’re trying to save for a family, so prices are really on our mind.”

Accelerated inflation could provide a respite for Powell, who has come under withering fire from the White House over interest rates.

The Fed chair has said that the duties could both push up prices and slow the economy, a tricky combination for the central bank since higher costs would typically lead the Fed to hike rates while a weaker economy often spurs it to reduce them.

Virginia casinos report $78.5M in June revenue

SUMMARY:

  • earned $78.5 million in June, down $6.9 million from May
  • in Danville led with $30.57 million in revenue
  • For the month of June, taxes from adjusted revenues totaled about $14.1 million.

June gaming revenues from Virginia’s three casinos totaled $78.5 million, down $6.9 million from May, according to a Tuesday report from the Virginia Lottery.

Last month, casino reported about $21.44 million in adjusted gaming revenues (wagers minus winnings), of which about $17.24 million came from its 1,397 slots and about $4.2 million came from its 73 table games. (The casino’s temporary facility opened in July 2022, making it the first operating casino in Virginia. The permanent Hard Rock Bristol opened in November 2024.)

, which opened as Virginia’s first permanent casino in January 2023, generated about $18.6 million in June from its 1422 slots and about $7.85 million from its 84 table games, for a total adjusted gaming revenues of about $26.46 million.

The state’s newest permanent casino, the Caesars Virginia resort in Danville, reported almost $30.57 million in adjusted gaming revenues, with about $23.1 million coming from its 1,451 slots and roughly $7.46 million coming from the casino’s 100 table games. The $800 million Caesars Virginia opened in December 2024, replacing a temporary casino that opened in May 2023.

Virginia law assesses a graduated tax on a casino’s adjusted gaming revenue. For the month of June, taxes from totaled about $14.1 million.

Under Virginia law, 6% of a casino operator’s adjusted gaming revenue goes to its host locality until the operator passes $200 million in AGR for the year, at which point the host locality’s tax rate rises to 7%. If an operator passes $400 million in AGR in the calendar year, that rises to 8%.

For June, Portsmouth received 6% of the Rivers Casino Portsmouth’s AGR, getting about $1.59 million. Danville received 6% of the Caesars Virginia casino’s adjusted gaming revenue, amounting to roughly $1.83 million. For the Bristol casino, 6% of its adjusted gaming revenue — nearly $1.29 million last month — goes to the Regional Improvement Commission, which the General Assembly established to distribute Bristol casino tax funds throughout Southwest Virginia.

The Problem Gambling Treatment and Support Fund receives 0.8% of total taxes — about $112,997 last month. The Family and Children’s Trust Fund, which funds family violence prevention and treatment programs, receives 0.2% of the monthly total, which was approximately $28,249 in June.

Two more casinos are on the horizon in Virginia.

Construction began on the long-awaited $750 million Norfolk casino in February. The Pamunkey Indian Tribe remains a partner in the venture, but Boyd Gaming replaced Tennessee investor Jon Yarbrough in 2024. A temporary casino is expected to be completed by the end of the year. Developers named Ron Bailey as vice president and general manager for the forthcoming casino earlier this month.

In November 2024, more than 80% of Petersburg voters said yes to the city’s casino referendum. Baltimore-based The Cordish Cos. and Virginia Beach developer Bruce Smith Enterprise broke ground on the much-anticipated $1.4 billion casino in March.

In May, Rivers Casino and Chicago-based Rush Street Gaming announced they are planning to break ground on a $65 million hotel in Portsmouth this summer, more than two years after the casino first opened.

Nvidia to resume highly desired AI computer chip sales to China

Summary

  • approves ‘s exports to China
  • Approval follows months of lobbying by Nvidia CEO
  • H20 chip complies with U.S. restrictions, but is less powerful
  • Nvidia shares rose 4% on news, signaling trade thaw with China

BANGKOK (AP) — Nvidia’s CEO Jensen Huang says the technology giant has won approval from the Trump administration to sell its advanced H20 computer chips used to develop  to China.

The news came in a company blog post late Monday, which stated that the U.S. government had “assured” Nvidia that licenses would be granted — and that the company “hopes to start deliveries soon.” Shares of the California-based chipmaker were up over 4% by midday Tuesday.

Huang also spoke about the coup on China’s state-run CGTN television network, in remarks shown on X.

“Today, I’m announcing that the U.S. government has approved for us filing licenses to start shipping H20s,” Huang told reporters in Beijing.

He added that half of the world’s researchers are in China. “It’s so innovative and dynamic here in China that it’s really important that American companies are able to compete and serve the market here,” he said.

Huang recently met with President Donald Trump and other U.S. policymakers — and is in Beijing this week to attend a supply chain conference and speak with Chinese officials. The broadcast showed Huang meeting with Ren Hongbin, the head of the China Council for Promotion of International Trade, host of the China International Supply Chain Expo, which Huang was attending. Nvidia is an exhibitor.

Nvidia has profited enormously from the rapid adoption of AI, becoming the first company to have its market value surpass $4 trillion last week. However, the trade rivalry between the U.S. and China has been weighing heavily on the industry.

Here’s what we know.

What is Nvidia’s H20 chip?

The H20 graphics processing unit, or GPU, is an advanced AI chip — a type of device used to build and update a range of AI systems. But it’s less powerful than Nvidia’s top semiconductors today.

That’s because the H20 chip was developed to specifically comply with U.S. restrictions for exports of AI chips to China. Nvidia’s most advanced chips, which carry more computing power, are off-limits to the Chinese market.

Washington has been tightening controls on exports of advanced technology to China for years, citing concerns that know-how meant for civilian use could be deployed for military purposes. And in January, before Trump began his second term in office, President Joe Biden’s administration launched a new framework for exporting advanced computer chips used to develop AI — in an attempt to balance national security concerns about the technology with the economic interests of producers and other countries.

Restrictions on sales of advanced chips to China have been central to the AI race between the world’s two largest economic powers, but such controls are also controversial. Proponents argue that these restrictions are necessary to slow China down enough to allow U.S. companies to keep their lead. Meanwhile, opponents say the have loopholes — and could still spur innovation. The emergence of China’s DeepSeek AI chatbot in January particularly renewed concerns over how China might use advanced chips to help develop its own AI capabilities.

What’s happened since Trump took office?

In April, just months after Trump took office, the White House announced that it would restrict sales of Nvidia’s H20 chips to China — as well as MI308 chips from rival chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices.

At the time, the Trump administration again cited national security. But Nvidia said these tighter export controls would cost the company an extra $5.5 billion — and Huang and other technology leaders have been lobbying Trump to reverse the restrictions since. They’ve argued that such limits hinder U.S. competition in a sector in one of the world’s largest markets for technology, and have also warned that U.S. export controls could end up pushing other countries toward China’s AI technology.

Monday’s announcement from Nvidia signals that its lobbyingefforts paid off — although the Trump administration has yet to publicly comment on the future of H20 chip sales in China. And the exact timing remains unknown overall. It’s also unclear whether AMD will similarly see restrictions lifted for its MI308 chips. AMD didn’t immediately return an emailed request for comment Tuesday about how Trump’s policies would affect its chip sales in China.

On top of export controls, California-based Nvidia — like other tech giants today — has been caught in the crosshairs of Trump’s tariff wars abroad, particularly amid America’s tit-for-tat levies with China. But Nvidia and its CEO have garnered Trump’s favor in recent months. In April, the company announced that it would be producing its AI chips in the U.S. for the first time, starting with more than one million square feet of manufacturing space to build and test its specialized Blackwell chips in Arizona and AI supercomputers in Texas.

Trump was quick to applaud Nvidia’s move. He introduced Huang as a “smart cookie” who was helping bring jobs to the U.S. at an “Investing in America” event held at the White House later that month.