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Southwest Virginia Community College president appointed

Clinton R. Hayes, provost of Kentucky’s Somerset Community College, will be the next of , the state’s community college system announced this week.

“We’re excited to welcome Dr. Hayes to lead Southwest Virginia Community College, and we know he will continue to provide the kind of dynamic leadership that has made SWCC such a cultural center and economic driver in its region,” David Doré, chancellor of the , said in a statement. “We also want to express our deepest thanks to Dr. Victoria Sue Ratliff, who has provided leadership at Southwest Virginia as interim president since last January.”

Hayes will start his new job July 1.

SWCC is based in Cedar Bluff and serves the counties of Buchanan, Dickenson, Russel and Tazewell. Hayes has spent much of his career at Somerset Community College, where he is provost and senior vice president of academic affairs, and previously served as associate provost, associate dean of academic affairs and director of institutional effectiveness and research. He also taught biology at Somerset and was an adjunct instructor and graduate assistant at Eastern Kentucky University, where Hayes earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees.

He earned an associate degree in science at Somerset and a doctorate in education at University of the Cumberlands.

“As a first-generation college student from a rural community whose life was shaped by the education and support I received at a community college, I understand firsthand the transformative power of institutions like Southwest Virginia,” Hayes said. “I look forward to working alongside faculty, staff and community partners to build on the college’s remarkable legacy and invest in the future of our region by helping more students succeed in ways that transform their lives, support their families and strengthen the communities they call home.”

Tommy Wright, SWCC’s previous president, left last year to become the VCCS’s senior vice chancellor for finance and operations. He served as president beginning in 2018.

Institute of Peace reclaims its headquarters after court win over Musk’s cost-cutting team

SUMMARY:

  • Federal judge rules that ‘s illegally fired nonprofit ‘s board and employees in March
  • Two months after being escorted off premises, the institute’s acting and attorney returned to its Washington, D.C., headquarters this week
  • Institute officials say they plan to hire back employees

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Institute of Peace retook control of its headquarters Wednesday, two days after a federal judge said the firing of its board and employees by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency was illegal.

The institute’s acting president, , entered the organization’s headquarters with private security and the institute’s outside attorney for the first time since being escorted off the premises during the DOGE takeover. Moose and most of the institute’s board were fired in March, part of the mass slashing of the spearheaded by Musk.

The institute and many of its board members filed a lawsuit against the administration soon after, seeking to prevent their removal and stop DOGE from taking over its operations. U.S. District Court Judge Beryl A. Howell’s opinion on Monday reversed DOGE’s actions.

Speaking after a short examination of the headquarters, Moose said all appeared to be in order.

“We just did a quick walk-through — externally, visibly, things look to be in pretty good shape,” he said. “I didn’t see anything, any destruction, if you will, no damage that I can see that is visible.”

Moose, a former ambassador and career member of the U.S. Foreign Service, said a team of employees from human resources, technology and finance would be in the building Thursday getting the nonprofit ready to welcome back its workforce. He expected to bring back all the staff who want to return.

In an email Wednesday, White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly did not comment on workers returning to the building, but signaled that the administration may challenge the decision.

“President Trump is right to reduce failed, useless entities like USIP to their statutory minimum, and the rogue judge’s attempt to impede on the separation of powers will not be the last say on the matter,” she said.

The administration filed a motion of appeal Wednesday evening and requested a stay of the judge’s ruling while that appeal is considered, arguing in part that Howell “erred” in concluding that the institution’s functions were not executive functions.

Agencies across the federal government have been slashed or dismantled by Musk’s DOGE team. Wednesday’s low-key scene at the institute’s headquarters marked a rare moment when a DOGE-targeted agency or organization has been able to begin reestablishing itself.

The judge’s ruling said the did not have authority to unilaterally dismantle the institute, which was established by Congress in 1984 as an independent organization that would promote peace and seek to end conflicts around the world. It was operating in more than two dozen conflict zones at the time Musk’s team took it over and shut it down.

The saga began when Trump issued an executive order in February that targeted the institute and three other agencies for closure in an effort to deliver on campaign promises to shrink the size of the government. The first attempt by DOGE to take over the headquarters led to a standoff. Members of Musk’s DOGE group returned days later with the FBI and District of Columbia Metropolitan Police to help them gain entry.

DOGE installed new leadership, ordered a mass firing of nearly all the staff through their private emails, and handed over the institute’s headquarters to the General Services Administration.

The institute, concerned about liability and security of the building in the aftermath of the judge’s ruling, reached out to the government attorneys earlier this week and again on Wednesday. George Foote, the institute’s outside attorney, said the exchange was very smooth and orderly.

Moose said the goal now is to get back to the work the institute was created to do 40 years ago and “projects, ideas that are, we believe, of interest to the American people.”

DOJ reaches deal with Boeing to avoid prosecution over 737 Max crashes

SUMMARY:

  • strikes deal with DOJ to avoid prosecution
  • Company to pay and invest over $1.1 billion
  • Charges stem from crashes in 2018 and 2019 that killed 346
  • Victims’ families oppose the DOJ’s agreement

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department has reached a deal with Boeing that will allow the company to avoid for allegedly misleading U.S. regulators about the 737 Max jetliner before two of the planes crashed and killed 346 people, according to court papers filed Friday.

Under the “agreement in principle” that still needs to be finalized, Boeing would pay and invest more than $1.1 billion, including an additional $445 million for the ‘ families, the Justice Department said. In return, the department would dismiss the fraud charge in the criminal case against the aircraft manufacturer.

“Ultimately, in applying the facts, the law, and Department policy, we are confident that this resolution is the most just outcome with practical benefits,” a Justice Department spokesperson said in a statement.

“Nothing will diminish the victims’ losses, but this resolution holds Boeing financially accountable, provides finality and compensation for the families and makes an impact for the safety of future air travelers.”

Many relatives of the passengers who died in the crashes, which took place off the coast of Indonesia and in Ethiopia less than five months apart in 2018 and 2019, have spent years pushing for a public trial, the prosecution of former company officials, and more severe financial punishment for Boeing.

“Although the DOJ proposed a fine and financial restitution to the victims’ families, the families that I represent contend that it is more important for Boeing to be held accountable to the flying public,” Paul Cassell, an attorney for many of the families in the long-running case, said in a statement earlier this week.

Boeing was accused of misleading the Federal Aviation Administration about aspects of the Max before the agency certified the plane for flight. Boeing did not tell airlines and pilots about a new software system, called MCAS, that could turn the plane’s nose down without input from pilots if a sensor detected that the plane might go into an aerodynamic stall.

The Max planes crashed after a faulty reading from the sensor pushed the nose down and pilots were unable to regain control. After the second crash, Max jets were grounded worldwide until the company redesigned MCAS to make it less powerful and to use signals from two sensors, not just one.

In 2021, Boeing settled with the Justice Department for $2.5 billion that included a previous $243.6 million fine, but last year, prosecutors said Boeing violated terms of the agreement by failing to make promised changes to detect and prevent violations of federal anti-fraud laws. Boeing agreed last July to plead guilty to the felony fraud charge instead of enduring a potentially lengthy public trial.

In December 2024, a federal judge rejected the plea deal, and since then, the Justice Department and Boeing have been discussing a new deal. A criminal trial was expected to start in Texas in June, and last week, the Justice Department said it would consider written submissions from crash victims’ family members through May 22.

The criminal case developed after the January 2024 midair blowout of the door on a Boeing jet being flown for Alaska Airlines. The incident led to federal investigations, cancelled jet sales, nearly $12 billion in revenue loss and the resignation of former and Dave Calhoun, who was replaced by Kelly Ortberg in September 2024.

Virginia Business Deputy Editor Kate Andrews contributed to this story.

Booz Allen CEO says 7% of employees to be laid off

SUMMARY:

  • Hamilton , and Horacio Rozanski announced 7%, or about 2,500, of its employees will be laid off by the end of June.
  • Most affected employees are in the civil division of the -based company, which has seen flat revenue since the start of the year, and Rozanski anticipates 6% decline in consolidated top line for fiscal 2026
  • Five major civil contracts’ run rates were reduced in April, and a VA contract concluded at end of fiscal 2025, Rozanski said

McLean-based Fortune 500 management consulting business will lay off 7% of its 35,800-employee workforce, mainly in its civil division, Chairman, CEO and President Horacio Rozanski said Friday during an earnings call.

That works out to about 2,500 employees.

Noting that there has been a “slowdown in the civil procurement and spending environment” recently in the federal government, Rozanski said that five of Booz Allen’s major civil technology contracts’ run rates were reduced in April. Meanwhile, a major Veterans Affairs tech contract ended in the last fiscal year.

The loss of the VA contract and the reduction in run rates for the other five contracts are expected to lower Booz Allen’s consolidated top line by 6% in fiscal 2026, Rozanski said.

“As a result of these factors, year-over-year revenue in civil was flat in the fourth quarter, and we now anticipate that our civil business will see a revenue decline in the low double digits in FY26,” he said. “However, we do anticipate our civil business will rebound, as a number of big transformation and efficiency initiatives for our civil customers are already beginning to take shape.”

The , which will be “heavily concentrated” in Booz Allen’s civil division, will take place during the business’s first quarter, which ends June 30, Rozanski said during the call. He did not specify how many people based in Virginia will be impacted by the layoffs, although some of the civil sector’s leaders are based in Northern Virginia. A spokesperson for the company did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday.

Despite the challenges in Booz Allen’s civil sector, the company recently won three contracts from the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and the Air Force totaling $1.2 billion, and its qualified pipeline for fiscal 2026 is $53.4 billion — a decrease from fiscal 2025 but higher than the pipeline was in fiscal 2024, Rozanski said.

Kristine Martin Anderson, Booz Allen’s and , said that the federal government has reviewed the “vast majority” of the company’s civil projects as part of a government-wide reassessment of spending.

“We weren’t targeted in those reviews,” Anderson said during the earnings call. “What we saw was agencies and departments looking at their full portfolio with targets in mind, whether it was on or off the [General Services Administration] list. This is really agency-driven.”

Rozanski noted that federal procurement “slowed down significantly” after President Donald took office in January because many sub-Cabinet level positions had not yet been filled, “and people were waiting to see what the specific agendas were. Now that those are beginning to get flushed out, we’re getting strong indication that because our tech works … we’re gonna see growth in the second half” of 2025.

Booz Allen announced Friday that its fiscal 2025 total revenue was up 12.4% year-over-year, reaching $12 billion, with $4.17 billion in civil division revenue, up from $3.83 billion in fiscal 2024. However, in the first three months of 2025, civil revenue was at $989 million, slightly down from the same quarter in 2024, when the company reported $992 million in civil revenue.

Choice Financial announces new president, mid-Atlantic leader

SUMMARY:

-based insurance broker Choice Financial Group has announced several changes to its leadership this month.

Troy Dillow has been named president and chief operating officer, where he will be responsible for leading the company’s day-to-day operations and executing strategic initiatives. He joined the organization in 2021 as its first merger partner through the acquisition of Bernier Insurance in Rochester, New Hampshire. He later helped the company expand and was most recently executive vice president of operations and carrier relations.

Bob Hilb, chairman and CEO of Choice Financial Group
Bob Hilb, chairman and CEO of Choice Financial Group. Photo courtesy Choice Financial Group

“Troy has lived every chapter of the Choice story,” Choice CEO Bob Hilb said in a statement. “He’s been an independent agency owner, an integration leader, and a trusted voice in our most important conversations. I could not be more enthusiastic about this appointment; Troy is a true partner to me and our leadership team. Most importantly, however, is how our other merger partners respect Troy and embrace his leadership.”

Before his insurance career, Dillow was a nuclear general foreman and later nuclear director at the U.S. Department of Defense, overseeing modernization and decommissioning of nuclear submarines. He entered the insurance industry in 2015 and, in 2017, acquired Bernier Insurance from his father-in-law, Harvey Bernier Jr.

“I’m honored to step into this role at such a defining moment for our company,” Dillow said in a statement. “What makes Choice special is our commitment to preserving the independence and legacy of our partners while equipping them with the tools to grow stronger together. It’s a mission I believe in deeply because I’ve lived it.”

Meanwhile, Joe Harrow has joined as executive vice president of the mid-Atlantic region, in a newly established role where he will oversee growth strategy, talent, mergers and acquisitions and market relationships. His early focus will be on Maryland, Washington, D.C., West Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina.

Joe Harrow has joined Choice Financial Group as executive vice president, Mid-Atlantic. Photo Courtesy Choice Financial Group
Joe Harrow has joined Choice Financial Group as executive vice president for the mid-Atlantic region. Photo courtesy Choice Financial Group

Harrow started his career in before transitioning into the insurance industry in 1994, founding Mid-Penn Insurance in Williamsburg. He led Mid-Penn until its acquisition by TowneBank in 2018. After the acquisition, Harrow was president of Towne’s Virginia market until 2022. Since then, Harrow has worked as chief development officer and risk for VersAbility Resources, an organization dedicated to supporting people with disabilities.

“I am excited to join Choice because it stood out to me as a unique place where agency owners keep their entrepreneurial independence while also being able to collaborate with other agency partners to provide the best solutions for our clients,” said Harrow in a statement.

In a statement, Hilb praised Harrow’s “ability to think and act strategically while at the same time execute a myriad number of details” for clients.

Meanwhile, Hilb has taken on the title of chairman in addition to CEO. He is the founder of Richmond-based broker The Hilb Group and has led more than 30 acquisitions at Choice.

Based in Virginia Beach, Choice includes more than 30 partner agencies across more than 20 states and is backed with funding from private equity firm Northlane Capital Partners.

Stocks fall as Trump threatens EU tariffs

SUMMARY:

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are falling on Friday after Donald Trump threatened 50% tariffs on the European Union that could begin in a little more than a week.

The S&P 500 was down 0.5% in afternoon trading and on track for its worst week in the last seven. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 189 points, or 0.5%, as of 1:12 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.7% lower.

Trump threatened the tariffs before the U.S. opened, saying on his Truth Social platform that trade talks with the European Union “were going nowhere” and that “straight 50%” tariffs could go into effect on June 1. The European Union is one of the United States’ largest trading partners.

Stocks fell immediately afterward in Europe, with France’s CAC 40 index losing 1.7%, and the threat shook the futures market for U.S. stock indexes, which earlier had been suggesting only modest moves at the open of trading. U.S. stock indexes fell less than their European counterparts, but the damage was still widespread, and four out of every five stocks within the S&P 500 sank.

Apple dropped 2.6% and was one of the heaviest weights on the index after Trump went after the company specifically. He said he’s been pushing Apple Tim Cook to move production of iPhones sold in this country to the United States, and he warned a tariff “of at least 25% must be paid by Apple to the U.S.” if it doesn’t.

Trump has been criticizing companies individually when he’s frustrated with how they’re acting because of his tariffs and because of the uncertainty his  has created. He earlier told Walmart it should “eat the tariffs,” along with China, after the retailer said it would likely have to raise prices to cover the increased cost of imports.

Deckers Outdoor, the company behind the Hoka and Uggs brands, became one of the latest companies to say all the uncertainty around the economy means it won’t offer financial forecasts for the full upcoming year. Instead, it gave forecasts only for the upcoming quarter, and they fell short of analysts’ expectations for revenue and profit.

That sent its stock down 18.6%, even though the company reported a stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than expected.

Ross Stores fell 9.8% after it pulled its financial forecasts for the full year, citing how more than half the goods it sells originate in China. “As such, we expect pressure on our profitability if tariffs remain at elevated levels,” CEO Jim Conroy said.

The off-price retailer gave a forecast for profit in the current quarter that included a hit taken from tariffs, and it fell short of analysts’ expectations. That dragged its stock down even though the company also reported a better profit for the latest quarter than expected.

“The volatility of trade policies and the corresponding impact on the economy, the consumer, and our profitability is highly unpredictable,” Conroy said.

On the winning side of Wall Street was Intuit, which rose 7.8% after the company behind TurboTax and Credit Karma reported a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected thanks in part to a strong tax season. Perhaps more importantly, Intuit also raised its forecasts for revenue and profit over its full fiscal year.

Trump’s latest tariff threats are stirring up Wall Street after it had recovered nearly all of the losses it had earlier taken because of the trade war. The S&P 500 dropped roughly 20% below its record at one point last month, when worries were at their height about whether Trump’s stiff tariffs would cause a global recession. The index then climbed back within 3% of its all-time high after Trump paused his tariffs on many countries, most notably China.

In the bond market, Treasury yields fell after swinging back and forth a few times. The yield on the 10-year Treasury eased to 4.50% from 4.54% late Thursday.

It had been running higher earlier in the week, in part on worries about how Washington’s efforts to cut taxes could add trillions of dollars to the U.S. government’s debt. Higher Treasury yields can drive up mortgages and rates for other kinds of loans, which can in turn slow the economy. They also can discourage investors from paying high prices for stocks and other investments.

In stock markets abroad, indexes were mixed in Asia, where markets closed before Trump issued his latest tariff threats. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.5%, while stocks fell 0.9% in Shanghai.

The price of gold, meanwhile, climbed 1.9% as investors looked for safer places to park their cash.

 

Notes: Eds: UPDATES: trading.

Atlantic Union CFO announces retirement

Henrico County-based announced Thursday that and Robert M. Gorman plans to retire on or before March 31, 2026.

He will continue to hold the positions until his successor’s appointment or retirement date, whichever is earlier. After a successor is appointed, Gorman will assist the company in an advisory capacity to help with the transition.

Atlantic Union has launched a nationwide search for a successor and will consider internal and external candidates. A company spokesperson said Atlantic Union hopes to have a successor in place by the end of the year.

“Rob’s focus on delivering top-tier financial performance and creating long-term shareholder value has established Atlantic Union as a well-respected market leader,” John Asbury said in a statement. “We are grateful for his dedication, sound advice, leadership and consistently selfless approach to his role. We congratulate Rob as he prepares to conclude his distinguished career and enter his next chapter of a well-earned retirement. On behalf of all of us at Atlantic Union, we wish to thank Rob for all he has done for our company, teammates and shareholders.”

Gorman has been Atlantic Union’s since 2012, as it rose from a $4 billion asset community bank focused primarily on serving customers in Richmond and surrounding areas to a nearly $40 billion institution with 129 branches across Virginia and parts of Maryland and North Carolina, as of Dec. 31, 2024. He previously worked for SunTrust as corporate strategic financial officer and a senior vice , as well as serving in roles at FleetBoston Financial and Liberty Mutual Insurance Group.

“It has been a great privilege to serve as Atlantic Union’s chief financial officer over the past 13 years and to work alongside John and such a talented and dedicated group of professionals,” Gorman said in a statement. “Together, we have achieved significant milestones, navigated numerous challenges and built a strong foundation for the future. I believe that Atlantic Union is well-positioned to continue to generate sustainable, profitable growth and to build long-term value for our shareholders.”

With its $1.3 billion acquisition of Maryland’s Sandy Spring Bancorp completed in April, the bank gained 53 branches across Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C. Before merger-related adjustments, the newly combined Atlantic Union has $38.7 billion in total assets, $32.1 billion in total deposits and $30 billion in total loans held for investment, the bank reported.

Last week, Atlantic Union announced that Bradley S. Haun will be its next chief risk officer when Sherry Williams retires July 1.

Trump hosts $TRUMP crypto backers amid bitcoin surge

SUMMARY:

  • hosted top investors at his Virginia golf club
  • prices are surging, boosting crypto market interest
  • Senate advances pro- amid industry momentum
  • Critics question anonymous access to Trump via meme coin buys

WASHINGTON (AP) — It seems like a triumph for a industry that has long sought mainstream acceptance: Top investors in one of Donald Trump’s crypto projects dining with him at his luxury golf club in Northern Virginia, on the heels of the Senate advancing key pro-crypto legislation and while bitcoin prices soar.

But Thursday night’s dinner for the 220 biggest investors in the $TRUMP meme coin has raised uncomfortable questions about potentially shadowy buyers using the anonymity of the internet to buy access to the president.

While critics charge that Trump is using the power of the presidency to boost profits for his family business, even some pro-Trump crypto enthusiasts worry that the president’s push into isn’t helping their efforts to establish the credibility, stability and legitimacy they had thought his administration would bring to their businesses.

After feeling unfairly targeted by the Biden administration, the industry has quickly become a dominant political force, donating huge sums to help Trump and crypto-friendly lawmakers. But that’s also served to tether the industry — sometimes uncomfortably — to a president who is using crypto as a platform to make money for his brand in unprecedented ways.

“It’s distasteful and an unnecessary distraction,” said Nic Carter, a Trump supporter and partner at the crypto investment firm Castle Island Ventures, who said the president is “hugging us to death” with his private crypto businesses. “We would much rather that he passes common sense legislation and leave it at that.”

Concerns about Trump’s crypto ventures predate Inauguration Day

At the swanky Crypto Ball held down the street from the White House three days before he took office on Jan. 20, Trump announced the creation of the meme coin $TRUMP as a way for his supporters to “have fun.”

Meme coins are the crypto sector’s black sheep. They are often created as a joke, with no real utility and prone to extremely wild price swings that tend to enrich a small group of insiders at the expense of less sophisticated investors.

The president’s meme coin is different, however, and has a clear utility: access to Trump. The top 25 investors of $TRUMP were invited to a private reception with the president Thursday, with the top four getting $100,000 crypto-themed and Trump-branded watches.

Trump’s meme coin saw an initial spike in value, followed by a steep drop. Its creators, which include an entity controlled by the Trump Organization, have made hundreds of millions of dollars by collecting fees on trades.

First lady Melania Trump has her own meme coin, and Trump’s sons, Eric and Don Jr. — who are running the Trump Organization while their father is president — announced they are partnering with an existing firm to create a crypto mining company.

The Trump family also holds about a 60% stake in World Liberty Financial, a crypto project that provides yet another avenue where investors are buying in and enriching the president’s relatives. World Liberty has launched its own stablecoin, USD1. The project got a boost recently when World Liberty announced an investment fund in the United Arab Emirates would be using $2 billion worth of USD1 to purchase a stake in Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange.

Stablecoins have values pegged to fixed assets like the U.S. dollar. Issuers profit by collecting the interest on the Treasury bonds and other assets used to back the stablecoins.

Crypto is now one of the most significant sources of the Trump family’s wealth.

“He’s becoming a salesman-in-chief,” said James Thurber, an American University professor emeritus who has long studied and taught about corruption around the world. “It allows for huge conflicts of interest.”

How Trump changed his mind on crypto

“I’m a big crypto fan,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One during last week’s trip to the Middle East. “I’ve been that from the beginning, right from the campaign.”

That wasn’t always true. During his first term, Trump posted in July 2019 that cryptocurrencies were “not money” and had value that was “highly volatile and based on thin air.”

“Unregulated Crypto Assets can facilitate unlawful behavior, including drug trade,” he added then. Even after leaving office in 2021, Trump told Fox Business Network that bitcoin, the world’s most popular cryptocurrency, “seems like a scam.”

Trump began to shift during a crypto event at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida in May 2024, receiving assurances that industry backers would spend lavishly to get him reelected. Another major milestone came last June, when Trump attended a high-dollar fundraiser at the San Francisco home of David Sacks.

He further warmed to the industry weeks later, when Trump met at Mar-a-Lago with bitcoin miners. The following month, he addressed a major crypto conference in Nashville, promising to make the U.S. the “crypto capital of the planet.”

Those close to Trump, including his sons and billionaire , helped further push his embrace of the industry. Sacks is now the ‘s crypto czar, and many Cabinet members — including Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth — have long been enthusiastic crypto boosters.

“I don’t have faith in the dollar,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a 2023 interview. “I’m bullish on bitcoin.”

Trump + crypto: A political marriage of convenience

Many top crypto backers were naturally wary of traditional politics, but gravitated toward Trump last year. They bristled at Democratic President Joe Biden’s Securities and Exchange Commission aggressively bringing civil suits against several major crypto companies.

Since Trump took office, many such cases have been dropped or paused, including one alleging that Justin Sun, a China-born crypto entrepreneur, and his company engaged in market manipulation and paid celebrities for undisclosed promotions.

Sun, who once paid $6.2 million for a piece of art involving a banana taped to a wall, and then ate the banana, helped the Trumps start World Liberty Financial with an early $75 million investment.

Sun has disclosed on social media that he is the biggest holder of $TRUMP meme coins and is attending Thursday’s dinner.

“I’m excited to connect with everyone, talk crypto, and discuss the future of our industry,” Sun said.

Are Trump family profits hurting other crypto investors?

Trump has signed executive orders promoting the industry, including calls to create a government bitcoin reserve. In March, Trump convened the first cryptocurrency summit at the White House.

But some of the industry’s biggest names, often brash and outspoken, have kept mostly mum on Trump’s meme coins and other projects.

“It’s not my place to really comment on President Trump’s activity,” Coinbase Brian Armstrong said at a recent public event.

Meanwhile, a top legislative priority for crypto-backers, a bill clarifying how digital assets are to be regulated, has advanced in the Senate. But some Democrats have tried to stall other pro-crypto legislation over the president’s personal dealings — and see the dinner as a particularly egregious case.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat, said the gathering was “in effect, putting a ‘for sale’ sign on the White House.”

“It’s auctioning off access,” Blumenthal said on a Thursday press call.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the president is attending “in his personal time.” The White House has also said it has nothing to do with Trump’s meme coin.

The president’s comments and activities at the dinner are expected to be in private and away from reporters and no official list of attendees has been released.

Like Sun, however, some of those going have publicized qualifying for the dinner. That includes Sheldon Xia, the founder of a cryptocurrency exchange called BitMart, which is registered in the Cayman Islands.

“Proud to support President Trump’s pro-crypto vision.” Xia wrote in both English and Chinese on social media.

Thurber, the expert on government and ethics, said Trump’s “personal attention to crypto at this dinner helps the crypto industry.”

“But also it’s risky,” he said, “because they could all lose a lot of money.”

Dewberry taps new COO, division presidents

SUMMARY:

  • appointed Darren Conner as , Dave Maxwell as of Dewberry Engineers, Dave Mahoney as president of program delivery and Phil Thiel as president of the division
  • Conner will oversee strategic planning and business development; Maxwell will lead operations across 10+ units; Mahoney will manage program delivery and risk; Thiel will focus on federal contracts and geospatial technology
  • Each executive brings strong engineering backgrounds and leadership experience from within Dewberry

County-based engineering, architecture and firm Dewberry is making several changes to its executive leadership.

Dewberry announced Thursday that Darren Conner has been named the firm’s chief operating officer, overseeing business development and strategic planning for the firm’s 60 offices. He will also align the company’s management program to serve new and existing clients.

Connor was most recently president of Dewberry Engineers, the firm’s engineering practice. He has a bachelor’s degree in from Virginia Tech and an associate’s degree in pre-engineering from Danville Community College.

Dave Maxwell. Image courtesy Dewberry

The new president of Dewberry Engineers is Dave Maxwell, who will oversee operations and growth for more than 10 operating units. In the role, he will provide services to customers in the community facilities, education, energy, health and wellness, industrial, justice, real estate and commercial development, telecommunications, transportation and water market segments.

Before being promoted, Maxwell was the operating unit for Dewberry’s Southeast and mid-Atlantic operations. Maxwell has a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Virginia.

Dave Mahoney. Photo courtesy Dewberry
Dave Mahoney. Photo courtesy Dewberry

Dewberry named Dave Mahoney the president of its program delivery practice. He will oversee the firm’s program delivery functions and associated risk management teams. He also is the market segment leader for the firm’s transportation and alternative project delivery practices. Mahoney has a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from South Dakota State University.

Phil Thiel has been named president of the firm’s consulting division, supporting the firm’s federal clients and contracts. According to his LinkedIn account, he has overseen Dewberry’s federal, geospatial and technology practice for the past 24 years, and he will continue with his geospatial and technology leadership responsibilities in the new position.

Thiel will also support the firm’s newly acquired One Acquisition Solution for Integrated Services Plus contract, awarded by the U.S. General Services Administration, including staff augmentation.

Phil Thiel has been named president of Dewberry's consulting division. Image Courtesy Dewberry
Phil Thiel. Image courtesy Dewberry

Thiel has two bachelor’s degrees from Brenau University in Georgia, one in business administration and another in fire protection. He is a member of ESRI’s Partner Advisory Council, the National Geospatial Advisory Council, the Society of American Military Engineers and U.S. Chamber of Commerce. He is on the board of directors of the Management Association for Private Photogrammetric Surveyors. Thiel is also co-founder of the National States Geographic Information Council.

“I am confident these four tenured leaders will help strengthen, grow and advance the future of Dewberry,” Dewberry Donald E. Stone Jr. said in a statement. “As an organization, we are constantly evolving to make sure we’re responsive to the complex changes that this industry presents, and making these appointments to our senior leadership team is a natural evolution of those changes.”

Dewberry, which was established in 1956, reported $683.12 million in revenue in 2024. It has more than 60 locations nationwide and more than 2,500 employees.

Virginia unemployment rate rises slightly in April to 3.3%

SUMMARY:

  • Virginia rate in April 2025 is 3.3%, up from 3.2% in March and 2.8% in April 2024
  • have been higher in May, according to weekly reports by the state
  • For the week ending May 17, initial unemployment claims fell by 32%, but continued claims are 8.9% higher
  • Initial and continued unemployment claims are more than 20% higher than they were in May 2024

Virginia’s unemployment rates continue to see an incremental rise, according to April data from the state’s Department of Workforce Development and Advancement, also known as .

In April, the state’s unemployment rate rose a tenth of a percentage point to 3.3% compared to 3.2% in March and half a percentage point from April 2024’s unemployment rate of 2.8%. The state’s joblessness rate is below the national rate of 4.2%, Virginia Works reported Wednesday.

However, Virginia could see the unemployment rate climb in May, as weekly reports have shown major increases in the state’s unemployment insurance claims this month. For the week ending May 10, 3,992 people filed initial claims, a 46.8% increase from the previous week, Virginia Works reported May 15.

For the week ending May 17, initial unemployment insurance claims fell by 32% to 2,715 new claims, but continued weeks claims were 8.9% higher than the previous week, with 19,765 people filing continued claims for unemployment insurance, compared to 18,144 in the week ending May 10. Unemployment claims were considerably higher than the comparable week in 2024, with 22.1% more people filing new claims this year and 24.7% more filing continued claims.

According to Virginia Works, which reports unemployment claims weekly, workers in professional, scientific and technical services have been hit the hardest, with 387 people filing new claims and 4,075 filing continued claims last week. Accommodation and food services, administrative and support and waste management, health care, retail and manufacturing also suffered job losses.

In its quarterly economic forecast issued May 13, the University of Virginia’s Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service estimated that the state could lose 32,000 jobs this year and that the monthly unemployment rate could rise to an average of 3.9% in 2025 and up to 4.7% in early 2026.

Household survey data collected in April shows the labor force decreased by 7,540 to 4,579,104 as the number of unemployed residents increased by 6,305 to 151,942. The state agency reports that Virginia’s employed residents decreased by 13,845 to 4,427,162.

The Virginia labor force participation rate — the proportion of the civilian population ages 16 and older employed or actively looking for work — dropped from 65.5% in March to 65.4% in April.

The largest job losses in April occurred in manufacturing, which dropped by 1,300 to 242,900, and professional and business services, which dropped 1,300 to 807,000. The third largest job losses occurred in education and health services, which declined by 1,100 to 630,400. The other losses were the federal government (down 900 to 191,600); trade, transportation and utilities (down 500 to 679,800) and mining and logging (down 100 to 7,100.)

Last week, Old Dominion University Economist Bob McNab said that many job losses were due to federal and imposed by Donald ‘s administration. Also, in May Georgia-Pacific informed its employees in Emporia that it was closing its plant there, leading to 554 layoffs.

In one bright spot, Virginia’s nonagricultural employment in April increased by 500 from March to 4,272,700. Virginia Works reports that March’s preliminary estimate of employment, after revision, increased by 800 to 4,272,200. April’s nonagricultural employment numbers are a 47,900 increase from the previous year’s 4,224,800.

“In addition to the 500 nonfarm payroll jobs added in April, March’s positive revision includes another 800 jobs,” said in a May 21 news release. “This report underscores the resiliency of Virginia’s labor market and the need for us to continue our pro-growth policies that have seen record investment by companies wanting to be part of Virginia’s future.”

April also saw private sector employment increase by 1,100 from March to 3,510,600. The biggest job gains in April from March were in (up 4,300 to 228,400), leisure and hospitality (up 700 to 418,700) and information (up 400 to 70,600).

Secretary of Labor Bryan Slater said in the governor’s release that despite a dip in overall labor force numbers, “businesses across Virginia are still adding jobs.”

“We’re working closely with industries to support expansion and investment that will drive long-term job creation,” Slater said. “Virginia continues to attract and retain high-quality employers. The growth in nonfarm payroll employment is a sign that companies remain confident in our workforce and economy.”