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Union Pacific profit rises 7% as merger push continues

Summary

  • earned $1.79B in Q3, up 7% year over year
  • CEO promotes $85B merger with
  • Deal would create the first transcontinental U.S. railroad
  • , chemical shippers raise competition concerns

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Union Pacific delivered 7% growth in its third-quarter Thursday as its CEO continues to make the case for the potential benefits of acquiring one of the railroad’s eastern rivals.

The Omaha, Nebraska-based railroad said it earned $1.79 billion, or $3.01 per share, in the quarter. That’s up from $1.67 billion, or $2.75 per share, a year ago. And without $41 million in merger costs the railroad would have made $3.08 per share but either number would have beat the estimates of $2.97 per share.

Union Pacific wants to buy Norfolk Southern in a $85 billion deal that would create the first transcontinental railroad. That deal faces a lengthy review by the U.S. Surface Board before the companies would be able to merger Union Pacific’s vast network in the West with Norfolk Southern’s operation in the Eastern United States. Norfolk Southern will report its earnings Thursday afternoon.

Union Pacific CEO Jim Vena wrote a letter to employees reiterating that he thinks the merger is great for America because it would enable the railroad to deliver goods more quickly and help the companies that rely on its deliveries of raw materials and finished products.

He said other railroads that have come out against the merger like BNSF tend to look backward at the problems that followed past mergers in the 1990s while he is looking forward to finding the best way to compete against trucks and respond to advancements in technology. The merger has picked up support from the largest rail union and a number of shippers, but other companies — particularly chemical producers — have said they think the deal will hurt competition and lead to higher rates.

“While Union Pacific has good opportunities to grow, the rail industry is going to be challenged by technology in the trucking and shipping industries,” Vena wrote. “Union Pacific continues to invest in technology, but if we truly want to compete and grow the business, we must have a network that is set up to provide seamless service at a cost-effective price, positioning manufacturers to win in the marketplace.”

BNSF sent a letter to its customers last month urging them to express their concerns about the merger to the STB because that railroad, which is owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, believes the combination would hurt competition in the industry. BNSF has said it believes railroads can better serve their customers by cooperating instead of undertaking costly and complicated mergers.

CPKC and Canadian National railroads have also come out in favor of more cooperative agreements instead of mergers, but has said the deal sounds good to him.

Union Pacific said it remains on track to deliver profits this year in line with its three-year goal for high-single digit to low double-digit growth.

This quarter the railroad was able to deliver 3% growth in revenue largely through higher rates even though the number of carloads it delivered was essentially flat.

Stocks, gold fall as Wall Street momentum fades

Summary

  • dropped 0.5%, still near its all-time high
  • Dow fell 0.7%, slid 0.9%
  • profit miss weighed on
  • Gold fell for second day after reaching record high

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. and the price of gold fell on Wednesday, as momentum on reverses.

The S&P 500 sank 0.5%, though it’s still within 1% of its all-time high set earlier this month. The Industrial Average dropped 334 points, or 0.7%, from its record set the day before, while the Nasdaq composite fell 0.9%.

Netflix helped drag the market lower after delivering a weaker profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. The pressure is on the video streamer and on companies broadly to deliver solid growth in profits. That would counter criticism that their stock prices shot too high following a 35% romp for the S&P 500 from a low in April.

Netflix’s stock came into the day with a jump of 39.3% for the year so far, more than double the S&P 500’s gain, before it dropped 10.1% on Wednesday.

AT&T fell 1.9% after delivering a profit that only matched analysts’ expectations, while Texas Instruments sank 5.6% after its profit fell just short of forecasts.

On the winning side of Wall Street was Intuitive Surgical, which sells robotic-assisted surgical systems. It jumped 13.9% after reporting better profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. Boston Scientific climbed 4% after likewise topping analysts’ profit expectations.

Capital One Financial rose 1.5%, and Western Alliance Bancorp climbed 3.2% following their own profit updates that beat analysts’ expectations. The report from Western Alliance was particularly welcome after it helped shake confidence in the industry last week. It’s one of several banks that had warned of potentially bad loans on its books, possibly because of fraud.

, meanwhile, swung sharply through a manic Wednesday. After surging as much as 112% in the morning, its stock erased all of that to finish with a drop of 1.1%. It’s still up 454.5% for the week so far in the midst of its meme-stock run.

The maker of plant-based meat alternatives was the biggest holding in the Roundhill Meme Stock exchange-traded fund, as of Tuesday. The ETF holds stocks where investors have piled in because they’re hoping to catch a wave of momentum, almost regardless of how or even what the businesses themselves are doing.

All told, the S&P 500 fell 35.95 points to 6,699.40. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 334.33 to 46,590.41, and the Nasdaq composite sank 213.27 to 22,740.40.

Momentum continued to head the other way for gold, which fell 1.1% to $4,065.40 per ounce. That’s after Tuesday’s 5.3% slide knocked it off its record high.

Many of the same factors that drew buyers to gold this year are still there. The expectation along Wall Street is still for the  to cut interest rates through next year. Concerns are growing about  remaining high. And the worrisome mountains of debt that the U.S. and other governments worldwide have amassed are only rising further.

But no investment’s price goes up forever, and criticism had been growing that gold’s price had gone too far, too fast after it shot up even more than the U.S. stock market. Gold’s price is still up 56% for the year so far.

In stock markets abroad, indexes were mixed across Europe and Asia.

London’s FTSE 100 added 0.9% after a report on U.K. inflation raised hopes for another cut to interest rates next month. South Korea’s Kospi jumped 1.6% for another one of the world’s bigger gains. But indexes fell 0.9% in Hong Kong and 0.6% in Paris.

In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury eased to 3.95% from 3.98% late Tuesday.

U.Va. reaches agreement with DOJ

SUMMARY:

  • U.S. says U.Va. will deliver quarterly updates on anti- reforms through 2028, in response to what Justice called “unlawful racial discrimination”
  • Justice appears to have dropped accusations of antisemitism at U.Va.
  • No monetary penalty included in agreement

The U.S. Department of Justice announced Wednesday that it has reached an agreement with the regarding what it called “unlawful racial discrimination” in hiring, admissions and programming — a deal that does not include a monetary penalty but does require U.Va.’s president to provide quarterly reports to the federal government through 2028.

Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon, a U.Va. Law alumna who leads the department’s civil rights division, said in a statement that U.Va. will provide “relevant information and data” to the Department of Justice quarterly through 2028.

“The president of U.Va. will personally certify each quarter that U.Va. is in compliance with the agreement,” the statement says. “The department will pause its pending investigations into the university’s admissions policies and other civil rights concerns. The United States shall treat U.Va. as eligible for future grants and awards. If U.Va. completes its planned reforms prohibiting DEI at the university, the department will close its investigations against U.Va.”

The announcement comes days after U.Va.’s interim president, Paul Mahoney, announced that the university would not sign a compact with the U.S. Department of Education promoted by to provide favorable treatment in federal funding in exchange for the school agreeing to a set of his administration’s priorities. U.Va. and eight other elite universities were offered the deal, but so far no universities have agreed to the compact.

Critics, including U.Va. faculty members, have said signing the compact would violate academic freedom.

According to U.Va. spokespeople, Mahoney sent a statement to the university community Wednesday after signing an agreement with the Department of Justice that does not include a monetary penalty and no external monitoring, as reported this week by The New York Times.

The text of the four-page agreement was posted on U.Va.’s website. It calls for the following measures:

  • U.Va.’s president will send certified quarterly reports to Dhillon through Dec. 31, 2028;
  • The agreement is not an admission of guilt; U.Va. “expressly denies liability with respect to the subject matter of the investigation”;
  • The May 2 and June 17 investigations into alleged antisemitism and racial discrimination were suspended as of June 26, the day before former President Jim Ryan announced his resignation;
  •  If the DOJ determines that U.Va. has made “insufficient progress” at any time toward “compliance with the civil rights laws,” the department will notify the university of a 15-day deadline to “make appropriate progress”;
  • After the 15 days are up, the Justice Department “may terminate this agreement and may pursue enforcement actions, monetary fines, or grant or funding terminations as appropriate”
  • The federal government can bring new reviews or investigations into civil rights law violations under the agreement.

“We intend to continue our thorough review of our practices and policies to ensure that we are complying with all federal laws,” Mahoney wrote in his statement Wednesday. “We will also redouble our commitment to the principles of academic freedom, ideological diversity, free expression, and the unyielding pursuit of ‘truth, wherever it may lead,’ as Thomas Jefferson put it. Through this process, we will do everything we can to assure our community, our partners in state and federal government, and the public that we are worthy of the trust they place in us and the resources they provide us to advance our education, research, and patient care mission.”

Dhillon’s statement Wednesday added that the state’s flagship university has made “progress” in “combating antisemitism and racial bias, and other American universities should be on alert that the Justice Department will ensure that our federal civil rights laws are enforced for every American, without exception.”

“This agreement allows U.Va. to move forward together, upholding the university’s principles and independence while maintaining the essential research partnership with the federal government,” U.Va. Rector Rachel Sheridan said in a statement. “This has been a challenging time for many institutions in , including U.Va. The agreement results from steadfast adherence to the same values that have guided generations of U.Va.’s leaders and that we have honored as stewards of that legacy.”

A conclusion — for now

The agreement appears to conclude an investigation that led to Ryan’s resignation in June, which he said was due to pressure from the .

Ryan, who left U.Va.’s presidency in July but is expected to return as a U.Va. School of Law professor after a sabbatical, wrote in an email that he was resigning to protect federal research funding, “hundreds” of university-based jobs and “hundreds of students who could lose financial aid or have their visas withheld.”

Since Trump took office in January, he has threatened to hold back federal funding of private and public universities, which are dependent on public funds for medical and other scientific research, and the Justice and Education departments have launched numerous investigations into universities, claiming that their diversity, equity and inclusion policies have led to discrimination against white, male students and job candidates.

Both federal departments also have wielded accusations that universities have promoted antisemitism and failed to protect Jewish students and staff members amid widespread pro-Palestine protests.

In addition to the DOJ’s investigation into U.Va., George Mason University in Fairfax County has been under significant scrutiny since July, with four DOE and DOJ probes launched that month. Faculty members and others at Mason have said that the Trump administration has tried to drive out President Gregory Washington.

At both universities, faculty groups have criticized both the Trump administration and their own boards of visitors, both of which are made up entirely of appointees by .

Speaking Tuesday evening, U.Va. associate professor of research, evaluation and policy Walt Heinecke, who previously was president of U.Va.’s chapter of the American Association of University Professors, said that he and others at the university were concerned about the voluntary resolution.

“If this sort of voluntary resolution agreement leads to the same outcomes as the compact would have, there’s going to be a problem,” Heinecke said.

He also said that the board of visitors has “cut out” faculty members in the hiring process for both the next permanent president and its provost, the university’s top academic leader. Former provost Ian Baucom left the university earlier in the year to become president of Middlebury College.

“All these attacks on the University of Virginia, it’s just bad for business and innovation,” Heinecke added. “It’s bad for business, it’s bad for the economy, and it’s got to stop.”

Meta cutting 600 AI jobs even as it continues to hire more for its superintelligence lab

Summary

  • to cut roughly 600 in , product, and infrastructure units
  • Superintelligence-focused is not affected
  • Employees encouraged to apply for other roles within Meta
  • Move part of company’s restructuring while continuing AI hiring

MENLO PARK, Calif. (AP) — Meta Platforms is cutting roughly 600 jobs even as it continues to hire more workers for its superintelligence lab, the company confirmed on Wednesday.

Axios first reported the cuts, which will affect Meta’s Fundamental AI Research, or FAIR unit, as well as product-related AI and AI infrastructure units.

Its newer TBD Lab unit won’t be affected. Citing a memo sent to workers by chief AI officer Alexandr Wang, Axios said the company is encouraging employees affected to apply for other jobs at Meta, with most expected to find other roles. The Menlo Park, California-based company is also still recruiting and hiring for TBD Lab, which is developing Meta’s latest large language models. Large language models are the technology behind ‘s ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini — and Meta’s Llama.

Meta has taken a different approach to AI than many of its rivals, releasing its flagship Llama system for free as an open-source product that enables people to use and modify some of its key components. Meta says more than a billion people use its AI products each month, but it’s also widely seen as lagging behind competitors such as OpenAI and Google in encouraging consumer use of large language models, also known as LLMs.

Reddit sues Perplexity, others for alleged data scraping

Summary

  • filed suit in New York federal court
  • Defendants include Perplexity, , AWMProxy, and
  • Claims include bypassing anti-scraping protections for profit
  • Reddit has AI licensing deals with Google and

Social media platform Reddit sued the company and three other entities on Wednesday, alleging their involvement in an “industrial-scale, unlawful” economy to “scrape” the comments of millions of Reddit users for commercial gain.

Reddit’s in a New York federal court takes aim at San Francisco-based Perplexity, maker of an AI chatbot and “answer engine” that competes with Google, ChatGPT and others in online search.

Also named in the lawsuit are Lithuanian data-scraping company Oxylabs UAB, a web domain called AWMProxy that Reddit describes as a “former Russian botnet,” and Texas-based startup SerpApi.

It’s the second such lawsuit from Reddit since it sued another major AI company, , in June.

But the lawsuit filed Wednesday is different in the way that it confronts not just an AI company but the lesser-known services the AI industry relies on to acquire online writings needed to train AI chatbots.

“Scrapers bypass technological protections to steal data, then sell it to clients hungry for training material. Reddit is a prime target because it’s one of the largest and most dynamic collections of human conversation ever created,” said Ben Lee, Reddit’s chief legal officer, in a statement Wednesday.

Perplexity said it has not yet received the lawsuit but “will always fight vigorously for users’ rights to freely and fairly access public knowledge. Our approach remains principled and responsible as we provide factual answers with accurate AI, and we will not tolerate threats against openness and the public interest.”

Oxylabs and SerpAPI didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment Wednesday. AWMProxy could not immediately be reached for comment.

Reddit compares the companies it is suing to “would-be bank robbers” who can’t get into the bank vault, so they break into the armored truck instead. The lawsuit alleges they are evading Reddit’s own anti-scraping measures while also ”circumventing Google’s controls and scraping Reddit content directly from Google’s search engine results.”

Lee said that because they’re unable to scrape Reddit directly, “they mask their identities, hide their locations, and disguise their web scrapers to steal Reddit content from Google Search. Perplexity is a willing customer of at least one of these scrapers, choosing to buy stolen data rather than enter into a lawful agreement with Reddit itself.”

Much like its lawsuit against Anthropic, maker of the chatbot Claude, Reddit claims that Perplexity has accessed Reddit’s content despite being asked not to do so.

Reddit made a similar argument in its lawsuit against Anthropic. That case was initially filed in California Superior Court but was later moved to federal court and has a hearing scheduled for January.

Along with digitized books and news articles, websites such as Wikipedia and Reddit are deep troves of written materials that can help teach an AI assistant the patterns of human language.

Reddit has previously entered licensing agreements with Google, OpenAI and other companies that are paying to be able to train their AI systems on the public commentary of Reddit’s more than 100 million daily users.

The licensing deals helped the 20-year-old online platform raise money ahead of its debut as a publicly traded company last year.

USDA reopens 2,100 offices to deliver $3B farm aid

Summary

  • reopening 2,100 county offices Thursday amid shutdown
  • Offices staffed with two paid workers each
  • Aid includes farm loans, , disaster assistance
  • Move aimed at supporting despite trade war tensions

The Department will reopen about 2,100 county offices all across the country Thursday despite the ongoing  to help farmers and get access to $3 billion of aid from existing programs.

The USDA said each office will have two workers who will be paid even though the government remains shutdown. These offices help farmers apply for farm loans, crop insurance, and other programs. Thousands of other federal employees like air traffic controllers are working without pay during the shutdown.

A USDA spokesperson said this move reflects President Trump’s commitment to helping farmers and ranchers, who are traditionally some of his strongest supporters. Recently, some of them have been unhappy with Trump’s latest moves although his support remains strong across rural America.

Just this week, ranchers were unhappy with Trump’s idea to import more beef from Argentina because that could hurt their profits, and earlier this month soybean farmers complained that a $20 billion aid package for Argentina allowed that country to sell soybeans to China. Farmers are also still waiting on details of an aid package Trump promised to help them survive his trade war with China, but that aid has been put on hold because of the shutdown.

“President Trump will not let the radical left Democrat shutdown impact critical USDA services while harvest is underway across the country,” the USDA spokesman said. A White House official said the administration is using funds from the Commodity Credit Corporation, a USDA agency that addresses agricultural prices.

Republicans like Senate Majority Leader John Thune, Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley and North Dakota Sen. John Hoeven along with farm groups like the National Corn Growers Association and Illinois Soybean Association praised the move while Democrats accused the administration of using farmers as political pawns in the shutdown fight. Both parties have been unable to reach an agreement to fund the government and end the shutdown that began Oct. 1.

Thune said reopening these offices, like he has been urging the administration to do, will give farmers access to critical services in the midst of harvest season.

“Like many hardworking Americans, producers in South Dakota and across the country – who work tirelessly to provide high-quality food for our nation – are being hurt by Senate Democrats’ reckless government shutdown,” Thune said.

Kenneth Hartman Jr., who is chairman of the Corn Growers Association, said this is a crucial time because farmers are getting ready to place orders for next year’s seed and fertilizer right now as well as settling up with the bankers for this year’s operating loans. And farmers are grappling with soaring costs.

“Because of the factor, the farm economy is really in a critical situation here. So anything that the farmers can get when it comes to support from the farm programs from the farm bill of last year, we need to get that open and get that money out to them,” said Hartman, who is in the middle of harvesting his crop near Waterloo, Illinois.

The House Agriculture Committee Democrats said on X that this shows that Trump and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins “could have supported farmers all along, but you chose not to because you’d rather use farmers’ pain to score cheap political points while increasing the cost of living for ordinary Americans by making food and more expensive.”

Minnesota Rep. Angie Craig, who is the ranking Democrat on the Agriculture Committee, said the administration should have done this sooner to ensure that farmers can get the help they need.

“I am glad the administration is finally doing right by America’s farmers by partially opening FSA offices, though I question why the administration waited so long and made this decision only after putting farmers through three weeks of uncertainty,” Craig said.

UPDATES: Adds comments from Majority leader Sen. Thune.

Gold plunges $250 after hitting record high

Summary

  • Gold fell 5.7% Tuesday, the biggest one-day drop since 2011
  • Prices slid from a record $4,374 to $4,036 per ounce
  • Analysts cite easing U.S.-China tensions and overbought
  • Gold still up 50% in 2025; also dropped after recent highs

NEW YORK (AP) — Less than a day after gold soared to another record high, prices for the precious metal plunged — marking the biggest sell-off in years.

Gold futures in New York closed at a record $4,374 per troy ounce on Monday, before falling more than $250 (or 5.74%) Tuesday. That’s the largest, single-day percentage drop seen since September 2011, according to data in FactSet. And despite some brief rebounds, losses continued to pile up Wednesday — with gold futures trading at about $4,036 as of 11 a.m. ET.

Prices are still up since the start of 2025. Gold sales often rise sharply amid wider economic uncertainty, as anxious investors seek a “safe haven” for their money. More have turned to gold amid ‘s barrage of  on imports from around the world, rising concerns about  and the now weekslong U.S. . And even before that, geopolitical tensions and strong demand from central banks bolstered gold’s gains over recent years.

But can be volatile — so it’s not uncommon for gold to see day-to-day fluctuations in value. Some analysts say this week’s pullback was triggered by hopes of cooling trade tensions between the U.S. and China, for example. Meanwhile, criticism had already been growing that gold’s price had gone too far, too fast. Others speculate there could be broader correction.

Here’s what we know.

What’s the price of gold today? What about silver?

Again, gold futures were trading at $4,036 per troy ounce — the standard for measuring precious metals — as of as of 11 a.m. ET. Wednesday. Spot prices had previously closed Tuesday at just over $4,125, down from a record more than $4,355 on Monday.

Silver also saw some losses this week. Silver futures in New York fell more than 7% on Tuesday, before seeing slight rebounds Wednesday morning. Prices were trading at $47.60 per troy ounce as of 11 a.m. ET, down from a record $53.44 hit last week.

Why have prices tumbled from record highs?

No investment’s price consistently goes up forever, and some fluctuation isn’t surprising after such meteoric rises.

“Why precious metals sold off yesterday — and whether this is the beginning of a broader correction — remains to be seen,” Ipek Ozkardeskaya, a senior analyst at Swissquote wrote in a Wednesday note.

Ozkardeskaya said Tuesday’s losses were “triggered by hopes of easing trade tensions between the U.S. and China and a rebound in the U.S. dollar.” Still, she noted that the future is far from guaranteed, and many of the same factors that drew buyers to gold this year remain. “What probably better explained yesterday’s precious metals sell-off was mainly the fact that the metals are now trading in deeply overbought market conditions with heightened volatility,” she added, noting that further price pullback is possible.

Again, despite this week’s losses, gold futures are still up 50% overall since the start of 2025. And silver has climbed even higher, up 60% year to date.

Is gold worth the investment?

Advocates of in gold call it a safe haven — arguing that the commodity can serve to diversify and balance your investment portfolio, as well as mitigate possible risks down the road as a hedge against rising inflation. Some also take comfort in buying something tangible that has the potential to increase in value over time.

Still, experts caution against putting all your eggs in one basket. Not everyone agrees gold is a good investment. Critics say gold isn’t always the inflation hedge many claim — and that there are more efficient ways to protect against potential loss of capital, such as derivative-based investments.

And again, as seen this week, it’s not on common for gold to have day-by-day swings in value.

The Commodity Futures Trade Commission has previously warned people to be wary of investing in gold. Precious metals can be highly volatile, and prices rise as demand goes up — meaning “when economic anxiety or instability is high, the people who typically profit from precious metals are the sellers,” the commission noted.

Gold demand escalates mercury poisoning warnings

The recent frenzy for gold has also resulted in health and environmental consequences — with officials pointing to rising demand for mercury, a toxic metal that is key in illegal gold mining worldwide.

Mercury is widely used to separate gold during artisanal or small-scale mining. But it pollutes water, accumulates in fish, makes its way into food and builds up in people’s bodies, leading to neurological and developmental harm. Even small-scale exposure can carry serious risks — putting in danger workers who rely on the industry, as well as residents in affected areas more broadly.

The Associated Press has reported about the effects of mercury poisoning tied to gold mining in countries like Senegal, Mexico and Peru, among other parts of the world.

Dataminr to buy Arlington cybersecurity firm for $290M

New York-based software company Dataminr announced Tuesday it plans to acquire County-based firm in a deal valued at $290 million.

Founded in 2009, Dataminr uses AI to detect and classify cyber threats. ThreatConnect, founded in 2011, is also focused on helping clients analyze and respond to cybersecurity threats.

With the merger, Dataminr plans to fuse its AI platform for public data with ThreatConnect’s internal data capabilities. Dataminr’s AI Agents will assess both internal and external data to deliver real-time cyber intelligence for customers.

“The future of Dataminr’s real-time intelligence will be more relevant and actionable than ever before — enabling our clients to not just understand what is happening, but what it means to them, and how they should respond,” said Dataminr CEO and Founder Ted Bailey in a statement, adding that he was “thrilled” to merge Dataminr and ThreatConnect.

ThreatConnect has about 250 major enterprise and government organizations as clients, including one-third of the Fortune 50, according to the company. It has a team of 170 employees. Dataminr says that its clients include more than 100 U.S. government agencies, over 20 international governments and half of the Fortune 100.

A Dataminr spokesperson said the company expects the to close by the end of November and believes the regulatory approval process will be straightforward.

“ThreatConnect has spent years helping enterprises and government cyberdefense organizations bring order to vast amounts of threat and risk intelligence,” ThreatConnect CEO Balaji Yelamanchili said in a statement. “The world’s leading enterprises rely on our platform to bring context, prioritization, speed and precision to cyberdefense. We are thrilled to join forces with Dataminr and combine our powerful platforms, creating new ways to deliver client-tailored intelligence and greater value to customers around the world.”

Dataminr says existing ThreatConnect customers can expect continued support and development. The company said that, over time, both ThreatConnect’s and Dataminr’s Pulse for Cyber Risk customers will be offered enhancements that combine the two products’ capabilities.

Dataminr has over 600 employees and eight offices worldwide.

Virginia health board backs VCU Health, Bon Secours projects in Chesterfield

SUMMARY:

  • Virginia Department of Health recommends conditional approvals of and projects
  • Healthcare’s $260 million proposal for a new hospital in Chesterfield receives a denial recommendation
  • Chesterfield’s population is expected to grow by 42,000 residents by 2030
  • The state health commissioner will make the final decision, likely in coming weeks

A panel of Virginia Department of Health staffers recommended approval of VCU Health’s proposed 66-bed hospital in while recommending denial of a 60-bed facility proposed by .

In a third recommendation, the state health department group recommended approval of Bon Secours’ expansion of St. Francis Medical Center, also in Chesterfield County.

The county south of Richmond is growing swiftly, with its population expected to grow by 42,000 between 2020 and 2030, according to the Virginia Department of Health. The state’s Certificate of Public Need policy requires health systems to receive approval from the state before building or expanding hospitals. The VDH analysis is non-binding, but Dr. Karen Shelton, Virginia’s health commissioner, will take the group’s recommendations into consideration before delivering a final verdict on the three projects.

Currently, Chesterfield County has two hospitals: Johnston-Willis Hospital, owned by HCA, and St. Francis Medical Center.

VCU Health

VCU Health’s proposal would include 42 general medical and surgical beds, six pediatric beds, six obstetric beds and 12 intensive care unit beds at a new hospital at 7220 Beach Road. The 202,889-square-foot hospital would also feature six operating rooms, one cardiac catheterization lab, one CT unit, one MRI unit and intermediate level nursery services.

The facility is projected to cost $306 million. VCU Health expects to fund half of that with a bond sale and half with reserves. The new hospital could open by 2030, according to the state’s analysis.

On the same site, VCU Health is building the four-story Chesterfield Pavilion, which will offer an ambulatory surgery center and a medical office building. A groundbreaking was held at that facility in May.

Bon Secours opposed VCU Health’s proposed facility for reasons that included concern that it would impact business at St Francis Medical Center. In a letter of opposition about the proposal to the Virginia Department of Health, Johnston-Willis Hospital stated the proposed site is less than one mile from a freestanding emergency room, which HCA has under construction.

The recommendation by the Department of Health staff is contingent on VCU Health agreeing to a charity care condition, providing for free or at a discounted rate to low-income people who qualify for financial aid.

A spokesperson for VCU Health said in a statement that the health system is pleased with the conditional approval, noting that it “recognizes the merits of our application and the positive impact that VCU Health System provides throughout the commonwealth.”

Bon Secours

Bon Secours was denied approval to add 36 beds to St. Francis Medical Center in September, although Shelton OKed the addition of four ICU beds. However, Bon Secours resubmitted its Certificate of Public Need request, receiving the staff recommendation this time.

The current proposal would add two floors and renovate existing space, while adding 40 acute care beds. The projected cost is $106 million. The staff’s recommendation is contingent on Bon Secours’ agreement to a charity care condition.

VCU Health opposed this project stating that “nothing has materially changed”  since the project was denied in September.

“We are encouraged by this staff recommendation, yet we remain committed to securing full approval for the project,” a spokesperson for Bon Secours stated Tuesday. “We believe this comprehensive expansion is critical to meeting the growing and evolving health care needs of Chesterfield County and the surrounding region, which we have faithfully served for two decades.”

HCA

HCA Virginia proposed building a $260 million, 60-bed acute care hospital in Chesterfield County, citing the county’s growing population. Called Magnolia Hospital, the facility would be located in Moseley on Hull Street Road.

However, the VDH staff analysis recommends denying the proposal for several reasons, including that “it exacerbates a maldistribution of hospitals and beds by health system.”

Magnolia Hospital would feature 54 medical/surgical beds, six intensive care unit beds, four general-purpose operating rooms and one MRI scanner, all of which HCA would pay for, the health system said in its proposal. HCA also said it planned to relocate beds from Retreat Doctors’ Hospital and operating rooms from Retreat Doctors’ Hospital and Johnston-Willis Hospital. It also plans to close its Swift Creek freestanding emergency room if Magnolia Hospital is approved.

Bon Secours opposed the proposed facility for reasons that included concern that it would impact business at St. Francis Medical Center. VCU Health also opposed the project, noting its own “proposal creates more access” and “removes more barriers.”

Responding to the recommended denial, an HCA Healthcare Capital Division spokesperson said Tuesday that the health system is “looking forward to further demonstrating the need for this important project to serve the community’s growing population at the Nov. 7 fact-finding conference, where all parties will present on their proposed projects prior to the state health commissioner’s decision next year.”

VFP investing $35M to expand Scott facility

SUMMARY:

  • VFP will invest $35 million to expand its facility
  • The project is expected to create 200 jobs and double capacity
  • This is company’s third expansion in five years

VFP, a manufacturer of enclosures used to protect critical infrastructure like data centers, will invest $35 million to expand operations at its Scott County facility, a move expected to create 200 jobs, announced Tuesday.

Founded in 1965 in Roanoke County, VFP began products in Duffield in 1997. This is the company’s third expansion in five years and will help it meet demand from the and utility power industries. It’s expected to double production capacity.

“For six decades, VFP has been a cornerstone of Virginia’s manufacturing strength and innovation,” Youngkin said in a news release. “Their latest expansion in Scott County is proof that when businesses double down on Virginia, they grow, thrive and create new opportunities for hard-working Virginians.”

Last year, VFP announced plans to invest $5 million to expand in Scott County, creating 50 jobs. In 2021, the company invested $7.2 million to expand the Duffield facility, creating 30 jobs.

In 2024, the Duffield facility employed 350 workers, according to VFP.

“VFP’s decision to relocate manufacturing to Scott County nearly 30 years ago has proven instrumental to our long-term success and positions VFP geographically in a prime location to support Virginia’s robust data center business,” Scott File, president and CEO of VFP, said in Tuesday’s news release.

Workers at the employee-owned company manufacture a variety of products using materials ranging from heavyweight concrete to lightweight flexible metal. VFP shelters are used primarily by utility providers, municipalities, data centers and broadband providers. The products are used on all seven continents.

The Virginia Coalfield Authority (VCEDA) approved a $312,500 grant to VFP to support its workforce development and training, as well as a loan worth up to $3 million to support the purchase of equipment for the expansion.

The Workforce Housing Economic Development Incentive Pilot Program is providing a $1 million award to create housing in the area. The money will be used to create at least 50 new housing units, which will be reserved for households earning between 80% and 150% of the area median income, or about $63,200 to $118,500.

The (VEDP) worked with Scott County, VCEDA and the Virginia Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission to secure this project for Virginia.

Additionally, Youngkin approved an $800,000 grant from the Commonwealth’s Opportunity Fund to assist Scott County with the project, as well as a $350,000 Virginia Investment Performance Grant.

Support for  VFP’s will be provided through the Virginia Talent Accelerator Program. The program, created by VEDP in collaboration with partners, offers recruitment and training services at no cost to eligible companies expanding or locating assets in Virginia.

In 2008, VFP participated in the Virginia Leaders in Export Trade Program, an international business acceleration program offered by the VEDP.