OLIVIA DIAZ

Statehouse reporter

Diaz covers Virginia politics with the Associated Press.

Husband of missing Virginia woman to head to trial in early 2025

When Mamta Kafle Bhatt disappeared in late July, members of her local community in northern Virginia and her family in her native Nepal banded together to try to figure out what happened to her.

Federal workers around nation’s capital worry over Trump’s plans to send some of them elsewhere

Worries of being uprooted from their jobs have returned for Laura Dodson and other federal workers, who have long been the economic backbone of the nation’s capital and its suburbs.

RFK Jr. sues North Carolina elections board as he seeks to remove his name from ballot

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is suing the North Carolina State Board of Elections. The lawsuit filed in state court Friday accuses the board of violating his free speech rights by denying his request to get his name removed from state ballots.

Man charged in 2017 double homicide found dead at Virginia jail

A man charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the killings of his girlfriend’s parents was found dead Thursday in a Virginia jail, authorities said.

Virginia attorney general denounces ESG investments in state retirement fund

Virginia Republican Attorney General Jason Miyares has released an advisory opinion saying that the state’s retirement system should not make investments that prioritize environmental issues, social issues and corporate governance.

Trump-backed Virginia state Sen. John McGuire defeats US Rep. Bob Good in GOP primary recount

Trump-backed Virginia state Sen. John McGuire has defeated conservative U.S. Rep. Bob Good in a recount of the Republican primary results in the 5th Congressional District.

Daughter of late Supreme Court Justice Scalia appointed to Virginia Board of Education

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin has appointed the daughter of the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia to serve on the Virginia Board of Education.

Police investigate death of Autumn Oxley, Virginia woman featured on ’16 and Pregnant’

Authorities are investigating the death a Virginia woman who appeared on the MTV reality show “16 and Pregnant.”

Who is Usha Vance? Yale law graduate and wife of vice presidential nominee JD Vance

Usha Chilukuri Vance, wife of JD Vance, is a Yale law graduate and attorney. She stood next to her husband on Monday as he was named the Republican vice presidential nominee at the Republican National Convention.

Virginia joins other states with effort to restrict cellphones in schools

Virginia has joined a growing number of states that are pushing for cellphone restrictions in public schools. Gov.