Latest West Virginia Headlines
All the headlines from our West Virginia Topic Page, ordered by recency.
West Virginia’s Billion-Dollar Trial Against Opioid Distributors Gets Underway
May 3 2021 // The three largest U.S. drug distributors, who are accused of helping fuel the opioid crisis that has resulted in nearly 500,000 overdose deaths in the United States, will defend themselves in a trial that kicks off on...
Report: 2020 A Record Year for Overdose Deaths in West Virginia
Apr 26 2021 // The number of fatal drug overdoses in West Virginia hit a record last year, according to preliminary state data showing at least 1,275 residents died. The increase comes after two years of declining numbers in a state...
West Virginia Firefighters Claim Retaliation in Pay Dispute
Apr 21 2021 // Firefighters in West Virginia’s Morgantown say the city manager lowered their pay in retaliation for their refusal to accept a settlement in a separate dispute, although the city says it is just making the...
Report: Drug Addiction Cost West Virginia an Estimated $11B in 2019
Apr 5 2021 // Treating and addressing drug addiction cost West Virginia an estimated $11.3 billion in one year, according to a new report from the Center on Budget and Policy. The report, written by economist Jill Kriesky, says the...
West Virginia Loosens Virus Restrictions on Bars, Most Businesses
Mar 8 2021 // West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice ordered to loosen pandemic restrictions on Friday at restaurants, bars and most businesses to allow full capacity at those establishments where social distancing is possible. The...
Damage to West Virginia Power Grids from Winter Storm Delays Power Restoration
Feb 26 2021 // Some West Virginia residents are waiting longer than anticipated for their power to come back on after utility crews found new damage from ice storms earlier this month. Drone and helicopter surveillance found the new...
Family of West Virginia Gov to Pay $270K in Suit Over Mine Discharges
Feb 26 2021 // A coal company controlled by the family of West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice must pay $270,000 to a nonprofit land protection group and comply with selenium discharge limits under a settlement approved by a federal...
1 Worker Killed, 3 Injured by West Virginia Chemical Plant Blast
Dec 11 2020 // An explosion and fire at a West Virginia chemical plant that shook surrounding homes killed a plant worker and injured three other people. It happened after 10 p.m. Tuesday at Optima Chemicals Co., a tenant on the Chemours...
Explosion at West Virginia Chemours Plant Prompts Shelter-In-Place
Dec 10 2020 // An explosion at a West Virginia chemical plant on Tuesday night prompted authorities to order residents within 2 miles of the plant to remain indoors. The explosion occurred at 10:02 p.m. EST at the Chemours plant in the...
Trial in West Virginia Opioid Lawsuit Postponed Indefinitely
Dec 9 2020 // A federal judge in West Virginia has indefinitely postponed a trial date in a lawsuit filed by the city of Huntington and Cabell County over the opioid crisis. The lawsuit accuses drug distributors AmerisourceBergen,...
Death of West Virginia Miner Marks 6th US Coal Mining Fatality of 2020
Nov 25 2020 // A coal miner died Monday in a workplace accident in southern West Virginia, the governor’s office said. Taylor Meldin Halstead, 20, of Bob White, was killed in the accident at Panther Mining LLC’s American...
Road Paving Companies to Pay West Virginia $101.3M Over Antitrust Violations
Nov 20 2020 // West Virginia officials announced a $101.3 million settlement last month in an antitrust suit against 11 asphalt and paving companies the state accused of cornering the market and driving up project...
W. Virginia High Court Nixes AG Consumer Protection Claim in Catholic Church Suit
Nov 19 2020 // West Virginia’s attorney general cannot use a consumer protection law to sue a Roman Catholic diocese over sexual abuse allegations, the state’s high court said Monday. The West Virginia Supreme Court issued...
West Virginia Boarding School Settles Abuse Lawsuit for $52M
Nov 18 2020 // A lawsuit alleging widespread abuse at a now-closed northern West Virginia boarding school has been settled for $52 million. The lawsuit was filed by 29 students of the former Miracle Meadows School in Salem in 2017. It...
Former Catholic School Principal in W. Va. Claims He Was Fired for Reporting Abuse
Oct 13 2020 // A former principal at a West Virginia Catholic high school filed a wrongful termination lawsuit last month against a diocese, alleging he was let go for reporting complaints of inappropriate contact involving a priest and...
Restaurant Owners Sue W.Va. Governor Over Coronavirus Bar Closures
Sep 28 2020 // The owners of 12 restaurants and bars sued the governor of West Virginia on Wednesday for indefinitely closing establishments in student-heavy Monongalia County due to the coronavirus. Gov. Jim Justice ordered bars closed...
West Virginia Hospital Settles Whistleblower Suit for $50M
Sep 11 2020 // A financially strapped West Virginia hospital has agreed to pay the federal government $50 million to resolve claims that it improperly issued payments and kickbacks to physicians under the direction of management, the...
West Virginia AG Sues Walmart, CVS Over State Flooding of Opioids
Aug 21 2020 // West Virginia’s attorney general sued Walmart and drugstore chain CVS on Tuesday, saying they failed to monitor and report suspicious orders of prescription painkillers to their retail pharmacies in a state ravaged...
West Virginia Halts Nursing Home Visits as Virus Cases, Deaths Surge
Aug 17 2020 // West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice on Wednesday halted nursing home visits as both confirmed cases and deaths from the new coronavirus continue to surge. Justice said at a news conference that there are virus outbreaks...
Bar Shutdown Order Extended for West Virginia County
Aug 4 2020 // West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice has extended an order that closed all bars in Monongalia County for an additional 10 days due to the coronavirus pandemic. The latest order is effective until Aug. 13. The county includes...
