Articles by John Raby and Leah Willingham

Coal Country Voices Say Closure of MSHA Offices Endangers Mine Safety

Retired coal miner Stanley “Goose” Stewart questions whether it’s safe for anyone to work in the industry right now. The Department of Government Efficiency, created by President Donald Trump and run by Elon Musk, has been targeting federal agencies for …

Ex-West Virginia School System Official Charged With Stealing $3.4 Million

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A former maintenance director of a southern West Virginia county school system was charged in a scheme to steal about $3.4 million from a local board of education. Michael David Barker appeared in court Wednesday after …

Youth Football Safety Debate Reopened After Deaths of 2 Players on Same Day

HEWETT, W.Va. (AP) — Ryan Craddock had seen his share of tragedy during two decades as a coal miner and firefighter. Then came the toughest heartbreak of all: his own. Craddock and his family are mourning the loss of his …

Inadequate Inspections and Oversight Cited in Fatal WV Helicopter Crash

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Inadequate inspections by an operator and a lack of oversight by the Federal Aviation Administration were partly to blame for the crash of a Vietnam-era tourist helicopter that killed six people in West Virginia two years …

Woman Dies in West Virginia’s Second Coal Mine Fatality This Year

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A West Virginia woman died Wednesday more than a week after an accident at a southern West Virginia coal mine, Gov. Jim Justice said. Ashley Cogar, 33, of Erbacon, was injured at the Wyco Surface Mine, …

West Virginia Lawmakers Ban Smoking in Cars with Kids Present

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia, which has the highest rate of adult cigarette use in the nation, became the 12th state to ban smoking in vehicles with children present under a bill signed by Republican Gov. Jim Justice on …

Panel Asks W.Va. Supreme Court if Opioid Distribution Can Cause a Public Nuisance

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A federal appeals court asked West Virginia’s highest court Monday whether opioid distributions can cause a public nuisance as it reviews a landmark lawsuit against three major U.S. drug distributors accused of causing a health crisis …

West Virginia Bill Stokes Fears About Pesticide-Producing Logging Facility

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A West Virginia bill approved by the House of Delegates on Tuesday that limits counties from regulating agricultural operations is stoking fears that a logging company could resurrect plans to build a toxic-spewing fumigation facility in …

Bank Plans to Auction Off Greenbriar Lots Owned by West Virginia Governor

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A Virginia bank that is seeking to recover more than $300 million in longstanding unpaid business loans to the family of West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice is planning to auction off land at a sporting club …

West Virginia Lawsuit Over Opioids Reaches Closing Arguments

Three major U.S. drug distributors should be held responsible for sending a “tsunami” of prescription pain pills that caused a health crisis in one corner of West Virginia, an attorney for local governments said in closing arguments Tuesday in a …