The Kroger Co. has agreed to pay West Virginia $68 million to settle claims that it fueled the opioid epidemic through lax oversight of its pill sales, bringing the state’s years-long litigation over the opioid crisis to a close. The deal, announced Thursday by West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, comes a month before the…

West Virginia University (WVU) has become the first higher education institution in the state to adopt a “test-optional” admission policy in an effort to reduce the “stress” of the college application process for students. Test scores as part of the admissions process for WVU were temporarily made optional ahead of the fall 2020 semester during…

West Virginia’s governor has launched a bid for a U.S. Senate seat representing the state, in a challenge to longtime incumbent Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) Republican Gov. Jim Justice filed papers with the Federal Election Commission and is reportedly expected to formally announce his campaign later on April 27. Justice, 72, a former Democrat with…

Commentary As attorney general of West Virginia, Patrick Morrisey has been a scourge of the administrative state, combatting what he perceives to be federal government overreach into the life and commerce of the Mountaineer State. On April 4, Morrisey announced that he is joining a crowded field seeking the Republican nomination in West Virginia’s 2024 gubernatorial race….

A lawmaker in the West Virginia House of Delegates has switched allegiances from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party, shrinking his former party’s presence in the state’s legislature. Del. Elliott Pritt announced his party switch on Monday, bringing the balance of power in the House of Delegates to 89 Republicans and 11 Democrats. Pritt,…

The Supreme Court refused on April 6 to lift a federal appeals court order blocking West Virginia’s law preventing male athletes from playing on school sports teams designated for females. Two conservative justices, Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas, dissented from the court’s refusal to remove the injunction. West Virginia enacted the Save Women’s Sports Act…

On Wednesday, West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice signed a bill banning transgender procedures for minors into law in the state. However, it comes with exceptions that sometimes allow for treatments to be administered. The law, which goes into effect in January 2024, lets doctors prescribe puberty (hormone) blockers or hormone therapy if the minor is…

The Supreme Court has given counsel for a transgender middle school student until March 20 to respond to West Virginia’s emergency application to lift a federal appeals court order blocking the state’s Save Women’s Sports Act from taking effect. The legal action comes as West Virginia and other states have been taking action to make…

West Virginia’s Republican-majority Legislature passed a bill on March 10 that would ban health care providers from performing “irreversible gender reassignment surgery” or providing gender-altering medication to minors. House Bill 2007 was introduced by Del. Geoff Foster and passed the Senate in a 30–2 vote. Under the bill, health care providers in the state will be prohibited from providing “irreversible…

Entering the town of Winchester, Virginia, is like traveling back in time. My recent visit echoed that of Shawnee and other Native American tribes who lived for thousands of years in what today is Frederick County. More recently, European explorers came as early as 1606. As I approached the small city (population about 28,000), I…