LEAH WILLINGHAM

FILE - Connor Thonen-Fleck addresses reporters while his parents stand by his side, Monday March 11, 2019, in Durham, N.C., at the announcement of a lawsuit against North Carolina officials over how the state health plan is run. A federal appeals court is considering cases out of North Carolina and West Virginia that could have broad-ranging implications on whether individual states are constitutionally required to cover healthcare for transgender people with government-sponsored insurance. (AP Photo/ Jonathan Drew, FIle)
Appeals court takes up transgender health coverage case likely headed to Supreme Court
A federal appeals court is considering cases out of North Carolina and West Virginia that could have significant implications on whether individual states are required to cover health care for transgender people with government-sponsored insurance.
 
FILE - West Virginia University students lead a protest against cuts to programs in world languages, creative writing and more amid a $45 million budget deficit outside Stewart Hall in Morgantown, W.Va., on Monday, Aug. 21, 2023. West Virginia University's Board of Governors gave final approval Friday, Sept. 15, 2023, to wide-ranging cuts in academic programs and faculty positions as the university addresses a $45 million budget shortfall. (AP Photo/Leah Willingham, File)
West Virginia University makes wide-ranging cuts to academic programs and faculty
West Virginia University has given final approval to wide-ranging cuts in academic programs and faculty positions. The university is addressing a $45 million budget shortfall.
 
Nonprofit Solutions Oriented Addiction Response West Virginia co-founder Sarah Stone prepares items for the first-ever Appalachian Save a Life Day naloxone distribution event on Monday, Sept. 11, 2023, at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Charleston in Charleston, W.Va. (AP Photo/Leah Willingham)
Communities across Appalachia band together for first-ever 13-state Narcan distribution event
An effort to destigmatize the use of overdose reversal drugs that started as a pilot in two West Virginia counties has expanded to all thirteen states in Appalachia this year.
 
FILE - West Virginia Delegate Doug Skaff, D-Kanawha, is seen in chambers in Charleston, W.Va., Aug. 4, 2011. Skaff, president of a West Virginia media company, is resigning from the state House of Delegates, shortly after stepping down as the chamber’s minority leader. Skaff, who has represented Kanawha County as a Democrat in the House for nearly 11 years, delivered a resignation to the office of Speaker Roger Hanshaw, Friday, Sept. 8, 2023, according to a House spokesperson. (Chris Dorst/Charleston Gazette-Mail via AP, File)
Former Democratic minority leader Skaff resigns from West Virginia House
Del. Doug Skaff is resigning from the West Virginia House of Delegates after stepping down as the chamber’s Democratic leader last month.
 
FILE - Students gather during a walkout in protest of an administration proposal to cut 9% of majors and amid a $45 million budget shortfall at West Virginia University in Morgantown, W.Va., Monday, Aug. 21, 2023. West Virginia University is recommending slashing its language department and dozens of other programs amid a $45 million budget shortfall. (Ron Rittenhouse /The Dominion-Post via AP, File)
West Virginia University crisis looms as GOP leaders focus on economic development, jobs
West Virginia University is recommending slashing its language department and dozens of other programs amid a $45 million budget shortfall.
 
West Virginia University students lead a protest against cuts to programs in world languages, creative writing and more amid a $45 million budget deficit outside Stewart Hall in Morgantown, W.Va., on Monday, Aug. 21, 2023. (AP Photo/Leah Willingham)
West Virginia University recommends keeping some language classes, moving forward with axing majors
West Virginia University plans to eliminate its world languages department but is recommending letting students take some language elective courses as it faces a growing budget shortfall.
 
FILE - A patient prepares to take the first of two combination pills, mifepristone, for a medication abortion during a visit to a clinic in Kansas City, Kan., on Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2022. West Virginia can restrict the sale of the abortion pill, despite federal regulators' approval of it as a safe and effective medication, a federal judge has ruled Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)
West Virginia can restrict abortion pill sales, judge rules, despite FDA approval that it’s safe
A federal judge has ruled that West Virginia can restrict the sale of the abortion pill. That’s despite federal regulators’ approval of it as a safe and effective medication. U.S. District Court Judge Robert C.
 
West Virginia University senior Mailyn Sadler leads a protest in the university's free speech zone outside the Mountainlair student union against cuts to programs in world languages, creative writing and more amid a $45 million budget deficit in Morgantown, W.Va., on Monday, Aug. 21, 2023. (AP Photo/Leah Willingham)
West Virginia University students push back on program and faculty cuts after $45M budget shortfall
West Virginia University students have staged a walkout to protest the proposed elimination of academic programs while showing support for faculty and staff whose jobs are being targeted.
 
Retired West Virginia coal miner Terry Lilly, who has black lung, speaks during a public hearing hosted by the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration about its draft rule to limit worker exposure to silica dust at the agency's office in Beaver, W.Va. on Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Leah Willingham)
Coal miners plead with feds for stronger enforcement during emotional hearing on black lung rule
Miners and advocates are pleading with the Mine Safety and Health Administration to ensure a proposed rule to cut the current limit for silica dust exposure has strict enforcement mechanisms.
 
FILE - West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice delivers his annual State of the State address in the House Chambers at the state capitol in Charleston, W.Va., on Jan. 11, 2023. West Virginia's state Legislature approved millions of dollars in raises for corrections employees Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2023, the same day as a lawsuit was filed against Republican Gov. Jim Justice and other state leaders for the conditions in the state’s regional jails and prisons. (AP Photo/Chris Jackson, File)
West Virginia approves more pay for corrections workers as lawsuit is filed over conditions
West Virginia lawmakers have approved millions of dollars in raises and bonuses for corrections employees. The funding was approved on the same day a lawsuit was filed against Gov.
 
Iris Sidikman, harm reduction coordinator at the Women’s Health Center of West Virginia, poses for a portrait beside a syringe disposal box in the clinic parking lot on Thursday, August 4, 2023, in Charleston, W.Va. (AP Photo/Leah Willingham)
West Virginia’s capital officials reject abortion provider’s proposal to start syringe service
City councilors in West Virginia’s capital city have voted against a proposal from the state’s long-time abortion provider to start a syringe service program in one of the country’s most opioid-devastated areas.
 
Iris Sidikman, harm reduction coordinator at the Women’s Health Center of West Virginia, poses for a portrait beside a syringe disposal box in the clinic parking lot on Thursday, August 4, 2023, in Charleston, W.Va. (AP Photo/Leah Willingham)
As clinics pivot post-Roe, battle rages over syringe service in opioid-ravaged West Virginia
Staff at Women’s Health Center of West Virginia know what it’s like to provide controversial health services government officials have sought to restrict.
 
In this Aug. 4, 2011 file photo, W.Va. Delegate Doug Skaff, D-Kanawha, is seen in chambers in Charleston, W.Va. Skaff Jr. will end his tenure Aug. 8, 2023, but for the time being will remain in his seat as a Democratic lawmaker representing Kanawha County. Skaff assumed his position as minority leader in 2020. His current term in the House of Delegates expires 2024. (Chris Dorst/Charleston Gazette-Mail via AP)
Dem Sean Hornbuckle taking over West Virginia House minority leader role
The leader of West Virginia’s shrinking Democratic minority is stepping down. Minority Leader Doug Skaff Jr. will end his tenure on Aug. 8. He will remain in his seat for now as a Democratic lawmaker representing Kanawha County.
 
FILE - West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice delivers his annual State of the State address in the House Chambers at the West Virginia Capitol, Jan. 11, 2023, in Charleston, W.Va. Justice said Thursday, July 27, that he plans to work with officials at Alderson Broaddus University and elsewhere to help the school work through its financial struggles. (AP Photo/Chris Jackson, File)
West Virginia board revokes private university’s ability to award degrees amid staggering debt
The board overseeing West Virginia’s four-year colleges and universities has voted to revoke a small private university’s ability to award degrees.
 
FILE - The crowd watches as Travis Scott performs at Astroworld Festival at NRG park on Friday, Nov. 5, 2021 in Houston. Nearly two years after 10 people were crushed to death during the deadly 2021 Astroworld festival, no charges have been filed despite at least some people, including workers, expressing safety concerns about the event.(Jamaal Ellis/Houston Chronicle via AP, File)
10 people died at the Astroworld music festival two years ago. What happens now?
Nearly two years after 10 people were crushed to death during the deadly 2021 Astroworld festival in Houston, no charges have been filed despite at least some people, including workers, expressing safety concerns about the event.
 
Women's Health Center of West Virginia Harm Reduction Coordinator Iris Sidikmanspeaks about a proposal from the clinic to add a syringe service its offerings during a public hearing at the Goodwill Prosperity Center in Charleston, W.Va. on Thursday, July 27, 2023. (AP Photo/Leah Willingham)
Former abortion clinic pleads with residents to keep ‘open mind’ about syringe service program
West Virginia’s former abortion provider is pleading with capital-area residents to keep “an open mind and an open heart” about its proposal to add a syringe service program to its offerings in the opioid-ravaged state.
 
Missy Nester owner of the The Welch News sits in front of the now closed office on Wednesday, May 31, 2023, in Welch, W.Va. In March, the weekly publication in McDowell County one of the poorest counties America became another one of the quarter of all U.S. newspapers that have shuttered since 2005, a crisis Nester called "terrifying for democracy" and one that disproportionately impacts rural America. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)
Residents are at a loss after newspaper that bound community together shuts in declining coal county
Months after the last newspaper closed in a declining coal community in West Virginia, residents say they are already experiencing challenges getting and sharing information.
 
Retired coal miner James Bounds, who has pneumoconiosis, more commonly known as “black lung," poses for a photo at his home in Oak Hill, W.Va., Thursday, July, 13, 2023. Bounds said nothing can be done to reverse the debilitating illness he was diagnosed with at 37 in 1984. But he doesn't want others to suffer the same fate. (AP Photo/Chris Jackson)
After decades of delays and broken promises, coal miners hail rule to slow rise of black lung
A half-century ago, the nation’s top health experts urged the federal agency in charge of mine safety to adopt strict rules protecting miners from poisonous rock dust.
 
Judge: West Virginia can’t require incarcerated atheist to participate in religious programming
A federal judge in West Virginia has ruled that the state corrections agency can’t force an incarcerated atheist and secular humanist to participate in religiously-affiliated programming to be eligible for parole.
 
ACLU of West Virginia sues county commissioner for blocking constituent on Facebook
The American Civil Liberties Union of West Virginia is suing a county commissioner in the state’s eastern panhandle for blocking a constituent on social media.
 
FILE - West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey speaks with reporters to announce a $68 million settlement with the Kroger pharmacy chain over its role in perpetuating the opioid crisis during a press conference at the state Capitol in Charleston on Thursday, May 4, 2023 in Charleston, W.Va. West Virginia's state health officer was selected Wednesday, July 12, 2023, to represent one of the hardest hit regions of the state for drug overdoses on the board of a private foundation that will be distributing the majority of the state's more than $1 billion in opioid settlements. (AP Photo/Jeff Dean, File)
West Virginia state health officer to join board overseeing opioid fund distribution
West Virginia’s state health officer has been voted to the board of a foundation that will be distributing the majority of the state’s more than $1 billion in opioid settlements. Dr.
 
FILE - West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey speaks with reporters to announce a $68 million settlement with the Kroger pharmacy chain over its role in perpetuating the opioid crisis, during a news conference at the state Capitol in Charleston, W.Va., May 4, 2023. West Virginia is selecting leadership for a newly created foundation tasked with distributing the lion's share of the more than one billion dollars in opioid settlement money coming to the state. That means funding for opioid treatment and addiction services will soon be going out to communities after years of litigation, Morrisey said Monday, June 26, in his state Capitol office. (AP Photo/Jeff Dean, File)
Emergency room physician selected as West Virginia’s 1st opioid settlement board member
An emergency room physician has been named the first board director of a nonprofit tasked with distributing much of the state’s over $1 billion in opioid settlement money. Dr.
 
FILE - West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey speaks with reporters to announce a $68 million settlement with the Kroger pharmacy chain over its role in perpetuating the opioid crisis, during a news conference at the state Capitol in Charleston, W.Va., May 4, 2023. West Virginia is selecting leadership for a newly created foundation tasked with distributing the lion's share of the more than one billion dollars in opioid settlement money coming to the state. That means funding for opioid treatment and addiction services will soon be going out to communities after years of litigation, Morrisey said Monday, June 26, in his state Capitol office. (AP Photo/Jeff Dean, File)
Clock ticking for West Virginia to select leadership for opioid money distribution
West Virginia is finalizing the leadership for a newly created foundation tasked with distributing the lion’s share of the more than $1 billion in opioid lawsuit-settlement money.
 
FILE - The Mountainlair Student Union on West Virginia University downtown campus stands on April, 24, 2015, in Morgantown, W.Va. With more cuts expected, the university's governing board moved forward Friday, June 23, 2023, with slashing 12 graduate and doctoral programs amid a $45 million budget shortfall and approved a just under 3 percent tuition increase. (AP Photo/Raymond Thompson, File)
West Virginia University approves $7M in staff cuts and a 3% tuition increase
With more cuts expected, West Virginia University’s governing board moved forward Friday with slashing 12 graduate and doctoral programs amid a $45 million budget shortfall.
 
Georgia governor vows a fight after MLB yanks All-Star Game
Baseball fans are divided about Major League Baseball’s decision to pull this summer’s All-Star Game from Georgia over a new voting law that critics say will hurt communities of color. But Gov.
 
Mississippi: No extension of postpartum Medicaid coverage
An effort to extend postpartum Medicaid coverage has failed in Mississippi. The state has high rates of infant mortality and maternal mortality. The program usually has two months of coverage for women after they give birth.
 
Water woes linger in Mississippi and Louisiana after freeze
Tens of thousands of people in Mississippi and Louisiana still lack water or have very low water pressure, even with weather warming up days after a winter storm.
 
Meredith Anding Jr., member of the ‘Tougaloo Nine,’ dies
A member of the “Tougaloo Nine” college students who famously participated in a library “read-in” in segregated Mississippi 60 years ago has died. Meredith C. Anding Jr. was 79. His son Armaan Anding says his father was diagnosed with leukemia.
 
Mississippi health advisory: Avoid gatherings to curb virus
Mississippi is reporting its single-day record of nearly 2,500 new coronavirus cases. The state health department issued an advisory Wednesday saying people should avoid social gatherings to curb the virus’s spread.
 
Incumbents face challenges in Mississippi House, court races
Three out of four incumbents in Mississippi’s U.S. Congressional Districts are facing challenges on Election Day. Two Republicans — Trent Kelly and Michael Guest — and the state federal delegation’s sole Democrat, Bennie Thompson.
 
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