Here’s what’s happening around Virginia today — Tuesday, October 6, 2026.
Virginia Top Stories
Gas prices dip a little, but drivers still pay way more than last year
Virginia’s average gas price sits at $4.12 a gallon as of October 5, according to AAA data compiled by Stacker. That’s down 10 cents from last week — some relief, but drivers are still paying $1.11 more per gallon than this time last year, a 37% jump.
Diesel is even rougher: $6.26 a gallon, down 9 cents on the week but up $2.73 — 77% — from a year ago. GasBuddy’s survey of more than 4,000 Virginia stations puts the average at $4.13, up 69 cents from a month ago and $1.39 from a year ago. Prices range from $3.59 at the cheapest station to $5.49 at the priciest. Northern Virginia stays among the most expensive areas, with Loudoun, Fairfax, and Arlington counties all above $4.22 a gallon.
Sources: AAA via Stacker; GasBuddy via ESPN Harrisonburg; Virginia Free Press.
Two Navy aviators eject during carrier landing off Virginia coast; four sailors injured
On Monday, two aviators ejected from their plane while trying to land on the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower off the Virginia coast. The Navy called it a mishap during aircraft recovery operations. Both were rescued, brought back aboard, and are being evaluated by medics.
Four sailors on the ship were hurt as well. One was taken to a hospital in the Norfolk area with non-life-threatening injuries. The Navy hasn’t said what type of plane was involved or what caused the accident.
Sources: Associated Press, via USA Today.
ICE arrests Honduran man in Fairfax County after the county released him
The Department of Homeland Security says ICE agents arrested Oscar Evaristo Nunez on September 15 in a targeted enforcement operation. Nunez, a Honduran national, was first arrested August 27, 2025, on charges of aggravated sexual battery involving children and secretly filming an undressed minor, according to DHS.
ICE says it lodged an immigration detainer with the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center two days after that arrest, but the county released him without notifying the agency. He is now back in federal custody. DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin publicly criticized Fairfax County officials over the release. Fox News reported it reached out to the sheriff’s office and a county spokesman for comment and had not heard back.
For context: since taking office in January, Governor Abigail Spanberger has directed Virginia state agencies to end their 287(g) partnerships with ICE, which had let state officers carry out federal immigration enforcement. Local sheriff agreements were left in place.
Sources: Fox News, New York Post, Foreign Policy Journal — all reporting DHS’s announcement. Fairfax County has not publicly responded, per Fox News.
Jury selection continues Tuesday in the Naresh Bhatt murder trial
Jury selection resumes today in Prince William County Circuit Court in the trial of Naresh Bhatt, the Manassas Park man accused of murdering and dismembering his wife, Mamta Kafle Bhatt. The 28-year-old pediatric nurse vanished in late August 2024. Her body has never been found.
Bhatt has been in custody since his August 2024 arrest. On Monday, the court began narrowing a pool of more than 170 potential jurors down to a panel of 12; three were dismissed. The judge ordered potential jurors to delete social media and news apps from their phones rather than be sequestered. The trial is expected to run about seven weeks.
Sources: Fox5DC, WJLA/7News, NBC4 Washington.
Spanberger releases 2026 energy plan as power bills climb
Governor Abigail Spanberger released the 2026 Virginia Energy Plan last week, laying out how the state plans to meet fast-growing electricity demand: more solar and battery storage, better use of the existing grid, and longer-term bets on nuclear and fusion. The plan also pushes for large electricity users — think data centers — to cover the costs their demand creates.
Meanwhile, power bills keep rising. Dominion Energy’s director of regulation testified to the State Corporation Commission that a proposed surcharge tied to rejoining the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative would start raising electricity bills next March, before rebates (reported by the Washington Examiner). The SCC had already approved base rate increases of $11.24 a month for a typical residential customer in 2026, plus another $2.36 in 2027 (reported by WRIC).
Supporters say the plan keeps the grid reliable while cutting emissions. Critics say it will keep pushing prices higher. The debate isn’t over.
Sources: Clean Air Task Force press release on the plan; Washington Examiner editorial citing Dominion’s SCC testimony; WRIC via Tech Times on approved rate increases.
Virginians / Gente de Virginia
Alexandria nonprofit turns everyday kindness into action
Rubie Williams runs Believe Nonprofit in Alexandria, and for her, helping a neighbor is practical work: putting food on a family’s table, finding a winter coat for a child, covering a hotel night for someone with nowhere safe to sleep, or giving a job seeker the confidence of a fresh haircut and professional clothes.
Williams traces the mission to her grandmother, Willie Robinson, whose generosity in the segregated 1950s shaped the whole family. “Generosity is not measured by how much you have — it is measured by how much love you are willing to share,” Williams said.
Source: The Zebra — the only outlet we’ve seen on this one so far.
Manassas community grieves two fathers killed in workplace shooting
Northern Virginia is mourning Ricky Lamot, 48, and Christopher Serrano, 33 — the two fathers killed in the September 30 workplace shooting at a United Rentals facility in Manassas. Police say coworker Marvin Grant, 37, opened fire that morning, then died by suicide during a standoff on I-81 in Augusta County.
A GoFundMe for Serrano’s family — he leaves behind a wife, a 2-year-old daughter, and a 10-year-old son — has raised more than $42,000. Lamot, a husband and father who coached youth football, wasn’t even scheduled to be at the facility that morning, a fellow coach said.
Sources: Fox5DC; Associated Press.
World Tensions / Tensiones Mundiales
Iran says the Strait of Hormuz stays closed until its conditions are met. On Sunday, parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said the strait will not reopen until Iran’s seven conditions from the June interim agreement are satisfied — including lifting sanctions and ending hostilities. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said separately that Tehran’s plan could reopen the strait within seven days if the U.S. accepts it. Iran is now reviewing a U.S. response delivered through Qatari mediators. In other news, Iran’s oil minister resigned on Monday.
What it means for Virginia: the war has kept global oil shipping tight, and Virginians feel it at the pump — regular gas costs $1.11 a gallon more than a year ago. Hampton Roads military families are watching closely too: the USS Eisenhower, involved in Monday’s mishap, is homeported in Norfolk.
Sources: Associated Press (via AAP); Reuters.
Around the World / Por el Mundo
- Yemen: Yemen’s government announced major new military operations against the Iran-backed Houthis, Reuters reported Monday.
- Europe: The United States removed bombers from a UK air base at the center of a suspected Iranian plot, the AP reported.
- Asia: Saudi Arabia resumed oil tanker loadings from Yanbu after restarting its East-West pipeline, with crude shipments approaching pre-war levels, according to Trading Economics.
- Latin America: For the first time in the survey’s history, the 2026 Latinobarómetro poll of 17 Latin American countries found China viewed as a more positive influence than the United States, the Buenos Aires Times reported.
Sources / Fuentes: Associated Press, USA Today, AAA via Stacker, GasBuddy via ESPN Harrisonburg, Virginia Free Press, Fox News, New York Post, Foreign Policy Journal, Fox5DC, WJLA/7News, NBC4 Washington, Clean Air Task Force, Washington Examiner, WRIC, The Zebra, AAP, Reuters, Trading Economics, Buenos Aires Times.
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