Traffic

Virginia Department of Transportation crews are securing loose overhead sign panels on Interstate 95 northbound just before exit 130 (Route 3) in Fredericksburg. Two lanes remain closed and a single northbound lane is open, with exit 130 ramps remaining open. Northbound delays begin before exit 126 (Spotsylvania).

The update was posted by the Virginia Department of Transportation on Nov. 7, 2026. Drivers can check current traffic and lane-closure information on 511Virginia.


Fredericksburg

Fredericksburg City Public Schools announced that longtime educator Emma Brown is slated to become the next principal of Hugh Mercer Elementary School, beginning Monday, November 30, 2026. Brown has served the division since 2012, starting as a teacher at Walker-Grant Middle School and later working as an instructional technology coach at Walker-Grant and Hugh Mercer.

She has also been an administrative intern at Hugh Mercer and Lafayette elementary schools and has served as assistant principal at Walker-Grant Middle School since 2022, including a stint as interim assistant principal at Hugh Mercer during the 2024-2025 school year. The Fredericksburg City School Board is expected to formalize the appointment at its regularly scheduled meeting on Monday, December 7, 2026.


Features

Betty Barnhardt Hume, University of Mary Washington Class of 1971, is a retired library reference assistant from Fredericksburg. She entered Final Jeopardy! in the Religion category trailing four-day champion Erica Doornek. The clue referenced John Calvin and the Holy Sudary. Hume answered correctly—“What is the Shroud of Turin?”—wagered $5,000, and finished with $21,000 to claim the win and end Doornek’s streak.

Hume joins other University of Mary Washington alumni who have competed on the show. This is her first appearance. She returned as champion on Friday and won again, bringing her two-day total to $27,800. She is scheduled to go for a third win on Monday.


Event

Join Cruise Planners Beth Borrego and Rod Rodriguez for the World of Travel Show 2027 on Saturday, February 6, 2027, from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. in The BlackBox at BlackRock Center for the Arts in Germantown.

Meet representatives from 13 respected travel brands covering family and adults-only cruises, premium and luxury ocean voyages, European river cruises, expedition and Galápagos adventures, small-ship sailing, guided land tours, and customized vacations.


Police Blotter

Prince William County police reported an indecent exposure at a Woodbridge residence in Friday’s daily incident report and said missing endangered juvenile Nevaeh Hazel Mae Simpson has been located and is safe.

1000 block of River Mill Loop, Woodbridge (22191), Nov. 4, about 10 a.m. (reported in Nov. 6 daily report) — Police said a 32-year-old woman was in her residence when she looked out the window and saw an unknown man seated inside a vehicle, exposing himself and making obscene gestures, before he left the area in the vehicle. No suspect description was available.


Prince William

A basement fire in a Catharpin home displaced a family of five and their dog Thursday morning, Prince William County Fire and Rescue said.

Crews were dispatched about 10:40 a.m. Nov. 5 to the 3700 block of Avonlea Way and found smoke showing from the front door of a two-story, single-family home with a walk-out basement. Firefighters knocked the fire down in the basement before it could spread to the floors above. No injuries were reported. The building inspector posted the home as unsafe to occupy. The cause remains undetermined.


Prince William

Seaman Apprentice Emmanuella Iggy, a 2021 graduate of Woodbridge High School, is serving as an operations specialist aboard the USS Mahan, a Navy destroyer based at Naval Station Norfolk.

Iggy, who joined the Navy two years ago seeking structure and productivity, recently completed a deployment that included Operation Epic Fury and identified more than 200 surface contacts. She credits her mother, Uchenna Grace Sheref, for raising her with strong values.


Virginia

A federal judge has issued a temporary restraining order blocking the Trump administration from beginning construction on the Trump memorial arch for 14 days, hours after commission approval, FOX 5 DC reported.


Virginia

The standard deduction for married couples filing jointly will rise to $33,200 and the Child Tax Credit will increase for 2027, the IRS announced, NBC 4 Washington reported.