RICHMOND -- The Virginia General Assembly has given final approval to a bill that would make it illegal for the government to require individuals to purchase health insurance, a measure intended to conflict with Democratic efforts to reform health care in Washington.

RICHMOND, Va. -- Hoping to quell a growing uproar on Virginia's college campuses over gay rights, Gov. Robert F. McDonnell issued a directive to all 102,000 state employees Wednesday that prohibits discrimination in the state workforce, including on the basis of sexual orientation, and warns he will reprimand or fire anyone who engages in it.

Gov. Bob McDonnell is strengthening largely symbolic anti-bias protections for gay state employees, attempting to douse a political firestorm set when his attorney general decreed such safeguards don't exist.

RICHMOND, Va. -- Virginia Gov. Robert F. McDonnell won a landslide victory in November largely because of two broad campaign promises. He was going to deliver key services that Virginians wanted even while shrinking government. And he was ready to lead from Day One, unlike his opponent, whom he mocked for lacking plans for what to do.

Gov. Bob McDonnell has added his signature to legislation intended to further his goal of making Virginia the East Coast's energy center.

RICHMOND, Va. -- Hundreds of people are urging legislators to boycott the House of Delegates' floor session on Thursday, when a Falls Church imam whom they accuse of condoning violence and defending terrorism is set to deliver the opening prayer.

More than three months after Virginia's new restrictions on smoking in restaurants went into effect, about 88 percent of restaurants in the state have gone smoke-free, the state Health Department says.

Then-Gov. Timothy M. Kaine's office was involved in discussions that led to the suppression of findings that a state children's hospital he wanted to close provided an essential service.

Sen. Ralph Northam's bill that would bench student athletes who suffer concussions, until they have a medical clearance, is on its way to the governor's desk for his signature.

Belinda Dexter was more than a little surprised to learn that her immigration activism group - Help Save Hampton Roads - is among dozens of groups labeled "extremist" in a new report by the Southern Poverty Law Center.