Talk of the Town
Gas prices in Virginia have fallen by 2.1 cents per gallon over the past week, averaging $2.82 today, according to GasBuddy.
Prices are 5.9 cents per gallon higher than a month ago and 20.6 cents per gallon lower than a year ago.
AAA reports average prices in Patrick County are $2.66, in Henry County $ 2.70, and in the city of Martinsville $2.79.
MEDIA RELEASE February 21, 2026 Henry County Sheriff’s Office UPDATE: Arrest Made in Shots Fired Incident at Sportslanes As a…
(LONGDON) — The interim leadership council of Iran has been formed following the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the country’s supreme leader, Iranian state TV reported Sunday.
The interim leadership council will include Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, the head of the judiciary and Ayatollah Alireza Arafi, who was selected as the representative of the Guardian Council.
According to the Islamic Republic constitution, the Guardian Council consists of 12 members: six “faghihs,” or Islamic jurists, and six Muslim “experts” in various areas of law.
Watch ABC Sunday night at 9 p.m. ET for an ABC News special “Shockwaves: The Attack on Iran” to see the latest on the unfolding situation in the Middle East. Stream on Disney+ and Hulu.
Pezeshkian — who sources told ABC News was targeted in Saturday’s joint U.S.-Israel attack — resurfaced on Sunday on Iranian state TV. He said that the interim leadership council has started its work following the death of Khamenei.
In a taped video message broadcast on the Iranian state TV, Pezeshkian said that the armed forces of the Islamic Republic are “powerfully crushing the enemy’s bases.”
Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran, Ali Larijani, appeared in a television interview in Iran on Sunday and commented on the death of Khamenei, saying, “The passing of a great personality has wounded the hearts of all of us.”
“Americans should know that by stabbing the hearts of the Iranian nation, their hearts will be stabbed,” Larijani said. “What they did in a cruel way towards the Iranian leadership has angered the people so much that they will never achieve their goals.”
He also said a temporary leadership council would be formed of the president, the head of the judiciary, and one of the jurists of the Guardian Council.
A spokesperson for the Guardian Council said, “The country’s constitution provides for the current situation and the leadership council will be in charge until the leadership is determined.”
According to the law, the leadership must be determined as soon as possible, given the war conditions. Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said 40 Iranian commanders were also killed in Saturday’s attack that President Donald Trump described as a “massive and ongoing operation” against Iran and its Middle East proxies.
The IDF said the Israeli Air Force struck and eliminated seven members of the top Iranian security leadership who had gathered at several locations in Tehran.
Among those eliminated in the strikes was Abdolrahim Mousavi, who served as chief of staff of the armed forces, according to the IDF.
Mousavi served as one of the highest senior military ranking officials and was the successor of Mohammad Bagheri, the chief of staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, who was killed in the opening strike of “Operation Rising Lion” in June 2025.
The majority of the highest-ranking senior military officials of the Iranian security leadership were also killed, the IDF said.
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(NEW YORK) — Inflation surged in March after an oil shock triggered by the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, government data showed on Friday. The inflation report matched economists’ expectations.
Prices rose 3.3% in March compared to a year earlier, marking a steep rise from a year-over-year inflation rate of 2.4% in the prior month. Annual inflation jumped to its highest level in two years, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data showed.
The jump in prices owed in large part to a sharp rise in costs for products impacted by the oil shortage. Gasoline prices were 25% higher in March than February, the BLS report said. Overall, energy prices jumped almost 12% from a month earlier.
Airline fares increased 3.4% in March from February, the data showed.
The rapid acceleration of price increases could complicate interest rate policy at the Federal Reserve, which may be reluctant to lower borrowing costs as inflation climbs.
The Middle East conflict prompted Iran’s effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway that facilitates the transport of about one-fifth of the global supply of oil and natural gas.
That energy shortage sent oil and gasoline prices surging worldwide. Gasoline prices in the U.S. stood at $4.15 on average per gallon on Friday, marking a leap of $1.17 since the start of the war, AAA data showed.
The BLS collected price data over the entire month of March. The inflation report, in turn, reflected prices for 31 of the first 32 days of war, excluding the outbreak of hostilities on Feb. 28. The ceasefire announced on Tuesday came after 40 days of fighting.
As part of a two-week U.S.-Iran ceasefire announced on Tuesday, Iran says it will allow tankers passage through the Strait of Hormuz as long as they coordinate with the nation’s military.
The resumption of tanker traffic remains uncertain, however. Tanker traffic was suspended on Wednesday after Israeli attacks on Lebanon, Iran’s semi-official Fars News Agency reported.
Crude prices fell after the ceasefire announcement but remained highly elevated. U.S. oil prices topped $98 a barrel as of Thursday, standing nearly 50% higher than their pre-war level.
A surge in consumer prices could pose difficulty for the Fed as it weathers a slowdown of economic performance over recent months.
If the Fed opts to lower borrowing costs, it could spur growth but risk higher inflation. On the other hand, the choice to raise interest rates may slow price increases but raises the likelihood of a cooldown in economic performance.
Last month, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said that despite rising energy prices and the potential impact on inflation, he doesn’t think the central bank needs to raise interest rates.
Powell noted that central bankers often look past shocks — such as sudden oil-price increases — since the upward pressure on consumer prices usually proves temporary.
“We feel like our policy is in a good place for us to wait and see how that turns out,” Powell said.
The benchmark interest rate stands at a level between 3.5% and 3.75%. That figure marks a significant drop from a recent peak attained in 2023, but borrowing costs remain well above a 0% rate established at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Fed will announce its next rate decision on April 29. Investors overwhelmingly expect the Fed to leave rates unchanged, according to the CME FedWatch Tool, a measure of market sentiment.
The tool pegs a roughly 70% chance that the Fed will maintain interest rates at current levels for the remainder of the year.
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