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🌱 Patch AM: Why an 84-year-old was arrested with a gun at Riverside

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Good morning Newport News! Your connection to what's happening around town is here. Take a sip of coffee and read on. ☕️️

In today's newsletter:

  • Why an 84-year-old was arrested with a gun at Riverside
  • How Newport News holiday closures could change your trash pickup and commute
  • How one Newport News family is coping after another tragic shooting

Also on today's calendar: YARN at Tradition Brewing and 7 more events.

Find out what's happening in Newport Newsfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

Today's riddle: Last night I had a dream. 🤔 (Answer below!)

Weather forecast:

Find out what's happening in Newport Newsfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

  • Saturday: Sunshine and cooler, with a high of 49 and low of 38 degrees.
  • Sunday: Plenty of sun, temps: high: 58, low: 27.
  • Monday: Breezy in the a.m.; sunshine, with a high of 41 and low of 32 degrees.

📰 News we're reading

1. 84-year-old charged with threatening violence at Riverside Regional Medical Center (13newsnow.com) — Newport News police arrested an 84-year-old man at Riverside Regional Medical Center after he brought a gun into the hospital and allegedly threatened to fire it. Officers quickly took him into custody, recovered the firearm, and filed multiple weapons-related charges. No injuries were reported, and police say there is no ongoing threat to the public.
   

2. What's closed on Christmas & New Year's in Hampton Roads (wavy.com) — City offices, libraries, rec centers, and the Recovery Operations Center in Newport News will be closed Dec. 24–26, with trash, recycling, and bulk waste collections on a holiday schedule. Hampton Roads Transit will also suspend several routes serving Huntington Ingalls Newport News Shipyard around Christmas and New Year’s, so riders should plan ahead for reduced or altered service.
   

3. Local family mourns fast food manager killed on the job (wavy.com) — A Newport News family is grieving after 31-year-old Dewand McGowan, a Wendy’s manager, was fatally shot while working at the Warwick Boulevard restaurant. His brother shared memories of McGowan and reflected on the family’s pain, which began when their mother was killed on Madison Avenue in Newport News two years earlier.
   

4. HII Completes Hull Assembly for US Navy's 29th Virginia Submarine (thedefensepost.com) — Newport News Shipbuilding has completed the pressure hull for the USS Oklahoma, a next-generation Virginia-class attack submarine, marking a major construction milestone at the local yard. The project underscores the shipyard’s key role in building the Navy’s modern submarine fleet and highlights ongoing high-skilled industrial work that supports jobs and the regional economy.
   

5. A Silver Lining From Comic Book Burnings and Censorship in Postwar America: Book Censorship News, December 19, 2025 (bookriot.com) — A Christopher Newport University historian highlights how a Newport News elementary school once held an anti-comics campaign that ended in a book burning, even as part of National Children’s Book Week. He uses that local history to contrast today’s librarians, who now fight nationwide efforts to ban comics and other challenged books, especially those with LGBTQ+ themes.
   

📸 Around Newport News

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💬 Chatter

What your neighbors are talking about on social media

  • Update:
    She has been reunited with her family. Female Boxer found her way to our backyard on Davis Avenue (Jefferson Ave end). Anyone missing this fur baby? (Nextdoor Beaconsdale)
  • UPDATE: she has been taken to the Peninsula Regional Animal Shelter in Newport News.
    please help! we found this baby walking around Springhouse Apartments without a collar. (Nextdoor Springhouse/Turnberry)
  • Virginia Staffing posted a job opening for Janitorial Cleaner in Newport News. Apply here.
  • USA Jobs posted a job opening for Warehouse Janitorial Cleaner in Newport News. Apply here. You can search for other jobs near Newport News here.

Ok Newport News! So now you're in the loop about what's happening today. Thanks for reading, and see you in your inbox next time! Oh -- and if you like what you're reading, invite a friend to Patch AM!

-- The Patch AM Team

P.S. The answer to today's riddle: I dreamed I was swimming in a pool of orange soda, but it was just a Fanta-sea.
Got a good riddle for PatchAM? Send it to us!

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