A trial date has been set in a tax dispute that pits a controversial dietary supplement maker against the state of Virginia, the first sign of movement in the case in more than 18 months.

A judge in Mecklenburg County, near the North Carolina border, will hear arguments in December over a tax bill contested by Virginia-based Star Scientific Inc., according to lawyers representing the state.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe now supports exploring for oil off the coast of Virginia, reversing his position on an issue that both sides of the debate consider to be crucial to the commonwealth’s long-term energy future.

A Richmond prosecutor is investigating whether Virginia Gov. Robert F. McDonnell violated state gift and disclosure laws — a probe that was initiated by state Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli II.

Cuccinelli (R) confirmed Wednesday that he asked Richmond Commonwealth’s Attorney Michael Herring to conduct a review of McDonnell’s annual economic disclosure forms last November.

Virginia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe is linking himself to the landmark transportation compromise championed by Republican Gov. Robert F. McDonnell in his latest campaign ad, launching statewide on Wednesday.

Virginia’s newly minted Republican lieutenant governor nominee E.W. Jackson says his faith and values inform his conservative stances on issues such as abortion and marriage — and some of his past statements critics are now highlighting as extreme and offensive.

RICHMOND — Republican Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling on Monday sharply criticized his party’s selection of E. W. Jackson as its nominee for lieutenant governor, saying it will “feed the image of extremism” in the party.

A leading antiabortion group plans to use Virginia’s 2013 statewide races as a strategic proving ground ahead of next year’s midterm elections, raising the stakes in a gubernatorial contest marked by heated debate over social issues.

Virginia Attorney Gen. Ken Cuccinelli II is dropping his assertion that the Office of the Attorney General is exempt from state public records laws, indicating in a statement Monday that he had asked staff attorneys to stop including the claim in their responses to requests for records from his office.

Ken Cuccinelli II is launching his first television ad since being named GOP nominee for Virginia governor on Monday, featuring the widow of a slain Fairfax County police officer, who endorses the attorney general.

RICHMOND — Thousands of Virginia Republicans on Saturday picked a slate of statewide candidates who vowed to stay true to conservative principles, resisting calls to remake the GOP message after losses in 2012.

VIRGINIA BEACH — One day after he beat better funded, better known rivals to become the Republican nominee for lieutenant governor, the Rev. E.W. Jackson started his Sunday the way he usually does: preaching to his congregation in Chesapeake.

Virginia Attorney Gen. Ken T. Cuccinelli (R) has asserted that the state’s freedom of information laws do not apply to the Office of the Attorney General, a break from past practice.

While Cuccinelli’s office has continued to respond to requests for documents under the law — which says that except in certain instances, all records of public bodies should be accessible to the public — it has begun to insert new language into its responses citing a 2011 Virginia Supreme Court case to support the claim that the law does not apply to the office.

RICHMOND — Virginia Republicans shook up the outlook for the November elections Saturday, choosing Chesapeake minister E.W. Jackson to run for lieutenant governor alongside their gubernatorial pick Ken Cuccinelli II and attorney general nominee Mark D. Obenshain.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe is defending himself from charges of caddish behavior by turning to a woman who knows him best: his wife.

“Anyone who knows Terry knows he is someone who respects women and the role we play in today’s world — and nobody knows that better than me,” Dorothy McAuliffe said in a written statement released by her husband’s campaign as Republicans gathered in Richmond for a two-day convention to anoint his opponent.

RICHMOND -- Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal rallied the Virginia GOP Friday night, urging them and Republicans nationwide to stop “hand-wringing” and “navel-gazing” and move forward with the project of reshaping their message.