We begin with a report on Virginia's general assembly that ends this week.

Joining us from the Capitol is VPM state politics reporter, Ben Paviour.

Ben, could you give us an update on what's happened at the GA this year?

BEN PAVIOUR: Well, Angie, as you know, power is split between Democrats in the Senate and Republicans in the House of Delegates.

And that means there's not a lot that's getting done on the controversial topics like gun control, like abortion.

Most of the bills relating to those topics have already died.

ANGIE MILES: Ben, you mentioned gun control laws.

How did Virginia lawmakers use bills to respond to recent mass shootings in our state?

BEN PAVIOUR: Well, for Governor Glenn Youngkin and Republicans this is all part of a broader mental health crisis the state is experiencing.

Youngkin has proposed investing an extra $200 million in mental health services including things like Mobile Crisis Response Teams and I think there's some bipartisan support for that.

But Democrats say it needs to come with tighter gun control laws.

They're especially focused on a bill that would have required adults to lock their firearms in a stored lockbox.

They argue this would help prevent suicides which is now the leading cause of death for those under 18.

And it would also prevent tragedies like the one we saw in Newport News where a six year old shot their teacher.

ANGIE MILES: Ben, are there any bills that you're following that could be able to work around the gridlock and maybe actually pass?

BEN PAVIOUR: Well, Angie, I think one worth mentioning here is a Republican sponsored bill that would allow colleges and universities to access health and criminal history records of students who pose a significant threat on campus.

The sponsors say it was inspired by that tragic shooting at UVA last year, and it's picked up broad unanimous support in the legislature.

ANGIE MILES: Thank you for your insight, Ben.

And you can learn more about top bills from this year's session and dig a little more deeply into our stories at vpm.org/focalpoint.