radioNOVO News WV News Roundup for July 06, 2026

Good morning. Turning to news from across the Mountain State.A Harrison County man is facing significant federal prison time after formally admitting to making a series of violent threats against President Donald Trump and federal immigration officers. Twenty-year-old Cody Lee Smith of Clarksburg pleaded guilty in federal district court to charges of threatening to murder the president and to harm Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Smith published multiple explicit threats on social media, sent a direct message to the president's family, and called an agency tip line promising to attack federal workers stationed in Clarksburg. Smith now faces up to five years in federal prison for the presidential threat and up to ten years for the threats against federal law enforcement.Meanwhile, state fire officials are investigating a tragic mobile home fire that claimed the lives of four adults in Barbour County over the holiday weekend. The West Virginia State Fire Marshal's Office reported the late-night blaze occurred at a residence in the town of Junior. Investigators determined the fire originated on the front porch and was likely caused by improperly discarded consumer-grade fireworks that had been thrown into a trash bag with other refuse. Responding crews discovered the home lacked working smoke alarms, and the victims were unable to escape because the flames completely blocked the structure's only exit.In education news, the West Virginia House Democratic Caucus is making a formal push for a special legislative session to address an unfolding emergency in the public school system. Lawmakers requested that Governor Patrick Morrisey immediately convene the Legislature to reform the state's school aid formula and allocate emergency resources. State education officials recently revealed the system has lost five thousand students since the last headcount, creating funding deficits that could force up to twenty schools to close.And utility crews are working across north-central West Virginia to restore power after a line of severe Fourth of July storms swept through the state. Local emergency officials confirmed that the isolated thunderstorms packed damaging winds, knocking down trees, scattering storm debris, and triggering widespread electricity outages.For more news from across the state, download the radioNOVO app. I’m Codi Gaboff, radioNOVO News.