Virginia prisons are in the spotlight this week amid dual reports alleging guards brutalized inmates.

What's happening: The FBI is investigating the death of a disabled Virginia prisoner who family members allege was "sadistically tortured" by guards, the AP reports.

• Meanwhile, an investigation by Insider found Virginia leads the country in the use of dogs to attack inmates, a practice that has left prisoners with permanent injuries and is banned in many states.

Why it matters: It's an especially bad look for a department that for years has been fending off calls for outside oversight.

The latest: The FBI alerted family members of Charles Givens that they were investigating his February 2022 death at Marion Correctional Treatment Center, per the AP, which reviewed the email.

• Family members have said they were initially told by prison officials that Givens, who was intellectually disabled and serving time for murder, died of natural causes.
• An autopsy later concluded he died of blunt force trauma and found signs of ongoing abuse, per NPR, which first reported Givens' death last month.

Zoom out: The AP report came the day after a lengthy investigation by Insider into the use of patrol dogs in prisons.

• Insider called Virginia an "extreme outlier, commanding dogs to attack on an unmatched scale" in the state's six high-security prisons.

By the numbers: Insider documented 271 dog attacks between 2017 and 2022. The next nearest number of attacks during that period the news outlet was able to document was 15 in Arizona.

• Staff most often unleashed dogs on inmates to force out inmates who refused to leave their cells.

What they're saying: Inmates told Insider that being attacked left them with recurring nightmares, PTSD and in some cases long-lasting physical disabilities.

The other side: Prison officials defended their use of the animals as legal under state law and said they are primarily used for their "presence" as a deterrent to bad behavior.

• As for the FBI's investigation into Givens' death, the department did not respond to a request for comment, though the AP reports the individual guards accused in his death denied the abuse allegations in court filings.

Between the lines: Both issues are likely to figure prominently in advocates' ongoing push to establish an independent ombudsman to investigate issues within the prison system.

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Virginia's top 1% of earners may make less money than you think.

Driving the news: Virginians who earn $643,848 or more are considered part of the state's 1%, per new SmartAsset analysis of IRS tax filer data.

• That's slightly less than the national average of $652,657.

State of play: Southern states have some of the country's lowest income thresholds for their top 1%. But Virginia is an exception, ranking 12th in the nation for how much its residents have to make.

Be smart: The median household income in Virginia is $80,963, per census data.

• It's $74,151 metro Richmond and $51,770 in the city proper.
• Unsurprisingly, nearly all of the richest people in Virginia, the billionaires, live in Northern Virginia.

Zoom out: You have to be rich rich — making more than $952,902 — to be considered the 1% in Connecticut, where the income threshold is the highest of any state.

• Washington, D.C., where people in the top 1% make more than $1 million, would take first place if it were a state.

The big picture: The top 1% of U.S. families held more than a third of the country's total wealth in 2019, up from 27% in 1989, the Congressional Budget Office reported last year. Households in the bottom half of the distribution held only 2% of the country's wealth.

Share this story with your rich friends — and tell them to pick up the tab next time because they're probably the 1%

👀 The state is trying to recover nearly $22 million it accidentally paid insurers to cover Medicaid patients who had died. (Times-Dispatch)

• Officials say they fixed the problem going forward.

🎰 A judge formally approved the city's petition to hold a second casino referendum in November. (WRIC)

🦁 The City Council finalized a ban on owning exotic animals, a list that includes lions, tigers, venomous snakes, racoons, skunks and monkeys. (NBC12)

• The ordinance allows city residents currently keeping certain animals to be grandfathered in and, following an outcry from the falconer community, includes exceptions for people who are federally permitted to keep wild birds.

🚏 GRTC is one of seven large public transit agencies exceeding pre-pandemic ridership. (GMRVA)

🌽 A Richmond couple is opening the region's first "dedicated cornhole lounge" in Short Pump. (BizSense)

It's Duke’s Mayo's Hot Tomato Summer week in Richmond.

What's happening: All week, 80 — yes, 80 — Richmond restaurants and makers are serving up specials celebrating the best combo since peanut butter and chocolate: Duke's Mayo and tomatoes.

Why it matters: Richmonders will find creative takes on the combo all over town through Sunday, including a fried soft shell BLT at Lillie Pearl, goat and halloumi burekas (a savory pastry) at JewFro and a Detroit-style BLT pizza at Bingo Beer Co.

• Plus, a Duke’s-washed mezcal elote cocktail at Southbound, a Duke’s Mayo yellow cake ice cream topped with tomato basil buttercream at Ruby Scoops and a bloody mary made with Meat Juice and rimmed with Duke's at Cirrus Vodka