Alan Etter – 海角精品黑料 News Washington's Top News Thu, 02 Apr 2026 11:00:02 +0000 en-US hourly 1 /wp-content/uploads/2021/05/WtopNewsLogo_500x500-150x150.png Alan Etter – 海角精品黑料 News 32 32 Quad amputee pro cornhole player is denied bond. Attorneys argue he shot his friend in self-defense /charles-county/2026/04/quadruple-amputee-facing-murder-charges-in-maryland-ordered-held-without-bond/ Wed, 01 Apr 2026 20:29:11 +0000 /?p=29104638&preview=true&preview_id=29104638
Quadruple amputee facing murder charges in Maryland ordered held without bond

The quadruple amputee and professional cornhole player accused of murder in Charles County, Maryland, fatally shot his friend in self-defense, his attorneys argued Wednesday.

A judge denied the request for bond from Dayton Webber, 27, of La Plata, during his first appearance in Charles County District Court. Webber will remain in jail until his next court appearance for a preliminary hearing on May 6.

He’s charged with first- and second-degree murder in the March 22 shooting death of 27-year-old Bradrick Michael Wells. Webber was driving a white Tesla with Wells and two others when he fatally shot Wells, the front-seat passenger, during an argument.

After the shooting, authorities said, Webber asked the two other passengers to help remove Wells from the car, but they refused and left the scene. According to deputies, Webber then drove Wells’ body to Charlotte Hall, Maryland, about 12 miles away, and dumped his body.

Police in Charlottesville, Virginia, later arrested Webber.

Both of the other passengers in the Tesla told deputies they witnessed the argument and saw Webber shoot Wells, according to charging documents, with one telling authorities Webber shot Wells twice in the head.

In court, Webber’s attorneys argued there was a long-running feud between the two and that Webber accused Wells of stealing a gun from him. The attorneys said Webber killed Wells in self-defense.

“He was 100% justified in defending his life from an immediate lethal threat,” defense attorney Andrew Jezic said. “Dayton was terrified of being killed. Dayton knew that he had to shoot or be killed. Dayton has overcome a ton of adversity in his life, and he will do so again in this case by focusing on the truth. The truth here is he would have been a murder victim had he not acted immediately in defense of his life.”

Deputy State’s Attorney Karen Piper Mitchell would not speak to the self-defense claim directly, but said the prosecution felt strongly that Webber should be kept in jail, since he initially fled to Charlottesville after the shooting.

The shooting has drawn national attention and raised questions about how Webber, who lost both arms and legs as an infant due to a bacterial infection, could carry out such an attack. Videos posted to show him loading and firing a gun.

 

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Webber was previously known for his success as a professional cornhole player. He won the Maryland State Championship in cornhole, competed in the American Cornhole League and had nationally televised matches on ESPN. The network even profiled Webber in an

Audiences have been captivated by his story since he was a child, when he .

In a 2023聽, Webber said doctors amputated his arms and legs when he was 10 months old to save his life after he contracted a serious streptococcus pneumonia blood infection. His medical team gave him a 3% chance of surviving, he wrote.

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‘Kids Ride Free’ program in DC surpasses major milestone /dc-transit/2026/03/kids-ride-free-program-surpasses-major-milestone/ Mon, 30 Mar 2026 19:29:14 +0000 /?p=29097053&preview=true&preview_id=29097053
DC鈥檚 鈥楰ids Ride Free鈥 Metro program surpasses major milestone

D.C.’s “” program has distributed more than 450,000 access cards since its inception, Mayor Muriel Bowser announced Monday alongside transportation and education officials.

鈥淭hirteen years ago, when I was on the council, I made a commitment to students and families to ensure transportation would never stand in the way of a child鈥檚 success. We created Kids Ride Free, we later expanded it to the trains, and because of the success of this program, families are saving hundreds of dollars per child every year and we鈥檙e keeping D.C. affordable for more families,鈥 Bowser said

The distribution of the 450,000 cards roughly translates into 60 million trips taken and an estimated savings of $810 per year, per student, according to the mayor. Since its inception in 2013, Kids Ride Free has provided more than 650,000 students free transportation to help them get to school, afterschool programs and other productive activities in all eight wards of the nation’s capital.

Eligible students between ages 5 and 21 who are enrolled in D.C. schools can ride Metrobus and Metrorail at no cost within the District using a SmarTrip card or Apple Wallet SmarTrip card. Cards are issued free of charge through school ID administrators.

鈥淚n a district where many of our students rely on public transportation, the Kids Ride Free program plays a critical role in helping them arrive at school safe and ready to learn,鈥 D.C. Public Schools Chancellor Lewis Ferebee said in a news release.

鈥淚 am deeply thankful to our partners at DDOT and Metro for ensuring our young people are connected not only to their classrooms, but also to afterschool programs, dual enrollment opportunities, internships, and jobs that set them on a path to success beyond graduation,” Ferebee added.

Bowser and District leaders also announced the winner of the 2026-27 Kids Ride Free card design contest: NaTaya Bond, an 11th grade student at Coolidge Senior High School. Her winning design, inspired by D.C.鈥檚 iconic cherry blossoms, will appear on Kids Ride Free cards starting Sept. 30.

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DC cyclist plans 2,000鈥憁ile ride to support disabled veterans /dc/2026/03/dc-woman-uses-brush-with-death-to-benefit-disabled-veterans/ Mon, 30 Mar 2026 17:53:56 +0000 /?p=29095886&preview=true&preview_id=29095886
DC woman uses brush with death to benefit disabled veterans

A Southwest D.C. woman who nearly lost her life in a bicycle crash is now planning a 2,000鈥憁ile ride to raise awareness and money for organizations that support disabled veterans.

Jodie Knox was riding her bike along South Capitol Street in 2022 when she was struck by a car. The crash left her with multiple broken bones and a traumatic brain injury.

She spent the next six months at Walter Reed Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, recovering from her injuries. While there, Knox said she was inspired by other patients and decided she wanted to find a way to support organizations that help disabled veterans.

Knox reached out to the and to ask how she could raise awareness and funds for groups that serve injured veterans. That outreach led to the creation of , a 2,000-mile solo cycling journey that will take her from Key West, Florida, north to Kittery, Maine.

“This trip, for me, is about turning ‘I can’t’ into ‘I can try.’ I’ve never done anything like this,” said Knox, 44, who is retired from the U.S. Coast Guard.

Knox told 海角精品黑料 she expects the ride to take between 42 and 50 days, depending weather conditions. Along the route, she plans to stop at American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars posts, both of which are providing some funding for her trip.

“I plan to ride about 60 to 80 miles a day on my bicycle by myself,” Knox said. “But I do have a support driver, Kathy Ellingsworth, who’s one of my neighbors.”

Ellingsworth will carry supplies and help coordinate nightly hotel stays during the journey.

More information about Wheels of Grit and how to support the effort is available on the organization鈥檚 .

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Metro celebrates 50 years since first ride /tracking-metro-24-7/2026/03/metro-celebrates-50-years-since-first-ride/ Fri, 27 Mar 2026 18:58:30 +0000 /?p=29088004&preview=true&preview_id=29088004
A party at Metro Center celebrates 50 years of Metrorail

Friday marks 50 years since the first Metrorail trip in the D.C. region. The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority threw a birthday party at Metro Center station to celebrate the milestone.

General Manager Randy Clarke joined dozens of fellow employees at the top of the stairs of the rail station at 12th & F streets NW, greeting passengers, thanking them for riding Metro and handing out specially designed pennants on Friday morning.

The gathering featured music with a DJ, balloons and several posters depicting the history of the transit agency.

“Hey, happy birthday,” Clarke exclaimed shaking one customer’s hand and handing them a pennant.

The first leg of the Metrorail system was the Red Line, running 4.6 miles between the Rhode Island Avenue and Farragut North stations, and it reshaped mobility across the region. The first trip along that line happened .

In the decades that followed, Metro evolved into the backbone of the D.C. area鈥檚 transportation network, serving generations of riders.

Since opening, customers have taken more than 7 billion trips on Metrorail and over 15 billion trips across Metrorail, Metrobus and MetroAccess combined.

The system spans six lines and 130 miles, connecting 98 stations. In 2025 alone, Metrorail provided 147 million trips.

“There’s a lot of be proud of here at Metro, leading transit and just connecting people to have better lives in America,” Clarke said.

Clarke acknowledged while the transit agency is celebrating, there is a lot to do.

“The big thing that we have to constantly work on with our jurisdictions, all three states, is really funding,” he said. “To make sure it’s sustainable so we can make sure people can invest and live their lives knowing that Metro is there for them,” he said.

Metro is rolling out specially designed bus wraps and SmartTrip cards to celebrate the anniversary. Metro has also created a website for those who want to take a look back on the agency’s golden anniversary: .

employees pass out pennants to riders
General Manager Randy Clarke joined dozens of fellow employees at the top of the stairs of the rail station at 12th & F streets NW, greeting passengers, thanking them for riding Metro and handing out specially designed pennants (海角精品黑料/Alan Etter)
metro custom pennant
The first leg of the Metrorail system was the Red Line, running 4.6 miles between the Rhode Island Avenue and Farragut North stations, and it reshaped mobility across the region. (海角精品黑料/Alan Etter)
The gathering featured music with a DJ, balloons and several posters depicting the history of the transit agency. (海角精品黑料/Alan Etter)
metro birthday part at metro center
The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority threw a birthday party at Metro Center station to mark the milestone. (海角精品黑料/Alan Etter)
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employees pass out pennants to riders
metro custom pennant
metro birthday part at metro center

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Fairfax Co. school board considers putting corporate names on athletic facilities /fairfax-county/2026/03/fairfax-co-school-board-considers-putting-corporate-names-on-athletic-facilities/ Fri, 27 Mar 2026 13:55:26 +0000 /?p=29087373&preview=true&preview_id=29087373 The Fairfax County School Board voted unanimously on a proposal to direct Superintendent Michelle Reid to draft a plan to explore naming rights for school athletic facilities Thursday night.

Co-sponsor and At-Large member Kyle McDaniel said it’s about time the county got creative in addressing the school system’s $400 million maintenance backlog.

“This is a low-risk, high-yield, low-cost move that asks the superintendent and her team to go back, take that policy and look at how we could potentially monetize our athletic facilities, and we already do that,” McDaniel said.

“We’re basically saying, ‘OK, to the people who would pay money to put a sign on a fence of a football field, would you pay more money to put a bigger sign on the fence of a football field?’ That is it,” he said.

McDaniel said the proposal could potentially net the school system millions of dollars.

“These are all part of natural economic relationships that exist in almost every other state,” said Mount Vernon District Representative Mateo Dunne, who is also a co-sponsor of the proposal. “Fairfax County seems to be the exception rather than the norm.”

“We need to bring in more revenue sources, especially that don’t involve raising property taxes,” Dunne said.

Although the board voted to move forward with the proposal, at least one board member had concerns about how the revenue would be distributed.

“The only thing that I’d like to ask for the consideration of this plan 鈥 because we have disparities and inequities in a lot of other places 鈥 whatever this ends up being, this is going to be a collective pot, not some individual school pot,” said board member Ricardy Anderson. “That’s what I would envision.”

Fairfax County explored the idea of selling naming rights back in 2009 but ultimately chose not to move forward.

Under the plan, Reid will develop a detailed proposal outlining how naming rights could be put into practice.

The board has requested that proposal by July, when members are expected to review it and potentially take a vote.

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Revolutionary War quarter honors nation’s founding father /250-years-of-america/2026/03/revolutionary-war-quarter-honors-nations-founding-father/ Mon, 23 Mar 2026 20:45:39 +0000 /?p=29074459&preview=true&preview_id=29074459
Revolutionary War quarter honors nation鈥檚 founding father

The U.S. Mint unveiled a commemorative coin Monday, featuring the likeness of George Washington in celebration of the nation’s 250th anniversary.

Officials gathered at George Washington’s Mount Vernon for the announcement.

“Mount Vernon is George Washington’s autobiography,” said Mount Vernon President and CEO Doug Bradburn. “It’s a place he designed; it’s a place he cared about. His joys, his passion, his profession all ran through here. He liked to describe himself as a farmer more than anything else. So it is that you can come to get to the heart of who he was.”

The commemorative quarter looks just like any other quarter, with Washington’s traditional portrait on the front. On the back, Washington is portrayed as a soldier, an image he much preferred to president.

“We wouldn’t have this great country without his leadership,” said U.S. Treasurer Brandon Beach about Washington.

“As we look ahead to the 250th anniversary, we do so with optimism and purpose,” Beach said, pointing out a host of events and activities scheduled for later this year to mark the occasion. Events include an IndyCar race in Washington, a UFC match on the grounds of the White House and a grand parade on Independence Day.

Monday’s unveiling featured a George Washington impersonator, who welcomed guests and toasted the new coin.

There was also a display of the, the only gold coin ever made in that unique pattern by Jacob Perkins, one of about 20 surviving pattern coins that include Washington’s first presidential portrait.

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Giant bison statues displayed at Smithsonian Museum of Natural History /250-years-of-america/2026/03/smithsonian-displayed-giant-bison-at-the-museum-of-natural-history/ Fri, 20 Mar 2026 20:29:23 +0000 /?p=29065267&preview=true&preview_id=29065267 Cranes lifted two giant American bison statues into place on either side of the south entrance of the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History on Thursday night. Each statue, one depicting a bull bison, the other, a cow and her calf, weighs about 2,500 pounds.

The burly bronze bison busts are a gift to commemorate the nation’s 250th anniversary and are being displayed ahead of major bison exhibits set to debut later this year.

“These sculptures refer to animals the Smithsonian collected in 1886 in Montana, just as the bison were about to go extinct,” the museum’s Sant Director Kirk Johnson said. “They were just slaughtered across the nation as we expanded. And they got as low as less than a thousand animals in the entire continent.”

The statues were placed after a weeklong trek that started at a foundry in Colorado, where artist Gary Staab created them over the course of the last year.

Named the national mammal in 2016, the bison will be a major focus of the Smithsonian this year. An exhibit called “” will highlight the species from the point it nearly went extinct in the late 1800s to its resurgence through significant conservation efforts led, in part, by the Smithsonian Institution.

“As far as I’m concerned, they are a symbol of the strength of our country,” Naoma Tate, who serves on the Smithsonian National Board, said of bison.

Tate, a renowned Western art collector and philanthropist from Cody, Wyoming, and her family gifted the bison to the Smithsonian.

“We see these magnificent animals all the time,” she said. “There are about 5,000 there.”

bison statue
Each statue, one depicting a bull bison, the other, a cow and calf, weighs about 2,500 pounds. (海角精品黑料/Alan Etter)
The burly bronze bison busts are a gift to commemorate the nation鈥檚 250th anniversary and are being displayed ahead of major bison exhibits set to debut later this year.
The burly bronze bison busts are a gift to commemorate the nation鈥檚 250th anniversary and are being displayed ahead of major bison exhibits set to debut later this year. (海角精品黑料/Alan Etter)
The animals depicted in the statues represent actual bison that the Smithsonian preserved as the population began to decrease in the U.S. The little calf depicts a famous baby bison named "Sandy."
The animals depicted in the statues represent actual bison that the Smithsonian preserved as the population began to decrease in the U.S. The little calf depicts a famous baby bison named “Sandy.” (海角精品黑料/Alan Etter)
bison statues
An exhibit called 鈥淏ison: Standing Strong鈥 will highlight the species from the point it nearly went extinct in the late 1800s to its resurgence. (海角精品黑料/Alan Etter)
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bison statue
The burly bronze bison busts are a gift to commemorate the nation鈥檚 250th anniversary and are being displayed ahead of major bison exhibits set to debut later this year.
The animals depicted in the statues represent actual bison that the Smithsonian preserved as the population began to decrease in the U.S. The little calf depicts a famous baby bison named "Sandy."
bison statues

The animals depicted in the statues represent actual bison that the Smithsonian preserved as the population began to decrease in the U.S.

“The little calf next to the cow here was on the (National) Mall in 1886 as a live animal,” Johnson said. “It was brought back as an orphaned calf. That animal’s name is ‘Sandy,’ the little baby bison.”

“Sandy” became the face of the movement to protect the American bison through conservation efforts.

The species has recovered from the brink of extinction and now exists in all 50 states with a population of approximately 500,000 animals. It is currently listed as “near threatened” by the .

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Alexandria residents sound off on sheriff’s alleged cooperation with ICE /alexandria/2026/03/alexandria-residents-sound-off-on-sheriffs-alleged-cooperation-with-ice/ Tue, 10 Mar 2026 21:00:56 +0000 /?p=29025083&preview=true&preview_id=29025083 Alexandria, Virginia, residents who attended a public budget input session before the city’s mayor and members of the city council Monday had some hard questions about the Alexandria Sheriff’s Office and its alleged relationship with Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.

They accused Alexandria Sheriff Sean Casey of continuing to cooperate with ICE, though a bill that aims to end local and state law enforcement cooperation with ICE passed by the Virginia House last week.

“We need the city council to step up,” said Oliver Merino, with the activist group ICE Out of Alexandria.

He and about 30 others at the meeting called on the city council to cut the Sheriff’s Office budget and investigate whether the sheriff is helping ICE deport members of the Alexandria community.

“For years, (Casey) has been working with ICE to transfer people from the Alexandria jail to ICE custody,” Merino said.

said the office does not collaborate with ICE, adding, “Our involvement with ICE is strictly limited to what is required by law, and we take care to ensure that our actions remain compliant with all applicable legal mandates.”

But Merino and others said that’s not the case. They accuse the sheriff of holding detainees longer than required so ICE can respond and arrest them, calling ICE when an undocumented person is detained, and transferring people to ICE custody under administrative warrants instead of judicial warrants, as required.

“We want them (city council) to take a very concrete action of cutting his funding if he continues to collaborate with ICE,” Merino said.

“I ask the council to use this budget process and its rightful role of oversight to put pressure on the sheriff to end this voluntary practice of abetting ICE,” Alexandria resident David Ballinger said at the meeting.

In a and members of the city council, the city said it remains committed to a diverse environment and that everyone, “regardless of immigration status,” deserves equal rights and treatment under the law.

“The community is very clear,” he added. “Instead of investing in a sheriff’s department that collaborates with ICE, we want them to invest in things like affordable housing.”

In a statement provided to 海角精品黑料 on Tuesday, Casey said:

“The Sheriff鈥檚 Office does not 鈥渃ollaborate鈥 or 鈥渃ooperate鈥 with ICE; we follow the law and following the law is not 鈥渧oluntary.鈥 Calling for cuts to the Sheriff鈥檚 Office budget because we follow the law is misguided and irresponsible. The proper venue to address concerns with the law is through the legislative process, not through the City鈥檚 budget process.”

The council will consider the sheriff’s budget Wednesday.

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Washington National Opera opens first show since leaving Kennedy Center /dc/2026/03/wno-opens-first-show-since-leaving-the-kennedy-center/ Mon, 09 Mar 2026 23:00:51 +0000 /?p=29024069&preview=true&preview_id=29024069 The Washington National Opera opened “Treemonisha” this weekend to two sold-out audiences at the Lisner Auditorium at George Washington University.

It’s the first show the opera company has produced since announcing in January that it would be leaving the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

Washington National Opera General Director Timothy O’Leary told 海角精品黑料 when he and Artistic Director Francesca Zambello took the stage to welcome the audience, they were met by a more than two-minute-long standing ovation.

“It’s been a really exciting, inspiring kind of groundswell of support,” O’Leary said of the overwhelming responses the opera has received since making the decision to leave the Kennedy Center.

He added the opera has maintained a “constructive discussion” with the Kennedy Center, and he would not rule out a return to the facility, where Washington National Opera spent 55 years of its residency in D.C.

The opera was founded at the Lisner Auditorium in 1956. O’Leary called the return to Lisner a homecoming.

“As soon as we announced that we were producing the rest of our season at new venues, we heard overwhelmingly, not only from our audience, people saying, ‘I wasn’t coming but now I’m coming, absolutely. I’m coming twice.’ We also heard from people who wrote in and said, ‘I don’t even like opera, but I’ll come and attend any performance you give anywhere,'” O’Leary said.

In a the opera said, 鈥淭oday, the Washington National Opera announced its decision to seek an amicable early termination of its affiliation agreement with the Kennedy Center and resume operations as a fully independent nonprofit entity.鈥

The company said it was leaving the Kennedy Center because of what it called a “financially challenging relationship” and a new business model.

In a O’Leary thanked the audience for its support.

“Thank you for believing in the idea of American civil society, whereby institutions that are mission-based like this are created and nurtured by we the people,” O’Leary said. “We’ve been feeling this incredible surge of enthusiasm and support from not only our usual but people from around the country.”

The last performance of “Treemonisha” is March 15. “The Crucible” runs from March 21 through March 29.

O’Leary said the opera plans to celebrate America’s 250th anniversary with of “West Side Story” at two venues: The Lyric in Baltimore and Strathmore in North Bethesda.

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Experts warn of algal blooms in the Potomac River as temperatures rise /local/2026/02/potomac-river-cleanup-to-start-once-potomac-interceptor-pipeline-is-repaired/ Tue, 24 Feb 2026 09:25:34 +0000 /?p=28959638&preview=true&preview_id=28959638 Repairs to the broken Potomac Interceptor pipeline are expected to wrap up by mid-March, D.C. Water said, clearing the way for cleanup of the Potomac River and C&O Canal.

Officials said the long-term restoration will address every area touched by the wastewater.

鈥淭he restoration plan will focus on the immediate collapse site area, the creek beds, the surface areas where that wastewater impacted the shoreline along the Potomac River in this immediate area, and as well as, of course, the C&O Canal,鈥 said Sherri Lewis with D.C. Water.

Cleanup work can only begin after the bypass pumping system is shut down. Lewis said some steps may occur beforehand, but full restoration cannot begin until a formal plan is approved.

While there is an opportunity to mitigate some issues now, Lewis said, 鈥渢his is not the start of the full environmental restoration.鈥

The restoration plan is being developed with the Environmental Protection Agency, which will serve as the lead federal agency for cleanup, along with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Maryland Department of the Environment and the D.C. Department of Energy and Environment.

To help prepare for the cleanup, the Army Corps鈥 Baltimore District is evaluating engineering solutions to limit further contamination and ease the transition into restoration

Col. Francis Pera said one option under review is a series of check dams that could capture water before it enters the Potomac River and allow it to be pumped back into the Interceptor.

鈥淲e hope to have a solution here pretty soon,鈥 he said.

Pera and Corps teams have already installed a pumping system to keep stormwater from nearby roads from entering the repair site.

The combined cost of repairs and cleanup is now estimated at about $20 million.

Negotiations over how to cover the costs continue under D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s federal emergency declaration. In the emergency declaration, the federal government has agreed to pay 75% of the bill for the repair and restoration, but Mayor Muriel Bowser had asked federal agencies to cover 100%.

Concern about warming weather

As repairs continue, some experts are worried about what warmer temperatures in the coming weeks and months could bring.

Dr. Cherie Schultz, the director of Cooperative Water Supply Operations at the Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin, spoke during a regional virtual meeting coordinated by the Washington Metropolitan Council of Governments on Monday.

While she is confident drinking water has not and should not be affected by the spill, she has other concerns.

鈥淚n future months, maybe this summer, maybe for a number of years 鈥 the nutrients, nitrogen and phosphorus from the sewage may increase the growth of algae downstream and may increase the likelihood this summer of harmful algal blooms,鈥 Schultz said.

Excessive algae consumes dissolved oxygen in the water, depriving fish and other animals of what they need. It also blocks sunlight needed for aquatic plants.

鈥淪olid sewage material on the river bed may increase biological oxygen demand this summer in the sediments and (increase) the likelihood of fish kills,鈥 Schultz said.

She has been monitoring bacteria readings since the Jan. 19 pipeline failure. While some levels have been elevated, Schultz said they are expected to fall in the coming weeks.

鈥淲e expect them to fall to near background levels due to die off of bacteria and flushing by river-flow,鈥 she said.

When will the river be safe again?

There is no set date for lifting the recreational water advisory. D.C. Health and the Department of Energy and Environment will decide based on the results from water quality testing.

Lewis noted river conditions can change quickly after storms and snowmelt, and agencies will rely on sampling to determine when it is safe for the public to return.

鈥淭hey will be evaluating that as we continue through this process,鈥 she said.

A firm timeline for full restoration will not be determined until repairs are complete and the final restoration plan is approved.

D.C. Water said it will hold public meetings this week:

  • Wednesday at 7 p.m. at D.C. Water Headquarters in Navy Yard in the District, and
  • Thursday at 7 p.m. at Walt Whitman High School in Bethesda, Maryland

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Maryland trooper lauded for saving choking baby /maryland/2026/02/maryland-trooper-lauded-for-saving-choking-baby/ Wed, 18 Feb 2026 14:17:00 +0000 /?p=28932030&preview=true&preview_id=28932030 On the morning of Valentine’s Day, Maryland State trooper Nicholas Warren had pulled over a vehicle on Walnut Drive in That’s when another vehicle pulled up, and a frantic man jumped out.

“Help! My baby is choking,” the man said.

Body worn camera footage shows Warren quickly taking the child out of the vehicle and administering back blows while calling for help from emergency personnel on his radio.

After less than a minute of administering care, the object was dislodged from the child’s throat, and the baby started crying.

“All my training and stuff kicked in,” Warren, who is a former volunteer firefighter, told 海角精品黑料. “I have young kids of my own. I, thankfully, knew what to do.”

If you have an unresponsive or choking baby, the recommends holding the infant face down along your forearm with your hand supporting under their chin. Without covering their mouth, use the heel of your other hand to give firm back blows between the infant’s shoulder blades.

Warren recounted the harrowing moments after receiving the child.

“They had the baby with them in the car, and it wasn’t moving,” Warren said.

After the baby began breathing again, the child was checked out by paramedics, Warren said.

Once he was declared to be OK, the baby was handed back to his relieved and thankful parents.

“We shook hands and hugged,” Warren said of his interaction with the baby’s parents. “That’s a really good feeling. I’ve never had anything this rewarding happen before.”

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With the melting snow comes a hazard to our waterways /local/2026/02/with-the-melting-snow-comes-a-hazard-to-our-waterways/ Sat, 14 Feb 2026 11:43:22 +0000 /?p=28919727&preview=true&preview_id=28919727 The ice and snow that fell on the D.C. area during last month’s storm is finally starting to melt. The ice dunes that have been on the sides of streets for weeks are slowly shrinking. But as the melting continues, there’s a danger that’s seeping into our waterways.

“Salt is the biggest enemy of fresh water that there ever was,” said Sujay Kaushal, a professor of geology at the University of Maryland. “It’s a very pressing issue. I’d say salinization issues are the oldest, most boring but yet most important problem there is for water quality.”

Kaushal has been sampling water from the Potomac and Anacostia Rivers for years, as well as water from Piney Branch, Rock Creek and a host of other tributaries. What he’s found is that sodium levels in the water have been rising.

This issue is the presence of sodium chloride, the main ingredient in most traditional road salt treatments.

“Over that last 50 years, for example, in the Potomac River, we’ve seen that some of the salt concentrations basically have increased about five-fold,” Kaushal said.

He said the rise is due largely to the increased amount of road salt used after large snow events.

Kaushal said while we’ve been seeing less snow in the winter overall, when it does snow, we tend to have extreme snow events, which leads to heavy road treatments. He said the salinization trend is extremely harmful to animals that live in the rivers and streams as well as the vegetation that grows around them.

“Over the last decade, there’s been a lot of urbanization in the Potomac Watershed and so there’s more impervious surfaces, roadways and parking lots that you have treat with salt, leading to the big (salt) pulses that we see in winter,” Kaushal said.

So, more roads means more surface area that has to be treated with road salt. All that ends up in the river 鈥 or in the soil, where it can stay for a long period of time and be washed out by heavy rain.

Local governments are trying out alternative de-icers and more precise salting methods to reduce runoff. Still, Kaushal said we won’t see the results of those efforts for some time.

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DC Water CEO addresses community in wake of massive sewage spill /dc/2026/02/dc-water-ceo-addresses-community-in-wake-of-massive-sewage-spill-3/ Thu, 12 Feb 2026 01:01:48 +0000 /?p=28910242&preview=true&preview_id=28910242 D.C. Water CEO David Gaddis resolved to do everything possible to reclaim the Potomac River after last month’s disastrous sewer pipe break, he said in an

The failure in a section of a 72-inch sewer pipe, known as the Potomac Interceptor, resulted in the release of hundreds of millions of gallons of raw sewage into the river just inside the Beltway along the C&O Canal in Montgomery County, Maryland.

“The Potomac River is a shared natural treasure, and any event that threatens its health understandably causes concern, frustration, and a sense of loss. Those feelings are not only valid 鈥 but they are also shared by all of us at DC Water,” Gaddis said in the letter.

The letter went onto explain that on Jan. 19, crews noticed unusual activity in security cameras monitoring an odor control facility along the C&O Canal. Upon inspection, crews discovered the break.

In the days since the discovery, D.C. Water personnel and contractors worked to “contain the overflow, protect public safety, and begin repairs.”

A bypass system was constructed to pump waste around the damaged area of the pipe and reinsert it into a section of the structure downstream.

Complicating the repairs was the discovery last week of a large rock dam blocking a significant section of the pipe about 30 feet south of the break. D.C. Water is waiting for five large capacity pumps to arrive from Texas and Florida to increase pumping capacity. They then plan to build a bulkhead near the break to divert more water so workers can safely remove the boulders.

D.C. Water expects this to take up to an extra six weeks to accomplish.

Gaddis noted that DC Water will be dedicating resources not only to the repairs but also to an environmental restoration program to mitigate the damage that’s already been done.

The letter detailed a $625 million investment to rehabilitate the Potomac Interceptor as part of a 10-year, $10 billion Capital Improvement Program.

Gaddis pointed out that several tunnels they’ve built along the Northeast Boundary, and are currently building along the Potomac, have resulted in billions of gallons of combined sewage being prevented from entering the Anacostia and Potomac Rivers through the utility’s .

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Virginia couple celebrates new life through an innovative kidney exchange program /local/2026/02/virginia-couple-celebrates-new-life-through-an-innovative-kidney-exchange-program/ Wed, 11 Feb 2026 11:21:24 +0000 /?p=28906870&preview=true&preview_id=28906870 Leo and Virginia “Ginger” Hergenroeder of Middleburg, Virginia, are getting ready to celebrate Valentine’s Day this weekend. But that wasn’t always a certainty this year.

Last April, Ginger received a donated kidney through MedStar Georgetown University Hospital’s which allows doctors to search for suitable donors through a massive database.

Initially, Leo was cleared to donate a kidney to his wife. He was a pretty good match, but doctors were confident they could find an even closer match.

And they did. Leo was still able to donate his kidney, which went to someone else in need.

“Leo went in first, for them to harvest his kidney. Then, I came in,” Ginger said, adding that she and her husband had their procedures on the same day.

She recalled the day of her surgery when her doctor pointed to a plain brown box on a table in the operating room and said the donated kidney would soon be inside her body.

She laughed, recalling how plain she thought the box was: “It should be more festive. It should be wrapped in pink paper with a big red bow.”

Leo and Ginger, both graduates of West Springfield High School, went their separate ways after high school, building their lives. They reconnected at their 30-year high school reunion and began dating long-distance as Ginger lived in Florida at the time.

In 1995, Ginger, an avid equestrian and fitness enthusiast, developed , an autoimmune disease that led to her kidneys declining and failing. She was able to maintain decent health through diet and exercise, but the disease caught up to her.

She researched several places to receive renal care before deciding on MedStar Georgetown University Hospital in D.C.

“I’m really glad that we were able to be thorough and get this done for them,” said Dr. Jennifer Verbesey, director of MedStar Georgetown University Hospital’s Living Donor Kidney Transplant Program.

She described the paired kidney exchange program as part of a national matchmaking service that helps people who need an organ to get that organ quickly and efficiently.

As for Leo and Ginger, they’re making plans for Valentine’s Day.

“We’re going to stay home,” said Leo, as Ginger laughed. “Candy and flowers!”

“The whole goal of all of this is that they go live their normal lives and do whatever they want to do,” Verbesey said. “If they want to go out and party that’s great. If they want to stay home together, that sounds perfect to me.”

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DC Water closes lanes on 14th Street NW as crews stabilize old sewer tunnel /dc/2026/02/northbound-14th-street-nw-closure-continues-as-dc-water-crews-stabilize-old-sewer-tunnel/ Mon, 09 Feb 2026 18:32:14 +0000 /?p=28901077 All northbound lanes of 14th Street between L Street and Thomas Circle in Northwest D.C. are closed because D.C. Water said an abandoned, century鈥憃ld sewer tunnel beneath the roadway is at risk of collapsing.

鈥淲e had a watermain break in the area some time ago, and at that time we discovered this century-old, brick-lined sewer tunnel had not been filled 50 years ago when it was abandoned,鈥 said Sherri Lewis, a spokesperson for D.C. Water.

a photo of old sewer pipe
A portion of f 14th Street, Northwest was closed when engineers determined a large sewer pipe under the street was in imminent danger of collapsing. (Courtesy D.C. Water)

The road was shut down early Saturday as a precaution.

鈥淔or public safety it was important that we get this road closed,鈥 Lewis said. 鈥淲e couldn鈥檛 have heavy vehicles riding over it.”

Engineers deployed cameras into the structure and found a 70-inch crack along the top of the old tunnel. If the tunnel were to collapse, it could lead the road above it to sink.

To avoid that, the plan is to carefully fill the old 42-inch sewer tunnel with a special engineered material that will help support the road and reduce any further risk.

The work needs skilled crews and specialized equipment, and it鈥檚 expected to take a few days.

D.C. Water hopes to begin the work by midweek when temperatures are expected to be more accommodating for this type of repair. The utility company is aiming to get the lanes back open by the end of the week.

In the meantime, detours are in place and northbound drivers are being directed to use 13th or 15th streets.

said pedestrian access is being maintained where it is safe.

Southbound lanes on 14th Street remain open.

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