Gov. Abigail Spanberger said a handful of Republican-held U.S. House seats are vulnerable in November, even without new electoral boundaries in Virginia, but she shares Maryland Gov. Wes Moore’s concerns about potential election interference from President Donald Trump.

“We shouldn’t underestimate the efforts he might be willing to undertake to sow doubt, create challenges to, or frankly, just make people feel uneasy about getting out to vote,” Spanberger told 海角精品黑料’s Nick Iannelli in an interview.

Moore, the new chair of the National Governors Association, recently told The Associated Press that he is “very concerned” about Trump鈥檚听efforts to restrict voting by mail, obtain voter information from states and possibly deploy federal troops or agents to polling places.

Spanberger said the state Department of Elections will spend the next weeks ensuring that Virginians fully understand their rights and where and how to vote.

She also expressed confidence that Democrats will succeed in taking at least four more House seats.

“Certainly with an aggressive November election turnout, we can flip the 1st, the 2nd, the 5th, the 6th,” she said. “And I’ll be campaigning in the 1st, the 2nd, the 5th, the 6th and the 9th, because go big or go home.”

Spanberger pointed, in part, to her success with voters in the 1st and 2nd districts, which span southeastern Virginia, when she was elected governor in November 2025.

“In my statewide campaign I wasn’t necessarily intending or attempting to win the particular lines of a congressional district,” she said. “I think it speaks to the fact that on the ground there, there are sufficient voters that, you know, care about the issues that, there, may not be tied to party.”

Spanberger said voters in other House districts with GOP incumbents will be reacting to the impacts of Trump’s tariffs, the war with Iran and the “Big Beautiful Bill,” which included cuts to federal healthcare.

“I think that we have some very vulnerable incumbents, and I think importantly, we have some excellent candidates who are running to represent and to serve the communities that they love and that are, frankly, being harmed and impacted by bad choices at the federal level,” Spanberger said.

As Trump pressed majority-Republican states to redraw their own congressional maps to favor GOP candidates for Congress, Virginia Democrats attempted to create four additional districts that were friendlier to Democrats.

In April, Virginia voters approved an amendment that would have allowed the General Assembly to temporarily redraw the maps, but the state Supreme Court shot it down.

Asked whether she regretted spending political capital on redistricting in the first months of her term, Spanberger said, “I don’t have any regrets about that.”

The timing was “less than optimal,” she said, but not something that could be changed.

“And I think that ultimately, the effort to demonstrate that Virginia was going to take action in light of what we were seeing in other states was an important action to take.”

海角精品黑料’s Nick Iannelli contributed to this report.

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The incident happened around 5:30 p.m. Thursday in a townhouse community not far from Dulles Airport. The van鈥檚 driver, a woman, was making a left turn from Highland Mews Court onto Madden Court when the crash happened in the parking lot.

Fairfax County Police Capt. Harold Morris, assistant traffic division commander, said during a news conference Friday that the van made a left turn when 鈥渢he 9-year-old who was operating the electric scooter struck the rear of the minivan on the passenger side.鈥�

The boy, who investigators said wasn鈥檛 wearing a helmet at the time, was taken to the hospital, where he later died.

鈥淭his is a tragic event, and we want to make sure that everyone knows that we are with the family during this time,鈥� Morris said.

In a news release later Friday, police said neither alcohol nor speed were a factor in the crash. They identified the van as a 2012 Honda Odyssey.

The driver remained on the scene at the time of the incident, police said. Morris said there鈥檚 鈥渘o indication at this time that there鈥檚 any unsafe or reckless manner鈥� in which the woman was driving the van. No charges have been filed as of Friday.

While police have received some video footage of the crash, Morris said it鈥檚 unclear how fast the e-scooter was going, what kind it was and who owned it.

The police鈥檚 Victim Services Unit has been on the scene of the crash, and 鈥渙ur chaplain was out there last night to provide services for those to comfort them,鈥� Morris said.

Fairfax County law requires anyone 15 and under to wear a helmet when operating any type of e-bike.

In the Commonwealth, e-bikes are sorted into one of three categories. Class 1 e-bikes are pedal assisted only and have a 20 mph maximum assisted speed.

Class 2 e-bikes have pedal assist and throttle and a 20 mph maximum assisted speed. Class 3 bikes are pedal assist only and have a 28 mph maximum assisted speed.

Anyone with information about Thursday鈥檚 crash can call Fairfax Police鈥檚 Crash Reconstruction Unit at 703-280-0543.

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The notice also suggests that some customers had money stolen from their Chick-fil-A One accounts.

The attackers used email addresses and passwords obtained from a third-party source to gain access, Chick-fil-A said.

Its investigation of the June breach determined the hackers may have accessed information including names, gift card balances, phone numbers, addresses and the last four digits of customers’ credit card numbers, the company said.

“As soon as Chick-fil-A discovered the incident, we immediately took action to protect customers鈥� accounts, which included forcing log-outs of affected accounts and removing any stored payment methods,” it said in the letter.

“We also restored impacted customers鈥� Chick-fil-A One account balances.”

Chick-fil-A said it reset customers passwords and added rewards to affected accounts.

“Chick-fil-A continues to enhance its security, monitoring, and fraud controls as appropriate to minimize the risk of any similar incident in the future,” the company said.

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Part of Duke Street in the City of Alexandria in Virginia closed for several hours Monday after a white powdery substance spilled on the thoroughfare’s westbound lanes.

The Alexandria Fire Department responded to a hazardous materials call on the 5300 block of Duke Street shortly after 8 a.m.

A test of the powder revealed it to be caustic in nature but did not identify it, the department said.

“We still are not sure what the substance is,” spokeswoman Taylor King told 海角精品黑料.

A contractor arrived at the scene at 2 p.m. and estimated a two-hour cleanup time, King said.

Westbound Duke Street was closed between S. Pickett Street and N. Paxton Street, and reopened to traffic in both directions after 5 p.m.

The source of the spill remains under investigation.

Here is a map of the area:

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Severe thunderstorms in the DC region Saturday afternoon and evening left a wave of destruction from Maryland to the District to Virginia.

An entire roof was blown off a barn in Catlett, Virginia, and a home was severely damaged in Knoxville, Maryland, posts on social media show.

More than 27,000 people were without power just before 7 p.m. 鈥� over 20,000 were in Anne Arundel County, according to the .

By 7 p.m. flood, thunderstorm and tornado watches were called off in the area and cloudy, humid air remained. Mike Stinneford, 海角精品黑料 meteorologist said to expect a chance of a shower or thunderstorm before midnight. Then skies will clear and become less humid overnight with lows in the 60s to lower 70s.

The District was under an extreme heat alert Saturday as severe storms moved through the region during the afternoon and evening hours. Those storms produced a slew of alerts.

“A line of strong to severe thunderstorms will move from west to east across our area over the next several hours,” said Stinneford.

“Storms may produce wind gusts over 70 mph, large hail and heavy rainfall.”

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser issued a heat alert as daytime temperatures felt like 105 degrees or hotter.

The alert remains through Sunday at 8 a.m. and says, “extremely hot temperatures and humidity during the day and overnight will increase the risk of heat-related illnesses. People who work or participate in outdoor activities may be at greater risk.”

Earlier, D.C. issued an air quality alert for the entire region, saying it was unhealthy for sensitive groups.

“Poor air quality continues as wildfire smoke lingers in the area,” AccuWeather Meteorologist La Troy Thornton.

Sunday will be cloudy with “some hazy sun as the wildfire smoke lingers,” Thornton said.

On Monday, there will be possible thunderstorms in the afternoon with an otherwise sunny day.

Tuesday is expected to be cloudy with a thunderstorm possible in the afternoon.

• Listen to 海角精品黑料 online听and on the radio at 103.5 FM or 107.7 FM.
• Current traffic conditions
• Weather forecast
• Closings and Delays
• Sign up for 海角精品黑料 email alerts
• Get custom alerts with the 海角精品黑料 app for听听补苍诲听听辫丑辞苍别蝉

Forecast

Sunday:听Partly cloudy. Highs between 85 and 90.
Winds: North 5-10 mph

Monday:听Mostly sunny. Highs between 85 and 90.
Winds: Southeast 5-10 mph

Tuesday:听Chance of storms. Highs between 87 and 92.
Winds: South 5-15 mph

Wednesday:听Chance of storms, breezy. Highs between 82 and 87,
Winds: Northwest 5-15 mph, gusts to 25 mph

海角精品黑料’s Will Vitka contributed to this report.

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A report on the first year of operations at D.C.’s newest hospital describes “growing pains,” including long emergency department wait times for patients, staffing difficulties and financial losses.

Cedar Hill Regional Medical Center opened on the former St. Elizabeths Hospital campus in Southeast in April 2025, and in a report delivered to Mayor Muriel Bowser in late May, the GW Health-affiliated hospital said the issues are common for new hospitals, and that it has “actively taken concrete steps” to address them.

Cedar Hill ran a deficit of roughly $47.7 million during its inaugural year. Expenses came in under budget targets, the report said, but revenue was nearly 46% below projections.

Contributing to the shortfall was lower-than-expected pediatric emergency visits and lower demand for services, including women’s health and inpatient surgeries.

Adult visits to its emergency department, on the other hand, exceeded expectations, contributing to long waits to be triaged and see a physician.

In December, Cedar Hill’s emergency department was the third busiest in the District, behind Children’s National Hospital and MedStar Washington Hospital Center, and during the yearlong report period, more than 45,000 patients walked through its doors.

“Approximately 80% of those visits involved low-acuity conditions that could otherwise have been treated in urgent care settings, nearly double the District-wide average,” the report said.

Cedar Hill said it immediately set out to educate the public about the appropriate places to seek care, and the report’s recommendations include a health literacy campaign to help residents understand “when, where, and how to access care across the healthcare system while rebuilding trust in local healthcare institutions.” The hospital also wants to address “lower rates of preventive and primary care engagement.”

Cedar Hill also said it achieved “substantial improvements” in its emergency department performance in its first year, dropping door-to-triage wait times from 27 minutes to 10 minutes, and the time to see a physician was cut from 88 minutes to 47.

Another reason for its financial shortfall was its use of more contract nurses than planned in its early months. Since then, the hospital said, it has stabilized nursing staffing with permanent hires.

In the report, Cedar Hill acknowledged a D.C. Department of Health “immediate jeopardy citation” over issues with the hospital’s schedules for surgery.

“This was based on one deficiency that was immediately corrected, resulting in the Immediate Jeopardy designation being lifted on February 24, 2026 following validation of such corrective actions,” the hospital said.

7News, the first to obtain Cedar Hill’s findings, reported the hospital omitted some Department of Health information, including 38 reported complaints and testimony about a patient who had the wrong organ removed in surgery.

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The letter from Senators Chris Van Hollen and Angela Alsobrooks, of Maryland, and Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, of Virginia, restates “serious concerns” raised in a Jan. 26 letter about the White House’s move to terminate the lease held by National Links Trust, the nonprofit operating the District’s three public golf courses.听

“In the interim, the Administration has continued to advance plans for these courses, including Secretary (Doug) Burgum’s announcement on social media of a renovation design by Fazio Design for East Potomac Golf Links, without any disclosure to the public or to Congress of the scope, cost, or basis on which that engagement was awarded,” .听

At a Senate hearing in April, the Interior secretary said he had not seen the January letter, but that his agency would respond. The Interior Department has not done so, the senators听said.听

“The absence of any reply is itself troubling, and recent developments have made our concerns considerably more urgent,鈥� they wrote.

Those developments include Trump’s unannounced visit to East Potomac Park on June 28 with Burgum and representatives from Fazio Design. Trump and staffers were photographed holding designs that the senators said show “a substantially increased project scope as compared to the initial design shared by Secretary Burgum” in May.

One design appeared to show the new golf course taking up the entire park peninsula, which the senators said would “jeopardize some of East Potomac Park鈥檚 most popular features, including the Hains Point bicycle trail, the miniature golf course, and historic cherry trees.”

Trump said after his visit that the renovated course would be able to host major golf tournaments, and that work would begin Sept. 1.

“These photos and statements seem to illustrate the Administration鈥檚 plans for East Potomac Park, yet the Department has still not provided Congress or the public with basic details about the scope of the project, the funding source, the expected period of closure or disruption, the effect on current users, or how such an accelerated timeline can be reconciled with applicable environmental, historic-preservation, procurement, and public-engagement requirements,鈥� the senators wrote.

They closed the letter with a July 20 deadline for a response.

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The certification locked in Will Jawando’s win over four other candidates seeking the Democratic nomination for county executive. Jawando, an at-large member of the Montgomery County Council, received 40% of the vote and declared victory on June 26.

His closest challenger, Andrew Friedson had 34% of the vote, and conceded the election two days later.听

it was the widest margin of victory in an open county executive primary in nearly two decades. In November, he will face Republican Esther Wells.听

In the county’s at-large council race, Democrats Marc Elrich, Scott Evan Goldberg, Laurie-Anne Sayles and Karla Silvestre and Republican Sherwin Wells advance to the Nov. 3 ballot.

Voters will select four candidates to serve on the nine-member council.

The top four Democrats bested a field of 17 in the primary, with the margin between fourth-place vote-getter Silvestre and fifth-place Fatmata Barrie a narrow .26%.

Silvestre declared victory Tuesday in .

A total of 161,146 ballots were cast, with more than 22% of eligible voters participating in the primary, the board said in a statement.

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“All 11 customers on board the impacted 3000-series train have been safely evacuated and no serious injuries were reported,” Metro said .

The incident happened shortly before noon Saturday. Metro initially warned of delays and single-tracking due to a disabled train outside College Park.

Metro said on X that a preliminary “investigation shows extreme heat as the cause of a rail heat kink that derailed the wheels of a 3000-series 6-car train (pictured below). Crews will remove the train overnight to ensure the safety of our team and customers.”

UPDATE: We will continue single tracking on the Green Line between West Hyattsville Crossing and College Park through system close. Customers will experience minimal impacts to service.

Preliminary investigation shows extreme heat as the cause of a rail heat kink that derailed鈥�

鈥� Metro Forward (@wmata)

Prince George’s County Fire/EMS responded to the scene and evaluated the passengers. A man was taken to the hospital for evaluation. Another refused transport, the fire department said.

“We have also reduced speeds to 35 mph on aboveground tracks systemwide in response to the elevated temperatures per our standard operating procedure,” Metro said.

Metro slows its trains when track temperatures reach 135 degrees.

Recently, the agency began experimenting with painting some of its above-ground tracks white to reflect sunlight and keep track segments a bit cooler.

鈥淓arly indications are positive. We鈥檝e seen about, I believe, six- to eight-degree drop lower when they are painted white,鈥� Metro Deputy General Manager Andy Off told 海角精品黑料’s John Domen.

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The extremely hot and stormy weather on this Fourth of July led visitors at the National Mall to briefly evacuate and delay the massive fireworks show.

People in the D.C. region were enduring a third day of searing heat, and now thunderstorms that are packing a punch.

The late evening storms added a new challenge to holiday festivities, several of which have already been changed or canceled due to the oppressive and dangerous heat.

Other than the storms, heavy winds are playing a huge role as there are reports of power outages and downed trees in parts of the area.

海角精品黑料’s Jose Uma帽a reports that heavy wind gusts knocked down a tree in a Hyattsville, Maryland, neighborhood near Landover Hills.

The storm risk is expected to ease later in the evening, in time for the fireworks on the National Mall.

Stinneford said the area is under a code purple air quality alert, which is unhealthy for everyone.

Amid the intense temperatures, Reagan National Airport broke a record last set in 1919: The high there hit 102 degrees.

BWI Marshall hit 102, breaking the old record of 100 set in 1898 and 1966.

Dulles Airport has tied its record high of 97, set back in 1999 and 2002.

Soaring triple-digit temperatures also broke records over the previous two days.

Independence Day storms are not expected to provide much relief from the heat and humidity. Sunday’s highs are in the high 90s, and more storms are predicted in the afternoon and on Monday.

• Listen to 海角精品黑料 online听and on the radio at 103.5 FM or 107.7 FM.
• Current traffic conditions
• Weather forecast
• Closings and Delays
• Sign up for 海角精品黑料 email alerts
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OVERNIGHT: Showers and a few thunderstorms, ending after midnight. Patchy fog developing. Muggy. Lows 75 to 80.

SUNDAY: Partly cloudy, hot and humid with afternoon storms. Storms may be severe. Highs 95 to 100.

MONDAY: Showers and storms. Heavy rain may cause flooding. Highs 85 to 90.

TUESDAY: Scattered showers. Highs in the 80s.

WEDNESDAY: Mostly sunny. Highs in the mid-80s.

Power Outage Map

Current Conditions

海角精品黑料’s Will Vitka and Tadiwos Abedje contributed to this report.

Source

Where there are fireworks, there’s smoke 鈥� and a greater risk of breathing difficulties for people with asthma, emphysema and other lung diseases.

Smoke and particulate matter from fireworks send people to the emergency room every July Fourth, according to Dr. Bobby Mahajan, chief of interventional pulmonology for the Inova Health System.

“These patients typically, although they are typically active and functional, they can easily be set off by different kinds of irritants,” Mahajan, who works often at the Inova Schar Cancer in Fairfax, Virginia, told 海角精品黑料.

While large displays like President Donald Trump’s America 250 display can release larger amounts of smoke, the symptoms can begin building in the days leading up to the holiday, as people set off fireworks in their own neighborhoods.

People who are susceptible to the smoke should try to avoid it and be prepared to wear a mask and take medication if they can’t. Vulnerable patients should also take precautions for a day or two after the Fourth, Mahajan said.

“As long as you can still see that kind of smoggy layer that you know exists over the D.C. area afterward, again, keep your mask available and keep your medications and rescue medications ready, just in case,” he said.

President Donald Trump鈥檚 Freedom 250 fireworks display is to launch 850,000 shells from staging areas on and near the National Mall.

Last year on the Fourth of July, the National Park Service said it set off 7,000 fireworks.

For those who want to see the National Mall fireworks in person, the record heat is of greater risk to more people than the smoke, Mahajan said.

“Someone who is healthy usually is not an issue, might be a little bit irritation, but that’s pretty short-lived for them. It’s more so those individuals who have underlying lung disease that we worry about,” he said.

Though with any luck, the weather could make the smoky aftermath more tolerable.

“In a perfect world, it’s nice and bright and sunny until the fireworks are completed and that night it storms down,” Mahajan said. “As we know, that very rarely actually happens in that order.”

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It’s the beginning of a stretch of hot weather expected to last though the holiday, according to听7News First Alert Meteorologist Eileen Whelan.

Feels-like temperatures hit 110 in parts of the D.C. region Thursday afternoon, with Reagan National Airport reaching 102 degrees, toppling the record for the date of 101 degrees recorded back in 1898. Dulles International Airport tied the record-high for the date of 98 degrees set in 1966. Meanwhile at BWI Marshall, a temperature of 101 degrees was two degrees shy of the record high set in 1901.

Friday’s forecast is expected to feature similar heat.

The National Weather Service has in effect for both Thursday and Friday.

Sunshine dominated Thursday’s weather with little chance for cooling thunderstorms. Portions of the D.C. region have opened cooling centers in preparation for the heat wave.

The region will only see slight relief from the heat and humidity in the evening, with lows dipping below 80 degrees and feels-like temperatures staying around 90 until after midnight.

Whelan said Friday could bring pop-up showers and storms, and more widely scattered showers and storms are expected for the Fourth of July.

鈥淎 higher risk Saturday, damaging wind gusts, downpours and frequent thunder and lightning could impact your Fourth of July plans,鈥� Whelan said.

Heat index values are expected to be around 105 for Independence Day.

The highest chance for storms Saturday is from 3 p.m. and 8 p.m., according to 7News First Alert Chief Meteorologist Veronica Johnson.

If storms move in earlier in the day on the Fourth, it might not be quite as hot, but it will still be very humid for the fireworks shows, and with light winds, the region could see a lot of smoke creating some poor air quality Saturday night.

Johnson said temperatures will be in the mid 70s to mid 80s during the fireworks, but it will feel closer to 90.

Sunday will be slightly, slightly, cooler with highs in the mid 90s, but showers and storms are likely.

• Listen to 海角精品黑料 online听and on the radio at 103.5 FM or 107.7 FM.
• Current traffic conditions
• Weather forecast
• Closings and Delays
• Sign up for 海角精品黑料 email alerts
• Get custom alerts with the 海角精品黑料 app for听听补苍诲听听辫丑辞苍别蝉

Metro is also watching the heat

Metro in past years has conducted “heat rides” to monitor outdoor rail temperatures and check for warping and other heat-related issues. It has also lowered train speeds when outdoor rail temperatures top 135 degrees.

“This year, we鈥檙e adding something new: applying reflective white paint to vulnerable segments, which lowers temps,” Metro said Wednesday in a post on X.

More than 6,000 feet of track were treated with the paint, the transit agency said.

With extreme heat like we鈥檙e currently experiencing, rail temperatures can soar above 135掳F, which may cause bends in the rail due to thermal expansion.

For years, Metro has monitored rail temps on 鈥渉eat rides鈥� to detect track issues before they happen.

This year, we鈥檙e鈥�

鈥� Metro Forward (@wmata)

Extreme heat presents challenges for every transit system, because our steel rails expand as temperatures increase, and the demands on our electrical and mechanical equipment increase exponentially,” Theresa Impastato, Metro’s chief infrastructure officer said.

In the system’s underground stations, chillers and fans keep temperatures about six to 10 degrees cooler than听outside, she said.

“We monitor in real time conditions across the system and the performance of the chillers, and are prepared to respond quickly to any equipment issues that could affect our customer comfort,” Impastato said.

7News First Alert Forecast

THURSDAY NIGHT:
Mainly clear
Lows: 77-83
Winds: Light & Variable

FRIDAY:
EXTREME HEAT WARNING
Mostly sunny. Dangerous heat. Isolated PM storms possible
Highs: 100-106
Winds: West 5-10 mph

SATURDAY:
EXTREME HEAT WARNING
Thunderstorm risk
Highs: around 100
Winds: West 5-10 mph

FIREWORKS FORECAST:
Lingering showers and storms end
Temperatures: 90s to 80s
Winds: West 2-5 mph

SUNDAY:
Scattered showers. Storms
High: 95-100
Winds: West 10-15 mph

Current Conditions

海角精品黑料’s Jessica Kronzer and Nick Iannelli contributed to this report.

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What’s preventing the car from reaching higher speeds is an intelligent speed assistance device.

The demonstration occurred on the eve of a new Virginia law that gives judges the authority to order the device’s installation in speeding cases.

D.C. and Maryland passed similar laws in 2025 and this year, and other states have laws in the works or on the books, but Virginia on July 1 becomes the first state in the nation to fully implement the technology-enabled program, officials said.

Pedestrian safety advocates joined Maryland and Virginia officials and device maker representatives in Arlington on Tuesday to mark the region’s adoption of ISA.

Montgomery County, Maryland, Police Lt. Patrick Kepp lost his legs after a 2023 crash. The 19-year-old driver who struck him was traveling at 162 mph and was already known to law enforcement. He said ISA devices work similarly to an ignition interlock for impaired driving.

“We’ve shown the recidivism rate for impaired driving with interlock is significantly lower, and hopefully that these devices can help lower those speeds and keep our roadways safer,” Kepp said.

Michael Cassidy, a retired Virginia judge turned advocate for the devices, said that in his court in Fairfax, “the 100 mile an hour speeding ticket is not uncommon, unfortunately.”

He also said that with some habitual speeders, jail time, fines and driver’s license suspensions only go so far.

“Question is, for a sentencing judge, what happens the day that that license suspension ends or the fine’s paid off,” Cassidy said.

Under Virginia’s law, signed in 2025 by then-Gov. Glenn Youngkin, judges can order the speed-limiting devices for offenders convicted of driving in excess of 100 mph.听

Jessica Hart of D.C. Families for Safe Streets was plunged into the advocacy world when her 5-year-old daughter Allie was killed at a District intersection in 2021.

She learned about ISA in 2023 and worked with Ward 6 D.C. Council member Charles Allen to include the technology in his 2025 STEER Act, targeting repeat traffic law offenders.

鈥淚t really means a lot to the families who have had this horrible, horrible experience,鈥� Hart said.

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The long-term development framework outlines plans for 5,500 to 6,500 housing units of housing, with at least 30% designated as affordable housing. It also includes commercial development, parks and recreational space across the 180-acre site, that would be organized into six districts.

“We think that we’ve done a good job creating a kind of a balance for all the kinds of uses that people expect for a place like this that’s got a lot of transit options, that’s got a lot of options for biking and pedestrian and opportunities as well,” D.C. Office of Planning Director Anita Cozart told 海角精品黑料.

The agency drafted the RFK campus master plan using feedback gathered from community meetings and other outreach efforts. Officials are now seeking additional public comments, which can be or at RFK community events through Aug. 14.

“We want to hear, ‘What are the things that we got right, and what are some of the things that need a little bit more revision?'” Cozart said.

If adopted by the D.C. Council, would pave the way for new zoning regulations at the site. Cozart said those rules would make the District government’s and residents’ expectations for future development “crystal clear.”

“It talks about kind of the intensity of use, how many housing units we expect in these different parts of the site. How many of those we want to be affordable. How much of the space should be reserved for parks and open space,” Cozart said.听

Much of the draft plan will look familiar to residents and others who have already participated in the planning process. Cozart said. New elements include a series of renderings released along with the draft plan.

“We worked very hard to create visuals that are both aspirational and also representative of what we’ve heard from the thousands听of people that we’ve engaged at 30–plus events to prepare this master plan,” Cozart said.

The renderings include aerial views of the stadium, a public plaza and recreational fields, plus street-level views of a riverfront district with access to the Anacostia River and Kingman and Heritage islands.

The plan includes what Cozart described as a “significant amount of park space,” including new access to the Anacostia waterfront and a network of parks throughout the development.

After the public comment period closes, the D.C. Office of Planning plans to revise the draft and send it to the D.C. Council this fall. The agency hopes the plan is adopted by the end of the year, allowing work on zoning changes to begin.

Source

“I’ve never seen it look like this on the mall, but I’ve also never been alive for the 250th听anniversary,” D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said at a briefing with several District and federal agencies. “It is different, and I think everybody should expect it to look different,” she said.听

Bowser was answering a question about the National Guard presence on the Mall,听but there are also more barriers and fewer entry points for fireworks viewing than in previous years.

“If you’re going downtown and you’ve done this before, don’t assume you know what it’s going to look like,” said Clint Osborn, the director of the D.C. Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency.听“Check our website, make sure you’re extra prepared, make sure you don’t bring items down that you can’t take into any of the secured zones where you might go to watch the fireworks.”

The security “magnetometers” are opening at 1 p.m. on Saturday as part of the increased security measures.

Those arriving on the National Mall are encouraged to arrive early and be patient during the security screenings, as lines can be long.

“The largest display of fireworks our city has ever seen,” D.C. Interim Police Chief Jeffery Carroll said, will also keep July 4th celebrants up late.

The fireworks show is not expected to begin until around 10:30 p.m. or 11 p.m., officials said.

Afterward, people are encouraged to head home on the Metro. The system will be open until 2 a.m., as it usually is Saturday nights, and the rides home will be free.

“We are going fare free after 5 p.m. to really make sure people can not only enjoy the festivities all over the region as a community, but also make sure from a safety point of view we can get people going through,” Randy Clarke, Metro’s general manager, said.

Metro will also add service and trains.

Even people who are not heading to the Mall are being asked to make a fireworks plan, especially those who live near Anacostia Park.

“We especially want to give residents in that area a heads up about the event, as these fireworks are large and the park is near these residential areas,”听U.S. Park Police Chief Scott Brecht said.

The National Park Service will be firing off fireworks at the park at the same time as the Mall fireworks.

The western section of Anacostia Park at Poplar Point will be closed for fireworks staging, and people spending the day and evening in the eastern parts of the park will find access control points and security screenings. Some streets will also be closed.

Source