A D.C. high school teacher is accused of recording explicit videos and climbing through a student’s window at night to sexually abuse her.
A D.C. high school teacher is accused of climbing through a student’s window at night to sexually abuse her, sometimes recording the abuse.
FBI agents arrested 35-year-old John Aaron Gass at his Maryland home on Thursday. He faces charges related to the production of child pornography and enticement of a minor, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for D.C.
Gass is a teacher at the D.C. International School. Charging documents said he began sexually abusing a student at the school in the spring.
The FBI received a tip from D.C. police in November that Gass had met with a 16-year-old girl several times for the purposes of sex. At least twice, prosecutors said, Gass used the girl’s phone to record “explicit videos.”
In a statement to WTOP, the D.C. International School said Gass no longer works at the school, and as soon as they found out the news, they took the “appropriate steps” to provide support with law enforcement and school staff. They noted the “safety and welfare of our students is and will always be our highest priority.”
“We have been cooperating fully with law enforcement, and will continue to support their investigation as needed. We recognize the profound impact this has on our DCI community, and are actively working to support those affected. To protect the privacy of those involved and to avoid interfering with the investigation, we will not provide additional information at this time,” a spokesperson with the school wrote.
The case is being investigated by the FBI’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force.
Anyone with information should call the FBI at 800-CALL-FBI.
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After weeks of whispers and speculation, furniture giant Ikea has confirmed that it will open its newest Northern Virginia location at the Dulles Expo Center site.
After weeks of whispers and speculation, furniture giant Ikea has confirmed that it will open its newest Northern Virginia location at the Dulles Expo Center site.
The new Ikea is scheduled to open in spring 2026. It will be the third store in Virginia.
Ikea said the 110,000-square-foot space will offer “local living solutions” that reflect the everyday needs of the Chantilly community.
And of course, no Ikea experience is complete without a selection of Swedish foods and treats, such as Swedish meatballs and cinnamon buns, as well as other Scandinavian fares.
“We are meeting the many people where they are, and I’m thrilled that we are continuing to grow our presence across the DMV,” Scott Reid, market manager at Ikea Woodbridge, said in a statement.
The expo center’s remaining shows and festivals include the 32nd Annual Northern Virginia Christmas Market, The Nation’s Gun Show, Exxxotica 2025 and Greenberg’s Train and Toy Show.
Organizers of the DMV Chocolate Festival, which takes place Nov. 15 and Nov. 16, said that center’s closure is a “big loss for the local small business community.”
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One person has been killed and at least one more was wounded in a shooting near the Eastover Shopping Center in Oxon Hill, Maryland, police said.
One person has been killed and at least one more was wounded in a shooting near the Eastover Shopping Center in Oxon Hill, Maryland, police said.
It happened Wednesday around 2 p.m. in the 5100 block of Indian Head Highway Service Road, police said.
Both of the people who were shot are male, police said. One died at the scene and a teenage boy was taken to the hospital. The teenage boy’s injuries are considered not life-threatening, WTOP’s Alan Etter reported live from the scene.
Police said a third person left the scene without being transported to a hospital. The third person who did not receive medical treatment “was injured just trying to get away from the scene,” Etter said.
Police said the shooting is under investigation and there is currently no information on a suspect.
Both lanes of traffic are closed around the area on Southern Avenue and motorists are instructed to follow police direction.
Below is the area where the shooting happened:
A shooting happened in the 5100 block of Indian Head Highway in Prince George’s County, Maryland. (Google Maps)
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Police in D.C. have extended road closures related to the visit of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu through Sunday, July 28.
Originally, the closures were set to last through Saturday.
D.C. police said the closures are for a “dignitary visit.”
The following streets are posted as Emergency No Parking through Sunday, July 28 at 6 p.m.:
Virginia Avenue NW from Rock Creek Parkway to New Hampshire Avenue
Jamal Khashoggi Way from Virginia Avenue to F Street NW
F Street NW from Rock Creek Parkway to 25th Street
27th Street NW from Virginia Avenue to K Street
2600 block of I Street NW
The following streets will be closed to vehicle traffic through Sunday, July 28 at 6 p.m.:
Rock Creek Parkway NW between Virginia Avenue and the Potomac River Freeway southbound
Virginia Avenue NW from Rock Creek Parkway to New Hampshire Avenue (eastbound lanes)
Jamal Khashoggi Way (southbound lanes) between Virginia Avenue and F Street NW
F Street NW from Rock Creek Parkway to 25th Street
27th Street NW from Virginia Avenue to K Street
2600 block of I Street NW
27th Street ramp from northbound Potomac River Freeway
Traffic traveling south on Rock Creek Parkway will be diverted east on I Street from Virginia Avenue NW to Potomac River Freeway. Westbound traffic on Virginia Avenue NW will be able to turn north on Rock Creek Parkway.
All traffic from Ohio Drive, SW will be diverted north on Potomac River Freeway.
Due to First Amendment activity, plan for intermittent street closures and traffic delays, D.C. police said. Police are advising drivers to consider alternative routes.
Motorists can access businesses and residences around the Watergate Hotel in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood through Jamal Khashoggi Way and 25th Street NW and 27th Street and Virginia Avenue NW.
Residents can access the Watergate Hotel on foot by 27th Street and Virginia Avenue NW, 25th Street and Jamal Khashoggi Way NW and 25th Street and F Street NW.
Protests earlier week
The extension of the road closures comes after intense protests earlier this week during a speech Netanyahu gave at the U.S. Capitol.
Pro-Palestinian protesters gathered around D.C.’s Union Station on Wednesday afternoon during the speech, leading police to block off most entrances to the station.
The crowd set fires, defaced monuments in the area and scuffled with police, according to WTOP reporters who were at the scene.
Amtrak Police ended up closing some entrances to Union Station.
Protesters were gathered at Columbus Circle just outside Union Station, and WTOP’s Mike Murillo reported from the scene that they were defacing monuments and statues there with red and green paint — colors on the Palestinian flag. Demonstrators were painting messages such as “Free Gaza” and “Hamas is comin” on the monuments.
Around 3:20 p.m., U.S. Park Police posted on X that protesters were engaged in criminal activity and confronting law enforcement at Columbus Circle. About 20 minutes later, USPP said the permit for the gathering had been revoked and the area should be cleared.
WTOP’s Nick Iannelli, who was also reporting from the scene, said many of the protesters had been cleared out by around 4:20 p.m.
“The smoke has literally cleared. Protesters were starting fires and I’m actually looking at a charred shopping cart with a flame still going. So they had started fires here and the smoke has cleared and you look around, and the statues outside Union Station are absolutely covered with profane graffiti. There’s trash littered everywhere.”
Iannelli reported that police arrested some demonstrators, and as that was happening, a dense crowd formed and began chanting, “Let them go! Let them go!”
“It is just locked down, a really intense atmosphere with all the security. And there were those arrests and there was that heightened moment, an uneasy moment, with a lot of people surrounding just a handful of police officers as they were making those arrests. But now, as I say, the smoke has cleared and it’s a complete mess outside Union Station.”
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Alexandria City Council member Alyia Gaskins has declared victory in the Democratic primary race for mayor and is laying out her priorities for the city.
City of Alexandria Democratic nominee for mayor talks with WTOP’s Nick Iannelli and Anne Kramer on her priorities once elected
The votes for the Democratic nomination for mayor of the City of Alexandria are still being counted, but Alyia Gaskins — who’s leading her Democratic rivals with nearly 60% of the vote — has declared victory.
On the verge of becoming the first Black woman to be the city mayor, Gaskins told WTOP in an interview on Wednesday that she was deeply humbled, filled with gratitude and “excited about the future of our city.”
Reflecting on her win the night before Juneteenth, she said she was thinking about her daughter and how much representation matters.
“She’ll get to see her mom and a woman who looks just like her leading and lifting up her voice to make things better for others,” Gaskins said.
Gaskins, a city council member, has 59.4% of the vote, which is ahead of Vice Mayor Amy Jackson’s 29.9% and retired real estate developer Steven Peterson’s 10.7%, as of Wednesday afternoon.
More than 18,500 people voted in the election among the 115,628 registered voters in the deep-blue city, and the winner of the primary is typically an indicator of general election results. Plus, Gaskins would be running unopposed.
Housing, failed arena deal fresh in minds of Alexandria voters
At the top of Gaskins’ to-do list is diversifying the city’s tax base.
Alyia Gaskins is running for mayor of Alexandria, Virginia. (Courtesy Alyia Gaskins)
“The reality is we have a lot of challenges and needs, whether that’s housing, public safety, addressing climate change infrastructure, but we have to find new ways to pay for it,” Gaskins said.
After Monumental Sports & Entertainment, which owns the Washington Capitals and Washington Wizards, reached an agreement to stay in D.C. and scrapped plans to move to the Potomac Yard neighborhood of Alexandria — a proposal strongly endorsed by Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin — incumbent Mayor Wilson said the city missed the potential to “dramatically reshape its economy.”
Critics of the arena deal said bringing the teams to Virginia would bring increased traffic on the already congested Route 1, higher taxes and the potential for an increase in crime, among other things.
Gaskins said the city needs to find new sources of revenue. She said over the last several months that members of the community have been vocal about telling leaders what they want to see at Potomac Yard.
“Over and over and over again, I continue to hear, it’s entertainment, it’s green space, it’s housing, it’s retail and restaurants,” Gaskins said. “The work before us is really figuring out how we bring that vision to life. If it’s not arena, then what is the right catalyst that will help spur that vision into a reality?”
Can a big rethink of the Potomac Yard area happen in her tenure?
“I am expecting that it will happen as part of my leadership — I know it won’t happen overnight,” Gaskins said. “We don’t own the site, but I believe that the record I’ve had of results, but also the record I’ve had of building partnerships, both in our city and across our region, will help us move it forward.”
Gaskins was also part of the six-member city council that unanimously voted to end single-family-only zoning last November. Previously, the housing code restricted around 30% of the city’s land to be exclusively for single-family homes. YIMBYS of Northern Virginia, a group that says it advocates for affordable housing through development and denser housing, endorsed Gaskins, The Washington Post reported.
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If you plan on traveling through the Tysons area in Northern Virginia this weekend, be prepared for a major traffic shift on the Capital Beltway.
It starts Friday night when crews shift traffic onto a new Interstate 495 North bridge over the eastbound Dulles Toll Road (Route 267) ramp.
Two northbound lanes on I-495 between a point just south of Exit 46B (North Route 123/Chain Bridge Road/McLean) and just south of Lewinsville Road will be closed from 10 p.m. Friday until 7 a.m. Saturday.
The Virginia Department of Transportation said one lane will close around 10 p.m. and the second lane will close at 11 p.m.
If you’re on the roadway when this happens, traffic will first be merged into the two leftmost lanes. Then, just before Exit 45, traffic will be merged into a single, rightmost lane to shift onto the new bridge.
VDOT said lanes will reopen by 7 a.m. Saturday near the Lewinsville Road overpass. Should the weather prohibit the work, it will be rescheduled for Saturday night from 10 p.m. to Sunday at 7 a.m.
Demolition of the old bridge
The ramp from the eastbound Dulles Toll Road to northbound I-495 will be closed during the overnight hours of June 10 through June 16. The ramp closure hours and detour are as follows:
Monday, June 10, to Thursday, June 13, from 8 p.m. to 4 a.m.
Friday, June 14, and Saturday, June 15, from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m.
When the ramp is closed during the times above, drivers on the eastbound Dulles Toll Road will be detoured to reach northbound I-495.
This work is part of the ongoing 495 Next Project, which is the 495 Express Lanes Extension that is expected to open in late 2025, with the project completed in 2026.
WTOP’s Mary DePompa contributed to this report.
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After a long and bittersweet farewell before embarking on a FedEx plane to China in November, the giant pandas are coming back to the nation’s capital.
After a long and bittersweet farewell before embarking on a FedEx plane to China in November, the giant pandas are coming back to the nation’s capital.
The Smithsonian National Zoo announced Wednesday that two new pandas, Bao Li and Qing Bao, will be transported to the zoo by the end of the year.
Brandie Smith, the zoo’s John and Adrienne Mars Director, said resuming the giant panda conservation program partnership with China proves that the institution’s “collaboration with Chinese colleagues has made an irrefutable impact.”
Bao Li is a descendent of the Smithsonian’s former “panda family.” The two-year-old male panda is the son of Bao Bao, who was born at the D.C. zoo in 2013.
“Through this partnership, we have grown the panda population, advanced our shared understanding of how to care for this beloved bear and learned what’s needed to protect wild pandas and preserve native habitat,” Smith said.
The FedEx “Panda Express” will be called into service again to transport the giant pandas from China to the D.C. zoo. The pandas will then be placed in quarantine and settle into their habitat for a few weeks before the institution’s animal care team decides that the pandas are ready for their public debut.
Smith, first lady Jill Biden and Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch announced the imminent arrival of new giant pandas in a video Wednesday morning.
Six months ago, just days after Tian Tian, Mei Xiang and Xiao Qi Ji arrived in China after their 19-hour flight, panda-lovers hopes rose with news that China may be sending new pandas to the United States, The Associated Press reported. This came after Chinese President Xi Jinping and President Joe Biden held their first face-to-face meeting in a year.
The panda program from China has long been used for diplomacy. In recent years, China has lent out pandas to Russia and Qatar. But diplomatic relations with the United States had been a little rockier, and China has begun gradually withdrawing its giant pandas from zoos in the U.S. and Europe.
They were a gift after a historic trip to China
In 1972, 25 years of isolation between the U.S. and the People’s Republic of China came to an end when President Richard Nixon paid a visit to China that established diplomatic relations between the two countries.
During a dinner in February 1972 during the seminal trip, first lady Pat Nixon mentioned her fondness for the giant pandas to Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai. After, the premier gifted two giant pandas to the American people as “gesture of good will,” according to the National Zoo’s website.
Ling-Ling (a female) and Hsing-Hsing (a male) arrived at the National Zoo later that year in April, drawing millions of fans from around the world to the zoo. The pair spent 20 years together, giving birth to five cubs. Unfortunately, none survived.
Ling-Ling died in 1992 from heart failure. She was 23. Due to age-related illnesses and a terminal kidney disease, Hsing-Hsing was euthanized in 1999 at age 28.
More than a year after the death of the zoo’s first panda pair, Mei Xiang (female) and Tian Tian (male) arrived at the zoo. Unlike Ling-Ling and Hsing-Hsing, the couple were on loan following an agreement wherein the two would live at the zoo for 10 years in exchange for $10 million and the sharing of conservation effort expertise with China.
The zoo renewed its Giant Panda Cooperative Research and Breeding Agreement with the China Wildlife Conservation Association three times since 2000.
What Smithsonian scientists learned about panda behavior and breeding
Smithsonian scientists and animal care staff learned a great deal about panda breeding, cub development and panda native habitats, leading to valuable insights about how to care for them and conserve wild panda populations.
After several natural and artificial breeding attempts, Mei Xiang give birth to Tai Shan in 2005. Tai Shan left the zoo for the Wolong Nature Reserve in China in 2010.
In August 2020, Mei Xiang give birth to a male cub, Xiao Qi Ji. Later in December, the zoo announced another three-year extension with the China Wildlife and Conservation Association.
In September 2023, as the latest agreement drew to a close, the National Zoo held “Panda Palooza: A Giant Farewell” about a month before Mei Xiang, Tian Tian and their cub left for China.
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