The attorneys general in D.C., Maryland and Virginia are suing Uber, accusing the rideshare app of having a “deceptive” subscription service, Uber One.
All three attorneys general in the D.C. region are suing Uber, accusing the rideshare app of taking advantage of consumers through its “deceptive” subscription service, Uber One.
Nineteen states, including Virginia, Maryland and D.C., filed a joint lawsuit with the Federal Trade Commission against Uber on Monday. The complaint says Uber didn’t follow through on advertised savings, charged consumers during their free trial periods, and signed up users for Uber One without their consent.
The lawsuit comes after the FTC sued Uber in April 2025 for its subscription service. This new amended complaint requests penalties for the app’s alleged violation of the Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act, which ensures that consumers fully understand the terms of a subscription service before signing up.
The new coalition allows the 21 states and D.C. to seek restitution for these alleged violations.
The lawsuit says Uber not only charged people for subscriptions that they never signed up for, but didn’t deliver on promised savings supposedly included in the subscription. The FTC said in a news release that users have reported they didn’t receive $0 delivery fees and $25 in monthly savings, two key discounts Uber One advertises.
Another major complaint is that Uber One allegedly signed up and charged consumers for the subscription service without their knowledge.
D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb said these subscription violations are unacceptable, especially given the high cost of living.
“No one should ever be stuck paying for a subscription they do not want,” Schwab said in a news release. “We are joining this lawsuit to stop Uber’s deceptive and illegal conduct and to ensure that the more than 100,000 DC residents who are paying for Uber One subscriptions have an easy way to cancel if they no longer wish to use the service.”
Uber One offers a free trial, which the court filing claimed was breached. Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown said many users were charged for Uber One before their trial ended.
“Free trials should actually be free — not traps that lock Marylanders into unwanted monthly charges,” Brown said in a news release.
The lawsuit also says Uber made it extremely difficult to cancel Uber One subscriptions, stating that consumers had to go through 12 actions and seven different screens. Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares said these steps trapped consumers.
“Deceptive enrollment and billing practices have no place in the marketplace,” Miyares said in a news release.
In addition to D.C, Virginia and Maryland, the other states on the lawsuit are Alabama, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
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In addition to pardoning two North Carolina turkeys at the annual White House ceremony Tuesday, President Donald Trump discussed his crime-fighting efforts in Washington, D.C., claiming that it’s been months since the city has seen a murder.
But Metropolitan Police Department statistics say otherwise.
Trump deployed National Guard troops to Washington in August in an effort to curb violent crime even though it had already reached its lowest levels in decades.
Here’s a closer look at the facts.
TRUMP: “We haven’t had a murder in six months.”
THE FACTS: That’s false. There have been 62 homicides in Washington since May 25, including one last week, according to the MPD. The city has seen 123 homicides so far in 2025. Since National Guard troops were deployed to Washington on Aug. 11, there have been 24. In some data, only 61 homicides were reported in the last six months, and only 23 since Aug. 11, because of a technical error, the MPD said.
Asked for comment on Trump’s claim, the department said that the statistics speak for themselves.
White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers stressed Trump’s transformation of Washington “from a crime-ridden mess into a beautiful, clean, safe city” when asked about the discrepancy between his claim and city data. She did not address the discrepancy directly.
A federal judge on Thursday ordered the Trump administration to end its monthslong deployment of National Guard troops in the nation’s capital. U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb found that Trump’s military takeover illegally intrudes on local officials’ authority to direct law enforcement in the district. The order is on hold for 21 days to allow for appeal.
District of Columbia Attorney General Brian Schwalb in September sued to challenge the Guard deployments. He asked the judge to bar the White House from deploying Guard troops without the mayor’s consent while the lawsuit plays out.
During the turkey pardoning, Trump said Washington “is now considered a safe zone,” making the erroneous claim that “we haven’t seen a murder in six months.”
A Department of Justice report from January showed that total violent crime in 2024 was at the lowest it had been in more than 30 years, including a 32% drop in homicides from 2023, when it experienced a post-pandemic peak.
Homicides in the past six months are down 46% from the same period last year, while homicides since the August deployment are down 38% from the previous period, MPD data shows. There has been a 29% decrease in homicides in 2025 to date compared to 2024.
Violent crime during the National Guard’s initial one-month surge in Washington was down 39% from the same period last year, including a 53% drop in homicides, with seven during the surge, compared to 15 during the same timespan in 2024.
Arson is the only type of crime that has not seen a decrease, with a 0% change from last year to this year.
The city’s statistics came into question, however, after federal authorities opened an investigation into allegations that officials altered some of the data to make it look better. The investigation is ongoing.
___
Associated Press writers Gary Fields and Lindsay Whitehurst contributed to this report.
The mixed feelings over the National Guard deployment in D.C. have forced local officials to strike a balance between opposing what they see as a flagrant violation of the city’s already limited autonomy and the acknowledgment that the district could use the help.
DC Federal Intervention National Guard soldiers patrol on the National Mall near the U.S. Capitol, Friday, Oct. 17, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)
AP Photo/Rahmat Gul
DC Federal Intervention In this image provided by Andy Koester, National Guard soldiers and other law enforcement agencies work to get a cat, top right, out of a tree in Lincoln Park in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Washington, Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025. (Andy Koester via AP)
Andy Koester via AP
DC Federal Enforcement National Guard FILE – People talk with National Guard soldiers on the Ellipse, with the White House in the background, Oct. 17, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul, File)
AP Photo/Rahmat Gul, File
DC Federal Enforcement National Guard FILE – Steve DeBoer, left, and Harris Kruse, right, talk with members of the District of Columbia National Guard patrolling the area near Nationals Park on game day in Washington, Aug. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr., File)
AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr., File
DC Federal Enforcement National Guard FILE – People talk with a member of the District of Columbia National Guard as they patrol the area outside Nationals Park in Washington, Aug. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)
AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.
DC Federal Enforcement National Guard Neighborhood resident and volunteer, Valencia Mohammed, center, talks to D.C. National Guard interim commander Army Brig. Gen. Leland Blanchard II, right, and Lt. Col. Marcus Hunt, left, about cleanup efforts at Fort Stevens Recreation Center, Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025, in Washington. Mohammed requested the cleanup. Marcus Hickman, Anacostia ANC Commisioner, is seen rear. (AP Photo/Gary Fields)
AP Photo/Gary Fields
DC Federal Enforcement National Guard D.C. National Guard members clean up the park around Fort Stevens Recreation Center, Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025, in Washington. News of the cleanup sparked a community debate over the presence of the Guard. (AP Photo/Gary Fields)
AP Photo/Gary Fields
WASHINGTON (AP) — The soldiers and airmen stood at the back of the black minivan, arming themselves — with black garbage bags and red-handled trash pickers — and headed for the park around the recreation center.
For the Washington, D.C., contingent of the National Guard deployed to the nation’s capital, it marked their 119th beautification project since the unit was called up in August as part of President Donald Trump’s federal law enforcement intervention. Their work has included cleaning graffiti in parks, picking up trash and refurbishing a recreation center. There are plans to help a school reading program in an often overlooked area of the city.
The hundreds of National Guard troops still deployed to the city — at times armed — have unnerved some residents, who see in them the manifestation of presidential overreach on law enforcement. And while there is deep mistrust over the motives of the overall deployment, others view the Guard in Washington, especially its local contingent’s focus on community improvement efforts, with a measure of approval.
“I’m glad for the help,” said Sabir Abdul, 68, a resident who regularly cleans the trash and debris in the park around the Fort Stevens Recreation Center in Northwest D.C. “They have lives, but now they are here, helping us.”
The mixed feelings over the Guard deployment have forced local officials to strike a balance between opposing what they see as a flagrant violation of the city’s already limited autonomy and the acknowledgment that the district could use the help that at least the D.C. National Guard contingent has been providing.
A lawsuit filed by D.C.’s attorney general challenging the deployment — part of a wave of legal action in multiple cities facing their own federal law enforcement interventions — will be heard on Friday.
The Guard deployment in DC is among several around the country
Hundreds of National Guard troops have been in Washington, D.C., since Trump issued an emergency order in August, which launched what he said was a crime-fighting mission that also included the federal takeover of the local police department. The order expired last month, but the roughly 2,000 National Guard troops from D.C. and eight states remain in the city, with most contingents saying they plan to withdraw by the end of November.
The troops have become a fixture of the city, patrolling metro stations and neighborhoods and supporting other federal law enforcement agencies in operations that have led to hundreds of arrests and sparked fear in many communities, especially among immigrants. Trump, a Republican, has praised the campaign as having reduced crime rates, which were already falling.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat whose city budget and laws are determined by Congress, has walked a fine line between appeasing Trump and pushing back on the deployment. She has acknowledged that the campaign has helped push down crime, while arguing that the out-of-state National Guard deployment has not been “an efficient use of those resources.”
In a recent brief filed in the D.C. legal case, Attorney General Brian Schwalb argued that the Guard units are operating “as a federal military police force.” The document also indicated that there were plans for the D.C. Guard to potentially remain in the city at least through next summer.
For some, that isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
Grappling with mixed feelings about the Guard
In Ward 8, which is in the historic but underserved area of the district east of the Anacostia River, local officials have taken up an invitation from the D.C. Guard to help with community improvement despite their overall opposition to the presence of armed National Guard troops in the city.
Advisory neighborhood commission member Joseph Johnson said troops from the local Guard unit have been to his ward multiple times, “helping where we need help,” including cleaning around a school, as well as several areas in the Anacostia neighborhood. Community members have seen that “these are people just like them. They live here in our communities for the most part.”
Local officials have grappled over whether the help the local unit is offering can be separated from the Trump administration’s increasing threats to use uniformed troops on the streets of American cities. Some have zero tolerance, concerned that supporting even the local Guard’s beautification efforts can be seen as a tacit endorsement of Trump’s use of federal troops in supporting law enforcement activities.
“Trump is testing the system to see how far he can really go,” Johnson said.
The D.C. Guard contingent, which is controlled by the president, has been focused on quality of life issues in the city because many of the troops come from the communities they are now working in, said D.C. Guard interim commanding officer Brig. Gen. Leland Blanchard II.
Blanchard said the deployment would go on “until the president determines it’s time for us to go do something different.”
“We absolutely want to continue to partner with our own city, our own people here in the District of Columbia,” he told The Associated Press.
A city park embodies the tensions over the Guard
In the diverse Shepherd Park neighborhood, news that the Guard was arriving for cleaning efforts sparked a firestorm of opposition in community social media groups. Neighborhood commissioner Paula Edwards was forced to explain that no local official had invited them.
“We feel that their presence is frightening to many of our constituents,” Edwards said in an interview. She said the situation was complex because Guard members are following orders. She also said the D.C. Guard members were distinct from other state contingents because they are aware of the nuances and character of the city. She said public attitudes in her community ranged from “let the troops clean the park” to some who seek to shame them.
Edwards said under different circumstances she would be glad to see the Guard there, but “only after this deployment ends.”
Valencia Mohammed, who leads a local tenants’ association, said she had reached out to the Guard to request help to clean up. She simply wanted the park clean, including potentially dangerous items that could harm children. Mohammed, 74, said she usually cleaned the park, along with other older residents.
She said she believed local officials opposed the Guard’s cleanup efforts because they “did not want to seem supporting any efforts by Trump, even if it was good for the community.”
“I just wanted our park beautified,” she said, “which is something none of the commissioners have done.”
D.C. is pushing back against what it argues is an illegal and indefinite deployment of National Guard troops, under federal control, in the nation’s capital.
D.C. is pushing back against what it argues is an illegal and indefinite deployment of National Guard troops, under federal control, in the nation’s capital.
Court documents suggest troops have been instructed to prepare for “long-term persistent presence” in the District, possibly though next summer in conjunction with the “America 250” celebration.
D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb filed the supplemental brief Friday in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
He’s expected to go before a federal judge Friday to ask the court to issue an injunction to stop the National Guard deployment and restore local control over law enforcement.
Federal command over National Guard is unconstitutional, filing argues
According to the brief, National Guard personnel stationed across the District, including out-of-state troops, are operating under the command of the D.C. National Guard and the Defense Department.
That’s opposed to taking direction from their respective governors or generals.
According to the brief, federal command of those troops in state militia violates the Militia Clauses of the Constitution and the statutes governing the National Guard.
The troops report to a colonel in the D.C. National Guard, who sends updates to out-of-state officials.
The filing argued the National Guard’s participation in arrests, patrols and warrant executions violates federal law, which restricts military involvement in civilian law enforcement.
District says deployment has strained police, threatened public safety
D.C. argued the troops’ deployment has impeded on the District’s sovereignty.
In the brief, the District said the troops’ deployment is “placing burdens” on D.C. and “threatening public safety.”
Namely, the brief mentions the presence of military vehicles and troops without standard law enforcement training. The dangers posed by large military vehicles have caused the District to give emergency responders extra training to prepare in case of a vehicle accident or fire.
D.C. police officers have also been impacted by some of those burdens caused by “increased tensions,” according to the filing.
The troops are operating as Special Deputy U.S. Marshals, which grants them law enforcement authority. Though they are not authorized to make arrests, the filing shows some have engaged in arrests and been given training on “handcuffing techniques,” as well as “weapon retention and takedown defense”
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7-Eleven has agreed to pay $1.2 million to resolve claims the convenience store violated the D.C. ban on the sale of vape devices and e-cigarettes within a quarter-mile of schools.
7-Eleven has agreed to pay $1.2 million to resolve allegations that the convenience store giant violated the District’s ban on the sale of vaping devices and e-cigarettes within a quarter-mile of middle and high schools, according to Attorney General Brian Schwalb.
In a news release, the attorney general’s office said that since the District’s ban went into effect in October 2022, a total of 16 7-Eleven stores near schools sold thousands of electronic smoking devices.
Electronic smoking devices include vaping devices, e-cigarettes and other instruments that generate vapor or aerosol that can be inhaled by the user.
In addition to paying a monetary penalty, the chain must now permanently stop all sales and marketing of the devices at its stores near D.C. schools as part of a settlement. 7-Eleven is also required to train staff and monitor franchise stores to ensure compliance with D.C. law.
“Selling vapes and e-cigarettes near schools is illegal because, particularly for young people, these nicotine products are addictive and unhealthy,” Schwalb said.
According to Schwalb’s office, in August 2022, before the ban went into effect, 7-Eleven notified 16 stores — including 10 stores owned by the chair and six franchises — of the upcoming ban.
“OAG’s investigation revealed that despite this direct notification, all sixteen stores near D.C. middle and high schools continued to sell electronic smoking devices after the ban took effect.”
Now, as part of the agreement, if a franchise store receives four notices of violations within a two-year period, 7-Eleven must terminate its franchise agreement with the store and provide notice of the termination to Office of the Attorney General.
“7-Eleven’s illegal sales threatened to reverse the progress we’ve made reducing tobacco use amongst youth,” Schwalb said. “Protecting the safety of our community is our top priority at the Office of the Attorney General, and that includes enforcing local laws designed to protect the health of our children.”
WTOP is seeking comment from 7-Eleven about the settlement.
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D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said her focus remains on planning for the exit out of President Donald Trump’s declared crime emergency, while council members supported the lawsuit.
As legal and political tensions escalate over federal intervention in the District, Mayor Muriel Bowser is turning her attention toward the end of President Donald Trump’s declared crime emergency — while council members rally behind a lawsuit challenging the continued deployment of the National Guard.
At a news conference on Thursday morning following the announcement of the lawsuit filed by D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb challenging the use of the National Guard, Bowser said, “This has been a legal question throughout the emergency, not just today. And I will just reiterate that my focus, and the focus of our emergency operations center, is on planning for the exit out of the emergency next week.”
The Army later said it’s extending orders for the D.C. National Guard to remain in the nation’s capital through Nov. 30, two U.S. officials told ABC News on Thursday.
The crime emergency is scheduled to end Sept. 10.
Bowser said she has not been consulted on any possible extension.
“I’m not sure that that’s an indication of how long they’ll be deployed. I know that there’s a lot of reporting about how weary they are. And I get that, because deployments are hard. People are away from their families, and they may not necessarily think they’re on mission,” Bowser said.
“So, I think that the deployments themselves are running their course,” she added. “We are organized to best use our own public safety resources and any additional public safety resources. And I think that’s a message for the Congress.”
Council members react to lawsuit
Speaking to WTOP, Ward 3 Council member Matthew Frumin and At-Large Council member Robert White expressed support for the lawsuit.
“There was just a decision that said the president has improperly deployed the National Guard in other places,” Frumin said. “So, the fact that the attorney general would capitalize on those findings in other jurisdictions to try to get us to where we want to be, which is not having armed soldiers on our streets, makes sense.”
White echoed that support, saying he believes AG Schwalb has built a “strong case.”
“What the president is doing is illegal. He’s not respecting Congress, he’s not respecting Home Rule, he’s not respecting D.C. residents,” White said.
Frumin also spoke about the mayor’s position, describing it as “incredibly difficult.” He acknowledged the criticism Bowser has faced but said she is trying to find a way forward.
“If we could get to a place where the ICE activity got under control and the National Guard left, that would be a vast improvement over where we are,” he said.
He said Bowser likely has the clearest sense of what might lead to the end of the emergency, given her direct communication with federal officials.
“I have to believe she knows this might not work, but she’s made the determination that this is the best, most constructive path forward. And I want to support her in that,” Frumin said.
“We have to protect D.C., Home Rule and democracy,” White said. “It’s hard for national voices, other governors, members of Congress, to say ‘stop what’s happening in D.C.’ if they’re getting a message that D.C. welcomes it. D.C. does not welcome it.”
Bowser, in responding to criticism on Wednesday, said her goal is to end the emergency, not to invite federal intervention.
Still, White accused the mayor of trying to appease the president, a strategy he believes is bound to fail.
“It’s not going to work,” he said. “We have to make sure we work with our allies, those who believe in democracy and Home Rule, to protect it.”
The White House has defended the federal effort. On Tuesday, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the deployment of federal law enforcement and National Guard troops in D.C. “has yielded tremendous results in such a short time. Violent crime has plummeted, and dangerous criminals are being removed from the streets every single night.”
Frumin acknowledged the drop in crime but cautioned that the current approach is not sustainable. He said some residents now feel unsafe while simply being outside.
White agreed. He warned that while crime may be down, the long-term damage to the community’s trust in the government could make the city less safe in the future.
“So, when the military leaves our city, we are left with that broken reputation that’s going to make us less safe,” he said.
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The District of Columbia on Thursday sued to stop President Donald Trump’s deployment of National Guard during his law enforcement intervention in Washington.The city’s attorney general, Brian Schwalb, said the surge of troops essentially amounts to an “involuntary military occupation.” He argued in the federal lawsuit that the deployment, coinciding with an executive order Aug. 11, that now involves more than 1,000 troops is an illegal use of the military for domestic law enforcement.A federal judge in California recently ruled that Trump’s deployment of National Guard troops to Los Angeles after days of protests over immigration raids in June was illegal.The Republican administration is appealing that decision and Trump has said he is ready to order federal intervention in Chicago and Baltimore, despite staunch opposition in those Democrat-led cities. That court ruling, however, does not directly apply to Washington, where the president has more control over the Guard than in states.The White House did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment to the new lawsuit.Members of the D.C. National Guard have had their orders extended through December, according to a Guard official. While that does not necessarily mean all those troops will serve that long, it is a strong indication that their role will not wind down soon.Several GOP-led states have added National Guard troops to the ranks of those patrolling the streets and neighborhoods of the nation’s capital.Schwalb’s filing contends the deployment also violates the Home Rule Act, signed by President Richard Nixon in 1973, because Trump acted without the mayor’s consent and is wrongly asserting federal control over units from other states.The city’s attorney general, an elected official, is its top legal officer and is separate from Washington’s federal U.S. attorney, who is appointed by the president.The lawsuit is the second from Schwalb against the Trump administration since the president asserted control over the city’s police department and sent in the Guard, actions that have been with protests from some residents.Trump has said the operation is necessary to combat crime in the district, and Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat, has pointed to a steep drop in offenses such as carjackings since it began.Violent crime has been an issue in the capital for years, though data showed it was on the decline at the start of Trump’s intervention.
WASHINGTON —
The District of Columbia on Thursday sued to stop President Donald Trump’s deployment of National Guard during his law enforcement intervention in Washington.
The city’s attorney general, Brian Schwalb, said the surge of troops essentially amounts to an “involuntary military occupation.” He argued in the federal lawsuit that the deployment, coinciding with an executive order Aug. 11, that now involves more than 1,000 troops is an illegal use of the military for domestic law enforcement.
A federal judge in California recently ruled that Trump’s deployment of National Guard troops to Los Angeles after days of protests over immigration raids in June was illegal.
The Republican administration is appealing that decision and Trump has said he is ready to order federal intervention in Chicago and Baltimore, despite staunch opposition in those Democrat-led cities. That court ruling, however, does not directly apply to Washington, where the president has more control over the Guard than in states.
The White House did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment to the new lawsuit.
Members of the D.C. National Guard have had their orders extended through December, according to a Guard official. While that does not necessarily mean all those troops will serve that long, it is a strong indication that their role will not wind down soon.
Several GOP-led states have added National Guard troops to the ranks of those patrolling the streets and neighborhoods of the nation’s capital.
Schwalb’s filing contends the deployment also violates the Home Rule Act, signed by President Richard Nixon in 1973, because Trump acted without the mayor’s consent and is wrongly asserting federal control over units from other states.
The city’s attorney general, an elected official, is its top legal officer and is separate from Washington’s federal U.S. attorney, who is appointed by the president.
The lawsuit is the second from Schwalb against the Trump administration since the president asserted control over the city’s police department and sent in the Guard, actions that have been with protests from some residents.
Trump has said the operation is necessary to combat crime in the district, and Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat, has pointed to a steep drop in offenses such as carjackings since it began.
Violent crime has been an issue in the capital for years, though data showed it was on the decline at the start of Trump’s intervention.
District Dogs will pay $100,000 to D.C. and make improvements to safety and emergency response, after a 2023 flood left 10 dogs dead.
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District Dogs agrees to pay DC $100,000 and improve safety measures following deadly flood
District Dogs will pay $100,000 to D.C. and make improvements to safety and emergency response, after a 2023 flood left 10 dogs dead.
Under a settlement reached with D.C.’s Office of the Attorney General, District Dogs must keep the store at 680 Rhode Island Avenue in Northeast permanently closed. That location flooded three times in 2022 — before the 2023 flood.
In the settlement, D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb said District Dogs misled customers about the safety of their dogs and “downplayed the flooding and mentioned specific measures that District Dogs was taking to prevent future flooding issues, representing to Consumers that dogs would be safe in District Dogs’ care.”
D.C. alleged District Dogs misrepresented that each dog in its care would enjoy a safe and healthy experience, told customers flood prevention measures were sufficient to keep dogs safe, and failed to implement adequate training, emergency and evacuation procedures.
The settlement said “District Dogs denies all of OAG’s allegations and claims, including that it has violated any consumer protection laws.”
In a statement provided to WTOP, a spokesperson for District Dogs said: “To bring this matter to an end, and to avoid the continued financial strain on our small business from an unnecessarily prolonged process, we agreed to settle this matter with one important condition – that the Attorney General’s Office agree as part of the settlement that there is no admission of wrongdoing by District Dogs whatsoever.”
On Aug. 14, 2023, 10 dogs died inside the pet day care and grooming facility following a torrential downpour. Water rose nearly six feet in the span of a few minutes, to the middle of doors on District Dogs, before one of the walls gave out, according to D.C. Fire and EMS supervisors on the scene.
As part of the settlement, District Dogs will be required to obtain risk management certification for its locations, to include emergency response and evacuations specific to each facility.
Some of the procedures include designating evacuation route assignments, rescue and medical duties, a clear checklist of sequential steps, as well as a system to account for each dog on site during emergencies. In addition, an alarm system would notify employees of an emergency situation.
According to the suit, filed in D.C. Superior Court, the dogs’ deaths were foreseeable and preventable, since the District Dogs location at 680 Rhode Island Avenue in Northeast had flooded repeatedly, including almost exactly one year before the 2023 flood.
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D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said she’s heartbroken about the passing of her father, Joe Bowser, who died Friday. He was 88 years old.
DC Mayor Muriel Bowser is joined by her father and mother Joe and Joan Bowser during her inauguration in D.C. on Jan. 2, 2015. (Screenshot courtesy DC Office of Cable Television)(Courtesy DC Office of Cable Television)
DC Mayor Muriel Bowser is joined by her father and mother Joe and Joan Bowser during her inauguration in D.C. on Jan. 2, 2015. (Screenshot courtesy DC Office of Cable Television)(Courtesy DC Office of Cable Television)
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said she’s heartbroken about the passing of her father, Joe Bowser, who died Friday. He was 88 years old.
In a statement on his death, Mayor Bowser said that she owes her career in public service to her father.
“For 52 years, my dad has been at my side — guiding me, cheering for me, loving me,” Mayor Bowser said. “He was the first person to take me to a community meeting. The first person to teach me that if something needs to be fixed, then step up and fix it — and finish any job you start.
Mayor Bowser called her father “bold” and “uncompromising” when it came to doing what’s right: “My first example of a public servant. The person — along with my mom — to show me unconditional love,” the mayor wrote of her father.
The 88-year-old held the bible for Mayor Bowser when she was first sworn into office, a favor that she returned when swearing her father into service as an officer in the North Michigan Park Civic Association.
“That was what it meant to walk in Joe Bowser’s footsteps — always knowing he was there, always pushing me to keep up,” Bowser wrote.
Ward 7 Councilmember Vincent Gray was among those who sent condolences to the Bowser family Saturday, encouraging others to help honor the life and legacy of Joe Bowser.
“We can honor Joe Bowser’s life by emulating his endeavors to empower people, build stronger neighborhoods, and especially by holding those we love close,” Gray said.
D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb said that Joe Bowser “was a dedicated community leader and advocate for all Washingtonians.”
“His presence will be sorely missed in Ward 5 and across the District,” Schwalb added.
“God blessed me and Miranda with you Dad. I’m heartbroken. I know that you will continue to guide me, and I will work every day to make you and mom proud. There will never be another Joe Bowser,” Mayor Bowser wrote. “You will be missed.”
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D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb rolled out legislation targeting the city’s Department of Youth Rehabilitative Services, saying they aren’t doing enough to prevent youth recidivism.
The vast majority of young people committed to D.C.’s Department of Youth Rehabilitative Services end up getting arrested again, according to a 2022 study of the juvenile justice system in the District.
Attorney General Brian Schwalb rolled out legislation Tuesday aiming to change that.
“More and more young people are committing violent offenses — carjackings, robbery, gun crimes, homicides — and they’re committing offenses at younger ages. And while it’s a relatively small number of young people who are engaged in criminal behavior, that small group is causing a disproportionate amount of harm,” Schwalb said during a Tuesday news conference.
In the most serious criminal convictions, young people can be sent to the D.C. Youth Services Center, essentially a jail-like facility, in Northeast. They can also be released to parental supervision or assigned to a bed at what’s referred to as a “shelter home.”
“From then on, DYRS is responsible for providing effective supervision and intervention to youth in their custody and reducing the likelihood that they will reoffend,” Schwalb’s office said in a news release.
But the most recent city data shows that as more young people enter D.C.’s juvenile justice system, the department has been failing in that regard.
“Almost every single one of the kids committed to DYRS care gets arrested again. That is not acceptable,” Schwalb said. “These recidivism rates are not acceptable. Reducing recidivism is an essential part of a comprehensive public safety strategy.”
Schwalb said “swift and certain consequences” are critical in deterring crime and changing behavior in young people, and that the department isn’t getting it right.
According to the department’s own performance plan for fiscal year 2024, issued in December and cited by Schwalb on Tuesday, less than half of committed youths have a case plan within 90 days of being committed to DYRS custody.
“Three months to develop a treatment plan, much less implement one, is not acceptable,” Schwalb said. “Meaningful intervention needs to happen right away, not months down the road.”
The legislation requires the department to quickly develop and implement an individualized rehabilitation plan for every young person committed to its custody. It also bolsters the court’s authority to step in if the department has not followed through on a young person’s rehabilitation plan.
Lastly, the law would provide for permanent, independent oversight of DYRS.
The legislation goes far beyond Mayor Muriel Bowser’s emergency declaration in November, which was made with the goal of procuring more beds at youth shelter homes around the city. A shortage of those beds was the focus of a recent court battle, with lawyers representing a teenage girl pressing for a judge to hold the city in civil contempt because of a lack of shelter beds.
In the girl’s case, she was locked up at the D.C. Youth Services Center for five days — even though she was supposed to be released to a shelter home. Eventually, she was released to home custody, but it was revealed in court the girl was routinely violating the terms of her release.
Just days before the mayor’s emergency declaration, Council member Trayon White sounded the alarm on poor living conditions in the D.C. Youth Services Center. White said the jail-like facility for D.C.’s youth doesn’t have enough hygiene products, doesn’t provide enough education and isn’t sufficiently staffed.
“There are a lot of security and safety concerns here, and I’ve only been here three hours,” White said during his November visit. “So I can imagine what’s going on at nighttime.”
Schwalb’s sweeping bill needs D.C. Council approval and the mayor’s signature to take effect.
WTOP’s Mike Murillo and Scott Gelman contributed to this report.
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A teachers recruiting firm in D.C. accused of charging high fees and falsely claiming to be an official visa sponsor has been shut down.
A recruiting firm accused of charging high fees and falsely claiming to be an official visa sponsor has been shut down, D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb said in a news release Thursday.
Earl Francisco Lopez and the teacher recruitment companies he ran, including the Bilingual Teacher Exchange, are accused of “preying upon dozens of foreign exchange program teachers” by lying about affiliation with the U.S. State Department, Schwalb’s office said.
Lopez traveled to Honduras, Colombia and other Central or South American countries to recruit teachers, said Wendy Weinberg, senior assistant attorney general in the D.C. Office of the Attorney General. He told them, Weinberg said, that he could help them get visas and could offer support services once they got to the U.S.
However, Lopez wasn’t the visa sponsor. Instead, Weinberg said, he worked with a company that served as the actual visa sponsor. He recruited over 60 teachers to work in D.C. public or public charter schools. They accused him of failing to provide the services he promised that he would.
The teachers approached Schwalb’s office with their concerns when they learned that Lopez wasn’t actually their visa sponsor and when they figured out he couldn’t deport them or have them fired, which he’s accused of threatening to do, Weinberg said.
“Being trapped in an elaborate scam — and discovering that you’ve fallen victim to labor trafficking — is gut-wrenching and shakes you to your core,” said Dulce Maria Nuñez Zaldivar, a middle school teacher who is originally from Honduras, in a statement. “When I learned that Mr. Lopez had manipulated and exploited me and so many others for his own gain, the fear was suffocating. I felt like I was trapped in a nightmare with no escape.”
Lopez charged most of the teachers about $6,500 for the first year, $5,000 for the second year and $3,700 for the third year, Weinberg said.
The teachers were recruited to participate in a three-year State Department exchange program. The actual visa sponsor offering the same services was charging $1,500 per year, Weinberg said.
“He was charging people these high fees, which many of the teachers had trouble paying,” Weinberg said. “They were obviously surviving on teacher salaries, and many had to borrow money in order to come over here. When people didn’t pay, he threatened them with deportation, he threatened them with losing their jobs and was charging late fees that were illegal under D.C. law.”
Lopez is also accused of failing to help the teachers get housing and set up with Social Security numbers and required vaccines. The classroom trainings “were not appropriate” for experienced teachers who knew the fundamentals of classroom management, Weinberg said.
Lopez is also accused of telling teachers they could only work in D.C. schools if they signed contracts with his companies, such as Bilingual Teacher Exchange, Ives Hall Consulting, Inc. and Bert Corona Leadership Institute, Inc.
As part of a settlement agreement, Schwalb’s office said Lopez’s recruitment firm is permanently shutting down. The teachers will receive restitution, and Weinberg said the attorney general’s office will “be monitoring his activities and looking at his contracts with consumers. If he violated any of the terms of the agreement, he is subject to having to pay the District $1 million.”
Weinberg recommends that anyone working with a person claiming to be a legitimate visa sponsor visit the State Department’s website, which has a list of authorized sponsors.
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