Community members attending school board meetings in Fairfax County, Virginia, will be screened for weapons as part of a safety initiative from the school system.
Parents, students, staff and other community members attending school board meetings in Fairfax County, Virginia, will be screened for weapons as part of a new safety initiative from the school system.
Fairfax County Public Schools added the new layer of security at the start of the school year, according to a news release from the school system.
The school system is asking anyone attending the meetings to come early to budget time for the screening. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. for meetings.
The school system already uses the OpenGate weapons detection system in many high schools and plans to roll it out to all middle and high schools.
It’s similar to the systems used at sporting events or concerts.
The same items restricted in schools will apply to school board meetings. Among those items are guns, knives, explosive devices, ammunition, starter guns, paintball guns, pellet guns, blades, brass knuckles, mace and similar devices. Objects that look like weapons aren’t allowed.
There are some items that are OK to bring inside, but may set off the system. Those items include three-ring binders, laptops, metal eyeglass cases, umbrellas and metallic pencil cases.
The school system warned bringing one of those items could slow down the screening process.
Armed with smartphone cameras, wedding content creators are being hired to capture raw, vertical footage of the wedding day.
Wedding Week on WTOP is a three-part series that dives into Gen Z brides and grooms to be as their generation puts a spin on tying the knot. This is part 2.
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What’s a wedding content creator? It’s not just a Gen Z thing
The overwhelming popularity of TikToks and Instagram reels has some young couples looking for a different kind of video content on their wedding days.
Armed with smartphone cameras, wedding content creators are being hired to capture raw, vertical footage of the wedding festivities.
That’s a stark contrast from a traditional videographer — who would typically turn horizontal footage into an edited, professional montage of the biggest moments from the celebration.
“It’s a really great way if you want video content, but maybe not necessarily high quality,” said Jordan Snider, who plans weddings through her company, Boundless Love Events. “The iPhone does wonders these days, but it’s just a very different final product than your typical videographer.”
What’s the appeal of a wedding content creator?
Wedding content creators are tagging along for whatever moments the couple wants to capture.
Some are kicking off their workday by filming the bridal party getting ready and ending it as guests boogie on the dance floor. Other content creators are just shadowing the day for a few hours to memorialize a particular moment.
Social media: ‘I want to feel like a princess’
For wedding content creators, requests from Gen Z brides are often guided by social media influencers and trending videos, according to wedding experts.
Faith Housley poses with her fiance at the National Cathedral. (Courtesy Heather Trobridge)
The setup offered by wedding content creators is ideal for couples who want to share stories straight to Instagram or overlay clips with a trending audio on TikTok.
Faith Housley, of Northern Virginia, has 2.5 million followers on TikTok, where she posts about her upcoming wedding in February 2026 alongside other lifestyle content.
Housley is also looking to build out her portfolio as an aspiring wedding content creator. She plans to provide her content creation services at some friends’ upcoming weddings, as well as some very trusting brides and grooms.
Housley described young brides’ thought processes when hiring a creator: “I want to feel like, I have X amount of followers, and this is the royal wedding, and I want to feel like a princess.”
The price tag
It’s not just a thing for influencers or couples dreaming of social media stardom.
Oftentimes, it’s cheaper for everyday couples to hire a content creator over a traditional videographer.
“It is a great option, especially for those couples that maybe don’t have the funds to allocate toward a full-on videographer, but they still want some video clips to be able to look back on their day,” Snider said.
A content creator can be particularly affordable for people who are only looking for a few hours of coverage. Typically, videographers and photographers are booked for a full day of coverage.
“I’ll come to the bridal suite,” Housley said. “I’ll do some fun videos. They’ll have the music playing, they’ll be drinking champagne.”
Other couples may just want videos of their ceremony or clips of toasts during the reception.
The price tag has made content creators popular with millennials as well as Gen Z.
‘They’re like, ‘I can’t afford a videographer. What can you do?’” Housley said of millennial couples. “We don’t really want to do a super trendy video, but we want to show us having fun. And we kind of want a synopsis of everything for social media.’”
Speed
Budgets aren’t the only benefit.
Professional videographers could take months to edit a fully produced video. But many content creators AirDrop or text their clients the videos at the end of the night.
That has hooked in lovebirds.
With near instant delivery, couples can watch short highlights while on their honeymoon and in the blissful weeks of decompressing that so often follow a wedding day.
Some couples even bundle a professional videographer with a content creator to get quick results and a more polished video down the line.
“You do get that instant gratification that I think our society has trended toward, and you get to see those clips,” Snider said. “But then you also get that more professional, more curated video of your wedding day.”
Check back for Wedding Week part 3 on how young couples are balancing big expectations and slim budgets.
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Gen Z is breaking the mold for weddings, just as generations before them shaped how to tie the knot with puffy sleeves, Mason jars and other beloved relics.
Wedding Week on WTOP is a 3-part series that dives into Gen Z brides and grooms to be, as their generation puts a spin on tying the knot. This is part 1.
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WTOP’s Wedding Week explores what’s trending with Gen Z brides and grooms to be
Gen Z is breaking the mold for weddings, just as generations before them shaped how to tie the knot with puffy sleeves, Mason jars and other beloved relics.
For young brides and grooms, social media is a free planning resource with tens of millions of videos from vendors, planners, couples and others who want to throw their wedding “expertise” into the ring.
Wedding planner Jordan Snider wants couples to use social media as a starting point for inspiration, not a list of must-haves.
“It’s like having a beautiful, ever-evolving inspiration board right at your fingertips,” said Snider, who runs Boundless Love Events in Virginia. “It can really help you to discover new trends and save ideas that resonate with your personal style and really explore different venues and vendors.”
Snider has planned about 100 weddings over the course of her career, mostly in Virginia, though she’s worked on celebrations in Maryland and as far as Texas. She got into the industry during her freshman year of college at James Madison University and started planning during her junior year.
In Snider’s case, planning involves bringing a couple’s vision to life. Those goals are often influenced by watching what their peers came up with online.
What’s in and out?
Customization
In a sea of white wedding posts, couples are looking to make their special day stand out.
That goes down to the dainty details. Faith Housley, 23, of Fairfax County, Virginia, posts videos about her upcoming wedding next winter.
She’s customizing her wedding down to the cocktail napkins — which will sport her dogs’ faces.
Couples are also looking to personalize essential elements of the day — like what they’re wearing.
Amanda Alexander got married at a farm last summer. (Courtesy Katie Jacobs Photography)
Amanda Alexander, 23, grew up in Prince William County, Virginia, and got married in June 2024. Her now husband didn’t want a traditional outfit.
“He wanted something that was going to make him feel special, as well,” Alexander said. “He was able to find a green suit that matched the colors and that set him apart from everyone else, as well.”
He accessorized with cowboy boots for the couple’s rustic wedding at Oak Creek Farm in Orange County, Virginia.
Ditching traditions and boosting guest experience
Many of the trends involve couples looking to make a “personable and memorable guest experience,” Snider said.
That experience could include welcome parties for guests, interactive stations, such as watercolor paintings, photo booths or games.
Guest favors can sometimes get left behind at the end of the night. Some couples are hoping to counter that by bringing in goodies that can be consumed.
Instead of a wedding cake, Alexander served up grab-and-go style dessert. In Housley’s case, she’s wrapping 200 matchboxes in custom stickers for her wedding.
“Planning a wedding, I’m like, ‘Man, I’m spending money on these things. I really want somebody to take it home and use it,’” Housley said.
Ceremony
For many, prioritizing the guest experience starts with the ceremony.
“Many of the couples that I’m working with are choosing to have a close family member or a dear friend serve as the officiant for their wedding, which I feel like brings such a personal and heartfelt touch to that ceremony,” Snider said.
The look of the ceremony has changed. Some couples have ditched a traditional arbor in favor of floral installations that can be repurposed throughout the day at a sweetheart table or elsewhere during the reception.
Couples are planning intentional ceremonies. At times, Snider said that means cutting out some traditional unity activities.
“Things like candle lighting and mixing sand,” she said. “I think couples are starting to keep the ceremonies more short and meaningful and more to the point and focusing on their vows and that core commitment that they’re making.”
Though it was once considered a faux pas for a groom to see a bride before the ceremony, Snider said it’s become commonplace for couples to do a first look.
That allows for private vows to be exchanged and lets couples get some of their photos out of the way early, she said. With that time freed up, the bride and groom can join their guests for partying sooner.
Receptions
Though a garter toss was once a beloved ritual meant to bring the catcher good luck, Snider said it’s not something Gen Z has embraced.
“The garter tosses can be uncomfortable for a lot of people that are in the room. So, yeah, I’m OK with that trend dying,” Snider said.
Even bouquet tosses, traditionally “selecting” the next woman to get married, are gradually falling out of fashion.
“I think people are leaning more into their investing in really high quality DJs and bands and so kind of leaving the entertainment to that, and also not singling out their single friends,” Snider said.
As some reception traditions are getting ditched, one of Snider’s favorite trends for that portion of the celebration is dining al fresco — in the fresh air.
“I think there’s something so romantic about dining under the stars or the twinkle lights and surrounded by the beauty of the venue that you’ve selected,” Snider said.
Though perhaps less jazzy than florals and food, another trend has to do with where guests are sitting.
CLICK TO ENLARGE: Amanda Alexander dances with her husband. (Courtesy Katie Jacobs Photography)
“We’re seeing a lot of emphasis on luxury linens and beautiful chairs and a curated tabletop, rather than just solely relying on flowers to kind of carry the visual design in a reception,” Snider said.
That could be a worthwhile investment, she advises.
“I always tell my couples the largest visual real estate that a guest will see at your reception space are your linens and your chairs,” Snider said.
To cap off the night, many of Snider’s couples are opting to do a private last dance.
“It’s such a meaningful way to kind of soak in the day and kind of wrap that up and really just savor that ‘just married’ feeling,” Snider said. “I know me and my husband did that when we got married, and it was one of my most favorite parts of the day.”
At Alexander’s wedding, guests were sent off to line up for the grand exit, while the newly married couple swayed on the wooden dance floor of the barn.
“That day, people were watching our first look,” Alexander said. “People were watching our first dance. People watched us say our vows, and, like, all the things that like that moment in particular, got to just be ours.”
Check back for Wedding Week part 2 on how content creators are reorienting wedding videos — literally.
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After your jack-o’-lantern has served its purpose on Halloween, there are tons of options in the D.C. area for donating your pumpkins to.
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Don’t waste Halloween: Where and how to donate your leftover pumpkins
After your jack-o’-lantern has served its purpose on Halloween, don’t toss it to the curb.
Experts said it’s spooky just how much damage pumpkins can do to the environment as more than 2 million pounds of pumpkins end up in landfills worldwide every Halloween.
Those that end up in landfills can emit methane, a greenhouse gas that’s 20 times more harmful than CO2, according to a D.C.-area group called Pumpkins for the People.
There are tons of options in the D.C. area for donating your pumpkins.
“It is a 2 billion pound-a-year problem that we can solve one pumpkin at a time,” said Jeremy Brosowsky, founder and CEO of Agricity, which operates the Pumpkins for the People program.
Food waste in the U.S. accounts for 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions, according to the program.
“Changing people’s behavior and implementing infrastructure that enables people to waste less, and to make sure that what they do waste gets sent to the right places and is used for meaningful purposes, it’s what we do,” Brosowsky said.
His group takes leftover pumpkins at donation sites. Any carved-up jack-o’-lanterns can be smashed into pieces and used for compost.
Before you donate, make sure to remove any candles. The organization also doesn’t take painted pumpkins.
They also take pumpkins and squash that are unblemished to feed people in the community with the help of partnerships with organizations such as Martha’s Table.
A donated pumpkin with a carved-up face. (WTOP/Jessica Kronzer)
You can find one of the 21 drop-off sites in the D.C. area on the service’s website. Unlike most businesses, Brosowsky said the next three weeks will be his busiest of the year.
“If you are interested in claiming pumpkins for your school, for your not-for-profit organization, for your kitchen, whatever it might be, those pumpkins are then going to be made available for people to pick up at the end of market each day for the next three weekends,” Brosowsky said.
But pumpkins aren’t just a seasonal treat for people.
Loudoun County-based Pumpkins for Pigs turns your leftover jack-o’-lanterns into feasts for animals at farms, animal sanctuaries and rescues around the country. You can search for a drop-off site on its website.
Mill Road Farm, which is located south of Leesburg, Virginia, has been a drop-off site since the organization began accepting donations in 2017, according to Sarah Hatch, who helps the farm with her father.
The organization has since grown to 600 collection centers around the U.S., according to its website.
Despite its name, it feeds many types of livestock.
“It’s not just for pigs,” Hatch said. “Cows, sheep … goats and we have a horse, and she doesn’t really care for it.”
Once the pumpkins are in sight, Hatch said those farm animals know they’re in for a sweet snack beyond their typical diet of hay or grain.
“You throw it over. You crack it open. They devour it,” Hatch said. “They eat the innards, the seeds, just the whole pumpkin.”
When you’re ready to dump your pumpkin, Hatch said you can drop it off in a bin at the end of the farm’s driveway.
The impact goes beyond this season, Hatch said leftover seeds sometimes grow into pumpkins that they can also use feed the animals.
“I think we’ve got probably about around 250 little pumpkins this year from regrowth from previous years,” Hatch said.
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The item has been discontinued and the company has since apologized. But the backlash has continued since last week, prompting &pizza to release a statement Thursday making promises to the community.
Those commitments come after &pizza executives, including its CEO Mike Burns, met with protesters who are boycotting the chain to discuss next steps.
“We take full accountability for our misstep and wholeheartedly apologize to Mrs. Cora Masters Barry and to those we let down,” &pizza wrote in the post.
That apology comes after lawyers representing the estate of late D.C. Mayor Marion Barry sent a letter to Burns, threatening to sue over the pizza chain’s use of Barry’s likeness and demanding a personal apology for Cora Masters Barry.
Boycott to continue
The activists that met with &pizza are part of the “Knot in DC Coalition,” with the Don’t Mute D.C. organization.
Ronald Moten, one of the founders of the organization, was a part of those meetings. He said the boycott would be called off only after &pizza implements the plan it outlined in Thursday’s letter.
“If they move forward with all the actions that were in the letter, it will be a good thing for them and to repair some of the damage over time with our community,” Moten said.
But he said the protesters are hoping to end the boycott.
“We’re not in putting people out of business if we don’t have to, because people from our community work in the majority of those 53 stores,” Moten told WTOP.
&pizza wrote that it will continue to meet with the Knot in DC Coalition and other organizations moving forward.
“Together, we discussed a range of initiatives that &pizza will take to demonstrate our steadfast commitment to accountability, peace, and working towards a world that prioritizes humanity and social justice,” &pizza wrote.
Some of the promises in the letter include:
Making partnerships with minority-owned businesses in D.C.
Investing in an internship program for local high school and HBCU students to intern at &pizza
Aiding programs that invest in underserved communities, including job training and mentorship
Diversity training
Donating to racial justice and system inequality organizations involved with D.C.
One point that’s particularly important to the group is hiring someone from the D.C. community to be a leader at &pizza.
“If they had somebody from our community there, this would have never happened,” Moten told WTOP. “They would know that this was going to be something that would offend our community.”
Moten said he hopes the changes will help repair the damage done to the community by the satirical dessert.
“We want to make sure that they repair the damage done to Mr. Barry’s legacy with Mrs. Cora Masters Barry as well, and they assured us that they would want to work those things out with them as well,” Moten said.
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A former Army service member who confessed to a Fairfax County, Virginia, cold-case told detectives knew that he was going to kill someone when he left the barracks that night in 1994. He just didn’t know who.
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Former Army service member details night he fatally stabbed a Fairfax Co. mother
A former Army service member who confessed to a Fairfax County, Virginia, cold-case told detectives that he knew that he was going to kill someone when he left the barracks that night in 1994. He just didn’t know who.
Nearly 30 years ago, Robin Lawrence, 37, was killed after being stabbed 49 times in her Springfield home while her 2-year-old daughter was in the next room.
Her killer remained a mystery until DNA led police to investigate Stephan Smerk, 52, of New York in September 2023.
Officers went to Smerk’s home to ask for a DNA sample. Shortly after police visited his home, Smerk called police and turned himself in.
“It was 100% intentional,” Smerk told detectives in a videotaped confession. WTOP obtained a copy of the video from court.
The software engineer was honorably discharged from the military and had no prior criminal record, according to police. He’s married to an attorney and has two kids of his own.
“I honestly believe that if it wasn’t for my wife and my kids, I probably would be a serial killer,” he said.
When asked by detectives if he had anything to say to Lawrence’s family, he fell silent.
“I don’t have animosity to the family. I don’t feel anything for the family,” he said.
Why was Lawrence targeted that night?
At the time of the killing, Smerk was an active-duty Army soldier based at what is now Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall near Arlington National Cemetery.
He drank a couple of beers and took ephedra pills — an over-the-counter pill that’s since been banned. His friends went clubbing in D.C. but Smerk drove to a familiar neighborhood in West Springfield instead.
“It was like this overbearing fog in my head that I needed to kill somebody, I just had to kill somebody,” Smerk said.
Smerk said he’d never seen Lawrence, her husband or daughter. He didn’t know the couple had a child until he entered the home. He also didn’t know the family was African American.
He picked the house next door to one where his friends had been staying, and parked in the driveway.
“I have no idea why I chose that. I just knew that I knew where that place was.”
A knife was in his pocket, and he wore leather gloves and a ski mask.
He smoked in the Lawrences’ backyard, discarding the cigarette butts there — something he told detectives he realized later was a mistake, as it potentially left his DNA behind.
The Army service member got inside by jimmying open a sliding-glass door with a branch he found.
Smerk said he noticed the toddler’s room but didn’t go inside. Then, he startled Lawrence out of bed.
Lawrence begged for her life, Smerk said.
“She was on her knees,” Smerk told detectives.
When she reached for a phone to call for help, he cut the phone line.
He told detectives he stabbed her with a tanto knife, cutting her throat and stabbing her from behind.
“I did everything they taught me in the military, hand-to-hand combat. I stabbed her in the back of the neck.”
He remembered seeing a scratch on his face in a mirror at the home.
“She clawed at my face. I had a little bit of a scar here,” he said. “I was worried that maybe she had some DNA underneath her finger.”
When leaving the house, Smerk said he didn’t speed away. He drove over a bridge and tossed the weapon into a body of water.
Smerk returned to the barracks, washed up and threw away his clothes and shoes in a dumpster.
Lawrence’s husband was out of town for business. After he had trouble getting ahold of his wife over the phone, he asked a friend to check on her.
The mother’s body was found Nov. 20, 1994. Her daughter was uninjured, but was walking around in a soiled diaper when a friend came to check on them.
‘Influenced by demons’
Smerk told detectives that he’d been diagnosed as psychotic and suffers from PTSD. He had seen a psychiatrist and been on medications to address his mental illness in the past.
“I’m highly influenced by demons. I wouldn’t say I’m possessed but I’m influenced,” he said.
At times, Smerk said he has felt remorse for the killing, which motivated his decision to turn himself into police.
“I feel bad that I did it because I knew someday my personal freedom would be affected,” he said, at one point asking detectives about whether Virginia uses the death penalty.
Police were able to connect Smerk to the killing through work with Reston-based Parabon NanoLabs, a DNA technology company that’s solved several cold cases.
A database of genealogy helped investigators build a family tree.
Detectives traveled 400 miles to Smerk’s home in New York to ask for a DNA sample.
After the detectives’ visit, he called his wife, who is an attorney, and told her about the killing and his plans to confess.
“She was hysterically crying,” he said.
Detectives said they were preparing to head home when Smerk called and told them, “I want to talk.”
Smerk’s sentencing hearing has been scheduled for March 7, 2025.
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After 11 months, the District’s panda lovers will no longer have to bear the pain of a panda-less National Zoo.
Precious panda cargo — one of the bears — is unloaded off the plane at Dulles Airport on Oct. 15, 2024.
(7 News)
7 News
With the help of “FedEx Panda Team” crew members, one of the bears that will soon call the National Zoo home is lowered off an airplane at Dulles Airport on Oct. 15, 2024.
(7 News)
7 News
A FedEx cargo plane arrives at Dulles International Airport carrying giant pandas from China on Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024 in Sterling, Va.
(AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)
AP Photo/Kevin Wolf
In this image taken from video and released by China’s National Forestry and Grassland Administration, male giant panda Bao Li is prepared for transport from the Dujiangyan Base of the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda in southwestern China’s Sichuan province on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (Jin Tao/China’s National Forestry and Grassland Administration via AP)
(AP/Jin Tao)
AP/Jin Tao
In this image taken from video and released by China’s National Forestry and Grassland Administration, female giant panda Qing Bao is prepared for transport from the Dujiangyan Base of the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda in southwestern China’s Sichuan province on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (Jin Tao/China’s National Forestry and Grassland Administration via AP)
(AP/Jin Tao)
AP/Jin Tao
In this image taken from video and released by China’s National Forestry and Grassland Administration, a cage containing female giant panda Qing Bao is loaded onto a plane at the Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport in southwestern China’s Sichuan province on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (Jin Tao/China’s National Forestry and Grassland Administration via AP)
(AP/Jin Tao)
AP/Jin Tao
Two-year-old male giant panda Bao Li in his habitat at Shenshuping Base in Wolong, China, May 16, 2024. Two new giant pandas are returning to Washington’s National Zoo from China this year. The announcement from the Smithsonian Institution on Wednesday comes about half a year after the zoo sent its three pandas back to China. (Roshan Patel, Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute via AP)
(AP/Roshan Patel)
AP/Roshan Patel
Two-year-old Qing Bao in her habitat at Dujiangyan Base in Sichuan, China.
(left)
left
Giant Panda statues are stored in a back parking lot at the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington, DC, on November 7, 2023. All three of the zoo’s pandas are leaving for China by the end of the year, bringing at least a temporary end to a decades-old connection between the cuddly animal and the US capital. And while the pandas’ departure had been expected due to contractual obligations, many can’t help but see the shift as reflective of the growing strains between Beijing and Washington.
(Photo by Jim WATSON / AFP)
Photo by Jim WATSON / AFP
File photo of Bao Bao and her cub Bao Li.
(Getty Images/Foreverhappy-Mee)
It’s been 11 months since three of the cherished bears left the District, leaving D.C.-area panda lovers in a lurch.
With the arrival of Bao Li and Qing Bao, both three years old, they will no longer have to bear the pain of a panda-less National Zoo.
The “Panda Express” — a FedEx Boeing 777 cargo jet carrying the bears — landed at Dulles Airport in Northern Virginia at around 10 a.m. on Tuesday.
On the tarmac at Dulles, a crew of people who sported bright yellow vests labeled “FedEx Panda Team” helped unload large crates — with the precious panda cargo. A conveyor belt-style device moved the crates off the Panda Express and onto trucks.
Their next stop is the National Zoo.
Officials said Monday the bears were traveling to D.C. — prompting panda-monium over the bears’ much-anticipated return to the nation’s capital.
It marks the continuation of the giant panda conservation program partnership between China and the U.S.
The Smithsonian National Zoo is closed Tuesday to help ease the bears arrival.
Fans are pining in anticipation for a chance to welcome the National Zoo’s latest residents to their new home. But it’s not clear when the celebrity bears will be ready to welcome visitors. The animals will likely have to quarantine and get used to their environment first.
What we know about Bao Li and Qing Bao
The pandas left a research facility in southwest China on Monday, ready for travel with snacks such as bamboo shoots and carrots as well as medications in hand, according to the China Wildlife Conservation Association.
They’re the first pair of pandas China has sent to D.C. in 24 years.
One of the pandas who arrived Tuesday is a descendant of the Smithsonian’s former “panda family.” Bao Li is the son of Bao Bao, who was born at the D.C. zoo in 2013.
“He reminds me a lot of his grandfather, Tian Tian,” panda keeper Mariel Lally told CNN. She is escorting Bao Li and Qing Bao to D.C.
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‘Panda-monium’: Two giant pandas from China are coming to the National Zoo
11 months of despair for DC with no pandas
On the afternoon of Nov. 8, 2023, beloved bears Tian Tian, Mei Xiang and Xiao Qi Ji boarded the “Panda Express” at Dulles International Airport.
The three bears flew 19 hours to the Wolong Panda Reserve in Chengdu, China. It was a tough goodbye for zoo staff and fans with uncertainty about whether the black-and-white bears would ever return.
Mei Xiang and Tian Tian first arrived at the National Zoo in December 2000. In 2020, Mei Xiang gave birth to Xiao Qi Ji, becoming the oldest panda in the U.S. to give birth.
The zoo’s panda exhibit brought in millions of visitors each year. But it’s been unoccupied since November. In the panda’s absence, the zoo upgraded the enclosure, making improvements to help visitors get a clearer view of the pandas among other changes.
‘Panda diplomacy’ in a black-and-white world
The National Zoo was the first zoo in the U.S. to take part in what’s become known as “panda diplomacy.”
When a mass exodus of pandas over the past couple of years took place as panda leases between U.S. zoos and China expired, some feared the partnerships were coming to a close.
But around the time the Smithsonian’s pandas departed last November, Chinese President Xi Jinping signaled that China would send new pandas to the U.S., calling them “envoys of friendship between the Chinese and American peoples.”
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American University students are using Taylor Swift to learn about economics by examining her star power’s impact on the market. The course offering was initially supposed to be a one-hit wonder, but its become so popular that it will also be taught next semester
Professor and AU Economics Department Chair Kara Reynolds (left) and student course creators Megan Wysocki (center) and Mackenzie Shultz (right).(WTOP/Jessica Kronzer)
Professor and AU Economics Department Chair Kara Reynolds (left) and student course creators Megan Wysocki (center) and Mackenzie Shultz (right).(WTOP/Jessica Kronzer)
American University students are using Taylor Swift to learn about economics by examining her star power’s impact on the market.
On the first day of “Switftonomics: The Economics of Taylor Swift,” Economics Department Chair Kara Reynolds sent students home with kits to make friendship bracelets — except unlike the ones from “The Eras Tour” that were modeled off Swift’s memorable songs, these spelled out economic concepts like “demand” and “inflation” instead.
“I spent the afternoon painstakingly stringing every one on, and it was so nice of her to do that for all the 40 students here,” said student Teddy Gelman.
Those bracelets set the tone for “Switftonomics: The Economics of Taylor Swift.”
As WTOP previously reported, students in the class are applying economics to parts of Swift’s career, including her re-recordings, and of course, her record-breaking Eras Tour.
Two AU students, Megan Wysocki and Mackenzie Shultz, designed the class for a course competition last spring and their concept won.
Wysocki said the course’s subject matter peaked the interest of some students who haven’t taken a higher level economics course before.
“This is getting people’s foot in the door of understanding that economics never stops. It’s everywhere,” Wysocki said.
The enchanted course offering was initially supposed to be a one-hit wonder, but it garnered such a big reputation on campus that Reynolds will teach it again next semester to accommodate students that are hoping to take the course.
“I can’t wait to see the next group. Actually, I would love to teach it forever,” Reynolds said.
Shultz said some of her friends enrolled in the economic prerequisite this fall with hopes of enrolling in Swiftonomics this spring.
“I think people see economics as a scary thing with a lot of numbers and it’s very complicated, but when you kind of pull apart the things that you enjoy out in the world, you can connect those and make it much simpler and more enjoyable,” Shultz said.
What’s going on in the classroom?
Each class is themed after a different Swift album.
“It’s a lot more fun than regular economics,” Gelman said.
Reynolds plays music as students enter. There’s an ice breaker question, such as “What Taylor Swift song describes your feelings today?” before they get down to business. Reynolds then teaches a lecture on an economic concept, such as supply and demand.
During this week’s class session, students learned about externalities from the Eras Tour. The economic spillovers were on the agenda.
“When someone buys a ticket to a concert, they don’t just contribute the economic impact of that ticket,” Gelman explained of the economic concept. “If they travel, if they stay in a hotel, that helps the economy. If they dine out, they are employing workers in that respect.”
The class also looked at the cost of the tour, including possible environmental impacts of the production and concertgoers.
“It’s a very meaningful economic phenomenon, and especially with how she has rerecorded her albums and has disrupted the industry, it has potential to reshape things for years to come,” Gelman said.
“(In) the first week, we talked a lot about the ‘superstar economy’ and inequality in our society,” Reynolds said.
While the class is partially about friendship bracelets and album listening sessions, Gelman said it also tackles topics such as how the Eras Tour may have helped pulled the U.S. out of an economic recession.
“I would urge everyone who thinks that all this Eras Tour talk is kind of unserious and marginal to reconsider and to think about how it’s really affecting a lot of areas of economic life,” Gelman said.
Is it working?
There’s a lot of participation during the class, according to student Meg Norten.
“I always look forward to coming to class, and that says a lot, because for block classes that are over two hours long, that’s a hard thing to do for students,” she said.
Unlike other economics classes, Norten said there’s a lot of back-and-forth dialogue between students and their professor during class.
“It is a lot more … focused on just kind of making sure this is a ‘low stress, high learning’ experience for us, so that the pressure’s down, and we all just feel like we can be ourselves and just learn in the way that’s best for us,” Norten said.
The class has attracted those outside of the economics major, including students studying journalism and political science.
“The connections I’ve made and the kind of community I’ve been able to build within the class of people who have the same passions as I do, of Taylor Swift and economics, has been great,” said economics major Callie Morton.
In this classroom, female students are ‘The Man’
The class is nearly entirely made up of female students. Reynolds said that’s notable as only about 30% of economics majors are women.
The field often struggles to attract women. The professor said her students tell her, “When we’re in class, the men really suck the air out of the room.”
“To have a room of women who feel so confident talking out and giving their opinions, has been so rewarding for me as a faculty member,” said Reynolds.
Norten added that Swift is representative of the female experience, having persevered despite her experience with gender inequality and negative stereotypes.
“I think that motivates us, as a largely female class of econ students, in our own field of study in econ where women are underrepresented,” Norten said.
Norten called the popstar a role model who has broken down barriers. She wants people to think twice before mocking Swifties.
“There is something really powerful in Taylor Swift’s story,” she said. “It’s not shallow, it’s not surface level. It’s really inspiring to us. And again, she’s clearly powerful enough that we have a whole econ class on her now.”
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A Falls Church, Virginia, jeweler is sleuthing in hopes of confirming whether Taylor Swift was wearing a necklace she tried to gift her — or simply a look-alike — last month.
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A Virginia jeweler’s quest to find out if Taylor Swift wore her necklace
A Falls Church, Virginia, jeweler is sleuthing in hopes of confirming whether Taylor Swift was wearing a necklace she tried to gift her — or simply a look-alike — last month.
“I feel like I’m on cloud nine right now,” Harrison told WTOP.
Harrison has been running the online jeweler Au.RUM DAWN for about a year. In an effort to get the word out about her new business, she reached out to influencers and celebrities, such as Olivia Rodrigo.
“I actually reached out to a good friend of Taylor Swift, who has a following and is an influencer herself, and she happened to respond to my request,” Harrison said. WTOP isn’t naming that celebrity in order to maintain her privacy.
She ended up mailing an order to that celebrity and slipped a necklace and a note for Swift inside the package in late April.
Over direct message on Instagram, Harrison asked the influencer to pass along the gift to Swift on April 26.
WTOP wanted to call Swift up to get an answer to Harrison’s question. Swift’s management firm hasn’t commented whether Harrison’s necklace was worn by the pop star. But that hasn’t stopped Harrison from investigating.
Could it be the one?
The necklaces do appear to have some similarities. Harrison’s design includes a double bail (most necklaces have just one), which impacts how the necklace sits.
“When Taylor Swift is wearing her necklace too, it kind of hangs in the same way,” she said.
The necklace Harrison mailed is meant to be a nod to Swift’s 2017 album, “Reputation.”
A portrait-cut moissanite stone frames the letter “T” — the font mimics the one used for the album’s cover art, she said.
“It looks like a beautiful picture frame with facets on the side,” Harrison said. “Behind that frame is the letter T.”
In photos of Swift, there appears to be a T-shaped reflection in the stone she’s wearing.
Easter eggs
The ordeal has Harrison wondering: Was it accidental? Or is Swift a mastermind?
Swift has been known to wear outfits that hint at what rerecorded album her fans can look forward to next. Harrison speculated that wearing her necklace — if it is the same one — could indicate that Swift is rerecording her sixth studio album, “Reputation,” next.
“She seemed to wear it on that night on the 21st of September, where she was also seen wearing reptile, snakelike boots,” Harrison said. “And she had the curly hair that she had all throughout her ‘Reputation’ era.”
Sleuthing
Harrison has been trying to figure out whether it’s the same necklace.
“I also sent out, like, a snail mail,” she said, sending a letter to the friend who she mailed the jewelry.
She’s also reached out to Swift’s stylist and management.
The Swiftie is not alone in thinking the necklaces look awfully similar. On Instagram, she posted a poll asking whether she was the foolish one or if her necklace could be the one.
Out of more than 100 replies, just three users voted that Harrison was delusional. The rest agreed that it looked to be the same necklace.
“Until there is a clearer photo, I guess one can’t know 100% for sure,” Harrison said. “I’m hoping that she is out and about photographed in it again. That would be best-case scenario.”
If Swift did receive and wear Harrison’s gift, she may have made this fan’s wildest dreams come true.
“I can attribute, like, almost every era of my life with her soundtrack, as well,” Harrison said. “It takes me back to silly high school heartbreaks and feelings of empowerment. … I feel very connected to her in that way, and so I wanted to share that with her.”
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Brendan Banfield has been charged with murder in both killings, nearly a year after the couple’s au pair was charged with shooting the man to death.
Inside a Fairfax County, Virginia, house, a woman was stabbed to death and a man fatally shot in February 2023 in a complicated double homicide involving an alleged affair and a fetish website. Now, her husband is being charged with murder in both of their killings, nearly a year after the couple’s au pair was charged with shooting the man to death.
In February 2023, Christine Banfield, 37, was found inside her bedroom, suffering from stab wounds, alongside 39-year-old Joseph Ryan, who was shot and killed, police said.
During Brendan Banfield’s first court appearance Tuesday morning, a judge read out his charges and he was taken back to holding.
He was indicted on multiple charges of aggravated murder and the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, more than 570 days after police said he killed his wife and Ryan, Fairfax County officials said in a news conference Monday.
Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano and police Chief Kevin Davis announced Brendan Banfield’s arrest on Monday, but neither offered many details about the evidence that led to the new charges, citing concerns about compromising the criminal investigation or prejudicing a future jury.
“This much is clear — we have evidence to now allege that Christine Banfield’s life was unlawfully taken and Joseph Ryan’s life was unlawfully taken,” Davis said.
Descano did say “new information” uncovered by Fairfax officers “was very instrumental in giving today’s indictment.”
At the time of the killings, Brendan and Christine Banfield were married and living in a Herndon house with their 4-year-old daughter and 22-year-old au pair Juliana Peres Magalhaes.
Police said Brendan Banfield was involved in a “romantic relationship” with Peres Magalhaes — who denied allegations the two were having an affair immediately after the shooting and the stabbing.
Back in October 2023, Peres Magalhaes was charged with second-degree murder and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony in Ryan’s killing. She was not charged in 37-year-old Christine Banfield’s death. Her trial in Ryan’s death is scheduled in November, The Associated Press reported.
Brendan Banfield is expected to appearance in court next on Thursday for a hearing to schedule a trial.
He’s being held at the county’s adult detention center, the same facility where Peres Magalhaes has been in custody as she awaits trial, police said.
Fairfax County police executed a search warrant at the Banfields’ house on Monday, Davis said.
“This isn’t over. We’re not spiking the football, we’re not celebrating,” Davis said. “We’re still in the midst of this journey within our criminal justice system.”
What happened inside the Banfields’ house?
Prosecutors have alleged that someone used Christine Banfield’s laptop to make an account on an adult fetish website. Ryan had responded to the profile and went to the home with the intention of having “rough sex” with Christine Banfield.
Prosecutors haven’t said who they believe created the account.
At an earlier hearing, Peres Magalhaes’ defense attorney, Ryan Campbell, argued that the evidence showed that Christine Banfield established the adult website account, and also purchased tickets for Peres Magalhaes to take the couple’s 4-year-old daughter to the National Zoo in D.C. during her alleged assignation with Ryan.
At the December 2023 hearing, Campbell said it was difficult for him to accept that somebody other than Christine Banfield would be going on her computer to lure Ryan for months.
After the incident, Peres Magalhaes told detectives she saw Ryan holding a knife to the throat of Christine Banfield, who was nude, inside the master bedroom.
Police said Brendan Banfield, a criminal investigative division agent for the IRS, shot Ryan near his right eyebrow with his IRS-issued service weapon.
After shooting Ryan, Peres Magalhaes said Brendan Banfield told her to get a gun from a safe in the bathroom of the master bedroom. She then fired a shot at Ryan, which struck him in the chest, and “devastated his heart,” according to the medical examiner who testified at a December 2023 hearing.
Peres Magalhaes called 911 around 7:45 a.m., but the call was disconnected. Around 15 minutes later, she called 911 again and gave the phone to Banfield, who told the dispatcher he had just shot a man who was stabbing his wife.
Both guns and a knife were recovered by law enforcement at the scene, Davis said.
What was the relationship between Brendan and Juliana?
Prosecutors said that Peres Magalhaes visited a shooting range in Ashburn with Brendan Banfield a few months before the double homicide.
Brendan Banfield returned to purchase a Glock on Jan. 28, 2023, which prosecutors said was the weapon that Peres Magalhaes retrieved from a bathroom safe and used to shoot Ryan.
Campbell, the attorney, has repeatedly objected to the relevance of the alleged relationship between his client and Brendan Banfield.
“The purchase of the weapon before the incident is the relevance,” the judge said in April, who later described the court proceedings as, “the government … playing two potential defendants against each other.”
WTOP’s Jack Moore, Abigail Constantino and Neal Augenstein contributed to this report.
Editor’s note: The couple’s au pair was arrested on a murder charge nearly a year ago in October 2023. The story has been corrected.
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An 18-year-old man is dead and two suspects are facing charges after a shootout inside a Maryland laundromat Sunday evening, Prince George’s County police said.
An 18-year-old man is dead and two people — including a teen — are facing charges after a shootout inside a Maryland laundromat Sunday evening, Prince George’s County police said.
Two suspects are being charged in a triple shooting that happened inside a laundromat in Prince George’s County, on Sept. 8, 2024. (WTOP/Nick Iannelli)
Two suspects are being charged in a triple shooting that happened inside a laundromat in Prince George’s County, on Sept. 8, 2024. (WTOP/Nick Iannelli)
He was at the laundromat with his girlfriend, who was also wounded, according to the woman’s sister, Kenia Garcia.
One of the suspects was also shot, police said.
Two people are charged with first-degree murder in Suazo’s killing. They are Alex Delgado, 20, of Silver Spring, and a 17-year-old boy from New Carrollton, police said.
Prince George’s County police said officers responded to a shooting in the 4700 block of Kenilworth Avenue in Edmonston around 6 p.m. on Sunday.
Police said Delgado and the teen targeted Suazo and came into the laundromat and physically assaulted him.
“During the assault, Delgado shot both victims. Suazo returned fire,” police said in a news release. Suazo was declared dead at the scene.
Delgado was wounded, as well as a woman inside the laundromat. Both were taken to the hospital with injuries that are not considered life-threatening, police said.
The 17-year-old suspect left the scene in a car. Police tracked him with the help of a helicopter, and he was arrested and taken to the department of corrections.
Wounded woman’s sister in ‘complete shock’
Garcia told WTOP her sister was wounded during the shooting. She said the man who was fatally shot was in a relationship with her sister.
“The person that died here was actually my sister’s boyfriend,” Garcia said.
WTOP’s Nick Iannelli hears from the shooting victim’s sister in Prince George’s County.
While at the laundromat to retrieve her sister’s laundry left behind after the shooting, Garcia told WTOP her sister is in stable condition and is expected to undergo surgery.
“We’re pulling through. It’s definitely not easy,” Garcia said.
One of her sister’s friends called Garcia to tell her about the shooting.
“It was just complete shock because my sister is very reserved,” Garcia said. “Bad timing, wrong place, I don’t — I don’t know.”
Investigation into shooting continues
Suazo and the suspects knew each other. Edmonston Police Chief Eric Beale told WTOP the shooting appeared to be an “isolated incident.”
Police found two weapons at the scene, and they’re investigating the motive for the shooting.
Police are asking anyone with information to contact detectives at 301-516-2512.
A map of the area where the deadly shooting happened is below.
Map of shooting scene in Edmonston, Maryland. (Courtesy Google Maps)
WTOP’s Nick Iannelli reported from Edmonston.
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A woman has been reunited with her dog after she says her pet was stolen at gunpoint on Saturday morning in Prince George’s County, Maryland.
A woman has been reunited with her dog after she says her pet was stolen at gunpoint on Saturday morning in Prince George’s County, Maryland.
(Courtesy Sophia Radich)
Courtesy Sophia Radich
Sophia Radich’s dog was reportedly stolen outside of her apartment on Aug. 31, 2024. The two were reunited after Radich put up fliers and offered a reward for the safe return of her pet.
(Courtesy Sophia Radich)
Courtesy Sophia Radich
A woman has been reunited with her dog after she says her pet was stolen at gunpoint on Saturday morning in Prince George’s County, Maryland.
Sophia Radich told WTOP she was reunited with her dog on Sunday afternoon after a tipster spotted her pet in Landover and reached out.
The robbery reportedly happened near the 4800 block of Avondale Overlook Drive in Chillum at around 7 a.m. on Saturday, according to Prince George’s County police.
Before the reunion, Radich was searching for Yana, a small Havanese, sharing photos of Yana online and posting flyers near her apartment, as well as nearby busy areas like bus stops and metro stations.
“I put the $5,000 reward on it, because, like, this is my child,” Radich told WTOP earlier on Sunday. “I’m going to get her back.”
Before leaving for a trip, Sophia Radich said she took her dog, Yana, for a walk outside of her apartment building. That’s when she said two suspects approached her from behind.
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Surveillance camera footage captures an armed dognapping in Chillum, Md.
Footage from a neighbor’s Ring camera shows the scene where one suspect, wearing a ski mask, demanded she hand over her dog — Yana, a small Havanese.
“I thought he was pulling a prank or something,” Radich told WTOP, adding that she believed the suspects appeared to be kids or teens.
The masked suspect tried to take the dog’s leash from Radich, who pulled the leash back. He then pulled out a gun and held it to the dog owner’s head, she said.
“He’s yanking her so hard that, like, it’s pulling on her neck,” Radich said. “He was carrying her, basically by her neck, by the leash. So I let go, so she wasn’t strangled.”
The masked suspect continued to point a gun at her while running away. Radich said when she tried to call 911, the second suspect chased after her.
“I don’t want my dog in danger ever, so if that means they had to take her to not kill me, so be it,” she said.
Radich said she tripped and that suspect got “on top of me trying to get my phone.” He ran off after she called for help and fought back.
“I was horrified — 7 a.m., broad daylight like that,” she said.
Radich said the suspects left in a black vehicle.
Police haven’t placed an official lookout on a vehicle.
Police are asking anyone with information to contact the department.
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A woman is facing charges after police say she caused a chain-reaction crash involving dozens of vehicles on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge in January.
This image provided by the Maryland Transportation Authority shows a multi-vehicle crash on US-50 Bay Bridge in Maryland, on Saturday, Jan. 27, 2024. The Maryland Transportation Authority said Saturday on social media that the crash on the westbound lanes has closed the bridge. (Maryland Transportation Authority via AP)
This image provided by the Maryland Transportation Authority shows a multi-vehicle crash on US-50 Bay Bridge in Maryland, on Saturday, Jan. 27, 2024. The Maryland Transportation Authority said Saturday on social media that the crash on the westbound lanes has closed the bridge. (Maryland Transportation Authority via AP)
A woman is facing charges such as driving under the influence after police say she caused a chain-reaction crash involving more than 20 vehicles on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge in January.
After months of investigating, Maryland Transportation Authority officers took Gwendolyn Persina, 48, of Chester, Maryland, into custody Wednesday, according to a news release.
Police said Persina was speeding in her 2018 Honda Civic when she crashed into another vehicle just before 8 a.m., causing a chain-reaction crash that involved 23 vehicles.
Secondary crashes that followed involved another 20 vehicles, according to investigators.
One person was taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries. Another 11 people were also taken to the hospital, according to MDTA.
The westbound span was closed for around six hours while officials investigated the crashes; it reopened just before 2 p.m.
In addition to DUI, Persina is being charged with driving on a suspended license and causing life-threatening injuries by driving a vehicle.
In a separate case from the crash in January, Maryland court records show Persina pleaded guilty to an unrelated charge of driving while impaired by alcohol in 2022. At the time, she was sentenced to 18 months probation.
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Three men have been charged after allegedly firing shots outside of a Northern Virginia shopping mall on Tuesday; a bystander was wounded following the violent dispute, police said.
Prince William County police have arrested three men in connection to a shooting at Manassas Mall on July 10, 2024. Officers are hoping to identify more suspects who were involved in the incident. A woman’s face is blurred who police determined is uninvolved in the shooting.(Courtesy Prince William County police)
Prince William County police have arrested three men in connection to a shooting at Manassas Mall on July 10, 2024. Officers are hoping to identify more suspects who were involved in the incident. A woman’s face is blurred who police determined is uninvolved in the shooting.(Courtesy Prince William County police)
Three men have been charged after allegedly firing shots outside of a Northern Virginia shopping mall on Tuesday, where a bystander was wounded, police said.
A fight between two groups escalated into a shooting in the parking lot of Manassas Mall at around 2 p.m., according to Prince William County police.
On Wednesday, police said that Daevon Russell and Joshuah Minas Hernandez, both 18-year-olds from Manassas, were arrested.
Skyler James Agley, 23, of Manassas is also being charged after officers determined he was part of one of the groups involved in the shooting. He was wounded during the shooting and remains hospitalized in police custody, according to a news release from police.
The charges against the men include malicious wounding and shooting at an occupied building.
What happened at the mall
Two groups met at Manassas Mall near the food court and began to fight. People in both groups brandished firearms and the altercation moved into the parking lot, police said.
Shots were fired and the groups dispersed.
Bystanders ran into the mall to warn shoppers, causing what police called an “initial panic.” No shots were fired inside the mall.
A 51-year-old man who was not involved was shot in the upper body and taken to the hospital.
“Other associates” brought Agley to the hospital and police were notified, according to the news release.
The two 18-year-olds who were arrested were initially detained by police during a traffic stop shortly after the shooting.
Police are still investigating and working to identify other suspects involved in the incident. They’re asking anyone who witnessed the shooting or who can identify one of the pictured suspects to contact the department at 703-792-6500.
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A body recovered from the Potomac River on Monday is believed to be a young man who went missing last Friday while attempting to swim from Virginia to Maryland.
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Body pulled from Potomac River believed to be missing swimmer
A body recovered from the Potomac River on Monday is believed to be a young man who went missing last Friday while attempting to swim from Virginia to Maryland.
Montgomery County Fire and Rescue spokesman Pete Piringer told WTOP two swimmers near Great Falls tried to cross from Virginia into Maryland on Friday evening.
On Sunday afternoon, sonar equipment indicated a body may have been stuck in some rocks close to the area the swimmer was last seen.
As crews prepared to investigate the sonar imaging Monday morning, officials got a tip.
“A local kayaker noticed the body floating in the water,” Piringer said. “That body has since been recovered.”
Montgomery County police are leading the death investigation. U.S. Park police assisted county police in the search and recovery efforts.
Swimming spot draws ‘unusual’ number of young swimmers to danger
The man has not been identified publicly. His death comes as good weather has drawn visitors out to Great Falls, even though swimming in the Potomac is illegal and violators can be fined.
In the past few weeks leading up to Memorial Day, Piringer said the department has responded to around a half dozen incidents in the Great Falls area.
Crews on the seen of the Potomac River where a body was found on May 27, 2024, that’s believed to be a missing swimmer.
(Courtesy Montgomery County Fire and Rescue)
Courtesy Montgomery County Fire and Rescue
A young man went missing after attempting to swim across the channel from Virginia to Maryland on May 24, 2024.
(Courtesy Montgomery County Fire and Rescue)
Courtesy Montgomery County Fire and Rescue
Swimming isn’t allowed at Great Falls. But a spokesman with Montgomery County Fire and Rescue said a beach along the river has become a popular destination for young people to dive in.
(Courtesy Montgomery County Fire and Rescue)
Courtesy Montgomery County Fire and Rescue
“The water levels are about four feet, which is relatively high, but the currents are treacherous,” Piringer said.
Just in the past week or so, the department has contributed to two notable water rescues. One involved two kayakers who went over the falls.
These two young people were lucky that they survived that ordeal. One had to be plucked off the rocks by the helicopter and was taken to a trauma center.
In several instances, swimmers have been swept away, including one where rescue crews plucked someone out of the water.
“There have been an unusual number of young people, groups that have been swimming,” Piringer said.
In particular, groups are gathering at Purple Horse Beach and Sandy Landing. Piringer said though swimming is not allowed and “dangerous,” there are some rocks swimmers jump off into the water below.
“When you’re jumping in the water, there’s hazards underneath the water that might be unseen,” he said.
Another potential danger is that water levels change daily and the currents are strong, Piringer said.
Last year, water levels were low so young people “could swim safely and got away with it,” he said. “But water is different this year it’s higher, because currents are much stronger.”
Officials are on Billy Goat Trail along the Potomac River Monday reminding visitors on safety tips, according to Piringer.
WTOP’s Neal Augenstein contributed to this story.
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A Fairfax County, Virginia, middle school counselor has been charged with assault after police said he headbutted a student that called him a name.
A Fairfax County, Virginia, middle school counselor has been charged with assault after police said he headbutted a student that called him a name inside a school cafeteria.
Craig Small, 44, was arrested last Friday after he allegedly assaulted an 11-year-old boy at Glasgow Middle School in Lincolnia on April 16.
Small allegedly headbutted the student in response to the child calling him a “derogative name” and then carried him out of the cafeteria, Fairfax County police said.
Police didn’t offer other details, including whether either the student or Small was injured.
The school system declined to comment to WTOP about the incident, but a spokeswoman confirmed that Small remains out on leave.
Small had worked as a school counselor at Glasgow since August 2021.
He’s expected to appear in court next on May 2.
Detectives with the department’s child abuse unit investigated the assault. Police are asking anyone with information to call them at 703-246-7800, option 4.
When Fairfax County firefighters found two boys inside a fiery Virginia house earlier this month, a 6-year-old boy was shielding his younger brother from the flames. Both boys were pulled from the fire and died days later, but their father says that heroic story has given the family faith.
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Family looks to ‘shine the light’ after losing 2 young sons in house fire
When Fairfax County firefighters found two boys inside a fiery Virginia house earlier this month, 6-year-old William was shielding his younger brother, 3-year-old Zachariah, from the flames. Both boys were pulled from the fire and died days later, but their father says that heroic story has given the family faith.
Jamey Brice, the boys’ father, said firefighters who rescued his kids told him the only thing they could see through the flames and smoke in the Clifton house were the two boys huddled close together.
“Firefighters came in and talked to us and they described … how they saw William protecting Zachariah, how moved they were by the whole thing, and that they had the courage to come tell us,” Brice said. “We’re so grateful for that.”
Brice’s parents and another one of his sons, 8-year-old Logan, were also inside the home when it caught fire. Those three were able to get out and are expected to survive.
Questions still remain about what happened.
“It was just a weird, freakish fire that we still don’t know what the cause was, or how it started or why it grew so fast,” Brice said.
Zachariah, 3, and William, 6, were killed in a Clifton house fire on April 10.
(Courtesy Jamey Brice)
Courtesy Jamey Brice
Jamey Brice, the boys’ father, said their organs are being donated.
(Courtesy Jamey Brice)
Courtesy Jamey Brice
The Brice family hopes to write a book to share the boys’ story.
(Courtesy Jamey Brice)
Courtesy Jamey Brice
Heroism on all fronts
“All four boys are a hero in the story,” Brice said of his children.
Logan called 911 after getting out of the flaming home, which Brice said contributed to a fast response from Fairfax County Fire and Rescue.
Both parents were at work when the fire broke out.
Their 13-year-old son Seth alerted them that a friend had texted him about a fire at his house — and the parents were able to quickly race home.
It was later the family learned how William had tried to protect his little brother.
Now, both William and Zachariah are donating their organs, which their father called yet one more act of heroism.
“Zachariah always followed William wherever he went,” Brice said. “William led the way down the hallway first, but then knowing that Zachariah is right behind him.”
The boys were able to be together during their surgeries, which Brice said has been a successful process of donating the organs so far.
Brice said the couple is hoping to meet the families of those who received the donated organs in the future. Among the organs that were able to be donated — both boys’ hearts.
“The idea that those two big hearts of love and joy are … going to hopefully live on in somebody else we know is going to be a total blessing,” he said.
“But at the same time somebody’s going to be buying a lot of chicken nuggets because William liked chicken nuggets,” he joked. “That’s about all he ate.”
‘William’s not here’: Healing from loss
In the days after the fire, while the boys remained hospitalized in critical condition, the family gained support from people around the U.S. who hoped the boys would miraculously survive.
Support from the family’s church, along with other churches, the community and even strangers, was moving, Brice said.
“They did such an amazing job, that we could focus on the kids,” he said, adding that supporters carried the family though.
Brice said “excellent care” from medical staff helped buy them time with the boys.
“We’re getting extra snuggles, we got to give them a bath, we got to get like their handprint,” he said.
After tests determined the boys were brain-dead, Brice said around 20 family members gathered and shared a different memory of the brothers.
While mourning the loss of the boys, along with their “many goals and dreams,” Brice said the family has been able to find peace, too.
“They don’t have to deal with all the things of this world that could like harm them,” Brice said. “All of a sudden, we got like, a peace at the same time.”
The couple has turned to their faith.
“If we didn’t have this faith, if we didn’t have this community … our mental health would not be in a good spot,” he said.
Meanwhile, Brice said his parents are suffering from “survivor’s guilt,” having made it out of the fire.
“They desperately were trying to go back in and get them but the fire … forced them all out of the house,” Brice said.
Logan is missing his best friend. That comes out at times, Brice said, including Tuesday when the boys normally would have been heading to taekwondo practice together.
“William and I were gonna both be black belts. But now, William’s not here,” Logan told his father, as Brice recalled.
‘Shine the light back’: Celebrating their lives
Brice said he and his wife want to write a book and make a YouTube channel to share their experience.
“We’re going to make sure people know their story,” he said.
A memorial service will be held at the Word of Life Church in Springfield, Virginia, on Saturday at 4 p.m. Brice is calling the event a “party” to celebrate the boys.
Attendees are being encouraged to wear the boys’ favorite colors, green for William and blue for Zachariah.
Brice said people can also come dressed as superheroes or in jerseys — William wanted to play in the NFL.
“We feel like we were hit by the darkness and we just want to shine the light back,” Brice said. “The best way to do that is just to be an example of faith.”
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A volunteer firefighter is being welcomed home Wednesday after spending more than a month in a D.C. hospital for treatment of burns he sustained during a massive house explosion and fire in Loudoun County, Virginia
A volunteer firefighter was welcomed home Wednesday after spending more than a month in a D.C. hospital for treatment of burns he sustained during a massive house explosion and fire in Loudoun County, Virginia.
That incident at a Sterling home killed one firefighter and injured 11 others on Feb. 16.
Volunteer firefighter Brian Diamond. (WTOP/Sandra Jones)
Brian Diamond, a volunteer with the Sterling Volunteer Fire Company, is the last firefighter to be released from the hospital following last month’s explosion, according to the department.
His first stop: the Sterling Fire Station 618 on Middlefield Drive where he was greeted by members of his crew and other first responders. Well-wishers formed a receiving line.
Speaking to reporters, Diamond said the outpouring of support was “overwhelming.”
Volunteer Firefighter Brian Diamond was welcomed home on Wednesday. (WTOP/Sandra Jones)
“When I was in the ICU, those were some times where I just didn’t have any idea what was going on with me. We didn’t know how many surgeries it was going to be and everything like that, and it ended up being five,” he said. “The doctors were great and they took care of me, and the nurses over there, I can’t even tell you how awesome they are. And it was just a good experience overall for what I had to go through.”
Diamond also teaches eighth grade English at J. Michael Lunsford Middle School in Loudoun County. He said he hasn’t yet had a chance to speak with his students.
“But if I had to say something to them: ‘I’m here. I made it.’ And I’m looking forward to seeing them soon,” Diamond told reporters.
Firefighters responded to the house in the 300 block of Silver Ridge Drive for a report of a gas leak at around 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 16. The explosion happened while the firefighters were inside, according to the Loudoun County Fire and Rescue Fire Marshal’s Office.
“There’s no other explanation that I could’ve gotten out of that entire ordeal except for God,” Diamond said. “I was down in that basement and I said a prayer and God got me out of that. And there’s no other way that I could have escaped that. It was crazy down there and terrifying and … I don’t know. I had moments of clarity after saying prayers and thinking about my wife and my kids.”
Diamond sustained severe burns during the incident, according to Thomas Owens, a former chief of the Sterling department.
A home explosion in Sterling, Virginia, killed a volunteer firefighter and injured 10 others on Feb 16. (Courtesy Loudoun Fire Rescue)
After getting some well wishes Wednesday, the fire company gave Diamond an escort back to his house.
Volunteer firefighter Trevor Brown, 45, was killed in the explosion, leaving behind his wife Laura and their three children. A service was held in his honor earlier this month.
“Trevor … I loved Trevor. We had just started bonding together as a unit and everything and we a dinner a couple weeks before up here and his kids were there and our kids were there,” Diamond said. “It’s really, really unfortunate. I’m very sad about everything that happened with Trevor. … I really am going to miss him, too. Because he’s a great guy.”
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D.C. police are searching for a vehicle that may have been involved in a deadly shooting in Northwest that left two men dead and five people wounded last weekend.
A photo of a black Infiniti that police suspect was involved in Sunday’s fatal shooting was captured by a surveillance camera and released on Tuesday with hopes that the community could help track the vehicle down.
When officers responded to the 600 block of P Street Northwest at around 3 a.m. on Sunday, they found two men had been fatally shot. Both died at the scene.
The men who died were identified by police as Anthony Brown, 32, of Southeast and Jay Lucks, 32, of Baltimore.
Police are searching for a black Infiniti that’s believed to have been involved in the fatal shooting in Northwest on March 17, 2024. (Courtesy D.C. police)
Three men and two women who were wounded were taken to the hospital, police said.
Police are still investigating what led up to the shooting and they haven’t publicly named any suspects.
Investigators have said they believe one or more suspects intentionally fired at the people who were wounded.
Police have asked anyone with information to contact the department at 202-727-9099. Anonymous tips can be texted to 50411.
Last year, D.C. saw a 20-year high in homicides amid a surge in violent crime. So far this year, violent crime is trending down, with homicides down by nearly a third compared to this time last year.
Fairfax County police and Virginia State Police are keeping up with their campaign to discourage dangerous driving by upping enforcement and driver education.
A campaign launched in 2023 to discourage dangerous driving ended up decreasing the number of fatal crashes in Fairfax County, Virginia, police say. Now, they are hoping to continue bettering roadway safety this year.
Fairfax County police and Virginia State Police are keeping up with their “Road Shark” campaign in 2024, which hopes to discourage dangerous driving by upping enforcement and driver education, according to a Monday news release.
“Sharks can be dangerous in the water,” Deputy Chief Bob Blakley said at a news conference Monday. “Road sharks are dangerous on our roadways.”
Part of the campaign is upping enforcement — especially on the roads with the most crashes. Officers will look for dangerous drivers, such as those who are speeding, distracted or driving under the influence.
Most drivers want to arrive at their destination safely, but Blakley said distractions can sometimes get in the way. The campaign hopes to educate drivers about best practices on the roads, and part of that education involves officers heading into schools and other community events.
The joint campaign was originated in 1999 to reduce crashes while deterring distracted and aggressive driving. Safety on the roads improved and the program went away, Blakley said.
“Then through the COVID time, we started to see some of these bad habits come back,” Blakley said.
In response, the campaign was brought back in 2023 and nearly 25,000 citations and warnings were issued over four waves. Blakley said it achieved “great results.”
“We saw a 36% reduction in the number of fatal crashes that occurred in Fairfax County, and a 63% reduction in the number of pedestrian related fatalities,” Blakley said.
That’s why the campaign is back again this year, Blakley said.
“What we want is, the patrol officer working in the neighborhoods to also pay special attention on traffic offenses, and they’re coming in on the regular neighborhood streets, not just out on the big roads,” he said. “But on the main thoroughfares, you’ll see our motor officers and other dedicated traffic units concentrating in some of the more dangerous spots.”
WTOP’s Neal Augenstein contributed to this story.
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