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Tag: neal augenstein

  • Planning Thanksgiving? Ranking DC-area supermarkets for quality, price, convenience – WTOP News

    WTOP breaks down where shoppers could find the best quality and value as they plan, purchase, and prepare for Thanksgiving Day feasts.

    Anyone who has ever prepared a Thanksgiving meal knows it’s a labor of love — and expensive.

    As grocery prices rise, and with Nov. 27 approaching, WTOP wanted to learn where shoppers could find the best quality and value as they plan, purchase and prepare for their Thanksgiving Day feast.

    “The good news is that there’s more competition than ever in the Washington-area supermarket scene,” said Kevin Brasler, executive editor of Washington Consumers’ Checkbook.

    The nonprofit group just released its ratings of 32 grocery stores in the D.C. area. (Editor’s note: The ratings link will be active for WTOP’s audience through Dec. 15.)

    “We have a list of 150 items that we used to shop these stores” with secret shoppers, Brasler said. “We also collect feedback from our members, asking them things like, ‘What’s the quality of fresh produce at these stores, what’s the quality of meat?’”

    The overall choice?

    “Wegmans wins again,” Brasler said. “Since it first moved into this area in 2004, Wegmans has gotten astonishingly high ratings from its customers for things like quality of fresh produce, quality of meat and overall quality.”

    And at a good value.

    “It’s not a price leader,” Brasler said. “It’s not the least expensive store in the area, but its prices are quite a bit lower than Giant, Harris Teeter and Safeway — its main competitors.”

    As to how Wegmans provides quality and good prices, Brasler said the company chooses its store locations carefully, in areas with less competition, and has a smaller, more efficient distribution system than larger grocery store chains.

    Where the prices are even lower

    In addition to traditional stand alone grocery stores, Thanksgiving meal shoppers could get some of their ingredients in the same store while they’re shopping for home goods, clothing or mulch.

    “Walmart has greatly expanded its grocery offerings in our area,” Brasler said. “Target now has a grocery store, basically, in every one of its stores.”

    According to the Consumers’ Checkbook ratings, Walmart offers prices that are 13% below the all-store average, and with a large selection. Grocery prices at Target are 2% above the all-store average.

    “Aldi and Lidl, which are these small-format grocery stores, those two offered the biggest savings in our latest supermarket survey,” Brasler said. “Aldi’s prices were 36% lower than all the other stores that we shopped, and Lidl’s prices were about 21% lower than the all-store average.”

    The main drawback at Aldi and Lidl is that selection is limited, Brasler said.

    “If you’re looking to buy ketchup, will they have Heinz ketchup? If they do, it may only be in one size,” compared to larger grocery stores, he said.

    If someone is willing to accumulate grocery bargains over time, rather than doing one big shop, Brasler said “Amazon Fresh’s prices were about 15% lower than the all-store average — they were even a few percent lower than Walmart’s.”

    In its smaller scale stores, “Amazon Fresh is really focusing on low costs and convenience,” Brasler said. “When you shop there, you don’t even have to go to checkout — you can just take stuff off the shelf, put it in your shopping cart, pack it up yourself and leave.”

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    © 2025 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

    Neal Augenstein

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  • Your breath could show if you’re prone to cancer; Portable ‘sniffer on a chip’ would help monitor health at home – WTOP News

    Dogs can be trained to detect oncoming seizures, migraines and even identify potential cancer — researchers at Virginia Tech are developing a device that can help humans monitor their health just by breathing.

    A Personalized Integrated Mobile Exhalation Decoder patent from Massoud Agah, a professor at Virginia Tech.(Courtesy Virginia Tech)

    Dogs can be trained to detect oncoming seizures, migraines and even identify potential cancer — researchers at Virginia Tech are developing a device that can help humans monitor their health just by breathing.

    Dogs have 60 times the number of olfactory receptor neurons in their nose as humans. Professor Masoud Agah is working to give everyone the same sniffing power with a portable device; his newest conceptual patent is for the Personalized Integrated Mobile Exhalation Decoder, or PIMED.

    Agah is working on a “sniffer on a chip,” which analyzes volatile organic compounds in a person’s breath and a microelectromechanical sample collector. Using an absorbing agent, it picks up the components for identification by the analyzer.

    “For example, if you have diabetes, the level of acetone goes up in your breath,” Agah said. In a home device, or small checkup station similar to public blood pressure cuffs in pharmacies, a person could receive their own breath signature.

    “And that smell print or breath print can be used as an identification, to show whether your are prone or showing signs of cancer, or not,” he said.

    Agah said the patented decoder could be integrated in a number of devices.

    “The whole art is actually what’s happening behind it, and how the information is being translated and provided to the doctors, or to lab technicians, or to the patient,” Agah said.

    In the same way that a person can monitor their blood pressure at home, Agah said the PIMED could help a person and their doctor try to stay ahead of diseases before they become visible on a scan or other lab test.

    “You can actually see the progression of the changes that are happening in your own signature,” Agah said.

    The technology could also be used to help rule out diseases. For instance, an inexpensive breath test “can give some sort of fast analysis and fast screening,” which could help rule out diseases that currently require more expensive and time consuming office or laboratory visits.

    Monitoring a person’s breath signature over time could show if cancer is spreading, or how well a cancer treatment is working.

    “You have a known parameter — the disease,” Agah said. While monitoring over time, “Now let’s see how much closer your breath print gets to the normal version of yourself. That shows the efficacy of the treatment, without visiting the lab, or getting blood, or anything like that.”

    It will take a while before you’d be able to have a disease-sniffing device at home. Agah, and his longtime collaborator John Michalek, are now working to bring the patented device to real-world prototypes.

    While a Breathalyzer can only detect blood alcohol content, Agah and Michalek’s work, including PIMED, has focused on miniaturizing analytical technology, through gas chromatography.

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    © 2025 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

    Neal Augenstein

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  • The message from a new installation on the National Mall: ‘Anyone with lungs can get lung cancer’ – WTOP News

    If you head down to the National Mall over the next two weeks, you’ll notice 60,000 white and American flags blanketing the lawn in front of the Capitol. It is an installation that hopes to hammer home the importance of early detection during Lung Cancer Awareness Month.

    “Anyone with lungs can get lung cancer,” said Terri Ann DiJulio, a 20-year survivor of lung cancer who has received the diagnosis three times.

    “I’m one of six people in my family to be diagnosed, and I’m the definition of early detection saves lives.”

    Each of the 60,000 flags on the mall represents two deaths seen every year from lung cancer. That is more than colorectal and pancreatic cancers combined.

    Another lung cancer survivor at the dedication of the Lungevity Foundation’s installation was WTOP’s own Neal Augenstein.

    “I really didn’t think about it until I saw all of these flags, and it made me realize that it could have been me,” Augenstein said.

    He received his stage four lung cancer diagnosis nearly three years ago on Nov. 22, 2022. He had cancerous tumors and cancerous lymph nodes in both lungs.

    “Really, to be honest, I had thought I will never get lung cancer. I don’t smoke. I’m at no risk for it, but the fact is that I got lung cancer, I don’t know how,” he told WTOP.

    Thanks to a one-pill-a-day targeted therapy and a robotic-assisted lobectomy Augenstein was declared cancer free just six months later.

    The Lungevity Foundation hopes this mind-boggling number of flags and deaths is a reminder to any visitor about the importance of early detection even for people who do not have risk factors. Close to two-thirds of new diagnosis are among people with no or past tobacco use.

    “If you catch lung cancer, for example, in stage one, you can have a greater than 90% chance of curing that cancer,” said Dr. Michael Gieske, director of lung cancer screening at St. Elizabeth Healthcare in northern Kentucky.

    “Lung cancer, historically, has been a death sentence and we’re trying to change that narrative.”

    Gieske described the screening as a non-invasive and quick CT scan.

    “You’re in and out of the scanner within three minutes. It’s the highest yield test we have for the deadliest cancer that we have to deal with,” Gieske said.

    According to the American Lung Association, nationally only about 18% of patients at high risk were screened.

    The sea of flags is also a message to the federal government about the importance of continued research on the deadliest cancer in the U.S.

    “I think there are multiple levels that we could do it. I think at the federal level, in terms of funding research and ensuring that we have awareness campaigns, public awareness campaigns, particularly to dispel a lot of the myths about lung cancer,” said Andrea Ferris, president and CEO of Lungevity.

    And while the vast number of flags is still tragic, it is also a sign of hope for others that get the diagnosis.

    “When my mother died from lung cancer in 2008, it would have been almost double the field. And so, thanks to advancements in research and now early detection, we had the opportunity to really change that,” Ferris said.

    “My hope is that people look at these flags with hope. You know the fact that there are people now who’ve lived several years with the current lung cancer treatments,” Augenstein said.

    “I’m doing great. My hope is that there’s a lot of people who feel empowered to get the good treatment and to look at the science and be really good patients and live a long life with lung cancer.”

    The installation will be on the National Mall for the next two weeks. Lungevity will also host a lung health resource fair there this weekend.

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    © 2025 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

    Luke Lukert

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  • ‘We call it ‘the pretzel’: First-of-its-kind bladder cancer treatment now in use in Maryland – WTOP News

    An innovative new treatment option for bladder cancer, recently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, has been performed for the first time in Maryland.

    An innovative new treatment option for bladder cancer, recently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, has been performed for the first time in Maryland.

    Dr. Heather Chalfin, a urologic oncologist and surgeon at Frederick Health, recently administered Maryland’s first gemcitabine intravesical system, under the brand name Inlexzo, which was approved by the FDA in September.

    “We call it ‘the pretzel,’ because it’s a device that curls up like a pretzel shape in someone’s bladder and releases chemotherapy over three weeks,” Chalfin told WTOP.

    Until now, patients with bladder cancer that has not invaded the bladder muscle, but are unresponsive to immunotherapy called Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (oftentimes abbreviated BCG) — and have chosen not to have or are unable to have bladder removal surgery — have been treated with chemotherapy.

    “The problem with that is patients can only spend about an hour with that chemotherapy in their bladder in our office,” Chalfin said.

    With Inlexzo, made by Johnson & Johnson, the device remains in the bladder for three weeks per treatment cycle, for up to 14 cycles.

    “And then they come back and we swap it out for a new ‘pretzel,’ as opposed to just having that chemotherapy active for only an hour inside the bladder,” Chalfin said.

    In the SunRISe-1 clinical trial, 82%  of patients had no signs of cancer after treatment. Fifty-one percent of the patients stayed cancer-free for at least one year, while long-term survival data on the new device is still being gathered.

    How ‘the pretzel’ works

    Chalfin said the intravesical drug releasing system begins as a straight, springy device.

    “The way we get it in is very similar to how we put in a urine catheter for many other situations, so it’s a very minimally invasive procedure,” Chalfin said.

    Once the Inlexzo has been inserted, “A good way to think about is if you think about a Slinky — if you pull on a Slinky, it becomes straight, but then when you release it, it curls back up into a Slinky,” she said.

    Every three weeks, the Inlexzo is replaced with another one.

    “It’s a simple procedure that bladder cancer patients are already having regularly, which is called a cystoscopy, or a camera in the bladder,” Chalfin said.

    The procedure is done in the office, and patients go home the same day, Chalfin said.

    According to Frederick Health, 9,471 new cases of bladder cancer are diagnosed each year. The National Cancer Institute projects there will be almost 85,000 new bladder cancer diagnoses and approximately 17,420 deaths from bladder cancer in the U.S. in 2025, making it the sixth most common cancer in the U.S.

    In addition to Inlexzo, Frederick Health is using blue-light cystoscopy technology, which enhances the visibility of certain bladder tumors that may have been missed with a traditional white light cystoscopy. The advancement improves detection rates, especially for early-stage or hard-to-see cancers.

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    © 2025 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

    Neal Augenstein

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  • Jury selection begins for DC man charged with throwing sandwich at federal agent – WTOP News

    Jury selection begins Monday in the federal trial of a D.C. man charged with throwing a Subway sandwich at a federal agent in August, during the early days of the law enforcement surge.

    Jury selection is scheduled to begin Monday in the federal trial of a D.C. man charged with throwing a Subway sandwich at a federal agent in August during the early days of the law enforcement surge in the District.

    Sean Dunn, a former paralegal for the Department of Justice, was initially charged with felony assault, but a federal grand jury declined to indict on the felony count, prompting U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro to file a misdemeanor assault charge.

    In the days leading up to trial, prosecutors and the defense continue to disagree on proposed jury instructions — specifically, over what is required to prove misdemeanor assault, as well as the legal definition of assault under the statute.

    Generally speaking, in a federal misdemeanor assault case, physical contact isn’t required.

    “The defendant forcefully threw a sandwich at a Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) agent while he was engaged in his official duties,” wrote prosecutors from Pirro’s office, in a request to briefly delay trial to hammer out jury instructions. The judge rejected the motion, saying the disputed issues of law will be ironed out before jury selection begins.

    However, two issues before U.S. District Court Judge Carl Nichols, an appointee of President Donald Trump in 2019, could be ruled upon once trial is underway.

    Dunn’s attorney filed a motion last month seeking to have the case dismissed, claiming he’s being “vindictively” and “selectively” prosecuted.

    In the days after his arrest, Dunn was fired from his job at the Justice Department. U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi called him part of the “Deep State” in a post on X. Not long after, Pirro posted a video with what Dunn’s legal team calls “crude taunts” — including the line, “Stick your Subway sandwich somewhere else.”

    Dunn’s lawyers said he offered to turn himself in after prosecutors issued a warrant — but instead, a heavily armed SWAT team stormed his apartment. The White House later posted a dramatic, edited video of the arrest, which was complete with blaring sirens and a suspenseful soundtrack.

    Prosecutors cite risk of jury nullification

    Another still-to-be-ruled-upon motion was filed by prosecutors, seeking to lower the risk of jury nullification, in which a jury acquits a defendant, in disregard of the judge’s instructions and contrary to the jury’s finding of fact.

    “The foreseeable evidentiary issues involve inflammatory evidence or argument that could invite jury nullification,” D.C. prosecutors wrote, in a pretrial argument.

    The motion asks the judge to preclude defense counsel from asking questions or making arguments regarding several topics, about potential penalties for a conviction.

    Prosecutors don’t want the defense to mention to jurors that a federal grand jury determined there was not probable cause to indict Dunn on the original felony count.

    “The decision to charge the Defendants, the existence of the prior criminal complaint, the Defendant’s subsequent arrest, and any reason for proceeding in this matter by way of a criminal information (rather than indictment) is not relevant in the charged offense. This includes whether the case was presented to a grand jury,” according to prosecutors.

    Unlike an indictment, prosecutors can file a “criminal information” without approval from a grand jury.

    In addition, prosecutors want to preclude the defense from admitting evidence or making arguments about policy or political concerning the Trump administration’s “effort to prevent crime and preserve order through the Make the District of Columbia Safe and Beautiful Initiative,” or Dunn’s policy or political viewpoints.

    “It is simply not relevant to the jury’s determination,” according to prosecutors.

    WTOP’s Alan Etter contributed to this report. 

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    © 2025 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

    Neal Augenstein

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  • DC photographer on protest art: ‘It comes from rage, but also determination’ – WTOP News

    In any democracy, and especially in Washington, D.C., the act of protest is a way to get one’s point across — and while a protest may be loud and rambunctious, moments often contain beauty.

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    DC photographer on protest art: ‘It comes from rage, but also determination’

    In any democracy, and especially in D.C., the act of protest is a way to get one’s point across — and while a protest may be loud and rambunctious, moments often contain beauty.

    Oxford English Dictionary defines “protest” as, “a statement or action expressing disapproval or objection.”

    When D.C.-based photographer Antonia Tricarico photographs protests in the nation’s capital, she’s a conduit to what’s happening in front of her.

    “I’m not going there asking them to pose, or if I can take photographs,” she told WTOP. “I’m feeling the emotion.”

    Tricarico is in the midst of a Kickstarter fundraising effort for her new book, titled, “Be My Rebel: Protest Photographs through art, music, action, and essays.”

    Two of her earlier books captured the inherent protest of punk rock: “Frame of Mind: Punk Photos and Essay from Washington, D.C. and Beyond, 1997-2017” and “The Inner Ear of Don Zientara: A Half Century of Recording in One of America’s Most Innovative Studios Through the Voices of Musicians.”

    Earlier this year, WTOP visited the site of Inner Ear Studios, which closed its South Arlington location after 30 years.

    Tricarico said the images she captures can contain raw emotions.

    “It comes from rage, but also determination,” Tricarico said.

    She said she feels empathy for the people she is photographing.

    “I totally understand that sometimes an action that looks like it’s coming from rage and violence can really put people in a weird spot,” she said.

    Tricarico envisions a hardcover edition with 200 pages containing over 200 photographs and 18 essays from local artists. The Kickstarter campaign will run through Dec. 10.

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    © 2025 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

    Neal Augenstein

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  • How will Virginia races be affected by record early voting for nonpresidential election – WTOP News

    As early voting winds down, the number of early ballots cast this year is at a record high for a nonpresidential election in Virginia, according to the Virginia Public Access Project.

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    How will Va. races be affected by record early voting for nonpresidential election?

    As early voting winds down, the number of early ballots cast this year is at a record high for a nonpresidential election in Virginia, according to the Virginia Public Access Project.

    The general election is set for Tuesday and the last day to vote early is Saturday.

    The election will determine Virginia’s next governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, as well as all 100 seats in the Commonwealth’s House of Delegates.

    WTOP asked Karen Hult, a professor of political science at Virginia Tech, why so many people voted early in this election — and how it might affect the results.

    “People tend to vote early, just to get it out of the way, so they’re not stuck in traffic on Election Day, or have difficulty getting to polls,” Hult said. “They think, ‘I know who I’m going to vote for, so I’ll go cast that ballot early to show my enthusiasm, and check it off my to-do list.’”

    “What’s different about this election is that Republican leaders within the state of Virginia have said, in fact, it’s fine to early vote,” unlike in previous elections, she said. “To the extent that we can find out who’s voting, most of the people that are voting in-person early voting are Republicans.”

    Hult believes Republicans have been “suggesting early voting, in part to help mobilization of Republicans, and getting people excited early and getting them out to vote, as well as allowing the ground game to work effectively.”

    Depending upon the media market in which one lives, “There’s a barrage of ongoing campaign ads and texts and banners on emails,” Hult said.

    “Some of us are being told (by campaigners), ‘If you cast a ballot, then we will no longer contact you’ — and for many people, that itself is a bit of an incentive,” she added.

    All votes count the same

    Regardless of whether they cast their ballots early, or on Election Day, they all count the same.

    “The people at the polls on Election Day know how many ballots have been cast in their precinct, and so those people are in the system as not being able to vote,” Hult said. “There is no way people can double-vote.”

    What’s not clear is when the results of the early voting will be announced.

    “That typically comes toward the end of election night, and into the next day,” Hult said.

    “It may well be that some of the early votes, depending on the area, some of those will be tallied ahead of time,” she added. “Others will not be released to the public until well into the ballot-counting process.

    VPAP provides an updated map of early ballots cast by House of Delegates’ districts, and compares the turnout to each district’s partisan lean.

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    © 2025 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

    Neal Augenstein

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  • Jury clears Virginia man charged with soliciting assassination of President Trump – WTOP News

    Was it a solicitation of violence or free speech? A federal jury in Alexandria, Virginia, has sided with a man who suggested someone should kill President Donald Trump.

    Was it a solicitation of violence or free speech? A federal jury in Alexandria, Virginia, has acquitted a man who suggested someone should kill President Donald Trump.

    Federal prosecutors had argued that 63-year-old Peter Stinson, who had served more than three decades as a Coast Guard officer repeatedly called for someone to assassinate Trump, through a series of social media posts, dating to 2020.

    Stinson often used derisive nicknames to identify Trump in posts on Twitter, which is now known as X, and on Bluesky.

    In an April 2020 post, prosecutors said Stinson pleaded for someone to “pull the proverbial trigger,” and wrote, “I would do it. I would take the fall to save America.”

    In a February 2020 post, Stinson posted he “would be willing to pitch in $100 for a contract,” referring to hiring a hit man, according to prosecutors.

    Stinson was initially charged in June 2025 with a Threat Against the President of the United States. In August, in a superseding indictment, the charge was altered to Solicitation of a Crime of Violence.

    During this week’s two-day trial, federal public defenders argued his comments were Constitutionally-protected free speech, and that his postings lacked the “specificity, imminence, and likelihood of producing lawless action” required to fall outside of constitutional protection.

    On Tuesday, after deliberating for a few hours, the jury acquitted Stinson of solicitation of a crime of violence. He had been on house arrest before his trial, and was ordered released by U.S. District Judge Anthony Trenga.

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    © 2025 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

    Neal Augenstein

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  • Lawyers suggest cover-up after federal agent shoots at driver during DC traffic stop – WTOP News

    Lawyers for a driver they say was shot at by a federal agent during a traffic stop are alleging that D.C. police tried to cover up the shooting.

    Lawyers for a driver they say was shot at by a federal agent during a traffic stop are alleging that D.C. police tried to cover up the shooting.

    Charging documents showed that on Oct. 17 just before 10 p.m., Phillip Brown, 33, was driving a Dodge SUV with dark-tinted windows and missing a front tag in the 4300 block of Benning Road in Northeast, when he was spotted by officers in a marked cruiser.

    D.C. police followed the SUV, finally catching up to the driver near the 4200 block of Benning Road. Charging documents said the driver of the SUV switched lanes during that time, doing so several times as police “activated the emergency equipment to affect a traffic stop.”

    When the SUV approached stopped traffic, one D.C. police officer told federal officers that Brown, the driver, was going to flee, and the cruiser that had been following the SUV moved out of the way to let the federal agents stop the vehicle.

    When the SUV came to a near stop behind another vehicle, a D.C. police officer and a Homeland Security Investigations officer got out of the cruiser and ordered Brown to stop.

    Charging documents said Brown revved the engine and started “advancing toward officers that were on foot.” Brown ultimately struck the rear of the other vehicle, police said in their report.

    The charging document said Brown “was removed from the vehicle” and arrested.

    The initial charging document doesn’t say that the Homeland Security Investigations officer fired a gun at Brown.

    However during Brown’s preliminary hearing on the fleeing charge, his lawyers said that a D.C. police officer testified that he was ordered by a superior not to include the shooting in the police report.

    Photos released by Brown’s lawyers show two bullet holes in the driver’s side window and one in the driver’s seat.

    D.C. police later confirmed to WTOP that the shooting took place and that they are investigating.

    The fleeing case against Brown was dismissed when the judge ruled that there was “insufficient evidence” that he tried to flee, his attorneys said in a new release. In addition to leaving out the shooting in the police report, Brown’s attorneys also allege that D.C. police are refusing to provide the body camera footage.

    Brown’s lawyers have filed a motion asking for preservation of all communication regarding the case, and all relevant evidence — including body camera footage, ballistic evidence from the scene, and “the jacket worn by Mr. Brown containing the bullet hole through or near the collar.”

    In addition, two other lawyers for Brown have requested access to all of the communications and correspondence between the D.C. police department and federal agencies pertaining to the case.

    “The MPD covered up the shooting, leaving it out of the police report and refusing to provide Body Worn Camera footage to Brown’s attorneys,” attorney E. Paige White, one of Brown’s attorneys, said in a news release.

    White said the case “symbolizes the potentially fatal consequences of MPD’s collaboration with federal agents and demonstrates the immediate need to end the Make D.C. Safe Again initiative.”

    This story was first reported by The Washington Post and Washington City Paper.

    WTOP is seeking additional comment from the Department of Homeland Security.

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    © 2025 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

    Neal Augenstein

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  • Silver Spring middle schooler struck in head during PE by thrown ‘metal object,’ suffers brain injury – WTOP News

    The mother of a Montgomery County Public School middle schooler says her son suffered brain injuries, after being hurt during gym class last week.

    The mother of a Montgomery County Public Schools middle schooler says her son suffered brain injuries after being struck by a thrown “metal object” during gym class last Wednesday.

    Emily Diaz, who said her son’s name is Lenny, established a GoFundMe campaign, which has raised more than $30,000 as of Monday morning.

    The boy was hit in the head “by what was described as a metal object thrown by another student,” according to an email to the Odessa Shannon Middle School community from Natasha Booms, principal of the school, located on Monticello Avenue, in Silver Spring, Maryland.

    Diaz said her son’s injury “was an open skull injury and the bone fragments went into his brain,” she wrote. “He’s currently in PICU and on a breathing tube to help him breathe and recover.”

    “Our thoughts and hearts are with the student and their family, and we are staying in contact to offer support and receive updates on their condition,” wrote the principal. “Our staff will continue to reinforce expectations for safety and appropriate behavior, and additional supports are available for students or staff who may need to talk about what happened.”

    Diaz described her son as “a very smart, loving, adventurous young boy,” but “we are unsure of how he will be after recovery, but the possibilities of him being impaired are there,” in terms of speech, mobility and memory.

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    © 2025 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

    Neal Augenstein

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  • What issues are bringing record numbers of Virginia early voters to the polls? – WTOP News

    The ongoing federal government shutdown, increased immigration enforcement, and the role parents play in public schools in Virginia were among the issues on some voters’ minds at an early voting satellite center.

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    What issues are bringing record numbers of Virginia voters to the polls, early

    The ongoing federal government shutdown, increased immigration enforcement and the role parents play in public schools in Virginia were among the issues on local voters’ minds during a recent WTOP sampling at a Loudoun County early voting satellite center.

    The number of early ballots cast so far this year is at a record high for a nonpresidential election in Virginia, according to the Virginia Public Access Project, or VPAP.

    During a mid-morning visit with voters outside the Dulles South Recreation Center, one of Loudoun County Office of Elections’ four early voting satellite locations, WTOP asked voters which issues prompted them to cast their ballots before the Nov. 4 general election.

    Most cited convenience as the reason they decided to vote early in person, but the issues they cared about most varied.

    One voter specified the ongoing federal government shutdown as his prime reason for voting, because it affects his livelihood.

    “When the government gets shut down, contractors also get shut down,” he said. “I had skin in the game, to be honest.”

    Another voter characterized himself as a retired civil servant: “I’ve been through many, many shutdowns before, but this one is just very different, and very bad.”

    He said he has family and friends working in the federal government, which has traditionally been a predictable, stable work environment.

    “They never thought they’d ever be impacted, even if it shut down. Usually, there’s an answer that’s in the works, but nobody’s working it,” he said.

    The role of parents in schools

    One husband and wife, who introduced themselves as conservative Christians, said their votes reflected the candidates’ positions “on the more conservative issues — obviously abortion, and also current issues in some of our public schools, as far as gender identity and locker rooms.”

    His wife concurred: “As parents, we want our voices heard. And we want to fight for our kids, to have a say in our kids’ education and any kind of policies that affect them, especially within the confines of school.”

    The retired civil servant said that his children are now grown. He questions whether children are actually benefiting from the “parents matter” issue that buoyed Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s election and gubernatorial term.

    “Parents first? Some get too involved. I think it’s either crossed the line or has touched the line too much,” he said.

    Another man said that he doesn’t have any children, “but I do recognize it as something that is important to the rest of the community.”

    Internal conflicts about immigration 

    Most of the people WTOP spoke with said the increased law and immigration enforcement agents around the country is an intensely political issue.

    “I would like to see discussions and real solutions, rather than some of what I’ve seen,” said the government contractor.

    “Most of the people that are getting deported are getting their lives torn up,” he said. “They’re as American as we are, I think — it’s just that somewhere either their parents didn’t have the papers or didn’t necessarily do things right.”

    The conservative husband and wife both said they believe there’s “a right way to come into the country.”

    According to the wife, “By coming to the country illegally, you already are breaking the law by coming in.”

    And while she “has no problem with criminals going the right way,” she doesn’t believe the increased enforcement has been limited to criminals.

    “I do have a hard time with that. I feel like the Trump administration said they were going after the criminals first, and they have, but I also think that they have opened that up,” she said.

    “I don’t think they’ve been as honest that they’ve been coming after people who are hard-working parents that are probably working double jobs and trying to keep their family afloat,” she said. “As a mom of a lot of kids, it’s heartbreaking to see families pulled apart.”

    She said she feels for families that are being impacted by the increased enforcement: “The truth is, we let them come in illegally, that’s our fault for doing that. So you can’t even blame them.”

    When asked if the immigration issue was important to him, the retired civil servant’s guttural reaction suggested saying it was important to him was an understatement: “U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement isn’t being monitored. The lack of oversight across the administration is just awful.”

    As for how long the increased immigration enforcement might last, “I would pay attention to what the governor says, whoever the governor turns out to be. That, and sending National Guard from Virginia into another state,” he said.

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  • What issues are bringing record numbers of Virginia early voters to the polls? – WTOP News

    The ongoing federal government shutdown, increased immigration enforcement, and the role parents play in public schools in Virginia were among the issues on some voters’ minds at an early voting satellite center.

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    What issues are bringing record numbers of Virginia voters to the polls, early

    The ongoing federal government shutdown, increased immigration enforcement and the role parents play in public schools in Virginia were among the issues on local voters’ minds during a recent WTOP sampling at a Loudoun County early voting satellite center.

    The number of early ballots cast so far this year is at a record high for a nonpresidential election in Virginia, according to the Virginia Public Access Project, or VPAP.

    During a mid-morning visit with voters outside the Dulles South Recreation Center, one of Loudoun County Office of Elections’ four early voting satellite locations, WTOP asked voters which issues prompted them to cast their ballots before the Nov. 4 general election.

    Most cited convenience as the reason they decided to vote early in person, but the issues they cared about most varied.

    One voter specified the ongoing federal government shutdown as his prime reason for voting, because it affects his livelihood.

    “When the government gets shut down, contractors also get shut down,” he said. “I had skin in the game, to be honest.”

    Another voter characterized himself as a retired civil servant: “I’ve been through many, many shutdowns before, but this one is just very different, and very bad.”

    He said he has family and friends working in the federal government, which has traditionally been a predictable, stable work environment.

    “They never thought they’d ever be impacted, even if it shut down. Usually, there’s an answer that’s in the works, but nobody’s working it,” he said.

    The role of parents in schools

    One husband and wife, who introduced themselves as conservative Christians, said their votes reflected the candidates’ positions “on the more conservative issues — obviously abortion, and also current issues in some of our public schools, as far as gender identity and locker rooms.”

    His wife concurred: “As parents, we want our voices heard. And we want to fight for our kids, to have a say in our kids’ education and any kind of policies that affect them, especially within the confines of school.”

    The retired civil servant said that his children are now grown. He questions whether children are actually benefiting from the “parents matter” issue that buoyed Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s election and gubernatorial term.

    “Parents first? Some get too involved. I think it’s either crossed the line or has touched the line too much,” he said.

    Another man said that he doesn’t have any children, “but I do recognize it as something that is important to the rest of the community.”

    Internal conflicts about immigration 

    Most of the people WTOP spoke with said the increased law and immigration enforcement agents around the country is an intensely political issue.

    “I would like to see discussions and real solutions, rather than some of what I’ve seen,” said the government contractor.

    “Most of the people that are getting deported are getting their lives torn up,” he said. “They’re as American as we are, I think — it’s just that somewhere either their parents didn’t have the papers or didn’t necessarily do things right.”

    The conservative husband and wife both said they believe there’s “a right way to come into the country.”

    According to the wife, “By coming to the country illegally, you already are breaking the law by coming in.”

    And while she “has no problem with criminals going the right way,” she doesn’t believe the increased enforcement has been limited to criminals.

    “I do have a hard time with that. I feel like the Trump administration said they were going after the criminals first, and they have, but I also think that they have opened that up,” she said.

    “I don’t think they’ve been as honest that they’ve been coming after people who are hard-working parents that are probably working double jobs and trying to keep their family afloat,” she said. “As a mom of a lot of kids, it’s heartbreaking to see families pulled apart.”

    She said she feels for families that are being impacted by the increased enforcement: “The truth is, we let them come in illegally, that’s our fault for doing that. So you can’t even blame them.”

    When asked if the immigration issue was important to him, the retired civil servant’s guttural reaction suggested saying it was important to him was an understatement: “U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement isn’t being monitored. The lack of oversight across the administration is just awful.”

    As for how long the increased immigration enforcement might last, “I would pay attention to what the governor says, whoever the governor turns out to be. That, and sending National Guard from Virginia into another state,” he said.

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    © 2025 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

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  • Roundabout project to keep commuters moving begins in Loudoun Co. – WTOP News

    The four-way stoplight at the intersection of Virginia Routes 9 and 287 in northern Loudoun County has long been a chokepoint for commuters, including some traveling from Frederick County, Maryland, and Jefferson County, West Virginia.

    The four-way stoplight at the intersection of Virginia Routes 9 and 287 in northern Loudoun County has long been a chokepoint for commuters, including some traveling from Frederick County, Maryland, and Jefferson County, West Virginia.

    A major road project — construction of a roundabout to keep future commuters on both two-lane highways moving — is getting underway, but will cause disruption for drivers through summer 2027.

    CLICK TO ENLARGE: A proposed roundabout at Route 287 and 9 in Loudoun County. (Courtesy Loudoun County government)

    Data from Loudoun County said traffic volume at the Route 9 (Charles Town Pike) and Route 287 (Berlin Turnpike) intersection increased from an average of 13,000 vehicles per weekday in 2001 to 18,000 vehicles per day in 2018.

    Many of the early-morning and late-afternoon commuters are traveling to employment centers in Leesburg, Ashburn, Sterling and other Northern Virginia suburbs of the D.C. area.

    Early Thursday morning, reflective orange construction barrels were present near the intersection for preliminary work that’s underway. That work includes installing temporary signage, cleaning and removing roots and stumps, and implementing erosion and sediment controls.

    Heavy construction is scheduled to begin in early November and extend through summer 2027.

    Digital signs and flagging crews will assist drivers, through upcoming lane shifts and lane closures, related to the roundabout construction, according to the county.

    Large concrete pipes sit nearby, triaged for upcoming installation of new drainage systems and stormwater facilities at the intersection.

    According to the county, the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service determined that the project should have no impact on threatened or endangered species.

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  • Trial begins in 2010 death of AU professor; defendant spent 12 years on FBI ‘Most Wanted List’ living in Mexico – WTOP News

    Jury selection begins Monday in the trial of Jorge Rueda Landeros, nearly 15 years after the death of American University professor Sue Ann Marcum, who had been beaten and asphyxiated in her Bethesda, Maryland home. 

    Jury selection begins Monday in the trial of Jorge Rueda Landeros, nearly 15 years after the death of American University professor Sue Ann Marcum, who had been beaten and asphyxiated in her Bethesda, Maryland, home.

    Landeros was indicted in August 2023 for the first-degree murder of Marcum, who was found in her home on Massachusetts Avenue less than a half-mile west of the D.C. border on Oct. 25, 2010.

    Montgomery County prosecutors have said Landeros, who had dual citizenship, fled to Mexico after Marcum’s death. He spent a dozen years on the FBI’s “Most Wanted List,” before he was arrested in Guadalajara, Mexico, in December 2022 and extradited to the U.S.

    Police and prosecutors haven’t specified whether Marcum and Landeros had a romantic relationship, but Landeros was the sole beneficiary of a $500,000 life insurance on Marcum.

    In addition, according to the FBI, Marcum had made the initial contribution of a joint investment account she shared with Landeros and had expressed concern about how he was managing the funds.

    A 1099 form in Marcum’s home from 2008 listed proceeds of more than $100 million from the fund, which investigators believed to be “very unusual,” given her occupation as a university professor, according to charging documents.

    Once the jury has been selected, the trial is expected to take about a week. If convicted, Landeros could face life in prison with no chance of parole.

    Defense: Landeros maintains innocence

    Landeros’ public defenders have said the scene of Marcum’s killing initially bore signs of a robbery, according to charging documents in the case. A rear window appeared to have been pried open and the house was partially ransacked.

    However, several expensive items were left behind and investigators said evidence of a struggle indicated Marcum possibly knew her attacker.

    The defense said several electronic items of value were stacked in the home, and the facts are consistent with the modus operandi in approximately 60 to 80 home burglaries that occurred in the Northwest quadrant of D.C. and in Bethesda, within several months of Marcum’s death.

    “Despite these facts, the state still alleges that Mr. Landeros killed Ms. Marcum,” according to last week’s defense motion.

    In recent motions, public defenders Meghan Brennan and Tatiana David asked the judge to exclude any suggestion from prosecutors that Landeros fled to Mexico to avoid being prosecuted in Marcum’s death. And they argued that prosecutors should not be allowed to mention that Landeros changed his name, because it would suggest he had something to hide.

    Last week the judge ruled that all of the facts about Landeros’ time in Mexico after Marcum’s death are admissible, although prosecutors can’t use the words “flight” in opening statements. The state is prohibited from introducing any evidence about the name Landeros was using when he was apprehended.

    The defense said it will challenge the prosecutorial argument that by not making himself available to Maryland officials, Landeros was demonstrating consciousness of guilt.

    “There are a number of reasons why Mr. Landeros would avoid turning himself in to the authorities, including potential Internal Revenue Service penalties, that exist completely independent of the murder of Sue Marcum,” the defense wrote.

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  • With chronic back pain, the thing you least feel like doing is the best way to treat it, Md. sports doc says – WTOP News

    For anyone who has every felt paralyzed with chronic low back pain, it won’t be surprising that back pain is the leading cause of disability: What may be surprising is the best way to treat it.

    For anyone who has ever felt paralyzed with chronic low back pain, it won’t be surprising that back pain is the leading cause of disability: What may be surprising is the best way to treat it.

    “We used to think if you had low back pain, you should be on bed rest and try not to move — try not to flare up the pain,” said Dr. Jennifer Gourdin, a sports medicine physician with Kaiser Permanente, in Silver Spring, Maryland.

    “Now we know that movement is key to prevention, as well as treatment.”

    Research shows that staying active with targeted exercises like walking, stretching and core strengthening can help reduce chronic lower back pain, while prolonged sitting and inactivity may make symptoms worse.

    The National Institutes of Health said chronic lower back pain is the leading cause of disability worldwide and affects over one-third of older adults in the United States.

    “Many of us will experience chronic low back pain at some point in our life,” Gourdin said. “It’s one of the most common reasons that you will go to see your primary care physician.”

    According to NIH, chronic pain is persistent: 61.4% of those with chronic pain in 2019 still had it in 2020.

    An April 2025 study published in the Journal of Orthopedic & Sports Physical Therapy found that for people with chronic low back pain, fear that pain will exacerbate their condition is a primary reason many stay sedentary.

    Gourdin said the key is to move daily: “It can be light activity, walking, riding a stationary bike, swimming, or water aerobics — any kind of movement that you can incorporate into your day to day activities will help to improve low back pain.”

    Daily movement can help improve a patient’s symptoms, ranging from stiffness to pain associated with arthritis.

    “There was a recent study in the Lancet Rheumatology that looked at people with chronic low back pain, and if they were walking regularly they were actually found to have less recurrence of their symptoms and less disability,” Gourdin said.

    For people with desk jobs or those who sit for prolonged periods of time, Gourdin recommends standing up every 30 minutes to stretch and move in order to reduce the risk of developing or worsening low back pain. “Doing exercises to strengthen the core, like glute bridges or side planks can also help to manage back pain.”

    If a patient experiences a persistent pain — sharp, dull, achy or radiating — for several days, Gourdin said that should be reported to a doctor. She said problems with controlling your bowels or bladder, and feelings of numbness, weakness or tingling radiating down your legs are red flags that should be evaluated promptly by a physician.

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  • Most lung cancer is diagnosed at Stage 4: How Md. health system catches 40% at Stage 1 – WTOP News

    Frederick Health Medical Group is outpacing national averages by detecting nearly 40% of lung cancers at Stage 1 with 3D imaging and robotic bronchoscopy.

    An ion robotic bronchoscopy system used by Frederick Health.(Courtesy Frederick Health)

    Most lung cancer in the U.S. is diagnosed at Stage 4, after the leading cause of cancer deaths has spread to other parts of the body. However, a Maryland health system is outpacing national averages by detecting nearly 40% of lung cancers at Stage 1.

    Frederick Health Medical Group, in Frederick, Maryland, identifies lung cancer early by investigating tiny clues, which enables patients to get to cancer specialists earlier in the process, according to a doctor with the group.

    “Lung cancer is a scary thing because it does not cause symptoms until it’s too late,” said Dr. Maurice Smith, thoracic surgeon and medical director for chest surgery with Frederick Health Medical Group.

    With new 3D imaging, robotic bronchoscopy and a comprehensive multidisciplinary approach, Frederick Health is diagnosing nearly 40% of lung cancers at Stage 1, surpassing the national average of 27%.

    “We’re able to get to these abnormalities in the lung before they get too big,” Smith said.

    Doctors and researchers have long known that early diagnosis of lung cancer improves the success of available treatments, and the patient’s quality of life.

    With more and more younger patients being diagnosed with lung cancer, advocacy groups have called for earlier screening with low-dose CT scans. Currently, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force guidelines is limited to adults aged 50 to 80, who have smoked a pack of cigarettes a day for 20 years.

    “That’s for patients who are high risk,” Smith said. “The government pays for it for 50 through 80. You don’t necessarily have an abnormality, but you’re trying to screen to see if you do.”

    And only approximately 20% of Americans who are eligible for screening get it done on an annual basis.

    Most of the lung cancer cases discovered by Frederick Health came when doctors weren’t looking for cancer.

    Smith said that of the 130 lung cancers diagnosed at Frederick Health recently, 60% were identified after a CT scan for another reason, and only 40% were discovered during lung cancer screening.

    According to the American Cancer Society, the five-year survival rate for non-small cell lung cancer discovered in Stage 1 is 67%. For Stage 4, in which lung cancer has spread to other organs, the five-year survival rate is 12%, although it continues to improve significantly with recent trends in targeted therapies.

    Early diagnosis, even though ‘it didn’t blare lung cancer’

    Smith said Frederick Health isn’t getting more people in for CT lung cancer screening, but rather capitalizing on CT scans that are done in the emergency room or a physician’s office to deal with everything from a cough to a sprain.

    “If you go to the ER department, for the most part you’re going to walk out of there with a CT scan,” Smith said. “The disconnect has been that those CT scans in the ER, those CT scans in the community, were not being followed up on, because it wasn’t flagged as suspicious, because it was a smaller nodule.”

    But that’s changed with implementation of ION robotic technology, manufactured by Intuitive, along with advanced 3D imaging.

    “We’re able to go after lesions as small as an apple seed,” Smith said.

    Now, if a CT scan done in the ER or the office of a Frederick Health provider discovers a nodule that was previously considered too small for concern, a report is automatically forwarded to the center’s incidental pulmonary nodules clinic, which contacts the patient and primary care provider to coordinate follow-up.

    It’s cancer: Now what?

    New robotic bronchoscopy technology gives surgeons and interventional pulmonologists a way to perform minimally invasive biopsies of lung nodules.

    “The traditional bronchoscopy is about the size of your thumb, so it can only navigate to a certain point within your airway,” Smith said. “With our new robotic bronchoscopy, it’s very thin and flexible, so it’s able to reach any point in the lung from the outside.”

    During the staging process to determine whether lung cancer has spread, a patient would typically undergo three procedures: a bronchoscopy to retrieve a biopsy, another bronchoscopy after diagnosis to look for spread to lymph nodes in the center of the chest, and finally a lobectomy, or other surgery to remove an early-stage tumor.

    “So now, from that first appointment, we are usually getting patients a biopsy within two to three weeks,” Smith said. “From beginning to end, to diagnosis, we’re about three to four weeks, which we’re very excited about.”

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  • Man charged with placing ATM skimmers at Md. gas stations: How to protect your money – WTOP News

    Prince George’s County police have charged a man with placing three skimming devices on ATMs at county gas stations in one day, and are offering tips on how to avoid having personal financial data stolen.

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    PGPD charges man who placed skimmers on ATMs

    Prince George’s County police have charged a man with placing three skimming devices on ATMs at gas stations in one day — and are offering tips on how to avoid having personal financial data stolen.

    The county police’s Financial Crimes Unit said its preliminary investigation determined 34-year-old Pioter Fedorenko, of no fixed addressed, recorded himself placing both a camera and a skimming device on an ATM at a gas station in Brandywine, Maryland, on Oct. 2.

    On the same day, police said Fedorenko placed a total of three skimmers on ATMs at two gas stations. In a news release, police said investigators recovered all three devices hours later, preventing the suspect from stealing any personal financial data from those who used the machines that day.

    Prince George’s County police said skimming devices can be placed at ATMs and point of sale terminals inside retail stores, grocery stores, convenience stores — essentially any location where credit card transactions are conducted. According to the county’s financial crimes unit, so far this year, approximately 45 skimmers have been recovered within the county.

    Police said swiping a credit card or debit card places you at a higher risk than contactless payment systems, including Apple Pay or other “tap to pay” machines. And the risk rises in locations with heavy customer traffic.

    According to police, it’s safer to use a bank’s ATM that’s located indoors, rather than one installed on an exterior wall.

    Detectives investigating skimming devices can be reached at 301-516-1464. Callers wishing to remain anonymous can call Crime Solvers at 1-866-411-TIPS (8477), or go online.

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  • 5 tips to tame midnight munchies – WTOP News

    Think back — did you get up to eat in the middle of the night? A Maryland doctor offers tips to balance hunger hormones and curb cravings.

    Think back — did you get up to eat in the middle of the night?

    “Occasional episodes are common, but frequent wake ups really fit a pattern that means you really want to work on better meal balance, stress reduction and sleep regularity,” said Dr. Kwame Akoto, an adult medicine physician with Kaiser Permanente, in Baltimore County, Maryland.

    He said evening meals that are high in refined carbohydrates can cause a rapid spike and crash in blood sugar, “which will then leave you waking up hungry.”

    “That doesn’t have the necessary balance that you would see with foods that are high in protein and high in fiber, which allows time to process the carbohydrates better, and you don’t get the crashes, which then leads to the cravings,” Akoto said.

    So, what should you do if you wake up with hunger pangs?

    “Before you go downstairs and raid your fridge, you really want to look to see what your body actually is asking for,” Akoto said.

    If you have been waking up routinely at night, Akoto said that might be a cue from your brain — hunger by habit.

    “Getting a glass of water, and just waiting a little bit to see if that hunger pang goes away or not is really important,” he said. “If you truly are hungry, trying to get a small protein or low-fat snack might be helpful.”

    Options include Greek yogurt, whole grain crackers with cheese, or a handful of nuts.

    Symptoms such as feeling shaky, sweaty or dizzy might be a problem with low blood sugar.

    Akoto offered five prevention tips to help people balance their hunger hormones and curb cravings across the day and night.

    1. “Eat earlier and more regularly, with three balanced meals and one or two planned snacks.”
    2. “Pair whole grain carbohydrates with lean protein at your meals, and add healthy fats, including olive oil, salmon, flaxseed or avocado.”
    3. “Include at least one high fiber food at every meal to steady your blood sugar,” which slows down gut absorption, Akoto said.
    4. “Reduce chronic stress with simple routines, such as taking short walk, or taking a short break for breathing exercises or meditation.”
    5. “Aim for seven to nine hours of sleep, and build it gradually if you are short on rest.”

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  • Former FBI agent faces 122 years in prison for 3 tattoo shop rapes in Montgomery County – WTOP News

    A former FBI agent will be sentenced in Montgomery County, Maryland, after being convicted of raping three women in tattoo parlors he operated.

    Former FBI agent Eduardo Valdivia, who was convicted of raping three women in small tattoo parlors that he operated, could face up to 122 years in prison when he’s sentenced in Montgomery County Circuit Court.

    Valdivia, 31, was found guilty in July 2025 of six counts of second-degree rape and two counts of fourth-degree sex offense. He is scheduled to be sentenced Tuesday afternoon.

    Prosecutors said Valdivia raped the three women after offering them free tattoos in exchange for modeling opportunities.

    “He created an illusion in their minds that if they continue contact with him, they were going to to make their professional modeling dreams come true,” according to county prosecutors’ sentencing memo, reported by the Washington Post, which says prosecutors are seeking the statutory maximum, 122 years behind bars.

    Circuit Court Judge Cheryl McCally will be able to consider an earlier felony arrest in Montgomery County. The jury that convicted Valdivia of the tattoo shop rapes didn’t hear about that earlier arrest during his trial last summer.

    In December 2022, Valdivia was found not guilty of attempted murder after shooting another passenger twice inside a Red Line train near the Medical Center station in Bethesda, back in December 2020.

    The jury found Valdivia acted in self-defense when he shot an unarmed, aggressive panhandler. He was acquitted on all counts.

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  • Amid relief of Gaza ceasefire, US Muslim, Jewish groups agree on difficulty of achieving lasting peace – WTOP News

    U.S.-based Jewish and Muslim advocacy groups agree a lot of work remains to achieve a lasting peace in the Middle East, despite a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

    All 20 living Israeli hostages held by Hamas and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel are free as part of a ceasefire in Gaza. But halfway around the world, U.S.-based Jewish and Muslim advocacy groups agree a lot of work remains to achieve lasting peace in the Middle East.

    Alan Ronkin, regional director of the American Jewish Committee in D.C., said this is a long-awaited relief for the hostages held since Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 hostages.

    “It’s going to take some time to get them back to be themselves, back to their families, and God willing, achieve some sort of a normal life after being through this absolute hell for the past two years,” Ronkin said.

    Haris Tarin, vice president of policy and programming with the Muslim Public Affairs Council, said “that the Palestinian people will hopefully be able to breathe again, and that the suffering will stop.”

    “The fact that Palestinians in Gaza can actually go back to their homes — even if it’s just rubble — to be able to go back to that rubble,” Tarin said. “So, there is relief, and some room for celebration.”

    Yet with Israel’s insistence that Hamas disarm, the likelihood of a permanent peace in the near future is slim.

    “We don’t have trust in the Netanyahu government to move forward and stick to its side of the deal,” Tarin said. “So, we just hope the Trump administration and the international community will hold the Netanyahu government accountable, to do what it’s supposed to do.”

    Ronkin called recent developments “a potentially historic and pivotal moment in the Middle East — one that could move us toward a better future for Israelis and Palestinians.”

    However, “There are unprecedented challenges in the region, but today is a day of hope and a day to focus on the necessity for the work to come.”

    Tarin said he believes the road to peace is more straightforward.

    “If the occupation leaves, and life is made a little bit more sustainable for the Palestinian people to live side by side with the Israelis, then I think there’s room for lasting peace,” Tarin said. “But, if this peace deal’s just another way to continue the occupation, there’s no road.”

    Ronkin was asked whether each side would have to make sacrifices to reach a lasting peace.

    “Look, peace is always a matter of compromise, and we’re not there yet.”

    “Palestinians also have the right to self-determination and sovereignty, in some way,” Ronkin said. “The idea is, we’ve got to figure out how to do it.”

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