Patients across the D.C and Baltimore area have no shortage of highly rated hospitals close to home, according to the latest U.S. 草莓传媒 & World Report rankings.

A dozen hospitals in the D.C. area earned the magazine’s Best Regional Hospital recognition, while The Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore again landed among the nation’s elite medical centers.

Johns Hopkins made U.S. 草莓传媒’ Honor Roll, which recognizes the nation’s top 20 hospitals overall. The Baltimore hospital was nationally ranked in 14 specialties, including No. 1 in obstetrics and gynecology and No. 3 in ophthalmology.

This year’s rankings put greater emphasis on patient outcomes, including survival rates, readmissions and complications, U.S. 草莓传媒 senior health data analyst Chelsey Wen told 草莓传媒. The shift helped more smaller hospitals earn recognition.

“This year the number of hospitals with less than 200 beds has doubled,” Wen said.

In the D.C. region, MedStar Washington Hospital Center ranked No. 1, followed by Inova Fairfax Hospital at No. 2 and VHC Health at No. 3. George Washington University Hospital and Inova Alexandria Hospital tied for No. 4. Other hospitals recognized as Best Regional Hospitals were MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, Mary Washington Hospital, Inova Loudoun Hospital, Inova Fair Oaks Hospital, Johns Hopkins Medicine-Sibley Memorial Hospital and Reston Hospital Center.

Wen said the rankings reflect the overall strength of healthcare in the region.

“It looks like D.C. also has some really high-resource hospitals that are high-referral centers as well,” she said.

Several area hospitals also earned national recognition in specialty areas.

MedStar Washington Hospital Center was nationally ranked in cardiology, heart and vascular surgery and obstetrics and gynecology.

Inova Fairfax Hospital was nationally ranked in obstetrics and gynecology, MedStar Georgetown University Hospital was nationally ranked for cancer care, and MedStar National Rehabilitation Hospital was nationally ranked in rehabilitation.

New this year are regional specialty rankings in cancer, cardiology, heart and vascular surgery, orthopedics and rehabilitation. U.S. 草莓传媒 said the rankings are intended to help patients compare options for complex care closer to home.

For patients looking at , Wen said national rankings are only part of the picture.

“Even if a hospital isn’t nationally ranked, is not No. 1 or No. 5 in the country, there are still a lot of really great options,” she said.

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Instead, the Department of Transportation intends to pursue a new public-private partnership rather than move forward with a federally approved expansion plan approved under the Biden administration.

The announcement last week comes just months after Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced $466 million for structural repairs, concourse expansion, security enhancements and other improvements at the station.

Now, the department is setting aside another $24 million to help develop a new vision for Union Station’s future through a public-private partnership.

鈥淥verhauling the historic Washington Union Station is a pivotal part of President Trump鈥檚 plan to make D.C. beautiful and safe. This is the gateway to our nation鈥檚 capital, it鈥檚 time its infrastructure reflect that,鈥� Duffy said in a news release last week.

The roughly $8.8 billion plan approved under the Biden administration had been years in the making and received final federal approval in 2024. It included bringing a new train hall, expanded tracks and platforms, a new bus terminal and other upgrades designed to accommodate future growth in rail travel. It also promised to increase the station’s passenger capacity significantly.

A spokesperson for the D.C. Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning & Economic Development told 草莓传媒, “Union Station is beautiful and deserves investment to increase capacity, improve safety, and be a great American regional transportation center and asset to the nation. This project has been a longtime priority because our world-class city deserves a train station of the same standard.”

Duffy said the new path forward would ensure long-term profitability for 鈥渢his gorgeous transportation monument鈥� while creating a public-private partnership to deliver upgrades and improve the passenger experience.

What’s still unclear is what a replacement plan will look like, how much it will cost, and whether it will deliver the same rail capacity envisioned under the discarded proposal.

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More than 35 years after the first Gulf War, veterans who served in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm are about to get a place of their own on the National Mall.

The National Desert Storm Memorial, now about 90% complete, is scheduled to be dedicated Oct. 24. The memorial honors the nearly 700,000 Americans who served during the 1990-91 war with Iraq and sits near Constitution Avenue and 23rd Street NW.

Skip Graffam, design partner at OLIN and the National Desert Storm Memorial’s lead landscape architect, said one of the main goals was to create a place veterans could connect with.

“I hope first and foremost they feel like after all this time they have a spot on the mall that they feel is theirs,” Graffam said.

Visitors will descend into a circular memorial surrounded by sweeping granite walls designed to resemble desert dunes. Images from the war are carved into the stone, with stealth aircraft and other scenes appearing to emerge from the sand.

At the center sits a massive coalition shield engraved with the names of countries that joined the effort to liberate Kuwait from invading Iraq.

“This was a shared effort,” Graffam said. “Everyone was in this together, kind of creating that shield for Kuwait,” Graffam said.

The shield will eventually serve as the centerpiece of a fountain. Graffam said water will emerge from beneath it and flow through channels across the memorial.

“The water is a bonus, and it’s meant to activate and make this feel like a really kind of beautiful, peaceful oasis in the center,” Graffam said.

Protective coverings conceal a Saker falcon, the national bird of Kuwait, and a bald eagle representing the United States. They will be revealed when the memorial opens.

“The idea that they’re flying in relation to each other, but the Kuwait Sacred Falcon is flying off on its own eventually. It’s been liberated,” Graffam said.

For Scott Stump, founder and president and CEO of the National Desert Storm Memorial Association and a Desert Storm veteran, the memorial represents the culmination of more than 15 years of work.

“It dawned on me at the 20th anniversary back in 2010. I decided that something needed to be done; that this was too important,” Stump said.

The memorial is expected to cost more than $40 million. Stump said more than $25 million came from the State of Kuwait, the project’s largest donor.

Stump said he hopes the memorial ensures those who served, and those who died, are remembered.

“They’re not going to be forgotten. That’s a common theme that I always hear. They’re not going to be forgotten,” Stump said.

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“Kids don’t know what they don’t know, and so they may think their vision is completely normal because they don’t know what normal is,” said Dr. Teri Geist, president of the American Optometric Association.

The group said nearly 75% of children’s vision problems are missed during school and pediatrician vision screenings. One reason, Geist said, is that screenings often aren’t comprehensive enough.

“A lot of times they’ll check for far away vision issues. And so much of what kids do in school is up close vision,” Geist said.

She said comprehensive eye exams look beyond distance vision to check eye health, focusing ability and other issues that can affect a child’s ability to learn.

Geist said increased screen time is among the factors contributing to a rise in nearsightedness among children.

“We are seeing a huge increase in nearsightedness than other generations,” she said.

She said increasing rates of nearsightedness are concerning because they can raise the risk of glaucoma, retinal detachment and other eye diseases later in life. Children with a parent who is nearsighted also face a higher risk.

She said parents and teachers should watch for children who struggle in class, avoid schoolwork or have trouble staying focused. Geist said teachers are often the first to spot vision problems because they spend so much time watching children perform close-up work.

“I think when, again, that child that may not be able to see well gets fidgety in their seat or avoids doing classwork or maybe not doing well academically, those are the things that you look for,” she said.

Other signs are children rubbing their eyes a lot and complaining of headaches.

While Geist said not every child with ADHD has a vision problem, some children being evaluated for attention issues should also get a comprehensive eye exam to rule out vision concerns.

“I never want to say that every ADHD kid has vision issues, but I do think there is some correlation there with kids that I think they should have an eye exam to rule that out,” she said.

And even when a screening identifies a problem, Geist said more than 60% of children who fail a screening don’t receive follow-up care.

“I think the biggest misconception is that they’re going to complain. And they’re going to tell someone that they can’t see very well, and that’s just not true,” she said.

The American Optometric Association recommends comprehensive eye exams beginning at 6 months old, again before kindergarten and then regularly throughout a child’s school years.

Geist said a comprehensive eye exam should be as much a part of back-to-school preparation as buying school supplies.

“It’s just part of getting ready, the school readiness, and having that comprehensive exam is just hugely important for their overall well-being and success,” she said.

Geist said technology has benefits, but she recommends limiting screen time for young children. She said children under 5 should avoid devices when possible and that all kids should spend more time outdoors, ideally about two hours a day.

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The first IndyCar race in D.C. will take over streets around the National Mall on Aug. 22 and 23, bringing an expected 140,000 spectators a day. But the setup and breakdown for the race will cause road closures and parking restrictions well before and after the event.

“It’s an exciting opportunity to showcase our city to a global audience,” Mayor Muriel Bowser said during a briefing Wednesday.

Road closures are already starting

The biggest impact for many people will come before race weekend.

Parking lanes, curb lanes and partial travel lanes are already being affected by race build-out activities. Additional restrictions begin Aug. 1 and continue expanding through Aug. 14 as construction ramps up around the National Mall.

Restrictions include portions of Pennsylvania Avenue, Constitution Avenue, Independence Avenue, Maryland Avenue and several streets near the Capitol and Smithsonian museums. Some overnight closures are also planned as crews continue building the course.

Getting the streets race ready

Since D.C. hasn’t seen a race like this, city streets need to be prepped and that involves a lot more than just putting up fencing and grandstands.

Roads are already being marked along the race route, grandstands are beginning to rise and crews are inspecting hundreds of features built into the roadway.

“Every manhole cover has to be welded down,” Race Chairman and Penske President Bud Denker said.

Denker said crews have identified roughly 220 maintenance hole covers along the course and are making adjustments to dozens of utility access points before race weekend.

“There are about 49 that we’ll put some silicone on and smooth them out,” he said.

The reason is simple.

“Our race cars will suck the manhole covers off their places if they’re not,” Denker said.

Denker said simulations show some cars could approach 185 miles an hour on Pennsylvania Avenue during the race.

As for concerns about damage to city streets, Denker said IndyCars weigh about 1,700 pounds and that organizers would be responsible for any repairs.

“We’re responsible for fixing your roads, and after the race as well,” he said.

Take Metro if you’re going

One message came up repeatedly during the briefing: Don’t expect to find parking downtown or near the National Mall.

Denker urged race fans to leave their cars at home and .

WMATA is planning additional service and staffing for race weekend, and riders can use stations including Smithsonian, Federal Triangle, Archives, Federal Center SW and L’Enfant Plaza to access the race area. Bus riders should also expect detours around the course.

Security will be hard to miss

Spectators can expect airport-style screening before entering the event.

“You’re going to see a very high level of uniformed presence throughout the city and around this event,” Secret Service Deputy Director Matt Quinn said.

Ahead of the event, which will get global attention, federal partners, including the FBI and Secret Service, said there are currently no credible threats connected to the race.

Quinn also had a warning for anyone thinking about flying a drone near the course.

“If you think that flying a drone to get a great view at this event, I would think twice,” he said.

Doing so to get a better view would result in hefty fines and jail time he said.

What if bad weather moves in?

Rain won’t necessarily stop the race.

“If it’s raining, we race in the rain,” Denker said.

Lightning is a different story. Organizers said 10 safe havens have been identified around the course, including several Smithsonian museums and other federal buildings where people could shelter if severe weather moves into the area.

Quinn said planners reviewed what happened during previous weather evacuations and made changes ahead of the Grand Prix.

“We’ve added a committee to think about crowd movements and how we can do it probably more efficiently than we did last time,” Quinn said.

For traffic maps, road closure updates and transportation information, the city encourages residents to visit the city’s website or sign up for alerts by texting DC250 to 888-777.

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Fort Dupont Ice Arena is back open after a nearly $39 million renovation, but some longtime users say getting on the ice has become more difficult under the facility’s new operating model.

The rink, the District’s only indoor ice arena, reopened in December following years of construction and is now operated by D.C. Parks and Recreation, which took over management of the facility after Friends of Fort Dupont Ice Arena had operated it for decades.

While the nonprofit no longer operates the rink, Executive Director Margo Przyby said it still runs youth skating and hockey programs and has been unable to secure enough ice time at Fort Dupont to bring those programs back to the facility.

“We haven’t been able to secure any ice this summer, which is what led us back to Capital Clubhouse and the fall is still up in the air,” Przyby said.

That rink is in Waldorf, Maryland, which is an hour away from their old home and she said busing students from the city to Waldorf costs about $3,000 a month.

D.C. Titans Hockey Club President Michele Vaughn said the organization has been unable to secure the regular ice time needed to plan an upcoming season.

“Without Fort Dupont reopening its doors to us, we have not been able to secure regular weekly ice for both practices and games for the upcoming season,” Vaughn said.

Vaughn said limits on advance scheduling make it difficult for youth hockey organizations to lock in the weekly ice time needed to organize practices, games and league play months in advance.

Parents say the situation is creating additional burdens for families.

Ward 7 resident Lora Nunn said many children who want to continue skating or playing hockey now have to travel outside the District.

草莓传媒/Mike Murillo

草莓传媒/Mike Murillo

草莓传媒/Mike Murillo

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“My son has friends who still participate in hockey because they can afford the $2,000 to enroll in a program that’s an hour away. They have an au pair who can drive them when their parents have to work. Like the kids in this in this community don’t have any other option,” Nunn said.

Nunn also argued that reduced access to recurring ice time and shorter operating hours have made it harder for families to take part in the skating and hockey opportunities that once existed at Fort Dupont. She said the rink’s previous schedule, which included earlier hours and Sunday operations, created more opportunities for kids and teams to get on the ice.

“The kids in this community don’t have any other option but this,” she said. “In the nation’s capital, we’ve created a situation where we’ve tossed out this great opportunity that’s been built over decades for people in this community.”

Sixteen-year-old skater Aryana Haileab said she expected programs would return to normal once renovations were complete.

Instead, she said, skaters have been forced to find ice time elsewhere.

“It was heartbreaking to find out,” Haileab said. “It was like a surprise, honestly. So it’s just been a lot harder to find ice time and to get to practice my skills.”

Haileab said trips to other rinks can take 30 minutes to an hour, compared with the roughly 15-minute drive her family made to Fort Dupont.

That concerns Raymond Norman, who grew up across the street from the rink and later worked there for 16 years as a facility manager. Norman said he worries the current operating model is limiting opportunities that once connected neighborhood children to skating, hockey and even jobs.

“It gave us an opportunity to do other things other than hang out on the corners and sell drugs or play football, basketball. It gave us an opportunity to explore something different,” Norman said.

In a statement to 草莓传媒, D.C. Department of Parks and Recreation聽Director Thennie Freeman said the facility is “operating exactly as intended” and provides “equitable access, strong community programming, and a model that puts District residents first.”

DPR said the arena has welcomed more than 10,000 guests since reopening in December, served an additional 3,500 DCPS fifth graders through learn-to-skate programming and is operating at full capacity.

The agency also said ice time is allocated through a priority system that gives preference to DPR-sponsored activities, schools and nonprofit organizations serving District residents.

The agency also said it does not currently plan to offer season-long ice allocations and that current operating hours are part of a pilot program that will be reevaluated at the end of the fiscal year. DPR said the current model is intended to maximize access and community programming.

However, for families and organizations that grew up around Fort Dupont, the issue remains access to the ice.

Some say children are now traveling to rinks in Maryland and Virginia, simply to continue skating and playing hockey, despite living a short distance from the District’s only indoor ice arena.

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In a letter to Council Chairman Phil Mendelson, Bowser said council members restored funding for programs such as childcare subsidies and legal services that she’d cut to help close a budget gap of more than $1 billion.

The mayor argued the council is using one-time money to pay for ongoing programs, creating a predicament for the next mayor and council.

“I have warned that choosing to fund recurring programs with one-time money is setting up the next Mayor and Council with an $837 million fiscal cliff,” she wrote.

Bowser defended her own proposal, writing that it closed the gap through “real, difficult decisions,” including spending reductions, budget savings and the use of prior-year surplus funds.

“It is Council’s prerogative, of course, to either solve tough budget problems or simply kick the can down the road,” she stated.

The disagreement comes after the council restored hundreds of millions of dollars for programs that had been reduced in the mayor’s budget proposal, including childcare, legal services and other programs.

But Bowser, who’s term will end in January as she opted against running for reelection, stopped short of a veto. By returning the budget unsigned, she’s putting her objections on the record while allowing the spending plan to continue moving forward.

The budget now heads into congressional review, where the split between the mayor and council could attract extra attention, but Bowser’s decision does not prevent it from becoming law.

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That moratorium ends Tuesday, July 28, but Pepco said customers with past-due balances shouldn’t expect to lose service right away.

“You’re not going to see where customers’ service is interrupted if they have a past due balance. We would still go through our normal 45-day process of notifying customers,” Valencia McClure, Pepco’s senior vice president of governmental, regulatory and external affairs, said.

McClure said the utility typically makes about five attempts to contact customers through phone calls, emails and notices before disconnecting service. She said customers struggling to pay their bills should reach out to the utility before it gets to that point.

“We always encourage our customers to call us prior to being disconnected,” McClure told 草莓传媒.

The moratorium was put in place by the D.C. Council days after the D.C. Court of Appeals in early March threw out Pepco’s approved multiyear rate plan and sent it back for further review.

McClure stressed that the moratorium was not bill forgiveness. Customers continued to receive bills during the 90-day period and still owe that money.

She also said soaring supply costs are a big reason customers have seen their bills spike.

“When you think about just three years ago, where Pepco paid for customers’ power at $29 per day; now that is $333 per day. Same power, but almost 1,000% increase that we are seeing in supply,” she said.

According to McClure, about 60 cents of every dollar on a customer’s bill goes toward supply costs. Pepco pays those costs to obtain electricity and passes them on to customers.

Pepco said customers behind on their bills may qualify for payment plans and assistance programs, including budget billing, bill discounts and debt-relief programs. Some customers may also qualify for an arrearage management program that can provide up to $300 a month in bill forgiveness.

“It’s just very critical that if a customer or family is challenged to make their payment, to call us so we are able to support them any way that we’re able to do so,” McClure said.

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The National Guard said the move is meant to provide more stable housing for troops 鈥� who are slated to be stationed in the nation’s capital until 2029 鈥� while also saving money.

“This contract delivers stable, secure housing for our soldiers and Airmen while achieving significant cost savings for the government,” Monica Williams, executive director of acquisitions and the head of contracting activity for the National Guard Bureau, said

The contract’s scale raises questions about whether it could affect housing availability.

George Mason University regional economist Terry Clower said that is not likely.

“Two-thousand units in the grand scheme of our housing market is really pretty much a drop in the bucket,” Clower said.

He said the impact could vary by location, but if the units are spread across multiple buildings and neighborhoods, there may not be a significant impact on the broader housing market.

“It’s not going to move the markets much one way or the other. Though for an individual landlord, it might be a good thing,” Clower said.

D.C. Policy Center Executive Director Yesim Sayin agreed, noting the District has more than 250,000 rental units.

“If you had asked me this question five years ago, I would have been worried about the pressure on the housing market. But today, I welcome it,” she said.

Sayin said rising vacancies and a softer demand for housing mean the market is better positioned to absorb the additional renters than it would have been several years ago. She noted that of D.C.’s more than 250,000 rental units, the 2,000 units covered by the contract amount to a small percentage.

“Just to put this number in scale, it’s less than 1%. So it’s a relatively small number of units,” Sayin said.

She also said vacancy rates have increased across a range of properties, including some which are typically always filled.

“We have seen vacancy rates increase across all types of buildings, not just very new buildings with high rents, but also rent-controlled buildings that are typically filled to the rim because the rents are more favorable,” Sayin said.

National Guard troops had been staying in hotels across the region before the Placemakr contract. The company operates properties in D.C.’s Navy Yard, Buzzard Point, Dupont Circle and West End neighborhoods, as well as in Arlington’s Ballston neighborhood. According to its , it offers fully furnished apartments for extended and short-term stays.

草莓传媒 has reached out to Placemakr for comment.聽

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More than two dozen farms in Montgomery County, Maryland, are opening their doors and gates to the public this weekend.

The annual gives visitors a chance to explore 26 farms across a section of the county zoned primarily for agriculture.

Comus Farm in Dickerson is primarily a wedding venue. But during the July 25-26 farm tour, they will offer wagon rides, alpaca feedings, pony rides and visits with the farm’s cows.

Visitors can also buy baked goods and other treats while spending a relaxing day on the farm.

“I think it’s one of the only times that we are open to the public during the year,” owner Lauren Huyser said.

鈥淭his is a great way to get the family to a farm,鈥� said Mike Scheffel, director of Montgomery County’s Office of Agriculture.

He said the participating farms range from pick-your-own operations to distilleries to equestrian training, and many offer a chance to learn more about where food comes from.

鈥淪eeing how farming is done, really helps folks see why farmers do what they do, charge the prices that they do grow the crops that they do and offer the opportunities that they do,鈥� Scheffel said.

The farms are located throughout the county’s 93,000-acre Agricultural Reserve, which was created to preserve Montgomery County’s agricultural heritage by limiting development and keeping land in farming.

The reserve’s farms are also capitalizing on an agritourism boom as more people look for ways to get out of the city and experience life on the farm.

Another stop on the weekend tour is Butler’s Orchard, the decades-old pick-your-own farm in Germantown. It will offer flowers, blueberries, blackberries and herbs as well as activities such as tractor rides and veggie races.

“People can bounce around between all the different farms and really experience agriculture in Montgomery County,” said Tyler Butler, the orchard’s general manager. “It’s highlighting agriculture, and people don’t realize there’s so many great farms in Montgomery County, right under your nose.”

The farm tours take place Saturday, July 25 and Sunday, July 25. Hours vary. Montgomery County has . Visitors can also download a Farm Tour digital passport through the county’s .

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U.S. Park Police said officers were conducting commercial vehicle enforcement when three people got out of a vehicle and ran away. ICE arrested two of them, who are from Mexico and lack permanent legal status, DHS said, and the third individual swam across the Potomac River and got away.

DHS told 草莓传媒 in a statement the two individuals will remain in ICE custody “pending their removal from the United States.”

It’s not clear why the individuals were initially stopped.

While the search was underway, people could be seen on a Beltway overpass holding signs warning drivers about ICE activity on Clara Barton Parkway.

Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich criticized the operation and said the county has limited ability to intervene in ICE enforcement actions.

Elrich said the county can observe ICE operations and support families affected by them, but local police would not step in to stop an ICE operation.

鈥淲e鈥檝e tried to be careful to not mislead people into thinking that we鈥檝e got the ability to protect them from ICE, because we don鈥檛,鈥� Elrich said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 want people thinking that, you know, the police are going to run in and break up an ICE operation, because they鈥檙e not.鈥�

草莓传媒’s Thomas Robertson contributed to this report.

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The tribute, according to Bennett’s widow Nadia, comes through a community event designed to reflect the way he lived his life, which included giving back, bringing people together and making those around him smile.

The D.C. Council proclaimed July 21, what would have been his 33rd birthday, as Terry Bennett Day. This weekend, family, friends and community members will mark that recognition with an event at the First District Police Station in the聽community room on Saturday from 12:30 p.m. to 5 p.m.

For Nadia, the event is both a celebration and part of a continuing effort to keep his memory alive for their young son.

鈥淭o know that Terry left such a big legacy not for me, for our son, I can’t even put into words how grateful and emotional it makes me feel,鈥� Nadia said.

She said Terry was a 鈥渃ommunity man鈥� who worked as a D.C. police officer while also coaching football, a sport he loved. The event will include flag football, moon bounces, snow cones and activities for children.

鈥淗e was a joyous person to be around,” Nadia said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 how we decided on the idea of what Terry Bennett Day would look like, and it’s literally just giving back to the community a day full of celebration, almost like a family reunion in a sense.鈥�

She said the free event is open to the public and is meant to reflect the fun and playful side of her husband, who she said 鈥渢ruly loved to act like a kid at all times.鈥�

Nadia said the community support has helped her through the grieving process.

She said the memories of the night her husband was killed still come back in painful ways.

鈥淭raumatically, like we didn’t realize that would be the last night that we would all see him again,鈥� she said.

Nadia said the loss can still replay like a nightmare, but that pain has also pushed her to keep Terry鈥檚 legacy alive for their son and the community he loved.

鈥淭o know that in this healing process, I have people in my corner that are behind me and supporting me, and love Terry the way that I love him. It feels like I have one big hug around me,鈥� she said.

She has also been advocating for roadway safety changes since her husband was killed, including improvements to highway infrastructure and more training around disabled vehicle stops.

鈥淚 just don’t want my husband to be a statistic, and then you know this happens again, and then we’re back at square one. I want action this time,鈥� she said.

Nadia said her late husband鈥檚 career as an officer grew out of his desire to connect with the community where he was raised.

鈥淗e wanted to bridge that gap,鈥� she said. 鈥淗im being a coach by day and an officer by night was able to help him feel more welcome in the community and feel more open to talking to the kids.鈥�

When asked what Terry would think of a day dedicated to him, Nadia said she believes he would be surprised by the impact he made.

鈥淚 think he would say, 鈥楢ll this for me?鈥� I know he’s smiling. I know he’s smiling, and he’s just in shock that we went this big for him,鈥� she said.

For Nadia, the message of Terry Bennett Day is simply to remember the impact he made and to give back while thinking of him.

鈥淛ust because you came from Southeast, you came from a certain walk in life, doesn’t mean that you still can’t make an impact in the community that you were raised in or any community,鈥� she said.

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But Chevy Chase resident Sherry Kaiman said she used one of Metro’s shuttle buses after a recent medical appointment and was surprised to find that passengers had to climb steps to board.

“Did anyone think about people with some challenges?” Kaiman said.

Kaiman counts herself among them, as she recently underwent a spinal procedure and has had knee surgery in the past.

“I was able to get on there, but it was a challenge,” she said.

What stood out to her, though, was watching another rider struggle.

“The person ahead of me had a cane and asked if there was any way that the bus could be lowered just a little bit, so that individual could navigate the step,” she told 草莓传媒.

According to Kaiman, the driver explained there was no way to lower a motor coach. A Metro employee at the stop offered to see whether a step stool was available, but the rider elected to call rideshare instead.

Metro’s Red Line construction project has shut down train service between North Bethesda and Friendship Heights through early September.

Shuttle buses are replacing trains while crews work on a new Bethesda station entrance connected to the Purple Line, rehabilitate the platform at Grosvenor-Strathmore and complete other infrastructure work.

Unlike Metro’s “kneeling” buses, which can bring the boarding platform closer to the curb, the contracted motor coaches sit much higher off the ground.

“I sent a note to Metro asking them why, for shuttle bus service, they’re not using the regular Metro buses that are easily accessible for people with a wheelchair, with a cane, with a walker, even for parents with little children,” Kaiman said.

In response to questions from 草莓传媒, Metro said the local and express shuttle bus routes need as many as 140 buses to provide weekday service that closely matches the rail line.

“We simply don’t have additional buses available in our fleet to support the planned work and deliver on existing (Metrobus) routes,” Metro said in a statement to 草莓传媒.

Metro also said shuttle operators received training on boarding and exiting procedures, and that planners considered accessibility when designing the service.

The agency said shuttle stop locations were selected “with the intention of making it as easy as possible for customers with varying accessibility needs to be able to board and disembark.”

Kaiman said she also asked Metro whether it tested the service before launch.

“I’m sure they had rehearsals of what these shuttle buses were going to do. Did anyone think about people with some challenges?” she said.

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Two St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office deputies are being credited with finding a missing 9-year-old boy with autism.

The child, who is nonverbal, was reported missing on Friday. Later that day, Deputies Madison DeVries and Matthew Camp spotted him in the water as they searched alongside a river in the Hollywood, Maryland, area.

Body camera footage released by the sheriff’s office shows Camp quickly entering the water and swimming to the child.

Sheriff’s office spokesperson ALisa Casas said Camp’s actions went beyond training.

“He made a split-second decision to take off his equipment, to take his wallet out of his pocket. He jumped in the water with his hat on, and I don’t think that that’s training. I think that that is intrinsically who he is as a human being,” Casas said.

After Camp brought the boy to shore, both deputies comforted the child. The boy’s parents said he could become frightened easily.

The child was evaluated by medical personnel and reunited with his family.

Casas spoke with the boy’s mother Monday.

“She is really still processing all that happened, but was incredibly grateful for the way that the situation turned out,” Casas said.

Sheriff Steve Hall said St. Mary’s County deputies receive training about autism and other intellectual disabilities that include ways to communicate calmly, avoid escalating situations and better connect with people who might be overwhelmed or scared.

Hall said he later called both deputies to thank them for their work. He also emphasized that the rescue was the result of a coordinated effort involving everyone from the initial 911 caller to dispatchers and first responders on the ground.

“From the phone call and the gathering of the information, deciding what assets need to go when and how fast, to us getting there and getting into a general area, and just you know being in the right place at the right time is not an accident,鈥� he said.

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A soldier wounded during a May 23 shootout near the White House is taking the first legal step toward suing the Secret Service as he seeks answers and accountability.

Benjamin Del Real, a 25-year-old who holds a rank of private first class, was visiting D.C. from Kansas with his sister, Sara Del Real, and their father over Memorial Day weekend when a man opened fire near a Secret Service checkpoint by the White House.

The gunman, identified as 21-year-old Nasire Best, of Maryland, was killed during the exchange聽of gunfire.

Del Real, according to his attorneys, was about 20 yards away from the gunman when he was struck in the abdomen during the exchange of gunfire.

Chicago-based Attorney Joseph Murphy said his firm believes Secret Service gunfire struck Del Real, based on information from a source who has seen surveillance video. Murphy said Del Real lost parts of his colon and small intestine and faces more surgeries.

“The degree of uncertainty that accompanies being seriously wounded presents its own unique challenges because the road to recovery will be long and strenuous,” Del Real said.

His sister said the shooting left their family shaken and looking for answers.

“The moment that I saw Ben bleeding was undoubtedly the scariest moment of my life,” Sara Del Real said. “I’m grateful beyond words that Ben survived what could have been the last moments of his life, but our family deserves answers.”

Murphy said Secret Service agents should have better accounted for innocent bystanders nearby and been “more precise” and “more surgical” before returning fire.

“With elite training comes an equally high level of responsibility to protect the public,” Murphy said.

Murphy said the first legal step toward suing the agency comes after nearly two months of unanswered questions.

The firm has filed a notice of a personal injury claim, a required step before bringing a lawsuit against a federal agency.

“We don’t even have a single answer from them yet as to, ‘Hey, it was our fault,'” Murphy said. “All we have is ‘We don’t know. We’ll let you know at some point.'”

Asked what they are seeking, Murphy said compensation for Del Real is part of it, but the firm also wants to prevent something similar from happening again.

“Number one is we want to recover on behalf of our client,” said Murphy, who added that secondarily, “we want to ensure this never happens again.”

Del Real said he is also concerned about what the injuries could mean for his Army career.

“I’m without a doubt concerned,” Del Real said. “I enlisted a year and a half ago, and it’s been one of the greatest journeys that I’ve taken thus far in my life, and I am concerned with the ability to be able to perform the job that I signed up to do at this time.”

The Secret Service told 草莓传媒, “The U.S. Secret Service does not comment on pending litigation.”

The agency also said it is not leading the investigation and referred additional questions to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for D.C. 草莓传媒 reached out to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for D.C. for comment.

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