The group’s report said children are exposed to air pollution levels that put their developing lungs and long-term health at risk.

While air quality has improved in some ways since last year, the report found that dangerous levels of ozone smog and fine particle pollution are still making kids sick and can lead to chronic conditions. The American Lung Association said children are especially vulnerable because they breathe more air for their body size and spend more time outdoors.

鈥淭he air pollution is causing kids to have asthma attacks, contributing to chronic health conditions, and making people who work outdoors sick,鈥� Aleks Casper, the association鈥檚 advocacy director, said in a news release.

The annual report looked at three key measures from 2022 to 2024: ozone, daily spikes in fine particle pollution and year-round averages of fine particle pollution.

The D.C. region remains among the 50 worst areas in the country for ozone smog, which is produced when pollutants from tailpipes, factories and other sources mix with sunlight.

The area got an F grade and ranked 49th worst for ozone, based on an average of 5.8 鈥渦nhealthy鈥� days each year in Baltimore County, Maryland. That鈥檚 better than last year鈥檚 36th-worst ranking and 7.5 unhealthy days, according to the report.

Fine particle pollution, which comes from things such as wildfires, diesel engines and wood-burning stoves, also dropped slightly. The region got a D grade and ranked 60th worst in the nation for daily spikes, with Frederick County, Virginia, and the District averaging 3.2 unhealthy days per year. Last year, the region had 3.7 such days and an F.

For year-round particle pollution, the worst county in the region 鈥� Berkeley County, West Virginia 鈥� earned a passing grade and met federal standards. The metro area鈥檚 national ranking for this category stayed the same as last year at 66th worst.

Air pollution can trigger asthma attacks and contribute to heart attacks, strokes, preterm births and even cognitive issues later in older adults, the American Lung Association said. Fine particles can also cause lung cancer.

Things parents can do to keep children breathing healthy air

Information from the report and other tools can help parents make decisions to reduce the amount of pollution children breathe.

“We make decisions about, do we open windows that day, or do we keep them closed,” Casper said. “I know there are a lot of families who make decisions about what their children can and can’t do on those days,” when air quality is unhealthy.

Using data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and local partners, the website 聽enables users to enter their city or ZIP code, and access the official U.S. Air Quality Index to communicate whether air is healthy or unhealthy in a given location.

“Then you can make those decisions about if you open windows or play outside today,” Casper said.

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Katelin Akens’ mother dropped her off at the Spotsylvania County home of her former stepfather James Branton on Dec. 5, 2015. Branton had agreed to give Akens, then 19, a ride to catch her flight leaving from Reagan National Airport to her home in Arizona.

Akens’ plane ticket was never used, the Spotsylvania County Sheriff’s Office said. Her suitcase turned up two days later on the side of River Road with most of the contents missing.

Branton, 46, pleaded not guilty, and was ordered held after a Tuesday bond hearing. He was charged on April 10 with multiple sex offense charges, which allegedly occurred while Akens, her younger sister and her mother lived with Branton from 2006 through 2011.

In describing why the charges were filed now, Spotsylvania County Commonwealth’s Attorney Ryan Mehaffey told the judge that recently-learned evidence demonstrated “the potential motive of Mr. Branton to kill Miss Akens.鈥�

This was the first time prosecutors have verbalized in court and in court filings that they believe that Akens is dead.

鈥滽atelin was afraid of Branton when she was alive,鈥� Mehaffey told Circuit Court Judge Ricardo Rigual.

Sheriff鈥檚 investigators and prosecutors have not revealed any evidence to suggest that Akens is dead. Several times last week, crime scene technicians searched Branton鈥檚 home on a secluded, wooded property on Oak Crest Drive in Partlow, using front loaders and other heavy equipment.

Mehaffey told the judge Tuesday how Akens鈥� sister described the spankings she received from Branton. Mehaffey said at the time, “She didn鈥檛 recognize the behavior as abusive 鈥� she saw it as normal 鈥� from when she was 6 to 11.”

But Mehaffey said, Katelin, who was older, 鈥渃ried out for help鈥� from a neighbor, who reported the incident to Child Protective Services.

No charges were filed against Branton at the time. 鈥淩ecently, he confirmed he was investigated by CPS, and that he pulled down the pants and spanked鈥� the girls, Mehaffey said.

Before Akens disappeared, she confided to her partner that she 鈥渨as molested鈥� by Branton.

In arguing that Branton be held without bond, Mehaffey introduced evidence of notes scrawled on napkins and sticky notes that were found near Branton鈥檚 computer and in the car he used for making deliveries late at night.

鈥淥ne said, 鈥榖ig boobs, and small kids,鈥� another said 鈥�2 small kids, small boobs,鈥欌�� and a third said 鈥渂londe, 2 small kids,鈥欌�� Mehaffey said. 鈥淗e was describing the people he was delivering packages to in the middle of the night.鈥�

Armed with a search warrant, investigators found a lock-picking set, a passport and a gun in Branton鈥檚 home.

鈥橬ot charged with any crime鈥� related to disappearance

Branton鈥檚 defense attorney, John Spencer, told the judge that his client has no felony record and hasn鈥檛 interacted with any witnesses in the case for the past 10 years.

鈥淐PS interviewed all the people involved and cleared my client,鈥� while Akens, her mother and sister continued to live with Branton.

Spencer said that Branton admitted spanking the girls鈥� bare bottoms, but that there was 鈥渘o lascivious intent.鈥�

鈥漀ow the prosecution is trying to bootstrap my client,鈥� Spencer said, adding that it was a stretch to allege that Branton killed Akens. “He was the last person to see her. He鈥檚 not charged with any crime. He鈥檚 been cooperative. There鈥檚 no evidence that he used the firearm in this case.”

While Spencer described the scribbled notes prosecutors introduced as “disturbing and weird,” he suggested that his client be given an ankle bracelet or be placed under house arrest.

“He鈥檒l give up his passport 鈥� he deserves a bond,” Spencer said.

But Rigual, the judge, said Branton 鈥減oses an unreasonable danger to society 鈥� request for bail denied.鈥� Trial is set to begin July 24.

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Spring is good for your brain, according to Benjamin Katz, associate professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Science at Virginia Tech.

Physical activity that gets your heart pumping, including jogging, cycling and swimming, is probably the best activity for brain health at any age, Katz said.

“When springtime comes, you have warmer weather, and we just enjoy that by itself,” Katz said. “But you have more opportunities to get cardiovascular exercise outside, and that can lead to numerous benefits in your brain, and also things like attention are actually impacted by that.”

Katz said there are both direct and indirect ways that spending time in nature can help cognitive functioning.

“There’s research that suggests just spending time around trees and green spaces actually doesn’t just improve mood, but also can improve things like attention and help with cognition,” he said.

Seeing neighbors in their gardens, while you’re working on yours, also provides brain-boosting benefits.

“Gardening, which a lot of people start doing in spring, is both cognitively engaging, and oftentimes is a pretty good workout,” Katz said. “It’s the fresh air, the sunlight 鈥� all of these things that seem to have an affect on mood but also seem to improve things like attention.”

Quieter activities, including birdwatching, can challenge your mind and encourage social interaction, Katz said.

He said there’s evidence that just looking at trees out the window, or in a photo or picture, can be helpful.

“Although, obviously, you don’t have the opportunities for exercise and social interaction the same way,” he said.

Spending a couple hours a week 鈥� a bit less than 20 minutes per day 鈥� can benefit your physical and cognitive health.

“If you can spend some active time outside with friends, or doing cognitively-engaging activities or getting some exercise, that’s even better,” he said.

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The Loudoun County Board of Supervisors is set to vote Tuesday on a major redesign of the intersection, which is an entry point to the South Riding development and adjacent to two shopping centers.

The plan under consideration, , would replace the four-way intersection with a 鈥淪ingle Point Urban Interchange,鈥� or SPUI. In this setup, drivers on Route 50 would travel over a new bridge, while people turning onto or off Route 50 would exit and travel underneath.

The new design is meant to separate high-speed traffic from drivers making turns, according to the agenda staff report.

County inspections have determined “the at-grade intersection of these roadways is operating at a failing level of service during all peak periods,” according to the report.

Plans to deal with the intersection have changed over the years. In 2016, the board endorsed a full cloverleaf design to replace the intersection.

However, changes in nearby development, along with updates to the nearby Dulles International Airport鈥檚 master plan, make the cloverleaf design less practical, county staff wrote. The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority supports the new Single Point Urban Interchange approach, according to the board.

The proposal also calls for a new 10-foot-wide path for pedestrians and bikes on the west side of Loudoun County Parkway between Riding Center Drive and Arcola Mills Drive.

County documents said construction would require some land acquisition, but the new layout should reduce the amount needed compared to earlier designs.

The project budget is about $299 million, which covers planning, design, land and construction costs, according to board documents.

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, released Thursday, shows 31% of the region in severe drought, with the rest experiencing moderate drought. River flow at Little Falls is close to the lowest on record for this time of year.

Michael Nardolilli, executive director of the Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin, said the river is 鈥渁t its lowest point that it鈥檚 ever been for this particular date,鈥� based on more than 130 years of data.

For people in the D.C. area, water supplies remain adequate, but there is a growing possibility that back-up reservoirs will be tapped this summer or fall. , released earlier this week, found an above-normal chance of those releases for 2026.

The region’s three major water companies 鈥� D.C. Water, WSSC Water and Fairfax Water 鈥� share access to three reservoirs.

The closest is Little Seneca Reservoir in Black Hill Regional Park in Montgomery County, Maryland. Water released from there would take about one day to reach downstream intakes for the three water companies and be processed as drinking water.

Miles upstream, Jennings Randolph Lake, along the border of Maryland and West Virginia, and Savage River Reservoir in northwest Maryland can both be used.

“It’s been over 10 years since we asked the Army Corps of Engineers to release water from the reservoirs on the Potomac River,” Nardolilli said.

The last releases took place during droughts from 1999 to 2002 and in 2010.

鈥淭he likelihood of releases from the backup reservoirs is increasing,鈥� he said.

According to an April 1 update, the region received 37.6 inches of rain over the past year 鈥� about 2.2 inches below normal. According to , streamflow and groundwater levels are also below average.

While some rain is expected in the coming weeks, “As hot temperatures increase, so does evaporation and use of the river by plant life and trees,” which can put more strain on the region鈥檚 water supply, according to Nardolilli.

Another new factor is the growing presence of large data centers in the region, which now add 鈥渁n additional drain on resources,鈥� Nardolilli said.

Right now, the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments lists drought condition in D.C. region as normal. But Nardolilli said when the regional Drought Coordination Technical Committee meets in June, he expects the group may recommend a drought watch, which would come with increased calls for residents to conserve water.

Some surrounding areas, including parts of Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia within the Potomac River basin, are already experiencing significant drought, according to ICPRB.

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As D.C. officials consider what comes next, the District Department of Transportation on Wednesday released that are further along in deployment.

The findings go beyond safety, looking closely at how driverless technology is reshaping local workforces, public services and equity.

The research conducted by Kimley-Horn and Associates found that in cities where AVs are already operating, traditional driving jobs have not disappeared. But as the technology advances, cities might need to invest in workforce retraining.

The report concludes that delivery trucks operating in dense, unpredictable urban environments 鈥� with double鈥憄arked cars, cyclists, pedestrians and complex curb regulations 鈥� will likely require human drivers or on鈥慴oard operators for the foreseeable future.

Beyond drivers, the report outlines a number of indirect workforce impacts that could ripple through cities as AV use expands.

Because autonomous vehicles are programmed to follow traffic and parking laws, widespread adoption could mean fewer violations and less demand for traffic enforcement and parking tickets. Over time, that could affect both revenue streams and enforcement staffing levels.

Fewer crashes also could reduce the need for insurance adjusters, auto body repair technicians, emergency responders, hospital trauma services and personal injury attorneys. While those impacts would likely unfold gradually, DDOT’s report notes they should be part of long鈥憈erm workforce planning.

The report also highlights potential benefits, particularly for residents who do not drive.

Autonomous delivery services, it said, could help address food deserts by expanding access to groceries and essentials in neighborhoods underserved by traditional retail. Enhanced autonomous transit could improve job access for people who struggle to reach work due to unreliable or infrequent public transportation.

If paired with policies that prioritize equitable deployment and worker retraining, DDOT said AVs could support more skilled career pathways, strengthen public transit and improve mobility for non鈥慸rivers.

AV testing already underway in D.C.

Under current District law, autonomous vehicle testing is allowed, but all vehicles must have an operator seated behind the wheel who can immediately take over if necessary.

Since 2018, testing activity has included both sustained and short鈥憈erm operations. Argo AI and Ford conducted tests from 2018 through 2022. Optimus Ride provided food delivery and limited passenger service in the Navy Yard area in 2020 and 2021.

More recently, Cruise, Nuro, Waymo and Zoox have all collected data or conducted sustained testing. Waymo returned in 2025 for expanded citywide testing and signed an intent to move toward commercial service when regulations allow.

Public transit has also entered the equation. Starting in 2025, companies Beep and Adastec have partnered with the U.S. Department of Transportation to test an autonomous bus in the District.

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While President Donald Trump’s proposal for a new arch in the nation’s capital received a key approval from the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts on Thursday, a gathering outside the hearing on the project protested the plan.

During the presentation, approximately 150 people, many in costume, protested outside the National Building Museum, where the hearing took place.

“This arch will dwarf everything around it 鈥� it will be more than twice the height of the Lincoln Memorial,” said one protester, during a news conference, set up across F Street. “It will block the view from Arlington cemetery, across the bridge, to the Lincoln Memorial.”

The proposed 250-foot tall arch would be built at the end of the Memorial Bridge, right across the Potomac River from the Lincoln Memorial. The arch would feature a statue of a Lady Liberty-like figure, flanked by two eagles and four lions at its base.

The seven-member Commission of Fine Arts, all Trump appointees, approved the concept design of the arch Thursday.

Another protester called the arch a vanity project.

“If this ridiculous ‘Arc de Trump’ ever gets built, whose name do you think will be on it?” he asked. “He’s going to slap his name on it the moment he gets the chance to, because that’s what he does with everything.”

Citing the Kennedy Center, he said, “Donald Trump’s desperate need to remake Washington, D.C., and this country in his image is hurting everyone.”

Despite the vote of approval by the Commission of Fine Arts, the protesters encouraged each other to continue challenging the project, which is still subject to a review of an updated design of the arch before a final vote.

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The Vax Act, signed Tuesday by Gov. Wes Moore, authorizes Maryland’s health secretary to set recommendations for immunizations, screenings and preventive services. It also requires insurance companies to cover vaccines endorsed by the state.

The legislation comes after the CDC’s January decision to reduce the number of routine childhood vaccines from 17 to 11, and shift others to high-risk or case-by-case recommendations.

The governor’s office said the state will prioritize guidance from groups including the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Family Physicians, rather than from federal agencies.

“Maryland鈥檚 vaccine policy will be led by science 鈥� not internet conspiracy theories,” Gov. Moore said in a . “We will protect our people, no matter how they voted in the last election.”

Critics warn the law could generate confusion for parents seeking to make health care decisions for their children, and that advocacy groups should not be elevated to the level of federal agencies.

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A federal judge was scheduled to hear arguments on Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown’s motion to block renovation and construction of the building in Williamsport while the state’s is litigated.

ICE is spending , and according to the lawsuit, moved forward with the project without required federal environmental reviews.

In the motion for a preliminary injunction, the attorney general’s office said that unless the judge pauses construction, “Defendants will undoubtedly resume their breakneck efforts to renovate, construct, and operate their planned detention facility without due regard for its impact on public health and the environment.”

When the suit was filed in February, ICE planned a detention center that could hold up to 1,500 detainees. The motion said the center would overwhelm the sewage and water systems in the town of 2,000 residents.

The warehouse currently receives drinking water from the City of Hagerstown via a two-inch domestic service line and has an approved allocation of 800 gallons per day.

“A detention facility providing 24/7 occupancy for up to 1,500 people is likely to need around 187,500 gallons per day of drinking water,” the motion said.

The warehouse is also served by an 8-inch sewer main.

“Once the facility becomes operational, sewage backups are likely both at the facility and throughout the area,” Brown said in the filing.

The state said operation of ICE’s planned detention facility “will also create a high likelihood of infectious disease outbreaks, harming the health of individuals at the facility and the surrounding community and undermining the overall state of public health in Maryland.”

In its response to the request for a preliminary injunction, the Trump administration said it had done an environmental analysis, and that the facility would initially accommodate up to 542 detainees.

“No off-site sewer upgrades or new sewer connections are anticipated for the facility,” according to the administration’s filing, which said any environmental impact from operating the center would be minimal.

The Trump administration also argued “the public interest and balance of the equities weigh in favor of the facility because of the compelling and critical national security interest in enforcement of immigration law.”

The administration said Maryland has failed “its burden to demonstrate that the facility will result in irreparable harm to its interests,” which is a requirement for a judge to grant a preliminary injunction before trial.

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The timing couldn’t be better for the sister and husband of Fairfax County firefighter Nicole Mittendorff, who took her own life a decade ago.

“This week marks 10 years since we realized that Nicole was missing, when she didn’t show up for work,” Jennifer Clardy Chalmers, Mittendorff’s sister, said. “A week later, we found her in Shenandoah National Park.”

Mittendorff鈥檚 body was found April 21, 2016, after an intense search in Shenandoah National Park, eight days after she was last heard from.

“It’s hard to believe it’s been 10 years,” Nicole’s husband, Steve Mittendorff, said. “Time’s deceptive, and in some regard, it feels like it was yesterday, and in other ways, it feels like a lifetime ago.”

Speaking to 草莓传媒 on Tuesday morning, Chalmers and Steve expressed relief that Spanberger approved the bill to abolish the common law crime of suicide, even though there has never been a statutorily prescribed punishment.

“Suicide will no longer be a criminal act in Virginia,” Chalmers said. “It will go into effect in July of next year.”

The bill requires “the Bureau of Insurance of the State Corporation Commission to review the effect and implication of abolishing the common-law crime of suicide on insurance throughout the Commonwealth and submit its findings and any recommendations by November 1, 2026, to the Chairs of the House and Senate Committees for Courts of Justice.”

‘Removes the sting of surviving suicide’

Chalmers said England decriminalized suicide in 1961, “so, we’re literally decades and decades beyond that.”

Previously, bills to decriminalize suicide in Virginia have failed.

“In 2018 鈥� I visited the General Assembly a number of times and testified before the subcommittees in person 鈥� and we continued that in a virtual manner, advocating for the various bills that had been put on by a number of individuals to have this abolished,” Steve said. “There were some years we would get extremely close, and get excited, only for it to later fall on deaf ears.”

Chalmers recalled, “After my sister died, people actually told me that she was a criminal, that she had broken the law 鈥� God’s law and man’s law.”

But in practice, there was no penalty.

“How can you penalize someone who’s dead?” Chalmers asked. “There was the possibility of penalties if you survived an attempt, which is not something you always want to hear.”

“I think society as a whole has come to understand that an individual who attempts to take their own life by suicide is suffering a mental health crisis, and they need more help than they need prosecution under the courts,” Steve said.

Chalmers said decriminalizing suicide “removes, for me personally, that extra sting of surviving my sister’s loss by suicide.”

Steve agreed.

“I think all of us who have been impacted by the loss of a loved one from suicide should consider this to be a victory,” he said.

Grateful appreciation, remembering Nicole

Ten years later, Steve and Chalmers said they often encounter people who remind them of Nicole.

“The biggest one being Jennifer’s daughter,” Steve said, referring to his niece. “She was so young.”

“She was 16 months old,” Chalmers said. “She knew Nicole.”

While Steve and Chalmers have vivid memories of Nicole, he said his niece “doesn’t really have any recollection of her.”

Yet, Steve and Chalmers said they see a lot of uncanny similarities.

“I see things come out at certain times,” Steve said. “And as she continues to get older, I see even more of that resemblance.”

Chalmers said her parents recently finalized聽聽at the Shenandoah National Park Trust, to thank those who contributed to efforts to find Nicole.

“It supports those who supported us during that time, so it supports the search and rescue teams that work in Shenandoah,” Chalmers said. “We’re very grateful that we were able to find her; we have that that a lot of people don’t have.”

The fund provides immediate, flexible funding for everything from lifesaving equipment to small essentials that can prevent emergencies in the backcountry.

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Jacob Bogatin was arrested on Oct. 28, 2025, by the Loudoun County Sheriff鈥檚 Office a few days after the fire on the 20000 block of Riptide Square.

Fire and sheriff’s investigators said he purposely set the fire, which burned two townhomes and damaged a third. The body of 36-year-old Madelaine Samantha Akers was found during the investigation.

According to the charging documents, Bogatin filed an insurance claim the day after the fire for more than twice what was owed on the recently foreclosed home. He was also identified as a suspect by surveillance footage and a bomb-sniffing dog. A bottle of a flammable liquid and a grill lighter were found in his vehicle, prosecutors said.

Bogatin also faces charges in a federal fraud case.

Federal prosecutors in Pennsylvania say Bogatin repeatedly filed false and misleading applications for a COVID pandemic program that provided low-rate emergency business loans in amounts up to $500,000. In March, he was charged with four counts of theft of government money.

And in 2002, Bogatin and three other men were indicted in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on charges including mail fraud, money laundering, and racketeer influenced and corrupt organization conspiracy counts, which are often used in organized crime prosecutions.

The case never went to trial because Bogatin’s three co-defendants fled. They remain fugitives to this day.

One co-defendant, Semion Mogilevich, was 聽as “a transnational organized crime boss operating from Russia” and other countries.

After the most recent Pennsylvania charges were filed, Loudoun County prosecutor Bob Anderson and Sheriff Mike Chapman coordinated with federal law enforcement officials to ensure that Bogatin will remain in the custody of the Loudoun County detention center.

“Any potential future transfer to federal custody will be temporary and of limited duration, and will not interfere with the charges Bogatin faces in Loudoun for the death of Madelaine S. Akers,” according to an April 1 statement from Anderson鈥檚 office.

First-degree murder is a Class 2 felony in Virginia, punishable by a mandatory minimum of 20 years to a maximum of life in prison.

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The search for evidence related to the 2015 disappearance of Katelin Akens continued Monday at the Spotsylvania County, Virginia, home of her former stepfather.

James Robert Branton was arrested Friday on multiple sex offense charges and is being held without bond.

Since Friday, Virginia State Police and Spotsylvania Sheriff鈥檚 Office investigators have been searching the secluded, wooded property on Oak Crest Drive in Partlow, Virginia, using front loaders and other heavy equipment.

Law enforcement sources tell 草莓传媒 that the house, hidden from the main road by trees, is where Akens was last seen Dec. 5, 2015.

Akens, who was 19 years old at the time, was set to fly to Arizona that day. A family member dropped Akens off at the house with the understanding that Branton would give Akens a ride to Springfield Mall, where she would take the Metro to Reagan National Airport.

According to a charging document filed April 10, Spotsylvania County investigators recently learned that Branton began sexually abusing Akens in 2006, when she was 10 years old. Akens, her sister and her mother moved in with Branton around that time, at his home on Saddle Court in Spotsylvania County.

Investigators believe the abuse continued until Akens鈥� mother and the children moved out of the home.

Shortly after her disappearance, Akens鈥� luggage was found in a drainage ditch on River Road in Spotsylvania County, near the Fredericksburg city limits.

Missing from the luggage were some clothes, cash and Akens鈥� cellphone, which investigators said hadn鈥檛 been turned on since she was last seen. In addition, there was no evidence of digital activity on any of Akens鈥� accounts after she was dropped off at her former stepfather鈥檚 home.

Law enforcement sources said Branton has not cooperated in the search for Akens in the years since her disappearance.

He faces two counts each of child cruelty, indecent exposure of child, custodial indecent liberties, and aggravated sexual battery, and is being held without bond.

If convicted, each count of aggravated sexual battery in Virginia carries a maximum prison term of 20 years, up to $100,000 in fines and mandatory registration on the Virginia Sex Offender Registry.

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Bowser presented her proposal to the D.C. Council in a presentation at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library on Friday morning.

“We all have be clear-headed about where we are, and what it will take to keep growing,” Bowser said. “We also have to dispel this notion that the District is broke 鈥� You can’t have $2 billion in the bank and be broke.”

D.C.’s cash reserves have increased 35% to 66 days, since FY 2015.

Bowser said her budget prioritizes public education, public safety, preserving core services, protecting health care for D.C. residents and growing the economy.

Bowser, City Administrator Kevin Donahue and Budget Director Jenny Reed described some of the major reductions required to allow the District to continue to grow.

“The first difficult choice that we had to make was remove funding for future pay increases,” Reed said.

The mayor’s budget would remove $127 million in funding set-asides for future collective bargaining agreements and non-union pay increases.

The District’s universal paid leave program will be scaled back by $95 million. While employees will still be able to file prenatal and parental leave claims for the birth of a child, the city won’t accept new medical leave claims during the coming year.

One of the largest investments in the mayor’s budget is $350 million over six years to keep fire trucks and ambulances modern and functional.

Approximately $320 million of transportation improvements are planned around the RFK Campus, “to improve access for pedestrians, cyclists and drivers,” Reed said.

“We want to make it easier and less expensive to do business in D.C.,” Donahue said. “So the budget will include lowering certificate of occupancy fees.”

One suggestion from the mayor that has failed in previous fiscal years, Donahue said, is the push “to legislatively require all District agencies to have employees in office, four days a week. This helps with those first-floor retail (businesses) that really rely on people coming into the city.”

“And, it also reflects that we have very expensive leases,” Donahue said.

With the Trump administration’s mass firings of federal employees, combined with attempts to offload federal buildings,

“If we want to continue to grow D.C., we really need to redevelop these federal properties,” Reed said.

She noted there are already plans to create mixed-use neighborhoods in Southwest D.C., with the goal of connecting the District’s cultural and entertainment core from Gallery Place and Chinatown to the Wharf.

“What this budget includes is a 20-year tax abatement for federal properties to encourage redevelopment with the proceeds going into a Downtown revitalization fund,” Reed said.

Find the full FY27 budget presentation at .

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Initially charged with 13 crimes, Israel Flores Ortiz was found guilty of nine counts of misdemeanor assault and battery, acquitted of three charges, and one case was dismissed Thursday.

The girls who were touched inappropriately told their stories to the judge in Fairfax County Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court.

Prosecutors played surveillance video of the incidents. Flores Ortiz’s attorney argued the crimes alleged weren’t visible, and that crowded hallways led to accidental touching.

However, prosecutors said Flores Ortiz had a pattern of intentional behavior that stretched over several days.

Sentencing is scheduled for April 21 鈥� the maximum penalty for each count is six months in jail. Flores Ortiz remains in custody.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, in social media posts, has said Flores Ortiz has been in the country illegally from El Salvador since 2024, and that if he is released, “ICE stands ready to take him into custody and deport” him.

Last month, Fairfax County Public Schools Superintendent Michelle Reid announced the school system had hired a law firm 鈥渢o establish a clear understanding of what occurred, when it occurred, and confirm that all policies, procedures, and regulations were properly followed.鈥�

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Matthew was transferred on March 6 from Red Onion State Prison, in Pound, Virginia, to Keen Mountain Correctional Center, in Oakwood, Virginia, according to the Virginia Department of Corrections’ online inmate locator.

Red Onion is classified as a Security Level 6 facility 鈥� the “supermax” prison is the Commonwealth’s most secure facility. Keen Mountain Correctional Center is a Level 4, maximum-security prison.

Contacted 草莓传媒, Kyle Gibson, the chief communications officer for Virginia’s Department of Corrections, confirmed the transfer: “The facility meets the inmate’s security needs, along with meeting the safety and security of our corrections team and the incarcerated population.”

Gil Harrington, whose daughter Morgan was killed by Matthew, tells 草莓传媒 she was notified by the corrections department digitally and by mail about the transfer, “but I don’t know the rationale about how these decisions are made.”

Harrington and her husband Dan founded the nonprofit to promote personal safety after their daughter’s murder.

“I don’t give Jesse Matthew much of my headspace,” Harrington said. “I will say it gave me some disquiet, to think it might be the beginning of plans to say he’s rehabilitated.”

Harrington said she doesn’t think Matthew, who is now 44, can be rehabilitated.

“He’s still young enough to hurt people,” Harrington said. “With someone serving seven life sentences, I don’t think that would even be in the starting blocks for something like a work release program 鈥� I would certainly hope not.”

Life in prison, but different prisons

Just over 10 years ago, on March 2, 2016, Matthew pleaded guilty in Albemarle County to Graham’s and Harrington’s deaths, and was sentenced to four life sentences.

At the time he entered his plea in Charlottesville, Matthew was already serving three life sentences for the 2005 rape and attempted murder of a woman in Fairfax County. Matthew was convicted and sentenced in that case in 2015.

In 2019,聽Matthew was transferred from the 鈥渟upermax鈥� Red Onion prison to Sussex I State Prison to receive cancer treatment, but has been at Red Onion for more than the past five years.

Asked whether Matthew’s transfer was related to his health, Gibson didn’t specify: “Each incarcerated individual in VADOC custody receives quality routine and urgent health care. Services include chronic care visits and other specialist appointments.”

Contacted 草莓传媒, Matthew’s attorney, Douglas Ramseur told 草莓传媒, “I hadn’t heard about it until you called. I don’t know what facilitated it.”

In a 2024 interview, Ramseur described Matthew’s conditions at Red Onion: “They have been keeping him in pretty isolated quarters out there, segregation for the whole time that鈥檚 he鈥檚 been there, except for a brief time when he was moved out, because he was being treated for some health issues.”

Upon hearing about Matthew’s transfer, Ramseur said, “I’m pleased to hear that he’s being allowed to move down a level” of security.

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