Smartphones played key roles in two recent child abuse cases that shocked the region: Deonte Carraway and Carlos Bell, teaching assistants who victimized dozens of the students under their charge at schools in Prince George’s and Charles counties, respectively.

A ĂŰĚŇĘÓƵapp investigation exposed a chronic backlog of digital evidence across Maryland — a tsunami of data waiting to be scrutinized by highly specialized technicians. Last summer, the backlog at the state police’s digital crime lab was 10 months.

Charles Tucker, an attorney representing one of Carlos Bell’s victims, said he’s elated to hear that more funding is now available to help police scrutinize the digital evidence faster.

“Unfortunately for the victims in the Bell case, it’s too late for them,” Tucker said.

Evidence on Bell’s cellphone languished for months, unseen by police, caught up in that backlog. When a state police analyst finally began to comb through the phone’s files, investigators in Charles County had enough evidence to quickly arrest Bell. But six months had passed since the phone was seized, and during that time, Bell victimized another eight children.

Bell was charged in Charles County with abusing or exploiting 42 children. Last month, he pleaded guilty to more than two dozen charges. He faces a lifetime behind bars when he is sentenced this spring.

“There’s a lot of other individuals out there like Bell waiting to be discovered and found, if only we can get through this backlog,” Tucker said.

New grant funding should help reduce the backlog, said Lt. Matthew Kail, who oversees the state police digital crime lab as the technical investigations section commander.

“The state police is putting more resources toward this,” Kail said.

“We are doing a lot of different things right now to move forward in this area — to hopefully get our backlog down and examine evidence in a more timely manner,” he said.

The agency plans to use roughly $771,000 in grant funds to pay for new equipment, including specialized computers with exceptional processing power and software — and the extra equipment will allow analysts to process twice as much evidence, Kail said.

The backlog, Kail said, is currently less than 10 months. But state police officials said that right now, it could take anywhere from four to 10 months to analyze the evidence in pending cases, depending on the type of case and the amount of data involved.

Kail said they also plan to hire a public affairs officer, whose primary job would be to help educate children and parents about the dangers that lurk on the internet and through social media.

The new funding comes from Alicia’s Law. Passed in 2016, the Maryland law provides $2 million in grant funding annually for police departments to investigate and prevent child sexual abuse.

The money became available in the fall for the first time.

The remaining Alicia’s Law funding was divvied up among 18 other government agencies, non-profits and police agencies, including the Charles County Sheriff’s Office, which received a $28,000 grant that will help cover overtime for investigators.

“We need to work these tips as quickly as possible.” said Capt. Stephen Salvas of the Charles County Sheriff’s Office. “When you’re working something and you get to the end of the shift, this is going to allow detectives to continue working these tips without having to pause and come in the following day.”

The Center for Children, a nonprofit that works with the victims of child abuse in Charles County, received almost $52,000. The money will pay for training and for developing strategies to assist in investigations and prosecutions related to crimes involving children and the internet.

“The rest of the funds will be used to train forensic interviewers, victim service staff, and mental health professionals on how to best serve child victims of indecent images and to provide victims and high-risk children with online safety education training,” said executive director Catherine Meyers.

Although the $2 million in funding is included in Gov. Larry Hogan’s budget proposal for next year, no bills have been filed that would increase the grant funding laid out in Alicia’s Law. Lawmakers still have some time, however, to file bills this session.

Waiting for action

Families whose lives have been hurt by Bell are looking to school officials to make changes that will ensure a healthy and safe learning environment; they’re also looking to state lawmakers to address the same issues statewide, said Tucker.

“There has to be some kind of action. The children need it. The families want it,” he said. “We’re just waiting for the legislators to do their jobs and craft something that make sense.”

So far this session, legislators in both the House and the Senate have filed multiple bills that would address child sexual abuse.

Cases like Carraway and Bell, and others in Montgomery County are fueling legislative momentum in Annapolis, said Del. Eric Luedtke, a Montgomery County Democrat who chairs the House Education Subcommittee.

“Those situations have pointed to flaws in how we prevent child abuse and how we deal with incidents of child abuse once they come to light. And I think that’s driving some of the reforms we’re seeing,” he said.

Pending legislation includes the following:

• Senate Bill 131 would mandate training for teachers, doctors and others who are required by law to report suspected child sexual abuse.
• Under Senate Bill 132, those mandatory reporters could face a misdemeanor charge for failing to report suspected abuse as required by law. Currently, Maryland has no penalty.
• House Bill 301 would allow evidence from a sex offender’s past victims to be given during criminal trials in order to demonstrate a pattern of abuse or assaults.
• House Bill 251 would require a school sex education curriculum to cover the concept of consent.

Many of the bills have been introduced in past years but failed to garner enough support to make it to the governor’s desk.

“Our state needs to step up and do more to protect our kids against abuse and neglect,” said Sen. Susan Lee, D-Montgomery County, who is sponsoring two of the bills.

“We’re just trying to help the children. We’re trying to protect them from some of these egregious acts, of those individuals who take advantage of them and abuse and neglect them.”

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None of the Congress members or their staff had serious injuries from the late-morning wreck in Crozet, according to a statement from the U.S. Department of Transportation.

The person who was killed was a passenger inside the truck; Albemarle County police have identified him as 28-year-old Christopher Foley of Louisa County. Another truck passenger was airlifted to the hospital with critical injuries, and the driver was taken by ground in serious condition, county police said.

A few Amtrak crew members and passengers were taken to the hospital with minor injuries, Amtrak spokeswoman Kimberly Woods said. Officials with the University of Virginia health system said that six injured people had been transported to its medical center, including one who was in critical condition. Four others were being evaluated and one had been released.

A team from the National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash and would spend several days at the site, spokesman Earl Weener said Wednesday night. That means checking the safety of the crossing and recovering the train’s data recorders.

When asked if the crash could have been a calculated move on GOP lawmakers, Weener said the NTSB was treating it as an accident and that any findings that would suggest otherwise would be handled by the proper authorities.

Rep. Jason Lewis’ staff said that the Minnesota congressman was taken to the hospital where he was found to have suffered a concussion. He was later released and continued on to the retreat.

And Rep. Chuck Fleischmann of Tennessee was also injured. The Republican said in a phone call from the scene, where he was being treated for his injuries, that he was on his way to the restroom when the crash occurred. He said he was thrown around upon impact and suffered neck, back and foot injuries.

Fleischmann said he was in a “bit of shock” and significant pain.

“We don’t have a full understanding yet as to what happened. But it was a train hitting a truck going at a pretty — pretty good speed,” President Donald Trump said in remarks at the Oval Office.

He spoke briefly with House Speaker Paul Ryan, who was on the train but was not among the injured.

“They’re doing pretty good,” Trump said of the lawmakers. “The train accident was a tough one.”

Many on the train were concerned about the people in the truck that was badly hit, and many went out to help, especially those with medical training.

“They went out to treat the gentleman from the truck. Unfortunately, one of those gentleman has passed away and they had to medevac the other gentleman out of this area because he was in such … such shape they had to get him to a hospital right away,” Rep. Don Donovan of New York told ABC News.

Photos shared on Twitter from the scene also show what appeared to be a mangled trash truck and trash littering the sides of the train tracks.

“Helped the two people in the garbage truck,” tweeted Rep. Roger Marshall, a doctor. “They are injured badly.”

The Kansas Republican was among the GOP members of Congress headed to the Greenbrier resort in White Sulfur Springs for a three-day issues retreat, featuring appearances by Trump and Vice President Mike Pence.

Oklahoma GOP Rep. Tom Cole said several GOP lawmakers who are doctors got off the train to assist, including Rep. Brad Wenstrup, R-Ohio, who was also at last June’s shooting of Republicans at a baseball practice in nearby Alexandria, Virginia, and treated some of the victims.

Rep. Bradley Byrne, R-Ala., tweeted: “The train carrying GOP members to our retreat had a collision, but Rebecca and I are both OK. Security and doctors on board are helping secure the scene and treat injuries.”

Other doctor-lawmakers who helped included Reps. Michael Burgess, R-Texas; Phil Roe, R-Tenn.; and Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La.

Donovan described the sudden stop that jolted the passengers.

“We certainly knew we hit something. We didn’t know what it was; the train hadn’t slowed down at all and it stopped at an amazingly quick time frame, so I think that’s why we all got jolted, not from the hit but from the train stopping so quickly,” he told ABC News.

Reporters, members of the lawmakers’ staffs, Capitol police and family members were among those on board.

By Wednesday afternoon, lawmakers had resumed their trip to the retreat by bus, The Associated Press reported.

Local lawmakers

Neither of Northern Virginia’s Republican Congress members, Barbara Comstock nor Rob Wittman, were on the train. Comstock said in a tweet that she was driving to West Virginia at the time of the wreck.

And Maryland’s lone Republican member of Congress, Rep. Andy Harris, said he too was not on board. “Praying for my colleagues and all involved in the train accident in West Virginia today,” he tweeted.

ĂŰĚŇĘÓƵapp’s Max Smith, Teta Alim and The Associated Press contributed to this story. 

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WASHINGTON — A 17-year-old boy is in custody for previously assaulting a Fairfax County girl whose body was found in a community park last week and police now consider the teen a person of interest in connection with the girl’s death.

The 17-year-old, whose name has not been released, faces a juvenile charge of felony assault. Although he is considered a person of interest, he has not been charged in connection with the death or disappearance of Jholie Moussa, said Major Richard Perez, major crimes commander for Fairfax County police.

The boy was taken into custody on Jan. 18, where he remains. Perez would not say when the 17-year-old hit Moussa. He said only that it was a previous incident that was never reported to police and was uncovered as they investigated Moussa’s disappearance.

Perez declined to describe the relationship between Moussa and the boy.

Moussa was last seen on Jan. 12. Her body was recovered on Friday from Woodlawn Park, less than a mile from her family’s home.

Investigators are still waiting for an autopsy report and don’t know how Moussa died. In the meantime, Perez said police are treating her death meantime as a homicide and continue to pursue all leads.

So far, those leads have taken investigators as far away as Philadelphia and Norfolk, said Lt. James Bacon.

“This case took a lot of turns with a lot of incoming information,” Bacon said. He said investigators continue to work through “an enormous amount of leads.”

Police said they searched local hangouts and the homes of Moussa’s friends as they began their investigation. Police had no reason to believe at that point that Moussa might have ben abducted, Bacon said.

But after several days, Moussa had “fallen off the electronic radar” — her social media posts had stopped and investigators upgraded her missing person status to endangered, Bacon said.

Leads ultimately took police to the park, which they searched twice before recovering Moussa’s remains, Perez said.

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D.C. police said the 17-year-old student, whose name has not been released, died Monday evening at the hospital. An autopsy is scheduled to determine how he died.

In a statement to ĂŰĚŇĘÓƵapp, police said they don’t know whether the attack is related to the student’s death.

The student was assaulted by two other individuals in “their” classroom at Ballou on Jan. 10. The student told police that he was hit in the face and body several times because he would not let the two assailants use his cellphone, according to a police report.

He also told police that he was sprayed with some kind of “perfume.”

The student made the police report the day after the attack. Nothing in the report suggests that he required medical attention nor does it detail the extent or nature of any injuries.

NBC Washington that the victim was a special needs student.

A D.C. Public Schools spokeswoman declined to comment and referred questions to police.

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser acknowledged the student’s death during a morning event with the Council but she declined to speak about what transpired at the school.

“We don’t know yet and are not prepared to talk about what if anything happened at the school,” Bowser said. “One of our students passes away — obviously we are concerned about that student, the student’s family and the larger school community.”

A report issued earlier this month found that teachers were pressured by Ballou’s principal and other administrators to pass students despite their grade or the number of unexcused absences. The same report found that many of its 2017 graduates missed too much school to qualify for graduation or relied too heavily on make-up courses.

A Districtwide investigation found similar problems at all but two D.C. high schools — as many as one-third of all D.C. graduates last year had excessive absences or had violated the District’s credit recovery policy.

ĂŰĚŇĘÓƵapp’s Kathy Stewart contributed to this report. 

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WASHINGTON — The remains of a Fairfax County teen who had been missing for two weeks were found in a park less than a mile from her home last week.

Fairfax County police said Monday that investigators have confirmed that the body recovered was Jholie Moussa, 16. She was last seen on Jan. 12 near her family’s home on Sonia Court.

Moussa was found covered in leaves and brush in a wooded area of Woodlawn Park in the Mount Vernon area of the county on Friday.

No cause of death has been released and autopsy results are pending, police said.

Police described the girl’s death as “an isolated incident” but said they continue to pursue all leads.

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WASHINGTON — New information led investigators to resume the search for 8-year-old Relisha Rudd Friday in the shadow of the D.C. homeless shelter where she lived before her disappearance almost four years ago.

D.C. police said that they searched the Anacostia River for evidence related to Relisha, who was last seen in March 2014, based on the fresh information.

They recovered no evidence however, police said

NBC Washington’s Mark Segraves was the first to report the search along the river across from the shelter. He told ĂŰĚŇĘÓƵapp that searchers used sonar, boats, divers and cadaver dogs to scour the shoreline and investigate a sewer outlet in the river plus another spot beneath a railroad bridge.

Past searches have focused parks north of the shelter along the river.

The search efforts began before dawn and wrapped up about lunchtime, Segraves said.

Investigators have long believed Rudd to be dead but her remains have never been found.

Police however found the remains of her suspected captor Kahlil Tatum, who worked as a janitor at the shelter, in Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens weeks after Relisha went missing.

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser announced this week that the troubled shelter would close this fall. Short-term housing facilities spread across the city will replace the crumbling structure that once served as a hospital.

Massive search along Anacostia river. Dive teams and cadaver dogs searching for Relisha Rudd

— Mark Segraves (@SegravesNBC4)

Stay with ĂŰĚŇĘÓƵapp for updates on this developing story.

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Three other teens also have been arrested for targeting cab drivers during the past week. All five have been charged as adults, according to Prince George’s County police.

The injured cab driver was shot multiple times and was in critical condition on Wednesday, police said.

Detectives believe the driver was lured to the 9000 block of Ballard Lane where Malik Samuels, 17, of Upper Marlboro, and Robert Walker, 17, of Greenbelt, approached the cab as it arrived about 2:30 a.m. Tuesday. They demanded money and shot the driver.

About two hours later, the two teens approached a second taxi driver in Largo, demanding money and the cab. The driver was not hurt but the pair drove off with the cab, police said.

On Monday, police arrested Christian Tejada, 18; Demonte Johnson, 16; and Jose Ponce-Coreas, 19, all of Beltsville. They each face various charges including robbery, armed robbery and assault.

The group stole a car from one cab driver, tried to steal a car from a Lyft driver and tried to rob a third driver, police said.

Investigators said the teens took rides with each of the drivers and demanded money or the vehicle once they arrived at their destination.

ĂŰĚŇĘÓƵapp’s Megan Cloherty contributed to this report. 

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Bijan Ghaisar, 25, of McLean, died nearly two weeks after that traffic stop in November from head injuries. He was shot three times by U.S. Park Police. Authorities have said that Ghaisar fled after being involved in a crash on the George Washington Parkway. The FBI is now investigating the shooting.

Fairfax County Police Chief Edwin Roessler noted that the video “does not provide all the answers,” but said that he released the video in an effort at transparency.

Park Police Chief Robert MacLean met with the Ghaisar family after the shooting to commit to an impartial investigation. In a statement, MacLean said that “I also recognize the desire for more information and details surrounding the investigation.”

Police around the country have come under fire over how and when officers use deadly force following a string of high-profile shootings of unarmed drivers. Ghaisar was unarmed.

The video shows police twice stopping the Jeep driven by Ghaisar and each time he drives off as officers approach his vehicle. During the third attempt to stop Ghaisar, officers can be seen with their guns drawn and pointed at the Jeep’s drivers side window.

Several shots can be heard as the vehicle once again starts to move. Then a pause, followed by several more shots and another pause. Two more shots ring out as the wheels on the Jeep once again begin moving.

The Jeep tips over into a ditch near a stop sign at the corner of Fort Hunt Road and Alexandria Avenue as the video ends.

Other vehicles could be seen driving by the stop as the shots rang out in a residential neighborhood not far from the parkway.

It was not clear at what point Ghaisar was struck.

Roessler has said that his agency played only a backup role in the chase.

Roessler in December had urged the FBI to release the video as soon as possible. But the FBI declined to as they were still investigating.

In a statement, Roy Austin, Jr. and Thomas Connolly, lawyers for the Ghaisar family, said that Ghaisar was threatened by “over-aggressive and out-of-control” police officers.

“No one was even close to being in harm’s way until a pair of U.S. Park Police officers repeatedly shot Bijan at close range as he sat, unarmed, in his Jeep on a residential street,” the statement said. They said that the family is grateful to Roessler for releasing the video.

Sharon Bulova, chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, supports the chief’s decision to release the video.

“The family and friends of Bijan Ghaisar, as well as the residents of Fairfax County, deserve to know what happened,” Bulova said in the statement.

ĂŰĚŇĘÓƵapp’s Neal Augenstein and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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That’s what the D.C. region’s leaders have been saying about the possibility that Amazon could locate its second headquarters here, bringing with it 50,000 high-paying jobs that could fuel the region’s economy for decades to come.

The possibility is intoxicating. But what if the online retail giant/tech juggernaut actually moved here to the nation’s capital — where housing costs are already high, and commuters suffer some of the nation’s worst congestion daily and have fled the troubled local transit system?

What could the region’s residents expect should Amazon locate here?

Not all 50,000 workers would move here at once, said Stephen Fuller, an economist at George Mason University. Amazon would likely ramp up its staffing a few thousand employees at a time.

That gradual phase-in — possibly over 10 to 15 years — would give local governments time to plan for more seats in classrooms, more housing, and changes to the transportation network, local leaders and planners said.

And not all of those workers would relocate here. Many of them already live and work in the D.C. region and would be snagged away from their existing employers for the chance to work for one of the fastest-growing companies in the world, Fuller said.

“We’re used to adding jobs in large numbers,” he said.

The region has added more jobs than what Amazon has proposed each of the last three years — 56,000 jobs were added to the regional economy in 2017 alone, Fuller said.

That fast growth in jobs has outpaced the housing market, leading to the region’s higher housing prices, Fuller said.

The arrival of Amazon would put pressure on the local housing market. And any pitch to Amazon should include how the region would address housing to ensure an adequate supply for decades to come, he said.

“Part of our proposal has to be how we are going to provide the capacity to guarantee the quality of life they want,” Fuller said. “They want to be in a vibrant community, a region that is going to be viable and attractive for their business for the long haul.”

Housing and schools

The good news is the region is already home to densely populated, walkable, transit-accessible neighborhoods that double as employment and entertainment centers, said Paul DesJardin, a community planning and services director with the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments. It’s the type of community that Amazon has suggested it is seeking.

Amazon’s vision for its ideal location fits in with the type of housing policy that planners like DesJardin have been pushing for since the late 1990s. He estimates that at least half, but possibly as much as two-thirds, of the region’s future growth will take place in such communities, he said.

These mixed-use communities can be found in places like Bethesda, NoMa, Reston Town Center and Tysons Corner, DesJardin said.

Still, all types of housing and communities would be needed to accommodate the roughly 150,000 people — including spouses and children — that Amazon might eventually draw to the region.

“There would be the need for housing, which is a challenge that we have been working on here at the Council of Governments for many years. We clearly recognize the need for housing at all price points — and not just at the right price point but in the right location,” DesJardin said.

Those future workers would also probably choose to live throughout the region — in addition to those who choose to live near Amazon offices, DesJardin said.

And their children, he said, would also attend schools spread across the region, making it easier for school systems to add seats for those extra students.

As many as 50,000 children could be added to the rosters of area schools, DesJardin said.

Metro and transportation

And then there is Metro.

“This whole thing isn’t going to work if Metro isn’t working,” said Anthony Williams, the former D.C. mayor who now leads the Federal City Council.

The civic group has advocated for Metro reforms, including shrinking its governing board and giving the transit system the ability to borrow money to pay for needed improvements.

“[Amazon] certainly gives this effort a sense of propulsion and urgency it didn’t have before, no question,” Williams said.

But landing a major corporation like an Amazon could also fuel long-range transportation projects like high-speed rail — which would help extend the reach of Amazon employment far beyond the D.C. area, Williams said.

Any changes to the region’s transportation networks would depend on the specific site where Amazon might choose to build. But Amazon has been clear that it expects that location to have transit service, said Tim Canan, who leads the Council of Governments’ data and research for transportation program.

The region will also have to build a transportation network to accommodate the needs of those new workers, regardless of their vehicle choice — bike, car, train or bus, Canan said.

Many of the locations pitched to Amazon are located along Metro lines, including the Shaw-Howard University neighborhood in D.C. and the Fairfax-Loudoun line in Northern Virginia. Montgomery County sites could potentially offer access to both Metro and the future Purple Line.

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WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump addressed thousands of protesters by video during the annual March for Life on the National Mall Friday.

“We are protecting the sanctity of life and the family as the foundation of our society,” Trump said, calling the marchers “a truly remarkable group.”

Trump becomes the first president to address the gathering by video in its 45-year history, organizers said. Last year, Vice President Mike Pence spoke in Trump’s absence.

“I think it’s very powerful and that speaks to what America is moving toward, hopefully,” said Olivia Samper, who came to the nation’s capital with a group from Florida State University.

Many of the marchers described Trump’s video address as the day’s highlight.

“I think it makes a huge statement as to what he believes and what he’s gonna work for,” said Johanna Hager of Newtown, Pennsylvania.

Participants gathered on the National Mall at 12th Street for an hourlong rally before marching up Constitution Avenue to the U.S. Supreme Court and Capitol.

“We’re here just to peacefully stand up for something believe in….. for those unborn children,” said Ben Peterson from Michigan.

More than 50,000 people were expected to take part in the event, marking the anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court ruling in Roe V. Wade, which legalized abortion.

“I’m hoping that this will help and turn this culture around to the right way,” said Terri Hardgrave from Annapolis, Maryland.

Counterprotesters were expected to greet the marchers outside the high court’s building. Abortion-rights leaders are expected to play major roles in many of the women’s marches also planned around the country this weekend. A March on the Polls is planned for Saturday at the Lincoln Memorial.

ĂŰĚŇĘÓƵapp/Mike Murillo

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Starting about noon, 17th Street will close between Constitution Avenue and H Street, according to D.C. police.

The closure will also affect traffic on cross streets along that corridor including: Pennsylvania Avenue plus G, F, and E streets NW.

The event includes a rally at the Lincoln Memorial from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. followed by the march to the park, which sits across from the White House.

A National Park Service permit was issued for a crowed of roughly 5,500 participants.

The closures are not expected to create major traffic delays, D.C. police said.

Similar events are planned in cities around the country. Last January, more than 500,000 people took part in the Women’s March on Washington.

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WASHINGTON — Leaders in D.C., Maryland and Northern Virginia cheered news Thursday that sites in the capital region landed on Amazon’s short list for its second headquarters.

As many as 50,000 high-paying jobs are at stake and the entire region stands to benefit, regardless which side of the Potomac Amazon would choose to locate. Atlanta, Dallas and Pittsburgh are among the other cities vying for the headquarters.

Amazon rejected proposals from Baltimore and Prince George’s County in Maryland plus Richmond and Hampton Roads in Virginia.

“Making this list reaffirms what we already knew going into the bid process,” D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said in a statement. “D.C. is no longer a one-company government town. We are a leader in innovation and tech, brimming with top talent and endless opportunity.”

D.C. submitted four possible locations in its pitch to Amazon, including sites already slated for redevelopment in Noma, near Nationals Park, near RFK Stadium plus sites in the Shaw neighborhood and on the adjacent Howard University campus.

Several sites in Northern Virginia were part of the state’s pitch to Amazon including one along the Fairfax-Loudoun county line.

Sharon Bulova, chair of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, said she is very excited that the region is still being considered.

“Fairfax and Loudoun counties are able to offer a great quality of life coupled with an innovative and business friendly culture for future Amazon corporate neighbors and employees,” Bulova’s statement reads.

“We couldn’t be prouder,” said Gov. Ralph Northam. He pledged to continue supporting the region’s communities as they work to convince Amazon to choose Virginia.

Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett declined to give specifics about what sites, or how much in incentives the county and state are offering. But he called it “an honor” for the county to have been selected for further discussions with Amazon.

“I believe our initial proposal made an extremely strong case for Montgomery County as a great place do business, and I look forward to working with Amazon to bring jobs and investment to the County,” Leggett said.

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan pledged to work with officials in Montgomery County to “ensure that we do everything possible to bring this project home.”

Maryland plans to offer a $5 billion incentive package that includes tax incentives plus road and transit improvements to help entice Amazon to move to the state, according to the governor’s office.

“This news is certainly welcome, but the real challenge lies ahead and Maryland is ready to meet it,” Hogan said in a statement.

Amazon has said that it would consider incentive packages as it decides where to build its offices. Access to transit and a major metropolitan area that can attract top technical talent are among the many factors the company has said it will consider.

More than 40,000 people are employed at Amazon’s flagship headquarters in Seattle, where the company plans to remain.

Now it gets real

Montgomery County Councilmember Hans Riemer said he was “elated” to hear that the county was still being considered. But now the real work begins. Negotiations, finalizing sites that would meet Amazon’s needs and planning for the possible wave of new residents will force the region to address housing, transportation, schools and other services.

“We know we’re negotiating with one of the best businesses in the world. So it’s going to be a very interesting conversation,” said Reimer.

Del. Bill Frick, the House majority leader and a candidate for Montgomery County executive, urged the region’s leaders to collaborate as they move forward in the selection process.

“The success of Montgomery County, like other area jurisdictions, is tied to the success of our region as a whole. The entire region wins when a large employer like Amazon comes to town,” Frick said in a statement. “Show Amazon — and the world — that the D.C. metro area, already teeming with exceptional residents and institutions, is a great place to thrive and build a business.”

War for talent

The capital region offers Amazon the chance to maintain a presence near federal leaders.

“Many of the policies that will affect Amazon in the future are being determined here,” said Arthur Dong, a professor at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business.

The availability of housing, coupled with the high number of college graduates and the selection of colleges and universities based here also make the region a compelling choice for Amazon, Dong said.

However, the chief factor for Amazon will likely be whether the company will be able to attract, and retain a talented workforce.

“It’s a war for talent,” he said.

Competitors like Walmart have poached Amazon staff and if the company wants to keep growing, it’ll need to keep those workers on the payroll, Dong said.

Amazon already maintains a sizable presence in the region.

Amazon Web Services, which serves as a cloud computing contractor for the federal government, is planning to open a corporate campus in Herndon. Amazon also operates fulfillment centers in Sterling and in Baltimore. CEO Jeff Bezos owns a home in the District’s Kalorama neighborhood and he is also the owner of The Washington Post.

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The Loudoun-Fairfax site would put Amazon in the heart of the largest data center market in the world, said Buddy Rizer, Loudoun County’s economic development director in a statement. “It will be more than fitting for an international e-commerce corporation of Amazon’s stature to locate its second headquarters here.”

As much as 70 percent of the world’s internet traffic flows through existing data centers in the county daily, according to Rizer’s office.

Northern Virginia was listed among the 20 locations selected by Amazon as the company decides where to build offices that could employ up to 50,000 workers. Montgomery County in Maryland and D.C. were also listed among those contenders. More than 200 communities across the country submitted proposals.

Until Thursday, Virginia officials however have been mum about what sites they would push for the online retail giant’s consideration. But in statements released addressing the news that Virginia would advance as part of the selection process, officials provided a few details about their proposals.

According to Loudoun County’s economic development office, the county teamed up with Fairfax County “to submit the largest non-developed site on Metro that checks all of the boxes that Amazon and other corporate users want and need.”

The Silver Line extension is currently under construction and will fill in the gap between Reston and Dulles International Airport with a few additional stops in Loudoun County.

“With our highly educated and talented workforce and a location close to Dulles International Airport and a new Silver Line train station, we hope we will have the opportunity to welcome Amazon HQ2 to Virginia,” said Sharon Bulova, who chairs the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, in a statement.

Two other Northern Virginia sites were submitted for consideration in Alexandria and Arlington County, according to Gov. Ralph Northam’s office.

State and local officials have not said what financial incentives they would offer the internet company, which already has a sizable presence in the region.

Amazon Web Services, which serves as cloud computing contractor for the federal government, plans to open a corporate campus in nearby Herndon. The company also runs a fulfillment center in Sterling.

D.C. has suggested four areas of the city to Amazon including properties where developments are already planned and others properties owned by the District. Montgomery County and Maryland officials haven’t said what specific areas of the county they are targeting.

However, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan plans to propose an incentive package of more than $5 billion to try to attract Amazon’s second headquarters to Montgomery County, The Associated Press reported.

Doug Mayer, the governor’s spokesman, said Thursday there will be multiple pieces of legislation introduced in the next several weeks in the Maryland General Assembly. He said they will include tax incentives, as well as transportation improvements for roads and transit.

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WASHINGTON — Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam struck an optimistic tone that he’ll be able to push through some key piece of his legislative agenda despite pushback from Republican lawmakers on some of his policies during his first week in office.

“We’re all here to do what’s in the best interests of Virginia. So, we’re going to get some good things done,” Northam told ĂŰĚŇĘÓƵapp on Wednesday.

The governor, who previously served in the Senate, said he has good working relationships with both Republican and Democratic lawmakers in the General Assembly and said he believes they’ll be able to work together.

Despite big election gains by Democrats in November, Republicans maintained a narrow control of both legislative chambers. They used that clout to squash several gun control bills just days after Northam’s inauguration.

“We have to remind our legislators that there was a mandate on Nov. 7. People spoke loudly and clearly and they want responsible gun ownership,” Northam said. “They also want health care for all Virginians. … The people spoke.”

Northam said discussions continue with lawmakers to come up with a plan to ensure access to quality, affordable health care. Democrats have long hoped to expand Virginia’s Medicaid program, but Republicans have repeatedly rejected such proposals.

“I’m optimistic,” he said. “We’re making good progress.”

Northam also weighed in on the looming government shutdown if members of Congress can’t reach a deal to fund the federal government by Friday night.

“It’s past time for our leaders in Washington to get their act together and avoid a government shutdown. It impacts us significantly.”

He urged Congress to do what Americans sent them there to do: pass a budget.

Northern Virginia’s suburbs are home to thousands of federal workers. But the state’s economy is dependent on federal spending — from military installations to federal contractors.

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The 14-year-old was gunned down outside a church in Anacostia Sunday evening as he walked home from a convenience store with two friends, officials said.

On Wednesday, D.C. leaders pleaded with residents of Anacostia to come forward with any information they might know about the shooting that killed the boy just a few blocks from his home.

Steven was shot multiple times in front of Garden Memorial Presbyterian Church. Witnesses have given police conflicting information about what happened and surveillance video did not provide detectives with any leads as to who might have pulled the trigger, said Police Chief Peter Newsham.

A silver or gray, older model Mercedes was seen leaving the area after the shooting. And Newsham wants to hear from anyone who may have seen that vehicle or who has surveillance video that might have captured the car as it drove away from the scene.

Police haven’t found any links to other recent shootings in the area, Newsham said.

One of those shootings was over a pair of shoes, said Ward 8 Councilmember Trayon White, who implored residents to speak out and stop the “senseless violence.”

“Bad things happen when good people do nothing. It’s imperative that the community step up because this could have been your child, it could have been my child,” White said.

White said that Steven was a loved young man, who played little league football and whose family is devastated by his death.

“This was not a troubled youth,” he said.

“The more people who stay silent and don’t do anything about the violence in our community — we’ll be here again and again.”

Two other young men were also killed this month, said D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser.

Even as White, Newsham and Bowser addressed reporters outside the church, four people were shot just a few blocks away.

The sirens of fire trucks and ambulances briefly silenced the District leaders as they waited for the emergency vehicles to pass.

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