Anthony Strong, 51, admitted last October that he killed his fiancee in November 2017 during an argument over money.

In court Wednesday, Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge David Boynton sentenced Strong to life in prison, but suspended all but 45 years. He also ordered Strong to serve five years of supervised probation if he does get released.

Strong slashed Chaunya M. Blackwell, 43, with a box cutter before he pressed his thumbs into her eyes as he strangled her, said Ramon Korionoff, a spokesman for state’s attorney John McCarthy. Then, after he saw one of her hands move, he held a pillow over her face to make sure she was dead.

Blackwell was a real estate agent, according to her LinkedIn page. Strong was a contractor who owned a construction business, Korionoff said.

“What is sad about this case is that they were fighting, on this particular evening, about the most common thing that couples fight about: money,” said McCarthy during a press conference after the sentencing.

Blackwell and Strong had been living together in a townhouse for about six months on Silver Spring’s Bradbury Manor Court before her death, McCarthy said. The couple had been dating for about three years.

After killing Blackwell, Strong called police and admitted to the crime. When police arrived, they found Strong standing in the driveway of their house, and he was arrested without incident, according to court documents.

Prosecutors said Blackwell was found in the bedroom, a pillow still over her face — the same pillow he used to try to smother her.

During interviews in police custody, Strong told investigators that he had killed Blackwell during a fight on the night of Nov. 6, 2017, Korionoff said. He told police that the argument began when he found out that she had spent money he had saved up for his business.

Assistant state’s attorney Ashley Inderfurth described Strong’s assault to the courtroom Wednesday. She called Blackwell’s eye injuries some of the worst police had ever seen.

Strong apologized at the sentencing, insisting he loved Blackwell, but that there were pressures and money troubles no one knew about.

Blackwell’s mother, Donna Wallington, told the judge, “She was my one and only child. She was a magnet who people were drawn to.”

Wallington said that she had Blackwell when she was young, and because of that, she said, “We grew up together. She was my best friend. We were inseparable.”

Blackwell’s grandmother, Viola Washington, told the judge, “She was just an angel of love.”

As Blackwell’s family members spoke, Strong stared straight ahead, sometimes sniffling but otherwise impassive. When it was his turn to address the court, he told Blackwell’s family, “I can’t cry right now, but I cry every night. I cry, cry, cry.”

He told the judge he was deeply remorseful. “I feel pain every day,” Strong said.

Boynton said the case was unusual in its brutality. He noted that it was clear there was trouble bubbling up in the relationship over money, but he told Strong many couples have money problems.

“What you don’t do under pressure is wrap your fingers around someone’s neck and choke the life out of them,” Boynton said.

At the press conference, McCarthy was surrounded by members of Blackwell’s family. The group included her mother, sister, grandmother and others.

Michelle Lee, Blackwell’s aunt, read a statement to the crowd. She said Blackwell was loved by her family and will be sorely missed.

Blackwell’s family members wore purple ribbons — the color for domestic violence awareness — and buttons with Blackwell’s photo in the center that read “Justice for Chaunya.”

“In her memory, we would like to remind you to pay attention to all women in your life who could potentially become victims of domestic violence,” Lee said. “Familiarize yourselves with the warning signs, and educate your mothers, daughters, nieces, granddaughters, friends and neighbors so this tragedy does not befall any other family.”

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Police confirmed that 20-year-old Riley Kuznia was shot at about 5 a.m. while on duty inside the barracks on Capitol Hill.

It was not a self-inflicted gunshot wound, spokesman Marine Gunnery Sgt. John Jackson confirmed to ĂŰĚŇĘÓƵapp. Police said it appeared that a gun accidentally discharged.

Markelle Kuznia, of Karlstad, Minnesota, told The Associated Press the Marine was her son. Kuznia said her son joined the Marines because “he felt it was his duty.”

Police said they are treating the fatal shooting as a death investigation, and added that there are no criminal charges being investigated at this point.

“The command’s priorities are to take care of the Marine’s family and friends,” said Col. Don Tomich, the barracks’ commanding officer, in . “We want to ensure these personnel are being provided for during this challenging time.”

The Marine Barracks was founded in 1801 and is the oldest active Marine Corps post. A Marine survived a self-inflicted gunshot wound at the compound in June. Another Marine was fatally shot in the head at the compound in 2013.

ĂŰĚŇĘÓƵapp’s Zeke Hartner and The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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The shooting took place after noon Tuesday near the corner of First and Kennedy streets Northwest, D.C. police Chief Peter Newsham said during a press conference New Year’s Day.

A preliminary investigation found that someone fired shots during a dispute between two groups, Newsham said. The man was shot in the head as he visited a local business. 

The man was conscious and breathing when he was taken to a hospital, and is now in critical condition, said D.C. Police spokeswoman Kristen Metzger in an interview with ĂŰĚŇĘÓƵapp. 

Police did not release further details on the victim.

Police are interviewing people of interest, he said. Not much is known about the male shooter, except that he was wearing a red jacket, Metzger said.

Detectives are seeking more information on the suspect and what happened, Newsham said. They will be in the area collecting surveillance footage to find out more about what happened. 

Those with information about what happened are .

Below is a map of the area where the shooting happened.

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The crash happened at 4:22 p.m. on St. Charles Parkway, just north of St. Marks Drive, according to a Charles County Sheriff’s Office release. The driver, 21-year-old Nadia Mourtaj, was headed northbound on St. Charles in a Mercury Milan sedan when the vehicle began to skid, left the roadway and struck a tree, according to the release. 

The driver was taken to Charles Regional Medical Center before she was moved to Washington Medical Center where she remains in critical condition.

Her sister, Zeyneb Mourtaj, 15, was sitting in the back seat at the time of the crash. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

The front seat passenger, and a relative of the Mourtajs, Meklit Teclehaimanot, 18, was taken to Prince George’s Hospital. She was treated and released.

All three are from Waldorf.

Charles County investigators are still looking into what caused the vehicle to leave the roadway.

Here is an approximate location of where the crash took place:

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The hope is that the lights will be on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.

Jenny Anzelmo-Sarles, a spokeswoman for the National Park Service, said NPS is working on a partnership with the National Park Foundation that would allow for NPS to get the lights repaired.

The National Park Foundation is providing materials and labor for the restoration, Anzelmo-Sarles said.

Some of the lights on the Colorado blue spruce are still damaged after a man climbed the tree and refused to come down for almost an hour Friday

Anzelmo-Sarles said that the government shutdown made it more difficult to repair the damaged sections.

The man, who has not been identified, climbed the tree near the White House at 5:45 p.m. Friday. He remained in the tree until two negotiators convinced him to come down at about 7 p.m, said U.S. Park Police Sgt. Eduardo Delgado.

The National Park Service said the man made it between 15 feet and 20 feet up the tree before climbing down on his own accord. No one was injured, but the man was taken to the hospital for evaluation.

The holiday performance scheduled for Saturday in President’s Park was canceled because of the lighting issue, NPS said.

The on the Ellipse in is closed & lights are off until further notice.

— President’s Park (@PresParkNPS)

The National Christmas Tree is a Colorado blue spruce that was grown in Virginia before it was uprooted and moved to the Ellipse in 2012. It was a replacement for a tree that was planted in 1978 and was felled during a February 2011 windstorm.

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The crash happened just before 9:30 Thursday morning in Rosslyn at Lee Highway and Fort Myer Drive, south of the Key Bridge.

The woman was taken to the hospital with serious, but not life-threatening injuries, the Arlington police said; as of early Friday afternoon she was still there. The baby was not hurt.

The police on Friday identified the dump truck driver as John Washington, 63, of Silver Spring, Maryland, and have charged him with reckless driving and failure to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk. He stayed at the scene.

showed a red-and-black stroller with a purse on the handle at the scene of the collision. A pair of boots remained in the street.

NBC Washington reported the woman pushed the stroller out of harm’s way before she was hit.

The investigation is continuing.

Below is a map of where the collision occurred.

ĂŰĚŇĘÓƵapp’s Rick Massimo contributed to this report.

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Khalil Ahmad, 51, who owns Allah Rakha Restaurant, pleaded guilty Wednesday to stalking his estranged wife, according to a release from the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Ahmad was initially arrested for a range of charges, including violating several protective orders; trying to frame his wife as a terrorist; and asking someone to burn down his restaurant for insurance money. In exchange for pleading guilty to the federal stalking charge, three other jurisdictions have agreed to dismiss the charges against him.

In the charging documents, prosecutors said that the couple had been married since 2015. During their marriage, Ahmad had threatened to kill the victim with a gun.

In April of 2018, the victim told Ahmad she wanted a divorce.

Not long after, Ahmad confronted his wife. He dumped gasoline on himself and threatened to burn himself to death unless she took him back.

After the incident, she obtained a protective order from Howard County, keeping Ahmad from having contact with the victim.

Ahmad violated the orders several times, following her in her car and calling her phone. He also threatened to have her brother living in Pakistan killed, and threatened to kill her if she returned to Pakistan.

Ahmad also called her friends and family, accusing her of having a relationship with another man.

In May, Ahmad asked a person identified as CW to harass the his wife and expressed interest in having her killed, court records said.

He later decided to have her framed as a terrorist. Ahmad and CW plotted to get a ballistic vest, gun, liquor, and extremist jihad writings in her possession without her knowledge. When all the items were in place, they planned to report her to the police.

The plan was foiled when CW eventually reported Ahmad to the police, who then began to record communications and activities between the two.

Several discussions about the plot were recorded by police. CW also received $7,000 from Ahmad and provided personal information about his wife. They also discussed how to set the restaurant on fire to make it look like an accident.

In June, police told Ahmad his wife had been arrested and that they had some questions about her.

Ahmad told police he overheard his wife taking terrorism classes over the phone, and said she had attended a terrorist training camp.

Ahmad was interviewed again later by investigators with an Urdu-speaking translator present. They read him his rights, and eventually showed him a video where he discussed committing crimes with CW.

Ahmad said he wanted CW to make his wife’s life difficult and try to seduce her. But he said the plot to kill his wife and other crimes were CW’s idea.

Ahmad is scheduled to be sentenced for his crimes on March 12, 2019, in front of U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett. He could face deportation after he serves his prison sentence.

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Toys for Tots has struggled to fill the nearly $8 million hole left by the company that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in September. For the last 14 years, Toys R Us has been a major contributor to the group that collects new toys and distributes them to needy children during the holidays.

The charity, run by the United States Marine Corps Reserve, raises millions of dollars in cash and toys annually, said Lt. Gen. Pete Osman, the President and CEO for the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation.

“When you lose $8 million like that at one swipe, it’s hard,” he said. “But fortunately several of the other corporate sponsors have stepped up.”

Hasbro and Disney have both agreed to give even more toys in years-past, but Toys for Tots is relying more on individual donors this year than in the past to fill the financial void.

The charity has grown from a small toy drive by one U.S. Marine Corps unit in 1947, to delivering toys to children in nearly 800 communities in all 50 states.

Despite the financial challenges, the charity hopes this year to reach over 60 percent more children in the D.C.-area than in previous toy drives, Osman said.

Toys for Tots has received great support this year from the First Lady Melania Trump and Mayor Muriel Bowser, but still needs help of kind individuals this holiday season.

“We really need the local donor to really get on board, and help shore up that campaign,” he said.

Those out shopping can drop off new toys at any D.C. fire station. Toys for Tots also accepts monetary donations on its website:

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Santiago Rodriguez Campos, 34, a Mexican national that lived in Alexandria, Virginia, admitted to abusing the women Friday in D.C. Superior Court, U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu announced. Rodriguez Campos pleaded guilty to two counts of fourth-degree sexual abuse and two counts of misdemeanor sexual abuse.

Prosecutors said Rodriguez Campos attacked women on D.C. streets over a nearly two-year period from September 2016 until the summer of 2018.

The D.C. cases occurred in the areas of Georgetown, Foggy Bottom and Dupont Circle. Rodriguez Campos was also a suspect in Arlington County, Virginia, cases that occurred in Ballston.

D.C. Superior Court documents said police collected Rodriguez Campos’ DNA on Aug. 5 from a Styrofoam cup of water he was offered after being arrested for wearing a hood/mask in public.

Detectives used DNA analysis to link Campos to victims who were grabbed from behind by a man who transferred an unknown liquid onto them, according to charging documents.

Rodriguez Campos has been in jail since Aug. 9. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 15.

As part of his sentence, Rodriguez Campos will be required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life, a release from the U.S. Attorney’s office said.

After Rodriguez Campos completes his punishment, which could include prison time, he will be subject to deportation proceedings.

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The Northeast Maglev, the company pushing for the new train system, released a new report recently that nixed two remaining station options in NoMa Gallaudet.

The train could take riders from D.C. to Baltimore in about 15 minutes, . One day the train will extend from D.C. to New York, taking passengers between the hubs in roughly one hour.

The stops on 40-mile “superconducting magnetic levitation train system” rail line would be the first piece of an above- and underground system, .

At high speeds, maglev trains levitate using electromagnetic forces, and have no contact with the guideway the train floats above, the website said. Currently a maglev train operates in Japan.

The train would have an intermediate underground stop at BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport between D.C. and Baltimore.

Planners have not yet announced where the Baltimore station would be, the Post said. But two areas — the inner harbor or a south Baltimore area slated for development — are being closely considered.

If the project continues on its current schedule, planners anticipate that tunneling for the maglev could begin as soon as 2020 and could begin operating by 2027, the Post said.

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At a postgame news conference, Coach Jay Gruden announced Smith had a broken tibia and fibula, and will have surgery “right away.”

“I know it was very painful for him and, you know, heartbreaking for a lot of people,” Gruden said. “You know he’s a great guy and a hard worker and one of the key leaders on this football team.”

On a third-down pass play, Smith’s leg was bent awkwardly on a sack by J.J. Watt and had to be carted to the locker room. In a tweet, the team described it as an ankle injury and that Smith would not return.

Smith was then taken to a nearby hospital.

QB Alex Smith has been listed out with an ankle injury.

— Washington Redskins (@Redskins)

Smith was replaced by backup quarterback Colt McCoy, who Gruden said he has confidence in going forward.

“This is an opportunity for Colt, and I think he’ll take advantage of it,” he said.

The team narrowly lost to the Texans Sunday, 21-23.  

Smith’s leg injury happens exactly 33 years after the infamous — and eerily similar — play that ended Redskins’ legend Joe Theismann’s career. The final score in that game was also 21-23, but that time, the Redskins came away with the victory.

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Prince William County police say the victim, a 20-year-old man, was at a party in an apartment complex in the 15700 block of Tassia Lane when the shooting occurred. The man charged with the shooting, David Alvin Tynes Jr., lived in the apartment downstairs.

Police say that Tynes got into a verbal argument with the victim earlier in the night, before the shooting occurred.

At some point during the party, the man who was shot, apparently walked down to Tynes’ home and pounded on the apartment’s door. He was eventually convinced by friends to return to the party.

But, police say, as he walked back up the stairs, Tynes approached the victim and shot him in the lower body. Tynes then returned to his apartment, and told a family member to call the police.

The victim was taken to the hospital with serious injuries, but is expected to survive.

When officers arrived at Tynes’ apartment, the accused shooter initially refused to exit the home, police said. He eventually agreed to exit and was arrested.

Tynes is being held without bond. He is scheduled to appear in court Dec. 27.

Below is a map of where the shooting occurred.

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The bodies of two adult males were found Friday on the property of a home in the 5700 block of Eastpine Drive. Prince George’s County Police received reports of the shooting at about 4:30 p.m.

One of the victims was found dead inside the single family home, and another was shot and killed outside of the home, police said. Both men were pronounced dead on the scene.

Investigators say the Maryland shooting was not a random crime, but detectives are still searching for a motive.

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Tala Farea, 16, and her older sister Rotana Farea, 22, went missing from their Fairfax home on Aug. 24, . On Wednesday, the New York City Police Department made a public appeal for information, and released sketches of the women to help identify them.

Help us identify two young females who were found laying on rocks near the water on the Upper West Side wearing similar clothing, black tights, black jacket with fur trim. Someone must know them. Someone is missing them. If you know who they are. Call us 800-577-TIPS(8477)

— Chief Dermot F. Shea (@NYPDDetectives)

The appeal for information came after a 911 caller reported the bodies of two women had washed onto shore in New York City’s Riverside Park near West 68th Street, NYC police said.

The victims were found unconscious and unresponsive, and there was no obvious signs of trauma, police said. They were pronounced dead on the scene.

The two had been duct-taped together, a police source said. The source suggested the women hadn’t been in the water for long.

A New York City Police Department spokesperson said the city medical examiner will determine what caused their deaths. An investigation into their disappearance and deaths is ongoing.

Officials are encouraging anyone with information about what happened to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). Tips can also be submitted on the website, on or by texting TIP577 to 274637.

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Will Rainford, the dean of the National Catholic School of Social Service, tweeted under the handle @NCSSSDean, but has since deleted his Twitter and Facebook accounts.

He suggested in a post Wednesday that Julie Swetnick, one of the women who has accused Kavanaugh of inappropriate behavior, was a perpetrator and not a victim.

that the tweet said, “Swetnick is 55 y/o. Kavanaugh is 52 y/o. Since when do senior girls hang with freshmen boys? If it happened when Kavanaugh was a senior, Swetnick was an adult drinking with&by her admission, having sex with underage boys. In another universe, he would be victim & she the perp!” the tweet read.

University President John Garvey called the tweets ”unacceptable” and said they “lack of sensitivity to the victim,” in a news release. He said that he would be suspending Rainford for the remainder of the semester.

“The Catholic University of America has no position on the Kavanagh matter,” Garvey said. “But let there be no doubt that our University, and particularly our National Catholic School of Social Service, has a special concern for every victim and survivor of sexual assault.”

The tweets caused a backlash on social media from alumni and others, and prompted many to call or send letters to the school with concerns about Rainford’s actions. A on Monday to demand his resignation.

On Thursday, .

“I am aware that many of you are angry, frustrated, and hurt,” Rainford’s letter said. “For this I am truly sorry.”

Rainford has led the National Catholic School of Social Service since 2013, and Garvey said it is his desire to allow Rainford to continue after the suspension.

Associate Dean Marie Raber will serve as acting dean during Rainford’s absence, Garvey said.

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