There are few greater gifts someone can give another than themselves, but that is just what one woman did for a Virginia Navy friend that she hadn’t seen in four decades. The two reconnected on Facebook and just months later both went under the knife.

“Kidney disease has been in my family for at least five generations that we know of. And before that, I think they were just undiagnosed,” Debbie Winkfield, who lives in the northern Shenandoah Valley in Virginia, told ������Ƶapp. “I found out about 20 years ago that I would need a transplant.”

Now, in April, which is National Donate Life Month, Winkfield decided to share her story to help others because her donor match turned out to be quite a surprise. And not only that, her surgery at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital marked a milestone use of new technology at the hospital.

‘A true hero’

Winkfield said she was doing well until last spring, when doctors told her that they’d need to conduct a serious search to find her a kidney, whether it be through a family member or friend or someone on the transplant list.

Last March, she started a new Facebook group, updating friends and loved ones about her situation and asking for help to find a new kidney. Only 19 people were linked to the page.

“I reached out to some folks that I knew may qualify and may be willing to donate, and I really didn’t know if anyone would be willing or even consider it. It was just a chance I took,” Winkfield said.

Last May, MedStar Georgetown contacted her to say someone had come forward offering their kidney.

“I was very humbled and a little bit in shock because I wasn’t sure that anyone would be willing to do that,” Winkfield said.

The donor, however, was kept anonymous at first as the volunteer underwent a month of tests to see if they were a qualified match. Winkfield was not sure who was making the sacrifice to save her life.

After four weeks of testing, the anonymous donor turned out to be a match.

MedStar Georgetown’s transplant coordinator told Winkfield the donor would contact soon.

An old friend from her Navy days, Lora Booher, called her just two days later.

“The true hero in this story is Lora,” Winkfield said. “Lora did something that she didn’t have to do.”

Groundbreaking female sailors

Booher and Winkfield both served aboard the U.S.S. Sierra — in 1984 they were among some of the first female sailors let aboard ships, and, according to Booher, “apparently both of us were a little crazy, because we’re like, ‘send me.’”

Both said they developed a personal bond on that ship.

“There were several situations, and Debbie and I had each other’s back, and that was a big bond between us, that we took care of each other,” Booher said.

After Booher, a Dayton, Ohio, native, left the ship after a year, the two lost contact until they became Facebook friends years later, keeping an eye on each other from afar, Booher in Ohio and Winkfield in Virginia. Then one day, Booher stumbled upon Winfield’s kidney donation page.

“I think this is meant for me. I got to do this, to help out my shipmate here,” Booher said.

While undergoing tests to make sure her kidney would match, Booher said she was frustrated that she couldn’t talk to her friend just a few states away.

“It was just amazing to me, how it all just worked out perfectly, and I don’t know what made me do it,” Booher said. “I’ve been doing some soul searching, and I haven’t said this out loud, but it was kind of like a reason to live for a while.”

She and Winfield met in D.C. on the night before the surgery and had dinner. Their conversation flowed like they had just seen each other just days ago instead of 40 years ago.

Dr. Talal Al-Qaoud was the surgeon at MedStar Georgetown who completed the kidney transplant surgery last September.

“I believe this is the only field in medicine where it really takes one human being to cure another human being,” Dr. Al-Qaoud told ������Ƶapp.

Minimally invasive surgery

Winkfield’s surgery was the first kidney transplant performed at that hospital using a surgical robot.

“The whole point of this was really to kind of benefit Debbie from the recovery standpoint,” Al-Qaoud said.

Usually, a kidney transplant requires a large incision in the back, but with the robot, it’s a much more minimally invasive procedure, according to Al-Qaoud, and Winkfield said she had relatively no pain due to the small incision.

Months later, both women are healthy and are encouraging others to look into becoming organ donors this National Donate Life Month.

“I don’t think there’s any more gratification you can get out of any gift you can give to somebody. It’s priceless,” Al-Qaoud said.

“People are always amazed or thankful or just in awe that I would do something like that, and I’m like, ‘You too, can do this.’ Help somebody out. You never know,” Booher said.

“It’s hard to describe the feeling, because there really are no words for someone to think enough of me, care enough for me, and to sacrifice themselves to go through this surgery,” Winkfield said with emotion in her voice. “To offer an organ is just a feeling you can’t describe. I just don’t have the words. I thank her so much.”

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They started in Leonardtown, Maryland, and finished in Baltimore, stopping at MedStar locations along the way. The 170-mile journey wasn’t made by car, bus or cycle.

Two MedStar employees and a professional ultramarathon runner completed the trek on foot over four days last week, aimed at promoting a healthy lifestyle through running and movement.

“The more you can move your body, the better you’re going to feel, the more you’re going to want to do it,” professional ultramarathoner Michael Wardian told ������Ƶapp. “It’s like a virtuous cycle.”

He was joined by Chris Wilde, lead physician assistant at MedStar Harbor Hospital’s emergency department and Chris Heydrick, a physical therapist and running program specialist for MedStar’s northern region.

The group set out for MedStar St. Mary’s Hospital last Monday, logging dozens of miles each day.

While all three have previous experience with long-distance running, the challenge still evoked comparisons to Pheidippides, the legendary messenger known for covering great distances in ancient Greece to deliver a message. Along the route, that message was simple: movement is medicine.

“My first question was, ‘Is this a stage race or 200 straight? Because I don’t want to do 200 straight,’” Wilde joked.

The runners made stops at 10 hospitals across the MedStar system, including MedStar Georgetown University Hospital and MedStar Washington Hospital Center in D.C. The four-day run ended Thursday at MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center.

Wilde said the effort mirrored the kind of problem-solving he does on the job.

“Running 200 miles isn’t that complicated. It’s about problem‑solving along the way,” he told ������Ƶapp.

For Heydrick, the challenge was a natural extension of his career working in running medicine and supporting races across the D.C. region.

“I really am grateful to have running as part of what I do for work every day, and when your company puts on an event like this, it’s really hard to say no to that,” Heydrick told ������Ƶapp. “And I love a route with a why.”

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At each stop, the group encouraged patients and staff to move more, emphasizing that the effort does not need to be extreme.

“It doesn’t need to be 200 miles by any means,” Heydrick said.

He suggested simple options like walking around the neighborhood, yoga or even table tennis.

“Find something that jives and stick with it,” he said.

Wilde said regular movement can bring broader health benefits, “With movement comes weight loss. With weight loss comes decreased stresses on the body. And statistics show that when you do some behavior modifications … you start getting off high blood pressure medicine. Not in every case, but there’s a good chance.”

Heydrick added that prioritizing movement earlier in life can help preserve independence later on.

“It’s not very glamorous, but being able to get off the toilet is a huge virtue,” he said.

The runners said even a small impact would make the challenge worthwhile.

“If one or two people change their lives because of it, that’s a win,” Heydrick said. “Then they might show friends, and you start to see that butterfly effect.”

“If we can make it small and make it make it meaningful, that’s all we need,” he said.

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For the past three years, the Fairfax County Police Department has been running a first of its kind recruiting and training program to immerse new recruits into the lifestyle of being a law enforcement officer before they enter the academy.

������Ƶapp was invited to get a behind the scenes look.

The Pre-Academy Recruit Program, or PARS, is up to 12 weeks long, giving recruits preparation that they need to succeed while building resilience and the “mental and physical grit that it takes to do the job,” Capt. Dean Tran said.

Rachel Scott, a recruit for Fairfax County police, has been flowing through the program.

On Wednesday afternoon she hustled through a physical training gauntlet. She ran to do burpees after doing farmer’s carries and battle ropes. She completed the workout gauntlet with dozens of teammates at her side.

“Once you’re thrown into the academy, it’s a lot of go, go, go, and you don’t really get time to get to know the people around you. They have developed this program to really get to know the people that are going to be your academy classmates,” Scott told ������Ƶapp.

Scott is one of 39 in this rotation for PARS. She and the others will be going into the academy Friday.

During her days as a PARS recruit, she is getting physically prepared with strength and conditioning training daily.

“It’s more like a HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) program, where it really focuses on every single body part,” Scott said.

Officer Caitlin Rodriguez, a recent graduate of both the PARS program and police academy, said about the importance of physical training for the job, “It’s so physically demanding. I want to put the best version of myself out on the streets for other people, because you’re meeting people at the worst stage in their life, or at some incident where you want to be able to physically be able to handle whatever’s thrown at you.”

Travis Lipscomb is the strength and conditioning coach for the Fairfax County Police Department and said they do similar physical training four times a week.

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“Our goal is to prepare them physically for the academy and then the career they’re going to be going into afterward,” Lipscomb said.

“The movements will develop skills, and that will be very useful in the job and injury preventive.”

His favorite exercise to put the recruits through: “I will say I enjoy loading up a front squat and seeing what these guys and gals can do.”

Strength and conditioning are not the only preparation these recruits are getting; recruits, officer and senior command agreed that it was a time to change your mindset and develop the mental grit that it takes to do the job.

Scott told ������Ƶapp that they also go through very basic law enforcement course such as search warrant exceptions, arrest procedures and court systems.

Different specialties such as crime scene investigation, homicide detective, fugitive squad and even SWAT make presentations to the new recruits, showing their options after they get experience on patrol.

“I want to take my time in patrol, because you really need to get that experience and the only way you can get that experience is by doing it and being out on the streets,” Scott said. “But eventually I would like to do supplemental search and rescue, as well as I want to be a detective and crime scene and Major Crimes bureau.”

She was drawn to join the department because of her desire to help others.

Scott said, “That’s the cliche, but it is true.”

She thought about joining the military, but decided to join Fairfax County police because it was a little closer to her parents.

Fairfax County now puts every new recruit through PARS before they head to the academy with an emphasis on comradery with their fellow classmates.

Scott described one bonding exercise: “Every week we have different partners that we’re assigned to that we have to talk about the writing prompt. That makes it so that there’s no, cliques forming and you get to talk to everyone, and it’s just really a big team environment.”

“Every time I see them at the jail, it’s kind of like a little family reunion,” Rodriguez agreed. “It’s one community and it’s one family. I feel that way with my academy class.”

Scott’s class is the ninth to go through PARS since it started in 2023.

“The program is the first of its kind in this metropolitan area, and I would argue, on this side of the country, and we’re proud of it,” Tran said.

“It has changed our hiring system for the better. We’ve seen drastic results in the ability to go after the most viable recruits.”

Tran also said 41% of this class are women.

“That is astronomical in the field of law enforcement,” Tran said where she said female officers are underrepresented.

They are recruiting for their next cohort which begins in August.

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One of the newest additions to the Smithsonian’s National Zoo is about to make her public debut next week. ������Ƶapp got a sneak peek of the cutest 464 pounds you’ve ever seen.

Linh Mai, the latest Asian elephant calf born at the National Zoo in D.C., is a very punctual young lady, demanding her bottle every two hours.

“She’ll start to bellow and roar as that time approaches if she hasn’t gotten the bottle yet, and then she’s quickly satiated and then goes into play time,” said Tony Barthel, the director of animal care at the National Zoo.

After some initial scares with her digestive system that required a fecal transplant, Barthel said she has been leading an extremely healthy life.

Robbie Clark, the acting curator and elephant manager, said Linh Mai is currently gaining 25 to 30 pounds per week and could reach 1,000 pounds by her first birthday.

“She’s already participating in the beginning stages of our training program here at the zoo, so she recognizes her name,” Clark said. “She’s stationing and targeting, which allows us to move her throughout the facility, make her stand still and hang out with us.”

������Ƶapp observed her running around her indoor habitat playing with large balls, inflatable buoys and darting around exploring the area often looking for her bottle.

When she did finally get that formula from a staff member, she downed a half gallon in under five minutes.

One of her absolute favorite things right now is bath time, according to Clark. Her beauty regiment is enviable.

“Every day she gets a chance to interact in a baby pool with different hoses. She spends about an hour a day doing self-care in the water,” Clark said.

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Linh Mai’s mother, Nhi Linh, has not been very maternal, and staff thought she may actually be a danger to the young calf. But she has connected with an older female, Swarna.

“Swarna showed us behavior that says ‘Hey I know what that is. I want to hang out with her.’ And that was an indication to open the door, and Swarna immediately went into a maternal role,” Clark said. “She’s been nothing but patient and resilient with Linh Mai. One of my favorite things is when Linh decides to sleep and Swarna is tired, she’ll go lay down and if she wakes up and realizes Linh hasn’t moved, she’ll get up, walk over to check on her and then go lay back down herself.”

Clark said Swarna is teaching Linh Mai how to be an elephant and to not rely on zoo staff for everything.

Linh Mai is the first Asian elephant calf in D.C. in 25 years, and Clark has called it a big win for the team.

“For the greater Asian elephant population here in North America, every baby elephant counts, and so we’re really excited for our herd to grow,” Clark said.

Linh Mai will be out in the large elephant habitat for the first time on Apr. 22.

“She’ll start to realize that there’s a great big world out there. There’s a lot of exciting things outside and should be a lot of fun,” Clark said.

The National Zoo will also turn the elephant cam back on next Wednesday so you can watch her from home.

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As the weather improves and your family (dogs included) start to go outside for long walks and hikes, Alexandria Health Department officials said they want you to check yourself for common parasites that can cling to your body and transmit serious diseases.

Since 2020, Alexandria has seen an increase in Lyme disease, according to the local health department. The bacterial infection is transmitted through the bite of a blacklegged deer tick. Lyme disease can cause fever, fatigue, a characteristic “bullseye” shaped rash, joint stiffness and muscle aches. If left untreated, it can cause irregular heartbeats and pains in joints and muscles.

Amanda Coletti, environmental health specialist with the Alexandria Health Department, said these ticks in their “nymph” stage of the life cycle usually start to appear in the early summer months.

Alpha-gal syndrome, which is transmitted by lone star ticks and can cause an allergy to red meat, is now also a reportable disease in Virginia.

Ticks attach themselves by “questing,” or clinging onto you as you walk by tall grass, small trees or even dead leaves.

The Alexandria Health Department has launched its “Don’t Let Ticks Stick” campaign this month to educate the public about the risks associated with the arachnids.

“Part of our campaign is we want people to have the confidence and the security to go out and still enjoy beautiful Virginia,” Coletti told ������Ƶapp.

Alexandria will have numerous signs at its parks encouraging visitors to complete tick checks after they leave.

“It literally takes less than five minutes,” Coletti said. “You just check around, feel around, make sure, visually check and use your fingers to check anything.”

Common spots where the little bugs can hide are your belt line, hairline, armpits, behind the knee and other “nooks and crannies.”

But look closely, some of the smaller nymphs are tiny, appearing almost like a black sesame seed.

While it can take up to 24 hours to transmit Lyme disease, Coletti said to remove the tick as quickly as possible. The Alexandria Health Department is even offering a free, credit card-sized tool to help with tick removal.

Coletti said a QR code on that card also lets you send in a “tick pic” to experts to help identify and track tick activity in the area.

The free tools are available for pickup at the Alexandria Health Department. They will also be available at educational events across the city.

These “tick talks,” hosted by Coletti and other self-described “tick chicks,” will be spread across the city:

• Saturday, 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. at William Ramsay Recreation Center
• April 25, 9 a.m. to noon at the “Animals in the Park” event in Windmill Hill Park
• May 30, 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Mount Vernon Recreation Center
• June 27, 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Charles Houston Recreation Center

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On Saturday, the name of the individual responsible for the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School mass shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, was found spray-painted on a campus fence.

The Sandy Hook shooting claimed the lives of 20 children and six adults.

Crews removed the graffiti over the weekend, and officials turned over surveillance video to police, who are investigating.

In a letter to Bradley Hills Elementary parents, Montgomery County Public Schools Chief of Schools Peter Moran said the graffiti “can only be interpreted as an act intended to intimidate and cause fear within the Bradley Hills School community, and the broader neighborhood and community, too.”

Calling it a “despicable act,” Moran added that it “will be met with a substantial and uniform response from multiple divisions of MCPS and the Montgomery County Police Department.”

The graffiti incident follows a separate case of vandalism last week, when an outdoor storage shed on school grounds was intentionally set on fire. Officials said it is not yet clear whether the two incidents are connected.

Police cruisers were seen circling Bradley Hills Elementary School as parents and school buses dropped off students Monday morning, and Montgomery County Public Schools said additional security measures are in place as students return.

Anyone with information related to the vandalism is asked to contact the Montgomery County police non-emergency line at 301-279-8000. Tips also can be submitted anonymously through the Maryland Safe Schools Tip Line at 1-833-632-7233 or .

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Ducks will have to find a new place to tread water for the foreseeable future. The Reflecting Pool has been emptied for a deep cleaning.

A large scrubber could be seen sweeping down the length of the Reflecting Pool, scrubbing out “algae and goose poop,” according to the National Park Service. Officials said by the end of the week vacuum trucks will be on site to collect that slurry of muck and grime.

It has been almost completely drained as crews are scrubbing it out. The Department of the Interior told ������Ƶapp it is for the upcoming festivities for America’s 250th birthday, during which millions of visitors are expected to visit the nation’s capital.

Earlier this week fencing with privacy screens went up around the reflecting pool during the cleaning.

It is not exactly clear when they will wrap up cleaning and refill the pool.

In the meantime, the park service is asking visitors to not walk in the drained pool.

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A tentative ceasefire deal with Iran is in place and it has caused the price of crude oil to drop this week, but that drop is not reflected in the prices you pay at the pump yet.

According to Gas Buddy, the earliest drivers could see relief at the pump is this weekend because of how often gas stations purchase fuel. Even then, the drops will likely only be a few cents.

Long-term relief will likely only come if the Strait of Hormuz is re-opened and the ceasefire holds.

In a news release, GasBuddy said price reports on Sunday showed the cheapest station in D.C. was $3.89 per gallon, while the most expensive was $5.09 per gallon, a difference of $1.20.

Here’s a breakdown of the average prices on April 6, over the past five years, per GasBuddy:

• $3.20 per gallon in 2025
• $3.72 per gallon in 2024
• $3.55 per gallon in 2023
• $4.27 per gallon in 2022
• $2.95 per gallon in 2021

“Gasoline prices are poised for another jolt this week, with many inland states—including the Plains, Great Lakes, and parts of the Rockies— likely to see sharp increases as last week’s surge in wholesale costs has yet to be fully passed through to consumers,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, in a release.

“In addition, some price-cycling markets could also see another round of increases. As a result, the national average could rise by double digits, potentially reaching the $4.20 to $4.35 per gallon range in the days ahead.”

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They are the sons of stumpy, or, better yet, clones of stumpy, and they are growing right now in D.C., readying to be replanted at the Tidal Basin.

The progeny of the gnarled yet beloved cherry tree, which was removed from the Tidal Basin during sea wall restoration, are now growing at the National Arboretum.

“The National Park Service reached out to the National Arboretum and asked if we could help them propagate Stumpy so that Stumpy’s spirit would live on, and, as you can see, that was successful,” Piper Zettel, horticulturist at the National Arboretum told ������Ƶapp, as she pointed to the three small Yoshino cherry trees that have grown to be about three feet tall.

The National Arboretum is a public garden, but it’s also serves as a gene bank and a research facility for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service. They house plant genetic material from all over the world as a safeguard.

To keep the name of Stumpy living on, Zettel and other horticulturists at the National Arboretum performed vegetative propagation. This means they are less Frankenstein’s monster Stumpies and rather clone Stumpies, because they are genetically identical.

They took springtime growth from Stumpy in 2024 and put it in a substrate with good drainage. Arboretum scientists then housed that cutting in a greenhouse where temperature and humidity is controlled to allow for perfect growth conditions.

Zettel said Stumpy’s cuttings had nice root formations within eight weeks and they have grown extraordinarily well during their time at the arboretum, blooming beautifully earlier this year.

And even though they are genetically identical to Stumpy, they will likely not have the same Stumpy look of a hollowed-out tree barely surviving.

“It was inundated by tidal surges twice a day, and as a result, kind of developed this odd, atypical growth habit for our Yoshino cherry tree. So, it ended up being this hollowed out specimen,” Zettel said.

Stumpy’s descendants will be much healthier looking but keep that Stumpy spirit of survival.

While the Stumpy triplets are thriving, they are not yet scheduled to return to the Tidal Basin.

“They’re not quite ready to be planted out in a national park that sees, that receives over a million visitors annually,” Zettel said.

The Arboretum team will work with foresters at the National Park Service about when and where these new Stumpies will be placed for visitors to enjoy.

Courtesy National Arboretum

Courtesy National Arboretum

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Dozens of people diagnosed with Parkinson’s are turning to cycling to help manage symptoms and stay active. Many attend free classes at area YMCAs, where they connect with others living with the disease.

“It must be helping. I was diagnosed 10 years ago, and I’m still doing very well,” Margaret Doty told ������Ƶapp during a water break at her cycling class at the YMCA Silver Spring.

Doty and others pedaled through varying levels of intensity, stretching and chatting as they rode. The group shared laughs throughout the class, including a moment of confusion when one participant mentioned a new hobby, baking, which others misheard over the loud music as spanking.

“Everybody gets along and has fun and jokes and has a good time,” Doty said.

Doty, who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s a decade ago, said regular exercise has helped her manage the disease. Her diagnosis anniversary also falls during Parkinson’s Awareness Month.

“It’s the only way to delay the disease and I think I’m a pretty good example,” she said. “I take more medication than I used to, but most people usually can’t tell I have Parkinson’s.”

Michael Slott also attends the weekly cycling class and told ������Ƶapp the activity provides both physical and emotional benefits as the disease progresses.

“It helps me keep functioning a little better when the disease progresses to another stage and also psychologically, I really enjoy being with other people that have been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. I don’t feel so alone,” Slott said.

“I love to see the camaraderie that they have with each other. They encourage each other in different ways,” Cherry Hunsaker-Clark, a Pedaling for Parkinson’s instructor, told ������Ƶapp. “It’s a disease that’s kind of isolating. For them to have a community of people who have, who have similar symptoms, I think it’s really valuable to see that.”

free of charge through the YMCA Metropolitan Washington with the support of the Davis Phinney Foundation, a nonprofit focused on helping people with Parkinson’s live better lives.

According to the foundation, research shows individuals who cycle three times a week may reduce their symptoms by as much as 35%.

Kym Porter, wellness director at the YMCA Silver Spring, told ������Ƶapp the cycling class stands out as a highlight of her day.

“This is my personal favorite hour of the day, because my office is on the other side of this wall, and I can hear them the entire hour, the joy, the laughter. I know sometimes the instructors can’t instruct because the participants are so engaged in their discussions that it’s hard to get on top of it. It’s a joyful hour.”

She added, “One of the reasons cycling is particularly beneficial is because it’s an alternating side movement, which is great for the neuromuscular system.”

Porter said cycling is also a safer activity for people with Parkinson’s because balance is less of a concern once riders are on stationary bikes, allowing them to focus on building leg strength and endurance.

“There’s no wobbling back and forth. You can always have your hands on the handlebars. The instructors may say, take them off if you feel comfortable. But everything is optional,” she said.

The YMCA offers Pedaling for Parkinson’s classes in partnership with the Davis Phinney Foundation at multiple locations, including the Anthony Bowen YMCA in Northwest D.C., YMCA Fairfax County in Reston, YMCA Alexandria, YMCA Bethesda-Chevy Chase and YMCA Silver Spring.

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Last year, the race swelled from just over 25,000 participants to around 40,000 runners. Organizers plan to keep it that large this year.

“We’re hoping to keep with it, because we also want to hold on to our title as the third largest marathon in the United States,” said Amber Traunero, marketing manager for the Marine Corps Marathon.

“Registration is never a guarantee — we will sell out. I know in my heart of hearts, we will. Last year it took us about a month,” Traunero said.

A few new additions will be coming to this year’s race, including possible corral starts, rather than every racer starting at the same time.

“Separating them by a couple of minutes. That way it’s a little bit more of a staggered approach versus everybody going out all at one time,” she said.

The race expo this year will also change venues, moving to the National Building Museum.

“We’re actually going to do it across four days instead of two,” Traunero said. “That way we can accommodate everybody, especially the size of race we are. We want to make sure that everybody has a chance to get in.”

She said the course attracts folks running their first 26.2-mile race and keeps veteran runners coming back.

“The People’s Marathon” is often a choice for first-time runners because of its relatively flat course, iconic views of D.C. and Northern Virginia landmarks as well as the Marines who cheer along the way.

“You have 26 miles where these are your very best friends in the whole wide world that are going to be there for you, no matter what, to give you water, your food and your medal at the end of the day,” Traunero said.

The 51st Marine Corps Marathon will be held Oct. 25. .

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Folks across the D.C. area flock to the Tidal Basin, the U.S. National Arboretum and other parks and green spaces at this time of year to see the beautiful cherry, redbuds and magnolia trees in bloom.

Another place that often makes the spring “must-see trees” lists is .

It has around 18 species of cherry trees currently in bloom. The cemetery also has mighty oaks, Japanese thunderclouds, empress trees, cryptomeria and lacebark pines.

One man has to watch over the trees and make sure they are kept up all year, because many in his care are living memorials to fallen service members.

Greg Huse is the urban forester at Arlington National Cemetery, where he oversees 300 different species of trees. In total, about 9,800 trees are in his care.

“You get a really great overview of lots of different types of tree species, and we have plenty of native trees,” Huse told ������Ƶapp. “We also have lots of trees from other parts of the world that we have planted. It’s quite a variety of trees.”

Arlington National Cemetery is currently a Level III arboretum. That’s out of a possible four levels on a rating scale outside Chicago, Illinois.

“If you’re someone who’s a plant person, who’s very much into the specifics and science of plants, it’s a wonderful place to come and learn about our trees,” Huse said.

“We’re also considered a memorial arboretum. So we consider our trees to be living memorials to our fallen veterans and their family members, as opposed to just the static stone monuments. … They kind of grow and develop over time, really lending a unique character to the cemetery,” Huse said.

The business of trees is far-reaching and expansive. Huse has to coordinate with the cemetery’s engineering team and consider any environmental impacts from a construction or road project.

The often-ancient trees that tower over important memorial and graves need protection during storms. The cemetery has many hills that are targets for lightning strikes.

“Sometimes we just get some pretty crazy lightning and wind and so that kind of lends to tree damage,” Huse said.

To protect some of the bigger trees, the cemetery installs the equivalent of a home or building’s lightning rod.

A metal rod is attached to a tall branch, and is connected via copper wire to a ground rod buried around 10 feet away from the tree. The wire runs along the tree but does not touch it.

“If the lightning hits the tree, it’s going to catch that cable and it’ll go down and be grounded,” Huse said.

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Many of his workdays are spent driving and walking the over 600 acres, checking on the health of trees and looking for damaging pests like wood-boring insects, aphids and fungus.

If the top of the tree is brown while the rest remains green, Huse knows it is likely a root problem. If a leaf looks dead and brown at the ends, it might just be a cold injury. Or the leaves might appear wrinkled or cupped, leading Huse to look at possible fungal infections.

“There’s lots of different symptoms that the tree might show us and then I can go and investigate,” Huse said.

Every time a tree is touched, whether it’s pruned, removed, planted, treated for an insect, Huse keeps all records in a database that’s connected to a digital map.

“We have every single tree on the grounds digitally mapped, we can open the map, click on a tree, and it’ll pull up all that information,” Huse said.

Huse is also responsible for leading the cemetery’s memorial arboretum tours in the spring and fall. The two-hour walking tour is focused on the different types of trees at Arlington National Cemetery.

The tour also visits trees that have planted marked as monuments and living memorials. About 140 trees in the cemetery are designated as memorial trees.

“It could be a particular veteran; it could be a particular battle that happened in military history. It could be dedicated to a ship,” Huse said.

Medal of Honor trees are similar but are grown from seeds collected from parent trees located at significant historical military sites, such as battlefields.

Currently there are 36 Medal of Honor trees scattered throughout the cemetery.

The cemetery started with 50 of the trees, honoring native species from all 50 states, but Huse said certain trees native to places like Alaska, Hawaii or the Arizona desert do not do well in the Northern Virginia climate.

on April 24, May 1 and May 8.

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Millions of residents from the D.C. area and visitors alike flock to the Tidal Basin and the monthlong Cherry Blossom Festival.

Many of them will run into pink tie- and blazer-wearing ambassadors ready to help.

They are the National Cherry Blossom Festival goodwill ambassadors, and they are college students and young professionals there to help everyone understand the significance of the cherry blossoms and why they are so celebrated.

“Cherry blossoms have such important symbolic representation of spring, of rebirth, renewal, and in times like these, it’s just great to have the chance to find beauty in something just so simple,” Lucy Knoepflmacher, one of the ambassadors, told ������Ƶapp.

The ambassadors attended events such the Cherry Blossom Festival opening ceremony, where they encouraged visitors to write their wishes on paper cherry blossoms to form a large display tree. Ambassadors at the Kite Festival on the Washington Monument grounds assisted professional kite masters from Japan.

They are a major part of the festival’s community outreach, according to Knoepflmacher, “providing information both on the history of D.C. and the connection to the cherry blossoms, as well as Japanese culture.”

Ambassadors work as cultural delegates at other events, representing the Cherry Blossom Festival at things such as tree plantings. They also serve as educational liaisons at D.C.-area schools to teach children about Japanese language and culture and the original 1912 gift that brought the cherry trees to the capital.

Ambassadors are usually college-aged or newly graduated, and they share a passion for Japanese culture and fostering U.S.-Japan relations.

Knoepflmacher has an interesting connection to the island nation. She attended a Japanese elementary school here in the U.S. and learned the language when she was young.

“I left that school, kind of forgot the language, but stayed connected to the culture. Found out about a university program that would take place, half in D.C., half in Kyoto, Japan, and I thought that would be a great opportunity to reconnect to Japanese language and culture,” Knoepflmacher said.

For two years, she studied global international relations at American University and then attended Kyoto’s Ritsumeikan University.

“I figured that this opportunity with the Goodwill Ambassador Program is a perfect way to continue that connection, finding a link between the two cultures,” Knoepflmacher said.

She said her fellow ambassadors have come from many different backgrounds studying at local universities, as well as Japanese institutions.

“It’s been incredible to see how each and every one of us feels connected to the cherry blossoms, to D.C., to Japan … hearing everyone’s stories and having the chance to work together and really just push forward this message about the cherry blossoms,” Knoepflmacher said.

She said anyone under the age of 25 is eligible for the program and it encourages people from all walks of life to apply.

The ambassadors will again be on the scene this Saturday at “Petalpalooza” at the Navy Yard, which will culminate with springtime fireworks.

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Gas prices continue to climb in the D.C. area as the war in Iran strains oil supplies and bumps fuel prices higher worldwide.

National gas prices have blown past the $4 mark for the first time in four years, according to AAA.

Some of the extreme price increases have taxed D.C. drivers at the pump. Prices jumped 10.8 cents per gallon in the past week in the District, compared to the national average increase of 2.4 cents per gallon, according to GasBuddy, an app that helps drivers find cheaper gas prices.

Gas cost an average of $4.17 a gallon in D.C. Monday, according to a GasBuddy survey.

The last time gas prices were this high was nearly four years ago, when Russia invaded Ukraine. At that time, a gallon of gas cost an average $4.35 in D.C.

Analysts have said average prices nationwide could soon approach the record high of $5 a gallon, set in 2022 — if the Strait of Hormuz remains blocked.

������Ƶapp’s Luke Lukert spoke with people filling up their tank in Falls Church, Virginia.

������Ƶapp’s Jessica Kronzer and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Throughout March, ������Ƶapp is celebrating Women’s History Month. Join us on-air and online as we honor the achievements of women in the D.C. region.

Many in the D.C. region are aware the beautiful cherry blossoms that attract thousands to the Tidal Basin and National Mall were originally a gift from Japan in 1912 to celebrate friendship between the two countries. But for decades, one woman worked tirelessly to see the iconic trees planted in the nation’s capital.

Eliza Scidmore, a world traveler, diplomat and writer, first began advocating for the Japanese cherry trees to come to D.C. in 1885. Her brother worked in the consular service and Scidmore visited him in Japan.

“She recognized that these trees could thrive, perhaps in the nation’s capital,” said Rebecca Grawl, the vice president of education for A Tour of Her Own.

She thought a perfect place for them was the newly-reclaimed land from the Potomac River that became the Potomac Park.

Several decades after their planting, she wrote in the Washington Sunday Star, “they had to plant something in that great stretch of raw, reclaimed ground by the river bank, since they had to hide those old dump heaps with something, they might as well plant the most beautiful thing in the world — the Japanese cherry tree.”

For 24 years she presented her idea to various public building and grounds superintendents, one even chastised the idea that the cherry trees she proposed would not even bear edible cherries — only blossoms,

“It took years and years and years of advocacy. She tried to get support from the State Department, from the USDA, from the White House,” Grawl told ������Ƶapp.

She eventually teamed up with Department of Agriculture Plant Explorer David Fairchild who had experimented with the trees at his Chevy Chase, Maryland, home. He also thought the cherry blossoms would be a wonderful addition to the District.

“It wasn’t until first lady Helen Nellie Taft was in the White House and received Eliza Scidmore’s letter that she finally had an ally who really helped her open up the diplomatic channels to get that gift that finally arrived officially in 1912,” Grawl said.

Taft had undertaken a project to beautify the city and immediately made arrangements to purchase the trees. Taft too, had spent time in Japan and knew how beautiful the trees can be in springtime.

A visiting Japanese chemist and diplomat learned about the plan and asked if the first lady would accept a gift of 2,000 trees from Japan.

Those trees had to be burned due to pests, but a second gift of over 3,000 trees were later sent pest-free.

“She was really sort of this one-woman parade for getting cherry blossoms here to Washington, D.C.” Grawl said of Scidmore. “She knew how beautiful they are and they have become such an iconic part of the Washington experience.”

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