“Across our region, we’ve seen, and data demonstrates, that Black women are two to three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes, and most of these deaths are preventable, unfortunately,” Dr. Darrell Gray, president of , the largest Medicaid-managed care organization in the state, told ÃÛÌÒÊÓƵapp.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, multiple factors contribute to the higher maternal mortality rate among Black mothers, including access to quality health care and underlying health conditions.

Gray said regardless of a person’s income or education, the “pattern of disparities … have persisted.”

“We know that there’s bias and racism that’s impacting health care. We understand that there are other variables such as what we call ‘social drivers of health’ that can contribute. That means where someone lives … (and) how housing secure, food secure they are,” Gray said.

During this year’s Black Maternal Health Week, he’s urging the partners of Black moms and moms-to-be to step up.

They may be the first to notice something isn’t right with her health and ensure she gets checked out, Gray said.

“They can alert the appropriate health care provider about warning signs such as headaches or chest pain, bleeding or abnormal abdominal pain and swelling, and shortness of breath. These can be emergencies that men, that those partners, that those husbands can identify,” he said.

Gray said it’s not about speaking for Black women, but backing them up when they need to speak to a health care provider.

“I think when people are informed, engaged, and present and empowered, we can really change the disparities that we’re seeing,” he said.

Source

According to young people are getting advice from finance influencers, or “finfluencers.”

“Young folks are turning to social media as the primary source of financial advice, rather than their parents or trusted older people,” Lana Swartz, an associate professor in the University of Virginia’s Department of Media Studies, told ÃÛÌÒÊÓƵapp.

She said the trend is concerning because that advice isn’t always reliable.

“The financial future for many young people is uncertain,” Swartz said.

That uncertainty may stem from several factors, including the threat artificial intelligence poses to the job market, recent political and economic changes, and what young adults and their parents have experienced firsthand.

“Some young people today, some of their earliest memories are of the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, they were heavily impacted by COVID,” Swartz said.

Also worrisome, the report found, is the rise of gamified investment apps and similar platforms that can encourage quick, risky decisions and even lead to addiction.

“There’s a blurring with things like sportsbook gambling, and even gambling on things like current events through prediction markets,” Swartz said.

Another point Swartz wanted to drive home was that older adults aren’t the only ones vulnerable to online scams.

“People in their 20s, 30s and 40s are just as likely, if not more likely, to fall victim to scams,” she said, because younger people conduct much of their lives online. “We also have less information because there are fewer resources and fewer clearinghouses for young people who fall victim to scams.”

What’s encouraging, Swartz said, is that many states are considering adding financial literacy classes for high schoolers.

“Everyone agrees that financial literacy is important, and that it’s underexplored and under-taught in schools, but there are no clear national standards for what financial literacy education should look like,” she said. “Whatever financial literacy curriculum looks like, it’s going to be competing with finfluencers and with online communities.”

ÃÛÌÒÊÓƵapp’s Scott Gelman contributed to this report.

Source

Topping 27-year-old Dayton Webber’s six-count indictment is one count of first-degree murder, which carries a maximum penalty of life in prison. Other counts include the use of a firearm in a crime of violence or felony, reckless endangerment and having a loaded handgun in a vehicle.

According to prosecutors, Webber was driving on March 22 in La Plata with three other people in his car, when, during an argument, he shot and killed the man in the front passenger seat.

Webber is accused of trying to get the other two men to help dump the body of 27-year-old Bradrick Wells, and then doing it himself about 12 miles away in Charlotte Hall after the others refused and left.

“Right now, based on the investigation that we’ve seen, from the witnesses’ statements and everything, we see no evidence of self-defense,” County Deputy State’s Attorney Karen Piper Mitchell said Monday at a news conference held to discuss the indictment.

But Webber’s defense attorney, Hammad Matin, said his client “had to kill or be killed.”

“That’s what this case is. It’s a self-defense case and we believe we have the evidence for that, that’s going to come out at trial,” Matin said.

Webber was arrested in Virginia and is being held without bond in Charles County.

Matin said it’s been “difficult” for his client in the county’s jail.

“He’s been isolated because of, I guess, the inability to accommodate him or whatever the situation is. I can’t speak for the detention center,” Matin said.

Mitchell had a different take.

“Based on the information … that we had from law enforcement at the time, as far as even how his own residence was set up, there was nothing unique or special with respect to that. So we believe that he’s fine in the jail, we haven’t heard there are any problems,” Mitchell said.

Webber had been scheduled for a preliminary hearing May 6 in county district court, but the indictment moves the case to circuit court, where Mitchell said no court date has been set.

Source

Jon Marcus, senior higher education reporter with told ÃÛÌÒÊÓƵapp the cost of tuition is starting to go up after years of falling, when adjusted for inflation.

“The expenses of running a college and university are rising, especially labor costs and benefits,” he said.

Another reason tuition is rising, Marcus said, is because the number of new international students coming to study in the U.S. has lessened by 100,000, as a result of policy changes made by President Donald Trump’s administration.

“International students — undergraduates, in particular — almost all of them pay full tuition and essentially subsidize American domestic students. And without them, colleges are being forced to raise their prices,” he said.

But the cost of admission estimates put out by colleges and universities can be very misleading, Marcus said.

“At George Washington, 80% of the students get a discount. The price that they actually pay, based on their income, is something between $17,000 a year, and for the very wealthiest students, about $55,000 a year. So almost no one is paying $98,000,” he said.

ÃÛÌÒÊÓƵapp checked on the cost of admission some other private schools in D.C. are estimating for next year.

American University the cost for a new student living on campus is over $87,000 this school year, and tuition alone is increasing by more than $2,000 next year. At the George Washington University, the for returning students is about $98,000. The estimates include tuition and things such as fees, food, housing and books.

At it’s about $89,000, and at , it’s about $66,000.

Marcus called it “strange” and “self defeating” for colleges and universities to advertise one price but charge another.

“There’s a survey by the student loan company Sallie Mae that finds that 80% of families won’t apply to a college when they think the price is too high, without understanding that, again, they probably will not pay that price,” he said.

In , Sallie Mae reported nearly nine in 10 families — 89% — believe college is a worthwhile investment, and 82% are willing to stretch their finances to ensure their students go to good schools.

Source

The Food and Drug Administration has recalled nearly 90,000 bottles of Taro Pharmaceuticals’ Children’s Ibuprofen Oral Suspension liquid pain reliever after customers reported they found a “gel-like mass” and black particles in the medication. The FDA says it’s unlikely to cause health problems.

Dr. Christina Brown, a pediatrician with Kaiser Permanente in Baltimore, said it’s a reminder to take a close look at every medication before you give it to your kid.

“Of course, the company could change something, but sometimes they even include on the front what it’s supposed to look like,” she said. “Always use your critical thinking if something’s not right.”

Brown also suggested doing a spring cleanout of your medicine cabinet.

“Go through and see what medication is expired, and whenever you’re buying new medicine, make sure that the package is unopened, not tampered with. Make sure it looks like it’s the color that it should (be),” she said.

She doesn’t recommend taking expired medication, because it can lose its effectiveness over time.

Brown does suggest putting the national poison control number into your contacts, just in case you need it: 1-800-222-1222. There’s also an that promises to give you advice from an expert within three minutes.

Brown said parents are often confused when it comes to the dose of liquid pain reliever they should give their child when treating something like a fever.

“You can use ibuprofen or acetaminophen as directed, and it’s based on their weight, not their age,” she said. “This is a very important point. A lot of families say ‘They’re 2 years old now. What will their dose be?’ But these medicines, along with most antibiotics, are based on weight, not on age.”

If your child has a fever and you’re not sure if you should take them to a doctor, Brown said it’s not usually how high their fever is that’s most concerning, but how they’re doing overall.

Signs to watch for include a child who’s had a fever for several days, is overly sleepy, has sunken eyes or is showing signs of dehydration.

Brown said a child in diapers who hasn’t wet themself at least three times in 24 hours, or has dark urine, is likely getting dehydrated.

Another thing to keep an eye out for is how your child is breathing.

“We do know children breathe faster and heavier when they have a fever, so if you give them some medicine and they’re still breathing quickly, that’s an extra sign to seek care,” Brown said. “Try to give the medicine first and then see how their breathing is doing.”

Source

This potential baby news involves D.C.’s famous bald eagle and the female bird he’s been paired up with for about the length of one presidential term.

Mr. President, also known as “Mr. P,” and his current love, Lotus, or Lady of the United States, have a nest in a secluded part of the National Arboretum in Northeast D.C.

They’ve been together since 2022, and lately, they’ve been spotted taking turns sitting on that nest.

“It does seem like there is at least one egg in the nest, and we think that egg was laid around March 21,” Rese Cloyd, associate director for the D.C. Department of Energy and Environment’s Fisheries and Wildlife Division, told ÃÛÌÒÊÓƵapp.

If any eaglets are born, Cloyd said that should happen by the end of the month.

It could make Mr. President an especially lucky bird.

“He is at least 17 years old, so that is kind of on the older side. Bald eagles typically live to be about 20 in the wild,” Cloyd said.

There are no plans to put up a near the nest.

Cloyd said the best view for birders who want to spot the couple is from Langston Golf Course.

Mr. President and his earlier mate, the First Lady, began nesting at the National Arboretum in 2013 and had their first eaglet together in 2014. They had more between 2014 and 2018, but in 2019 and 2021, they did not produce any offspring.

After the First Lady left the nest in the winter of 2022, Lotus moved in. The two produced eaglets that year, and in 2023 and 2024.

“Last year, 2025, they did not produce any eaglets. We don’t know why the nest wasn’t successful last year, but we are optimistic about this year,” Cloyd said.

Source

Many head to the web with medical questions before reaching out to a human.

“Roughly one in three adults will actually go to the internet first, before they even talk to a health care provider,” Amanda Joy, a physician assistant and the associate medical director for MedStar Health Urgent Care in the D.C. area, told ÃÛÌÒÊÓƵapp.

The problem is that a search engine might not give you the best answers.

“Most of the time when you Google something, you unfortunately do get some biased information. You may get sponsored information. You may not get necessarily medically proven or peer-reviewed data,” Joy said.

People are also increasingly turning to ChatGPT and other artificial intelligence chatbots to get medical advice, and according to Joy, those can be more helpful.

“It can tell you, ‘Hey, you should really go to the emergency department. What your symptoms are showing shows signs of something like a stroke or a heart attack, something that can really cause permanent harm if it’s not addressed right away,'” she said.

When should you put down your smartphone, close your laptop, and go to an emergency room? Joy said the following symptoms should be checked out right away:

• Chest pain or shortness of breath
• Stroke-like symptoms, such as facial drooping, slurred speech or weakness or numbness in your limbs
• An allergic reaction
• Significant bleeding
• Significant accident or trauma
• Your baby has an extremely high fever for more than five days, or your newborn has a fever.

When is an urgent care center more appropriate?

“We save urgent care more for things like fractures or asthma flare-ups, UTIs, sinus infections,” Joy said, adding that most urgent care centers can test for COVID, flu and RSV.

She said many centers, including hers, can also perform rapid testing for STDs.

Source

Suresh Sundas from Tapori in D.C. has been named a finalist for Best Chef Mid-Atlantic, which includes D.C., Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Virginia. Located on H Street NE, describes itself as serving up “Indian-ish street foods and cocktails.”

Meherwan Irani and Molly Irani of the Chai Pani Restaurant Group are finalists in the Outstanding Restaurateur category. , which originally started in Asheville, N.C, is a James Beard Award-winning Indian street food spot that opened in Union Market last August.

D.C.’s is a finalist for Best New Restaurant. It’s a French-inspired wine bar and restaurant in Adams Morgan that opened in September of last year.

Brent Kroll, proprietor and sommelier at in D.C., is a finalist for Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service. The wine bar and restaurant on 9th Street NW in the Shaw neighborhood offers more than 50 wines by the glass.

in Marshall, Virginia — a village in Fauquier County — is among the finalists for Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program. The farm-to-table restaurant offers wines by the glass and on tap.

Susan Bae with in D.C. is a finalist for Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker. The Vietnamese restaurant is situated in Penn Quarter.

The winners will be announced June 15 at a ceremony in Chicago.

Source

The Fairfax County Park Authority said January’s winter storm left the antique carousel at Frying Pan Farm Park in Herndon severely damaged.

A message on the park’s “After detailed inspections by staff and specialists, the ride was found to be unsafe to repair or operate. For the safety of visitors and staff, the carousel will be permanently closed and removed from the park.”

The portable was built in 1918, and purchased by the park authority in 1975.

It was initially placed in Lee District, and was moved to its current location in 2011.

“A lot of the damage was in the canopy part,” the park authority’s marketing and communications division director Daidria Grayson told ÃÛÌÒÊÓƵapp.

But just like the movement of horses on a carousel, after that “downer” news, things are starting to look up.

Efforts are getting underway to bring a new carousel to the park, hopefully in the spring of next year.

“We’re just in the beginning phases of planning for that replacement, but a new carousel is definitely in the works,” Grayson said.

How much that will cost isn’t known yet, but Grayson invites anyone who wants to donate toward the cause to do so through the which supports the park authority.

In the meantime, several other in operation, and Frying Pan Farm Park still has plenty going on.

The park’s annual Horse Expo is coming up on April 18, followed by its Spring Farm Day on May 2.

Source

A found people who eat more than nine servings of ultra-processed food a day are an average of 67% more likely to have a heart attack or stroke, or die from heart disease than people who eat one serving a day.

The study also found that with each daily serving, the risk of such an event goes up by more than 5%. Among Black Americans, each additional serving leads to an increase in risk of more than 6%.

Dr. Michele Arthurs, a lifestyle medicine physician with Kaiser Permanente, told ÃÛÌÒÊÓƵapp that if you’re not sure what you’re eating is ultra-processed, just look at the label.

“You can see a long list of ingredients, many of which you may not be able to pronounce because they are additives or chemicals that are used for food preservation to increase shelf life,” she said.

These kinds of foods also tend to be loaded with sugar, salt and saturated fat.

“Our body, essentially, has to fight with them in order to kind of process them and get them through our system. And this leads to inflammation in the body,” Arthurs said.

She recognized that many people may find it tough to stop eating ultra-processed foods altogether. Instead, she recommends limiting how much you eat.

“It doesn’t mean you can’t have that ballpark hot dog,” Arthurs said, adding that cutting it in half and sharing it with someone was also an option.

Other strategies Arthurs recommends to reduce the consumption of ultra-processed foods include:

• Eat a healthy meal before you head to an event, like a baseball game, where you know you’ll be exposed to a lot of ultra-processed foods.
• If you like sugary drinks, try alternating with ones that have little or no sugar.
• If you love snacking on chips, bring along an orange too, and eat the fruit before diving into the bag of chips.

The findings, based on data from more than 6,800 U.S. adults, is being presented at the ACC’s Annual Scientific Session on March 28-30 in New Orleans. They’re also published in the journal JACC Advances.

Source

NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, along with Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen, will take a 10-day trip around the moon, without landing.

“For the first time since 1972, humans will be far away from the Earth,” Noah Petro, project scientist on the first Artemis Lunar Surface Science Team told ÃÛÌÒÊÓƵapp. He’s also a research scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

Artemis II will be the first crewed test of NASA’s huge Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft. It was tested without a crew during the Artemis I mission in 2022.

Artemis II will give astronauts a rare view of the moon, including the far side that can’t be seen from Earth.

“They’re going to be looking for subtle textural differences on the lunar surface, color differences and if the geometry allows us, they’re going to be looking for small flashes of light that are meteorite strikes on the lunar surface,” Petro said.

He hopes what the astronauts see can help scientists better understand what’s been happening on the moon since it was formed.

The mission also aims to study how the human body responds to travel in the harsh environment of deep space.

“We’re actually sending an experiment called Avatar that will be taking blood from each astronaut …(and) flying it with them as basically additional mini crew members,” Petro said.

If all goes according to plan, Artemis II will be launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on April 1.

The launch window opens at 6:24 p.m., and you’ll be able to watch the liftoff live online.

The next mission, Artemis III, is planned for next year and will test one or both of the lunar landers that are being developed by Space X and Blue Origin.

Artemis IV, expected to launch in early 2028, plans to bring humans back to the surface of the moon for the first time in decades.

Source

As many as 40% of travelers deal with constipation, but some advanced planning can help keep it at bay while you’re away.

“Our travel routine takes us out of what our normal routine is, and that can absolutely impact the regularity that we have,” Dr. Michele Arthurs, a lifestyle medicine physician with Kaiser Permanente in Maryland, told ÃÛÌÒÊÓƵapp.

Her first tip for avoiding that backed-up feeling is to consistently drink water before and during your trip. Arthurs said most people should drink at least 64 ounces of water, or half a gallon, a day.

“Many of us … may not want to drink if we’re on a long car ride or on an airplane, because that means we have to stop or get up and navigate the aisle in an airplane, but this is very, very important for our bodies to maintain hydration,” Arthurs said.

Skip the temptation to drink alcohol on a plane, Arthurs said, because it can leave you dehydrated. She also encourages travelers to eat nutrient-dense foods such as fruits, vegetables and whole grains, and avoid foods that can cause or worsen bloating, such as carbonated drinks and foods that contain a lot of salt.

If you’re traveling by car, Arthurs suggests packing a cooler full of healthy snacks and thinking differently about where to stop to eat meals.

“Consider a grocery store rather than a fast-food restaurant, and look in their fresh section,” she said.

Arthurs said she travels with flaxseed meal or chia seeds. Both are great sources of fiber that can be added to things like yogurt, oatmeal or smoothies.

“I’ll pack them in a suitcase, or I’ll pack them in a bag that I throw into my car to make sure that I prepare to have some of that additive that’s fiber rich into foods that I have,” she said.

Getting exercise is also key to keeping constipation away, Arthurs said.

“If you’re on a long car ride, plan on taking a break,” she said. “Build in time for that and have a short walk.”

Arthurs’ advice is similar for those traveling by plane.

“Get that aisle seat that everybody wants … so you have an easier opportunity to get up and move around during a long flight,” Arthurs said.

Source

“Heart disease prevention is no longer something we start later in life,” Dr. Estelle Jean, a cardiologist at MedStar Montgomery Medical Center in Olney, Maryland, told ÃÛÌÒÊÓƵapp. “You can feel completely healthy in your 20s or 30s but still be developing many … risk factors.”

Jean urged people in that age group to know their current blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar numbers, and take action early to prevent disease.

One in every two adults over age 20 has , Jean said.

“Normal blood pressure is considered less than 120 over 80, but the more recent hypertension guidelines define high blood pressure more than 130 over 80,” she added.

To help people determine their risk, it’s now recommended that all adults get what’s called a . It checks for levels of a cholesterol carrying lipoprotein in your blood, which is inherited.

“It stays pretty consistent and steady within our life span, and so the new guidelines do recommend getting it checked at least one time throughout your life,” Jean said.

Eating poorly in your 20s and 30s can lead to high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Jean recommended thinking of food as medicine, eating plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, and avoiding saturated fats.

She also urged patients to get at least two and half hours per week of moderate intensity exercise, which can be broken up into 30 minute sessions five times a week, along with strength training at least twice a week.

In some cases, doctors determine that aren’t enough to head off heart trouble.

“For some patients, especially those with higher risk, we are starting medications earlier to prevent disease,” Jean said. “There are lots of things that we can do — from a healthy lifestyle and working towards that goal of maintaining a healthy weight — that can go a long way in reducing your risk for heart disease and stroke.”

Source

allowing small and portable solar panels installed by tenants passed the Virginia General Assembly last week and Gov. Abigail Spanberger is expected to sign it. The only other place in the U.S. that has such a law is Utah.

“Balcony solar, which is also called plug-in solar, allows any Virginian to go to a store, like Ikea or Walmart, and buy a plug-in solar kit and go home and install it in a matter of hours, powering some of their household’s needs with clean electricity and lowering their monthly energy bill,” Virginia Director for the Victoria Higgins told ÃÛÌÒÊÓƵapp.

If you don’t have a balcony, the kits can be set up in other ways to catch the sun’s rays, such as propping them up in your backyard.

“It’s an opportunity to open up clean energy to so many people who have not had access for a variety of different reasons, whether they are renters, or they just don’t have a suitable roof or they just can’t pay for a full rooftop system,” Higgins said.

Under the plan, Virginians will be able to buy solar kits with a maximum output of 1,200 watts per dwelling starting in January.

State Sen. Scott Surovell, a Democrat representing part of Fairfax County, sponsored the legislation in his chamber and said in a floor speech that the units pay for themselves in two to five years.

Surovell, who serves on the Commerce and Labor Committee, said at that the use of the small, portable solar panels “pay for themselves within two to five years.”

He noted some amendments to the bill that require a tenant to give a landlord notice of their plan to install a solar panel within “a certain amount of notice,” as well as forming a work group to look into safety and potential building code changes.

“They’re becoming very popular worldwide. And this will put Virginia at the forefront of allowing people to generate their own power, have some individual freedom and liberty, and free themselves from the grips of having to purchase power from ‘the man,'” Surovell said.

The kits are already popular in Europe.

“There are over 1 million registered units in Germany alone that, in the aggregate, are providing one gigawatt of power, which is the equivalent of a nuclear power plant,” Higgins said. “While it’s a small amount of electricity per household, altogether, it can be a meaningful source of clean electricity.”

Source

A aimed at answering that question is well underway at Virginia Tech.

“I don’t want to sound alarmist, but we’re probably due for something,” Eric Jacques, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at Virginia Tech, told ÃÛÌÒÊÓƵapp. “I think raising awareness, building in good principles of structural engineering, structural design to protect against these possible threats is important.”

It doesn’t take deep pockets or a sophisticated expertise to launch deadly drones, but the technology used to bring them down, including interceptor missiles and lasers, can be very expensive.

That’s why Jacques is leading a research effort in partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to find more cost-effective ways to protect power plants, bridges and other critical structures from potential drone strikes.

“What we’re talking about is passive protection; trying to make a site or facility that’s harder to approach, harder to target and less vulnerable if it is attacked,” Jacques said. “It’s an investment you make once, and then it does its job waiting for hopefully an attack that never occurs.”

Jacques said that protection could look like a false roof, or blast-resistant windows.

“That may mean planting a bunch of trees and putting up nets, or even putting false targets around a structure to make it look like an attractive weak point when, in fact, it’s really not,” he said.

The researchers are working to take principles of defense that may have been used in the past to prevent car bombings, and expanding them to address the three dimensional threat posed by drones.

Jacques said the research work started nine months ago, well before the start of America’s war with Iran.

Source