Fairfax County and Virginia State Police held five weeklong crackdowns on speeders and distracted drivers as part of their

The program intends to make the roads in the Virginia county safer by focusing on high visibility enforcement, outreach and education to the public, the department said

The 2025 campaign ended Oct. 19 with almost 50,000 citations and warnings being written, a 43% jump from last year when only 35,000 tickets and warnings were given out.

“We’re still seeing tens of thousands of people die every year on the highways in the United States, so we’re trying our very best to reduce that,” said Fairfax County Assistant Chief of Police Robert Blakley during the program launch.

The last week of the campaign racked up 10,565 citations and warnings, with more than 900 of them for speeding. But the focus isn’t on the number of citations.

“This campaign is not about writing tickets or seeing how many tickets and warnings we can write,” Blakley said. ”By seeing more blue lights and police officers out on the roadways, our residents are more likely to remember to look down at their speedometer, reduce the distractions in the cockpits of their cars and get home safe.”

The annual Road Shark campaign has been going on since 1999.

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“With allergies, you’re going to have sneezing, maybe a runny nose, itchy, watery eyes, scratchy throat, sometimes you can have a cough,” Dr. Brian Yuen with Inova-GoHealth Urgent Care said.

But he added respiratory infections, such as colds or flu, often bring additional symptoms.

“You’ll see fever with that, body aches in addition to the upper respiratory symptoms,” he said.

The timeline is another clue.

“If you’ve got a viral respiratory illness, usually this will last approximately seven to 10 days, and then you’ll be better,” Yuen said. “Allergies, symptoms can persist for longer, several weeks to even months, and they can also fluctuate in intensity based on the pollen or allergy levels in the air.”

And there’s a simple rule of thumb: “Usually with allergies, you’re not going to have fever, probably not going to have body aches with allergies, whereas you may have those symptoms with a respiratory infection,” Yuen said.

Still, allergies can sometimes pave the way for more serious issues such as sinus infections. Yuen cautioned that if you develop worsening symptoms — fever, shortness of breath or wheezing — it’s time to seek medical care.

For allergy season, there are some things you can do to try and lessen the impact.

Avoidance

For ragweed pollen allergies, the peak months are August through October, especially in the mornings. So try to keep windows closed and avoid being out during those peak hours. If you are out, change clothes and shower afterward to try and get the pollen off.

For mold allergies, mold spores are often harbored in fallen leaves, compost or damp homes. Inside, try to use a dehumidifier and other ventilation sources to limit indoor humidity.

If you have a dust allergy, it will likely flare up when you kick on your heating system for the first time this year, but you can lessen the impact by making sure those air filters have been changed, and vacuum with HEPA filters.

Prevention

If you know you have allergies, start taking your allergy medications.

You also may want to have nasal sprays, eye drops and sinus rinse kits on hand to help when symptoms arise.

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According to the 2025 Goldman Sachs “” report, 42% of Gen Z, millennials, and Gen X said they’re already living paycheck to paycheck.

The trend is expected to get worse. By 2033, Goldman said 55% of workers will be living paycheck to paycheck, with the number going up to 65% by 2043.

“You can see how costs like child care, costs like going to college, costs, you know, of housing and renting — all of those costs are taking a much larger percent of share of someone’s income,” said report author Chris Ceder in an interview with CBS MoneyWatch.

Housing now eats up 51% of median household income, compared to 33% in 2000. Private college tuition has risen from 65% to 85% of income, while public college costs climbed to 36%.

Those rising costs, combined with major life disruptions, are hitting younger workers hardest. Some 66% of Gen Z and 59% of millennials reported experiencing at least one major life event — marriage, divorce or buying a home — in the past two years. Of those, about 70% stopped their retirement contributions, borrowed from their plans or delayed retirement.

Even for those who are saving, they may not be saving enough.

“You’re still looking at (needing) anywhere between 8% to 10% (of income) — assuming your employers are also saving,” Ceder said. “So the numbers are still meaningful that you need to save. And, generally, you need to save over the long term of your career as well.”

Nearly 70% of savers think they’re on track or ahead, yet about 60% expect to outlive their savings — a gap Goldman Sachs calls “the optimism gap.”

Ceder’s advice? Get involved in a personalized retirement plan now.

“The data does show that people who are engaged and are focused and are actionable, they’re actually making significant progress,” Ceder told CBS MoneyWatch.

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The county is home to more than 70,000 federal employees, so the region has felt the impact of this year’s cuts deeply. Over 4,000 residents have lost their jobs since January.

In response, the county council that will give displaced federal workers preferential treatment for county job openings. Only qualified veterans and people with disabilities will receive higher priority.

“At the core, this is about protecting our community and honoring the legacy, the talent, the contributions of hardworking federal workers who have been unfairly and, in my view, illegally fired and made displaced,” said Council Vice President Will Jawando, who sponsored the bill.

Jawando is hoping the county can help some of these displaced workers find good paying jobs.

“While this won’t solve the problem, it’s going to be one of the many things we’re doing to try to mitigate that and send a loud and clear message to federal employees that we value you and we think you have something to offer,” Jawando said. “Montgomery County would be well served by your services.”

He also called on the private sector to help.

“This needs to be an all-hands-on-deck approach. We’re doing our part and continue to urge our private sector partners to take advantage of the great resource that is our federal employees,” Jawando added.

Council member Gabe Albornoz also voiced strong support but said he wants the message sent not just to displaced federal workers.

“To make sure that we send a message to all of our county residents that are losing employment right now as a result of the federal reductions in our nonprofit sector, federal contractors — we are open for business for everyone,” Albornoz said.

He also urged careful execution of the preferential treatment policy, requesting regular updates on the program’s rollout to ensure it is implemented smoothly.

“I was a department head when we implemented the hiring preference for veterans and for people with disabilities, and the execution of that was bumpy and there was some miscommunication,” he said. “We want to make sure we are doing this right and that we don’t create more problems than we are trying to solve.”

The preferential treatment for displaced federal workers will go into effect immediately upon getting the signature of the County Executive. It will remain in effect through July 2, 2027.

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Four people were injured, including the woman who was charged, and two cars were damaged, according to Charles County police.

It happened at a baby shower in the 1300 block of Smallwood Drive West in Waldorf on June 1, as the argument went from the baby shower into the parking lot.

Charles County police said Robin Alexander, 53, of Indian Head, got into her car and drove into the woman she had been arguing with it, as well as another bystander.

She then hit the gas and crashed into a car with a child inside.

Next, she drove around the parking lot and rammed into a car that belongs to the partygoer she’d argued with.

Others in the parking lot slashed Alexander’s tires to stop her car until police could arrive and arrest the driver.

Of the three people hit, one was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, the other two were treated by emergency personnel in the parking lot.

Alexander was treated at the hospital and charged with eight counts of aggravated assault and two counts of destruction of property.

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On Thursday night, the Maryland school system’s board and current Superintendent Millard House II came up with an agreement for his resignation.

The morning after House’s resignation was announced, the county named an interim superintendent who will take House’s place temporarily during the search for a permanent replacement.

The resignation follows a vote of no confidence in House by the county’s teachers union last week. Union officials said at the time that he was not responding to concerns about staffing shortages, payroll and school safety, among other topics.

The responsibility of selecting an interim superintendent fell on Aisha Braveboy, who will be sworn in on Thursday as the new county executive.

Braveboy said her office began planning for a potential replacement weeks ago, amid concerns by educators and board members about House’s performance in the role.

“You would have to have been blind not to see that there were issues going on between the board and the superintendent, as well as the teachers and the superintendent,” Braveboy said at a news conference Friday morning.

House’s last day will be June 18.

He began the job as superintendent in 2023 and was the third superintendent in the county in the last 10 years.

House’s contract was supposed to run through 2027, with an annual base pay of $345,000. There’s no word on what his severance package will be.

Who will take House’s place?

On Friday morning, Braveboy named Shawn Joseph as interim superintendent.

“Dr. Joseph is a highly distinguished career educator, scholar and advocate,” Braveboy said.

He has history with Prince George’s County schools, having served as deputy superintendent for teaching and learning from 2014 to 2016. He also worked in Montgomery County Public Schools for years.

“Prince George’s County, I believe should be and can be, a place where equity and excellence just are married and we see students excelling,” Joseph said. “I think we’ve got all of the ingredients to be one of the fastest improving school systems in the nation.”

Joseph runs an education and leadership consulting firm that provides services to school systems, including assisting in searches for superintendents.

Joseph is no stranger to the role of superintendent himself. He’s led school systems in Delaware and Tennessee.

Most recently, he’s worked at D.C.’s Howard University for five years as an assistant professor of educational leadership, administration, and policy.

Donna Christy, the president of the teachers’ union, said she’s hopeful about the transition as Joseph takes on the interim role.

“He presents as a problem solver, already identifying the issues, already talking about solutions and how we can move forward together as partners, and already talking about a compact of respect between our educators and the administration,” Christy said at the news conference.

The process of finding a new superintendent, Braveboy said, will involve getting input from the community and elected officials.

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“The Grand Feature Parade is Saturday afternoon at 1:30 p.m. It’s a mile and a half long through the downtown streets in Old Town Winchester. It’s one of our traditions,” said Brad Veach, executive director of the festival.

The festival started back in the 1920s as a way to celebrate the strength of the local economy, which was in the apples, the orchards and the growers. The apple blossoms were the harbinger of the fruit season to come.

“It’s an agricultural celebration that has grown into something much, much bigger. It’s a homecoming of sorts for many. We see people that come from all over the country,” Veach said.

And even though this festival is about the blossom, he said there will be some tasty apple goodies to try, a teaser, if you will, of what the area’s apple harvest will offer later this year.

“We have some branded apple goodies,” Veach said. “You can get your apple salsa and apple butter and all sorts of different things apple.”

The festival runs through Sunday.

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President Donald Trump’s administration sent Kilmar Abrego Garcia, 29, back to El Salvador in March after he was accused of being a MS-13 gang member.

The field interview report document completed by Prince George’s County police that was used to connect Abrego Garcia to MS-13 was released by U.S. Attorney Pam Bondi on Wednesday.

Labeled as a “gang field interview sheet,” the document details Abrego Garcia being stopped on March 28, 2019, with three other men, two of which were labeled as known gang members and the other suspected of being a part of MS-13.

It stated that Abrego Garcia wore “a Chicago Bulls hat and hoodie with rolls of money covering the eyes, ears and mouth of the presidents” on the bills, which was “indicative of the Hispanic gang culture.”

“Officers contacted a past proven and reliable source of information, who advised Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia is an active member of MS-13 with the Westerns clique,” the document said.

Officer Ivan Mendez was one of the officers who interviewed the group, including Abrego Garcia, and helped generate the field interview report, Prince George’s County police said in a statement Thursday.

Within a month of writing that report, Mendez was suspended in April 2019 for providing information to a commercial sex worker who he was paying in exchange for sexual acts. He was later fired.

Abrego Garcia’s lawyer, Lucia Curiel, told NBC Washington when representing Abrego Garcia at his immigration hearings in 2019, the court specifically cited the gang field interview sheet as trustworthy evidence used to tie Abrego Garcia to a gang.

“At Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s immigration court hearing, the ICE attorney stated to the judge that the only ‘intel’ they had on him was in fact that ‘intel’ from the [Prince George’s County] gang unit officer. They had nothing else and the PG officer responsible for the allegations was later fired,” Curiel said in a statement to NBC Washington.

The release of the report comes as the Department of Homeland Security posted court filing for a protective order made by Abrego Garcia’s wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, in May of 2021.

In a statement to ������Ƶapp provided by CASA, an advocacy group for immigrants, Vasquez Sura said after surviving domestic violence in a previous relationship, she filed for a temporary protective order “out of caution” after a disagreement with Abrego Garcia “in case things escalated.”

She later decided not to appear in court and the temporary protective order request was dismissed.

After his deportation in March, Abrego Garcia was put in a notorious Salvadoran prison. He has denied being a member of a gang and has no criminal record.

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The momma mallard may have been very smart, or she may have just been a lucky duck when she chose her nesting spot, cozying up between a couple plants in a rectangular planter on the Northwest museum’s rooftop terrace to lay her eggs.

Once the museum found out about the brood to be, they took to protecting their newfound feathered friend and her babies like, well, a duck to water. The museum got ahold of City Wildlife, a D.C. rescue and rehabilitation organization, and came up with a plan to protect the nest and little peepers once they hatch.

They are expected to start hatching in the next couple weeks and you can keep an eye on the nest on .

The museum is also using the opportunity to teach you more about the word duck, and promote some duck related reading.

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The 17-year-old weighed only 79 pounds when emergency officials were called to Dominique and Cynthia Moore’s Montgomery Village home in May of 2022.

The child was pronounced dead by first responders. An autopsy found that the child’s death was a homicide because the child was not given adequate care for the child’s medical conditions. Officials said six other minor children also lived in the home.

“Because of the unsanitary living conditions, six minor children, ranging between the ages of 15 and 5-years-old, were removed from the home and placed in the care of Child Protective Services. Two children over the age of 18 also lived in the home,” police said last year.

Investigators the case said the teenager was emaciated and the living conditions were unsafe and unsanitary. They described toilets that were not working, animal feces on the floor throughout the house, little food and windows covered with blankets.

The Moores were initially charged with second degree murder for the death of that teen as well as six counts of child neglect.

On Monday, November 4, their father, 46-year-old Dominique Moore, pleaded guilty to six counts of child neglect. Last month their mother, 41-year-old Cynthia Moore, was found guilty of six counts of child neglect.

They will both face up to 30 years in prison when sentenced next year.

The other six minor children who were living in the home were put in foster care, according to officials.

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In this case, a brownout means there aren’t enough firefighters available to run an engine or fire station. It’s been happening in Ballston.

“For two weekends in a row we’ve had situations where they’ve had to take engine companies out of service,” said Brian Lynch, president of the Arlington Professional Firefighters and Paramedics Association. “Neighborhoods in Arlington don’t have their first arriving engine company. Whether it’s a house fire or medical emergency, in our business, time can impact lives and property.”

The most recent example occurred Sunday into Monday, when an entire fire engine was taken out of service from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. due to personnel shortages, according to a statement from the office of Arlington’s fire chief.

“The Arlington County Fire Department, like many of our public safety partners in the region, are dealing with staffing shortages. The department is exploring many options to reduce the overall number of vacancies,” the statement reads.

The reason for the brownouts is a lack of firefighters, which the union blames on a pay scale that is not competitive with the market around Arlington.

The department has a number of vacancies that are not being filled and they are losing current firefighters to attrition at higher-than-average rates.

“I’ve been in the fire department for 22 years now and this is the first time this has ever happened where we’ve actually closed an engine company due to staffing,” said union Vice President Dustin Drumm, who said he’s concerned about the future. “So, if someone has a heart attack at a restaurant in Ballston, there’s going to be a delay. This is the beginning of closing engine companies, closing fire stations.”

To make up for some of the staffing void, the department has seen almost five times the mandatory overtime this year compared to the same time last year.

“When firefighters end their shift and there’s not enough people to relieve all of them they have to stay for 12-24 hours, potentially, of additional overtime,” Lynch said. “Some of our firefighters are working 60-72 hours straight.”

Lynch also pointed out that all that overtime is costly, at time and a half. If the county were to adjust the pay scale to make it more enticing for new firefighters to come onboard, they could save on all that overtime pay.

Lynch said there have been positive discussions with the county manager about making changes to the pay system, to hopefully recruit new firefighters and keep those already on the job. But, the discussions so far are short-term solutions. To turn the current tide, he said it will take a long-term solution that takes into account the pay rates in the market as well as the cost of living in Arlington.

“To get to the position that we used to hold in the labor market, you need to probably do a 20% pay increase,” Lynch said.

������Ƶapp reached out to Arlington County for comment on the situation.

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After Helene blew through two weeks ago, Jeff Green couldn’t get ahold of his son, who lived in Asheville, North Carolina.

“So, I immediately packed up my truck with chain saws and water and supplies and headed to Asheville,” Green said.

Because of the devastation, the usual eight-hour drive took over 17 hours.

“Thousands of trees down, power out — it didn’t look like a place that I even recognized anymore,” Green said. “It just looked like a war zone. I don’t know how else to describe it.”

He found his son, who was OK, and then started distributing the supplies he’d brought. But he realized this was not your normal disaster and much more help was needed.

Since then, Green, his wife and his brother-in-law have focused on helping those who have been affected by the hurricane’s impact.

Courtesy Jeff Green

Courtesy Jeff Green

Courtesy Jeff Green

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They have gathered supplies and made four trips to the area. The trips have been funded and stocked by his family and the aid of the 239-person community of Clifton.

“People in Clifton have just blown us away with the amount of support with donations, with money, with help. It’s been unbelievable,” Green said.

Over the past two weeks, he has seen some improvement in Asheville.

“They’re getting some of the infrastructure back. They’ve had thousands of linemen from all over the country, even Canada, and they’ve done an amazing job,” Green said.

While that’s in Asheville, the outlying areas are still struggling.

“The smaller towns like Swannanoa, Black Mountain, Old Fort Marion, Spruce Pine, they’re just trying to dig people’s houses out and put things back together,” Green said.

Adding insult to injury, winter is already creeping into the mountains, with some snow in recent days. So, Green is planning another supply trip, this time focusing on things to protect people who have lost their homes and belongings from the cold.

“We have families that are probably going to be living in tents, and it’s hard to even grasp all the things they need for that. But the immediate need is getting people a warm, safe place to stay,” Green said. “There’s a definite need for propane heaters, propane tanks, tents, new warm clothing (and) sleeping bags.”

Want to help? Here’s where you can donate for Green’s next trip:

• Total Framing: 3775 Pickett Road, Fairfax, Virginia (adjacent to the Fairfax Ice Arena). Business hours are Monday to Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Total Framing: 14512 Lee Road Units LMN, Chantilly, Virginia (across from the Chantilly Costco). Business hours are Monday to Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Main Street Pub: 7140 Main St., Clifton, Virginia. Business hours are Monday to Thursday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Saturday from 8 a.m. to midnight and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Green is planning to load up for his next run on Oct. 26.

If you have time and a penchant for hard work, Green said there is a definite need for hands-on help in the impacted areas, aiding residents trying to dig through the rubble of their homes and recover any of their possessions that may be left.

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Many landlords are now limited on how much they can raise rent each year because of the new Permanent Rent Stabilization and Protection Act.

Rent hikes are capped at 6% each year or the Consumer Price Index plus 3%, whichever is lower. That rate is even lower for anyone in age-restricted senior housing, capped at 4.5%.

But there are quite a few exceptions to the new law including:

• Newly constructed units completed after Jan. 1, 2000
• Units in medical facilities or temporary shelters owned by 501(c)(3)
  organizations
• Owner-occupied group houses and religious properties
• Hotels, motels, dormitories, and licensed assisted living facilities
• Owner-occupied duplexes, accessory dwelling units, and certain condominiums

County officials say the goal of the act was to reach a fair balance of rent stabilize properties.

County Executive Angela Alsobrooks called the act “an important step in addressing the housing affordability challenges our residents face. This law will provide renters with the security they need, ensuring they are not burdened by steep rent hikes while landlords can continue to maintain their properties.”

The enforcement of the new law will be done by the Department of Permitting, Inspections and Enforcement. Each year they will remind landlords and tenants of the rent increase limits.

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That’s the crux of a case that will be in front of the Maryland Supreme Court this week as the justices hear arguments on whether the Maryland Child Victims Act is constitutional.

When Maryland passed the Child Victims Act last year, it got rid of time limits for those sexually abused as children to take legal action against their abusers.

Before that, the law gave child victims until they were 38 years old to take legal action. That’s not long enough, according to the The organization said many victims don’t come forward until they’re in their 40s or 50s.

David Schappelle was 9 years old when a priest sexually abused him at St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church in Gaithersburg in 1986. But Schappelle told ������Ƶapp, he didn’t even remember the abuse until the memories came flooding back when he was in his 40s.

“The issue of time limit is real; it is something that survivors feel,” Schappelle said “They should have the right to come forward whenever they are comfortable, whenever they are capable, whenever they have the ability to, whenever that is.”

Under the old law, it would have been too late for him to seek legal recourse. But when the Child Victims Act was put into effect, he was able to file suit against the Archdiocese of Washington.

The suit comes down to definitions and details. Before the Child Victims Act came into being, previous laws had a set time limitation for victims to come forward, with permanent immunity given to defendants after that time period had passed.

The Archdiocese of Washington is arguing the time period assigned to the law was a statute of repose, which it said cannot be changed by the Maryland legislature. Therefore, it argues the Child Victims Act is unconstitutional. A statute of repose grants defendants a right to be free from liability after a certain point.

Lawyers for the victims disagree, saying the timeline was instead a statute of limitation, which the legislature has full rights to alter or remove.

The Maryland high court is expected to publish their decision within a year, a decision Schappelle will be waiting for to see whether his suit and other similar suits can go forward.

“I want to encourage the state to do what’s right and to think about the survivors and think about the society,” said Schappelle, ”One crime against one child is a crime against the entire society.”

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The District is using a $225,000 surplus from last year’s budget to buy out around $42 million in medical debt being held by some of the city’s lowest income residents.

“We’re seeing 60,000 residents — that’s more than 10% of our adult population — getting help,” said Ariel Levinson-Waldman, founding president and director-counsel with Tzedek DC, a nonprofit legal aid organization for people in debt.

Tzedek DC helped the District with the process and is also offering to make sure it goes through properly.

Those who qualify for the debt forgiveness include D.C. residents whose income was less than four times the federal poverty level or those whose medical debt was more than 5% of their annual household income.

Almost 60% of recipients of the debt buyout make $25,000 per year or less. Eighty percent of the recipients live in D.C. ZIP codes that are majority Latino or Black communities.

D.C. Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Wayne Turnage said this is about more than just paying an old bill.

“This creative use of funds allows us to help tens of thousands of people at once,” Turnage said in a statement. “We know the burden of medical debt can be a barrier from going to the doctor, buying a home or going to college to have a fair shot in their health and overall wellbeing.”

Additionally, he said some who knew they already had medical debt wouldn’t seek medical attention when they needed it because they didn’t want to stack another bill on their already high debt.

“So getting people that fresh start with respect to their medical debt accounts and hopefully increasing access and comfort with seeing the doctor when you need to see the doctor, we think, is a really big, positive step,” Levinson-Waldman said.

So why do medical care providers accept so little for so much debt? Levinson-Waldman said after a period of time, the hospitals will often write off the debt and it will be given a value of maybe half a penny or one penny per dollar. At that time, a government agency, such as the D.C. Council, or a philanthropist, can use each dollar it spends to pay down $100 or more in medical debt, clearing off the credit record of the person who couldn’t pay the bill.

So how will someone know if a debt was paid? Those who received the debt forgiveness will get a letter in the mail from Undue Medical letting them know their debt has been paid off. Levinson-Waldman recommended everyone who receives this letter open it up to make sure all of their information looks correct.

Tzedek DC also has a section on its website Levinson-Waldman recommended everyone use for free help to make sure the debt is removed from their credit record in months to come.

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