Washington, D.C
Thousands protest USAid workers being recalled from abroad or put on leave
Thousands gathered at the US Capitol on Wednesday after the shock announcement on Tuesday evening that the US Agency for International Development (USAid) was putting nearly all of its employees on leave and recalling thousands of officers from their postings abroad.
The news came only days after nearly a thousand contractors were laid off or furloughed, the USAid website was taken down, and its X account was deleted.
Protesters gathered near the Capitol under chilly, overcast skies and chanted: “Let us work!” and “USAid! USAid!”
“We are in a very, very dire place,” Jeremy Konyndyk, a top USAid health official under Barack Obama and Joe Biden, told the crowd. “The attempt to kill USAid will kill people.”
Competitors such as Russia and China were cheering this decision, he added.
His voice rose as he addressed members of Congress in the halls behind him – especially lawmakers, he said, who had supported the agency and its work for years.
“You know that what is being said about USAid is not true,” Konyndyk said. “Speak up! Where are you?”
“This is a dictatorship in the making,” Ed Markey, a senator from Massachusetts, told the crowd. “This is an example” of what the Trump administration can do to agencies such as the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), he said.
“We are the moral force of the world,” Markey said. “The only way to take back our government is to take to the streets by the millions to demand justice, not just for our country but for people around the world.”
Nearly all of USAid’s work, which includes preventing HIV and famine as well as rebuilding nations after conflict and improving education, was halted unexpectedly on 24 January for a 90-day review.
Experts say the erasure of the agency is a test run for the Trump administration, which has also put agencies such as the Department of Education and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa) in its crosshairs.
“This is showing that you can do a slash-and-burn to the American governmental apparatus, including foreign aid,” Joia Mukherjee, chief medical officer of the non-profit Partners in Health, told the Guardian.
While USAid has enjoyed bipartisan support in the past, it’s now a target for conservatives. But Mukherjee said that nothing about aid work had changed in Washington.
“I think the fidelity to Trump changed,” she said. Members of Congress are “afraid of Trump”, she added. “This is just a loyalty test.”
Pete Marocco, who was allegedly photographed and filmed at the January 6 riots, appeared to threaten aid workers with military action if they didn’t comply with evacuation orders, according to a source at USAid who read the recall letter.
Marocco was named deputy administrator of USAid on Monday by the secretary of state, Marco Rubio. That position needs confirmation by the US Senate before being filled.
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Rubio seized control of the agency to fold it into the state department after alleging that officials at the agency had been too “independent”, Rubio told reporters on Monday.
The aid agency was founded in 1961, but was enshrined into law as an independent agency by Congress in 1998. Only lawmakers have the power to dismantle or move it.
“What’s happening is unconstitutional and illegal,” said Sharon Baker, who worked on grants and contracts for USAid for 11 years before retiring.
“It’s enormous – it affects all Americans,” she said, before adding of USAid staff: “In global emergencies, they’re the first responders. [After earthquakes and tsunamis], they’re the ones who are there first. You see airplanes offloading supplies that say ‘from the American people’.”
The move to stop work and dissolve the agency into the state department without direction from Congress is unprecedented, said one contractor who worked for USAid for 20 years before being furloughed last week.
“It puts us and the world in danger in a way it never has before,” said the contractor, who requested anonymity to protect their job.
“I think this is Project 2025 in action. They’re doing what they said they would do.”
The stop-work order is “the most catastrophic thing we’ve seen in foreign aid since we started working on famine in Ethiopia in the 80s”, said Crickett Nicovich, who works for the non-profit Results.
“Congress needs to stand up and defend USAid. Conservatives have told us that they care about these issues for years,” Nicovich said.
“Without them pushing back, this dismantling of programs is costing hundreds of thousands of lives around the world.”
WASHINGTON (7News) — An early Wednesday morning incident at D.C.’s Metro Center left multiple riders injured after a work vehicle made contact with a Silver Line train just before the end of service.
According to Metro officials, the train was holding at the station when the work vehicle struck the rear car shortly after midnight. Officials said there were 27 customers on board at the time.
Officials say 11 people reported non-life-threatening injuries and that Metro personnel were not seriously injured.
SEE ALSO | Metro’s board to vote on budget that calls for fully automated trains on the Red Line
Passengers who did not report injuries were transferred to another train and continued toward Downtown Largo.
The train involved was the final Silver Line run of the night.
Metro said the incident remains under investigation as crews work to determine the cause.
As of 3:30 a.m., it’s not clear what the potential impacts to the morning service may be.
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Here are a few ways to give you a better idea of how much it may cost you if you’re considering moving to a new city.
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Earning enough to be considered middle class has gotten more expensive, with rising housing and everyday costs pushing the income bar higher, according to a recent report from GOBankingRates.
The median range for middle-class income across the country is between $59,000 and $104,000 in 2026, depending on which state you live in. GOBanking Rates used Pew Research Center’s definition of middle class — income ranging from two-thirds to twice a state’s median household income — and added data from the U.S. Census Bureau to report lowest middle-income, highest middle-class income and median income for each state, including Maryland and Virginia, and Washington D.C.
The current national middle-class minimum of $59,000 would have declared you middle class a decade ago in the U.S. In 2016, earning $39,000 placed a household at the lower edge of the middle class — and in regions like DC, MD and VA, median incomes were already far higher than the national median, so the “middle-class floor” was much higher than $39,000 even then.
In the DC region, the income required to be considered middle class is significantly higher than nationally, with the threshold starting around $61,000 in Virginia and nearly $69,000 in Maryland — compared with about $47,000 nationwide, GOBankingRates data shows. To be considered middle class in Washington DC, you’d have to earn at least $70,200. GoBankingRates omitted DC from their report; however, using the same formula and same US Census data cited, USA TODAY Network was able to calculate the low, high and median middle class income ranges. Here’s what the report shows and what we found for middle-class consideration in 2026.
What is middle class in Washington DC?
The middle class is a socioeconomic group in the U.S. that falls between the working class and upper class, earning around the middle of the income distribution for where they live. Middle class households often are able to cover their bills, rely on loans to buy homes or cars, and occasionally eat out or vacation, but not without careful budgeting, according to Investopedia.
Washington DC’s middle-class income in 2024 (the most recent year available from Census data) was between $70,200 and $209,600. GoBankingRates omitted DC middle-class data; however, USA TODAY Network used the same calculation, using the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS) and the Pew Research Center’s benchmark definition of middle class. Here is the breakdown for middle-class in Washington DC:
- Median household income: $104,800
- Lowest end of middle-class income: $70,200
- Highest end of middle-class income: $209,600
Due to the region’s high cost of living, Washington DC’s middle-class median income surpasses not only the U.S. median, but it’s neighbors in Delaware, Virginia and Maryland. It also slightly surpasses the median middle-class income of New Jersey.
What is middle class in Virginia?
In Virginia, the income needed to be considered middle class starts at about $61,400 and can range up to roughly $184,200, according to GOBankingRates. That is based on Pew Research Center’s definition — two-thirds to twice the median household income. Here’s the breakdown of Virginia’s middle-class income as reported in 2026 using the latest Census data available from 2024:
- Median household income: $92,090
- Lowest end of middle-class income: $61,393
- Highest end of middle-class income: $184,180
What is middle class in Maryland?
To be considered middle-class in Maryland, the income required starts at about $68,600 and can extend up to roughly $205,800, according to GOBankingRates, which used the latest 2024 U.S. Census Bureau data available in their 2026 report.
For many Maryland households, especially in the DC suburbs, earning what sounds like a solid income does not always translate into financial comfort once housing, childcare and community costs are factored in: Maryland housing costs (rent and home prices) are well above national averages, according to Zillow market trends, and commuting costs for DC-area workers are among the longest and costliest, Census data shows. Maryland also consistently ranks among the most expensive states for childcare, often surpassing $15,000 per year per child, according to a Care.com 2024 Cost of Care report.
Highest middle-class incomes in the US
- Massachusetts income range: $69,885 to $209,656
- Maryland income range: $68,603 to $205,810
- New Jersey income range: $69,529 to $208,588
- Hawaii income range: $67,163 to $201,490
- California income range: $66,766 to $200,298
- New Hampshire income range: $66,521 to $199,564
- Washington income range: $66,259 to $198,778
- Colorado income range: $64,742 to $194,226
- Connecticut income range: $64,033 to $192,098
- Virginia income range: $61,393 to $184,180
Lori Comstock is a New Jersey-based news reporter covering trending news with USA TODAY Network’s Mid-Atlantic Connect Team. She covers news in the Northeast, including New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Washington DC, Maryland, and Virginia. Reach her at LComstock@usatodayco.com.
Washington, D.C
US industry leaders take sport fishing issues to Washington DC – Angling International
The impact of tariffs on the US fishing tackle industry and the need for sound fisheries management were among the topics discussed by attendees of the American Sportfishing Association (ASA)’s first ever Keep America Fishing in DC Fly-In.
It included industry leaders who last week joined together in Washington DC and all walked hundreds of miles across the US Capital Complex to advocate for the interests of the US trade and the entire recreational fishing community.
The group also enjoyed conversations with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Director, Dr Neil Jacobs, Director of the US Fish and Wildlife Service, Brian Nesvik, Senator Martin Heinrich (D-NM) and Representative Blake Moore (R-UT).
ASA President and CEO, Glenn Hughes, said: “We look forward to continuing the conversation with legislators throughout the rest of this Congress and to an even bigger Keep America Fishing Fly-In in 2027.”
Above: From left: ASA President Glenn Hughes and Vice President of Government Affairs, Mike Leonard, with Senator Martin Heinrich (centre).
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