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Letter from Washington DC, city of insecurity and fear

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Letter from Washington DC, city of insecurity and fear


The capital of the United States, home of the government and an amazing number of armed teenagers, set a deplorable record last year: it became the city with the highest number of carjackings in the country per 100,000 residents.

Police reports show that on average, there were almost three carjackings a day – incidents when drivers had their cars taken away at gunpoint. The trend continued in the first month of 2024 – just two a day.

In absolute numbers – there were 958 carjackings in 2023 while 57 have already taken place in January.

Pistol-packing teenagers committed most of the violent thefts of occupied cars. Relatively few are arrested. In January, eight of the criminals involved in the 57 incidents were arrested.

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Such numbers have instilled a pervasive sense of insecurity and fear among many residents. As one user put it in a tweet: “What’s scary about crime in DC these days is the randomness. You don’t need to be involved in drugs or gangs to get carjacked.”

The capital’s carjacking wave rarely makes national news except when the victims are prominent in politics or business. In October, Henry Cuellar, a Democratic congressman, recalled what happened to him when he returned to his home in the city’s trendy Navy Yard neighbourhood.

“I was just coming into my place. Three guys came out of nowhere and they pointed guns at me. I do have a (Karate) black belt but I recognise when you got three guns – I looked at one with a gun, another with a gun, and a third behind me. So they said they wanted my car. I said ‘sure’.”

Cuellar’s car and his cellphones were later recovered a few miles from where they were taken. The carjackers, thought to be in their mid-teens, disappeared and there were no arrests. Case closed.

But a more recent attempted carjacking had a bloodier outcome. On February 5, a former official of the Trump administration, Mike Gill, was shot dead while sitting in his car at 5 pm to pick up his wife from her law office in an upscale area of the city.

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His wife found him on the sidewalk, his head in a pool of blood, one leg still inside his car. The assailant fled on foot and was shot and killed by police while attempting another carjack.

The wave of carjackings prompted city authorities and police into different actions. DC mayor Marion Bowser declared a public emergency in November and promised to improve monitoring of criminal activity. Police handed out free air tags to help victims of carjackings find their stolen cars.

A sweeping crime bill is under discussion by the 13-member City Council, the legislative branch of the District of Columbia. It dates back to the 1973 Home Rule Act which created a local government for the country’s capital. Council decisions can be overruled by Congress and DC citizens still have no representation there.

While the council discusses ways to stem crime – a bill is expected later this month – there is plenty of advice for citizens who live in fear. A local television station, extrapolating from police data, recently published a list that highlights how widespread crime has become.

The guidance boils down to advice to look over your shoulder wherever you go.

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It stemmed from a crack cocaine epidemic in the city and turf wars between drug gangs in defined areas. Use was widespread. The capital’s mayor at the time, Marion Barry, was arrested in January 1990 smoking crack cocaine in a hotel room.

I arrived in Washington in 1998 and, like most residents, did not feel insecure and threatened by violence. Today’s security guidance emphasises that you can be a victim anywhere.

Carjackers find their victims anywhere and at any time with the following situations or locations more common:

· ATMs
· Gas stations
· Car washes
· Garages
· Parking lots
· Grocery stores
· Mass transit
· Intersections controlled by stop lights or signs
· Highway entrance and exit ramps, or any place where drivers slow down or stop

One of the fiercest critics of how the American capital is run has been former president Donald Trump, an extremely unpopular figure in a city which voted more than 90 per cent against him in the 2016 elections.

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Trump is facing trial for criminal charges in Washington and has unsuccessfully tried to move the venue.

“No way I can get a fair trial, or even close to a fair trial, in Washington, DC. There are many reasons for this, but just one is that I am calling for a federal takeover of this filthy and crime-ridden embarrassment to our nation,” Trump said in a posting on his social network, Truth Social.

But letting the federal government run the city – the only capital of a country whose citizens have no representation in Congress – is unlikely to fix its problems. According to a series of surveys over the past few years, Americans are deeply distrustful of the federal government.

As former Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill put it: “Dysfunction and chaos are now in the political bloodstream,” and citizens “see this as part of normal, polarised, partisan politics in Washington”. 

So, perhaps fixing the carjacking epidemic is better left to the city.

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(Disclaimer: The views of the writer do not represent the views of WION or ZMCL. Nor does WION or ZMCL endorse the views of the writer.)



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Washington, D.C

Weekend weather in the DC Area: A little bit of everything

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Weekend weather in the DC Area: A little bit of everything


If you’ve got plans around D.C., Maryland, or Northern Virginia this weekend, you’ll want to stay flexible.

The forecast brings a mix of warm temperatures, sunshine, and a few rounds of showers and storms—especially Saturday and late Sunday.

Here’s a simple, hour-by-hour style breakdown so you can plan ahead.

Saturday: Warm Front, Clouds, and Spotty Storms

Morning (6 AM – 12 PM)

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Mostly cloudy to start

A few early showers possible, especially toward the MD/PA border

Temperatures climbing through the 60s into the low 70s

What’s happening: A warm front is lifting north, bringing in milder air.

Afternoon (12 PM – 5 PM)

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Highs reach the mid-70s

Clouds may break at times

Scattered showers and thunderstorms develop

Saturday PM Forecast
Saturday highs

Storm window: 2 PM – 7 PM

About a 50% chance of rain

Severe risk is low, but not zero

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Possible:

Brief heavy downpours

Gusty winds

Maybe even small hail in isolated spots

Good news: Not everyone sees rain—but keep an eye on the sky.

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Evening & Night (After 7 PM)

Storm chances linger early, then fade

Skies turn partly cloudy overnight

Lows drop to the mid-50s

Winds become light

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Most of the night should be quiet and comfortable.

Sunday: The Pick of the Weekend

Morning

Dry and pleasant

A mix of sun and clouds early

Afternoon

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Sunny and warmer

Highs in the low 80s

Light southwest breeze

This is your best outdoor day—great for parks, brunch, or yard work.

Sunday PM Forecast
Sunday highs

Sunday Night (After Midnight)

Clouds increase

Showers likely after midnight (70% chance)

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Lows in the mid-50s

Winds shift from the north

Rain becomes more steady and widespread overnight

Looking Ahead (Late Sunday into Monday)

A cold front approaches from the northwest

Best chance for rain: Sunday night → Monday morning

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Rainfall totals:

Generally 0.10″ to 0.25″

Locally higher in spots

Storms are possible, but:

Limited instability

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Severe weather risk remains low

Weekend Planning Tips

Saturday:

Keep plans flexible—have a backup indoor option in the afternoon

Sunday:

Get outside early—it’s the best weather window

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Sunday night:

Expect rain if you’re out late or traveling

The Big Picture

This weekend is part of a warming trend, with temperatures climbing from the 70s into the 80s. But with that warmth comes multiple chances for showers and storms, especially as weather fronts move through the region.

This weekend compared too next

This weekend compared too next



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Washington, D.C

Mom finds out daughter with autism was sexually abused at DC school week after it happened

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Mom finds out daughter with autism was sexually abused at DC school week after it happened


CONTENT WARNING: This story contains content that may be uncomfortable to some readers. Discretion is advised.

WASHINGTON (7News) — A mother said she learned her 13-year-old daughter was sexually abused in a D.C. school when a detective contacted her a week after it happened. She said the school never notified her.

7News sat down with the mother on Friday, while her daughter was being evaluated and interviewed by detectives. We’re not sharing the mom’s identity to protect her daughter.

ALSO READ | Virginia health officials monitor cruise ship passengers for deadly hantavirus symptoms

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The mom said she got a call Sunday night, “regarding my daughter and a sexual assault that happened at school involving my daughter last Monday.”

However, it didn’t come from the place or people she said she counted on.

“I never got a phone call from the school, an email, a text, nothing to say,” said the mom. Nothing happened until a week later.

That’s when a detective called and told her what happened.

“She was forced to give oral sex to a student in school,” said the mom.

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Her 13-year-old daughter is disabled, autistic, and has challenges communicating.

The mom said she was sending her daughter to school without knowing what happened.

“I noticed a little behavior, emotional changes,” said the mom. “When I got that call now, it makes sense to, you know, what you because of what she had experienced at school and to come home and she didn’t say anything or no one had called me and just like it breaks my heart.”

7News obtained a copy of the police report, which confirms the youth investigative branch is investigating what happened to her daughter as sexual abuse. It shows that a Kelly Miller Middle School social worker reported it to the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) last week.

“I just hope that I can be able to get her back on the right track. From all the trauma, on top of trauma,” said the mom. “To be able to grow and not have to hold that in the back of her head that she experienced in school, which should have been her safe place.”

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7News started reaching out to DCPS just after 12:30 p.m. to ask if the students suspected of the abuse have been removed from the school, and why parents wouldn’t have been notified about the incident. They did not get back to us until after our first report aired. They did not answer either question. They provided the following statement.

A district spokesperson provided this statement:

At DC Public Schools (DCPS), student safety and wellbeing are paramount, and the district treats any allegation of sexual misconduct with the utmost seriousness. DCPS will continue to cooperate with law enforcement as this matter is investigated.

In accordance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and our obligation to maintain student confidentiality, we are unable to provide comment on individual student cases.

If you or someone you know is a victim of sexual assault or abuse, the National Sexual Assault Hotline can be accessed by calling 1-800-656-4673.

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Canvas cyberattack leaves many DC-area school systems without service

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Canvas cyberattack leaves many DC-area school systems without service


A cyberattack on the Canvas learning management system left thousands of schools and universities offline Thursday, disrupting access to grades, assignments, course materials and lecture videos as students prepared for finals.

The hacking group ShinyHunters claimed responsibility for the breach, according to the Associated Press. Instructure, the company behind Canvas, did not immediately respond to questions about whether the system was taken down as a precaution or knocked offline, the AP reported.

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READ MORE: Canvas outage impacts thousands of schools, universities: Hacker group reportedly takes credit

The hacking group posted online that nearly 9,000 schools worldwide were affected, with billions of private messages and other records accessed. Many school systems and universities in the Washington, D.C. region rely on Canvas as their primary learning management system.

In Montgomery County, school officials said access to the platform will remain unavailable “out of an abundance of caution” while they work to understand the impact of the incident and any potential vulnerabilities. Families were urged not to log in until MCPS and the myMCPS Classroom vendor resolve the issue.

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The University of Maryland said it does not yet know when Canvas will return to service.

Canvas Cyberattack DC-Area School Systems Affected

Montgomery County Public Schools

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Canvas (myMCPS Classroom) owned by Instructure Inc., is used by the school district as its learning management system. Due to a reported global cybersecurity concern involving Canvas, and impacting numerous school systems, universities, corporations in Maryland, other states, and worldwide, thus access to myMCPS Classroom has been disabled.

Out of an abundance of caution, access to the system will remain unavailable while we work to better understand the full impact of the incident and any potential vulnerabilities involving information connected to the platform. Please do not attempt to log in to the platform until MCPS and the myMCPS Classroom (Canvas) vendor have resolved this problem.

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At this time, appropriate MCPS technology and security staff are continuing to assess the situation and coordinate with the vendor. We understand this disruption is frustrating and appreciate your patience as this work continues.

myMCPS Classroom provides access to student information such as grades, assignments, attendance, and course materials, and is an important tool for students and families to monitor academic progress. Additional information on how students can access resources and functions in myMCPS Classroom will be provided as soon as possible.

Updates will be shared as soon as additional information becomes available.

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University of Maryland

Canvas may appear to be up right now, but please to not use it. DIT Security is not confident the system is safe to use right now. Please check back here before using Canvas.

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For our faculty who use Canvas, we have created this guidance, and we will continue adding resources tomorrow. Please stay in touch with your students as we adapt to this evolving situation.

Prince George’s County Schools

There has been a cybersecurity incident involving Canvas, our Learning Management System.

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Instructure, the parent company of Canvas, notified us of a global cybersecurity incident affecting 275 million users across numerous educational institutions. We have been informed that PGCPS was one of the many impacted organizations. While personal information including names, emails and Student IDs was impacted, NO sensitive  information, such as dates of birth, passwords, financial information, was involved. PGCPS does not store that type of sensitive information or parent information in Canvas.

We are using this as an opportunity to reinforce the importance of exercising caution when communicating by email and remaining vigilant regarding suspicious messages, spam, phishing attempts, or other potentially fraudulent communications. 

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We will continue to monitor the situation and remain in close communication with Instructure.

Anne Arundel County Public Schools

Due to the ongoing issues with the Canvas Learning Management System (LMS), AACPS will operate schools on Friday, May 8, 2026, without the use of the LMS. The Virtual Academy will also remain open with altered instructional delivery that will also not use the LMS. Further instructions will be communicated from the school principal. The latest information regarding the breach and the status of school district operations can be found at www.aacps.org/canvasbreach.

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Prince William County Public Schools

We are aware of the error appearing when accessing Canvas and are actively working with the vendor to resolve it. The issue is not just impacting PWCS, and is widespread and national in scope. We will provide updates when the vendor has resolved the issue.

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The Source: Information in this article comes from the Associated Press and previous FOX 5 reporting. 

NewsConsumerMarylandWashington, D.C.Virginia



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