Washington, D.C
‘Our nation’s capital should be able to do better than this’: DC lawmakers on city’s 911 outages – WTOP News
There’s been growing frustration with 911 outages at D.C.’s Office of Unified Communications, the agency that handles emergency calls in the city. Now, several D.C. lawmakers have called the response to a string of outages unacceptable.
There’s been growing frustration with 911 outages at D.C.’s Office of Unified Communications, the agency that handles emergency calls in the city.
In the same week OUC director Heather McGaffin announced $800 bonuses for OUC staffers who show up for every shift in August, several D.C. lawmakers have called the response to a string of outages unacceptable.
“The District of Columbia, our nation’s capital, should be able to do better than this,” D.C. Council member Brianne Nadeau told WTOP on Friday.
“There are very hardworking people at the 911 call center. Their jobs are incredibly difficult,” she added. But she called the outages “a perfect storm of government incompetence.”
The creation of a pilot program to offer the $800 bonuses underscores an issue that Nadeau said deserves more attention.
“I don’t think we pay them enough,” she said of call takers and dispatchers. “I don’t know that we are supporting them enough. I hope the bonuses help. But at the end of the day, this is not a new problem.”
In a statement sent to WTOP, Council member Brooke Pinto, chair of the Council Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety, wrote she is “exploring additional options for the upcoming fall legislative session to ensure we are appropriately compensating our first responders for their essential work.”
Pinto also said she would look into “legislative interventions” to improve 911 service and “greater transparency and reporting when errors do occur.”
Last year, Nadeau introduced a bill to return 911 calls to D.C. Fire and EMS, “so that we know the people who are answering the phones are medically trained and can get the people that need to be there to respond.”
Nadeau said there is a lack of urgency to address what she called a long-standing issue. When asked if the D.C. Council could be seen as playing a role in that lack of urgency, Nadeau said, “I think that’s a fair question. I feel a great sense of urgency and I really do hope that my bill gets a hearing so that we can have this conversation.”
On Tuesday, Anna Noakes, OUC public information officer, wrote in a statement to WTOP, “We have a busy, demanding system that requires that we regularly evaluate staffing levels to ensure we can always answer the call in a timely fashion while also being mindful of the well-being of our dedicated staff.”
Referring to the most recent outages on Aug. 2 and Aug. 9, David Hoagland, president of the union that represents D.C.’s firefighters, wrote in a statement, “IAFF Local 36 is steadfast in its commitment to collaborating with city leaders to implement sustainable reforms that will strengthen our 911 system.”
Regarding the Aug. 9 outage, Hoagland’s statement said, “Despite the obstacles thrown at us during the system breakdown, I’m proud of all of the firefighters on duty and our members working in the fire operation center who demonstrated exceptional professionalism.”
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Washington, D.C
Man in critical condition after water rescue in Southwest DC
WASHINGTON – A man is in critical condition after falling into the Anacostia River in Southwestern Washington, D.C., Friday night.
What we know:
D.C. Fire and EMS reported the rescue effort shortly after 10 p.m. at James Creek Marina in Buzzard Point.
Crews believe a man fell from the dock into the water.
By 10:30 p.m., crews were able to pull the man out of the water.
Paramedics took him to the hospital in critical condition.
What we don’t know:
Officials did not identify the man who was rescued. No other information was immediately available.
The Source: Information in this story is from the D.C. Fire and EMS Department.
Washington, D.C
DC’s baseball team faces potential DOJ probe after exec allegedly admitted to religious discrimination
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FIRST ON FOX — Washington, D.C.’s professional baseball franchise could come under Justice Department scrutiny after a viral video showed a team executive appearing to admit to his religious discrimination against a Christian player.
Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., is urging Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon to investigate alleged religious discrimination against players for the Washington Nationals, according to a letter sent Thursday to and first obtained by Fox News Digital.
The letter comes after Project Veritas founder James O’Keefe published a secretly recorded video of Washington Nationals Director of Community Relations Sean Hudson saying the team does not include pitcher Trevor Williams in certain social media promotion.
He cited the player’s public criticism of another Major League Baseball franchise for hosting a drag group mocking Catholics.
Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., is urging the Department of Justice to investigate alleged religious discrimination within the Washington Nationals organization and across Major League Baseball. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
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“According to the reporting by James O’Keefe, it appears the Washington Nationals are engaged in unlawful religious discrimination,” Boebert told Fox News Digital in a written statement. “I urge the DOJ to take immediate and decisive action.”
A spokesperson for the Justice Department said they received Boebert’s letter.
“The Department is reviewing the matter and will evaluate all appropriate next steps. As always, we remain committed to enforcing federal law and protecting civil rights,” they told Fox News Digital.
A spokesperson for the Washington Nationals did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Hudson, in the clandestine recording, pointed to Williams’ public objections to the Los Angeles Dodgers honoring the Sisterhood of Perpetual Indulgence — a drag group that dresses as nuns — during the team’s 2023 “Pride Night.
The event also drew condemnation from multiple Catholic bishops, who described it as “blasphemous.”
Trevor Williams of the Washington Nationals sits in the dugout before a game against the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park in Seattle, Wash., on May 28, 2025. (Stephen Brashear/Getty Images)
Williams said he found the group’s anti-Catholic demonstration featuring vulgar caricatures of the crucifixion and sacred rituals to be “deeply offensive,” in an interview with Bishop Robert Barron last year. The professional baseball player said he made the decision with his wife to speak out even though it would put “a target on our back.”
“Baseball stadiums should be a place where everyone feels welcomed, like 100%,” Williams said in the interview. “We should all feel welcomed there. But that was clearly against one certain religion. If you don’t draw the line in the sand, who’s gonna do it?”
According to Hudson, that public criticism of the drag group’s performance later affected Williams’ opportunities at the Nationals franchise.
“Because of that we don’t use him on social [media],” Hudson told an undercover journalist in the video. “When they’re like ‘is a hot dog a sandwich’ and the players come up, we don’t ask him.”
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Boebert said she is concerned that Hudson’s admission could mean the franchise violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination based on religion and other protected classes.
“Americans of faith should not face professional repercussions for objecting to the mockery of their sacred traditions,” the Colorado Republican said in the letter. “MLB’s privileged legal position should not become a license for exclusionary practices.”
“Sister Unity” and “Sister Dominia” of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence were honored on Pride Night before the MLB game between the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on June 16, 2023. (Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire)
Hudson, in the video, described himself as “far-left leaning” and nonreligious. Meanwhile, he called Williams “super Catholic.”
The Washington Nationals executive also boasted about a Communist Party poster in his office and mused about pushing redistribution of wealth and other leftist agendas during baseball games at Nationals Park in Southeast Washington, D.C.
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“What a cool opportunity for us [Nationals] to also, be a little bit of like, the voice of reason,” Hudson said. “And a lot of people will tell you when I come to a baseball game, I don’t want to think about that s–t.”
“If you’re a sports fan and we piss you off, where else are you gonna go,” he went on. “I don’t give a sh–t.”
Washington, D.C
‘Gateway to our city’: $465M grant to renovate Union Station
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced Thursday hundreds of millions of dollars to help with what he says are critical structural repairs and upgrades for D.C.’s Union Station.
“It was built in 1908, over a hundred years ago, and it was the largest train station in the world when it was built,” Duffy said. “And over the course of decades, it’s become run-down,” Duffy said.
A $465 million grant aims to ensure the overall experience for those coming and going remains up to par and on track at the transit hub. It will help fast-track repairs like roof upgrades and passenger concourses, Duffy said.
The project includes the Amtrak lounge and the ticket experience.
For some travelers, alternatives to fast food are a must.
Retail, parking and office spaces will be priorities of the project to maximize the station’s revenue, as will public safety.
Already, Columbus Fountain is flowing again after being broken and dry for almost two decades.
“Now when you come out of Union Station, the gateway to our city, you’ll be met with a fountain that is beautiful and a fountain that actually works,” Duffy said.
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