Washington, D.C
President Holland emphasizes God’s love, mercy and watch care during leadership training meeting in Washington, D.C.
WASHINGTON, D.C. â As a father who would do anything for his children, President Jeffrey R. Holland said he has glimpsed the great love God has for all His children.
âI would do anything in righteousness for my children. There is no river I would not swim. There is no mountain I would not climb. I will fight a school bus, if you tell me to,â said President Holland, acting president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints during leadership meetings near the nationâs capital on Feb. 24.
If earthly fathers feel this way, what must it mean âfor an Eternal Being filled with glory and mercy? What must it mean for Him to love you â to love us â to try to make this work, to try to withstand evil and try to increase and cultivate and expand life and love?â he asked.
Speaking to Area Seventies, mission presidents, temple presidents and stake presidents in the Churchâs North America Northeast Area gathered in a chapel just outside of Washington, D.C., President Holland emphasized Godâs love, mercy and watch care.
Quoting Elder J. Reuben Clark, who served in the First Presidency before his death in 1961, President Holland said that he believes God, in His judicial role, will exercise the minimum amount of justice necessary to adequately cover whatever justice is required. And âHe would expend and share and cast on us the maximum amount of mercy and forgiveness and peace â essentially without bounds.â
It will be âas little on the one hand and as much on the other hand as the eternal balance scales would require.â
President Holland was joined in the instruction meeting by Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Elder José A. Teixeira of the Presidency of the Seventy, Elder Allen D. Haynie and Elder Robert M. Daines, both General Authority Seventies who serve in the North America Northeast Area presidency. After the meeting, Elder Holland spoke to missionaries serving in the Washington, D.C., area.
The trip to Washington, D.C., marked President Hollandâs first assignment outside of the western United States since an extended illness.
President Holland, who missed October 2023 general conference, has resumed a full schedule at Church headquarters â leading the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles; speaking at the funeral services for President M. Russell Ballard on Nov. 17, 2023; rededicating the St. George Utah Temple on Dec. 10, 2023; and participating in leadership training and other assignments this year.
President Holland said his desire to do the work of the Lord is great. âI would go anywhere in the world to be with members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,â he said.
Looking out upon a congregation of people who give hours and hours of their time each week to the Church, President Holland said the response to a call to serve in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is one of its basic miracles â starting with Joseph Smith and continuing to this day.
Speaking about the prophetic priorities of the Church, President Holland emphasized that members in stakes will come unto Christ as they are mission oriented and temple going.
Elder Renlund said Latter-day Saints âjoyfully bind themselves to God,â through their covenants.
âThis is the Lordâs work,â he said. âPresident [Russell M.] Nelson has said any time anyone does anything that helps anyone make covenants and keeps them on that covenant path, then they are gathering Israel.â
Elder Renlund spoke of the importance of the covenant path â especially for new members.
Referencing his medical training, Elder Renlund said there is both a âgolden hourâ to treating new patients in medicine and new members strengthening their conversion. Just as a patient who comes into the emergency room after a trauma has better outcomes when medical intervention sets them on the right path, there is a small but effective period to get a new member of the Church headed in the right direction and making additional covenants. âAnd then they just need to be guided along the path,â he said.
President Holland noted that when Elder Edward Dube, a General Authority Seventy, first joined the Church at age 22 in Zimbabwe, he attended Sunday meetings for two weeks and then prepared to stay home the third Sunday. Soon, however, a member couple stopped by and insisted he attend with them. In the more than three decades since, Elder Dube never missed Sunday Church meetings again.
Elder Teixeira also addressed helping new and returning members have a joyful experience â so they âsense they belong, so they are a part.â
Everyone that comes to Church should feel that they are ânot only welcome but that they are wanted,â he said.
Elder Daines spoke of helping Latter-day Saints feel the âjoy of the Sabbath dayâ and of âbeing connected to the Savior.â They can then pass that joy on by âwelcoming and inviting and helping other people feel the same thing.â
Elder Haynie asked the leaders to help members, especially children, âhave a relationship with Jesus Christ.
Emphasizing scripture study, he said, âChrist said this: âSearch the scriptures. … They are they which testify of me.ââ
While addressing missionaries, President Holland spoke of the blessing his own mission had been in his life. As a 19-year-old young man, he had a college scholarship, was on the basketball team and held a student body office. Still, his future wife encouraged him to serve a mission.
He came home 24 months later to discover that everything in his life was touched by that decision.
âEvery single thing that I cherish in this Church and gospel, I can trace back to the decision to go on a mission and do the best I could … and then to come home to a life of blessings that no young man from St. George could have dreamed possible.â
Washington, D.C
A Virginia boater is suing a DC utility for the Potomac River sewage spill
A Virginia boater is suing a Washington water utility for negligence in the collapse of a pipe that leaked millions of gallons of raw sewage into the Potomac River.
The class action lawsuit filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt, Maryland, comes weeks after a January sewage pipe collapse, shooting wastewater out of the ground and into the river in an area just north of Washington, D.C. The spill is seen as a serious environmental blight and became the focus of political bickering between President Donald Trump and Democratic-led Maryland, where the leak occurred.
Dr. Nicholas Lailas, M.D., the plaintiff, is a Virginia resident and recreational boat user on the Potomac who is seeking compensation for people “whose property interests in and use and enjoyment of the Potomac River … have been impaired by Defendant’s conduct.”
The lawsuit alleges that it was DC Water’s responsibility as the owner and operator of the ruptured pipe, known as the Potomac Interceptor, to maintain it in a “reasonably safe condition and to prevent foreseeable harm to persons and property.”
The lawsuit said that preliminary data indicate that there are thousands of people who own property or vessels in the affected parts of the Potomac.
Andrew Levetown, an attorney for the plaintiff, said in an interview Monday that it will take time to get the full breadth of the class, with business owners, property owners and recreational users all having interest in the potential damages caused by the Jan. 19 collapse and leak.
“You’re going to have businesses who lose business because instead of sitting next to the Potomac, their clients are sitting next to the open sewer,” he said.
The suit did not specify a damage amount. DC Water spokesperson John Lisle said in a statement that the collapse of the Potomac Interceptor was “a serious and unexpected event, and our teams remain focused on the response, environmental protection, and restoration efforts. Because this matter is currently subject to ongoing litigation, it would not be appropriate for us to comment further at this time.”
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser declared an emergency Feb. 18 and requested that President Donald Trump provide federal resources to help the city fight the leak that dumped 250 million gallons of raw sewage into the Potomac River in its early stages. The president approved the emergency assistance days later to help the city address the emergency.
DC Water gave its most detailed assessment yet of why the Potomac River sewage spill occurred and what it will take to fix it. News4’s Mark Segraves reports.
DC Water said it knew the pipe, first installed in the 1960s, was deteriorating, and rehabilitation work on a section about a quarter-mile (400 meters) from the break began in September and was recently completed. The pipe that ruptured was scheduled for repair this summer.
DC Water’s updates say the emergency repairs are beyond the halfway point and there are no flows into the river.
At a public briefing last week, officials with the utility said they were assessing the cause of the rupture, including whether the way the pipeline was initially constructed contributed to the emergency. David Gadis, the CEO of DC Water, said at that briefing that while it was too early to say definitively, “we are seeing indication that this incident may have been highly unusual.”
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Washington, D.C
Route for Freedom 250 Grand Prix in DC debuted at the National Mall
WASHINGTON — Get ready to start your engines, DC.
Officials unveiled the 1.66-mile circuit route Monday, where race cars will be zooming around the National Mall in August for the Freedom 250 Grand Prix in celebration of America’s birthday.
The seven‑turn layout features views of the Washington Monument, US Capitol, the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, and part of Pennsylvania Avenue, IndyCar announced.
“This was a team effort,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said. “It’s Penske, it’s FOX, it’s the mayor, it’s Interior, it’s everybody else joining together not to make a profit, not to get your name out there but to say, let’s celebrate America.”
“Let’s celebrate America’s birthday.”
The first-ever street race around the National Mall will take place from Aug. 22-23, with the course itself set to be built up during the summer.
Drivers will also blast past the National Archives, the National Gallery of Art, and the Hirshhorn Museum, with a pit lane on Pennsylvania Avenue.
Officials debuted a red, white, and blue “Freedom 250 Grand Prix IndyCar” design Monday to honor the upcoming 250th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence.
“We want people to plan their trips to D.C. now,” DC Mayor Muriel Bowser said. “Come for the Freedom 250, and then stay to enjoy our monuments and museums, our beautiful parks, world-class restaurants and hotels, and all the culture and entertainment that make us the best city in the world.”
President Trump took executive action back in January, tasking Duffy and Secretary of the Interior Sean Duffy to coordinate with Bowser on planning the feted event.
“The story of America is one of vision, courage, perseverance – and speed,” Monica Crowley, Trump’s representative for America’s 250th, said in a statement.
“Presidents Washington and Jefferson marked notable celebrations with spirited horse races; the Freedom 250 race will bring that historic tradition into the 21st century and renew a tremendous sense of patriotic pride.”
Trump’s team is eyeing other major sports events to celebrate America’s 250th anniversary, including a UFC fight at the White House. The US is also co-hosting the 2026 FIFA World Cup over the summer.
Washington, D.C
Storm Team4 forecast, Enjoy a pleasant start to the week with temperatures in the 70s
4 things to know about the weather:
- “May” not “March” for now
- Next rain late Wednesday, Thursday
- Back to average by Friday
- Much colder next Week
The warmer weather we’ve waited months for will be with us for only three more days before the March Lion starts to roar again.
Monday and Tuesday will be the best days of the week by far. Sunny skies and temperatures running 20-25° above average. Plan for highs reaching the low 70s Monday and near 80° on Tuesday.
A series of cold fronts later in the week will send temperatures back to average 54° by the end of the week and then well below average for most of next week.
Clouds will return by Wednesday morning and rain chances will arrive no later than sunset. Wednesday will still be close to 80° and have our first taste of humidity in a while. Rain is likely from Wednesday evening through noon on Thursday as our first cold front arrives.
Thursday’s highs, likely near 70°, will occur before sunrise but gusty northwest winds will have temperatures falling steadily throughout the day. Expect temperatures in the 50s, rain for the morning commute and 40s with rain ending for the ride home.
Download the NBC Washington app on iOS and Android to check the weather radar on the go.
Warm streak won’t last long
The good news is that Friday and the upcoming weekend look dry. Highs will be back in the mid-50s for Friday and Saturday but Sunday should get back into the mid-60s.
Another cold front will arrive early next week leading to temperatures running 10-15° below average. It’s also not entirely out of the question that there could be a wet snowflake or two on St. Patrick’s Day.
The return of the cold air next week will keep the cherry trees at bay so the odds of peak bloom occurring in March, like it has the last five to six years in a row, are looking slim at best.
QuickCast
MONDAY:
Mostly Sunny
Nice And Warm
Light Breeze
Wind: Southwest 5-10 mph
Chance of Rain: 0%
HIGHS: 68° to 74°
MONDAY NIGHT:
Clear Skies
Remaining Mild
Patchy Areas Of Fog
Wind: Variable 5 mph
Chance Of Rain: 0%
LOWS: 46° to 52°
TUESDAY:
Mostly Sunny
Near Record Warmth
Light Breeze
Wind: Southwest 5-10 mph
Chance of Rain: 0%
HIGHS: 76° to 82°
WEDNESDAY:
Breezy, Warm And Humid
Increasing Clouds
Showers By Evening
Wind: Southwest 10-25mph
Chance of Rain: 40%
HIGHS: 75° to 80°
THURSDAY:
Cloudy, Windy, Much Colder
Rain Likely Before 2pm
Falling Temperatures
Wind: Northwest 20-35 mph
Chance of Rain: 80%
HIGHS: 65° to 45°
Sunrise: 7:29 Sunset: 7:09
Average High: 54° Average Low: 37°
Stay with Storm Team4 for the latest forecast. Download the NBC Washington app on iOS and Android to get severe weather alerts on your phone.
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