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Top global transportation leaders meet in DC for key conference – WTOP News

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Top global transportation leaders meet in DC for key conference – WTOP News


Transportation leaders from around the world are coming to D.C. for one of the biggest conferences in the U.S.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg speaks to the media during a visit to the Georgia Ports Authority’s Megarail facility, Friday, Dec., 17, 2021 in Savannah, Ga. Buttigieg used the visit to highlight the coordination with the his department and the Georgia Ports Authority to improve its cargo flow. (AP Photo/Stephen B. Morton)(AP/Stephen B. Morton)

Transportation leaders from around the world are coming to D.C. for one of the biggest conferences in the U.S.

Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is among the senior officials headlining the Transportation Research Board meeting, an annual event that brings together thousands of stakeholders, academics and experts to discuss myriad issues facing the transportation sector.

The conference — organized by the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine — begins Sunday at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center and runs through Thursday.

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The timing is crucial, as more than $1.2 trillion in infrastructure funding from the two-year-old Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is allocated to cities and states.

The White House said D.C., Maryland and Virginia will receive over $18 billion in the next five years for roads, bridges, public transit, water projects and EV charging stations. This includes the bipartisan multibillion-dollar Bridge Investment Program. The Transportation Department has recently opened applications for agencies to access funding for bridge projects.

“When a bridge closes, it costs Americans time and money, disrupts supply chains across the region, and sometimes cuts off entire communities from vital resources,” Buttigieg said.

“Thanks to President [Joe] Biden, we are making the largest investment in America’s bridges since the construction of the interstate system, and these grants will help repair bridges in communities of all sizes, so we can get people and goods safely to where they need to be.”

Billions are also being invested in extensive rail improvements from Virginia to Baltimore to enhance service on the VRE, MARC and Amtrak lines. This includes the new $4.5 billion for the Frederick Douglass Tunnel in Baltimore, set to replace the 150-year-old Baltimore and Potomac Tunnel.

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Transportation officials have stated that the old tunnel has long outlived its useful and safe operating life. Construction on the 1.4-mile tunnel is scheduled to begin this year, connecting Baltimore’s Penn Station to D.C. and Virginia.

“For years, we’ve been championing the expansion of rail to every corner of the Commonwealth because it’s a slam dunk for local economies, cuts traffic, and protects the environment,” Virginia Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner said in a joint statement.

“We’re thrilled the bipartisan infrastructure law is taking a big step towards expanding service across the entire Commonwealth so communities along the I-95 corridor and beyond can be connected by more convenient, consistent passenger rail.”

Virginia is set to receive nearly $730 million to expand the Long Bridge over the Potomac River, between Arlington and the District, expanding Amtrak and the VRE’s capacity.

The conference comes at a time when transportation leaders are working to lower the nation’s troubling traffic death toll, which was nearly 43,000 nationwide in 2022. However, for the first six months of 2023, deaths declined by 3% compared to 2022.

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Traffic deaths in D.C. soared in 2023 to a 16-year high, and conference attendees will hear reports on how artificial intelligence and other technology could improve road safety. The conference will also feature panels and workshops focused on safety.

Deputy Transportation Secretary Polly Trottenberg is scheduled to participate in a panel examining the process for reducing highway fatalities on Monday. She and fellow panelists will discuss how they are leveraging research to implement roadway safety policies that are saving lives in their communities.

Port leaders are also participating at the conference, discussing the optimistic state of the nation’s land and sea facilities. This is especially relevant, as nearly $20 billion in federal funding is allocated to improve ports, reduce emissions and enhance overall access.

At the Port of Baltimore, a $500 million project is underway to extensively rebuild the more than 120-year-old Howard Street Tunnel, allowing for double-stacked rail cars from CSX to enter and leave the port.

The project aims to eliminate all remaining double-stack obstructions in Maryland, Delaware and Pennsylvania, between the cities of Baltimore and Philadelphia.

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Drainage improvements will also be made throughout the track, with work expected to be completed in June 2027, following its commencement in August 2023.

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Washington, D.C

Man in critical condition after water rescue in Southwest DC

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Man in critical condition after water rescue in Southwest DC


A man is in critical condition after falling into the Anacostia River in Southwestern Washington, D.C., Friday night.

What we know:

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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. 

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Paramedics took him to the hospital in critical condition.

What we don’t know:

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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.

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DC’s baseball team faces potential DOJ probe after exec allegedly admitted to religious discrimination

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DC’s baseball team faces potential DOJ probe after exec allegedly admitted to religious discrimination


NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

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.

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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. 

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“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)

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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.”



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‘Gateway to our city’: $465M grant to renovate Union Station

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‘Gateway to our city’: 5M 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.

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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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