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Amendments aimed at altering transgender athlete policy fail in Washington

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Amendments aimed at altering transgender athlete policy fail in Washington



The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association representative assembly passed seven amendments, including one sanctioning girls flag football.

Two amendments aimed at changing how transgender students in Washington participate in high school and middle school sports failed to garner enough support during a recent vote by the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association’s representative assembly.

The assembly, which is comprised of 35 high school administrators and 18 middle school administrators, passed seven of 16 amendments in total, including one that will make girls flag football an officially-sanctioned sport and another that will change transfer eligibility rules in high school. Amendments to the WIAA handbook require 60% approval in order to pass.

The failure of two amendments involving transgender athletes stood out considering current WIAA policy allows students to compete in the division of gender they most consistently express.

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One amendment aimed to restrict participation in girls’ sports (such as fastpitch and volleyball) and girls’ divisions of sports (such as soccer, wrestling, basketball, and track and field) to students who are assigned female at birth. That measure barely failed, with 31 votes of support and 22 votes against. Support from 32 votes was needed to achieve the 60% threshold.

A second amendment called for athletic programs to be offered for boys and girls, while a separate open division would be created for “athletes wishing to compete according to their gender identity, if differing from their assigned sex.” That measure only generated 13 votes of support, while 40 were against it.

Those two failed amendments, which drew local criticism in January during the representative assembly winter coalition, remained on the ballot as “advisory vote only” items after recently being declared in violation of state law “by the Attorney General’s office, the Office of Civil Rights, and the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction,” WIAA director of communications Sean Bessette recently stated in a story in the Seattle Times.

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Despite the failure of (these amendments), the Association’s message remains clear: The WIAA remains committed to following Washington state law and will continue to do so moving forward,” the WIAA said in a release Monday. “If state law changes in the future, the WIAA Executive Board holds the authority to revise policies accordingly — and now has input from the membership on how to proceed in that event, while remaining in compliance with state law.”

Flag football now an official sport, transfer limit set

Girls flag football generated enough support to become the first new sport to be officially-sanctioned by the WIAA since 1999: 22 assembly voters supported the amendment, while 13 opposed it.

In Kitsap County, girls flag football’s popularity increased significantly last winter. Two years ago, only South Kitsap and North Kitsap offered the sport. Last season, Bainbridge, Bremerton and Kingston fielded teams, while Olympic formed a team comprised of athletes from all across Central Kitsap School District.

Regarding high school athlete transfer rules, the assembly voted 29-6 in favor of an amendment that would allow students to transfer schools one time during their four-year career, but only during designated transfer periods. The transferring student would be ineligible for 40% of the maximum amount of allowable games played.

Other amendments that passed included one that would end soccer games at any point after 60 minutes once an eight-goal margin is achieved. Amendments that failed included one that would have increased the number of regular season baseball and fastpitch games allowed from 20 to 22, and another that would have increased the number of regular season soccer games from 16 to 18.

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18-year-old dies after shooting in Tenleytown

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18-year-old dies after shooting in Tenleytown


An 18-year-old who was shot and wounded in Northwest D.C.’s Tenleytown neighborhood on Thursday afternoon has died, authorities say.

Brady Flowers Jr., of Southwest, was the victim, police said in an update Saturday.

Flowers was found shot in the 4500 block of Wisconsin Avenue NW, behind the CVS store. Jackson-Reed High School and American University are nearby.

Flowers was rushed to a hospital with life-threatening injuries and pronounced dead a day later, police said.

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Police said 10-15 teens were seen running after the gunshots.

An investigation is underway. Anyone with potentially relevant information is asked to contact police.



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Governor Moore Continues “Delivering for Maryland” Tour in Washington County, Highlighting Transportation Infrastructure, Economic Development, and Early Childhood Education

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Governor Moore Continues “Delivering for Maryland” Tour in Washington County, Highlighting Transportation Infrastructure, Economic Development, and Early Childhood Education


Updated:

ANNAPOLIS, MD — Governor Wes Moore today continued his statewide “Delivering for Maryland” tour with a series of engagements in Washington County, highlighting vital investments in local transportation infrastructure, manufacturing job growth, and early childhood education. The governor emphasized state contributions to modernize the Hagerstown Regional Airport, toured the state-of-the-art Hitachi Rail facility, and celebrated the opening of a new child care center in the South End of Hagerstown funded by the administration’s historic ENOUGH Initiative.

“From investing $1.5 million to update Hagerstown Regional Airport’s aging control tower to supporting 1,300 jobs at Hitachi Rail, the Moore-Miller administration is delivering for Hagerstown, Washington County, and Western Maryland,” said Gov. Moore. “Through our administration’s ENOUGH Initiative partnerships and investments, we’ve tripled child care capacity in the South End of Hagerstown — because no parents should be forced to pick between staying in the workforce or securing quality care for their kids.”

The governor began the day at the Hagerstown Regional Airport, touring the Air Traffic Control Tower and airport grounds. During the visit, Governor Moore highlighted the State’s $1.5 million Fiscal Year 2027 investment to complete the design for a critical replacement of the airport’s aging air traffic control facility. As a primary airport in the Maryland Aviation System Plan, the Hagerstown Regional Airport is a vital economic engine for Washington County, supporting more than 1,800 jobs and generating over $140 million in local business revenue.

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Following the airport tour, Governor Moore visited the Hitachi Rail STS facility alongside Congresswoman April McClain Delaney, Senator Mike McKay, Senator Paul Corderman and state transportation leaders. The governor toured the factory floor and rode a test train to observe the manufacturing process. Opened in September 2025 with the support of a $1.6 million state conditional loan, the 307,000-square-foot, carbon-neutral facility is a $100 million capital investment by Hitachi. The factory supports 1,300 jobs — including 460 newly created jobs — and is actively manufacturing railcars for both the Maryland Transit Administration and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority.

“Hitachi Rail has built a cutting-edge model for advanced manufacturing here in Western Maryland which is focused on delivering clean, safe, efficient regional transportation across our state and the rest of the country,” said Congresswoman April McClain Delaney. “This facility is powered by Maryland’s second-to-none workforce and world-class innovation environment. I’m proud to work with Governor Moore and our public, private, and philanthropic partners to drive global investment that supports jobs and economic growth along our I-270 Tech Corridor.”

Governor Moore concluded the day at the Children’s Learning and Empowerment Center in the South End of Hagerstown, where he met with parents, children, and community leaders. During the visit, the Governor highlighted the administration’s ENOUGH Initiative, which provided critical support for the center’s opening. The new facility is a major win for the community, tripling local childcare capacity with 24 new slots and generating six new early childhood education jobs.

Governor Moore Speaking With Children

The Children’s Learning and Empowerment Center’s opening was accelerated by a $100,000 investment from San Mar Family & Community Services, the ENOUGH grantee in Hagerstown. ENOUGH grant funding was also supplemented by a $100,000 philanthropic contribution from the Bainum Family Foundation — a member of the ENOUGH Alliance — to complete necessary facility upgrades. The center’s completion underscores the strength of the ENOUGH Initiative’s public-private partnerships to deliver on community priorities and work towards ending child poverty.

Governor Moore’s visit to Washington County follows the third stop of his “Delivering for Maryland” tour in Montgomery County, where he marked a historic milestone by installing the final segment of rail for the Purple Line. This installation completes the 16.2-mile light rail corridor connecting Bethesda and New Carrollton, with passenger service expected to begin in late 2027. The governor also visited Max’s Best Ice Cream in Bethesda, a local business dedicated to creating meaningful employment opportunities for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities through the Best Buddies Jobs program.

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Washington shooting suspect seeks to bar DoJ officials from prosecution role

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Washington shooting suspect seeks to bar DoJ officials from prosecution role


A man charged with attacking the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner is seeking to disqualify top justice department officials from direct involvement in prosecuting him because they could be considered victims or witnesses in the case, creating a potential conflict of interest.

The acting attorney general, Todd Blanche, and US attorney Jeanine Pirro were attending the 25 April event at the Washington Hilton hotel when Cole Tomas Allen allegedly ran through a security checkpoint and fired a shotgun at a Secret Service officer.

In a court filing late on Thursday, Allen’s attorneys argued that it created at least the appearance of a conflict of interest for Blanche and Pirro to be making any prosecutorial decisions in the case.

“As this case proceeds closer to trial, the country and the world will continue to wonder – how can the American justice system permit a victim to prosecute a criminal defendant in a case involving them?” defense attorneys Eugene Ohm and Tezira Abe wrote.

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Ohm and Abe, who are assistant federal public defenders, suggested that the appointment of a special prosecutor might be warranted. They urged US district judge Trevor McFadden, a Trump nominee assigned to Allen’s case, to disqualify Pirro, Blanche and possibly other justice department officials from direct involvement in the investigation and prosecution.

“Both heard gunshots, which presumably forced them to duck below the tables with the rest of the occupants. They were quickly evacuated. Shortly thereafter, they learned that law enforcement believed the target was certain administration officials,” Ohm and Abe wrote.

Pirro said her office would respond to the defense lawyers’ arguments in its own court filing.

“We will not tolerate people who come to the District of Columbia to engage in antidemocratic acts of political violence; and we will prosecute all such acts to the fullest extent of the law,” Pirro said in a statement.

Allen is scheduled to be arraigned on Monday on further charges in an indictment handed up Tuesday by a grand jury in Washington.

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The charges include attempting to assassinate Donald Trump, who is a longtime friend of Pirro. Blanche served as a personal attorney for Trump before joining the justice department last year. Blanche, through a spokesperson, referred a request for comment to Pirro’s office. Allen, 31, of Torrance, California, is also charged with assaulting a federal officer with a deadly weapon and two additional firearms counts.



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