Washington
Anti-data center protesters arrested during Port Washington meeting
Multiple people were arrested at a City of Port Washington meeting Dec. 2 where protesters spoke out against the proposed $18 billion data center.
Arrest made of data center protester at Port Washington meeting
The arrest came during public comment after a woman was speaking against an $18 billion artificial intelligence data center campus on Dec. 2, 2025.
At least one person was arrested at a City of Port Washington meeting Dec. 2 where protesters spoke out against an $18 billion artificial intelligence data center campus for tech giants OpenAI and Oracle. Multiple others were handcuffed and escorted out of the building.
The arrest came during public comment after a woman speaking against the project led chants of “Recall, recall, recall.” Her three-minute time slot to speak had ended, and city officials had already warned attendees to not speak outside of their turn.
The woman had mentioned that advocacy groups, namely the citizen group Great Lakes Neighbors United, are already planning recall elections to challenge members of the council.
She appeared surprised as police officers approached her to escort her out of the building.
Immediately, the council chambers erupted into commotion, as other protesters stood to defend her. They called out, “She didn’t do anything” and “What is the arrest for?”
The woman did not comply with the police, and multiple people who moved to defend her were handcuffed and escorted out of the building.
Before they were out the door, members of the city council had left the room. For the next 45 minutes, the remaining attendees and protesters stood in consternation, chattering nervously.
A spokesperson for Vantage who attended the meeting declined to comment on the situation. Vantage, a Denver-based data center operations company is fronting infrastructure improvements, along with interest, consulting fees and other costs associated with the project that total $458 million.
The data center was not on the agenda, but around 30 protesters showed up to participate in a string of protests against data centers across the state Dec. 1 and 2. Dozens of residents and climate advocates in seven Wisconsin cities demanded officials halt approval of data center projects built by Microsoft, OpenAI and other tech companies.
Over 50 people demonstrated outside Milwaukee’s Discovery World Dec. 2, while another 40 gathered at the state Capitol in Madison. Protesters also held smaller rallies in Kenosha, Beaver Dam, Menomonie and Janesville, cities on or near the sites of potential data center projects.
The protests were organized by climate advocacy groups Healthy Climate Wisconsin and 350 Wisconsin as well as political groups like the Party for Socialism and Liberation, said Healthy Climate Wisconsin health equity coordinator Julia Alberth.
Contact Claudia Levens at clevens@gannett.com. Follow her on X at @levensc13.
Washington
Deputies shoot armed suspect in Leesburg Walmart parking lot
Deputies shot an armed suspect in the parking lot of a Walmart store in Leesburg, Virginia, late Tuesday morning, authorities say.
Detectives, deputies and special agents from the FBI had tracked the suspect down after he tried to rob the Bank of America at Dulles Crossing on Monday, the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office said. The suspect, who still hasn’t been named, didn’t get any money before taking off from the bank.
Authorities found the suspect was parked at the back of the Walmart parking lot just before noon Tuesday.
Deputies pulled up behind the suspect’s blue sedan at the back of the Walmart parking lot about 11:40 a.m. Tuesday. As they approached, the suspect got out with a gun, Sheriff Mike Chapman said.
Deputies then fired their guns at the suspect, hitting him. Chapman did not say how many times the suspect was shot or give specific information about his injuries.
Medics took the suspect to a hospital.
No deputies were injured, the sheriff’s office said.
Chapman said it was too early in the investigation to say if the suspect fired his gun or how many officers were involved in the shooting.
Stay with News4 for updates to this developing story.
Washington
The American story projected on the Washington Monument came from North Texas
Steve Deitz walks with the energy of a coach; however, he does not hide that he and his team are digital nerds and storytellers who specialize in large-scale visual content and software development. More specifically, the 48-year-old makes a living creating the wow factor at his agency, “900lbs.”
“We started the company working for the Dallas Mavericks, telling large-scale visual content on the Jumbotron, and next thing you know, Activision, Blizzard calls,” he said. “We get to work in the Perot Museum on the biggest exhibit in the museum, and then fast-forward another 12 years, and here we are now.”
His current project is wrapping up in the nation’s capital — sorta. Since Dec.31, projections of America’s story have been given to his agency.
“We’re telling the story of the 250-year birthday of America in the biggest way possible on the facade of the Washington Monument on all four sides,” Deitz said.
He said they started testing out the results a couple of nights before New Year’s Eve. Scenes from Thomas Edison’s light bulb, the Empire State Building, the Model T Ford, and the Industrial Revolution, to name a few, are projected onto the Washington Monument.
Deitz gives his team a ton of credit from the moment he received the call about the project. He also thinks back to the times when he was an athlete who loved to draw in Merkel, Texas. The kid who dared to dream beyond the city limits and outside of the box. The CEO is giving advice to that child who may need a little inspiration.
“Hard work, perseverance, dedication, surround yourself with a team of brilliant people that are way smarter than you, and do the best you possibly can,” he said.
Deitz said there is a likelihood his team’s creations will return to the nation’s capital this year.
Washington
Tracking crime in the DMV: Some areas see drop in violent crime, homicide
It is not the way any homicide squad wants to start an already busy new year.
Prince George’s County police Sunday were trying to figure out who was found dead in a car behind a strip center overnight and why. Police, who responded after a call about gun shots, told News4 they’re still searching for the most basic details.
It comes just a day after three people were shot and killed at a Temple Hills banquet hall early Saturday morning. Police told News4 that investigation is active and showing signs of promise.
But the busy start somewhat hides the bigger picture about crime in the area.
Despite the tough start to 2026, homicide in Prince George’s County was down 40% in 2025 percent compared to 2024, and violent crime on a whole was down 19%, both through mid-December according to Prince George’s County police.
In D.C. is a similar story.
“Now we have no crime in Washington, DC. We have no killing,” said President Donald Trump Saturday during a news conference about action in Venezuela.
While the crime rate is not nearly as good as Trump has repeatedly said, the District recorded five homicides in December and 126 in all of 2025. That’s down 32% over 2024. Violent crime is down 29%, according to D.C .police crime statistics.
In Fairfax, homicide is down 14% — but the county only had 12 total — and violent crime dropped 4%, according to the county’s online reporting.
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