Washington
Kalen DeBoer’s first Alabama football coaching staff expected moves, per ESPN
Alabama football coach Kalen DeBoer’s staff is starting to take shape.
DeBoer is expected to retain running backs coach Robert Gillespie and defensive line coach Freddie Roach, per ESPN’s Chris Low. Meanwhile, DeBoer is expected to bring offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb, wide receivers coach JaMarcus Shephard and director of scouting Jerret McElwain with him from Washington.
FOX’s Bruce Feldman also reported that offensive line coach Scott Huff and tight ends coach Nick Sheridan is expected to join DeBoer in Tuscaloosa. Both were on the Washington staff with DeBoer.
McElwain is the son of Jim McElwain, the former Alabama offensive coordinator and Florida coach who’s now the coach of Central Michigan. Jerret McElwain graduated from Alabama and is a former recruiting specialist for the Crimson Tide.
Getting staff in place as quickly as possible is key to help DeBoer build his roster. All players on the Alabama roster have 30 days, starting this past Wednesday, to enter the transfer portal if they so choose.
Grubb has been with DeBoer in multiple stops, including Washington, Fresno State, Eastern Michigan and Sioux Falls. Grubb has led one of the country’s best offenses the past two seasons at Washington.
Shephard has been at Washington the past two seasons after five seasons coaching receivers at Purdue. He’s also been at Western Kentucky and Washington State as an assistant coach.
Gillespie has been on staff at Alabama since January 2021. He was previously at North Carolina. He played at Florida as a running back from 1998-2001. He’s a native of Hattiesburg, Mississippi.
Roach has been the defensive line coach for Alabama since 2020. He’s a native of Killen, Alabama, and he played for the Crimson Tide from 2002-2005. Roach earned a spot on Alabama’s All-Decade team for the 2000s.
Keeping Gillespie and Roach would be significant, considering both are from the South and have experience recruiting here. The staff DeBoer is bringing in from Washington so far does not.
MORE: Relive Nick Saban’s epic Alabama football coaching career with our special book!
EPIC NICK SABAN STORIES: Epic Nick Saban stories, as told by Alabama football players who’d know as he retires
Nick Kelly is the Alabama beat writer for The Tuscaloosa News, part of the USA TODAY Network, and he covers Alabama football and men’s basketball. Reach him at nkelly@gannett.com or follow him @_NickKelly on X, the social media app formerly known as Twitter.
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.
-
World1 week agoHamas builds new terror regime in Gaza, recruiting teens amid problematic election
-
News1 week agoFor those who help the poor, 2025 goes down as a year of chaos
-
Business1 week agoInstacart ends AI pricing test that charged shoppers different prices for the same items
-
World1 week agoPodcast: The 2025 EU-US relationship explained simply
-
Business1 week agoApple, Google and others tell some foreign employees to avoid traveling out of the country
-
Technology1 week agoChatGPT’s GPT-5.2 is here, and it feels rushed
-
Health1 week agoDid holiday stress wreak havoc on your gut? Doctors say 6 simple tips can help
-
Politics1 week ago‘Unlucky’ Honduran woman arrested after allegedly running red light and crashing into ICE vehicle