Washington
US Defence Сhief Says Washington Will Not Let Ukraine Fail
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin promised Tuesday that the United States will not let Ukraine fail, even as further aid remains stalled in Congress and Kyiv’s forces face shortages of munitions.
The Republican-led House of Representatives has been blocking $60 billion in assistance for Ukraine, and the United States has warned that a recent $300 million package would only last a few weeks.
The “United States will not let Ukraine fail”, Austin said at the opening of a meeting in Germany of Ukraine’s international supporters.
“We remain determined to provide Ukraine with the resources that it needs to resist the Kremlin’s aggression,” he added.
Washington announced $300 million in assistance for Ukraine last week, but Austin said it was only possible due to savings on recent purchases by the Pentagon.
“We were only able to support this much-needed package by identifying some unanticipated contract savings”, Austin said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a statement the day before that it is “critically important for us that the Congress soon completes all the necessary procedures and makes a final decision” on aid for Kyiv.
Top US military officer General Charles “CQ” Brown told journalists en route to the Ukraine meeting that Kyiv’s troops are “having to pay attention to their supply rates, and how they execute.”
There is an “incremental kind of back and forth between Ukraine and Russia”, with “incremental gains on both sides”, Brown said.
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Ukraine ‘Hacktivists’ Fighting Russia on Digital Front
The hacker group was born out of a call 48 hours into Russia’s invasion by Ukraine’s Digital Transformation Minister Mikhailo Fedorov for Kyiv to create an “IT army”.
But he noted that “even as the Russians have gained territory, they do it at a pretty big cost in number of casualties, like in personnel, but also in number of pieces of equipment that are being taken out.”
Austin said in his remarks Tuesday that “at least 315,000 Russian troops have been killed or wounded” since Russia launched its all-out invasion of Ukraine in 2022 — a figure that was previously reported at the end of last year.
Moscow has also “squandered up to $211 billion to equip, deploy, maintain, and sustain its imperial aggression against Ukraine,” he said.
Austin and other US officials have spearheaded the push for international support for Ukraine, quickly forging a coalition to back Kyiv after Russia invaded and coordinating aid from dozens of countries.
Washington is by far Kyiv’s biggest donor of security aid, committing tens of billions of dollars to aid Kyiv since February 2022.
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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