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Washington Commanders: 5 winners from minicamp

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Washington Commanders: 5 winners from minicamp


The Washington Commanders wrapped up their three-day mandatory minicamp Thursday and are one OTA away from being finished for a while.

The Commanders have one final OTA practice Tuesday before taking a six-week break for training camp.

The week started with the news of defensive end Chase Young’s return to the team. Young, Montez Sweat and Charles Leno Jr. skipped Washington’s voluntary OTAs the previous two weeks. All three players were present for earlier portions of the offseason program in April.

It was another week in the development of quarterback Sam Howell. Howell had his moments — positive and negative — and has done enough to enter training camp as QB1, according to head coach Ron Rivera.

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It’s difficult to call players winners and losers during a three-day minicamp with no hitting. However, we’ll name five players who left the minicamp trending in a positive direction.

Washington Commanders quarterback Jacoby Brissett (12) prepares to pass the ball during day three of minicamp. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

In calling Jacoby Brissett a winner, it doesn’t mean you’re calling Howell a loser. According to some in attendance, Howell did plenty of good things, but he also looked like a young quarterback at times. Some noted that Brissett looked tentative during OTAs, which was likely a function of the veteran getting comfortable in a new offense.

During last week’s minicamp, Brissett appeared much more comfortable. While Howell is still expected to have every chance to win the job outright, the Commanders have someone in Brissett they can turn to and still believe they can win with.

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Washington Commanders tight end Logan Thomas (82) makes a reception during the second quarter against the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

The Commanders are banking on Logan Thomas returning to full health in 2023. After a career season in 2020, Thomas battled injuries in 2021. A hamstring injury sidelined him, and after he returned, he tore his ACL in December. Thomas recovered in time for Week 1 and played 14 games. However, it was clear early in the season that Thomas wasn’t 100%.

Head coach Ron Rivera said Thomas looked much healthier late in the season, and that has carried over into the offseason. Thomas has been a frequent target of Howell in OTAs and during the minicamp. If he remains healthy, he could in store for a big season as Howell’s safety valve.

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Washington Commanders defensive end Chase Young (99) talks while stretching alongside teammates during day three of minicamp at Commanders Park, held inside the training bubble due to poor air quality from Canadian wildfire smoke in Ashburn. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Young showed up and, during drills, didn’t look like a player who suffered a devastating knee injury 18 months earlier. We stress again how it’s tough to judge certain positions, but if we go by drills alone, Young looked like his old self. He appeared happy to be around his teammates and told reporters he was just ready to play football. Young, just by showing up and resembling his old self, makes him a winner and quiets some of the talk of him missing OTAs. That changes, of course, if Young struggles when the season begins.

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Washington Commanders linebacker Khaleke Hudson (UFA). (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Linebacker Jamin Davis has been slowed by an offseason knee procedure, paving the way for Khaleke Hudson to receive more reps with the first team. Hudson has taken advantage of those opportunities and appears to be much more than a special-teams performer for 2023. Coaches were excited about Hudson after how well he played in the Week 18 win over Dallas. Hudson is a player we should all be watching in training camp.

Washington Commanders cornerback Emmanuel Forbes Jr. (13) stands on the field during Commander’s rookie minicamp at Commanders Park. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

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You didn’t think we were going to miss the chance to mention Emmanuel Forbes, did you? It was another good week for the first-round rookie. He had more opportunities to line up against Terry McLaurin and Jahan Dotson. While he lost some of those battles, he won some, too. All that matters for Forbes is the experience during the offseason. Rivera noted how he was facing some of the best route runners in the league in McLaurin and Dotson, and that’s the best training he can receive.





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Washington lawmaker proposes regulations for self-checkout machines • Washington State Standard

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Washington lawmaker proposes regulations for self-checkout machines • Washington State Standard


Proposed legislation could change the way customers shop at grocery stores, as one Democratic lawmaker is pushing for regulations on self-checkout machines.

House Bill 1739 would establish rules for when and how self-checkout stands could be used in grocery stores. If passed, self-checkouts could only be used when a regular checkout lane is open. An employee who monitors self-service lanes would have to do so exclusively, and be limited to supervising a maximum of two stands. For their part, customers would be limited to bringing just 15 items to check out.

The regulations would apply to grocery stores over 15,000 thousand square feet in size, but not to any bulk goods stores with memberships. The Department of Labor and Industries would be responsible for investigating and enforcing violations with a fine.

“There has been a lot of challenges across Washington for grocery workers with unchecked automation and chronic understaffing,” said prime sponsor State Representative Mary Fosse, D-Everett.

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At a House Committee on Labor and Workforce Standards hearing Wednesday morning, Fosse said she wants a conversation about making sure the self-checkout technology supports clerks.

“We know it can be a convenience, but when it’s used to–as a way to eliminate workers and cut labor costs, that’s when it really puts workers and customers at risk,” she said.

Grocery workers testified in support of the regulations, saying self-checkout makes them unsafe and overwhelmed.



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Washington D.C. Becomes One of the Most Accessible Cities in the World with Waymap

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Washington D.C. Becomes One of the Most Accessible Cities in the World with Waymap


The tech company’s partnership with Metro brings turn-by-turn, step-by-step navigation to nearly every corner of the city, including deep underground

WASHINGTON, February 12, 2025–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Waymap, a navigation app designed for people with vision impairments that is making complex city spaces and transit systems more accessible for everyone, today announced its platform is now live across the entire Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s (Metro) transit system, including 98 rail stations, over 11,000 bus stops, and 325 bus routes. With an estimated 50 million Americans reporting some degree of vision loss, Waymap is a powerful free tool expanding travel and community connection for people with vision impairments and other disabilities in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. To download the app, visit linktr.ee/waymap.

“Access to navigation means access to the world—and to all the social, emotional, and professional opportunities it holds,” said Waymap Founder and President Tom Pey. “From lifelong residents with disabilities to visitors and others who have a harder time getting around, everyone should be able to explore all that this great city has to offer. We are grateful to have Metro as a partner in bringing this possibility closer to reality.”

Founded in 2017, and inspired and informed by the experiences of its Founder and President, Tom Pey, Waymap’s proprietary SmartStep™ technology gives turn-by-turn, step-by-step audio instructions with up to three feet of accuracy throughout a user’s journey. With over 32 million square feet (and counting) of real estate mapped globally, Waymap is the only personal navigation system that does not rely on mobile phone signal, WiFi, Bluetooth beacons, GPS, or other physical infrastructure. For more information on how Waymap’s technology works, see here.

“Metro plays a vital role in the community—connecting people in the region to jobs, schools, major attractions, and recreational activities. Ensuring that America’s Metro System is a leader in accessibility on a global scale is a priority for all of us at Metro,” said Metro General Manager and CEO Randy Clarke. “Safe, accessible public transit not only increases ridership, it also leads to a stronger economy, improved access to arts and culture, and a better place to live and work overall. Waymap also has the potential to make our region’s transportation network easier for all people to navigate.”

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While Washington D.C. is the first entire city and transportation network to become available on Waymap’s platform, the company plans to expand to more cities across the U.S. and internationally in the coming year. Waymap’s location technology is currently live in cities and locations including:



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‘I became collateral damage’: the trans pilot falsely targeted over Washington DC crash

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‘I became collateral damage’: the trans pilot falsely targeted over Washington DC crash


Jo Ellis is alive.

It was a noncontroversial, irrefutable fact – until she was accused of piloting the military helicopter that crashed into a commercial airplane in Washington DC on 29 January, killing all involved.

In the aftermath of the crash, before valid explanations began to surface, Donald Trump blamed diversity. There is no evidence that diversity initiatives played any role in the crash, but that didn’t matter.

Ellis, 34, wasn’t involved in the crash in any way. But she is a Blackhawk pilot in the Virginia national guard. And she’s transgender.

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In the immediate aftermath of the crash, two of the helicopter pilots killed were named, but the family of the third pilot initially elected to keep her name private, though she was later identified. Ellis was misidentified as the pilot in the in-between.

On Friday morning, Ellis got a text from a close friend at about 4.30am telling her a random account was commenting on all of his public Facebook posts asking if he was friends with Ellis, “the one that killed those people in the crash”. She thought it was maybe a bot and discounted it.

Ellis, who has been in the Virginia national guard since 2009 and has deployed to Iraq and Kuwait, had written for news website Smerconish.com about being trans in the military on 28 January and then spoken to commentator Michael Smerconish for an interview. She thought the attention was because of her article.

In the article, she wrote that she grew up in a religious and conservative home with a history of military service, but that she knew she had gender dysphoria since she was five years old. She tried to be “more religious, more successful, more manly” in hopes it would “cure” her.

“I got married, bought a house, helped raise a stepdaughter, played drums in the church band, and adopted a dog,” she wrote. “All the things I believed a good man should do. And I really wanted to do those things, but I also secretly hoped it would fix me. It didn’t work.”

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She realized during the pandemic that she was at a point where she could begin to address her gender dysphoria. She notified her command in 2023 that she would begin transitioning and came out to her unit in 2024 and got “overwhelming support”, she wrote. She paid for all of her trans-related care out of pocket.

Ellis said she believes she was targeted because she’s a trans woman.

“Once I put that article out, I became collateral damage, just like so many other trans people that are being unnecessarily targeted.”

Later, on the Friday morning after the crash, another friend sent her screenshots of an article on a Pakistani website that included Ellis’s photo and claimed she was the third pilot. (This article, which says Ellis was “rumored to be” the unnamed pilot, is still uncorrected.)

“Then the Daily Mail called my personal cell phone and asked if I was alive,” Ellis said. “And that’s when it kind of sunk in. And I was like, oh, this is big. This is not some corner of the internet saying something ridiculous.”

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She discovered that her name was trending on X, with some posts getting hundreds of thousands of views. “Why is this only on Twitter?” rightwing commentator Ann Coulter wrote on X, sharing a post about Ellis being the pilot. One account said the crash could be “another trans terror attack”.

People opined that she hated Trump and was motivated by that hatred to act, killing herself and dozens of others to make a point. Trump issued an executive order banning trans people from joining or serving openly in the military, though it did not immediately kick trans people out. A group of trans military members have sued over the order.

Ellis said she’s a political moderate and has voted red more than blue. “I didn’t say anything negative about Trump. I just said I want to keep serving.”

Ellis posted on Facebook on Friday morning to try to quash the rumors, asking people to report any posts they saw naming her as the pilot. But she soon realized that wouldn’t suffice, so she made a video. Proof of life.

“Interesting morning,” she starts in the video. “It is insulting to the families to try to tie this to some sort of political agenda. They don’t deserve that. I don’t deserve this. And I hope that you all know that I am alive and well, and this should be sufficient for you all to end all the rumors.”

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She went quiet from there, packed some bags, and left her home for the night after arranging armed security and arming herself.ar She worried someone might use public records to find her home and try to hurt her family.

The response to her video was overwhelmingly, though not uniformly, positive. Some people messaged her to say said she should have been on the helicopter instead, or that it’s nice she was alive but she shouldn’t be in the military because she’s mentally ill. Others shared anti-trans and antisemitic (she had said in the Smerconish interview that she was exploring the faith) comments on social media.

But she said the video ultimately worked, due in large part to the misinformation being easy to debunk. “All I had to do was say I’m alive, and that kind of broke the whole rumor,” she said.

She watched as people started correcting the rumor. She saw some veteran, pro-Trump accounts telling others they shouldn’t be going after a member of the military like this. Two days after the rumors reached a fever pitch, it appeared, she said, as if the misinformation was stopped in its tracks.

She has tried unsuccessfully to report some remaining social media posts that falsely claim she was a pilot. “Calling me a murderer is apparently not a violation of X rules,” she said.

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She said she is not deterred from speaking out again, though. Her guard supported her throughout the ordeal, and it affirmed she wants to continue serving in the military.

“I know not everyone loves me back, and that’s OK, but I want to serve everyone,” she said. “I want to use this incident somehow as a form of good. I don’t know what that looks like yet, but I really want to turn this into something that does good for the world.”

“I don’t want to make it about me,” she added. “I don’t want to be the victim or the martyr. I want to show people that being strong and standing up to this hate, that hopefully something good can come from it.”



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