Washington
Washington Nationals need to stop the bleeding
The Washington Nationals have not played great baseball this home stand. That came to a head last night when former Nat Erick Fedde threw a complete game shutout in his return to DC. Last night might have been the worst the Nationals have played this season, and they have to bounce back today.
From the first pitch, which was a fastball Mitchell Parker spiked into the dirt, the Cardinals were in complete control. Parker’s struggles continued last night. In his last three starts, Parker has allowed 15 runs in 13 innings. After throwing nine of his first 10 pitches for balls, Parker locked in with his command, not walking another batter. However, he was not fooling many Cardinal hitters.
The Red Birds were playing much more fundamentally sound baseball as well. It seemed like they were constantly moving guys over and driving guys in. They were hitting sac flies with less than two outs, something the Nats could not do in the first inning, their only real opportunity to score.
Other than CJ Abrams, the offense completely no-showed. Without Alex Call in the lineup, it seemed like there was a drop off in the quality of at bats. The bullpen also did its thing, give up runs.
It was a stinker last night, but the Nats need to turn the page. If they can win the next two games, nobody will remember this disastrous effort. It is a big game for Trevor Williams, who the Nats really need to have a good start. With an ERA of 5.86, but a FIP of 4.18 and an xERA of 3.70, Williams has gotten unlucky this season. Maybe this is the start where the veteran could turn it around.
It would be very nice to see because the Nats have lost three in a row and want to avoid a big time losing streak. After a solid road trip and a fun win in game one of the double header against Cleveland, the vibes were high, but the Nats have really come back down to earth these last couple days.
So far in May, the pitching staff has been a major issue, allowing 51 runs in 8 games. That is about 6.3 runs per game, which is simply not good enough. While the bullpen has certainly been a big part of the issue, the rotation has not been as good as they were in April.
They are still 4-4 on the month, but if they keep bleeding runs like this, that will not last. It has been an ugly last three games where all of the Nats flaws have been on display. However, if they come out with a strong performance today and tomorrow, a lot of these sins will be forgiven.
A contract worker was killed by a falling tree on Monday afternoon in Washington County, officials said.
The Washington County Office of the Coroner said in a news release that the contractor was killed after the tree fell on them around 4 p.m. The worker, who was not immediately identified, was hired to cut down a tree at a residence on Lynn Portal Road in Canton Township, and it fell in an unintended direction, killing the person, the coroner said.
No other information was immediately released on Monday evening. The Greene-Washington Regional Police Department and the coroner are investigating.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
On September 11, 2025, after 11 years at the Washington Post as an editor and columnist, I was fired via email.
In the aftermath of the Charlie Kirk killing, I did what I have always done— and was expected to do — as a public voice and columnist on race, gender, and culture: I commented on America’s racial double standards in public discourse when it comes to political violence. You can read my posts below.
And then this post of mine:
The very next day, I was fired from my job at the Washington Post without so much as a conversation.
According to the termination letter from the Post, the company cited these two Bluesky posts, claimed that I disparaged white men, accused me of ‘gross misconduct’, and that my Bluesky posts “potentially endanger[ed] the physical safety of our staff”.
You can read the letter for yourself here.
In October, along with the Washington Post Guild and the Washington-Baltimore News Guild, we filed a grievance against the Post, challenging the termination.
So, I have some updates…
The arbitration hearing will be this Thursday, June 4, in Washington, D.C.
As the last remaining Black full-time staff columnist in the Washington Post’s Opinions section, I was very aware of what my firing represented for diversity in newsrooms.
While newsroom diversity is absolutely critical, it is not the only principle at stake. I am fighting for journalists’ rights to do their jobs, to comment on matters of public concern without fear of censorship, retaliation, or political pressure.
And this is a battle well worth having.
I am thankful for the support of the Washington Post Guild, my lawyers at the Washington Baltimore News Guild, as well as Norman Eisen and the legal support from the Democracy Defenders Fund.
And of course, I am deeply grateful to my readers, followers, friends, mentors, and the industry peers who have supported me throughout my career and through what has been one of the most personally and professionally challenging periods of my life.
The stakes are high, but I’m ready.
Let’s go.
-Karen
Jordan Selesnick won the Regional Championship at SCG CON Washington DC with Azorius Momo on Sunday.
Creatures (25)
Lands (21)
In a field packed with Izzet Prowess and Mono-Green Landfall, Selesnick put the power of Azorius Momo on display — proving the power of strong metagaming and mulligan decisions. Selesnick regularly dug for better opening hands in tight matchups, allowing his deck to have starts similar to those in Modern as opposed to Standard. After an 8-1 start on Day 1, Selesnick cruised to the No. 1 seed in the Top 8 with a record of 12-1-2.
Once in the Top 8, Selesnick only dropped a single game in route to a dominant performance. He defeated Stephen Snelson, on Izzet Spellementals, 2-1 in the quarters before clean 2-0 wins against Alexander Kans, on Selesnya Aggro, and Matt Xu, on Mono-Green Landfall.
Selesnick showed off both types of powerful draws the Momo deck can have in the finals, blinking a Quantum Riddler into play on Turn 2 in Game 1, and landing a copied Sage of the Skies on Turn 2 in Game 2. With the fast starts and utility offered from Starfield Shepherd, Selesnick had no problem navigating the mid-games for fast wins facing down strong starts from Xu.
Creatures (20)
Lands (26)
Selesnick took home $20,000 and the title of champion, while Xu earned $10,000. The Top 32 finishers earned invites to the upcoming Pro Tour in Amsterdam, though Selesnick and Xu also punched their tickets to the Magic World Championship.
Izzet Prowess made up almost 25 percent of the 1,198 players on Day 1, followed by Four-Color Control at 10 percent, thanks to its strong showing in the most recent Regional Championships. Mono-Green Landfall was next at just under nine percent, while Mardu Discard and Dimir Excruciator rounded out the Top 5 decks.
Day 2 consisted of 285 players that reached 18 match points on Day 1. See how the archetypes converted below.
View the Top 8 decklists from the Regional Championship. For all the decklists from the event and final standings check out the Melee page for the tournament.
SCG CON will be back in action next in Las Vegas on June 26-28.
-
Kentucky3 minutes ago
Washington County reflects on recovery 1 year after deadly EF-2 tornado struck the area
-
Louisiana10 minutes agoLouisiana’s disappearing coast could shape Baton Rouge’s future
-
Maine12 minutes ago‘Malicious gossip’: Wife of Senate candidate Graham Platner responds to texting claims
-
Maryland18 minutes agoYour Voice Your Future | Town Hall
-
Michigan25 minutes agoFifth Third Bank to close 75 Michigan branches, including former Comerica locations
-
Massachusetts27 minutes agoWinners’ circle: Tracking every 2026 spring high school championship – The Boston Globe
-
Minnesota33 minutes agoMinnesota Medicaid crisis: Thousands of care providers cut off from funding after state revalidation deadline
-
Mississippi40 minutes agoMississippi LB Devontray Brewer committed to Stanford and broke down his decision
