Wild DC weather shuts down nation's capital early, causing traffic and travel nightmares

Heather Hunter

August 07, 09:19 PM August 07, 09:19 PM

The federal Office of Personnel Management ordered federal employees to leave the office early on Monday amid Washington, D.C., area storm warnings. The severe storms covered most of the area with a tornado watch through 9 p.m., causing many places in the Beltway area to close early or adjust hours.

"Employees should depart 2 hours earlier than their normal departure time and may request Unscheduled Leave to depart prior to their staggered departure time. All employees Must Depart no later than 3:00 at which time Federal offices are Closed," OPM said.

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The National Weather Service warned of "dangerous storms with widespread very strong winds, large hail and a few tornadoes." The weather service issued a Level 4 out of 5 risk for severe storms for the first time in about a decade.

Commuters heading home early found the "not visible" roads to be a travel nightmare in the torrential rain.

"The roads are not visible here in Loudoun County. Cars are pulling over and I’m sitting in an underpass. There’s debris and branches on the road. This is not safe guys," one woman said on social media.

She added, "It’s heading towards the stadium."

Fans of the singer P!nk huddled outside of the Nationals Park on Monday afternoon as the clouds and rain moved in over the venue. Many wondered on social media whether their concert would get canceled.

Despite the severe weather, Nationals Park announced the concert would go on "rain or shine."

First lady Jill Biden had planned an education initiative event at the White House, but the event was canceled due to the weather.

Many flights going in and out of Reagan National Airport, Washington Dulles International Airport, and Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport were affected. At least 10 airports were grounded due to the storms, and according to Flight Aware, more than 1,200 flights were canceled.

"Absolute nightmare trying to fly out from the East Coast," Fox meteorologist Steve Bender said.

At around 5 p.m., the storm clouded over the sky of the nation's capital in stunning formation, showing an ominous "shelf cloud" looming over the Washington Monument.

The severe winds of the storm caused power outages. As of around 6 p.m., more than 46,000 customers were without power in northern Virginia.

In Maryland and Washington, D.C., over 2,000 Pepco clients were without power due to the storms.

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By 6:45 p.m., the storm had rolled over to the Annapolis and Baltimore region.

In Hagerstown, Maryland, large hail was reported Monday afternoon.

Rep. Brad Finstad's staffer attacked at gunpoint near US Capitol

Rachel Schilke

June 16, 02:33 PM June 16, 03:29 PM

Rep. Brad Finstad (R-MN) said on Friday that one of his staffers was attacked near the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday night.

The attack happened outside the staffer's residence following the Congressional Baseball Game on Wednesday by an "armed gunman." Finstad participated in the game this year.

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"Thankfully, he will be able to make a full recovery and the extent of his physical injuries was minor," Finstad said in a statement. "I thank the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department for their quick response and their attention to this incident."

Fox News's Chad Pergram reported the victim is in his late 20s and is a legislative staffer within Finstad's office.

The staffer's residence is in Navy Yard, which is near Nationals Park, where the game was held, according to the public incident report provided to the Washington Examiner.

The staffer was approached by two men wearing black hoodies, and one of the men was holding a handgun. The men pushed the staffer to the ground, and the staffer was assaulted with the weapon but not shot, according to the report. He ran away without giving the men any of his belongings.

He sustained cuts and bruises and did not seek immediate medical attention, according to Pergram.

Finstad blasted Washington's "soft-on-crime" policies in his statement, a target of the GOP in recent weeks as Republicans attempted to block or overturn Washington crime bills subjected to congressional oversight.

"In Washington, D.C., and cities across the country, anti-police, soft-on-crime policies have created lawless societies that endanger the public and empower criminal behavior," Finstad said. "It's time we started treating criminals like criminals and bring back commonsense policies that imprison career criminals, keep the public safe, and allow our police officers to adequately protect our communities and keep violent criminals off the streets."

Crime rates are continuing to increase in 2023, with homicides up 16% from this time last year and assaults with a dangerous weapon and robbery up 5% and 31%, respectively.

Two bills have been subjected to congressional scrutiny in recent months: one focusing on the criminal code and one focusing on police reform. The criminal code was overturned by House and Senate votes and President Joe Biden's signature. Congress voted to override Washington's police reform law as well, but Biden vetoed it.

Other attacks on congressional members or staffers have occurred in recent months. In March, a staffer with Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) was hospitalized following a knife attack, suffering injuries to the abdomen, skull, brain, and lungs.

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A month prior, Rep. Angie Craig (D-MN) was attacked in an elevator at her Washington apartment.

"We have to do more to protect these aides and members," Finstad told Fox News. "If I were the Nats, I'd be worried about people attending a game."

Pelosi to throw out first pitch at Washington Nationals Night OUT game

Luke Gentile

June 06, 10:25 AM June 06, 11:23 AM

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is set to throw out the ceremonial first pitch Tuesday at the Washington Nationals' Night OUT game.

Pelosi is the special guest of Nationals' partner Team DC, a charity dedicated to educating members of the LGBT community on the importance of sports, and will be recognized for her continued commitment to fighting for the rights of the LGBT community, according to a report.

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Tuesday's celebration will be the 18th held by the Nationals and mark the longest-running Pride event held by a Major League Baseball franchise, the report noted.

When gates open, the initial 20,000 fans will get Screech Night OUT bobbleheads, and those with special tickets will get a T-shirt.

Purchase of a special ticket guarantees a $5 donation to Team DC.

Reaction to Pelosi's first pitch has been met with some criticism on social media.

"This should be interesting to watch," one person tweeted. "Frail old NP will have to stand 10 feet in front of the catcher…"

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"After losing the house. there's nothing left but tossing a ball," another user commented.

"Nancy pelosi is throwing the first pitch for nationals pride night?" another tweet asked. "Did everyone else drop dead???"

WATCH: Nationals make it up to girl snubbed from baseball catch

Jenny Goldsberry

September 07, 10:49 AM September 07, 10:49 AM

A Virginia girl will receive a gift in place of a baseball that was tossed to her but was snatched by another man in the crowd at a Nationals game last week.

Regina Hilliard was at a game against the Oakland Athletics with her daughter Avery of the Shenandoah Rec League Babe Ruth 10U All-Star Softball team at Nationals Park on Thursday, Youth Champions Day 2022. Before the ninth inning, outfielder Joey Meneses noticed Avery and her teammates waving to him and tossed a ball in their direction.

A video captured the interaction, showing a man in a Juan Soto jersey coming in from out of frame to catch the ball before the girls could.

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"Grown man steals baseball from little girl," Hilliard captioned the video she later posted to Twitter. "[Nationals] can you get Joey Meneses to sign a baseball and send it to my daughter?"

Hilliard's tweet subsequently went viral, garnering a public reply from the Nationals' Twitter account.

"Thank you [Nationals] for reaching out and apologizing to hear that our experience that night was negatively impacted," Hilliard updated the story via a tweet later. "They are sending something our way and hope that this can serve as a symbol of a good experience at the park rather than a bad one!"

Reactions on the social media platform included a barrage of attacks on the anonymous man.

"This video is the perfect representation of men claiming to support equal pay," videographer Reshma Gopaldas tweeted in response to the video.

"What a jagoff," writer Molly Cantrell-Kraig tweeted. "[Small d*** energy] for sure. What an a**hole."

"My faith in mankind, encapsulated in one tweet," reporter Robert Lusetich wrote. "Douchebag with a beard steals a baseball thrown to little girls. Girl's mother tags [the Nationals] and they're going to send her kid something. It's the little things that count. [Way to go], Nats."

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The Nationals won Thursday 7-5, ranking them fifth in the National League East.

DC sports mogul Ted Leonsis could buy Washington Nationals: Report

Rachel Schilke

August 24, 05:33 PM August 24, 05:33 PM

Ted Leonsis, the owner of Washington's NBA, NHL, and WNBA teams, could be stepping up to the plate in the bidding for the Washington Nationals.

Leonsis is among the potential suitors of the MLB team, with access to the Nationals' financial data through his Monumental Sports & Entertainment company, sources told the Washington Post, which noted that is a significant step in preparing a bid for a purchase.

Monumental's platform owns five professional sports teams already, including the NBA's Washington Wizards, the NHL's Washington Capitals, and the WNBA's Washington Mystics.

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The Washington Nationals are currently owned by the Lerner family. In April, the family announced it would be seeking new investors or selling the team altogether. Forbes values the Nationals at $2 billion, the 12th-highest among the MLB's 30-team roster.

Other bidders have emerged as interested in the team's sale, according to the Washington Post. Stanley Middleman and Michael Kim both have met with team officials.

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Reports of Leonsis's potential acquisition of the team comes the same day Monumental announced in a release that it had purchased the full equity interests in NBC Sports Washington. Prior to the full purchase, the company owned 33%, acquired in 2016.

Sixth grader wins mullet championship and plans to donate winnings to foster care

Misty Severi

October 15, 05:35 PM October 15, 05:35 PM

A sixth grader from Arkansas won a national mullet championship and announced he would donate the money to foster home organizations to help children find homes.

Allan Baltz, a 12-year-old who won the contest with 25,178 votes in the children's division of the USA Mullet Championship, said he was in foster care until 2015, when he and his twin sister were adopted. He received $2,500 as his prize.

“I know I’m one of the really lucky ones because I have a great mom and dad who adopted me, and I really want to be able to help other kids who are looking for forever homes,” Baltz said, according to the Jonesboro Sun. “This money will really help people who are working with foster kids."

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His mother said the family was proud of him even if he did not win the main prize.

"Our hearts have certainly been warmed by the dozens of people who have shared our story and helped our pursuit of this tremendous cause," Lesli Baltz said.

During the pandemic last year, Lesli Baltz said they wanted to try and make memories with a few different hairstyles.

“We were trying to find ways to make funny memories during quarantine,” she said. “We were going to do a mullet, a Mohawk, and then a rat tail and shave it all off before he went back to school in August. But he loved the mullet and refused to let us cut it off.”

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The prize money will go to two state-level foster care organizations called Together We Foster and Project Zero.

Project Zero helps place children in the foster care system to find homes with families. Together We Foster donates diapers and clothing and teaches classes for foster families.

Police arrest suspect in connection to fatal shooting of 6-year-old DC resident

Mike Brest

July 28, 02:33 PM July 28, 02:33 PM

Law enforcement officials in Washington, D.C., have arrested a suspect in connection with the fatal shooting of a 6-year-old girl earlier this month.

Marktwan Hargraves, 22, has been charged with first-degree murder while armed in the July 16 shooting of Nyiah Courtney, who was fatally struck while her mother, another woman, and two men suffered non-life-threatening gunshot wounds, Police Chief Robert Contee revealed during a Wednesday press conference, according to the DCist.

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Earlier this month, Hargraves allegedly opened fire in the Congress Heights neighborhood of southeast Washington. The shots were fired by an individual in a moving vehicle, which was later found burned, according to the Washington Post.

“I stood before you just over a week ago and said we would get justice for 6-year-old Nyiah Courtney,” Contee said. “The prayers of the community have been answered. I’m here to announce today that we’ve got our man.”

Contee added that Hargraves was "no stranger" to law enforcement.

Courtney's death, combined with shots fired outside of a Washington Nationals game the next day, brought the increasing violence in the nation's capital into the spotlight.

Police responded to four victims with gunshot injuries at approximately 9:30 p.m. on July 17 outside of the Nationals game against the San Diego Padres, which was postponed after the shots rang out. Video footage posted to social media shows a mixture of frightened fans scrambling for cover inside the stadium, while others attempted to leave the game as the announcer told attendees to "remain inside the stadium."

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D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, in the aftermath of the shootings, signed a letter authorizing city police to use “any overtime necessary to meet our public safety needs” and to increase deployments.

DC police seeking information on vehicle tied to shooting near Nationals Park

Kaelan Deese

July 18, 11:07 AM July 18, 11:07 AM

Authorities are seeking help from the public on obtaining information regarding a vehicle involved in the shooting incident near Nationals Park on Saturday, during which three people were shot and wounded near the baseball stadium.

Police responded to at least three victim gunshot injuries at approximately 9:30 p.m. on Saturday outside of the Washington Nationals game against the San Diego Padres. Video footage posted to social media shows a mixture of frightened fans scrambling for cover inside the stadium, while others attempted to leave the game as the announcer told attendees to "remain inside the stadium." The shooting was unrelated to the baseball game, authorities said.

One of the suspected vehicles involved in the shooting has been described "as a gray Toyota Corolla with a missing hubcap on the rear driver’s side wheel and dark tinted windows" and is "believed to be displaying a Virginia temporary tag," the Metropolitan Police Department said Sunday.

The department is offering a "reward of up to $10,000" for anyone who provides information leading to the arrest and conviction of the "person or persons responsible for a violent crime," according to a press readout.

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The gunfire was exchanged between people in two cars, according to Ashan Benedict, the Metropolitan Police Department's executive assistant police chief, the Associated Press reported. Two victims, who walked to area hospitals for treatment, were in one of the cars, while the third victim was attending the game and struck while standing outside the stadium.

All of the victims were treated for nonfatal gun wounds. Police initially said four people were shot.

Fans were later told to exit the ballpark, according to a tweet from the Washington Nationals. The home team was losing to the Padres 8-4 when the game was paused, though the teams are planning to resume Sunday afternoon.

Hours before the ballpark shooting, a separate shooting happened Friday night, leaving a 6-year-old girl dead and five adults injured near the city's Congress Heights neighborhood.

The young girl was later identified as Nyiah Courtney. Officials are seeking information about an alleged suspect vehicle described as a silver or gray four-door Sedan.

"We seek our community’s help to bring justice and closure to Nyiah’s family," MPD said, offering up to $60,000 in reward for anyone with information leading to the whereabouts of the vehicle.

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One hundred and one people have been killed in the District of Columbia in 2021 so far, on par with 2020's year-to-date homicides, according to police data.

Five Washington Nationals players will sit out opening day due to COVID-19 concerns

Kaelan Deese

March 31, 06:07 PM March 31, 06:07 PM

Five Washington Nationals players will miss Thursday's opening game after one player tested positive for COVID-19.

Mike Rizzo, the general manager of the Washington, D.C., Major League Baseball team, said Wednesday that one player who tested positive on Monday and four others who had close contact with him will miss the team's first game, the Athletic's Britt Ghiroli reported. One staff member will also quarantine after reportedly being exposed to the group, Rizzo reportedly told ESPN journalist Karl Ravech.

During the spring training season, 33 players tested positive for COVID-19, and the MLB said two players and two staff members tested positive last week among 13,978 tests conducted as part of the league's weekly monitoring.

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During the 2020 season, the Nationals were slated to open the 60-game, pandemic-shortened season on July 23 against the New York Yankees. Hours before that game, the club announced star outfielder Juan Soto tested positive. Now, the 2019 World Series champions will open the 2021 season without a handful of players when they face off against the New York Mets on Thursday.

On Monday, the league announced social distancing protocols would be relaxed for teams that reach 85% vaccination rate among tier-one staff. Clubs that reach the threshold can drop mask use from dugouts and bullpens and eliminate their electronic tracing devices, according to a memo circulated to players and staff.

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The MLB announced several health protocols in an effort to reduce the disease's transmission ahead of the start of spring training, including creating a joint COVID-19 health and safety committee composed of one MLB and MLB Players Association representative and two physicians, team-specific COVID-19 action plans, and frequent testing, among other provisions.

Representatives for the MLB and the Nationals did not immediately reply to the Washington Examiner's requests for comment.

Photo of Fauci not wearing mask or social distancing earns him stern tongue lashing on social media

Andrew Mark Miller

July 24, 02:13 PM September 14, 03:33 PM

Radio host Mark Levin and others on Twitter slammed White House coronavirus task force member Dr. Anthony Fauci over a photo of him sitting next to two other people at a baseball game with his face uncovered.

“Looks like Dr. Fauci forget [sic] to actually use his face mask while watching the Kaepernickers playing baseball,” Levin tweeted along with the photo from WTOP News showing Fauci at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C., to throw out the ceremonial first pitch for the opening of the 2020 Major League Baseball season. “I’m sure the media will question him about it. After all, as he says, we’re in this together and everyone needs to obey the the [sic] science.”

Dr. David Samadi, a urologic oncology expert and robotic surgeon and former Fox News contributor, criticized Fauci as well, calling on him to “lead by example.”

“We are asked to do three things to eliminate this virus: 1. Social Distancing 2. Wearing A Mask 3. Practice Good Hygiene,” Samadi tweeted. “At least two out of the three are being violated in this photograph. Let’s lead by example.”

“Dr. Fauci should be setting a better example,” HuffPost's Yashar Ali tweeted.

Tom Fitton, president of conservative activist group Judicial Watch, went a step further and expressed the belief that face coverings are ineffective, which is backed by at least one study but not supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or recommendations from Fauci in the past.

“Masks don't work. Dr. Fauci said this and his conduct seems to confirm he still understands that there is no science that masks work to contain #coronavirus,” Fitton tweeted.

Fauci addressed the issue on Fox News Friday morning and said that he had his mask down to "drink water" and called criticisms "mischievous."

Wearing face coverings with the goal of mitigating the spread of the coronavirus has become a hot button issue over the past few months, and there have been some reports of violent altercations that have broken out over disagreements on mandatory requirements.

After dismissing the need for a face covering, President Trump changed course this week and called the precaution “patriotic.”