No, you weren’t hallucinating Thursday morning 鈥� that was an IndyCar being pulled along the Metro tracks through a portion of D.C.

It was part of a promotion between the Freedom 250 Grand Prix and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority to remind people that the best way to navigate the expected huge crowds this weekend is to take Metro.

“Even IndyCar knows the fastest way to get around is actually on Metro,” said Randy Clarke, the transit agency’s general manager and CEO. “We’re really excited about this, and this car was a really kind of fun way to show a different way that people can see the Metro system, and we’re having a little fun.”

The IndyCar, described as a work car that will not run in any of the races scheduled over the weekend, was fastened aboard a flat-bed train car and pulled along the yellow line, beginning at the King Street station up to the Mount Vernon station then back south to the L’Enfant Plaza station. Metro riders gawked at the multicolored, low-profile racecar as the train paused at L’Enfant for a photo op.

“Metro’s job is to move a lot of people to all of our big events,” Clarke said, highlighting heavily attended events already this week, including soccer games at Audi Field and a concert at Nationals Park.

“Driving is going to be especially challenging now for the next three of four days,” Clarke said. “We’re there. Check . We’re providing a ton of frequency. We’re a reliable way to get around. Just use Metro.”

The Freedom 250 racetrack is accessible from several stations, including L’Enfant Plaza, Smithsonian, Federal Triangle, Gallery Place, Archives, Metro Center, Judiciary Square and Gallery Place.

But spectators can only enter the viewing area through certain security checkpoints, which should be listed on their ticket, Stars or Stripes. Clarke said Metro employees will be able to direct racegoers to the station closest to their assigned checkpoint.

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There, among the collection belonging to John Melville Burgess, the first African American to lead an Episcopal diocese, was an original draft of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s seminal “Letter From Birmingham Jail.”

Gentry, who served an internship at the seminary, said he thought he’d found a copy of an early draft of the document. But on further examination by seminary staff, it was determined it is an original draft.

“I was blown away,” Gentry, now a graduate of the University of Maryland’s Master of Library Sciences program, told 小萝莉影视. “I instantly recognized it as the ‘Letter From Birmingham Jail,’ but my first though was, ‘Oh, this must be a copy.'”

It wasn’t.

Later examined by Swann Galleries in New York City, it was verified to be an original draft. Swann sold a different draft of the letter in 2021.

The Virginia Theological Seminary plans to preserve the letter and display it for public view in the near future.

On April 12, 1963, Dr. King was jailed in Alabama after leading protests against segregation. After reading an editorial from white clergy criticizing the demonstrations, King began writing a response on scraps of paper. It became his landmark 鈥淟etter from Birmingham Jail,鈥� a powerful call for direct, nonviolent action in the fight for Civil Rights.

“I wasn’t expecting to come across something that special as an original draft,” Gentry said.

It’s not the first time Gentry has discovered a rare document. Last year, while working at George Mason’s Gunston Hall, he discovered a 聽between Madison and George Washington.

“That’s what’s so fun about working in archives,” Gentry said. “You get to touch these special parts of history.”

EDITOR’S NOTE: This story has been changed to show that George Mason owned Gunston Hall.聽

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On Monday, police obtained an arrest warrant for Ja’niah Johnson, a VSU student. Police say it was Johnson helped shooting suspect Cameron Harris hide in her dormitory room closet 14 hours after the shooting.

Harris, 19, is not a VSU student. He was arrested the day of the shooting on Saturday and charged with eight felonies, including four counts of malicious wounding and four counts of the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. He is being held without bond.

Johnson turned herself in Tuesday and appeared before a magistrate on charges of obstruction and accessory after the fact. She was released on her own recognizance.

The shooting happened just after 1 a.m. Saturday near what is known as the quad annexes on Boisseau Street. Five people people were injured in the shooting, including one woman and five men.

One victim is a VSU student. The other victims are not students of the university. All of the victims were taken to the hospital, four with minor injuries and a 21-year-old man with initial injuries described as life-threatening. He has since been upgraded to critical but stable condition.

Police say they will not release the names of the victims.

Chesterfield County police have not released a possible motive in the shooting and say the investigation is ongoing.

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Fairfax Circuit Court records, filed Aug. 5 and obtained 小萝莉影视, show Abdulloi Toshpulodzoda flew from Dulles International Airport to Istanbul and then to Dushanbe, Tajikistan, instead of returning to the Northern Virginia Mental Health Institute, where he was committed. Days earlier, a judge ruled that Toshpulodzoda remained mentally ill and needed continued inpatient treatment.

On July 6, he was permitted by the psychiatric facility to leave for a two-day weekend community pass. Instead of returning July 8, he boarded a Turkish Airlines flight out of Dulles. The facility immediately placed him on an “escape status,” and Virginia State Police, as well as federal authorities, were notified. Customs and Border Protection issued an alert.

In December 2019, Toshpulodzoda was charged with killing Mohammed Hemmatian, 61, in a Vienna, Virginia, home. In 2022, Toshpulodzoda was found not guilty by reason of insanity and ordered committed to the state mental facility the same year.

allows patients to acquire privileges as their treatment continues. One of those privileges includes temporary day or weekend passes as long as clinical teams concur. The Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office supported such a pass in 2024, during which Toshpulodzoda obtained a passport, according to multiple news reports.

A bench warrant has been issued for Toshpulodzoda’s arrest, according to Fox 5, which first reported the story.

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Trustees also voted to close the facility for two years to carry out renovations, a plan that was initially blocked by a federal judge.

Trump’s name was ultimately added to the building before the same federal judge ordered the Trump name off the building, saying only Congress has authority over naming federal properties.

On Thursday, the board of trustees voted to add Trump’s name back to the building, this time in the form of an inscription that would read: 鈥淭he John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Restored and Renovated By President Donald J. Trump,” according to multiple news organizations.

Opponents, including some members of Congress and other groups against having Trump’s name on the building are determining their next move.

“Outside of it being illegal, it’s just gross and wrong,” said Chris Raleigh, an organizer with the D.C.-area activist group Hands Off the Arts. “How many more things are they going to do to be disrespectful to John F. Kennedy and his memory?”

Raleigh said his organization intends to continue to put public pressure on elected officials and Kennedy Center leaders to end the matter once and for all.

“This has absolutely nothing to do with the performing arts; this has nothing to do with the patrons or the audiences or the workers, honestly,” Raleigh said. “As D.C. residents, it’s our home theater, and we’re going to fight for it.”

Raleigh is hopeful continued public pressure will work.

“We stopped it last time,” he said. “And, arguably, they’re on way shakier ground this time.”

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The D.C. Department of Motor Vehicles has released a new Purple Heart specialty license plate.

It is available to District residents who have received the Purple Heart medal, as well as eligible surviving spouses.

The new tag carries no annual fee. Applicants are required to pay a one-time $10 application fee, with the proceeds supporting the Mayor鈥檚 Office of Veterans Affairs Fund, which provides services for D.C. veterans.

The specialty plate was created under the D.C. Purple Heart License Plate Amendment Act of 2025, legislation that became law on May 21. District officials said the tag was designed to honor Purple Heart recipients wounded or killed in combat while recognizing their service to the nation.

At an unveiling ceremony, D.C. DMV Director Gabriel Robinson said his agency made the license plate a priority when the legislation became law in May of this year.

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D.C. school leaders joined Mayor Muriel Bowser at Powell Bilingual Elementary School in Northwest on Thursday for a back-to-school party, courtesy of the Washington Wizards.

The Wizards organization is hosting two days of activities with students getting free backpacks and school supplies, healthy snacks and pizza. They are also getting free haircuts and an opportunity to shoot baskets on a giant inflatable basketball hoop. Wizards center Alex Sarr bought all the backpacks to be donated. Sarr is also giving $100 gift cards to teachers to help them prepare for the coming school year.

The next Wizards-sponsored back-to-school party will be held at Claremont Immersion School in Arlington, Virginia, on Friday.

Eight-year-old Sarah, a rising third grader at Powell, welcomed the guests, saying, “I can’t think of a better tip off to a new school year for my friends, our teachers and families,” she said.

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Bowser also attended the party, speaking to the students directly, saying, “Now, boys and girls, your job is to be ready. You had a great summer, right? Now it’s time to get back on your bedtime schedules, right?”

Interim D.C. Public Schools Chancellor Kim Jackson touted the partnership with Monumental Sports, the company that manages the Wizards, as a great benefit for all D.C. Public Schools.

“With contributions of athletic equipment, shoes, other resources, our community is enabling students to thrive, so we are grateful,” Jackson said.

Students preparing for the first day of school are also enjoying free haircuts and hairstyling services from community partners Fresh Fades and CapeTown DMV.

Families also received complimentary desserts, including Rita鈥檚 Italian Ice at Powell Elementary School and Clayboys Shave Ice at Claremont Immersion School. Coca-Cola Consolidated is also providing water at a hydration station and Capital City Mambo Sauce donated its signature sauce at the Powell event.

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Rather than relying exclusively on the city鈥檚 general fund, officials next year will reportedly begin using opioid settlement proceeds to help pay for recurring costs tied to providing health coverage to low-income residents.

According to budget documents reviewed by , D.C. plans to use roughly $7.8 million in opioid settlement money for Medicaid and addiction treatment programs already funded through its general budget. Critics argue the move would maintain existing spending levels rather than expand treatment and recovery services.

A coalition of more than 80 individuals and 30 organizations objected in a letter, saying the District plans to use opioid settlement funds to fill existing budget gaps.

The letter was addressed to Department of Behavioral Health Director Barbara Bazron, D.C. Council Health Committee Chair Christina Henderson and D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb.

The payments are part of a multibillion-dollar legal settlement with pharmaceutical companies and distributors and other companies accused of fueling the nation’s opioid crisis.

Over the next two decades, the agreements are expected to send more than $50 billion to governments nationwide. The District is projected to collect more than $100 million. The money is intended to help communities respond to the addiction epidemic and expand prevention, treatment and recovery services.

“We want to make sure that DBH is held to account,” said Queen Adesuyi, a partner at who advocates for community-based addiction services.

“And that they’re not allowed to misuse millions of dollars that are technically meant to be used to support overdose prevention,” she added.

According to KFF Health 小萝莉影视, the Department of Behavioral Health said it will comply with all requirements governing the use of opioid settlement funds.

“We want to make sure that they don’t get away with supplanting funds, which is what we are concerned is happening,” Adesuyi said.

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Weeks into a project to restore the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, new signs around the pool appear to blame previous administrations for issues with the landmark’s water supply.

小萝莉影视 found at least four signs bearing the National Park Service logo that address the pool鈥檚 condition Friday.

The signs state, “After years of neglect by previous administrations, more than half of the 58 water supply ports were so clogged that they were deemed nonfunctioning.鈥�

The Trump administration has cited those problems as the reason for the restoration project, which has faced setbacks including peeling paint and algae blooms.

Since the project began, the pool has been drained twice, most recently in mid-July.

According to the signs, crews have partially refilled the pool to flush the remaining feeder pipes as they work to restore the landmark. A visual examination confirmed that the pool was partially refilled.

鈥淭he flushing may temporarily discolor the water as buildup in the pipes is cleaned out,鈥� the National Park Service notice reads.

小萝莉影视 has contacted the National Park Service for comment on the signs and the restoration project鈥檚 progress.

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The Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles is launching its first cannabis-impaired driving awareness campaign this month, telling drivers: If you get high to relax, then “relaxxxxx” and avoid the stress of driving.

it’s a “lighthearted and relatable” message, calling attention to a serious problem.

“In 2025, Virginia recorded 233 drugged driver fatalities, and 117 of those deaths involved cannabis,” Brandy Brubaker, the director of the DMV’s Office of Highway Safety, said.

The campaign also aims to address common misconceptions about using cannabis and driving.

“Many people mistakenly believe that they’re driving just fine after using cannabis,” Brubaker said. “But of course the science tells us otherwise.”

The “Relaxxxxx” concept is based on research showing that’s the reason many cannabis users consume the drug, the Virginia DMV said.

“The goal was to not judge people; we’re not here to do that,” Brubaker said. “We’re here just to remind you that we want everyone to get home safe at the end of the day.”

The state campaign will run from Aug. 10 to Sept. 7 on TV, radio, social media, digital platforms and billboards. In addition, planes towing banners with the “Relaxxxxx” message will fly over select Virginia concert venues.

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In a unanimous 5-0 vote Thursday night, board members approved the preliminary , a mixed-use residential community that would replace much of the former GEICO headquarters campus near the Friendship Heights Metro station.

The approvals covered the project’s sketch plan, preliminary plan, site plan and conservation plan.

The decision followed an hourslong public hearing that stretched late into the evening. Opponents argued the project would remove too many mature trees, reduce promised green space and break commitments made to residents under the county’s 1998 Friendship Heights Sector Plan.

The project is also the subject of an ongoing lawsuit filed by the Friendship Heights Village Council, which contends the proposal conflicts with long-standing planning agreements.

Supporters told the board the county’s housing shortage makes the redevelopment necessary. They cited the project’s affordable housing component, its location near the Friendship Heights Metro station and the opportunity to transform an underused office campus into new housing.

During the meeting, board members directed staff to continue exploring opportunities to preserve trees as the project moves forward.

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A national program sponsored by Pepco and the Exelon Foundation is designed to give teenagers a peek into what it would be like to work in a science, technology, engineering and math career.

This week, Exelon Academy activities took place at the University of Maryland in College Park. Previous programs have also been held in Baltimore and Chicago. A fourth will be held next month in Philadelphia.

The College Park program drew over 100 incoming high school juniors and seniors from across the District, Maryland and Virginia.

“Some of these kids come from underserved communities, which means they don’t even have access to STEM education truly within their school,” said Maya Huggins-Garcia, who has been directing the national program for five years.

She said academy exposes students to technical careers, allows them to network with professionals in the field, and gives them a chance to see themselves in a college setting and develop skills they will need when they enter the workforce.

The program also helps students understand the opportunities available to them through STEM with a series of exercises and projects.

“They actively tap into their creative side, their curiosity, and they’ve come up with great concepts to help us with the mitigation of climate change on our electrical infrastructure,” Huggins-Garcia said.

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“I think it’s been really cool,” Sophia Cannaday, an incoming junior at D.C.’s McKinley Technology High School, said. “It’s definitely different from anything I’ve ever done before, and I think it’s really nice that we get to network with so many different individuals who do all these really great, important things.”

The 16-year-old Cannaday and her team were working on developing a brownfield project, designing an electrical grid, establishing water sources and other civil engineering projects. They were also building out a community by planning the placement of a school, daycare and grocery store.

“This week has been amazing,” 16-year-old Jonah Mischalove, a D.C. resident who attends Bethesda Chevy-Chase High School, said. “We’ve worked on team building, and right now we’re actually working on resuscitating a contaminated field.”

Mischalove also said the program helped attendees build a LinkedIn page and taught them about an elevator pitch.

“Those are just truly incredible skills that everyone should really have,” he said.

“At the end of this program, we will have impacted 400 students overall,” Huggins-Garcia said. “They will join 1,700 students that have come before them.”

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Renaldo Gaines, 35, and Sierra Alston, 33, were taken into custody in Washington on July 23 with help from the U.S. Marshals Service. Police said they turned themselves in to Arlington County police the next day.

Gaines is charged with grand larceny auto, possession of a vehicle with removed or altered serial numbers, two counts of receiving stolen goods, two counts of conspiracy to commit a felony and petit larceny. Alston is charged with unauthorized use of a vehicle and two counts of conspiracy to commit a felony, according to police.

The investigation began March 18, 2025, when an officer checking a parking garage in the 800 block of Army Navy Drive spotted a suspicious, unoccupied vehicle, police said. Investigators determined the vehicle had been stolen in Nevada and had an altered vehicle identification number. Officers detained Gaines and Alston when they returned to the vehicle.

Police said the ensuing investigation found that Gaines and Alston conspired to steal or acquire stolen vehicles and alter their identification numbers to avoid detection. Austin was charged in a previous case involving the theft of three BMWs from a Reagan National Airport rental facility.

Investigators reported finding her police jacket and official documents in one vehicle, her phone paired via Bluetooth to a second, and D.C. police bodycam footage placing her with the third. Those charges were ultimately dropped in March 2025. At the time, Alston was a Maryland police officer and used law enforcement resources to help Gaines, according to Arlington County police.

Police obtained arrest warrants this month. The investigation remains active.

Anyone with information can call the Arlington County Police Department tip line at 703-228-4180.

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More than 500 Howard students were unenrolled because they didn’t meet financial deadlines. On Tuesday, Howard said a “considerable” number of students had been reenrolled after meeting payment and documentation requirements and that it continues to review cases.

UDC’s application deadline has been extended to Aug. 7 to give Howard students time to transfer and not lose academic time.

“In addition to that, our admission application fee has been waived,” said Hasanna Tyus, vice president of enrollment at UDC. “And then we have enrollment specialists that are prepared in admissions, financial aid, registration and advising and housing to help students throughout the enrollment process to make sure that they’re prepared to start class on Aug. 21.”

Tyus said most financial aid can be transferred. Students receiving federal aid can update their FAFSA to designate UDC as their school.

Those with private scholarships or other outside awards will need to contact the sponsoring organizations directly to have their funds redirected.

“We are here to serve as many as students as we can,” Tyus said. “If there’s a student out there that wants to begin their studies, continue their studies in the District of Columbia, we want students to know that they have a home here at UDC.”

Howard University that it acknowledges the challenges and is working to accommodate students. Howard apologized for the stress it caused students.

Howard University interim president Wayne Frederick addressed the issue Monday.

Tyus said any student who would like to contact an admissions adviser at UDC should do so .

In a similar move to UDC, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Monday that it would offer expedited late admissions reviews to New York state students unenrolled by Howard.

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Coach and co-founder of District Blossoms Robby Zhang says the group was founded in 2023, and they’ve been working hard to get to this point. He said the kids are showing good promise.

“We are bringing two teams out to Texas,” Zhang said. “We’re also bringing a 16-U girls team. They are the only fully-rostered girls team coming from the D.C., Maryland, Virginia area, so we’re very excited for that.”

Multiple teams from the region are also participating in the competition, which is being held July 30-Aug. 2.

Zhang, who is from the Bay Area in California, started playing water polo at a young age and called it a niche sport that’s not as popular on the East Coast.

“It’s very big in California. It’s got some growing segments in Texas and Florida,” he said. “It’s the biggest youth tournament in the country.”

“I’m really looking forward to just playing with my team and growing together,” said 14-year-old Coralyn from Clarksburg, who said 鈥� even though her team is an underdog 鈥� she has high hopes.

“I think we have a pretty good chance,” she said. “So far, looking at the teams, I believe we’re pretty equal to them, and I think if we fight and try our hardest, then we can defeat them.”

“I’m so stoked 鈥� it’s amazing,” said 11-year-old Vaughn from Bethesda. “I’m looking forward to good food and playing great polo!”

“Water polo has taught me that community means a lot,” said 15-year-old Suriel from Bethesda. “I’ve made a bunch of friends, people who have developed me as a person.”

“I think the team is going to do pretty good,” said 12-year-old Faris of the District. “We’ve been practicing really hard, four days a week. It’s going to be really fun.”

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