The Associated Press | ARLnow

Unsafe E. coli levels recorded near Arlington after massive sewage spill in Potomac

Published January 27, 2026 at 10:00AM

Water samples are taken from the Potomac River, Friday, Jan. 23, 2026 in Glen Echo, Md. A massive pipe that moves millions of gallons of sewage has ruptured and sent wastewater flowing into the Potomac River northwest of Washington, polluting it ahead of a major winter storm that has repair crews scrambling. (AP Photo/Nathan Ellgren)

Tests of water samples from the Potomac River are reporting dangerously high levels of E. coli following a rupture in a sewage pipe upstream from Arlington.

The Potomac Riverkeeper Network recorded bacteria levels 60 times higher than what is considered safe for human contact in a sample taken at Fletchers Cove on Friday, the organization announced in a press release yesterday (Monday). This is in D.C., across the river from Potomac Overlook Regional Park.

News

Investigators detail causes of the midair collision over Potomac, as anniversary approaches

By The Associated Press

Published January 26, 2026 at 4:45PM

A plane takes off from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport as Roberto Marquez of Dallas places flowers at a memorial of crosses he erected for the 67 victims of a midair collision between an Army helicopter and an American Airlines jet, Feb. 1, 2025, in Arlington, Va. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

So many things went wrong last Jan. 29 to contribute to the deadliest plane crash on American soil since 2001 that the National Transportation Safety Board isn’t likely to identify a single cause of the collision between an airliner and an Army helicopter over the Potomac River at its hearing Tuesday.

Instead, their investigators will detail what they found that played a role in the crash, which killed 67 people, and the board will recommend changes to help prevent a similar tragedy. Last week, the Federal Aviation Administration already took the temporary restrictions it imposed after the crash and made them permanent to ensure planes and helicopters won’t share the same airspace again around Reagan National Airport.

Sports

Arlington’s Azzi Fudd plays in front of hometown fans for last time in UConn uniform: ‘I feel very loved’

By The Associated Press

Published January 23, 2026 at 10:00AM

UConn guard Azzi Fudd, back, goes to the basket against Georgetown forward Cristen Carter (24) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Azzi Fudd was swarmed by fans seeking selfies and autographs as she walked off the court at the Washington Mystics’ home arena, her last time playing in front of a hometown crowd in a UConn uniform.

A star on the local hoops scene since she was named the national girls’ player of the year as a sophomore at St. John’s College High School in 2019, Fudd indulged in a bit of nostalgia before the top-ranked Huskies improved to 20-0 with Thursday night’s 83-42 dismantling of Georgetown.

News

FAA is making the rules imposed after an airliner collided with an Army helicopter permanent

By The Associated Press

Published January 23, 2026 at 9:15AM

Boats and the U.S. Park Police helicopter search the Potomac River the morning after the mid-air collision and crash (staff photo by James Jarvis)

The temporary rules imposed after last year’s collision of an airliner and an Army helicopter to improve the safety of the crowded airspace around Washington D.C. are being made permanent, the government announced Thursday.

The Federal Aviation Administration took steps to make sure that helicopters and airplanes would no longer share the same airspace around Reagan National Airport shortly after the investigation into the Jan. 29 crash began. The rules also prohibit air traffic controllers from relying on visual separation and require all military aircraft to broadcast their locations.

News

Northern Virginia’s top federal prosecutor is leaving post

By The Associated Press

Published January 20, 2026 at 11:20PM

FILE - Lindsey Halligan, outside of the White House, Aug. 20, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Lindsey Halligan, who, as a hastily appointed Justice Department prosecutor, pursued indictments against a pair of President Donald Trump’s adversaries, is leaving her position as her months-long tenure has now concluded, Attorney General Pam Bondi said Tuesday night.

Halligan’s departure from the role of interim United States attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia came as multiple judges were casting doubt on her ability to remain in the job legally following a court ruling two months ago that declared her appointment illegal. She was appointed in September to a 120-day stint, which concluded Tuesday.

News

Gov. Spanberger targets utility bills, power demand amid data center boom in N. Va.

By Emily Leayman and The Associated Press

Published January 20, 2026 at 1:45PM

CoreSite’s Reston data center campus (staff photo by James Jarvis)

Increasing power demand from a growing number of data centers, many located in Northern Virginia, has made rising utility costs a key issue for Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) in her first days in office.

In her first address to the Virginia General Assembly yesterday (Monday), Spanberger outlined her Affordable Virginia Agenda, a set of proposals addressing energy, health care and housing costs. Spanberger also issued an executive order on her first day in office that directs her cabinet members and agencies to identify policy changes that would reduce costs for Virginians in energy and other areas.

News

Abigail Spanberger sworn in as Virginia’s first woman governor

By The Associated Press

Published January 17, 2026 at 5:45PM

Gov. Abigail Spanberger attends an inaugural ceremony after she was sworn in as Virginia's first female governor, at the Capitol in Richmond Va., Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026.(AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Amid a cold drizzle, Democrat Abigail Spanberger was sworn into office Saturday at the state Capitol as Virginia’s first female governor after centuries of men holding the state’s top office.

The inauguration of Spanberger, who defeated Republican Winsome Earle-Sears to succeed Gov. Glenn Youngkin, marks a new chapter in Virginia as Democrats pull the levers of power in state government while Republican President Donald Trump sits in the White House in neighboring Washington.

News

Virginia lawmakers back redrawing congressional maps, paving the way for a voter referendum

By The Associated Press

Published January 16, 2026 at 2:20PM

Virginia State Capitol in Richmond (staff photo)

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia voters will decide whether to back a redrawn district map that favors Democrats in the tit-for-tat battle for the U.S. House after the left-leaning Senate advanced a proposed constitutional amendment on Friday that supports mid-decade congressional redistricting.

Such a congressional map has not been publicly released, though lawmakers say that will change by the end of the month. Officials have repeatedly vowed that voters would see a proposed map before the referendum is held, likely in April.

News

Performing arts venue across the Potomac from Arlington may be renamed the ‘Trump-Kennedy Center’

By The Associated Press

Published December 18, 2025 at 2:00PM | Updated December 18, 2025 at 4:01PM

The Kennedy Center, as seen from Arlington (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s handpicked board voted Thursday to rename Washington’s leading performing arts center as the Trump-Kennedy Center, the White House said, in a move that was quickly denounced as a “disgrace” by the Democratic leader of the House, who is on the board.

Press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced the vote on social media, attributing it to the “unbelievable work President Trump has done over the last year in saving the building. Not only from the standpoint of its reconstruction, but also financially, and its reputation.”

News

Federal government admits role in causing helicopter-plane collision over the Potomac

By The Associated Press

Published December 17, 2025 at 9:55PM

FILE - A crane offloads a piece of wreckage from a salvage vessel onto a flatbed truck, near the wreckage site in the Potomac River of a mid-air collision between an American Airlines jet and a Black Hawk helicopter, at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Feb. 5, 2025, in Arlington, Va. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis, File)

The U.S. government admitted Wednesday that the actions of an air traffic controller and Army helicopter pilot played a role in causing a collision last January between an airliner and a Black Hawk near the nation’s capital, killing 67 people.

It was the deadliest plane crash on American soil in more than two decades.

News

FAA head pledges no rollback of D.C. airspace safety measures amid defense bill fight

By The Associated Press and ARLnow.com

Published December 17, 2025 at 8:30AM

FILE - Salvage crews work on recovering wreckage near the site in the Potomac River of a mid-air collision between an American Airlines jet and a Black Hawk helicopter at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025, in Arlington, Va. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)

The head of the Federal Aviation Administration said Tuesday he won’t allow operations in the airspace over the nation’s capital to revert back to the way they were before January’s deadly aircraft collision near Reagan National Airport.

Administrator Bryan Bedford told the House aviation subcommittee he won’t forget the 67 people who died when an airliner collided with an Army helicopter over the Potomac River.

News

NTSB, elected officials blast safety exception for military flights around DCA

By Dan Egitto and The Associated Press

Published December 11, 2025 at 10:00AM | Updated December 11, 2025 at 3:05PM

A US Coast Guard helicopter flies over the Potomac River near the Lincoln Memorial (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

A proposed exception to restrictions on military flights around Reagan National Airport is prompting outcry among some federal officials.

U.S. Rep. Don Beyer (D) and five other members of Congress representing Virginia joined the chair of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), as well as D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, in crying foul yesterday (Wednesday).