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Steel: 50%. Copper: 50%. Cars: up to 25%. But an even bigger Trump-era levy looms: 107% on Italian pasta.
Mamma mia.
A Stanford student and Paralympian who grew up in Arlington has been named a 2026 Rhodes scholar.
Sydney E. Barta of Arlington, Virginia, is a Paralympian and member of the track team at Stanford University, who studies bioengineering and sings in the Stanford acapella group “Counterpoint.” As part of the prestigious scholarship, Barta plans to study musculoskeletal sciences.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Jessica Sweet spent the federal government shutdown cutting back. To make ends meet, the Social Security claims specialist drank only one coffee a day, skipped meals, cut down on groceries and deferred paying some household bills. She racked up spending on her credit card buying gas to get to work.
With the longest shutdown ever coming to a close, Sweet and hundreds of thousands of other federal workers who missed paychecks will soon get some relief. But many are left feeling that their livelihoods served as political pawns in the fight between recalcitrant lawmakers in Washington and are asking themselves whether the battle was worth their sacrifices.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump signed a government funding bill Wednesday night, ending a record 43-day shutdown that caused financial stress for federal workers who went without paychecks, stranded scores of travelers at airports and generated long lines at some food banks.
The shutdown magnified partisan divisions in Washington as Trump took unprecedented unilateral actions — including canceling projects and trying to fire federal workers — to pressure Democrats into relenting on their demands.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate is voting on the first steps to end the 40-day government shutdown Sunday after a group of moderate Democrats agreed to proceed without a guaranteed extension of health care subsidies, angering many in their caucus who wanted to continue the fight.
The group of three former governors — New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, New Hampshire Sen. Maggie Hassan and Independent Sen. Angus King of Maine — said they would vote to reopen if the Senate passed three annual spending bills and extend the rest of government funding until late January. Senate Majority Leader John Thune endorsed the deal Sunday night and called an immediate vote to begin the process of approving it.
WASHINGTON (AP) — With the combination of the longest government shutdown, the mass firings of government workers and a fresh cut in federal food aid, the Capital Area Food Bank in Washington is bracing for the swell of people who will need its help before the holiday season.
The food bank, which serves 400 pantries and aid organizations in the District of Columbia, northern Virginia and two Maryland counties, is providing 8 million more meals than it had prepared to this budget year — a nearly 20% increase.
Reagan National Airport is “expecting significant delays and cancellations through this evening due to air traffic reductions.”
The airport urged those with flight reservations “to monitor their flight status closely with their airline,” according to a social post Friday afternoon. As of 5 p.m., the FAA listed average flight delays of four hours at Reagan National, attributing the delays to “staffing” issues.
Reagan National Airport and Dulles International Airport are among the 40 that will see flights cut starting Friday due to the government shutdown, according to a list distributed to the airlines.
The Federal Aviation Administration announced Wednesday that it would reduce air traffic by 10% across 40 “high-volume” markets to maintain travel safety as air traffic controllers exhibit signs of strain during the ongoing government shutdown.
ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) — Not everyone who voted in Northern Virginia in Tuesday’s election has felt the impact of President Donald Trump’s efforts to reshape the federal government, but even many who haven’t said they have colleagues or neighbors who are dealing with the consequences.
“I’ve seen so many federal families lose their jobs, lose their income, lose their certainty here,” said Karina Valdez, who voted at the Barcroft Sports & Fitness Center in Arlington.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The government shutdown has entered its 36th day, breaking the record as the longest ever and disrupting the lives of millions of Americans with federal program cuts, flight delays and federal workers nationwide left without paychecks.
President Donald Trump has refused to negotiate with Democrats over their demands to salvage expiring health insurance subsidies until they agree to reopen the government. But skeptical Democrats question whether the Republican president will keep his word, particularly after the administration restricted SNAP food aid, despite court orders to ensure funds are available to prevent hunger.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Democrat Jay Jones was elected Tuesday as Virginia attorney general, riding a wave of voter dissatisfaction with the White House to overcome the revelation that in 2022 he sent widely condemned texts embracing violence against a fellow state lawmaker.
The former Virginia delegate defeated Republican incumbent Attorney General Jason Miyares weeks after it emerged that Jones had texted a fellow delegate suggesting the then-House speaker should get “two bullets to the head.” Jones apologized for the private messages both in statements and at a debate in October.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Democrat Abigail Spanberger won the Virginia governor’s race Tuesday, defeating Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears to give Democrats a key victory heading into the 2026 midterm elections and make history as the first woman ever to lead the commonwealth.
Spanberger’s victory will flip partisan control of the governor’s office when she succeeds outgoing Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin.
