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23+ min ago (347+ words) December 16, 2025, 8:08 PM A quick meeting of the House Democrats Tuesday morning cleared the way for Del. Joseline Pe'a-Melnyk (D-Prince George's and Anne Arundel) to become the next speaker of the House of Delegates. With the support of the Democratic Caucus to lead the chamber, Pe'a-Melnyk has more than enough votes to win an election for speaker when the House convenes for a special session that begins at noon Tuesday. Her election will make her the first Afro-Latina and first immigrant to preside over either chamber in the Maryland General Assembly. "I really don't have enough words to express how I feel about my colleagues trusting me with this enormous responsibility to lead," Pe'a-Melnyk told reporters as she emerged from the 40-minute caucus meeting. "I'm an inclusive leader, and I'm going to lead with my colleagues. This House belongs to all…...

1+ hour, 3+ min ago (164+ words) Maryland transit officials will take a vote this week on a plan to replace the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. Here's initial info. Maryland transit officials say they have a plan to build a new Chesapeake Bay Bridge, tear down existing bridge spans and ease traffic. After years of weighing the options, the Maryland Transportation Authority Board will vote on Thursday on the "recommended preferred alternative" for the future of the bridge, state transportation officials said Tuesday. The plan known as "Alternative C" would construct two four-lane bridge spans and tear down the existing bridge spans. Transit officials say the plan includes: A study that began in summer 2022 weighed seven options for the bridge's future. Under the selected plan, construction would begin in summer 2032. Government agencies and members of the public will have opportunities to comment on the plan starting in January....

1+ hour, 5+ min ago (355+ words) D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser won't run for reelection in 2026 and on Monday added to speculation about who she might endorse as a successor. Longtime D.C. Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie announced Tuesday he's resigning from his seat. McDuffie has recently said he's considering running for mayor. "Serving on the D.C. Council has been the honor of my lifetime," McDuffie said in a statement Tuesday. The Washington Post was first to report the news of his resignation. While Tuesday was his final meeting with the council, Jan. 5 will be his last day serving as an at-large member. McDuffie hasn't officially said he's running for mayor, but made clear his work in D.C. isn't finished. He said in a post on X that he'll soon announce his next steps. Three-term Mayor Muriel Bowser announced in November she wouldn't run again.Bowser told the D.C. Economic Club at a recent…...

1+ hour, 20+ min ago (370+ words) A federal judge is allowing construction of the White House ballroom to move forward, rejecting a request by the National Trust for Historic Preservation to temporarily halt President Donald Trump's $300 million project. The Trump administration told U.S. District Judge Richard Leon on Tuesday that within the next "two weeks" it expects to meet with the National Capital Planning Commission and the Commission of Fine Arts to review plans that Justice Department attorney Adam Gustafson told the court were not yet finalized. Tad Heuer, the national trust's attorney, quipped that with this administration, "It's always going to happen in the next two weeks." "The court will hold them to that," the judge responded. "They have until the end of this month." The judge added that a hearing for a preliminary injunction will be held in January. While attorneys for both sides admitted…...

1+ hour, 24+ min ago (384+ words) RICHMOND, Va. " With one month remaining before she is sworn in as Virginia's first female governor, Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger says her administration will be defined by a focus on affordability, pragmatism, and "getting things done," even as she prepares to confront tighter budgets and looming federal cutbacks. "I think people will see a common theme on getting things done and improving on people's lives," Spanberger told WUSA9. "Are there ways that we can make things just work better?" she asked. That focus comes amid a far more constrained fiscal outlook than in recent years. Spanberger warned that the Commonwealth is facing a stricter budget cycle amid federal layoffs and uncertainty surrounding funding streams from Washington. She said difficult decisions are ahead and that not all priorities may be funded as fully as Democrats would like. "It's going to be tighter…...

2+ hour, 19+ min ago (427+ words) A Maryland family is starting over after a fire destroyed their house a little over a week before Christmas. They've lived in the home on Beaver Terrace in Rockville for 30 years, now reduced to rubble and ash. The flames gutted the walls, and the bedrooms are now unrecognizable. Marali Duarte was inside the home with her three-year-old son when the fire started. She says her instincts kicked in. "Come, let's go. We have to go. We have to get out of the house," she described saying."[] It was just a lot. It's really hard to see your home being engulfed in flames and smoke everywhere. Tons of firefighters there. You never thought it would be you, you know." They were able to make it out safely, which Duarte says she's eternally grateful for. She's not sure how exactly the fire…...

2+ hour, 39+ min ago (1785+ words) Georgia's Natalya Manhertz, now 20, was 17 when sepsis led to four amputations. 11Alive's Cheryl Preheim has spent more than two years documenting her comeback. Makayla Richards, Cheryl Preheim Life after limb loss How a teen found strength after amputations Prom, graduation, and first steps A quadruple amputee's inspiring return "I don't have my long legs anymore." That's what a then-17-year-old Natalya "Nat" Manhertz's mother remembers her saying when the new blooms began to show on April flowers, and an event every teen dreams of, senior prom, came along." She had barely survived sepsis. She wasn't sure she'd ever feel beautiful again." But this story isn't about what she's lost. This is about all that she refused to let go of in her over two-year journey and those who never stopped holding on to her. 11Alive's Cheryl Preheim has followed her…...

2+ hour, 40+ min ago (507+ words) Border patrol agents detained the two sisters, who have been living in Northern Virginia. News4s Aimee Cho reports. Two sisters who were detained by border patrol agents while traveling back to the U.S. in early December fear they could be persecuted for their Christian faith if they are deported back to Iran, their pastor in Northern Virginia told News4. "No fun in the sun when you are unlawfully present," U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) said in a post on X on Dec. 3. The post said they were arrested and will be "processed for removal." The post didnt identify the women, but their pastor, Rev. Fran Gardner-Smith, said their names are Mahan and Mozhan Motahari. They were coming back from a Thanksgiving trip to the Virgin Islands when they were arrested. The sisters are members of St. Thomas Episcopal Church in McLean, Virginia, where…...

2+ hour, 59+ min ago (179+ words) Bethesda has released a December patch for Fallout 4 just in time for the holidays. In a post on Steam, Bethesda thanked players of its 10-year-old role-playing game for their feedback, which "helped us sort through a few key pain points." However, storage expansion on console will have to wait until 2026. "It was a goal of ours to launch storage expansion on console this year, knowing it's been one of the top requests from players," Bethesda said. "While the team has made progress, we need a little more time to roll this out for console players and will need to wait until the new year." The patch comes after last month's release of Fallout 4 Anniversary Edition and a backlash from players over technical problems and pricing. It also arrives just in time for the start of Fallout Season 2 on Prime Video,…...

3+ hour, 14+ min ago (468+ words) WASHINGTON " When Army veteran Joseph George pulled into a Harris Teeter parking lot in Bristow, Virginia, he had little left to lose. Calling it a low point doesn't quite capture it. George was sleeping in his van, alone and hundreds of miles from anyone he knew. In a single day, he had lost his home in St. Louis to a fire " and his son to a homicide. "To know I was sleeping in this lot in my van, didn't know a soul, no family here, nothing " just me and God," George said. RELATED: At this Virginia home, Santa writes back"and changes lives Before his death, George's son had urged him to seek help. "My baby son told me, "Daddy, I heard they help veterans a lot in D.C., and I don't want to lose you," George said. So he drove…...