Born and raised in Arlington, Virginia, 26-year-old Sarah Awad was one of 16 contestants competing on “Outlast: The Jungle.”

The show is structured much like other reality survival competitions. Contestants are dropped in the Panamanian jungle and forced to form teams and survive with scarce resources, amid brutal conditions, shifting alliances and the constant threat of being voted out, all while competing for a $1 million prize.

“The only way that you can win, which is the twist, is being part of a team, and that spoke wonders to me, I’ve always been part of a team,” Awad, a former rugby player, said.

Leaving ‘Team Charlie’

As the season premiered June 10, Awad found herself at the center of a storyline that garnered significant attention online. Many viewers were quick to call out what they and other female cast members, especially from male contestants on “Team Charlie.”

“I wanted to burn that Charlie camp down, I’m not gonna lie,” Awad said. “I get it, it’s like you got money on the line and everything, but where’s the integrity, you know, where is the shame for your family that’s going to watch the show and everything.”

The controversy hit its peak in episode three when Awad was voted off “Team Charlie” by three men. She compared watching the season to “watching a horror movie.”

“I started, feeling like I was back there again, and seeing myself cry, and having my friends and my family call me, like tearing up for me, like they were hurt for me, and it feels really nice that people can see what happened to me,” Awad said.

She managed to join another team called “Bravo,” making it to the penultimate episode before being officially voted out.

‘It tasted like beef jerky’

Awad described her gameplay as loyal and hardworking. Two things she’s particularly proud of include building a raised bamboo bed and cooking a scorpion to eat.

“It’s actually one of the most delicious things that I did, and I was ecstatic by it,” Awad said. “It tasted like beef jerky.”

But as expected, it wasn’t the standard camping experience.

Injuries, hunger and heat plagued contestants during their time in the jungle. Awad recalled rubbing up against a poisonous tree, which left her with a gash on her back during filming.

“You’re wearing a wet bra, and it’s just like tearing apart at your skin,” Awad said. “You’re sweating, because you’re walking in the heat, so your sweat and the salt on your sweat is burning the gash on your back.”

She brought home more than just injuries and frustration with some male castmates. Awad said the show taught her to listen and be more present.

“The future is not in your hands. You can try and plan and plan and plan all you want, but how many times have you seen a plan not go right?” Awad said. “I believe God is the best of planners, and just leave it up to that, but always put your 100% in everything that you do.”

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The HPR Group purchased the old Potomac River Generating Station in 2020 after it had been closed for over a decade.

On Saturday, the city council approved development special use permits for the first phase of the site’s redevelopment, as well as a tax increment financing package to support the public infrastructure investment.

“I think it is worth pausing for a little fanfare. This is a significant development, and I cannot wait to see a lot more activity in Old Town North,” Vice Mayor Sarah Bagley said following the vote.

The project will divide the nearly 19-acre site into several sections. It would include an arts and cultural center, offices and retail space, condos and apartment buildings and a waterfront park, which would have about three acres of new park space and upgrades to nearby land that the National Park Service oversees.

The city council’s approval comes following a unanimous recommendation for DSUP approval by the Alexandria Planning Commission on June 2. The 30-year financing plan for the project costs around $135 million.

Work on the first phase of the project, which includes demolition of the power plant while construction begins on another part of the parcel, could begin next year.

Some residents have expressed concern about the demolition process and the impact it could have on the surrounding neighborhood, including traffic concerns.

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According to , Dr. Peter Moran, who serves as the chief of schools for the Montgomery County school district, circulated a memo requiring all schools to designate an administrator to review every “student publication and school-related printed material,” prior to publication.

The memo was filed on March 19.

Concerned students said the March memo uses vague language to describe content administrators are instructed to censor outright. They said the new list includes language not found in prior policy, such as “embarrassing or private moments,” “ridicule of individuals or groups,” and “sarcasm or teasing that could be interpreted as bullying.”

“A student using his opinion column to harass and spread unfounded gossip about the class president is very different from a student writing a sharp critique of a speech given by a Board of Education member — yet both could be considered ‘ridicule of individuals or groups,’” the letter states.

The letter cites concerns from The Student Press Law Center, which states the memo, as written, appears to “impose broad prior review without clear standards, timelines, appeal rights, or safeguards required to protect student journalists under Maryland law.”

which was signed in 2016 by then-Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, students in the state are the ones responsible for determining the content of school-sponsored media, and have the right to exercise freedom of speech and press.

“The act explicitly states that the school system does not have editorial control over a publication just because the publication is produced as part of a class or supported financially by the school,” the letter states.

The law lists some exceptions where a school is allowed to restrain student journalism, including content that is:

• Libelous or slanderous
• Constitutes an unwarranted invasion of privacy
• Violates federal or state law
• Incites students to create a clear and present danger of the commission of an unlawful act, violate county school board policies or create a material or substantial disruption of the orderly operation of a school

Montgomery County Public Schools leadership has called the issues addressed by the letter as “misperceptions.”

MCPS Public Information Officer Liliana Lopez told �鶹���� in a statement that the memorandum was to “remind school administrators of their responsibility to supervise students and student publications in alignment with the MCPS’ Student Rights and Responsibilities,” and that “nothing in the memorandum interferes with student journalism or imposes prior restraint.”

Prior restraint refers to the shutting down of speech or publication before it occurs.

“For example, we have had instances at schools where inappropriate content was printed, but not reviewed first, in school yearbooks and other publications, resulting in substantial disruption to school operations and community hurt. Careful prior review could have prevented hurtful impacts to the school community in these instances,” Lopez wrote.

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The annual “Invent the Future Expo” allows students, most of whom are middle schoolers within Montgomery County Public Schools, the opportunity to spend a semester researching, prototyping and ultimately building an invention centered around the challenge question: “What will you make to improve life on this planet?”

“We have examples of kids who are figuring out how to reduce pollution by creating more access to green roofs. We have kids who are solving social problems and improving mental health for their classmates,” said Cara Lesser, founder and executive director of KID Museum.

“So it’s really an incredible array and shows what’s on kids’ minds and what things that they’re working to solve.”

Around 650 students, split into 120 teams, had their projects judged for an opportunity to win prizes. As students showcased their projects, the expo also featured industry leaders presenting innovations including virtual reality, rocket simulators and even a robot dog.

Enlin Xu, a teacher at Parkland Middle School who’s been working with the Invent the Future Expo for about five years, said the students keep a digital engineering notebook detailing every step throughout the semester.

He said students go through a lot of prototyping, redoing and sometimes scraping the entire project and starting over before creating a final product.

“My favorite part of watching these kids do the Invent the Future challenge is definitely when they start feeling like something’s coming together,” Xu said.

“They really start seeing it physically in front of them and then especially their reaction when they realize just how big this event is and how big the engineering world is.”

One group of Xu’s students invented what they call a “VDRS Super Drone” designed to clear trash from marketplaces in India.

“We could see trash on the market streets, so we decided to make an invention that could pick up that trash without needing human help [ …] we put a claw on the drone that works with electricity, and it works with solar energy, with like the solar panels, and it has an air filter to clean out the air,” one student engineer said.

In their presentations, some students detailed challenges they were forced to work around. For example, the VDRS Super Drone group said they worked on a few different claw designs before landing on the right one for their drone.

Another group invented a mobile homeless shelter to be used in New York, which they named “Yello Billy.” The cardboard prototype features solar panels, a refrigerator, a bed and bathroom and a telephone “for calling loved ones,” according to the student engineers.

“At the end of the day, what we are about is helping kids to develop a mindset, what we call the ‘mind of a maker.’ It’s really about understanding that you learn through trial and error, that you learn by taking on new challenges, and you learn by stopping and reflecting and understanding what you can do with tech,” Lesser said.

“What are the human pieces you need to bring to complement tech and how you can make an impact on the world.”

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�鶹����/Grace Newton

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The school would occupy two floors of the Amazon building and the Metropolitan Park complex with a separate entrance, and, according to Jeff Chambers with Arlington Public Schools, Amazon will provide the space rent-free.

“However, we are responsible for routine maintenance, which we’re currently estimating at about 25,000 annual,” Chambers said during a meeting on the agreement.

The school will have a separate entrance for students and students will be ready for the 2026 to 2027 school year.

Final design and construction changes are almost complete in June 2026.

“We’re getting very close. Documents have been reviewed by the APS legal counsel,” Chambers said.

Around 300 students attend the alternative high school. Amazon announced it would provide the space last year after plans to include the school in the Penn Place development were delayed.

can terminate the lease at any time with 120 days’ notice, “providing flexibility to respond to future program or facility needs.”

If relocation is required within the development, Amazon “must provide a comparable facility and cover reasonable costs associated with relocating APS operations,” according to the agreement.

“(The) staff is recommending that the school board take the action to authorize the school board chair to execute the deed of lease and any related legal documents subject to review and approval by the APS legal counsel,” Chambers said.

Public school leaders still need to finalize the 30-year lease. Final approval vote is slated for June 18.

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D.C. Fire and EMS were called around 10:36 p.m. to the river near the 1400 block of Water Street in Southeast, close to the Eastern Power Boat Club, for a report of someone in the water.

Divers from D.C. police and fire recovered the man and rushed him to a hospital, where he later died.

Investigators said they believe the man fell from a boat. No foul play is suspected.

See a map of the rescue location below:

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Last week, Bowie State University, Maryland’s oldest historically Black university, announced plans to eliminate 79 jobs while it grapples with an $18 million deficit.

President Aminta Breaux, to the campus, said positions would be reduced through vacancies, reorganization and layoffs.

The deficit stems from reduced state and federal funding, declining enrollment and rising operational costs, according to the letter.

“We recognize that this is difficult news. Please know that these decisions are not a reflection of the dedication and excellence you bring to Bowie State each day but rather the result of significant financial challenges that we must address to ensure the university’s long-term viability,” Breaux wrote.

The University of Maryland implemented a hiring freeze in April, and planned to eliminate about 150 jobs. Gov. Wes Moore’s nearly $71 billion state budget provides the university with $871.9 million in annual operating funds but includes $104 million in base budget reductions, more than a 10% decrease in state support between 2025 and 2027.

, University of Maryland leaders cited delays in federal research funding, higher utility costs and rising infrastructure expenses as additional factors.

“This is not an easy message to send, and we know that this news causes concern for all of us. Our people are the foundation of this university, and the prospect of workforce reductions is difficult. We recognize the impact these decisions will have on our community. As we move forward, we will continue to pursue additional strategies to reduce costs and strengthen revenues,” university leaders wrote.

Similar financial woes are affecting higher education institutions nationwide. Rutgers University announced of adjunct professors earlier this year, while Anna Maria College, a private Catholic school in Massachusetts, at the end of its spring 2026 semester, following years of financial pressure.

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The Virginia county is offering a new virtual training series, developed by , called . It allows participants to step into the shoes of their loved ones to experience what it’s like to be an older adult encountering various challenges in everyday situations.

The Beatriz Lab puts participants in the shoes of a woman experiencing progressive Alzheimer’s disease. They can experience how it impacts her communication, thinking and emotional well-being, while also learning ways to help her feel safe, supported and maintain a better quality of life.

The Dima Lab puts you in the shoes of a woman experiencing visual disturbances and changes in motor functions due to the progression of her Lewy Body Dementia, teaching you how to promote independence and preserve dignity.

Participants can learn what to expect in their loved one’s final days through the Clay Lab, which allows you to embody a man coping with terminal illness and moving into hospice care.

Other sessions offer lessons on navigating caregiver burn out, intervention and de-escalation and trauma-informed care.

The virtual 75- minute sessions are held via Microsoft Teams. Schedule and registration .

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The White House Correspondents’ Association scholarship, given annually to several early-career journalists, is traditionally presented during the dinner each year.

, a 22-year-old graduate student at Northwestern University and one of this year’s recipients, said she went to the dinner with high spirits.

However, she told �鶹���� that optimism didn’t last long. Bender-Thomas told �鶹���� she soon experienced something she had only heard about through news coverage.

“I did hear gunshots, but they didn’t sound close. They sounded pretty distant,” Bender-Thomas said. “And then I heard, I think it might have been one of the Secret Service agents say, like, ‘shots fired’ into a walkie-talkie or something like that. And so that’s when I kind of got a grasp onto what was actually going on.”

Like many others in the room, Bender-Thomas ducked beneath a table and as plates and silverware crashed around her.

“I just kept saying, ‘What the heck?’ Like, there’s no way that this is actually happening right now. I really just couldn’t believe it was unfolding before my eyes,” Bender-Thomas said.

She said several people nearby, many of them reporters, pulled out their phones to document the chaos.

One of her fellow scholarship recipients also started recording, but she and others urged him to get down for his safety.

“I think it’s very challenging to be a journalist in those situations, during those times, because yes, you’re a journalist. Yes, we have a job to inform and tell the stories of people, but we’re also human, and so I think that has an undeniable emotional impact on the journalists who have to cover those kinds of events,” Bender-Thomas said.

As law enforcement swarmed the ballroom, Bender-Thomas said she also pulled out her phone, not to record video, but to try to reach her family.

She said cellphone service inside the Washington Hilton was spotty, and with so many people trying to use their phones at the same time, messages would not go through.

“That was scary, because I was just like, God forbid something happens, or this is my last moments on Earth, you know, God forbid. And I can’t even get in touch with my family. So, I think that was the scariest part of it all,” Bender-Thomas said.

�鶹���� producer Veronica Canales and attended the dinner that year representing the University of Maryland.

Although it was in the third year of his first administration, President Donald Trump did not attend any WHCA dinners during his first term.

Canales said she learned about the incident nearly seven years to the day after she participated in the same event.

“When I saw the videos, I’m like, ‘Oh, I could picture myself there.’ This is where I was sitting when I was there,” Canales said.

She said she was shocked to see an event meant to celebrate journalists and the First Amendment be “marred by something so violent.”

“When I would think of the White House correspondents’ dinner, I would automatically think of the time that I was there and the great time that I had, all the people that I got to meet, and all the cool conversations that I had and everything that I learned, and all the wisdom that I gained,” Canales said. “And now, when I think about it, it’s going to be this. It’s going to be this violent event with the president there and everybody scared for their lives.”

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The inspection report, titled “OUC’s Risk Mitigation Infrastructure,” looked at whether the agency has effective risk mitigation strategies in place for the call center. The findings come from an examination that reviewed documents dated between fiscal year 2020 and the third quarter of fiscal 2025.

Findings revealed the OUC does not have proper framework in place “to identify and address operational risks that could affect the continuum of call taking and dispatching for 911 emergency response services.”

That lack of framework, according to the report, has contributed to issues like high levels of absenteeism, which strains 911 call center operations — an issue which has been mounting within the agency for years.

In 2024, Ward 1 Council member Brianne Nadeau sent a letter to the city administrator and OUC, requesting daily staffing statistics, a list of agency mistakes, changes to correct systemic failures and a private briefing. It came after Nadeau said her constituents shared examples of their 911 calls being dropped or never answered.

The report also claims some supervisors within the center lack cross-training to handle both fire and emergency calls. This issue is also addressed in a bill being considered by the D.C. Council, which would require the medical director for the Fire and EMS Department to also serve as the medical director for OUC.

Many employees within the 911 call center are unaware of the agency’s continuity of operations plan, according to the report, meaning it could benefit from strengthening communications about emergency preparedness.

Despite the challenges, the report does credit OUC with progress in certain areas, including: reducing critical vacancies, investing in employee wellness programs and implementing comprehensive training programs for call takers and dispatchers.

The report lists six recommendations for the agency:

• Develop and implement an enterprise risk management framework.
• Implement strategies to reduce absenteeism and enforce supervisory oversight of time and
  attendance.
• Ensure all 911 call center supervisors receive cross-training in MPD and FEMS operations.
• Enhance quality assurance processes with trend analysis and internal/external reporting.
• Revise the Prohibited Items Policy to eliminate contradictory language and clarify enforcement.
• Educate personnel about COOP goals and implementation

In a written response to the findings, OUC Director Heather McGaffin said the agency “agrees with the recommendations and has already made progress toward achieving them.”

.

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Those types of theft and break-ins typically spike when it gets hotter outside, . It’s a good thing to be aware of as we head into the warmer spring and summer months, and it’s precisely why Virginia State Police have a program in place to crack down on the issue.

The program is called HEAT, which stands for Help Eliminate Auto Theft. A shows that it is helping to yield significant results.

Last year in Virginia, over 10,500 vehicles were stolen, resulting in the loss of over $150 million for Virginia residents.

In that same year, state police say HEAT has resulted in 103 auto theft cases opened, 346 stolen vehicles recovered and 252 arrests. The program also assisted 17 agencies across the state with investigations.

The program provides financial support as well. Last year the program gave 124 law enforcement agencies across the state funds to buy equipment needed to fight auto theft and paid over $24,000 towards reward money for tips that lead to arrests.

State police say HEAT also helped them in the dismantling of a major auto theft ring and chop shop.

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Crumbs & Whiskers owner Zari Ruhi, also known as Kanchan Singh, opened the M Street location of her business in 2019. Ruhi also owns a location in Los Angeles and previously owned a location on O Street in D.C.’s Georgetown neighborhood, which has since shut down.

“I’m happy to have my employees have a voice in whichever way they choose, whether it’s directly talking to me, whether it’s to a union, whether it’s both,” Ruhi said. “We’re honored to be the first unionized cat cafe in the world.”

But unionized employees at the cafe said their needs still aren’t being met by Ruhi and management.

Maddy Hanson is an assistant manager and union member at Crumbs & Whiskers. She said staff had originally pushed to unionize due to issues involving inconsistent work hours, pay and staff safety concerns among other things.

“Some weeks we were working, you know, open to close, 60 hours a week, and then the next week, we were only being scheduled for 12 hours, so there was no consistency there,” Hanson said. “There was a big push to cut down on the number of people that were working at the same time, which in our cafe, is a very unsafe thing.”

Ruhi tells �鶹���� the cafe has always offered competitive pay and additional raises to staff members. She also said she’s added additional team members to staff to help with employee work-life balance.

On Jan. 11, Hanson, along with six other employees, sent a letter to Ruhi requesting she voluntarily recognize the union. Ruhi said when she first received the letter, she was dealing with personal health issues, prompting her to ask for additional time.

According to , Ruhi was granted a two-week extension to make a decision on voluntarily recognizing the union. When employees still had not seen a response from Ruhi by Jan. 23, they chose to officially file a petition for an election with the National Labor Relations Board to be represented by Workers United.

A temporary closure

Around a month after the union formed, Ruhi made the decision to temporarily close the cafe in early February, citing the need to hire more management.

“Our current manager at the time resigned, and we scrambled to bring in new management, but because we had rushed the process, that didn’t work out,” Ruhi said.

“With the new managers not working out, and a couple things that happened internally with management, that’s when we were like, OK, we just need to close the store and find new management.”

The cafe officially reopened on March 21 under new management and with the addition of a vet tech on staff, according to Ruhi. But Hanson said she and other employees were confused why the closure happened in the first place.

“At the time, we had three assistant store managers who were perfectly capable of running the store. We had an adequate number of employees,” Hanson said.

“These big decisions were being made by one person and none of the employees who have made this company successful and have helped find homes for 3,000 cats, their input was not being taken into consideration.”

Current union efforts

Hanson said, due to some employees leaving, only four workers are currently unionized at the Georgetown location. She claims that since reopening, there are unfair labor practices being used to dissuade union members from moving forward with bargaining.

“The four employees, who are a part of Workers United, we have all lost a lot of our hours, and we feel as if those hours are being allocated elsewhere to the new hires who were not a part of the union and to the new management,” Hanson said.

“We were told by some of management that this was done as a way to kind of scare us out of our jobs.”

Hanson said she has not been in contact with Ruhi since the night before their union election on March 2, but remains “ready to bargain in good faith and go to the table.”

Ruhi told �鶹���� that the M Street location has a new team lead who is versed in unions. They will start within the next week, saying she’s “making progress toward being able to successfully and compliantly work with the union.”

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Beginning Monday, residents may notice a slight change in the odor or taste of their tap water as chlorine is added to disinfect and clear away bacteria and natural biofilm buildup. Officials said the water remains safe to drink and the change shouldn’t last more than a week.

, D.C. Water said the Washington Aqueduct, which is operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, performs this annual disinfectant switch as part of routine maintenance to support overall water quality.

There are ways to mitigate the taste and smell of tap water if it becomes an issue. Faucet and pitcher filters can help. You can also leave an open container of water in the refrigerator for up to two hours before drinking it, which allows the chlorine to dissipate.

Crews will open fire hydrants across all three jurisdictions for short periods of time to help move fresh water through the system. The flushing process can result in discoloration or sediment buildup in tap water. said these conditions are not harmful and are typically short-lived.

While officials said that water remains safe to drink, they warn it could stain clothing if used for laundry.

, Virginia, officials said flushing will take place through May 4 between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., Monday through Friday. Residents are encouraged to plan ahead if they need to do laundry while the water is being treated.

Arlington residents can request a special detergent that removes stains caused by the water, by calling the county at 703-228-5000 for more details.

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Manassas City Council members had planned to choose a new name during a city council meeting on March 18, but the effort was halted when multiple council members cited concerns that community members haven’t had enough opportunity to weigh in on the decision.

As things stand now, the council is weighing two potential names presented by the airport commission: Manassas Regional Airport and Washington Manassas Airport.

A third option offered originally, Washington Manassas National Airport, has since been dropped from consideration due to its similarity to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

“After further research and discussion, we found that the city attorney had some concerns with the use of the word ‘national’ because there were some trademark implications there. We also got feedback from the FAA who also indicated that the use of the word ‘national’ could cause some confusion in the regional,” Airport Director Juan Rivera said.

Although the airport commission held a public work session in January , council members said the meeting was not properly advertised to the community as a discussion on the name change.

“I would like a chance for our residents to sound in not at a public hearing necessarily, maybe at a survey,” Council member Tom Osina said. “We all live here, we all have our vested interest in our community and these kinds of things.”

The council, along with the airport commission, agreed to put out a survey collecting public input and accept comments at a town hall scheduled for March 25. The council will formally consider the proposed name change at a meeting on April 13.

The airport’s logo and branding would remain the same regardless of a name change.

Rivera estimated the cost to change monument signs at and around the airport would come out to around $500,000, something he says would be covered by the airport’s fund.

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Hundreds of people gathered on the National Mall Sunday to usher in the start of spring with D.C.’s Tulip Day.

A whopping 150,000 tulips, bulbs and all, were displayed on the mall Sunday afternoon.

Eventgoers were able to make a bundle of 10 tulips each to bring home. is partially funded by the European Union and the Dutch Embassy.

Kim Jenks had been looking forward to the event since tickets became available. She said for now, she’s picking the flowers for herself.

“But I may gift some, because I save the bulbs and replant them in October,” Jenks said.

Cymone Fabian visited with her 6-month-old baby boy JJ.

“I have a single family home. It’s our first home, so I’m really excited to put some really beautiful flowers out in the front,” Fabian said.

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