The woman is identified as Marian Narain, 21, of Gambrills. She died at the scene.

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Maryland State Police said that shortly before 6 a.m., troopers responded to a report of a pedestrian struck on southbound Route 295 at Nursery Road. When they arrived, they found Narain lying in the road and a white 2018 Volkswagen Tiguan about 10 to 15 feet over the guard rail off the road.

The initial investigation indicates that Narain was driving the SUV, and for reasons unknown, veered off the road and crashed.

The police said they believe Narain got out of her vehicle onto Route 295 and was struck by oncoming traffic.

Anyone with information regarding the incident is encouraged to contact police at 410-761-5130.

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Green and Yellow line services will be running six-car trains every 20 minutes instead of every 15 minutes.

WMATA said that, before May 2021, 72 operators did not complete the appropriate classroom instruction and supervised testing required to operate trains safely. Those 72 operators will be removed from service.

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Max Smith, a spokesman for the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission, shared that an audit of Metrorail identified that the transportation service didn’t meet operations standards and “stopped training for recertification entirely.”

“They were falling even further and further behind rather than getting closer and closer to catching up, which would have been the hope,” Smith told Â鶹¹ÙÍø.

He says that Metro decided that cutting back the number of operators would be best for the safety of passengers and staff. Without it, he says, they could be without “a level of safety assurance.”

While the COVID-19 pandemic was partly responsible for some pauses in training — some operators were behind for more than a year — Smith says that the pandemic should not be a reason that Metro is behind on these certifications two years into the coronavirus pandemic.

“This is a challenge that Metro has had pre-pandemic, and it’s something that really needs to be addressed now,” he said.

The discussion followed the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission’s announced support of Metro’s decision to “provide for the safety of Metrorail riders.”

“The WMSC communicated the seriousness of this safety issue to Metrorail and gathered additional information over the last few weeks, so we are pleased that the Chief Safety Officer and Metro Board are now aggressively addressing the matter,”

Metro’s plan was described by Smith as a “first step” to addressing the issue with a revised action plan to catch operators up on their certifications and avoid lapses in the future. In addition, he says Metro’s responsibility will be to develop and implement these plans.

Extra trains for special events or crowding will likely be unavailable. Those shortages will continue to the end of May, Metro said.

The transit service said that re-certifying more than 250 rail operators will take approximately two to three months.

In a statement, ATU Local 689, the union that represents Metro workers, said it didn’t have a comment.

Â鶹¹ÙÍø’s Juan Herrera and Kyle Cooper contributed to this report.

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Storm Team4’s Steve Prinzivalli expected the showers and storms to begin around 6 p.m. containing “gusty winds, downpours, small hail, and dangerous lightning.”

10:23p: Storms continue in Southern Md. from Lexington Park to Scotland. More are rumbling south of Culpeper. will diminish overnight with patchy fog. It won’t be ideal for the total lunar eclipse but some communities may see breaks. Stay updated on on the 8s.

— Steve Prinzivalli (@Â鶹¹ÙÍøPrinz)

He also expected temperatures to dip into the 70s as fog returns to the region, advising residents to drive carefully in rain and avoid windows during the severe storms.

This storm set marked the first round of wet weather the region will experience over the next two days.

The National Â鶹¹ÙÍø Service reported that severe thunderstorms will hit the D.C. area during the afternoon and evening on Monday. Prinzivalli said that you should expect more high-powered winds, hail, rain and even a chance of a tornado.

Forecast

Sunday Night: Partly sunny with a few showers and thunderstorms. Lows in the 60s.

Monday: Partly sunny, breezy, warm and humid with late-day storms, some severe with gusty winds, hail, downpours and even a possible tornado. Highs in the lower 80s.

Tuesday: Mostly sunny, breezy and pleasant with lower humidity. Highs in the upper 70s to near 80.

Wednesday: Morning sun giving way to increasing clouds and warm with showers/storms possible in the evening or at night. Highs in the upper 70s.

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The area is being rebranded as the “West End.”

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The mall, which has long been vacant, was once a bustling epicenter. Residents sympathized with Alexandria Vice Mayor Amy Jackson’s memories of shopping at the record store and the mall’s status as a gathering spot for high schoolers and middle schoolers.

“We will always remember the good times we’ve had over the course of the life of this structure, but it is a structure. So the spirit will carry on and we’ll remember it always, but the bones of it [are] good bones,” Jackson said. “So we’re gonna move on and do some great things here.”

Jackson said while it’s sad to see this chapter come to a close, she is excited for what the area will become.

“It’s going to be the place to come on the West End, and we’re very excited to have it,” Jackson said.

Other residents remembered Santa Claus visits, dining at the restaurants, shopping at the stores, mingling with community members and more during the Landmark Mall’s tenure.

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The is intended to serve as a place for business owners, students, and life-long learners to get IT training and access to state-of-the-art technology.

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Located on Montgomery College’s Rockville Campus, the ignITe Hub will be where community members “can grow their technology and coding skills, learn to create apps, collaborate to solve problems and create or improve existing products and services,” according to a statement from Montgomery County Council.

Kimberly Bloch-Rincan, director of the ignITE Hub, told Â鶹¹ÙÍø that all community members are encouraged to use the space.

“The people we want to be coming in the hub are those that are historically underrepresented. Access has been an issue,” Bloch-Rincan said.

Montgomery County Council Member Craig Rice spearheaded the project, and Montgomery Council Executive Marc Elrich supported. The county partnered with Apple.

There is currently a course being offered on iPhones and iPads.

Tours and additional coding and technology classes will soon be offered for residents.

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Edward T. Buford III, 70, is accused of devising and executing a plan to defraud Medicaid in D.C.,.

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Between January 2013 and May 2018, Buford and his co-conspirator paid kickbacks in exchange for Medicaid beneficiaries to be referred to his D.C. dental clinic, International Dental Associates, Inc. These Medicaid beneficiaries were offered cash bribes to receive dental services from Buford. Among the services offered were dentures and dental cleanings.

Buford used a P.O. Box in Silver Spring to receive the fraudulent funds from Medicaid to pay for these services.

According to the Department of Justice, Medicaid lost more than $1.2 million for dentures that went undelivered to patients.

Beyond the money Buford will be required to pay back, he faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison. His sentencing is scheduled for August 3.

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A spokesperson for Youngkin told Â鶹¹ÙÍø the firm will “conduct a thorough and comprehensive after-action review of the government’s preparation and response” to the Jan. 3 winter storm and consequential traffic.

Former Gov. Ralph Northam’s office requested the investigation and executed the contract for the outside firm, Youngkin’s office said. Arlington-based CNA is conducting the investigation for $79,000.

A report is expected to be completed by March 15, according to the spokesperson and will be made available to the public. In the meantime, the Virginia Department of Transportation is implementing new storm response strategies and bulking up resources to help prevent an incident like that from happening again.

This news comes after Democrat Virginia Rep. Abigail Spanberger has called for more information about what went wrong leading up to the storm in a letter to Youngkin.

“While Rep. Spanberger’s office has not yet received an official response from Governor Youngkin or his team, she is encouraged that — following her efforts — more information about this process and its timetable is now becoming available to the public,” a spokesperson for Spanberger told Â鶹¹ÙÍø.

Northam was in the final two weeks of his term when the snowstorm hit. It was the D.C. region’s worst snowstorm since 2016, dumping 3 1/2 inches of snow an hour during its peak.

A stretch of the interstate between Stafford County and Thornburg was completely impassable due to heavy, wet and fast-falling snow that iced over as temperatures dropped throughout the course of the storm.

Â鶹¹ÙÍø’s Mike Murillo contributed to this report. 

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Betty, the 67-year-old Caribbean flamingo that called the Smithsonian National Zoo “home,” died Jan. 25, .

The zoo said Betty lived well-beyond the average life expectancy of 26 years in “human care,” and called it “a testament to the dedication and care of our Bird House team.”

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Betty was known to D.C. zookeepers as the “matriarch” of the flamingoes, and “stood out as an individual.” She liked to stand just outside the perimeter of the flock, where she could easily keep an eye on the rest of the flamingoes, the statement recalls.

Betty was born in the wild around 1954, and came to the zoo in 1976. She had one chick, and took care of many others.

“For 46 years, Betty served as an amazing animal ambassador for generations of animal keepers, scientists and visitors,” the statement honoring Betty reads. “We are grateful for all she taught us about flamingo biology, behavior and breeding. Our Zoo family misses her dearly.”

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CSX spokesperson Cindy Schild said the blast, which could be heard from miles away, happened just after 11:30 a.m. All employees are accounted for and no injuries have been reported, she added.

Baltimore City that “contractors at CSX Curtis Bay Coal Terminal were moving coal on a conveyor belt in a tunnel when a buildup of coal dust was ignited, causing an explosion.”

Fire officials also said no fire broke out after the explosion, but there was extensive damage to equipment at the facility.

Baltimore Fire Department spokeswoman Blair Adams said no contractors were present in the tunnels when the explosion took place.

The cause of the explosion is still being investigated, Schild said.

Â鶹¹ÙÍø’s Joshua Barlow contributed to this report.

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Giovanni Di Angelo Reumante, 31, of Takoma Park, was arrested Tuesday after arriving on a flight from the Dominican Republic. He was wanted by Montgomery County police.

Montgomery County Police said Reumante is suspected of sexually assaulting a former student at Northwood High School. Reumante had been a track coach since 2013, police said, and the now-adult victim was on the track team.

Officials said in a statement Thursday that, during the course of their investigation into Reumante, they found that he “allegedly engaged in sexual contact with at least one student during and after school hours.”

Police said they are concerned Reumante might have targeted additional students, and encouraged anyone with additional information to contact Montgomery County Police Special Victims Investigations Division at 240-773-5400.

Reumante’s arrest is one of two by CBP officers in one week for felony child sex assault and molestation charges,.

On Dec. 24, CBP officers at Dulles arrested Sir Chuku Maurice Ngare, 44, of Georgia, at the departure gate for a flight to Germany. There had been a warrant on Ngare requested by the Cobb County, Georgia, sheriff’s office filed on Nov. 24.

The men have been turned over to the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Police to initiate extradition proceedings.

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In a statement Wednesday, Fairfax County police said Kelly Smith, 25, of Chantilly, Virginia, and Terrell Tapscott, 29, of Gainesville, Virginia, have been separately arrested and charged for robbing at least two 7-Eleven stores in Fairfax County in early December.

Police say they believe both men were involved with other robberies in nearby jurisdictions.

Fairfax police say they began investigating the series of robberies on Dec. 6, after a man entered the 7-Eleven at 9511 Blake Lane in Fairfax, walked behind the counter, demanded the clerk open the register, then fled with store property.

The second robbery occurred Dec. 11 at the 7-Eleven at 8110 Old Dominion Drive in McLean. During this incident, police said two men entered the business, implied they were carrying a weapon and took property before fleeing the scene.

Forensic evidence from one of the crime scenes led police to arrest Smith on Dec. 13. Additional evidence and interviews led Virginia State Police to arrest Tapscott on Christmas Day.

Smith has been charged with three counts of robbery, and Tapscott has been charged with four counts of robbery. Both are being held at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center on no bond.

Police say they are trying to collect evidence linking Kelly and Tapscott to other robberies in Northern Virginia. Anyone with information is asked to call 703-246-7800. Anonymous tips can be submitted through Crime Solvers by phone — 1-866-411-TIPS (866-411-8477).

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Police officers in Leesburg have worn the current badge for the past 25 years. But beginning on Jan. 1, 2022, they’ll wear a new one that combines “historical elements from our current badge while incorporating a new modern design,” the department said in a statement.

“This new badge combines elements of our proud history, along with a modern and refined design reminiscent of badges used by some of the first professional and progressive police departments,” said Leesburg Chief of Police Gregory Brown said.

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The site opens Thursday, Dec. 30 at 2990 Telestar Court and will be open Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Weekend hours may be added depending on demand, the hospital system said in a statement.

The opening of the testing site comes one day after Inova urged those experiencing COVID-19 symptoms to get tested at community clinics or use an at-home kit, to help prioritize critically ill patients at Inova’s six hospitals in Northern Virginia.

Only those experiencing COVID-19 symptoms are able to get tested at the site, and .

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Looking for more information? D.C., Maryland and Virginia are each releasing more data every day. Visit their official sites here: | |

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Charles County Public Schools students will receive virtual instruction from Jan. 3 through Jan. 7 rather than attending class in-person due to “a high positive COVID-19 percentage rate for Charles County and high testing demand,” the school system said in a statement.

School officials said this move will give students and faculty more time to get tested for COVID-19. This comes as COVID-19 is surging in Maryland and nationwide, and straining the health care system.

If virtual learning needs to be extended, school officials said, parents and students will be told “as quickly as possible.”

All sports and extracurriculars in the county’s schools have been postponed.

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The school will readopt a remote learning format for the first two weeks of the spring 2022 semester “in order to reduce the potential spread of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 on campus,” the school said in a statement.

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This change comes as COVID-19 cases soar in the region and nationwide.

University President Irma Becerra said students will still be able to move back into on-campus housing on Jan. 8 as previously planned.

The school is also requiring students and faculty who will be on campus during the upcoming semester to get booster vaccines by Jan. 18 or within two weeks of booster eligibility. Students and faculty will also have to submit a negative COVID-19 test result within 72 hours of returning to campus.

Marymount University will also continue to enforce its indoor mask mandate policy.

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