WAMU: Local News

While D.C. and federal lawmakers implement curfews and other "tough on crime" measures, one nonprofit is training youth to prevent violence in their own communities.

Stories WAMU is following this week include President Trump's increase of federal law enforcement and troops in D.C., the potential impact on area food banks from SNAP cuts and the local burden of the national school nurse shortage.

Maryland went from a record surplus to fiscal crisis in just three years. Now, massive federal cuts are hitting as the state struggles to implement its education reform plan known as the Blueprint for Maryland's Future.

This week on Get Out There, we take a trip to Commanders' training camp and get you ready for some football.

The Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum opened 5 new galleries earlier this week – a big milestone in a multi-year revamp that began in 2018. The museum has seven more galleries to renovate before the July, 2026 deadline. 

This week on Get Out There, we're exploring D.C. while saving a few bucks.

Members of the D.C. Fire and EMS Marine rescue unit were among the first to respond to the aircraft that crashed in the Potomac River. Some are still struggling with what they saw and experienced that night on the Potomac.

Parkour combines elements of gymnastics and martial arts. It uses the urban environment as a kind of playground, with athletes balancing on handrails, flipping off structures, and bouncing off walls.

The city hopes to renovate the home of the Mubadala Citi DC Open tennis tournament, but people living near the facility say it will increase traffic, illegal parking, and other headaches.

This week for Get Out There, we're scoring some summer restaurant deals.

The Virginia Court of Appeals will decide whether a developer who has built ‘missing middle' housing in the county should be allowed to join the lawsuit.

At the end of May, I accompanied a group of tandem (two person) cyclists with the Metropolitan Washington Association for Blind Athletes,(MWABA) on a biking and camping trip. MWABA connects visually impaired athletes with opportunities around the metro D.C. region to cycle, run, and do other physical activities.

As hundreds of public radio and television stations brace for federal funding cuts, WAMU's leadership says the station has operated as a fixture in Washington D.C. for 64 years and will continue its mission of serving the community.

Stories WAMU is following this week include diving deep into the missing middle housing issues in Arlington and Alexandria, Prince George's County's 180 on nonprofit funding and reviewing Metro's Better Bus Network

Betsy Thibaut Stephenson's son Charlie died by suicide in 2022. Her memoir helped her grieve, and she hopes it will help dispel the stigma around depression and suicide.

The D.C. Council is debating whether to wait for White's January trial on bribery charges or try to force him out of office again in the wake of his special election win.

After a turbulent year in which Trayon White was indicted, reelected, and then expelled from the Council, he is now projected to win the Ward 8 special election held Tuesday. Residents are hoping to move forward.

As immigration arrests skyrocket in Northern Virginia, legal aid groups are scrambling to provide communities support and preparation for possible arrests.

The D.C. Council chair's budget would reverse some of Mayor Muriel Bowser's cuts, but only minimally. Many initiatives remain unchanged, with the exception of a new tipped wage proposal.

This week on Get Out There, we cool down from the summer heat with a dip in the pool, a swim in the bay, a lick of ice cream, and a swing at indoor putt putt.

Massive cuts to Medicaid and food assistance programs will create gaps already strained state and local governments say they won't be able to cover. Meanwhile, some higher-income residents will see tax breaks.

The July 15 special election was prompted by White's expulsion from the D.C. Council. Although he hasn't made much of a public case for why he deserves another chance, he's still the frontrunner.

Mayor Muriel Bowser is proposing to only fund these raises for one more year, arguing that declining revenues have forced her hand. That could have big consequences for the city's daycare system.

The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in favor of Montgomery County parents who sued for the right to remove their children from elementary school lessons featuring LGBTQ+ books, overturning the district's policy that had eliminated those opt-out provisions. The landmark decision divided the progressive Maryland suburb and raised concerns about broader implications for curriculum decisions in public schools nationwide.

Stories WAMU is following this week include the D.C. council's final conference on the 2026 budget, the first full-ticket rally by statewide Republican candidates in the 2025 election and a change in Montgomery County's RideOn bus.

Nothing is a bigger bummer than having a mechanical issue derail a bike ride. These organizations help you learn to fix your own wheels.

At The Well, a community farm in Ward 8, people have access to fresh produce and green space. Volunteers say being at the farm – growing food and new friendships – is helping them live healthier lives.

Amid a gloomy economic outlook, local leaders are trying to find a sustainable way to fund Metro.

Stories WAMU is following this week include the major reorganization of Metrobus routes coming Sunday, the firehouse primary to find Gerry Connolly's successor and DIY bike repair in D.C.

Temperatures in the D.C.-region are expected to break 100 degrees this week as a heat dome traps humidity and intense warmth in the atmosphere. The Capital Weather Gang's Jason Samenow shares his forecast.

The Home Rule Festival and Positive Force's 40th Anniversary celebrations will allow music fans to explore the past, present and budding future of homegrown music in the D.C.-region.

Stories WAMU is following this week include Virginia's primary election on Tuesday, a protest against D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser's proposed environmental rollbacks and a Juneteenth concerts preview.

An immersive theater experience exploring love in the nation's capital comes to the Folger Shakespeare Theater, and is the subject of this week's "Get Out There."

Stories WAMU is following this week include the potential impact on President Trump's new travel ban on Afghan refugees staying in and seeking to come to the U.S., the emerging details on Trump's military parade and a new immersive theater experience.

This week on Get Out There, we learn about Peter Doyle, Leonard Matlovich, and D.C.'s gay history at Congressional Cemetery.

Mayor Muriel Bowser says her plan would speed up the replacement of the troubled jail. But some are concerned about possible tradeoffs with such a deal.

Beverly Smith created the nonprofit Momma's Safe Haven to give youth a place to learn, play, and heal. “It's okay to laugh, it's okay to have fun. This is a safe space,” Smith says. “I think our youth are so busy. They have been traumatized. They've lost friends and family members and they're living through some tough times.”

Georgetown history professor Maurice Jackson discusses Marian Anderson's Lincoln Memorial concert and other episodes of the fight for Civil Rights in Washington made by musicians and athletes.

U.S. Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger on why he came out of retirement in 2019 to lead the U.S. Capitol police, how the agency is far better prepared than in 2021, and in what ways policing has evolved over the last five decades.

The widespread impact of federal layoffs have forced D.C. officials to consider painful cuts to social services. A long fight is just beginning over how much to trim these programs.

Thousands of federal workers have left their positions through a mix of layoffs and buyouts. Federal health workers also took a big hit, and are now facing an uncertain future.