“This is the part where you kind of wait and see,” said Mack, watching her phone.

She’s used a wheelchair since she was 10 — moved to D.C. after college, she said, because our city was trying to be more accessible. When the I-Team asked if the city was keeping its promise, she responded, “Here and there.”

D.C. does has a few options for passengers with wheelchairs.

Metro trains and buses are accessible. MetroAccess works too, but it requires setting up rides days in advance and being willing to wait.

The Transport DC program offers subsidized taxi rides, but only within the district.

When it comes to ride share companies like Uber and Lyft, the District does not require them to have wheelchair accessible vehicles — even though they account for 95% of all the for-hire rides here.

That leaves taxis, which make up just 5% of all for-hire trips in D.C. Taxis are District regulated and provided 23,000 trips for people who use wheelchairs last year.

“I call it the Yeti, because it’s rumored to exist, but, you know, I rarely ever see it,” exclaimed a frustrated Mack while waiting on a taxi she had reserved days before we met up.

The District has worked to increase service. D.C. has a law mandating 20% of large cab fleets be wheelchair accessible, but the I-Team couldn’t find it’s ever been enforced.

The head of the Department of For-Hire Vehicles (DFHV) told the I-Team, “we can’t punish them into compliance.”

Passenger Naomi Hess was hopeful last year when D.C. set aside $500,000 to incentivize cabdrivers to operate Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles -paying more per hour or to work late hours.

“There really, really needs to be progress,” said Hess.  The city even set up a  Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle (WAV) hotline for people to get connected.

“I tried that pilot line multiple times and they just couldn’t find one for me. Where is the money going?” asked Hess.

The city already spent $255,000 in that pilot program and told the I-Team it generated 435 taxi trips from June to December. That’s $586 per ride.

Jonathan Rogers — the Director of DFHV, which spearheaded the pilot — wouldn’t talk to News4 on camera, but said “Council encouraged us to experiment and figure out what would change behavior… so that’s what we did.”

He said he hoped it would build momentum, and that the six new drivers with accessible vehicles added, would stick with it.

The department just launched a new pilot program in March, and says it’s offering more incentives to taxi companies and drivers. Plus, a spokesperson said it would be sending letters to all taxi companies asking for their long-term plans to address the issue.

“Anyone without a wheelchair can get an Uber, Lyft or taxi, whatever they want. It’s just not fair. And it has put me in unsafe situations,” Hess told the I-Team. 

Last fall, she had all her travel planned out so she could attend the Sabrina Carpenter concert in Baltimore. But a delayed train back to D.C. got her to Union Station at 1 a.m., leaving her with few options.

“I was forced to walk home alone in the middle of the night.”

Both she and Mack say it isn’t like this everywhere. In New York City, there are more than 12,000 wheelchair accessible taxis and ride share vehicles, according to the NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission.

The city said 46% of its taxi fleet is wheelchair accessible. By law, anyone who now wants to start driving for ride shares has to use an accessible vehicle there.

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Back in D.C., Uber has some accessible vehicles, but did not respond to our questions about how many.

While Lyft offers accessible rides in nine other cities, it does not in the District. A spokesperson told the I Team it “will continue to push for solutions that make rideshare as accessible as possible for everyone.”

As for taxis, none of the larger companies in town would talk to News4 on camera. But they did admit it’s a challenge, saying wheelchair accessible taxis are both expensive to buy and costly to maintain due mostly to their weight and modifications.

That could explain why the I-Team found so many out-of-commission vehicles in taxi lots with markings that read “junk” and “need engine and transmission.”

Back at Mack’s apartment, she still waited for confirmation her taxi was on the way. It’s been so frustrating for her that she started keeping track of all her taxi calls for the last three years.

“I had 72 attempted trips,” she said. “I averaged those years and came out with a 71% failure rate.”

Which is exactly what happened on the day we hung out with her. 

“We’ll wait a few more minutes and then probably gear up, put on the coat, head out,” she said.

But that taxi never came.

Ella Robinson contributed reporting to this investigation.

The Senate passed the legislation immediately after approving the continuing resolution last month — and President Donald Trump has urged House Republicans to do the same — but so far, House Speaker Mike Johnson has been silent on the D.C. budget fix and has not scheduled a vote.

If the legislation doesn’t pass, D.C. would have to cut $1.1 billion from its current budget by September.

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said that would require devastating cuts to programs and services as well as possible layoffs, but she has stopped short of providing specifics on cuts.

“We will work with the members of the council to make the best decisions for Washington, D.C.,” she said last month.

“We start with we have to go where the money is in our budget to cut that fast, and our top areas of spending — our schools, public safety and the human services,” Bowser said.

Bowser and the D.C. Council have put off making any cuts so far, hoping the House would pass the Senate’s fix, but with the House set to recess for two weeks, waiting won’t be an option for much longer.

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“We are talking about serious and significant cuts to city operations, public safety, public education, our own transit system,” Councilmember Charles Allen said. “So, it’s deeply devastating, and the clock is ticking. The city will have to start moving forward with planning out what those cuts look like that the House is making.”

Bowser declined to comment Wednesday, but multiple sources told News4 she and Johnson talked by phone this week to discuss D.C. funding as the House determines a path forward.

A spokesperson for Johnson said the speaker has been laser focused on congressional Republicans’ big budget resolution but did not rule out some type of action when the House returns in two weeks.

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It was a joyful day that came after decades of effort by abolitionists and amid the Civil War.

In 2025, D.C. is celebrating 20 years of officially observing the holiday. A parade, festival, concert and fireworks will mark D.C. Emancipation Day on Sunday, April 13. It’s free to attend.

Grammy winner Anthony Hamilton, NAACP Image Award winner Chanté Moore, The Crank Crusaders featuring D.C.’s own Raheem DeVaughn and DJ Kool will take the stage for the All-Star Concert starting at 4 p.m.

The family-friendly festival has plenty for kids, too, including mini golf, a gaming lounge, crafts and carnival and arcade games.

Go early for the parade stepping off from 10^th and Pennsylvania Avenue NW at 2 p.m., and stay late for the fireworks finale at 8:30 p.m.

The African American History and Culture Museum will also host a celebration on the actual holiday.

What is D.C.’s Emancipation Day?

Emancipation Day honors the day slavery ended in Washington, D.C. after President Lincoln signed the DC Compensated Emancipation Act in 1862.

District residents marked the first anniversary after the Civil War with a parade. For the last 159 years, D.C. has marked the important date with celebrations including concerts, parades and more.

How did D.C.’s Black community react to the news?

African-Americans had been traveling to D.C. to escape war and bondage for years, and the District’s Black community felt deep joy upon learning of the Emancipation Act, historian C.R. Gibbs wrote in an explainer.

He quotes a letter that a Black resident of the District wrote to a friend in Baltimore:

“When I had finished the chambermaid had left the room sobbing for joy. The slave women clapped her hands and shouted, left the house saying, “let me go and tell my husband that Jesus has done all things well.” While the cook who is free retired to another room to offer thanks for the blessing sent. Should I not feel glad to see so much rejoicing around me?”

What did the Emancipation Act do and how is it different from the Emancipation Proclamation?

The DC Compensated Emancipation Act of 1862 was passed by Congress and signed by President Lincoln.  It ended slavery in the District, reimbursed former slave owners up to $300 and provided $100 for freed men and women if they chose to emigrate to another country.

The Emancipation Proclamation was issued months later on Jan. 1, 1863. It freed all enslaved people in “rebellious” states fighting with the Confederacy but allowed slavery to continue within the Union.

Is Emancipation Day different than Juneteenth?

Juneteenth, also called Emancipation Day, is a nationwide celebration on June 19 that marks the day that news of the Emancipation Proclamation spread to Texas in 1865.

Is D.C.’s Emancipation Day an official holiday?

Emancipation Day was made an official public holiday in the District in 2005 after lobbying from community members, including Loretta Carter Hanes.

What’s closed for the official holiday on April 16?

Some city services will be paused. All Department of Motor Vehicles offices will be closed on Wednesday, April 16.

Trash services will slide to Thursday, April 17.

D.C. Public Schools would close for the holiday, but students and teachers will be on spring break next week.

What’s open?

Typically, federal services like the U.S. Postal Service remain open, as do outdoor parks.

Want to know what’s up for your weekend? Sign up for The Weekend Scene, our newsletter about events, experiences and adventures for you and for your family around the DMV.

President Trump signed the “Making the District of Columbia Safe and Beautiful” executive order on March 27, establishing the task force to increase police presence in public areas, maximize immigration enforcement, expedite concealed carry licenses and crack down on Metro fare evasion.

According to the internal memo obtained by News4, Orville Greene is the chair of the task force. The memo states Greene is the director of the Homeland Security Council Transitional Threat Directorate.

Greene was formerly a New York City Police Department officer and, more recently, a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) special agent in Detroit.

Trump’s order called for respresentatives of “key government agencies” to sit in on the task force, including the Department of the Interior, Department of Transportation, Department of Homeland Security, FBI, U.S. Marshals Service, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the
U.S. attorneys’ offices for D.C., Maryland and the Eastern District of Virginia.

In the memo, Greene raises the possibility of adding more agencies to the task force, including the DEA, U.S. Capitol Police, the Federal Protective Service, Amtrak Police, the General Services Administration and the National Capital Planning Commission. He also called for local representatives from the D.C. government to be participants.

Greene’s memo, which was sent to D.C. officials as part of an invitation to participate in the meeting, detailed the focus of the meeting and the goals of the task force.

At the top of the meeting agenda: reviewing D.C.’s enforcement of and compliance with federal immigration law, improving police recruitment and retention, reviewing the concealed carry permits process and cleaning up public monuments, memorials and homeless encampments.

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said she opted not to send any representatives to the meeting. Bowser said she sent a written response instead.

Bowser said she has some requests of the task force and the Trump administration.

“Number one, we need the House to pass the budget fix, and we need it to happen this week. We also outlined what we understand recently that the NPS, the National Park Service, has been impacted by cuts and they have reduced the number of trash pickups on the Mall. So we’re asking them to restore, I think, three times daily trash pickups on the Mall,” Bowser said. “We saw with the cherry blossom weekend, some overflowing trash cans. That’s not beautiful. So we want that fixed.”

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As for the task force’s focus on public safety, Bowser had another request.

“I asked [the chief of police] if this task force could could help with police presence in any way, what would be the request? The request was more patrols from Park Police on the parkways that are in or approach the District: George Washington Parkway, Suitland Parkway and B.W. Parkway,” Bowser said.

In February, Trump said he supports putting D.C. directly under federal control.

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President Donald Trump attempted to put on a similar parade during his first term in office but had to cancel it because of cost concerns.

The Trump administration has been contacting local leaders in the D.C. area about having a parade. The size and scope of the parade is unclear.

June 14 will be the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army. It’s also Trump’s 79th birthday, a celebration that could include a parade, the Washington City Paper’s Tom Sherwood first reported.

“I would say that it’s in its early stages,” D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser confirmed. “Yes, they have reached out.”

Bowser cautioned that a true military parade with heavy equipment like tanks would come with a cost.

“Military tanks on our streets would not be good,” she said. “If military tanks were used, they should be accompanied with many millions of dollars to repair the roads.”

“We all know that President Trump likes big, grandiose events,” said Sherwood, a former News4 reporter and analyst. “And this is his chance to have a parade that he can oversee from the Pentagon to in front of the White House.”

Infrastructure like the 14th Street Bridge would have to be tested to see if it could support the parade, officials said.

Trump wanted a parade in 2018 during his first term, but it didn’t work out, Sherwood said.

“The military leaders said it would cost too much, nearly $90 million; Mayor Bowser ridiculed the idea on the Twitter system and said it would cost us $20 million just for public safety,” Sherwood said. “So, he canceled it — angrily canceled it. But this time around, it doesn’t sound like he is gonna cancel.”

Arlington leaders say they also got a heads up about the parade planning.

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Pop-ups where you can fill up your spring garden, egg hunts and some major National Cherry Blossom Festival events – such as the parade and Sakura Matsuri Japanese Street Festival– are on tap around D.C. this week and weekend.

Here’s our list of things to do for the week of April 7-13, 2025.

What to do in Washington, D.C.

Theater – “cullud wattah”: Through April 27, Atlas Performing Arts Center, $61.50+ 

Live! At the Library: Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey and traditional Hawaiian music from The Kohala Mountain Boys: Thurs., 7-8:30 p.m., Library of Congress Thomas Jefferson Building, free

“The Moonwalkers: A Journey with Tom Hanks” 360-degree film: Through April 20, The Kennedy Center, $29 (limited $10 tickets available at the box office on the day of shows)

The Washington D.C. Pancakes & Booze Art Show: Thurs., Hook Hall in Northwest D.C., $15

National Cherry Blossom Festival Parade: Sat., 10 a.m., Constitution Avenue NW between 7th and 17th streets, free or seating available for $25-$40

Sakura Matsuri Japanese Street Festival: Sat. and Sun., Pennsylvania Ave. NW between 3rd and 7th streets, $15 (one-day) or $25 (two-day) in advance

Georgetown Flower Tour: Sat., 1-5 p.m., check in at Georgetown Neighborhood Library, $0-$40

D.C. United Cherry Blossom Night: Sat., 7:30 p.m., Audi Field, $29+

That’s So Vintage Market: Sat. and Sun., Dock5 at Union Market, $5-$25

DC Beer Fest: Sat., Nationals Park, $55-$90

Blossom: A Spring Fashion Pop Up: Sun., metrobar in Northeast D.C., free admission

Spring into Fitness: Sun., 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Alethia Tanner Park, free with RSVP

DC Emancipation Day parade, festival, concert and fireworks: Sun., Freedom Plaza, free

DC Design Tours: Various dates and locations, $20 (child)/$35 (adult)

What to do in Maryland

The Butterfly Experience: Opens Thurs., Brookside Gardens in Wheaton, $9 (ages 3-12)/$14 (ages 13+), free for kids under 3

Cinema Hearts and Gabby & Nick Cameron: Fri., 8 p.m., Brentwood Arts Exchange, $20

Garden Supply Pop-Up Shop at Community Forklift: Fri. to Sun., Edmonston, free entry

Holi Color Fun Run/Walk: Sat., 10:30 a.m., Chrysalis, Merriweather Park at Symphony Woods in Columbia, $28.52+

Paint & Sip: A Celebration of Black & Brown Queer Community in the DMV: Sat., 2-5 p.m., Solaire Social in Silver Spring, $39.19

Eggstravaganza: Sat., noon, Granville Gude Park in Laurel, free

Cherry blossom mixology class: Sat., 5-7 p.m., The Westin Washington National Harbor, $76.54

Miho Hazama & m_unit: Sun., 8 p.m., The Music Center at Strathmore, $28 – $68

What to do in Virginia

Spring Egg Hunt at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens: Daily through April 30, Meadowlark Botanical Gardens in Vienna, $8 per egg hunter

Spring Egg Hunt at Potomac Overlook: April 12-20, Arlington, $8 per egg hunter

F1 – themed ‘Build the Thrill’: Through April 27, LEGO Discovery Center Washington, D.C., $24.99+

Pink Beats: Thursdays through April 10, 5-8 p.m., Water Park in National Landing, free

American Horticultural Society’s Spring Garden Market: Fri. and Sat., 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., River Farm in Alexandria, $20 per car or $5 for walk-ups

Wine & Watercolors: Fri., 5 p.m., Shop Made in VA in Alexandria, $25

Art of Pink: Fri., 5-10 p.m., Metropolitan Park at National Landing, free

Full Moon Hike at Neabsco Regional Park: Sat., 7 p.m., Woodbridge, $12

MoCA on the Move at Met Park: Sundays, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Arlington, free

Tulip Ride and Walk on the Mount Vernon Trail: Sun., 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., meet at Compass Coffee (1201 Wilson Blvd, Arlington), $10

International Food and Culture Fest: Sun., The Manassas Museum, free entry

Sip & Shop by Pop Up Gallery: Sun., 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Port City Brewing in Alexandria, free entry

90’s Music Bingo: Sun., 2-4 p.m., Lost Boy Cider in Alexandria, $5

Want to know what’s up for your weekend? Sign up for The Weekend Scene, our newsletter about events, experiences and adventures for you and for your family around the DMV.

United Medical Center in Southeast D.C. will close its doors for good April 15, the same day Cedar Hill Regional Medical Center GW Health opens.

“It is bittersweet, because UMC has been such an important part of this community for such a long time,” D.C. Deputy Chief Financial Officer Angell Jacobs said.

United Medical stopped admitting new patients this week. Ambulances no longer take patients to UMC. Walk-ins are still allowed, but patients who need in-patient care are being taken to another facility.

“For any patient that when we get to the 15^th still needs hospitalization, those will be the patients that will be transferred to a different facility of their choice,” said.

Hospital leaders told News4 alternative care will be available for longer-term patients.

The adult emergency room will close for good April 12. The children’s ER will stop accepting new patients at 11 a.m. April 15.

“Children’s National will begin providing services at the new Cedar Hill Regional Medical Center on April 15 at 12:01 a.m. … allowing overlap to make sure there’s no interruption of pediatric services,” Jacobs said.

UMC, the city’s only hospital east of the Anacostia River, served the community for 60 years.

D.C. leaders decided to close the hospital in 2019, citing mismanagement and financial issues.

The closure was expected to result in hundreds of layoffs. Officials say staff members have been assisted in finding new jobs.

“I know they have been looking for employment elsewhere, and our human resource department has been helping them with, for example, resume writing ‘cause a lot of the staff have been here for many years,” UMC CEO and Chief Nurse Officer Dr. Jacqueline Payne-Borden said.

Cedar Hill is located on the old St. Elizabeths Hospital campus in Southeast. It’s a privately operated hospital with much-needed state of the art health care, including emergency, trauma, behavioral health, and maternal health and delivery services.

“Despite the fact that the sunsetting of UMC is approaching, we are very excited about the new facility that will be available to patients in the community,” Jacobs said.

Cedar Hill will be the first full-service hospital to open in the District in more than 20 years.

Cars driving past the Kennedy Center witnessed an unexpected liftoff on Thursday, after a 30-foot-tall Mars balloon escaped its moorings and rolled from its place outside the arts center onto the highway.

The planet famous for its rovers went roving itself, departing the Kennedy Center’s REACH plaza and rolling east onto the roadway.

The balloon is part of the Kennedy Center’s “Celestial Bodies: Earth, Moon, Mars” exhibit, which allows viewers to wander the grounds and examine inflatable models of the Earth, the Moon, and Mars. At night, the balloons are illuminated from within, making for a fun photo-op.

After Thursday evening’s out-of-this world viral moment, the Mars balloon was quickly retrieved from the highway and returned to the Kennedy Center.

Commenters on social media appreciated the balloon’s meteoric journey, with many cracking jokes about recent political events.

“We understand Mars.. we feel the same way,” said one user.

“Good for her,” said another.

No balloon-related injuries were reported as a result of the incident.

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Kevin Steve Andrade, 34, was walking with a woman along Meigs Place in the Trinidad neighborhood when he suddenly started stabbing himself and her, the Metropolitan Police Department said.

“The suspect was in an altered mental state from an unknown substance,” D.C. Police Chief Pamela Smith said Thursday.

Then Andrade randomly stabbed other women on the street, including a grandmother getting into a car with her grandchildren, police said.

“The grandmother and her granddaughters were getting in a car, primarily minding their own business,” Smith said.

Andrade ran northbound on Montello Avenue NE, where he attacked a sixth person, police said.

Good Samirtans then chased him and were able to subdue him near the intersection of Montello Avenue and Mt. Olivet Road.

Officers who were in the area then took Andrade into custody.

Four women and two men were taken to hospitals. They were stable, police said Thursday evening.

Police said Thursday evening Andrade had surgery for serious injuries that were not life-threatening.

He was charged with six counts of assault with intent to kill.

Police said they recovered a bloody knife a few feet away from Andrade.

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“This is the part where you kind of wait and see,” said Mack, watching her phone.

She’s used a wheelchair since she was 10 — moved to D.C. after college, she said, because our city was trying to be more accessible. When the I-Team asked if the city was keeping its promise, she responded, “Here and there.”

D.C. does has a few options for passengers with wheelchairs.

Metro trains and buses are accessible. MetroAccess works too, but it requires setting up rides days in advance and being willing to wait.

The Transport DC program offers subsidized taxi rides, but only within the district.

When it comes to ride share companies like Uber and Lyft, the District does not require them to have wheelchair accessible vehicles — even though they account for 95% of all the for-hire rides here.

That leaves taxis, which make up just 5% of all for-hire trips in D.C. Taxis are District regulated and provided 23,000 trips for people who use wheelchairs last year.

“I call it the Yeti, because it’s rumored to exist, but, you know, I rarely ever see it,” exclaimed a frustrated Mack while waiting on a taxi she had reserved days before we met up.

The District has worked to increase service. D.C. has a law mandating 20% of large cab fleets be wheelchair accessible, but the I-Team couldn’t find it’s ever been enforced.

The head of the Department of For-Hire Vehicles (DFHV) told the I-Team, “we can’t punish them into compliance.”

Passenger Naomi Hess was hopeful last year when D.C. set aside $500,000 to incentivize cabdrivers to operate Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles -paying more per hour or to work late hours.

“There really, really needs to be progress,” said Hess.  The city even set up a  Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle (WAV) hotline for people to get connected.

“I tried that pilot line multiple times and they just couldn’t find one for me. Where is the money going?” asked Hess.

The city already spent $255,000 in that pilot program and told the I-Team it generated 435 taxi trips from June to December. That’s $586 per ride.

Jonathan Rogers — the Director of DFHV, which spearheaded the pilot — wouldn’t talk to News4 on camera, but said “Council encouraged us to experiment and figure out what would change behavior… so that’s what we did.”

He said he hoped it would build momentum, and that the six new drivers with accessible vehicles added, would stick with it.

The department just launched a new pilot program in March, and says it’s offering more incentives to taxi companies and drivers. Plus, a spokesperson said it would be sending letters to all taxi companies asking for their long-term plans to address the issue.

“Anyone without a wheelchair can get an Uber, Lyft or taxi, whatever they want. It’s just not fair. And it has put me in unsafe situations,” Hess told the I-Team. 

Last fall, she had all her travel planned out so she could attend the Sabrina Carpenter concert in Baltimore. But a delayed train back to D.C. got her to Union Station at 1 a.m., leaving her with few options.

“I was forced to walk home alone in the middle of the night.”

Both she and Mack say it isn’t like this everywhere. In New York City, there are more than 12,000 wheelchair accessible taxis and ride share vehicles, according to the NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission.

The city said 46% of its taxi fleet is wheelchair accessible. By law, anyone who now wants to start driving for ride shares has to use an accessible vehicle there.

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Back in D.C., Uber has some accessible vehicles, but did not respond to our questions about how many.

While Lyft offers accessible rides in nine other cities, it does not in the District. A spokesperson told the I Team it “will continue to push for solutions that make rideshare as accessible as possible for everyone.”

As for taxis, none of the larger companies in town would talk to News4 on camera. But they did admit it’s a challenge, saying wheelchair accessible taxis are both expensive to buy and costly to maintain due mostly to their weight and modifications.

That could explain why the I-Team found so many out-of-commission vehicles in taxi lots with markings that read “junk” and “need engine and transmission.”

Back at Mack’s apartment, she still waited for confirmation her taxi was on the way. It’s been so frustrating for her that she started keeping track of all her taxi calls for the last three years.

“I had 72 attempted trips,” she said. “I averaged those years and came out with a 71% failure rate.”

Which is exactly what happened on the day we hung out with her. 

“We’ll wait a few more minutes and then probably gear up, put on the coat, head out,” she said.

But that taxi never came.

Ella Robinson contributed reporting to this investigation.

“This is the part where you kind of wait and see,” said Mack, watching her phone.

She’s used a wheelchair since she was 10 — moved to D.C. after college, she said, because our city was trying to be more accessible. When the I-Team asked if the city was keeping its promise, she responded, “Here and there.”

D.C. does has a few options for passengers with wheelchairs.

Metro trains and buses are accessible. MetroAccess works too, but it requires setting up rides days in advance and being willing to wait.

The Transport DC program offers subsidized taxi rides, but only within the district.

When it comes to ride share companies like Uber and Lyft, the District does not require them to have wheelchair accessible vehicles — even though they account for 95% of all the for-hire rides here.

That leaves taxis, which make up just 5% of all for-hire trips in D.C. Taxis are District regulated and provided 23,000 trips for people who use wheelchairs last year.

“I call it the Yeti, because it’s rumored to exist, but, you know, I rarely ever see it,” exclaimed a frustrated Mack while waiting on a taxi she had reserved days before we met up.

The District has worked to increase service. D.C. has a law mandating 20% of large cab fleets be wheelchair accessible, but the I-Team couldn’t find it’s ever been enforced.

The head of the Department of For-Hire Vehicles (DFHV) told the I-Team, “we can’t punish them into compliance.”

Passenger Naomi Hess was hopeful last year when D.C. set aside $500,000 to incentivize cabdrivers to operate Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles -paying more per hour or to work late hours.

“There really, really needs to be progress,” said Hess.  The city even set up a  Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle (WAV) hotline for people to get connected.

“I tried that pilot line multiple times and they just couldn’t find one for me. Where is the money going?” asked Hess.

The city already spent $255,000 in that pilot program and told the I-Team it generated 435 taxi trips from June to December. That’s $586 per ride.

Jonathan Rogers — the Director of DFHV, which spearheaded the pilot — wouldn’t talk to News4 on camera, but said “Council encouraged us to experiment and figure out what would change behavior… so that’s what we did.”

He said he hoped it would build momentum, and that the six new drivers with accessible vehicles added, would stick with it.

The department just launched a new pilot program in March, and says it’s offering more incentives to taxi companies and drivers. Plus, a spokesperson said it would be sending letters to all taxi companies asking for their long-term plans to address the issue.

“Anyone without a wheelchair can get an Uber, Lyft or taxi, whatever they want. It’s just not fair. And it has put me in unsafe situations,” Hess told the I-Team. 

Last fall, she had all her travel planned out so she could attend the Sabrina Carpenter concert in Baltimore. But a delayed train back to D.C. got her to Union Station at 1 a.m., leaving her with few options.

“I was forced to walk home alone in the middle of the night.”

Both she and Mack say it isn’t like this everywhere. In New York City, there are more than 12,000 wheelchair accessible taxis and ride share vehicles, according to the NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission.

The city said 46% of its taxi fleet is wheelchair accessible. By law, anyone who now wants to start driving for ride shares has to use an accessible vehicle there.

news Apr 3

Disability advocates sue Social Security Administration and DOGE to stop service cuts

Health care Mar 23

Parents of children with disabilities say Medicaid cuts will put livelihoods, kids' health at risk

Metro (WMATA) Dec 19, 2024

MetroAccess customer satisfaction declining

Back in D.C., Uber has some accessible vehicles, but did not respond to our questions about how many.

While Lyft offers accessible rides in nine other cities, it does not in the District. A spokesperson told the I Team it “will continue to push for solutions that make rideshare as accessible as possible for everyone.”

As for taxis, none of the larger companies in town would talk to News4 on camera. But they did admit it’s a challenge, saying wheelchair accessible taxis are both expensive to buy and costly to maintain due mostly to their weight and modifications.

That could explain why the I-Team found so many out-of-commission vehicles in taxi lots with markings that read “junk” and “need engine and transmission.”

Back at Mack’s apartment, she still waited for confirmation her taxi was on the way. It’s been so frustrating for her that she started keeping track of all her taxi calls for the last three years.

“I had 72 attempted trips,” she said. “I averaged those years and came out with a 71% failure rate.”

Which is exactly what happened on the day we hung out with her. 

“We’ll wait a few more minutes and then probably gear up, put on the coat, head out,” she said.

But that taxi never came.

Ella Robinson contributed reporting to this investigation.

“This is the part where you kind of wait and see,” said Mack, watching her phone.

She’s used a wheelchair since she was 10 — moved to D.C. after college, she said, because our city was trying to be more accessible. When the I-Team asked if the city was keeping its promise, she responded, “Here and there.”

D.C. does has a few options for passengers with wheelchairs.

Metro trains and buses are accessible. MetroAccess works too, but it requires setting up rides days in advance and being willing to wait.

The Transport DC program offers subsidized taxi rides, but only within the district.

When it comes to ride share companies like Uber and Lyft, the District does not require them to have wheelchair accessible vehicles — even though they account for 95% of all the for-hire rides here.

That leaves taxis, which make up just 5% of all for-hire trips in D.C. Taxis are District regulated and provided 23,000 trips for people who use wheelchairs last year.

“I call it the Yeti, because it’s rumored to exist, but, you know, I rarely ever see it,” exclaimed a frustrated Mack while waiting on a taxi she had reserved days before we met up.

The District has worked to increase service. D.C. has a law mandating 20% of large cab fleets be wheelchair accessible, but the I-Team couldn’t find it’s ever been enforced.

The head of the Department of For-Hire Vehicles (DFHV) told the I-Team, “we can’t punish them into compliance.”

Passenger Naomi Hess was hopeful last year when D.C. set aside $500,000 to incentivize cabdrivers to operate Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles -paying more per hour or to work late hours.

“There really, really needs to be progress,” said Hess.  The city even set up a  Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle (WAV) hotline for people to get connected.

“I tried that pilot line multiple times and they just couldn’t find one for me. Where is the money going?” asked Hess.

The city already spent $255,000 in that pilot program and told the I-Team it generated 435 taxi trips from June to December. That’s $586 per ride.

Jonathan Rogers — the Director of DFHV, which spearheaded the pilot — wouldn’t talk to News4 on camera, but said “Council encouraged us to experiment and figure out what would change behavior… so that’s what we did.”

He said he hoped it would build momentum, and that the six new drivers with accessible vehicles added, would stick with it.

The department just launched a new pilot program in March, and says it’s offering more incentives to taxi companies and drivers. Plus, a spokesperson said it would be sending letters to all taxi companies asking for their long-term plans to address the issue.

“Anyone without a wheelchair can get an Uber, Lyft or taxi, whatever they want. It’s just not fair. And it has put me in unsafe situations,” Hess told the I-Team. 

Last fall, she had all her travel planned out so she could attend the Sabrina Carpenter concert in Baltimore. But a delayed train back to D.C. got her to Union Station at 1 a.m., leaving her with few options.

“I was forced to walk home alone in the middle of the night.”

Both she and Mack say it isn’t like this everywhere. In New York City, there are more than 12,000 wheelchair accessible taxis and ride share vehicles, according to the NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission.

The city said 46% of its taxi fleet is wheelchair accessible. By law, anyone who now wants to start driving for ride shares has to use an accessible vehicle there.

news Apr 3

Disability advocates sue Social Security Administration and DOGE to stop service cuts

Health care Mar 23

Parents of children with disabilities say Medicaid cuts will put livelihoods, kids' health at risk

Metro (WMATA) Dec 19, 2024

MetroAccess customer satisfaction declining

Back in D.C., Uber has some accessible vehicles, but did not respond to our questions about how many.

While Lyft offers accessible rides in nine other cities, it does not in the District. A spokesperson told the I Team it “will continue to push for solutions that make rideshare as accessible as possible for everyone.”

As for taxis, none of the larger companies in town would talk to News4 on camera. But they did admit it’s a challenge, saying wheelchair accessible taxis are both expensive to buy and costly to maintain due mostly to their weight and modifications.

That could explain why the I-Team found so many out-of-commission vehicles in taxi lots with markings that read “junk” and “need engine and transmission.”

Back at Mack’s apartment, she still waited for confirmation her taxi was on the way. It’s been so frustrating for her that she started keeping track of all her taxi calls for the last three years.

“I had 72 attempted trips,” she said. “I averaged those years and came out with a 71% failure rate.”

Which is exactly what happened on the day we hung out with her. 

“We’ll wait a few more minutes and then probably gear up, put on the coat, head out,” she said.

But that taxi never came.

Ella Robinson contributed reporting to this investigation.

“This is the part where you kind of wait and see,” said Mack, watching her phone.

She’s used a wheelchair since she was 10 — moved to D.C. after college, she said, because our city was trying to be more accessible. When the I-Team asked if the city was keeping its promise, she responded, “Here and there.”

D.C. does has a few options for passengers with wheelchairs.

Metro trains and buses are accessible. MetroAccess works too, but it requires setting up rides days in advance and being willing to wait.

The Transport DC program offers subsidized taxi rides, but only within the district.

When it comes to ride share companies like Uber and Lyft, the District does not require them to have wheelchair accessible vehicles — even though they account for 95% of all the for-hire rides here.

That leaves taxis, which make up just 5% of all for-hire trips in D.C. Taxis are District regulated and provided 23,000 trips for people who use wheelchairs last year.

“I call it the Yeti, because it’s rumored to exist, but, you know, I rarely ever see it,” exclaimed a frustrated Mack while waiting on a taxi she had reserved days before we met up.

The District has worked to increase service. D.C. has a law mandating 20% of large cab fleets be wheelchair accessible, but the I-Team couldn’t find it’s ever been enforced.

The head of the Department of For-Hire Vehicles (DFHV) told the I-Team, “we can’t punish them into compliance.”

Passenger Naomi Hess was hopeful last year when D.C. set aside $500,000 to incentivize cabdrivers to operate Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles -paying more per hour or to work late hours.

“There really, really needs to be progress,” said Hess.  The city even set up a  Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle (WAV) hotline for people to get connected.

“I tried that pilot line multiple times and they just couldn’t find one for me. Where is the money going?” asked Hess.

The city already spent $255,000 in that pilot program and told the I-Team it generated 435 taxi trips from June to December. That’s $586 per ride.

Jonathan Rogers — the Director of DFHV, which spearheaded the pilot — wouldn’t talk to News4 on camera, but said “Council encouraged us to experiment and figure out what would change behavior… so that’s what we did.”

He said he hoped it would build momentum, and that the six new drivers with accessible vehicles added, would stick with it.

The department just launched a new pilot program in March, and says it’s offering more incentives to taxi companies and drivers. Plus, a spokesperson said it would be sending letters to all taxi companies asking for their long-term plans to address the issue.

“Anyone without a wheelchair can get an Uber, Lyft or taxi, whatever they want. It’s just not fair. And it has put me in unsafe situations,” Hess told the I-Team. 

Last fall, she had all her travel planned out so she could attend the Sabrina Carpenter concert in Baltimore. But a delayed train back to D.C. got her to Union Station at 1 a.m., leaving her with few options.

“I was forced to walk home alone in the middle of the night.”

Both she and Mack say it isn’t like this everywhere. In New York City, there are more than 12,000 wheelchair accessible taxis and ride share vehicles, according to the NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission.

The city said 46% of its taxi fleet is wheelchair accessible. By law, anyone who now wants to start driving for ride shares has to use an accessible vehicle there.

news Apr 3

Disability advocates sue Social Security Administration and DOGE to stop service cuts

Health care Mar 23

Parents of children with disabilities say Medicaid cuts will put livelihoods, kids' health at risk

Metro (WMATA) Dec 19, 2024

MetroAccess customer satisfaction declining

Back in D.C., Uber has some accessible vehicles, but did not respond to our questions about how many.

While Lyft offers accessible rides in nine other cities, it does not in the District. A spokesperson told the I Team it “will continue to push for solutions that make rideshare as accessible as possible for everyone.”

As for taxis, none of the larger companies in town would talk to News4 on camera. But they did admit it’s a challenge, saying wheelchair accessible taxis are both expensive to buy and costly to maintain due mostly to their weight and modifications.

That could explain why the I-Team found so many out-of-commission vehicles in taxi lots with markings that read “junk” and “need engine and transmission.”

Back at Mack’s apartment, she still waited for confirmation her taxi was on the way. It’s been so frustrating for her that she started keeping track of all her taxi calls for the last three years.

“I had 72 attempted trips,” she said. “I averaged those years and came out with a 71% failure rate.”

Which is exactly what happened on the day we hung out with her. 

“We’ll wait a few more minutes and then probably gear up, put on the coat, head out,” she said.

But that taxi never came.

Ella Robinson contributed reporting to this investigation.

The literary celebration was created in 1996 by the Academy of American Poets to try to highlight the work of American poets and increase the attention given to an ancient art form.

The commemorative month was “inspired by the successful celebrations of Black History Month (February) and Women’s History Month (March),” according to the academy’s website.

Just like those other celebrations, you don’t need permission or anything special to mark National Poetry Month; you can celebrate wherever and however you see fit. But if you want some ideas to get you started, we’ve got them.

Here are some ways and places to enjoy poetry in the D.C. area.

D.C. Public Library

The D.C. Public Library has a series of signature events for poetry lovers throughout April. You can find the full list at this webpage, but here are some highlights:

On Tuesday, April 8, teens are invited to hear spoken word poetry performed by one of the DMV’s Youth Poet Laureates, then write poetry of their own. The event runs from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. at the Tenley-Friendship Neighborhood Library. Learn more here.

On Saturday, April 19, the Shaw branch building will host local author Kenard Eugene Johnson as he shares stories of growing up in poverty in D.C. through poetry. That event runs from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., and you can learn more here.

On Tuesday, April 22, the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library will host a panel discussion with Elizabeth Acevedo, Dan Vera, Alexandra Lytton Regalado, and Juan J. Morales. The panel will highlight a newly published book that brings together more than 180 Latino poets — “Latino Poetry: The Library of America Anthology.” The event runs from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., and you can learn more here.

Finally, all month long, D.C. residents can craft their own submission to DCPL’s annual haiku contest. Entrants must be at least 6 years old to enter, and there’s a limit of two entries per person. The contest has age categories for children, teens and adults.

“Prize-winners will take home library swag and have their poem posted in the library and on the DC Public Library’s website in May!” the DCPL webpage about the contest reads. Learn more here.

Library of Congress

What better D.C. staple than the Library of Congress — the largest library in the world and organizer of the National Book Festival — to turn to for poems, poets and poetry?

First, there are the library’s April events, which include an ongoing display dedicated to Pulitzer Prize– and National Book Award–winning poet Mary Oliver.

Then there’s the work of U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón.

Her three-year total tenure comes to an end at the end of the month. Like all poet laureate consultants in poetry to the Library of Congress, Limón was appointed to her position by the librarian of Congress, but she made history as the first to be appointed to two terms.

Limón is the 24th U.S. poet laureate, and her signature project launched last April in honor of that National Poetry Month.

The “You Are Here” project is a two-part initiative comprised of a poetry anthology Limón curated and published a year ago, and poetry-based public art installations in seven national parks across the country. The public art installations brought “site-specific poetry installations” to Cape Cod National Seashore, Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Everglades National Park, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Mount Ranier National Park, Redwood National and State Parks, and Saguaro National Park.

It also came with a writing prompt: What would you write in response to the landscape around you? Anyone who wants to try their hand can post their response on social media with the hashtag #YouAreHerePoetry.

“Above all, this project is about rising to this moment with hope, the kind of hope that will echo outwards for years to come,” Limón said in a statement.

The Library of Congress will host a farewell event for Limón on Thursday, April 17, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. She will give a lecture on the art of poetry, and then host a book signing.

The next poet laureate will be announced later this summer, according to a Library of Congress spokesperson.

If you’d rather listen to works from the talented poets of the past, you can comb through the Archive of Recorded Poetry and Literature on the Library of Congress website. According to the library, the archive dates back to 1943 and contains nearly 2,000 recordings of poets and writers, including poets like Louise Glück, Maya Angelou and Ray Bradbury.

And if there’s a poem that’s right on the tip of your tongue or the edge of your brain but you can’t quite remember the whole thing, the Library of Congress has a guide to finding a poem whose title and author you can’t recall.

Planet Word events

Planet Word, D.C.’s museum for linguists, writers and other word lovers, is recognizing National Poetry Month with workshops and programs all month long.

The highlight of their celebration is Poem in Your Pocket Day on April 10, with an event in Franklin Park starting at noon.

“Find us in our blue shirts with our basket of poems in Franklin Park during lunch to pick up a surprise poem,” the site says. “Then, visit Planet Word where our Short Story Dispenser has been stocked with lots of poems just for the day. Print out a poem before you go!”

If you can’t make it to Planet Word for the celebration, you can always share your favorite poem on social media with the hashtag #PocketPoem. You can also watch past poetry-related program videos with the museum’s YouTube playlist.

The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday and open from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

Busboys and Poets open mic nights

If you want a more casual approach to poetry immersion — or to jump straight in by sharing your writing — Busboys and Poets has open mic nights every week.

“Busboys and Poets is proud to be a venue that provides space and support for poets and spoken word performers and interested audiences,” its site says.

The day of the week varies by location, but each open mic night lasts for two hours and comes with a $5 cover charge. Here’s the full list:

• 14th & V: Every Tuesday 8:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.
• Columbia: Every Thursday 8:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.
• 450K: Every Wednesday 8:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.
• Shirlington: Every Monday 8:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.
• Hyattsville: Every Thursday 8:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.
• Brookland: Fridays 9:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m.

For more information on other poetry slams and open mics hosted at different Busboys and Poets locations, check out its webpage here.

And if you’re more into reading than performing, Busboys and Poets also has a bookstore built in to every location so you can purchase a new book after your meal.

Words, Beats & Life Festival

The 2025 Words, Beats & Life Festival takes place the first week of April this year, and will bring nine events to the District in 4 days.

Check out the festival from April 3 to April 6 for concerts, jazz, DJs, open mics and a series of exhibits featuring everything from art to hip-hop.

Poetry-related highlights include the Combine Poetry All-Stars at the Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage on Thursday evening, and the Slamtastic Youth Grand Slam Finals open mic and poetry slam at the 14th St. Busboys and Poets location on Saturday.

Learn more about the festival here.

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Other ways to celebrate National Poetry Month

The Academy of American Poets has a list of 30 ways to celebrate National Poetry Month on its website.

Included in that list is the Poem-a-Day series, which you can sign up for as either an email newsletter or a podcast. The poems are curated by a different editor each month, and the emails and podcast come out year-round, not just in April.

If you want your poetry to hit, literally, closer to home, you could take a look at your state poet laureate. Almost all 50 states have one, though sometimes they go by the title state poet or writer-in-residence. The Academy of American Poets has the full list here.

Washington, D.C.’s poet laureate position is vacant and has been since Dolores Kendrick died in 2017, according to a 2021 Washington Post opinion piece calling for a new appointee. You can read more about Kendrick here.

Virginia’s poet laureate is Mattie Quesenberry Smith, who you can read more about here.

Maryland’s poet laureate is Lady Brion, who you can read more about here.

Other ways to appreciate poetry in April include watching movies, lectures or videos featuring a poet; making a poetry playlist; and researching and volunteering with local poetry organizations.

The National Poetry Foundation also has a series of deals and events all month long to celebrate. Learn more here.

And, of course, there’s always NBC Washington’s favorite beat poet.

“This is the part where you kind of wait and see,” said Mack, watching her phone.

She’s used a wheelchair since she was 10 — moved to D.C. after college, she said, because our city was trying to be more accessible. When the I-Team asked if the city was keeping its promise, she responded, “Here and there.”

D.C. does has a few options for passengers with wheelchairs.

Metro trains and buses are accessible. MetroAccess works too, but it requires setting up rides days in advance and being willing to wait.

The Transport DC program offers subsidized taxi rides, but only within the district.

When it comes to ride share companies like Uber and Lyft, the District does not require them to have wheelchair accessible vehicles — even though they account for 95% of all the for-hire rides here.

That leaves taxis, which make up just 5% of all for-hire trips in D.C. Taxis are District regulated and provided 23,000 trips for people who use wheelchairs last year.

“I call it the Yeti, because it’s rumored to exist, but, you know, I rarely ever see it,” exclaimed a frustrated Mack while waiting on a taxi she had reserved days before we met up.

The District has worked to increase service. D.C. has a law mandating 20% of large cab fleets be wheelchair accessible, but the I-Team couldn’t find it’s ever been enforced.

The head of the Department of For-Hire Vehicles (DFHV) told the I-Team, “we can’t punish them into compliance.”

Passenger Naomi Hess was hopeful last year when D.C. set aside $500,000 to incentivize cabdrivers to operate Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles -paying more per hour or to work late hours.

“There really, really needs to be progress,” said Hess.  The city even set up a  Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle (WAV) hotline for people to get connected.

“I tried that pilot line multiple times and they just couldn’t find one for me. Where is the money going?” asked Hess.

The city already spent $255,000 in that pilot program and told the I-Team it generated 435 taxi trips from June to December. That’s $586 per ride.

Jonathan Rogers — the Director of DFHV, which spearheaded the pilot — wouldn’t talk to News4 on camera, but said “Council encouraged us to experiment and figure out what would change behavior… so that’s what we did.”

He said he hoped it would build momentum, and that the six new drivers with accessible vehicles added, would stick with it.

The department just launched a new pilot program in March, and says it’s offering more incentives to taxi companies and drivers. Plus, a spokesperson said it would be sending letters to all taxi companies asking for their long-term plans to address the issue.

“Anyone without a wheelchair can get an Uber, Lyft or taxi, whatever they want. It’s just not fair. And it has put me in unsafe situations,” Hess told the I-Team. 

Last fall, she had all her travel planned out so she could attend the Sabrina Carpenter concert in Baltimore. But a delayed train back to D.C. got her to Union Station at 1 a.m., leaving her with few options.

“I was forced to walk home alone in the middle of the night.”

Both she and Mack say it isn’t like this everywhere. In New York City, there are more than 12,000 wheelchair accessible taxis and ride share vehicles, according to the NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission.

The city said 46% of its taxi fleet is wheelchair accessible. By law, anyone who now wants to start driving for ride shares has to use an accessible vehicle there.

news Apr 3

Disability advocates sue Social Security Administration and DOGE to stop service cuts

Health care Mar 23

Parents of children with disabilities say Medicaid cuts will put livelihoods, kids' health at risk

Metro (WMATA) Dec 19, 2024

MetroAccess customer satisfaction declining

Back in D.C., Uber has some accessible vehicles, but did not respond to our questions about how many.

While Lyft offers accessible rides in nine other cities, it does not in the District. A spokesperson told the I Team it “will continue to push for solutions that make rideshare as accessible as possible for everyone.”

As for taxis, none of the larger companies in town would talk to News4 on camera. But they did admit it’s a challenge, saying wheelchair accessible taxis are both expensive to buy and costly to maintain due mostly to their weight and modifications.

That could explain why the I-Team found so many out-of-commission vehicles in taxi lots with markings that read “junk” and “need engine and transmission.”

Back at Mack’s apartment, she still waited for confirmation her taxi was on the way. It’s been so frustrating for her that she started keeping track of all her taxi calls for the last three years.

“I had 72 attempted trips,” she said. “I averaged those years and came out with a 71% failure rate.”

Which is exactly what happened on the day we hung out with her. 

“We’ll wait a few more minutes and then probably gear up, put on the coat, head out,” she said.

But that taxi never came.

Ella Robinson contributed reporting to this investigation.

“This is the part where you kind of wait and see,” said Mack, watching her phone.

She’s used a wheelchair since she was 10 — moved to D.C. after college, she said, because our city was trying to be more accessible. When the I-Team asked if the city was keeping its promise, she responded, “Here and there.”

D.C. does has a few options for passengers with wheelchairs.

Metro trains and buses are accessible. MetroAccess works too, but it requires setting up rides days in advance and being willing to wait.

The Transport DC program offers subsidized taxi rides, but only within the district.

When it comes to ride share companies like Uber and Lyft, the District does not require them to have wheelchair accessible vehicles — even though they account for 95% of all the for-hire rides here.

That leaves taxis, which make up just 5% of all for-hire trips in D.C. Taxis are District regulated and provided 23,000 trips for people who use wheelchairs last year.

“I call it the Yeti, because it’s rumored to exist, but, you know, I rarely ever see it,” exclaimed a frustrated Mack while waiting on a taxi she had reserved days before we met up.

The District has worked to increase service. D.C. has a law mandating 20% of large cab fleets be wheelchair accessible, but the I-Team couldn’t find it’s ever been enforced.

The head of the Department of For-Hire Vehicles (DFHV) told the I-Team, “we can’t punish them into compliance.”

Passenger Naomi Hess was hopeful last year when D.C. set aside $500,000 to incentivize cabdrivers to operate Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles -paying more per hour or to work late hours.

“There really, really needs to be progress,” said Hess.  The city even set up a  Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle (WAV) hotline for people to get connected.

“I tried that pilot line multiple times and they just couldn’t find one for me. Where is the money going?” asked Hess.

The city already spent $255,000 in that pilot program and told the I-Team it generated 435 taxi trips from June to December. That’s $586 per ride.

Jonathan Rogers — the Director of DFHV, which spearheaded the pilot — wouldn’t talk to News4 on camera, but said “Council encouraged us to experiment and figure out what would change behavior… so that’s what we did.”

He said he hoped it would build momentum, and that the six new drivers with accessible vehicles added, would stick with it.

The department just launched a new pilot program in March, and says it’s offering more incentives to taxi companies and drivers. Plus, a spokesperson said it would be sending letters to all taxi companies asking for their long-term plans to address the issue.

“Anyone without a wheelchair can get an Uber, Lyft or taxi, whatever they want. It’s just not fair. And it has put me in unsafe situations,” Hess told the I-Team. 

Last fall, she had all her travel planned out so she could attend the Sabrina Carpenter concert in Baltimore. But a delayed train back to D.C. got her to Union Station at 1 a.m., leaving her with few options.

“I was forced to walk home alone in the middle of the night.”

Both she and Mack say it isn’t like this everywhere. In New York City, there are more than 12,000 wheelchair accessible taxis and ride share vehicles, according to the NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission.

The city said 46% of its taxi fleet is wheelchair accessible. By law, anyone who now wants to start driving for ride shares has to use an accessible vehicle there.

news Apr 3

Disability advocates sue Social Security Administration and DOGE to stop service cuts

Health care Mar 23

Parents of children with disabilities say Medicaid cuts will put livelihoods, kids' health at risk

Metro (WMATA) Dec 19, 2024

MetroAccess customer satisfaction declining

Back in D.C., Uber has some accessible vehicles, but did not respond to our questions about how many.

While Lyft offers accessible rides in nine other cities, it does not in the District. A spokesperson told the I Team it “will continue to push for solutions that make rideshare as accessible as possible for everyone.”

As for taxis, none of the larger companies in town would talk to News4 on camera. But they did admit it’s a challenge, saying wheelchair accessible taxis are both expensive to buy and costly to maintain due mostly to their weight and modifications.

That could explain why the I-Team found so many out-of-commission vehicles in taxi lots with markings that read “junk” and “need engine and transmission.”

Back at Mack’s apartment, she still waited for confirmation her taxi was on the way. It’s been so frustrating for her that she started keeping track of all her taxi calls for the last three years.

“I had 72 attempted trips,” she said. “I averaged those years and came out with a 71% failure rate.”

Which is exactly what happened on the day we hung out with her. 

“We’ll wait a few more minutes and then probably gear up, put on the coat, head out,” she said.

But that taxi never came.

Ella Robinson contributed reporting to this investigation.

“This is the part where you kind of wait and see,” said Mack, watching her phone.

She’s used a wheelchair since she was 10 — moved to D.C. after college, she said, because our city was trying to be more accessible. When the I-Team asked if the city was keeping its promise, she responded, “Here and there.”

D.C. does has a few options for passengers with wheelchairs.

Metro trains and buses are accessible. MetroAccess works too, but it requires setting up rides days in advance and being willing to wait.

The Transport DC program offers subsidized taxi rides, but only within the district.

When it comes to ride share companies like Uber and Lyft, the District does not require them to have wheelchair accessible vehicles — even though they account for 95% of all the for-hire rides here.

That leaves taxis, which make up just 5% of all for-hire trips in D.C. Taxis are District regulated and provided 23,000 trips for people who use wheelchairs last year.

“I call it the Yeti, because it’s rumored to exist, but, you know, I rarely ever see it,” exclaimed a frustrated Mack while waiting on a taxi she had reserved days before we met up.

The District has worked to increase service. D.C. has a law mandating 20% of large cab fleets be wheelchair accessible, but the I-Team couldn’t find it’s ever been enforced.

The head of the Department of For-Hire Vehicles (DFHV) told the I-Team, “we can’t punish them into compliance.”

Passenger Naomi Hess was hopeful last year when D.C. set aside $500,000 to incentivize cabdrivers to operate Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles -paying more per hour or to work late hours.

“There really, really needs to be progress,” said Hess.  The city even set up a  Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle (WAV) hotline for people to get connected.

“I tried that pilot line multiple times and they just couldn’t find one for me. Where is the money going?” asked Hess.

The city already spent $255,000 in that pilot program and told the I-Team it generated 435 taxi trips from June to December. That’s $586 per ride.

Jonathan Rogers — the Director of DFHV, which spearheaded the pilot — wouldn’t talk to News4 on camera, but said “Council encouraged us to experiment and figure out what would change behavior… so that’s what we did.”

He said he hoped it would build momentum, and that the six new drivers with accessible vehicles added, would stick with it.

The department just launched a new pilot program in March, and says it’s offering more incentives to taxi companies and drivers. Plus, a spokesperson said it would be sending letters to all taxi companies asking for their long-term plans to address the issue.

“Anyone without a wheelchair can get an Uber, Lyft or taxi, whatever they want. It’s just not fair. And it has put me in unsafe situations,” Hess told the I-Team. 

Last fall, she had all her travel planned out so she could attend the Sabrina Carpenter concert in Baltimore. But a delayed train back to D.C. got her to Union Station at 1 a.m., leaving her with few options.

“I was forced to walk home alone in the middle of the night.”

Both she and Mack say it isn’t like this everywhere. In New York City, there are more than 12,000 wheelchair accessible taxis and ride share vehicles, according to the NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission.

The city said 46% of its taxi fleet is wheelchair accessible. By law, anyone who now wants to start driving for ride shares has to use an accessible vehicle there.

news Apr 3

Disability advocates sue Social Security Administration and DOGE to stop service cuts

Health care Mar 23

Parents of children with disabilities say Medicaid cuts will put livelihoods, kids' health at risk

Metro (WMATA) Dec 19, 2024

MetroAccess customer satisfaction declining

Back in D.C., Uber has some accessible vehicles, but did not respond to our questions about how many.

While Lyft offers accessible rides in nine other cities, it does not in the District. A spokesperson told the I Team it “will continue to push for solutions that make rideshare as accessible as possible for everyone.”

As for taxis, none of the larger companies in town would talk to News4 on camera. But they did admit it’s a challenge, saying wheelchair accessible taxis are both expensive to buy and costly to maintain due mostly to their weight and modifications.

That could explain why the I-Team found so many out-of-commission vehicles in taxi lots with markings that read “junk” and “need engine and transmission.”

Back at Mack’s apartment, she still waited for confirmation her taxi was on the way. It’s been so frustrating for her that she started keeping track of all her taxi calls for the last three years.

“I had 72 attempted trips,” she said. “I averaged those years and came out with a 71% failure rate.”

Which is exactly what happened on the day we hung out with her. 

“We’ll wait a few more minutes and then probably gear up, put on the coat, head out,” she said.

But that taxi never came.

Ella Robinson contributed reporting to this investigation.

To their delight, the 44th president made a cameo in their family photos early Monday.

“It was perfect,” mom Portia Moore said.

Her daughter and son were standing under a cherry tree as family photographer Briana Inell snapped her shutter. Moore was focused on keeping her kids safe.

“Of course, I’m paying attention to my son, making sure he doesn’t run into the water. He’s 20 months old,” she said.

What her husband said at the same time didn’t quite register.

“My husband’s like, ‘That’s Obama!’ I didn’t know what he was saying. I was like, ‘Yeah, whatever. I’m looking at Preston right now,’” Moore recalled.

As she picked up her son, she asked her husband, “What did you just say?’”

“That’s Obama!” he replied.

“I was like, ‘Well, did we get a picture?!’ We went to the photographer and she scrolled back and were like, ‘We got it!’” Moore said.

The photos show Obama wearing a baseball cap as he took a casual morning stroll along the Tidal Basin – and photobombing little Belle and Preston Thomas along the way.

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Inell, the photographer, said the moment will stick with her.

“Usually, I’m editing all of the tourists out of the backgrounds for all my clients anyways, but this is the one photo that I won’t be editing out this person,” she said.

So, is it safe to say Moore knows which photo will go on her family’s Christmas card?

“Oh, my goodness. One hundred percent. I didn’t even think about that. Yes, it is!” she said.

If she could go back and tell Obama something, she would have this message: “Come for next year’s shoot. Same place, same time, same date. We’ll be here.”

Obama later saw the photo on Instagram and commented saying, “Preston and Belle, I hope you enjoyed peak bloom! My bad for stepping into the shot.”

He also shared his own peak bloom photos from the Tidal Basin.

In an appearance Thursday at Hamilton College, Obama was asked about his accidental photobomb.

“I felt terrible. I’m not used to walking around, so I screwed that one up,” he said.

Sign up for our free deep-dive newsletter, The 4Front, to get standout News4 stories sent right to your inbox. Subscribe here.

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“This is the part where you kind of wait and see,” said Mack, watching her phone.

She’s used a wheelchair since she was 10 — moved to D.C. after college, she said, because our city was trying to be more accessible. When the I-Team asked if the city was keeping its promise, she responded, “Here and there.”

D.C. does has a few options for passengers with wheelchairs.

Metro trains and buses are accessible. MetroAccess works too, but it requires setting up rides days in advance and being willing to wait.

The Transport DC program offers subsidized taxi rides, but only within the district.

When it comes to ride share companies like Uber and Lyft, the District does not require them to have wheelchair accessible vehicles — even though they account for 95% of all the for-hire rides here.

That leaves taxis, which make up just 5% of all for-hire trips in D.C. Taxis are District regulated and provided 23,000 trips for people who use wheelchairs last year.

“I call it the Yeti, because it’s rumored to exist, but, you know, I rarely ever see it,” exclaimed a frustrated Mack while waiting on a taxi she had reserved days before we met up.

The District has worked to increase service. D.C. has a law mandating 20% of large cab fleets be wheelchair accessible, but the I-Team couldn’t find it’s ever been enforced.

The head of the Department of For-Hire Vehicles (DFHV) told the I-Team, “we can’t punish them into compliance.”

Passenger Naomi Hess was hopeful last year when D.C. set aside $500,000 to incentivize cabdrivers to operate Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles -paying more per hour or to work late hours.

“There really, really needs to be progress,” said Hess.  The city even set up a  Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle (WAV) hotline for people to get connected.

“I tried that pilot line multiple times and they just couldn’t find one for me. Where is the money going?” asked Hess.

The city already spent $255,000 in that pilot program and told the I-Team it generated 435 taxi trips from June to December. That’s $586 per ride.

Jonathan Rogers — the Director of DFHV, which spearheaded the pilot — wouldn’t talk to News4 on camera, but said “Council encouraged us to experiment and figure out what would change behavior… so that’s what we did.”

He said he hoped it would build momentum, and that the six new drivers with accessible vehicles added, would stick with it.

The department just launched a new pilot program in March, and says it’s offering more incentives to taxi companies and drivers. Plus, a spokesperson said it would be sending letters to all taxi companies asking for their long-term plans to address the issue.

“Anyone without a wheelchair can get an Uber, Lyft or taxi, whatever they want. It’s just not fair. And it has put me in unsafe situations,” Hess told the I-Team. 

Last fall, she had all her travel planned out so she could attend the Sabrina Carpenter concert in Baltimore. But a delayed train back to D.C. got her to Union Station at 1 a.m., leaving her with few options.

“I was forced to walk home alone in the middle of the night.”

Both she and Mack say it isn’t like this everywhere. In New York City, there are more than 12,000 wheelchair accessible taxis and ride share vehicles, according to the NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission.

The city said 46% of its taxi fleet is wheelchair accessible. By law, anyone who now wants to start driving for ride shares has to use an accessible vehicle there.

news Apr 3

Disability advocates sue Social Security Administration and DOGE to stop service cuts

Health care Mar 23

Parents of children with disabilities say Medicaid cuts will put livelihoods, kids' health at risk

Metro (WMATA) Dec 19, 2024

MetroAccess customer satisfaction declining

Back in D.C., Uber has some accessible vehicles, but did not respond to our questions about how many.

While Lyft offers accessible rides in nine other cities, it does not in the District. A spokesperson told the I Team it “will continue to push for solutions that make rideshare as accessible as possible for everyone.”

As for taxis, none of the larger companies in town would talk to News4 on camera. But they did admit it’s a challenge, saying wheelchair accessible taxis are both expensive to buy and costly to maintain due mostly to their weight and modifications.

That could explain why the I-Team found so many out-of-commission vehicles in taxi lots with markings that read “junk” and “need engine and transmission.”

Back at Mack’s apartment, she still waited for confirmation her taxi was on the way. It’s been so frustrating for her that she started keeping track of all her taxi calls for the last three years.

“I had 72 attempted trips,” she said. “I averaged those years and came out with a 71% failure rate.”

Which is exactly what happened on the day we hung out with her. 

“We’ll wait a few more minutes and then probably gear up, put on the coat, head out,” she said.

But that taxi never came.

Ella Robinson contributed reporting to this investigation.

“This is the part where you kind of wait and see,” said Mack, watching her phone.

She’s used a wheelchair since she was 10 — moved to D.C. after college, she said, because our city was trying to be more accessible. When the I-Team asked if the city was keeping its promise, she responded, “Here and there.”

D.C. does has a few options for passengers with wheelchairs.

Metro trains and buses are accessible. MetroAccess works too, but it requires setting up rides days in advance and being willing to wait.

The Transport DC program offers subsidized taxi rides, but only within the district.

When it comes to ride share companies like Uber and Lyft, the District does not require them to have wheelchair accessible vehicles — even though they account for 95% of all the for-hire rides here.

That leaves taxis, which make up just 5% of all for-hire trips in D.C. Taxis are District regulated and provided 23,000 trips for people who use wheelchairs last year.

“I call it the Yeti, because it’s rumored to exist, but, you know, I rarely ever see it,” exclaimed a frustrated Mack while waiting on a taxi she had reserved days before we met up.

The District has worked to increase service. D.C. has a law mandating 20% of large cab fleets be wheelchair accessible, but the I-Team couldn’t find it’s ever been enforced.

The head of the Department of For-Hire Vehicles (DFHV) told the I-Team, “we can’t punish them into compliance.”

Passenger Naomi Hess was hopeful last year when D.C. set aside $500,000 to incentivize cabdrivers to operate Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles -paying more per hour or to work late hours.

“There really, really needs to be progress,” said Hess.  The city even set up a  Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle (WAV) hotline for people to get connected.

“I tried that pilot line multiple times and they just couldn’t find one for me. Where is the money going?” asked Hess.

The city already spent $255,000 in that pilot program and told the I-Team it generated 435 taxi trips from June to December. That’s $586 per ride.

Jonathan Rogers — the Director of DFHV, which spearheaded the pilot — wouldn’t talk to News4 on camera, but said “Council encouraged us to experiment and figure out what would change behavior… so that’s what we did.”

He said he hoped it would build momentum, and that the six new drivers with accessible vehicles added, would stick with it.

The department just launched a new pilot program in March, and says it’s offering more incentives to taxi companies and drivers. Plus, a spokesperson said it would be sending letters to all taxi companies asking for their long-term plans to address the issue.

“Anyone without a wheelchair can get an Uber, Lyft or taxi, whatever they want. It’s just not fair. And it has put me in unsafe situations,” Hess told the I-Team. 

Last fall, she had all her travel planned out so she could attend the Sabrina Carpenter concert in Baltimore. But a delayed train back to D.C. got her to Union Station at 1 a.m., leaving her with few options.

“I was forced to walk home alone in the middle of the night.”

Both she and Mack say it isn’t like this everywhere. In New York City, there are more than 12,000 wheelchair accessible taxis and ride share vehicles, according to the NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission.

The city said 46% of its taxi fleet is wheelchair accessible. By law, anyone who now wants to start driving for ride shares has to use an accessible vehicle there.

news Apr 3

Disability advocates sue Social Security Administration and DOGE to stop service cuts

Health care Mar 23

Parents of children with disabilities say Medicaid cuts will put livelihoods, kids' health at risk

Metro (WMATA) Dec 19, 2024

MetroAccess customer satisfaction declining

Back in D.C., Uber has some accessible vehicles, but did not respond to our questions about how many.

While Lyft offers accessible rides in nine other cities, it does not in the District. A spokesperson told the I Team it “will continue to push for solutions that make rideshare as accessible as possible for everyone.”

As for taxis, none of the larger companies in town would talk to News4 on camera. But they did admit it’s a challenge, saying wheelchair accessible taxis are both expensive to buy and costly to maintain due mostly to their weight and modifications.

That could explain why the I-Team found so many out-of-commission vehicles in taxi lots with markings that read “junk” and “need engine and transmission.”

Back at Mack’s apartment, she still waited for confirmation her taxi was on the way. It’s been so frustrating for her that she started keeping track of all her taxi calls for the last three years.

“I had 72 attempted trips,” she said. “I averaged those years and came out with a 71% failure rate.”

Which is exactly what happened on the day we hung out with her. 

“We’ll wait a few more minutes and then probably gear up, put on the coat, head out,” she said.

But that taxi never came.

Ella Robinson contributed reporting to this investigation.

“This is the part where you kind of wait and see,” said Mack, watching her phone.

She’s used a wheelchair since she was 10 — moved to D.C. after college, she said, because our city was trying to be more accessible. When the I-Team asked if the city was keeping its promise, she responded, “Here and there.”

D.C. does has a few options for passengers with wheelchairs.

Metro trains and buses are accessible. MetroAccess works too, but it requires setting up rides days in advance and being willing to wait.

The Transport DC program offers subsidized taxi rides, but only within the district.

When it comes to ride share companies like Uber and Lyft, the District does not require them to have wheelchair accessible vehicles — even though they account for 95% of all the for-hire rides here.

That leaves taxis, which make up just 5% of all for-hire trips in D.C. Taxis are District regulated and provided 23,000 trips for people who use wheelchairs last year.

“I call it the Yeti, because it’s rumored to exist, but, you know, I rarely ever see it,” exclaimed a frustrated Mack while waiting on a taxi she had reserved days before we met up.

The District has worked to increase service. D.C. has a law mandating 20% of large cab fleets be wheelchair accessible, but the I-Team couldn’t find it’s ever been enforced.

The head of the Department of For-Hire Vehicles (DFHV) told the I-Team, “we can’t punish them into compliance.”

Passenger Naomi Hess was hopeful last year when D.C. set aside $500,000 to incentivize cabdrivers to operate Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles -paying more per hour or to work late hours.

“There really, really needs to be progress,” said Hess.  The city even set up a  Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle (WAV) hotline for people to get connected.

“I tried that pilot line multiple times and they just couldn’t find one for me. Where is the money going?” asked Hess.

The city already spent $255,000 in that pilot program and told the I-Team it generated 435 taxi trips from June to December. That’s $586 per ride.

Jonathan Rogers — the Director of DFHV, which spearheaded the pilot — wouldn’t talk to News4 on camera, but said “Council encouraged us to experiment and figure out what would change behavior… so that’s what we did.”

He said he hoped it would build momentum, and that the six new drivers with accessible vehicles added, would stick with it.

The department just launched a new pilot program in March, and says it’s offering more incentives to taxi companies and drivers. Plus, a spokesperson said it would be sending letters to all taxi companies asking for their long-term plans to address the issue.

“Anyone without a wheelchair can get an Uber, Lyft or taxi, whatever they want. It’s just not fair. And it has put me in unsafe situations,” Hess told the I-Team. 

Last fall, she had all her travel planned out so she could attend the Sabrina Carpenter concert in Baltimore. But a delayed train back to D.C. got her to Union Station at 1 a.m., leaving her with few options.

“I was forced to walk home alone in the middle of the night.”

Both she and Mack say it isn’t like this everywhere. In New York City, there are more than 12,000 wheelchair accessible taxis and ride share vehicles, according to the NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission.

The city said 46% of its taxi fleet is wheelchair accessible. By law, anyone who now wants to start driving for ride shares has to use an accessible vehicle there.

news Apr 3

Disability advocates sue Social Security Administration and DOGE to stop service cuts

Health care Mar 23

Parents of children with disabilities say Medicaid cuts will put livelihoods, kids' health at risk

Metro (WMATA) Dec 19, 2024

MetroAccess customer satisfaction declining

Back in D.C., Uber has some accessible vehicles, but did not respond to our questions about how many.

While Lyft offers accessible rides in nine other cities, it does not in the District. A spokesperson told the I Team it “will continue to push for solutions that make rideshare as accessible as possible for everyone.”

As for taxis, none of the larger companies in town would talk to News4 on camera. But they did admit it’s a challenge, saying wheelchair accessible taxis are both expensive to buy and costly to maintain due mostly to their weight and modifications.

That could explain why the I-Team found so many out-of-commission vehicles in taxi lots with markings that read “junk” and “need engine and transmission.”

Back at Mack’s apartment, she still waited for confirmation her taxi was on the way. It’s been so frustrating for her that she started keeping track of all her taxi calls for the last three years.

“I had 72 attempted trips,” she said. “I averaged those years and came out with a 71% failure rate.”

Which is exactly what happened on the day we hung out with her. 

“We’ll wait a few more minutes and then probably gear up, put on the coat, head out,” she said.

But that taxi never came.

Ella Robinson contributed reporting to this investigation.

“This is the part where you kind of wait and see,” said Mack, watching her phone.

She’s used a wheelchair since she was 10 — moved to D.C. after college, she said, because our city was trying to be more accessible. When the I-Team asked if the city was keeping its promise, she responded, “Here and there.”

D.C. does has a few options for passengers with wheelchairs.

Metro trains and buses are accessible. MetroAccess works too, but it requires setting up rides days in advance and being willing to wait.

The Transport DC program offers subsidized taxi rides, but only within the district.

When it comes to ride share companies like Uber and Lyft, the District does not require them to have wheelchair accessible vehicles — even though they account for 95% of all the for-hire rides here.

That leaves taxis, which make up just 5% of all for-hire trips in D.C. Taxis are District regulated and provided 23,000 trips for people who use wheelchairs last year.

“I call it the Yeti, because it’s rumored to exist, but, you know, I rarely ever see it,” exclaimed a frustrated Mack while waiting on a taxi she had reserved days before we met up.

The District has worked to increase service. D.C. has a law mandating 20% of large cab fleets be wheelchair accessible, but the I-Team couldn’t find it’s ever been enforced.

The head of the Department of For-Hire Vehicles (DFHV) told the I-Team, “we can’t punish them into compliance.”

Passenger Naomi Hess was hopeful last year when D.C. set aside $500,000 to incentivize cabdrivers to operate Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles -paying more per hour or to work late hours.

“There really, really needs to be progress,” said Hess.  The city even set up a  Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle (WAV) hotline for people to get connected.

“I tried that pilot line multiple times and they just couldn’t find one for me. Where is the money going?” asked Hess.

The city already spent $255,000 in that pilot program and told the I-Team it generated 435 taxi trips from June to December. That’s $586 per ride.

Jonathan Rogers — the Director of DFHV, which spearheaded the pilot — wouldn’t talk to News4 on camera, but said “Council encouraged us to experiment and figure out what would change behavior… so that’s what we did.”

He said he hoped it would build momentum, and that the six new drivers with accessible vehicles added, would stick with it.

The department just launched a new pilot program in March, and says it’s offering more incentives to taxi companies and drivers. Plus, a spokesperson said it would be sending letters to all taxi companies asking for their long-term plans to address the issue.

“Anyone without a wheelchair can get an Uber, Lyft or taxi, whatever they want. It’s just not fair. And it has put me in unsafe situations,” Hess told the I-Team. 

Last fall, she had all her travel planned out so she could attend the Sabrina Carpenter concert in Baltimore. But a delayed train back to D.C. got her to Union Station at 1 a.m., leaving her with few options.

“I was forced to walk home alone in the middle of the night.”

Both she and Mack say it isn’t like this everywhere. In New York City, there are more than 12,000 wheelchair accessible taxis and ride share vehicles, according to the NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission.

The city said 46% of its taxi fleet is wheelchair accessible. By law, anyone who now wants to start driving for ride shares has to use an accessible vehicle there.

news Apr 3

Disability advocates sue Social Security Administration and DOGE to stop service cuts

Health care Mar 23

Parents of children with disabilities say Medicaid cuts will put livelihoods, kids' health at risk

Metro (WMATA) Dec 19, 2024

MetroAccess customer satisfaction declining

Back in D.C., Uber has some accessible vehicles, but did not respond to our questions about how many.

While Lyft offers accessible rides in nine other cities, it does not in the District. A spokesperson told the I Team it “will continue to push for solutions that make rideshare as accessible as possible for everyone.”

As for taxis, none of the larger companies in town would talk to News4 on camera. But they did admit it’s a challenge, saying wheelchair accessible taxis are both expensive to buy and costly to maintain due mostly to their weight and modifications.

That could explain why the I-Team found so many out-of-commission vehicles in taxi lots with markings that read “junk” and “need engine and transmission.”

Back at Mack’s apartment, she still waited for confirmation her taxi was on the way. It’s been so frustrating for her that she started keeping track of all her taxi calls for the last three years.

“I had 72 attempted trips,” she said. “I averaged those years and came out with a 71% failure rate.”

Which is exactly what happened on the day we hung out with her. 

“We’ll wait a few more minutes and then probably gear up, put on the coat, head out,” she said.

But that taxi never came.

Ella Robinson contributed reporting to this investigation.

The clock may be ticking on the cherry blossoms’ peak bloom, but we’re still counting down to plenty of exciting events for the National Cherry Blossom Festival.

April is the perfect time to embrace the finer things. Stop and smell some flowers literally (but don’t touch!), or pace yourself at a museum for Slow Art Day on Saturday. It is National Poetry Month and Jazz Appreciation Month, too! D.C.’s Words, Beats & Life festival lets you dabble in poetry and music all week.

Jane Austen fans, take note: “Pride & Prejudice” is returning to theaters in celebration of its 20th anniversary.

Here’s what else to do this week in the Washington, D.C. area.

What to do in Washington, D.C.

Fighting for Freedom: Black Craftspeople and the Pursuit of Independence: Through Dec. 31, Daughters of the American Revolution Museum, free (also see the family crafts on Saturdays)

Mexico in a Bottle: Mon., 6 p.m., Mexican Cultural Institute, $60-$75

Tidal Basin Run: Tues., 6:30-8 p.m., meet at Smithsonian Metro, $5-$25

Yogalates with Kaya: 7 p.m., Eaton DC, $25

Music Bingo at BUDDY’S DC: Weds., 7 p.m., 3234 11th Street NW, free

Phillips after 5: Cherry Blossom Jamboree: Thurs., 5-8:30 p.m., The Phillips Collection, $20; free for members

Words, Beats & Life festival: Thurs. to Sun., various locations, free

Verona Quartet with Wu Man: Thurs., 7:30 p.m., Asian Art Museum, free (or $6 to reserve seats online)

The Garden Open Mic for all ages: Fri., 7-10 p.m., BloomBars, $7

Capital Art Book Fair: Sat. and Sun., Eastern Market’s North Hall, free

Awesome Con: Fri. to Sun., Washington Convention Center, $65+ (adult)/$25+ (kids)

Weaving Family Threads puppet show and demonstration: Sat. and Sun., National Museum of the American Indian, free

Black Out Poetry: From African Prose to Poetry drop-in activity: Sat., 1-4 p.m., African Art Museum, free

Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Mile, 5K and Kids Run: Sat. and Sun., near the National Mall

Bridge District: Move & Bloom: Sat., 9 a.m. to noon, Southeast D.C., free

April Family Day: Japanese Culture Day: Sat., 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Thomas Jefferson Building, free

Petalpalooza: Sat., 1-9 p.m., Capitol Riverfront (fireworks visible from Anacostia Park), free

DC Defenders Blossom Bowl: Sat., 1:30-7 p.m., Audi Field, $33

City Cruises Live with Joey Fatone of *NSYNC and Wanyá Morris of Boyz II Men: Sat., departs from The Wharf, $410+

Screening – “The Wedding Banquet” with director Andrew Ahn: Sat., 2 p.m., Asian Art Museum, free (advance registration recommended)

Free admission at the National Museum of Women in the Arts: Sun., Northwest D.C., free

Jazz and Blossoms: Sun., noon to 7:30 p.m., Franklin Park, free

Last chance – “The ’70s Lens: Reimagining Documentary Photography”: Through Sun., National Gallery of Art, free

Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra Jazz at the Cotton Club: Sun., 7 p.m., Natural History Museum, $30-$40

Underground Comedy at Wonderland Ballroom: Sun., 8 p.m., 1101 Kenyon St NW, free

Taste of Pride 2025: Through July

What to do in Maryland

Bethesda Film Fest: Fri. and Sat., Landmark’s Bethesda Row Cinema, $15

Muddy Waters 112th Birthday featuring The Nighthawks: Fri., 9 p.m., Hank Dietle’s Tavern in Rockville, $23.18

Paranormal Cirque III: Fri. to Sat., Gaithersburg, $20-$65

Comedy show – Grown-Up Comedian Barbies: Sat., 7-10 p.m., Maryland Meadworks in Hyattsville, free

Mount Rainier Community Yard Sale: Sat., 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

What to do in Virginia

Burnside Farms Festival of Spring: April 4-21, Nokesville, $19-$25

Friends to Lovers bookstore Grand (Re)Opening: Thurs. and Fri., Alexandria, $10

Quantico 15th Annual International Wine & Food Festival: Fri., 4-8 p.m., The Clubs at Quantico, $50

ALX Dog Walk emceed by NBC4’s Chuck Bell: Sat. 7-11 a.m., Oronoco Bay Park in Alexandria, free

Celebrate Reston!: Sat., 11:45 a.m. to 4 p.m., Lake Anne Plaza, free

Del Ray Dog Fest: Sun., 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., George Washington Middle School Parking Lot in Alexandria, $10-$50

Paint Your Pet N Sip: Sun., 2-4 p.m., Breaux Vineyards in Purcellville, $55

Want to know what’s up for your weekend? Sign up for The Weekend Scene, our newsletter about events, experiences and adventures for you and for your family around the DMV.

“This is the part where you kind of wait and see,” said Mack, watching her phone.

She’s used a wheelchair since she was 10 — moved to D.C. after college, she said, because our city was trying to be more accessible. When the I-Team asked if the city was keeping its promise, she responded, “Here and there.”

D.C. does has a few options for passengers with wheelchairs.

Metro trains and buses are accessible. MetroAccess works too, but it requires setting up rides days in advance and being willing to wait.

The Transport DC program offers subsidized taxi rides, but only within the district.

When it comes to ride share companies like Uber and Lyft, the District does not require them to have wheelchair accessible vehicles — even though they account for 95% of all the for-hire rides here.

That leaves taxis, which make up just 5% of all for-hire trips in D.C. Taxis are District regulated and provided 23,000 trips for people who use wheelchairs last year.

“I call it the Yeti, because it’s rumored to exist, but, you know, I rarely ever see it,” exclaimed a frustrated Mack while waiting on a taxi she had reserved days before we met up.

The District has worked to increase service. D.C. has a law mandating 20% of large cab fleets be wheelchair accessible, but the I-Team couldn’t find it’s ever been enforced.

The head of the Department of For-Hire Vehicles (DFHV) told the I-Team, “we can’t punish them into compliance.”

Passenger Naomi Hess was hopeful last year when D.C. set aside $500,000 to incentivize cabdrivers to operate Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles -paying more per hour or to work late hours.

“There really, really needs to be progress,” said Hess.  The city even set up a  Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle (WAV) hotline for people to get connected.

“I tried that pilot line multiple times and they just couldn’t find one for me. Where is the money going?” asked Hess.

The city already spent $255,000 in that pilot program and told the I-Team it generated 435 taxi trips from June to December. That’s $586 per ride.

Jonathan Rogers — the Director of DFHV, which spearheaded the pilot — wouldn’t talk to News4 on camera, but said “Council encouraged us to experiment and figure out what would change behavior… so that’s what we did.”

He said he hoped it would build momentum, and that the six new drivers with accessible vehicles added, would stick with it.

The department just launched a new pilot program in March, and says it’s offering more incentives to taxi companies and drivers. Plus, a spokesperson said it would be sending letters to all taxi companies asking for their long-term plans to address the issue.

“Anyone without a wheelchair can get an Uber, Lyft or taxi, whatever they want. It’s just not fair. And it has put me in unsafe situations,” Hess told the I-Team. 

Last fall, she had all her travel planned out so she could attend the Sabrina Carpenter concert in Baltimore. But a delayed train back to D.C. got her to Union Station at 1 a.m., leaving her with few options.

“I was forced to walk home alone in the middle of the night.”

Both she and Mack say it isn’t like this everywhere. In New York City, there are more than 12,000 wheelchair accessible taxis and ride share vehicles, according to the NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission.

The city said 46% of its taxi fleet is wheelchair accessible. By law, anyone who now wants to start driving for ride shares has to use an accessible vehicle there.

news Apr 3

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Metro (WMATA) Dec 19, 2024

MetroAccess customer satisfaction declining

Back in D.C., Uber has some accessible vehicles, but did not respond to our questions about how many.

While Lyft offers accessible rides in nine other cities, it does not in the District. A spokesperson told the I Team it “will continue to push for solutions that make rideshare as accessible as possible for everyone.”

As for taxis, none of the larger companies in town would talk to News4 on camera. But they did admit it’s a challenge, saying wheelchair accessible taxis are both expensive to buy and costly to maintain due mostly to their weight and modifications.

That could explain why the I-Team found so many out-of-commission vehicles in taxi lots with markings that read “junk” and “need engine and transmission.”

Back at Mack’s apartment, she still waited for confirmation her taxi was on the way. It’s been so frustrating for her that she started keeping track of all her taxi calls for the last three years.

“I had 72 attempted trips,” she said. “I averaged those years and came out with a 71% failure rate.”

Which is exactly what happened on the day we hung out with her. 

“We’ll wait a few more minutes and then probably gear up, put on the coat, head out,” she said.

But that taxi never came.

Ella Robinson contributed reporting to this investigation.

Trump called for the House vote in a social media post Friday morning.

“The House should take up the D.C. funding ‘fix’ that the Senate has passed, and get it done IMMEDIATELY. We need to clean up our once beautiful Capital City, and make it beautiful again,” the post said in part.

D.C. has been in suspense about the fate of more than $1 billion in the city’s own funds after language in the continuing resolution to avert a government shutdown repealed D.C.’s current year budget and forced a return to the prior year’s spending levels.

Mayor Muriel Bowser and other District leaders said a cut from Congress to how D.C. can spend city funds would force devastating cuts to public services, the police department and city schools.

In her own social media post Friday afternoon, Bowser said she anticipates action by the House.

“I am pleased that President Trump supports the House immediately passing the DC funding fix, as passed by the Senate, and I look forward to the House’s swift action,” the mayor said. “And with this fix, I look forward to sending a balanced and certified budget to the Council focused on our schools, a clean and safe DC, and a robust growth agenda.”

The Senate voted against the budget change, but the House has not brought the legislation for a vote.

A major lobbying effort by Bowser and others has been underway for weeks.

“The best option is for the House to fix this, and we’re going to stay focused on the House fixing it,” the mayor said on March 17.

Bowser delayed unveiling her 2026 budget plan until the issue is resolved.

Washington DC Mar 27

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When could the House vote on DC’s budget?

The House adjourns for its spring recess on April 11, and House Republican leadership has remained vague on the topic, with Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana saying Tuesday that it was too early to confirm when the House would vote on the budget fix.

“We’re working through that,” Johnson said.

Majority Leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana said earlier this week that the District’s claim of financial ruin “sounds overstated.”

House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York said Thursday that the April 11 recess provides a natural deadline and a sense of urgency.

“It needs to happen before we go on the next district work period, which means it should occur either next week or the week after next,” Jeffries said.

Speaking before Trump’s Friday posting, Jeffries said, “apparently even Donald Trump himself has expressed support for the need to correct this egregious error.”

In remarks at a community meeting in Southeast D.C. on Tuesday, interim U.S. Attorney for D.C. Ed Martin said he urged House Republicans to oppose the budget cut.

“I made a phone call to the speaker of the House saying we need that funding. That would be taking funding that we need for our city. That was following the lead of the mayor and the city council. He said he’s going to work it out. It’s gonna be worked out. I mean, we’re not gonna lose that money, and we shouldn’t,” he said.

How Trump is focusing attention on DC

Trump’s endorsement of the budget fix comes amid a flurry of attention on the nation’s capital, with the president issuing a series of statements and executive orders targeting crime, homelessness, immigration policy and gun control in the District.

On Thursday night, Trump issued an executive order establishing the inter-departmental D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force, which he said would coordinate with local officials on such things as enforcing federal immigration law, including deporting people living illegally in the city, boosting the law enforcement presence and increasing the speed and lowering the cost of processing applications to carry concealed weapons.

“America’s capital must be a place in which residents, commuters, and tourists feel safe at all hours, including on public transit. Its highways, boulevards, and parks should be clean, well-kept, and pleasant,” the order stated. “Its monuments, museums, and buildings should reflect and inspire awe and appreciation for our Nation’s strength, greatness, and heritage.”

And despite the support for the budget fix, Trump’s Friday morning posting also came with criticism of D.C. and a warning: “We need to clean up our once beautiful Capital City, and make it beautiful again.”

“We will be TOUGH ON CRIME, like never before,” Trump wrote. “I will work with the Mayor on this and, if it does not happen, will have no choice but to do it myself.”

Eleanor Holmes Norton, the District’s non-voting delegate in the House, hailed Trump’s support for the budget fix and tied the issue into Washington’s longstanding and increasingly beleaguered campaign to become the 51st state.

“As surprised as I am to have an occasion to agree with President Trump, in this instance, we agree that D.C. should be able to spend its own local funds at its own locally enacted levels,” Norton, a Democrat, said in a statement. “This ordeal, however, only helps to highlight the need for D.C. statehood so that D.C. can finally govern itself to the same extent afforded to the states, including making decisions about how to use its own local funds.”

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The goal is to make D.C. “the pride of every American to whom it belongs,” according to the White House.

The task force, which the White House said will include members of “key government agencies,” is directed to increase police presence in public areas, maximize immigration enforcement, expedite concealed carry licenses and crack down on Metro fare evasion.

The task force will help the Metropolitan Police Department with recruitment and retention of police officers, the White House said.

The order also creates a program to “beautify Washington, D.C.” That includes restoration of federal buildings and monuments and removing graffiti and clearing homeless encampments, which Trump promised during his campaign.

D.C. delegate, residents push back

Eleanor Holmes Norton, D.C.’s delegate to Congress, blasted the order, saying crime is down and defending the District’s immigration laws.

“The task force created by the EO would not include a single D.C. official to represent the interests of the people who reside within the District,” Norton said in a statement.

During a community meeting with Ed Martin, Trump’s pick for U.S. attorney for D.C., Thursday, community members pushed back on the president’s claims that crime is on the rise in D.C.

“Mr. Trump is a violator of the law, of the Constitution and does not care about the District of Columbia. Our crime is down,” resident Robert Vinson said. “When the president speaks about making D.C. safe again, D.C. is safe.”

Many residents at the meeting questioned what Trump’s effort would look like. 

Just to give you some perspective, a representative for D.C.police said overall total violent crime is down 27% from this time last year.

What President Trump has said about D.C.

Earlier this month, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy sent letters to Amtrak, Metro and D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser asking the agencies to produce a report on crime and safety within 30 days.

In February, Trump said he supports putting D.C. directly under federal control.

“I think that we should govern District of Columbia,” Trump said. “It’s so important, the D.C. situation. I think that we should run it strong, run it with law and order, make it absolutely, flawlessly beautiful, and I think we should take over Washington, D.C., make it safe.”

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He also said he likes Bowser.

“I get along great with the mayor,” he said. “But they’re not doing the job. Too much crime. Too much graffiti. Too many tents on the lawns – these magnificent lawns, and there’s tents. And, you know, it’s a sad thing.”

News4 has reached out to the mayor’s office for comment on the executive order.

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“This is the part where you kind of wait and see,” said Mack, watching her phone.

She’s used a wheelchair since she was 10 — moved to D.C. after college, she said, because our city was trying to be more accessible. When the I-Team asked if the city was keeping its promise, she responded, “Here and there.”

D.C. does has a few options for passengers with wheelchairs.

Metro trains and buses are accessible. MetroAccess works too, but it requires setting up rides days in advance and being willing to wait.

The Transport DC program offers subsidized taxi rides, but only within the district.

When it comes to ride share companies like Uber and Lyft, the District does not require them to have wheelchair accessible vehicles — even though they account for 95% of all the for-hire rides here.

That leaves taxis, which make up just 5% of all for-hire trips in D.C. Taxis are District regulated and provided 23,000 trips for people who use wheelchairs last year.

“I call it the Yeti, because it’s rumored to exist, but, you know, I rarely ever see it,” exclaimed a frustrated Mack while waiting on a taxi she had reserved days before we met up.

The District has worked to increase service. D.C. has a law mandating 20% of large cab fleets be wheelchair accessible, but the I-Team couldn’t find it’s ever been enforced.

The head of the Department of For-Hire Vehicles (DFHV) told the I-Team, “we can’t punish them into compliance.”

Passenger Naomi Hess was hopeful last year when D.C. set aside $500,000 to incentivize cabdrivers to operate Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles -paying more per hour or to work late hours.

“There really, really needs to be progress,” said Hess.  The city even set up a  Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle (WAV) hotline for people to get connected.

“I tried that pilot line multiple times and they just couldn’t find one for me. Where is the money going?” asked Hess.

The city already spent $255,000 in that pilot program and told the I-Team it generated 435 taxi trips from June to December. That’s $586 per ride.

Jonathan Rogers — the Director of DFHV, which spearheaded the pilot — wouldn’t talk to News4 on camera, but said “Council encouraged us to experiment and figure out what would change behavior… so that’s what we did.”

He said he hoped it would build momentum, and that the six new drivers with accessible vehicles added, would stick with it.

The department just launched a new pilot program in March, and says it’s offering more incentives to taxi companies and drivers. Plus, a spokesperson said it would be sending letters to all taxi companies asking for their long-term plans to address the issue.

“Anyone without a wheelchair can get an Uber, Lyft or taxi, whatever they want. It’s just not fair. And it has put me in unsafe situations,” Hess told the I-Team. 

Last fall, she had all her travel planned out so she could attend the Sabrina Carpenter concert in Baltimore. But a delayed train back to D.C. got her to Union Station at 1 a.m., leaving her with few options.

“I was forced to walk home alone in the middle of the night.”

Both she and Mack say it isn’t like this everywhere. In New York City, there are more than 12,000 wheelchair accessible taxis and ride share vehicles, according to the NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission.

The city said 46% of its taxi fleet is wheelchair accessible. By law, anyone who now wants to start driving for ride shares has to use an accessible vehicle there.

news Apr 3

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Health care Mar 23

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Metro (WMATA) Dec 19, 2024

MetroAccess customer satisfaction declining

Back in D.C., Uber has some accessible vehicles, but did not respond to our questions about how many.

While Lyft offers accessible rides in nine other cities, it does not in the District. A spokesperson told the I Team it “will continue to push for solutions that make rideshare as accessible as possible for everyone.”

As for taxis, none of the larger companies in town would talk to News4 on camera. But they did admit it’s a challenge, saying wheelchair accessible taxis are both expensive to buy and costly to maintain due mostly to their weight and modifications.

That could explain why the I-Team found so many out-of-commission vehicles in taxi lots with markings that read “junk” and “need engine and transmission.”

Back at Mack’s apartment, she still waited for confirmation her taxi was on the way. It’s been so frustrating for her that she started keeping track of all her taxi calls for the last three years.

“I had 72 attempted trips,” she said. “I averaged those years and came out with a 71% failure rate.”

Which is exactly what happened on the day we hung out with her. 

“We’ll wait a few more minutes and then probably gear up, put on the coat, head out,” she said.

But that taxi never came.

Ella Robinson contributed reporting to this investigation.

In one of his first public appearances since being named to his new position, Marin spoke to residents in Southeast D.C. on Tuesday and didn’t hold back on his conservative policies and views.

At the monthly meeting of the Anacostia Coordinating Council, Martin said he would work with community members.

“You’re the experts on what’s happening in the community, what’s happening to your family, your businesses and your schools and your futures, and we need to listen to that more,” he said.

DC gun crime and youth crime

Martin told the crowd he’s following through on his pledge to get tough on gun crime in D.C.

“We have an initiative called Make D.C. Safe Again, and about three weeks ago we started that initiative and we decided we would charge more gun crimes in federal District Court. In just about three weeks – two-and-a-half weeks – we’ve charged 18 new cases in federal District Court, and we intend to put people who are committing crimes in our community, especially with guns, we’re gonna get them off the streets,” he said.

When Martin was asked a basic question about guns in D.C., though, he came up short.

“How many gun shops does D.C. have?” he was asked.

“I don’t know the answer. Do you know?” he replied.

“It’s none!” members of the crowd said.

On the topic of youth crime, Martin pointed some blame at D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb.

“I’m surprised that we have not had a more serious conversation about how to help those kids, because they’re being used and churned back into the system, and I don’t think that that’s a crisis enough. I don’t think the attorney general has a real plan for that going forward,” he said.

He had positive things to say about his relationship with D.C. Chief of Police Pamela Smith.

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Firing Jan. 6 prosecutors

Martin was asked about his firing of prosecutors who worked on the Jan. 6 convictions.

“We’ve got kids getting killed by stray gunfire. We’ve got kids getting killed, toddlers getting killed, by stray gunfire, and we’re going to have a debate about who thinks what about highly paid lawyers and where they work?” he said.

Immigration and the USAID shutdown

On immigration and the Trump administration shutting down USAID, he said, “I have nothing against people from other countries, but I think illegal immigration takes a lot away from our people, and we need to be honest about that.”

“When USAID sent hundreds of millions of dollars to Central Africa, didn’t you ask, ‘Why don’t you send it to 7D?’” he said.

“No!” members of the crowd responded.

“I did,” Martin said.

The DC budget cut looming ahead of a House vote

He said he’s urging House Republicans to fix the $1 billion budget cut that was included in the recent legislation that kept the federal government from shutting down.

“I made a phone call to the speaker of the House saying we need that funding. That would be taking funding that we need for our city. That was following the lead of the mayor and the city council. He said he’s going to work it out. It’s gonna be worked out. I mean, we’re not gonna lose that money, and we shouldn’t,” he said.

While Martin was open to questions from the community, as he left, he refused to take any questions from reporters.

“Just refer to our press office,” he said.

As for Martin’s comments about Schwalb, the attorney general, a spokesperson for his office said in a statement: “OAG uses every legal tool available to reduce crime across DC. That comprehensive effort includes prosecuting every serious violent juvenile offense when there is sufficient evidence to do so.”

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In a recent speech, then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau urged Canadians to “choose Canada” in response to President Donald Trump’s tariffs on the nation. He said Canadians should reconsider what they buy and where they travel.

“Now is also the time to choose Canada. There are many ways for you to do your part. It might mean checking the labels at the supermarket and picking Canadian-made products. It might mean opting for Canadian rye over Kentucky bourbon, or foregoing Florida orange juice altogether. It might mean changing your summer vacation plans to stay here in Canada and explore the many national and provincial parks, historical sites and tourist destinations our great country has to offer,” Trudeau said.

More tourists to D.C. come from Canada than from any other country, the city tourism marketing organization Destination DC said.

D.C. welcomed more than a quarter-million Canadians in 2023, up 58% from the previous year. Across the U.S., Canadians made 20.2 million visits last year, a travel association group says.

Canadians have long been the top international travelers to the U.S. Since late January, their numbers have declined.

Canada residents returned from 13% fewer trips to the U.S. by air in February than in the same month in 2024, preliminary data from Statistics Canada says.

Canada residents returning from trips to the U.S. by car declined even further, down 23% compared to last February.

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At Reagan National Airport on Tuesday night, the Air Canada arrivals area was quiet. Most arriving passengers News4 spoke with said they were Canadians visiting the D.C. area on business or Americans returning from trips to Canada.

One couple said they were visiting D.C. from Canada to see the cherry blossoms and their son, who lives in the area. News4 asked if they would visit D.C. if they were not visiting family.

“Maybe we would wait for the climate to cool down a little,” one visitor replied.

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The person who was diagnosed traveled through several places in D.C. while contagious, including an Amtrak train, officials said.

They warned about potential exposure at these locations and times:

• Amtrak Northeast Regional 175 Train Southbound on March 19, 7:30 p.m. – 1:30 a.m.
• Amtrak Concourse, Union Station, 50 Massachusetts Ave. NE, D.C., on March 19, 11 p.m.-1:30 a.m.
• MedStar Urgent Care Adams Morgan, 1805 Columbia Road NW, D.C., on March 22, 7 p.m.-11 p.m.

It wasn’t immediately clear if the D.C. measles patient had traveled internationally or was vaccinated.

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Last month, Texas health officials announced an unvaccinated child died of measles, marking the first U.S. measles death in a decade.

In all of 2024, there were 285 measles cases in the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says. Of those, 89% of patients were unvaccinated.

In recent weeks in the D.C. area, we’ve seen two measles cases in Prince George’s County and one in Howard County. Health officials said those patients had traveled internationally.

Health officials are tracking any possible spread of the highly contagious illness, said Dr. Glenn Wortmann, the director of infectious diseases at MedStar Washington Hospital Center.

“It’s being spread in communities much more widely than we have seen in the past, and the way to stop that from happening is keep your vaccination rates up,” he said.

If you believe you could have measles, call a clinic or hospital before you show up so they can prepare. They would put a mask on you, take you to a private room and try to prevent any unvaccinated people from coming into contact with you.

Wortmann said though measles is rare, most hospitals are equipped to deal with it. They have what are called negative pressure rooms to trap infected air inside.

What the D.C. Department of Health says about possible exposure

In a press release, health officials asked residents to contact the health department immediately to report any suspected cases and arrange for public health testing.

“If you have never received a measles containing vaccine (either the measles, mumps and rubella [MMR] vaccine or a measles only vaccine which is available in other countries), you may be at risk of developing measles.

Anyone who was exposed and is at risk of developing measles should watch for symptoms until 21 days following the date of their last exposure.

If you notice the symptoms of measles, immediately isolate yourself by staying home and away from others.

Contact your healthcare provider immediately. Call ahead before going to your healthcare provider’s office or the emergency room to notify them that you may have been exposed to measles and ask them to call the health department to help protect other patients and staff.“

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Councilmember Brooke Pinto put forward a new plan on Monday to keep momentum going. Her four-part “Peace DC” plan has four major components, including calling for a merger of the city’s violence interruption programs.

“We have to build on that progress and continue to fill gaps in our system and do more to promote peace so that everybody in Washington, D.C. can be safe,” said Pinto, who is chair of the council’s public safety committee.

Peace DC’s four main parts call for:

• empowering youth and strengthening neighborhood harmony
• reducing recidivism
• supporting the public safety workforce
• working to retain departments’ most senior members

Pinto explained, “You can be a firefighter, EMS, police officer or Department of Corrections facility worker and retain your retirement benefits once you earn them but still stay on the force and earn your salary. It’s something that costs the District very little money, because we would have to backfill that position anyway.”

The Peace DC plan would merge the D.C. Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement violence interrupter program with the Cure the Streets program operated by the D.C. Office of the Attorney General.

“Both programs are doing important work. It does not make sense from an efficiency perspective or from an efficacy perspective to have these two agencies not working together,” Pinto said.

The merger would bring both programs under the Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement.

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Bowser supports the plan.

“I never believed that we should have a splintered group for violence interruption,” she said.

D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb also said he supports the merger plan, “provided that in any such merger there are assurances that the program will be well-funded, supported, and effective and that there is rigorous oversight and leadership,” he said in a statement.

Cure the Streets faces criticism after one of its interrupters, Cotey Wynn, was charged with murder in a D.C. nightclub shooting from 2023.

Hearings on Peace DC will be held throughout April before it heads to the council for a vote.

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First, decide whether you want to start at the Tidal Basin, Potomac Park or the National Mall — all have plenty of cherry trees. That will also have an impact on, say, which Metro station or bus stop you’d like to use, or whether you’d like to opt for a less-common form of transportation (kayaks, we’re looking at you).

Zoom & click/tap on the interactive map below for details on each of the marked locations.

The National Park Service always encourages blossom fans to take the Metro, warning that driving is … not pleasant.

(We concur. ⬇️)

Which Metrorail stops to use for cherry blossoms

Metro won’t have any major daytime trackwork between March 10 and April 18, although crews will do some late-night track work with single-tracking after 10 p.m. on a few nights on parts of the Red and Blue/Orange/Silver lines. 

Interlude: COMING FROM OUT OF TOWN?

We hope you enjoy your time in D.C.! Here’s a quick primer on Metro (you also might see it referred to as WMATA — for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority).

What to know about Metro fare:

• Metro fare cards (known as SmarTrip cards) are used for both Metrorail and Metrobus. You can use either a plastic SmarTrip card (there’s actually a commemorative cherry blossom special edition!) or use mobile pay on your phone.

• Plan to load enough value on your card to pay for all trips you plan to take; 1-day, 3-day and 7-day passes are available for unlimited travel on rail or bus. 
• Weekend fares on Metro are $2.25-$2.50. Weekday fares are $2.25-$6.75 until 9:30 p.m. when they drop to the same cost as weekends. You can calculate your fare by using Metro’s Trip Planner.
• Each rider age 5 or older needs their own SmarTrip card.
• Riding Metrobus is free with a transfer discount if you’re transferring to or from a Metrorail line.

Parking at Metro stations:

• Parking is free on weekends at all Metro-owned parking garages and lots.
• Only some Metro stations have parking. See the list of stations with parking here.

Metro’s guide:

See Metro’s guide for new riders online here.

Track trains and buses:

You can see real-time info and service alerts on Metropulse for Metrorail and for Metrobus. Also, many wayfinding apps, such as Google Maps and Apple Maps, will show bus directions.

Which Metrobus stops to use for cherry blossoms

Several routes serve the National Mall and Tidal Basin area.

In addition to several other options, you can take the 32 or 36 bus lines to any of these stops:

• Virginia Avenue NW and E Street NW
• Pennsylvania Avenue NW and 14th St NW
• Pennsylvania Avenue NW and 13th St NW
• Pennsylvania Avenue NW and 10th St NW
• Pennsylvania Avenue NW and 7th St NW
• Independence Avenue SW and 6th Street SW

See timetables and other routes here, plus real-time info and service alerts on Metropulse. (And in case you skipped our Metro primer above — we’ll reiterate here that many wayfinding apps, such as Google Maps and Apple Maps, will show bus directions.)

Riding Metrobus is free with a transfer discount if you’re transferring to or from a Metrorail line.

Where to park when seeing cherry blossoms

Be warned that parking will be very hard to find around the National Mall and Tidal Basin during cherry blossom season. The NPS warns: “If you choose to drive, prepare for severe traffic congestion, extremely scarce parking, and altered traffic patterns including road closures and temporary one-way roads. Downtown Washington, DC is serviced by Interstate 395, Interstate 66, and US Highways 1, 29, and 50. Consider parking at a Metro station and using public transportation to reach the National Mall …”

However, if you absolutely must look for parking, the National Park Service says it may be available in these areas:

• Madison Drive NW and Jefferson Drive NW along the National Mall
• Constitution Avenue NW
• Ohio Drive SW (along the Potomac River south of the Lincoln Memorial)
• Lots A, B & C south of the Thomas Jefferson Memorial
• Limited handicapped parking is available near the memorials, but these spaces fill up quickly, according to the NPS

Parking garage info and how to pay for metered spaces:

The NPS also notes that paid parking garages are available north of Constitution Avenue NW. If you’re looking for one of those, consider trying a parking locator app, such as SpotHero.

You also might want to make sure you have the ParkMobile app downloaded to your phone ahead of time, as you can pay for street parking in D.C. (including in Potomac Park) through that app.

Remember that all Metro-owned parking garages and lots have free parking on weekends. See the list of stations with parking here.

Partial Ohio Drive SW closure:

One more important thing to note — a portion of Ohio Drive SW is shut down due to a long-term D.C. Water construction project, and not all GPS apps appear to have picked up on that yet (even as of earlier this month).

A detour is available via the recently constructed West Potomac Drive SW. See more info here.

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Where to ride or park a bike when seeing cherry blossoms

Hains Point Loop Trail:

This 4.1-mile loop offers cyclists the chance to see multiple species of cherry blossoms, as well as views of the Potomac and Anacostia rivers and the Washington Channel.

“Please watch your step as the path may contain some uneven pavement,” the NPS cautions.

You can see the loop on this easy-to-read bike trail map, which also shows points of interest.

Capital Bikeshare cherry blossom parking:

There are plenty of docking stations in the area, including these:

• Henry Bacon Drive and Lincoln Memorial Circle NW — docking station just northeast of the memorial
• Lincoln Memorial — docking station just southeast of the memorial
• 22nd Street and Constitution Avenue NW
• 17th Street and Independence Avenue SW
• 19th Street and Constitution Avenue NW
• Iwo Jima Memorial (N. Meade Street & 14th Street N. in Arlington, Virginia)

You can use Capital Bikeshare’s docking station map to see locations and check bike availability.

If you’re riding your own bike:

Bike parking is available near each of the major memorials and along the National Mall. However, remember that you can’t ride your bike within the memorials themselves, the NPS warns.

How to use Potomac Water Taxi to get to the cherry blossoms

You can board Potomac Water Taxi from Georgetown, National Harbor or Old Town Alexandria and take it to the dock at The Wharf (950 Wharf St. SW).

Then walk northwest along the waterfront and Maine Avenue SW to get to the Tidal Basin; it’s about 0.8 miles away.

Paddle boat and kayak rentals

While paddle boats and kayaks (most likely) won’t get you from your doorstep to the blossoms, it can be an amazing experience to view the blossoms from the water.

Boating in DC rents out kayaks, canoes, paddleboards, rowboats and more, which you can reserve online. There are multiple locations, including at the Wharf (710 Wharf St. SW), which — starting March 29 — will be open on weekends from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Several of the boathouses have not yet announced their spring hours, though, so call before you go.

Paddle boats are also available to rent right at the Tidal Basin daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. (The rental pavilion’s address is 1501 Maine Ave. SW.) However, only walk-up rentals are permitted for the next few weeks due to the National Cherry Blossom Festival. Advance bookings will be available starting April 14.

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The cherry blossoms are beginning to pop out across the D.C. area, so get ready for a bloom-filled end to March! Some of the National Cherry Blossom Festival’s most popular events are happening this weekend.

But it’s hardly the only thing putting a spring in our step. This week, the Nationals host Opening Day on Thursday, followed by a series against the Phillies.

Here’s what to do this week in the Washington, D.C. area.

What to do in Washington, D.C.

Nationals Homecoming Gala Fanfest + Red Carpet: Mon., Fanfest begins at 4 p.m., The Wharf, free

New York City Ballet: Coppélia: Tues., to Sun., The Kennedy Center, $57.50+

Mary J. Blige: Weds., doors at 6 p.m., Capital One Arena

DC Sketchfest: Weds. to Sat., The DC Arts Center (DCAC), priced by show

Nationals Opening Day: Thurs., game at 4:05 p.m., Nationals Park

Cherry Blossom Sip & Shop: Thurs., 5-7 p.m., Dupont Circle, free

The New Golden Age of Astronomy: Hubble’s Universe Today: Thurs., Carnegie Science’s Broad Branch Road Campus, $0-$10

Theater – “Jason’s Lyric Live!”: March 27 to May 4, The National Theatre

Cherry Blossoms Mar 19

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New exhibit – “The Two Georges: Parallel Lives in an Age of Revolution”: Opens Fri., Library of Congress, free

Washington Spirit vs. Bay FC: Fri., 8 p.m., Audi Field

EARTH to SPACE: Arts Breaking the Sky: Math 28 to April 20, The Kennedy Center, prices vary by event

Indigo & Shibori 101 workshop: Sat., 6950 Maple St NW, $15-25

Blossom Kite Festival: Sat., 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Washington Monument, free

Bloomaroo at The Wharf: Sat., 4-8 p.m., Southwest D.C., free

Nationals Opening weekend vs. Philadelphia Phillies: Sat. and Sun.

Washington DC Travel & Adventure Show: Sat. and Sun., Washington Convention Center, $18 (in advance), free for kids 16 and under

The Big Cake Exchange: Sun., 3-5 p.m., Dauphine’s restaurant, $15

DC Defenders vs. Birmingham Stallions: Sun., 3 p.m., Audi Field

What to do in Maryland

New African Film Festival: Through Thurs., AFI Silver Theatre om Silver Spring, $13 tickets

”Imagination Takes Flight” Artists’ Reception: Thurs., Bowie City Hall, free

Illusions by Vick: Fri., 8 p.m., Gaithersburg Arts Barn, $22

Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark in Concert: Fri., Sat. and Sun., Music Center at Strathmore, $28+

Paranormal Cirque III: Fri. to Sun., Frederick, $20+

Water Lantern Festival: Sat. and Sun., Spirit Park at National Harbor, $35.99 (before March 27) to $55.99 (day-of)

Sakura Sunday: Sun., noon to 5 p.m., National Harbor, free

“The Sound of (Black) Music”: Sun., Music Center at Strathmore, $20+

What to do in Virginia

Rosslyn Rivals: Happy Hour Bingo: Tues., 5:30–7:30 p.m., Bennett Park Art Atrium, free

Pink in the Park: Pink Beats: Thursdays through April 10, 5-8 p.m., Water Park in National Landing, free

Memorial Arboretum Walking Tour: Fri., 9-11 a.m., Arlington Memorial Cemetery, free

Spring Wildflower Hike: Sat., 9 a.m., Ben Lomond Park in Manassas, $10

Cherry blossom crafts – paper quilling and embroidery: Sat., Made in ALX in Alexandria, $50-$55

WMPA Community Concerts presents Drums Around the World: Sat., 2 p.m., Patrick Henry Recreation Center in Alexandria, free

Talkin’ Bout Turtles: Sat., 11 a.m., Potomac Overlook Regional Park in Arlington, $7 per person

Goat & Bunny Bottle Feed & Snuggle & Farm Animal Social: Sun., Little Goat Farm at the Lake in Nokesville, $39.99

Bluebell Festival: Sun., 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Merrimac Farm WMA – Stonehouse in Nokesville, free

Want to know what’s up for your weekend? Sign up for The Weekend Scene, our newsletter about events, experiences and adventures for you and for your family around the DMV.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture cut $500 million worth of food deliveries, and the shock is affecting people across the country.

“Many times, I’ve needed food to survive from day-to-day, and these food pantries are vital for many, many like me, our survival throughout the day and throughout the week,” said food bank client Steve Hill.

The cut is expected to affect large numbers of people in the District.

One in three people face food insecurity across the region, according to Radha Muthiah, the CEO of Capital Area Food Bank.

“These are our neighbors, these are people you might sit on the same Metrocar with, these are families your kids go to school with, these are neighbors on your block,” she said. “There are over a million individuals in our region who needed support from the food bank.”

Capital Area Food Bank said in a given year, between a quarter and a third of the food they provide to those in need come through USDA programs.

“We anticipate, as an example, another 55 truckloads of food coming in through one of the programs that’s been affected, and we’ve heard so far that half of those truckloads might likely not come through. They’re labeled as ‘returned,”” Muthiah said. “So if that’s the case, that’s 670,000 meals worth of groceries that we now have to pivot and look to other sources.”

To keep up with the demand, Capital Area Food Bank will need to act quickly and pivot to other sources to bridge that gap, including financial supporters and retailers to increase funds and donations.

It’s a swift change many food banks across the country will have to adapt to, affecting those in need nationwide.

“I would love to see one of those that are doing the cutting be in the position to lose everything they’ve got and get into a position where they have to use a food pantry. That would be awesome to see,” Hill said. “Then they’d understand why these programs are so vital, so important.”

“This is the part where you kind of wait and see,” said Mack, watching her phone.

She’s used a wheelchair since she was 10 — moved to D.C. after college, she said, because our city was trying to be more accessible. When the I-Team asked if the city was keeping its promise, she responded, “Here and there.”

D.C. does has a few options for passengers with wheelchairs.

Metro trains and buses are accessible. MetroAccess works too, but it requires setting up rides days in advance and being willing to wait.

The Transport DC program offers subsidized taxi rides, but only within the district.

When it comes to ride share companies like Uber and Lyft, the District does not require them to have wheelchair accessible vehicles — even though they account for 95% of all the for-hire rides here.

That leaves taxis, which make up just 5% of all for-hire trips in D.C. Taxis are District regulated and provided 23,000 trips for people who use wheelchairs last year.

“I call it the Yeti, because it’s rumored to exist, but, you know, I rarely ever see it,” exclaimed a frustrated Mack while waiting on a taxi she had reserved days before we met up.

The District has worked to increase service. D.C. has a law mandating 20% of large cab fleets be wheelchair accessible, but the I-Team couldn’t find it’s ever been enforced.

The head of the Department of For-Hire Vehicles (DFHV) told the I-Team, “we can’t punish them into compliance.”

Passenger Naomi Hess was hopeful last year when D.C. set aside $500,000 to incentivize cabdrivers to operate Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles -paying more per hour or to work late hours.

“There really, really needs to be progress,” said Hess.  The city even set up a  Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle (WAV) hotline for people to get connected.

“I tried that pilot line multiple times and they just couldn’t find one for me. Where is the money going?” asked Hess.

The city already spent $255,000 in that pilot program and told the I-Team it generated 435 taxi trips from June to December. That’s $586 per ride.

Jonathan Rogers — the Director of DFHV, which spearheaded the pilot — wouldn’t talk to News4 on camera, but said “Council encouraged us to experiment and figure out what would change behavior… so that’s what we did.”

He said he hoped it would build momentum, and that the six new drivers with accessible vehicles added, would stick with it.

The department just launched a new pilot program in March, and says it’s offering more incentives to taxi companies and drivers. Plus, a spokesperson said it would be sending letters to all taxi companies asking for their long-term plans to address the issue.

“Anyone without a wheelchair can get an Uber, Lyft or taxi, whatever they want. It’s just not fair. And it has put me in unsafe situations,” Hess told the I-Team. 

Last fall, she had all her travel planned out so she could attend the Sabrina Carpenter concert in Baltimore. But a delayed train back to D.C. got her to Union Station at 1 a.m., leaving her with few options.

“I was forced to walk home alone in the middle of the night.”

Both she and Mack say it isn’t like this everywhere. In New York City, there are more than 12,000 wheelchair accessible taxis and ride share vehicles, according to the NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission.

The city said 46% of its taxi fleet is wheelchair accessible. By law, anyone who now wants to start driving for ride shares has to use an accessible vehicle there.

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Back in D.C., Uber has some accessible vehicles, but did not respond to our questions about how many.

While Lyft offers accessible rides in nine other cities, it does not in the District. A spokesperson told the I Team it “will continue to push for solutions that make rideshare as accessible as possible for everyone.”

As for taxis, none of the larger companies in town would talk to News4 on camera. But they did admit it’s a challenge, saying wheelchair accessible taxis are both expensive to buy and costly to maintain due mostly to their weight and modifications.

That could explain why the I-Team found so many out-of-commission vehicles in taxi lots with markings that read “junk” and “need engine and transmission.”

Back at Mack’s apartment, she still waited for confirmation her taxi was on the way. It’s been so frustrating for her that she started keeping track of all her taxi calls for the last three years.

“I had 72 attempted trips,” she said. “I averaged those years and came out with a 71% failure rate.”

Which is exactly what happened on the day we hung out with her. 

“We’ll wait a few more minutes and then probably gear up, put on the coat, head out,” she said.

But that taxi never came.

Ella Robinson contributed reporting to this investigation.

“This is the part where you kind of wait and see,” said Mack, watching her phone.

She’s used a wheelchair since she was 10 — moved to D.C. after college, she said, because our city was trying to be more accessible. When the I-Team asked if the city was keeping its promise, she responded, “Here and there.”

D.C. does has a few options for passengers with wheelchairs.

Metro trains and buses are accessible. MetroAccess works too, but it requires setting up rides days in advance and being willing to wait.

The Transport DC program offers subsidized taxi rides, but only within the district.

When it comes to ride share companies like Uber and Lyft, the District does not require them to have wheelchair accessible vehicles — even though they account for 95% of all the for-hire rides here.

That leaves taxis, which make up just 5% of all for-hire trips in D.C. Taxis are District regulated and provided 23,000 trips for people who use wheelchairs last year.

“I call it the Yeti, because it’s rumored to exist, but, you know, I rarely ever see it,” exclaimed a frustrated Mack while waiting on a taxi she had reserved days before we met up.

The District has worked to increase service. D.C. has a law mandating 20% of large cab fleets be wheelchair accessible, but the I-Team couldn’t find it’s ever been enforced.

The head of the Department of For-Hire Vehicles (DFHV) told the I-Team, “we can’t punish them into compliance.”

Passenger Naomi Hess was hopeful last year when D.C. set aside $500,000 to incentivize cabdrivers to operate Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles -paying more per hour or to work late hours.

“There really, really needs to be progress,” said Hess.  The city even set up a  Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle (WAV) hotline for people to get connected.

“I tried that pilot line multiple times and they just couldn’t find one for me. Where is the money going?” asked Hess.

The city already spent $255,000 in that pilot program and told the I-Team it generated 435 taxi trips from June to December. That’s $586 per ride.

Jonathan Rogers — the Director of DFHV, which spearheaded the pilot — wouldn’t talk to News4 on camera, but said “Council encouraged us to experiment and figure out what would change behavior… so that’s what we did.”

He said he hoped it would build momentum, and that the six new drivers with accessible vehicles added, would stick with it.

The department just launched a new pilot program in March, and says it’s offering more incentives to taxi companies and drivers. Plus, a spokesperson said it would be sending letters to all taxi companies asking for their long-term plans to address the issue.

“Anyone without a wheelchair can get an Uber, Lyft or taxi, whatever they want. It’s just not fair. And it has put me in unsafe situations,” Hess told the I-Team. 

Last fall, she had all her travel planned out so she could attend the Sabrina Carpenter concert in Baltimore. But a delayed train back to D.C. got her to Union Station at 1 a.m., leaving her with few options.

“I was forced to walk home alone in the middle of the night.”

Both she and Mack say it isn’t like this everywhere. In New York City, there are more than 12,000 wheelchair accessible taxis and ride share vehicles, according to the NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission.

The city said 46% of its taxi fleet is wheelchair accessible. By law, anyone who now wants to start driving for ride shares has to use an accessible vehicle there.

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Metro (WMATA) Dec 19, 2024

MetroAccess customer satisfaction declining

Back in D.C., Uber has some accessible vehicles, but did not respond to our questions about how many.

While Lyft offers accessible rides in nine other cities, it does not in the District. A spokesperson told the I Team it “will continue to push for solutions that make rideshare as accessible as possible for everyone.”

As for taxis, none of the larger companies in town would talk to News4 on camera. But they did admit it’s a challenge, saying wheelchair accessible taxis are both expensive to buy and costly to maintain due mostly to their weight and modifications.

That could explain why the I-Team found so many out-of-commission vehicles in taxi lots with markings that read “junk” and “need engine and transmission.”

Back at Mack’s apartment, she still waited for confirmation her taxi was on the way. It’s been so frustrating for her that she started keeping track of all her taxi calls for the last three years.

“I had 72 attempted trips,” she said. “I averaged those years and came out with a 71% failure rate.”

Which is exactly what happened on the day we hung out with her. 

“We’ll wait a few more minutes and then probably gear up, put on the coat, head out,” she said.

But that taxi never came.

Ella Robinson contributed reporting to this investigation.

U.S. District Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles in Alexandria, Virginia, ordered that Indian national Badar Khan Suri “shall not be removed from the United States unless and until the Court issues a contrary order.”

Suri’s attorney wrote in an earlier court filing that Suri was targeted because of his wife’s “identity as a Palestinian and her constitutionally protected speech.”

The filing said that federal authorities have provided no evidence that he’s committed any crimes and that his detention violates his free speech and due process rights. Suri, who has no criminal record, holds a visa authorizing him to be in the U.S. as a visiting scholar, and his wife is a U.S. citizen, according to the motion.

“The Trump administration has openly expressed its intention to weaponize immigration law to punish noncitizens whose views are deemed critical of U.S. policy as it relates to Israel,” wrote Hassan Ahmad, Suri’s Virginia-based attorney.

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Suri was accused of “spreading Hamas propaganda and promoting antisemitism on social media” and determined to be deportable by the Secretary of State’s office, Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said late Wednesday on X, formerly known as Twitter. Suri’s case was first reported by Politico.

Suri was arrested Monday night outside of his Virginia home by masked officers who identified themselves as Department of Homeland Security agents and told him his visa had been revoked, according to the filing by Suri’s lawyer.

Suri and his wife, Mapheze Saleh, “have long been doxxed and smeared,” Suri’s lawyer wrote. Critics have published Saleh’s photograph online along with information that includes her former employment with Al Jazeera and her birthplace in Gaza City “as support for her alleged ties with Hamas.”

His lawyer didn’t immediately respond to messages seeking further comment Thursday.

Nader Hashemi, a professor of Middle East and Islamic politics at Georgetown, told The Associated Press that Suri was intensely focused on teaching and research that centered on religion and peace processes in the Middle East and South Asia.

Suri felt strong solidarity and sympathy for Palestinians, but was not outwardly political on campus, the professor said.

“We’ve organized dozens of events since Oct. 7, when the Israel-Gaza war began, and I don’t recall seeing him in any of those events,” said Hashemi, who directs the Alwaleed Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, where Suri is a post-doctoral fellow. “That’s not who he was.”

Before his arrest, Suri and his wife had been targets of right-wing campus groups, in part because Saleh’s father is Ahmed Yousef, a former adviser to Hamas, Hashemi said.

Yousef confirmed to The New York Times that Suri is his son-in-law, adding that Suri wasn’t involved in any “political activism,” including on behalf of Hamas.

Yousef, who has publicly criticized the Oct. 7 attack on Israel, told the newspaper that he left his position in the Hamas-run government in Gaza more than a decade ago and does not hold a senior position with the militant group.

Georgetown’s Alwaleed Center said in a statement that Suri’s arrest was part of a “campaign by the Trump Administration to destroy higher education in the United States and punish their political opponents.”

Suri was later taken to a detention facility in Louisiana, according to a government website. His lawyers are seeking his immediate release and to halt deportation proceedings through their habeas motion filed Tuesday against the Trump administration.

Suri’s detention more than 1,000 miles (about 1,600 kilometers) away from his family and attorney is “plainly intended as retaliation and punishment for Mr. Suri’s protected speech,” his attorney added.

Separately, Columbia University student activist Mahmoud Khalil, a legal U.S. resident with no criminal record, was detained earlier this month over his participation in pro-Palestinian demonstrations and is fighting deportation efforts in federal court. And Dr. Rasha Alawieh, a kidney transplant specialist who previously worked and lived in Rhode Island, was deported over the weekend despite having a U.S. visa.

Democratic U.S. Rep. Don Beyer, whose district includes the county where Suri was detained, said in a Thursday statement that the scholar’s detention was illegal, urging the court to consider Suri’s case.

“The ‘justification’ given for these violations of Mr. Suri’s right to due process is another violation of the Constitution: a blatant attack on the First Amendment,” Beyer said in a statement. “Mr. Suri and his family are unfortunately the latest victim of President Trump’s assault on the freedom of speech.”

Suri’s lawyers say he hopes to become a university professor. A Georgetown webpage said that he earned a doctorate in India while studying efforts to introduce democracy to Afghanistan and Iraq, and he has traveled extensively in conflict zones in several countries.

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The university said in a statement Thursday that Suri was “duly granted a visa to enter the United States to continue his doctoral research on peacebuilding in Iraq and Afghanistan.”

“We are not aware of him engaging in any illegal activity, and we have not received a reason for his detention,” the school said. “We support our community members’ rights to free and open inquiry, deliberation and debate, even if the underlying ideas may be difficult, controversial or objectionable. We expect the legal system to adjudicate this case fairly.”

The U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement detainee locator website lists Suri as being in the custody of immigration officials at the Alexandria Staging Facility in Louisiana.

“This is the part where you kind of wait and see,” said Mack, watching her phone.

She’s used a wheelchair since she was 10 — moved to D.C. after college, she said, because our city was trying to be more accessible. When the I-Team asked if the city was keeping its promise, she responded, “Here and there.”

D.C. does has a few options for passengers with wheelchairs.

Metro trains and buses are accessible. MetroAccess works too, but it requires setting up rides days in advance and being willing to wait.

The Transport DC program offers subsidized taxi rides, but only within the district.

When it comes to ride share companies like Uber and Lyft, the District does not require them to have wheelchair accessible vehicles — even though they account for 95% of all the for-hire rides here.

That leaves taxis, which make up just 5% of all for-hire trips in D.C. Taxis are District regulated and provided 23,000 trips for people who use wheelchairs last year.

“I call it the Yeti, because it’s rumored to exist, but, you know, I rarely ever see it,” exclaimed a frustrated Mack while waiting on a taxi she had reserved days before we met up.

The District has worked to increase service. D.C. has a law mandating 20% of large cab fleets be wheelchair accessible, but the I-Team couldn’t find it’s ever been enforced.

The head of the Department of For-Hire Vehicles (DFHV) told the I-Team, “we can’t punish them into compliance.”

Passenger Naomi Hess was hopeful last year when D.C. set aside $500,000 to incentivize cabdrivers to operate Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles -paying more per hour or to work late hours.

“There really, really needs to be progress,” said Hess.  The city even set up a  Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle (WAV) hotline for people to get connected.

“I tried that pilot line multiple times and they just couldn’t find one for me. Where is the money going?” asked Hess.

The city already spent $255,000 in that pilot program and told the I-Team it generated 435 taxi trips from June to December. That’s $586 per ride.

Jonathan Rogers — the Director of DFHV, which spearheaded the pilot — wouldn’t talk to News4 on camera, but said “Council encouraged us to experiment and figure out what would change behavior… so that’s what we did.”

He said he hoped it would build momentum, and that the six new drivers with accessible vehicles added, would stick with it.

The department just launched a new pilot program in March, and says it’s offering more incentives to taxi companies and drivers. Plus, a spokesperson said it would be sending letters to all taxi companies asking for their long-term plans to address the issue.

“Anyone without a wheelchair can get an Uber, Lyft or taxi, whatever they want. It’s just not fair. And it has put me in unsafe situations,” Hess told the I-Team. 

Last fall, she had all her travel planned out so she could attend the Sabrina Carpenter concert in Baltimore. But a delayed train back to D.C. got her to Union Station at 1 a.m., leaving her with few options.

“I was forced to walk home alone in the middle of the night.”

Both she and Mack say it isn’t like this everywhere. In New York City, there are more than 12,000 wheelchair accessible taxis and ride share vehicles, according to the NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission.

The city said 46% of its taxi fleet is wheelchair accessible. By law, anyone who now wants to start driving for ride shares has to use an accessible vehicle there.

news Apr 3

Disability advocates sue Social Security Administration and DOGE to stop service cuts

Health care Mar 23

Parents of children with disabilities say Medicaid cuts will put livelihoods, kids' health at risk

Metro (WMATA) Dec 19, 2024

MetroAccess customer satisfaction declining

Back in D.C., Uber has some accessible vehicles, but did not respond to our questions about how many.

While Lyft offers accessible rides in nine other cities, it does not in the District. A spokesperson told the I Team it “will continue to push for solutions that make rideshare as accessible as possible for everyone.”

As for taxis, none of the larger companies in town would talk to News4 on camera. But they did admit it’s a challenge, saying wheelchair accessible taxis are both expensive to buy and costly to maintain due mostly to their weight and modifications.

That could explain why the I-Team found so many out-of-commission vehicles in taxi lots with markings that read “junk” and “need engine and transmission.”

Back at Mack’s apartment, she still waited for confirmation her taxi was on the way. It’s been so frustrating for her that she started keeping track of all her taxi calls for the last three years.

“I had 72 attempted trips,” she said. “I averaged those years and came out with a 71% failure rate.”

Which is exactly what happened on the day we hung out with her. 

“We’ll wait a few more minutes and then probably gear up, put on the coat, head out,” she said.

But that taxi never came.

Ella Robinson contributed reporting to this investigation.

Forty percent of those surveyed expressed concern they might have to close in 2025. Seventy-three restaurants closed in the District last year, according to the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington, a record high and nearly double the year before.

“Don’t be alarmed by the top lines of this survey,” said Shawn Townsend, the president and CEO of Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington.

Townsend said the survey of about 200 member restaurants, most of them locally owned and operated, showed there is concern about higher food costs, higher rent and higher labor costs.

“We want every worker to have a fair and decent living wage in this city and in this region we
think that that is the only way that we can thrive and prosper collectively across the board,” he said. “However, I do think this is an opportunity to take a pause, take a look at the impact of Initiative 82 on the increase in labor to ensure that we are going down the right direction.”

In a statement to News4, a spokesperson for Unite Here Local 25, a union that represents hospitality workers in D.C., Maryland and Virginia said, “Workers are the beating heart of the restaurant industry and the key to its ability to navigate its challenges, present and future. They must have a seat at the table and be part of the solution. That means being treated respectfully and having a voice on the job.”

The union is among those who lobbied for the passage of Initiative 82, which phases out the special minimum wage for tipped employees in the District.

“This is the part where you kind of wait and see,” said Mack, watching her phone.

She’s used a wheelchair since she was 10 — moved to D.C. after college, she said, because our city was trying to be more accessible. When the I-Team asked if the city was keeping its promise, she responded, “Here and there.”

D.C. does has a few options for passengers with wheelchairs.

Metro trains and buses are accessible. MetroAccess works too, but it requires setting up rides days in advance and being willing to wait.

The Transport DC program offers subsidized taxi rides, but only within the district.

When it comes to ride share companies like Uber and Lyft, the District does not require them to have wheelchair accessible vehicles — even though they account for 95% of all the for-hire rides here.

That leaves taxis, which make up just 5% of all for-hire trips in D.C. Taxis are District regulated and provided 23,000 trips for people who use wheelchairs last year.

“I call it the Yeti, because it’s rumored to exist, but, you know, I rarely ever see it,” exclaimed a frustrated Mack while waiting on a taxi she had reserved days before we met up.

The District has worked to increase service. D.C. has a law mandating 20% of large cab fleets be wheelchair accessible, but the I-Team couldn’t find it’s ever been enforced.

The head of the Department of For-Hire Vehicles (DFHV) told the I-Team, “we can’t punish them into compliance.”

Passenger Naomi Hess was hopeful last year when D.C. set aside $500,000 to incentivize cabdrivers to operate Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles -paying more per hour or to work late hours.

“There really, really needs to be progress,” said Hess.  The city even set up a  Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle (WAV) hotline for people to get connected.

“I tried that pilot line multiple times and they just couldn’t find one for me. Where is the money going?” asked Hess.

The city already spent $255,000 in that pilot program and told the I-Team it generated 435 taxi trips from June to December. That’s $586 per ride.

Jonathan Rogers — the Director of DFHV, which spearheaded the pilot — wouldn’t talk to News4 on camera, but said “Council encouraged us to experiment and figure out what would change behavior… so that’s what we did.”

He said he hoped it would build momentum, and that the six new drivers with accessible vehicles added, would stick with it.

The department just launched a new pilot program in March, and says it’s offering more incentives to taxi companies and drivers. Plus, a spokesperson said it would be sending letters to all taxi companies asking for their long-term plans to address the issue.

“Anyone without a wheelchair can get an Uber, Lyft or taxi, whatever they want. It’s just not fair. And it has put me in unsafe situations,” Hess told the I-Team. 

Last fall, she had all her travel planned out so she could attend the Sabrina Carpenter concert in Baltimore. But a delayed train back to D.C. got her to Union Station at 1 a.m., leaving her with few options.

“I was forced to walk home alone in the middle of the night.”

Both she and Mack say it isn’t like this everywhere. In New York City, there are more than 12,000 wheelchair accessible taxis and ride share vehicles, according to the NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission.

The city said 46% of its taxi fleet is wheelchair accessible. By law, anyone who now wants to start driving for ride shares has to use an accessible vehicle there.

news Apr 3

Disability advocates sue Social Security Administration and DOGE to stop service cuts

Health care Mar 23

Parents of children with disabilities say Medicaid cuts will put livelihoods, kids' health at risk

Metro (WMATA) Dec 19, 2024

MetroAccess customer satisfaction declining

Back in D.C., Uber has some accessible vehicles, but did not respond to our questions about how many.

While Lyft offers accessible rides in nine other cities, it does not in the District. A spokesperson told the I Team it “will continue to push for solutions that make rideshare as accessible as possible for everyone.”

As for taxis, none of the larger companies in town would talk to News4 on camera. But they did admit it’s a challenge, saying wheelchair accessible taxis are both expensive to buy and costly to maintain due mostly to their weight and modifications.

That could explain why the I-Team found so many out-of-commission vehicles in taxi lots with markings that read “junk” and “need engine and transmission.”

Back at Mack’s apartment, she still waited for confirmation her taxi was on the way. It’s been so frustrating for her that she started keeping track of all her taxi calls for the last three years.

“I had 72 attempted trips,” she said. “I averaged those years and came out with a 71% failure rate.”

Which is exactly what happened on the day we hung out with her. 

“We’ll wait a few more minutes and then probably gear up, put on the coat, head out,” she said.

But that taxi never came.

Ella Robinson contributed reporting to this investigation.

“This is the part where you kind of wait and see,” said Mack, watching her phone.

She’s used a wheelchair since she was 10 — moved to D.C. after college, she said, because our city was trying to be more accessible. When the I-Team asked if the city was keeping its promise, she responded, “Here and there.”

D.C. does has a few options for passengers with wheelchairs.

Metro trains and buses are accessible. MetroAccess works too, but it requires setting up rides days in advance and being willing to wait.

The Transport DC program offers subsidized taxi rides, but only within the district.

When it comes to ride share companies like Uber and Lyft, the District does not require them to have wheelchair accessible vehicles — even though they account for 95% of all the for-hire rides here.

That leaves taxis, which make up just 5% of all for-hire trips in D.C. Taxis are District regulated and provided 23,000 trips for people who use wheelchairs last year.

“I call it the Yeti, because it’s rumored to exist, but, you know, I rarely ever see it,” exclaimed a frustrated Mack while waiting on a taxi she had reserved days before we met up.

The District has worked to increase service. D.C. has a law mandating 20% of large cab fleets be wheelchair accessible, but the I-Team couldn’t find it’s ever been enforced.

The head of the Department of For-Hire Vehicles (DFHV) told the I-Team, “we can’t punish them into compliance.”

Passenger Naomi Hess was hopeful last year when D.C. set aside $500,000 to incentivize cabdrivers to operate Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles -paying more per hour or to work late hours.

“There really, really needs to be progress,” said Hess.  The city even set up a  Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle (WAV) hotline for people to get connected.

“I tried that pilot line multiple times and they just couldn’t find one for me. Where is the money going?” asked Hess.

The city already spent $255,000 in that pilot program and told the I-Team it generated 435 taxi trips from June to December. That’s $586 per ride.

Jonathan Rogers — the Director of DFHV, which spearheaded the pilot — wouldn’t talk to News4 on camera, but said “Council encouraged us to experiment and figure out what would change behavior… so that’s what we did.”

He said he hoped it would build momentum, and that the six new drivers with accessible vehicles added, would stick with it.

The department just launched a new pilot program in March, and says it’s offering more incentives to taxi companies and drivers. Plus, a spokesperson said it would be sending letters to all taxi companies asking for their long-term plans to address the issue.

“Anyone without a wheelchair can get an Uber, Lyft or taxi, whatever they want. It’s just not fair. And it has put me in unsafe situations,” Hess told the I-Team. 

Last fall, she had all her travel planned out so she could attend the Sabrina Carpenter concert in Baltimore. But a delayed train back to D.C. got her to Union Station at 1 a.m., leaving her with few options.

“I was forced to walk home alone in the middle of the night.”

Both she and Mack say it isn’t like this everywhere. In New York City, there are more than 12,000 wheelchair accessible taxis and ride share vehicles, according to the NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission.

The city said 46% of its taxi fleet is wheelchair accessible. By law, anyone who now wants to start driving for ride shares has to use an accessible vehicle there.

news Apr 3

Disability advocates sue Social Security Administration and DOGE to stop service cuts

Health care Mar 23

Parents of children with disabilities say Medicaid cuts will put livelihoods, kids' health at risk

Metro (WMATA) Dec 19, 2024

MetroAccess customer satisfaction declining

Back in D.C., Uber has some accessible vehicles, but did not respond to our questions about how many.

While Lyft offers accessible rides in nine other cities, it does not in the District. A spokesperson told the I Team it “will continue to push for solutions that make rideshare as accessible as possible for everyone.”

As for taxis, none of the larger companies in town would talk to News4 on camera. But they did admit it’s a challenge, saying wheelchair accessible taxis are both expensive to buy and costly to maintain due mostly to their weight and modifications.

That could explain why the I-Team found so many out-of-commission vehicles in taxi lots with markings that read “junk” and “need engine and transmission.”

Back at Mack’s apartment, she still waited for confirmation her taxi was on the way. It’s been so frustrating for her that she started keeping track of all her taxi calls for the last three years.

“I had 72 attempted trips,” she said. “I averaged those years and came out with a 71% failure rate.”

Which is exactly what happened on the day we hung out with her. 

“We’ll wait a few more minutes and then probably gear up, put on the coat, head out,” she said.

But that taxi never came.

Ella Robinson contributed reporting to this investigation.

News4’s Joseph Olmo captured the dramatic rescue on his phone as he was taking a bike ride Tuesday afternoon along the Mount Vernon trail in Northern Virginia.

The video shows a woman being pulled onto the grass by a rope held by two people on land as another person helps usher her out of the water. A group of bystanders claps as they see the rescue.

In the background of the video, a Jeep was shown quickly sinking into the river.

It appears that the SUV veered off George Washington Memorial Parkway and crashed into the river. As of Wednesday morning, it wasn’t immediately made clear why the Jeep plunged.

The woman was taken to a hospital for evaluation. She was the only person in the Jeep, according to officials.

Police arrived on boats at the scene to work on removing the Jeep from the water.

The accident highlights safety concerns for cyclists, drivers and walkers alike along GW Parkway. There is no protection between the trail and the busy parkway.

Spring is synonymous with cherry blossom season in D.C. Cherry trees across the region are overflowing with thousands of small pink and white blooms.

The collection of Yoshino cherry trees on the Tidal Basin are hit peak bloom, treating visitors to a sweeping panorama of florals around the Jefferson Memorial. These are D.C.’s famous cherry blossoms – and anyone who sees this spectacular spring display will understand why they’re world-renowned.

Given to the U.S. by Japan more than 100 years ago, the cherry trees also symbolize the countries’ friendship and cultural connections. Thousands not only participate in hanami – the Japanese word for flower viewing – but attend the Sakura Matsuri Japanese Street Festival, one of the most popular cherry blossom events.

Peak bloom 2025 arrived on Friday, March 28, exactly as Storm Team4 Meteorologist Amelia Draper and the National Park Service predicted.

While the trees are treasured – and draw upwards of 1.5 million visitors every year – they face threats including climate change and the degradation of the sea wall around the Tidal Basin that allows flooding to inundate trees.

Visitors to the cherry blossoms this year will likely notice the rehabilitation project to save the Tidal Basin. Over 150 trees – including perhaps the most famous cherry tree, Stumpy – were removed for the work.

Still, as dozens of cherry trees bloom following the D.C. area’s coldest winter in years, they remain a symbol of resilience, the beauty of renewal and the promises of spring.

Here’s your guide to enjoying D.C.’s springtime tradition, starting with four essential pro tips.

The best place to see cherry blossoms in D.C.

The Tidal Basin, near D.C.’s National Mall, is where you’ll find D.C.’s iconic Yoshino cherry trees, plus comfort stations, live performances and other fun activities including pedal boat rentals.

When you’re there, stroll the Tidal Basin Loop Trail, a 2.1-mile easy walk, or go for the 4.1-mile Hains Point Loop.

Before you visit, here are four pro tips:

• The best time to visit: Peak bloom is THE time to go. It can last several days or a week under ideal conditions, but the upcoming warm spell won’t help the flowers hang on.
• Expect crowds: Beat the crowds (somewhat) by going very early in the morning, after sunset or even on a rainy day.
• Don’t drive: Trust us. Skip parking and traffic headaches if at all possible. You have many other options, including Metro, buses, bike rentals, walking and more. Here’s our full guide.
• Be kind to the trees: The National Park Service asks people to be gentle with branches, which means no climbing or shaking. Avoid walking near the trees’ roots.

Blooming cherry trees can be found across the DMV all spring long. Popular alternative spots include the National Arboretum, Congressional Cemetery and Oxon Run Park in D.C.; Brookside Gardens, National Harbor and the Kenwood neighborhood in Maryland; and Arlington National Cemetery and Founder’s Park in Virginia.

• Check out tons of places to view the trees here.

When is peak bloom for DC’s cherry blossoms?

Peak bloom is the best time to visit D.C.’s world-renowned cherry blossoms, and it’s here! It means that 70% of the flowers on the Yoshino cherry trees are out.

Weather, especially temperatures, is the biggest factor determining how quickly cherry blossoms reach peak bloom – and how long the blossoms stay on the trees.

If the weather is cool and calm, flowers will stay on the branches for longer. If the weather is hot, windy or rainy, the flowers will fall off the trees.

Peak bloom arrived exactly on time this year.

• The NPS predicted that peak bloom will occur March 28 to March 31
• Storm Team4 Meteorologist Amelia Draper predicted March 28 to April 3 would be the best time to see the blossoms

Cherry blossoms bloom in six stages: green buds, florets visible, extension of florets, peduncle elongation, puffy white and peak bloom.

Our changing climate is making D.C.’s cherry blossoms reach peak bloom earlier. From 1931 to 1960, the average peak bloom was around April 6. From 1981 to 2010, the average peak bloom was five days sooner around April 1. Climate Central projects that by 2070 peak bloom could be as early as the first week of March.

Fun events for the National Cherry Blossom Festival

The National Cherry Blossom Festival kicked off on March 20, 2025, the first day of spring.

The festival’s Welcome Area and ANA Stage are a great first stop on your tour of the cherry blossoms along the Tidal Basin. Expect daily live performances and the opportunity to learn about the trees. It’s scheduled to be open until Sunday, April 6.

Other great events to check out include:

• Blossom Kite Festival and Sakura Taiko Fest at the Washington Monument – March 29
• Bloomaroo at The Wharf – March 29
• Sakura Sunday at National Harbor – March 30
• Petalpalooza at the Capitol Riverfront – April 5
• National Cherry Blossom Festival Parade on Constitution Avenue – April 12
• Sakura Matsuri Japanese Street Festival in downtown D.C. – April 12 and 13

See more key dates here. For even more cherry blossom fun every weekend, subscribe to our free newsletter, The Weekend Scene.

Getting to and from the cherry blossoms

Train, bus, bike, foot, scooter, boat: You have options for getting to the Tidal Basin to see the cherry blossoms.

The best Metro stations

🔵🟠⚪ Metrorail’s Smithsonian station lets you out right at the National Mall, and it’s also the closest stop to the Tidal Basin — but because of this, it can get crowded.

🔵🟠⚪🟢🟡 L’Enfant Plaza is another great option and serves five of Metro’s six lines. However, the station’s multiple exits can sometimes be confusing. The exit at 7th and Maryland will be the easiest to navigate for most people on their way to the blossoms, a Metro spokesperson told us.

🔴 While it’s definitely not the closest station to the blossoms, this would be your best bet if you’re a Red Line rider aiming to avoid a transfer and don’t mind a lengthy walk (almost 30 minutes). But you’ll also pass by some D.C. institutions including the Old Ebbitt Grill, the White House Visitor Center, the National Museum of African American History and Culture and the Washington Monument.

Bus

Many bus lines serve the Tidal Basin area. We recommend using your favorite wayfinding app – Google Maps and Apple Maps both will show you options on all of the region’s bus lines.

Bike rentals

You can use Capital Bikeshare’s docking station map to see locations and check bike availability. Once you’re near the Tidal Basin crowds, you’ll probably want to dock your bike and stroll.

Blossoms by boat

The Cherry Blossom Water Taxi is a different way to see the blossoms while traveling between D.C., National Harbor in Maryland and Alexandria, Virginia. You can also check out shared cruises like Whitlow’s on Water and Potomac Tiki Club and the Party Boat DC, which has a BYOB option, for views of the cherry trees along the Potomac River.

Coming from out of town?

We hope you enjoy your time in D.C.! Here’s a quick primer on Metro (you also might see it referred to as WMATA — for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority).

Metro fare cards (known as SmarTrip cards) are used for both Metrorail and Metrobus. You can either buy a plastic SmarTrip card at any station, online in advance and select retailers (there’s a commemorative cherry blossom special edition!) or set up mobile pay on your phone.

Have more transportation questions? See our extensive guide here, which also has a handy interactive map.

Subscribe to our free newsletter, The Weekend Scene, for cherry blossom updates and spring fun all season long!

Things to Do DC Apr 18, 2022

What are your weekend plans in the DMV? Our free newsletter has ideas

Correction (Monday, March 24 at 8:50 a.m.): An earlier version of this article misstated the location of the replica Oval Office. It’s inside The People’s House: A White House Experience.

This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser.

The cherry blossoms reached stage two of their blooming cycle on Sunday and made it all the way to stage four by Thursday afternoon, just in time for the first day of spring and the official kickoff of the National Cherry Blossom Festival.

You won’t see any pink flowers yet, but the florets are out and elongating so you can celebrate all things pink and green while gearing up for “Wicked” to drop on Peacock this Friday.

March Madness is heating up, so make plans to finish your bracket before games begin.

What else is blooming in the sports world?

The Washington Spirit host their home opener on Saturday, and fans are flocking to support them after their National Women’s Soccer League title run. Tickets start at $30 or look to Dacha for a watch party.

Meanwhile, Alex Ovechkin is hurtling toward an NHL record and the Washington Capitals will have a trio of home games this week so you can see some of the historic push. Or, join in one some of the fan activations.

Here’s what to do this week in the Washington, D.C. area.

Sports highlights

Washington Capitals: Tues., Thurs. and Sat., Capital One Arena, $53+

Washington Wizards Friday Night Concert with Shaq (DJ Diesel): Fri., 7 p.m., Capital One Arena, $24+

Washington Spirit home opener: Sat., 7:30 p.m., Audi Field, $30+

What to do in Washington, D.C.

NMWA Nights: Weds., 5:30-8 p.m., National Museum of Women in the Arts in Northwest D.C., $25

Stumpy’s Petal & Paddles Race: Thurs., Tidal Basin Boathouse, $100 per team of two or free for spectators 

Cherry Blossom Water Taxi opens: Thurs.

Art in Bloom DC: Thurs. to Sun., Anderson House in Dupont Circle, $22

DC Environmental Film Festival: March 20-29

Volunteer at Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens: Sat., 9 a.m. to noon, Northeast D.C., free

Community Day – Black Women: A Force for Change: Sat., 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., National Museum of African American History and Culture, free

SAAM Cherry Blossom Family Celebration: Sat., 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., Kogod Courtyard, free

Cherry Blossom Daruma at Anthem Row: Sun., noon to 4 p.m., Anthem Row (800 K St. NW), free

Georgetown Spring Art Walk: Sat., noon to 5 p.m., Georgetown Main Street, free

National Cherry Blossom Festival Opening Ceremony: Sat., 5 p.m., Warner Theatre, free (sold out but limited walk-up tickets may be available)

Last chance – JewCE: The Jewish Comics Experience: Through Sun., Capital Jewish Museum, $10 (general admission)

What to do in Maryland

Glenstone Museum reopens with new exhibits: Thurs., Potomac, Maryland, free (tickets required unless you qualify for guaranteed entry)

Bowie Baysox Family Fun Fest: Sat., 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Prince George’s Stadium in Bowie, free

Maryland Day Celebration: Fri. to Sun., throughout Maryland, events are free or $1

What to do in Virginia

Evening of Comedy: Fri. and Sat., The Barns at Wolf Trap, $33+

Pink in the Pool family swim party: Sat., 9 a.m. to noon, Long Bridge Aquatics & Fitness Center in Arlington, free

National Cherry Blossom Festival Celebration at the Children’s Science Center Lab: March 22 to April 13, Fair Oaks Mall in Fairfax, $13 (advance) or $15 (at the door)

Fiesta del Sol Festival: Sat., 5-10 p.m., McLean Community Center, free

Want to know what’s up for your weekend? Sign up for The Weekend Scene, our newsletter about events, experiences and adventures for you and for your family around the DMV.

D.C. officials say the city would have to cut spending by more than $1.1 billion over just a few months, likely forcing cuts to public services, the police department and city schools.

Mayor Muriel Bowser and other leaders are urging members of the House to protect D.C. funds but planning what to do if they choose not to, Bowser said at a news conference Monday afternoon.

“The best option is for the House to fix this, and we’re going to stay focused on the House fixing it,” she said.

“[…] We have initiated contingency planning to address potential fiscal shortfalls,” she continued.

Bowser declined repeated questions about which specific jobs or services might be cut if the House does not support the Senate legislation.

“We will work with the members of the council to make the best decisions for Washington, D.C.,” she said.

The mayor offered assurance of stability in D.C.

“We will meet our financial obligations, and we will maintain the high standard of services that our residents, businesses and visitors expect,” she said.

Chief Financial Officer Glen Lee is allowing the city to continue spending without making any cuts yet. Asked when the city would have to start making cuts, he wouldn’t say.

Bowser was asked about the thousands of D.C. government workers who are worried they may lose their jobs if the budget becomes law.

“If there is ever any impact to our staffing, we’re gonna let people know what we’re working with, and they will be treated with dignity and compassion,” she said.

Bowser thanked D.C. Council members and residents, including schoolchildren, who have advocated on D.C.’s behalf.

“Our home rule is limited but our voices have been heard,” she said.

The mayor’s news conference was interrupted by the mother of Karon Hylton-Brown. The 20-year-old died in 2020 after D.C. police chased him as he rode a scooter and he crashed. In January, President Donald Trump pardoned two officers who were convicted in the case, and the Metropolitan Police Department reinstated them both earlier this month.

“Do you know the pardons of these officers are very much unconstitutional? Do you understand that?” Karen Hylton asked Bowser.

Several D.C. officers escorted Hylton out of the room as she repeated “Do not touch me.”

Washington DC Mar 14

Last-minute legislation could save DC from $1B in funding cuts

Trump administration Mar 14

DC fears revenue cliff as Congress debates its financial future

Washington DC Mar 13

DC teachers and families urge senators to oppose slashing District budget

What’s next for the House vote on DC’s spending

The Senate approved a continuing resolution (CR) on Friday to avert a government shutdown. Language in the bill effectively repealed D.C.’s current year budget, forcing a return to the prior year’s spending levels, though D.C. raises most of its own funds.

Legislation then passed by a voice vote would remove the requirement in the CR preventing D.C. from spending that billion dollars.

It’s now up to the House to decide on whether to force the D.C. budget cut. Members return from recess on March 24.

D.C. already took steps to prepare for the funding cut. The city administrator issued an order Friday restricting spending on travel, training and office improvements for all government agencies, as well as requiring permission before any agency does any hiring, promotes workers or gives bonuses.

News4 reached out to Speaker Johnson’s office and did not hear back.

News4 sends breaking news stories by email. Go here to sign up to get breaking news alerts in your inbox.

“This is the part where you kind of wait and see,” said Mack, watching her phone.

She’s used a wheelchair since she was 10 — moved to D.C. after college, she said, because our city was trying to be more accessible. When the I-Team asked if the city was keeping its promise, she responded, “Here and there.”

D.C. does has a few options for passengers with wheelchairs.

Metro trains and buses are accessible. MetroAccess works too, but it requires setting up rides days in advance and being willing to wait.

The Transport DC program offers subsidized taxi rides, but only within the district.

When it comes to ride share companies like Uber and Lyft, the District does not require them to have wheelchair accessible vehicles — even though they account for 95% of all the for-hire rides here.

That leaves taxis, which make up just 5% of all for-hire trips in D.C. Taxis are District regulated and provided 23,000 trips for people who use wheelchairs last year.

“I call it the Yeti, because it’s rumored to exist, but, you know, I rarely ever see it,” exclaimed a frustrated Mack while waiting on a taxi she had reserved days before we met up.

The District has worked to increase service. D.C. has a law mandating 20% of large cab fleets be wheelchair accessible, but the I-Team couldn’t find it’s ever been enforced.

The head of the Department of For-Hire Vehicles (DFHV) told the I-Team, “we can’t punish them into compliance.”

Passenger Naomi Hess was hopeful last year when D.C. set aside $500,000 to incentivize cabdrivers to operate Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles -paying more per hour or to work late hours.

“There really, really needs to be progress,” said Hess.  The city even set up a  Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle (WAV) hotline for people to get connected.

“I tried that pilot line multiple times and they just couldn’t find one for me. Where is the money going?” asked Hess.

The city already spent $255,000 in that pilot program and told the I-Team it generated 435 taxi trips from June to December. That’s $586 per ride.

Jonathan Rogers — the Director of DFHV, which spearheaded the pilot — wouldn’t talk to News4 on camera, but said “Council encouraged us to experiment and figure out what would change behavior… so that’s what we did.”

He said he hoped it would build momentum, and that the six new drivers with accessible vehicles added, would stick with it.

The department just launched a new pilot program in March, and says it’s offering more incentives to taxi companies and drivers. Plus, a spokesperson said it would be sending letters to all taxi companies asking for their long-term plans to address the issue.

“Anyone without a wheelchair can get an Uber, Lyft or taxi, whatever they want. It’s just not fair. And it has put me in unsafe situations,” Hess told the I-Team. 

Last fall, she had all her travel planned out so she could attend the Sabrina Carpenter concert in Baltimore. But a delayed train back to D.C. got her to Union Station at 1 a.m., leaving her with few options.

“I was forced to walk home alone in the middle of the night.”

Both she and Mack say it isn’t like this everywhere. In New York City, there are more than 12,000 wheelchair accessible taxis and ride share vehicles, according to the NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission.

The city said 46% of its taxi fleet is wheelchair accessible. By law, anyone who now wants to start driving for ride shares has to use an accessible vehicle there.

news Apr 3

Disability advocates sue Social Security Administration and DOGE to stop service cuts

Health care Mar 23

Parents of children with disabilities say Medicaid cuts will put livelihoods, kids' health at risk

Metro (WMATA) Dec 19, 2024

MetroAccess customer satisfaction declining

Back in D.C., Uber has some accessible vehicles, but did not respond to our questions about how many.

While Lyft offers accessible rides in nine other cities, it does not in the District. A spokesperson told the I Team it “will continue to push for solutions that make rideshare as accessible as possible for everyone.”

As for taxis, none of the larger companies in town would talk to News4 on camera. But they did admit it’s a challenge, saying wheelchair accessible taxis are both expensive to buy and costly to maintain due mostly to their weight and modifications.

That could explain why the I-Team found so many out-of-commission vehicles in taxi lots with markings that read “junk” and “need engine and transmission.”

Back at Mack’s apartment, she still waited for confirmation her taxi was on the way. It’s been so frustrating for her that she started keeping track of all her taxi calls for the last three years.

“I had 72 attempted trips,” she said. “I averaged those years and came out with a 71% failure rate.”

Which is exactly what happened on the day we hung out with her. 

“We’ll wait a few more minutes and then probably gear up, put on the coat, head out,” she said.

But that taxi never came.

Ella Robinson contributed reporting to this investigation.

“This is the part where you kind of wait and see,” said Mack, watching her phone.

She’s used a wheelchair since she was 10 — moved to D.C. after college, she said, because our city was trying to be more accessible. When the I-Team asked if the city was keeping its promise, she responded, “Here and there.”

D.C. does has a few options for passengers with wheelchairs.

Metro trains and buses are accessible. MetroAccess works too, but it requires setting up rides days in advance and being willing to wait.

The Transport DC program offers subsidized taxi rides, but only within the district.

When it comes to ride share companies like Uber and Lyft, the District does not require them to have wheelchair accessible vehicles — even though they account for 95% of all the for-hire rides here.

That leaves taxis, which make up just 5% of all for-hire trips in D.C. Taxis are District regulated and provided 23,000 trips for people who use wheelchairs last year.

“I call it the Yeti, because it’s rumored to exist, but, you know, I rarely ever see it,” exclaimed a frustrated Mack while waiting on a taxi she had reserved days before we met up.

The District has worked to increase service. D.C. has a law mandating 20% of large cab fleets be wheelchair accessible, but the I-Team couldn’t find it’s ever been enforced.

The head of the Department of For-Hire Vehicles (DFHV) told the I-Team, “we can’t punish them into compliance.”

Passenger Naomi Hess was hopeful last year when D.C. set aside $500,000 to incentivize cabdrivers to operate Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles -paying more per hour or to work late hours.

“There really, really needs to be progress,” said Hess.  The city even set up a  Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle (WAV) hotline for people to get connected.

“I tried that pilot line multiple times and they just couldn’t find one for me. Where is the money going?” asked Hess.

The city already spent $255,000 in that pilot program and told the I-Team it generated 435 taxi trips from June to December. That’s $586 per ride.

Jonathan Rogers — the Director of DFHV, which spearheaded the pilot — wouldn’t talk to News4 on camera, but said “Council encouraged us to experiment and figure out what would change behavior… so that’s what we did.”

He said he hoped it would build momentum, and that the six new drivers with accessible vehicles added, would stick with it.

The department just launched a new pilot program in March, and says it’s offering more incentives to taxi companies and drivers. Plus, a spokesperson said it would be sending letters to all taxi companies asking for their long-term plans to address the issue.

“Anyone without a wheelchair can get an Uber, Lyft or taxi, whatever they want. It’s just not fair. And it has put me in unsafe situations,” Hess told the I-Team. 

Last fall, she had all her travel planned out so she could attend the Sabrina Carpenter concert in Baltimore. But a delayed train back to D.C. got her to Union Station at 1 a.m., leaving her with few options.

“I was forced to walk home alone in the middle of the night.”

Both she and Mack say it isn’t like this everywhere. In New York City, there are more than 12,000 wheelchair accessible taxis and ride share vehicles, according to the NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission.

The city said 46% of its taxi fleet is wheelchair accessible. By law, anyone who now wants to start driving for ride shares has to use an accessible vehicle there.

news Apr 3

Disability advocates sue Social Security Administration and DOGE to stop service cuts

Health care Mar 23

Parents of children with disabilities say Medicaid cuts will put livelihoods, kids' health at risk

Metro (WMATA) Dec 19, 2024

MetroAccess customer satisfaction declining

Back in D.C., Uber has some accessible vehicles, but did not respond to our questions about how many.

While Lyft offers accessible rides in nine other cities, it does not in the District. A spokesperson told the I Team it “will continue to push for solutions that make rideshare as accessible as possible for everyone.”

As for taxis, none of the larger companies in town would talk to News4 on camera. But they did admit it’s a challenge, saying wheelchair accessible taxis are both expensive to buy and costly to maintain due mostly to their weight and modifications.

That could explain why the I-Team found so many out-of-commission vehicles in taxi lots with markings that read “junk” and “need engine and transmission.”

Back at Mack’s apartment, she still waited for confirmation her taxi was on the way. It’s been so frustrating for her that she started keeping track of all her taxi calls for the last three years.

“I had 72 attempted trips,” she said. “I averaged those years and came out with a 71% failure rate.”

Which is exactly what happened on the day we hung out with her. 

“We’ll wait a few more minutes and then probably gear up, put on the coat, head out,” she said.

But that taxi never came.

Ella Robinson contributed reporting to this investigation.

This comes more than a year after the decision was made to move headquarters to Greenbelt. But now with Trump’s comments, the big move is up in the air.

Right now, what it’s causing is a delay in the construction process that is yet to start and could take about a decade to be completed.

The move would have benefited the area and its businesses, according to local leaders.

“We’re gonna stop it,” Trump said. “We’re gonna build another big fbi building right where it is.”

With this statement, president trump challenged the more than a decade-long planning process to move the FBI headquarters.

The GSA selected the 61-acre site near the Greenbelt Metro Station in 2023.

“The longer it takes to build the new FBI headquarters, the longer we are at risk for an attack there, the longer the employees and passerby at the current headquarters at risk because the building is literally falling apart and the more it’s gonna cost because as for any public project, the longer it takes to build it the more it costs to do it,” said Congressman Glenn Ivey, who represents Maryland’s fourth district.

The president’s comments were also refuted by Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, calling it a reckless move.

Zee, who works at Pop, Scoops & Dough, a family business that opened just two months ago in the area, said the project would elevate the Greenbelt community.

“I absolutely, 100% hope that it happens because it would boost about 30,000 jobs and salary increment in our area, it would boost the tax rate and the infrastructure, which we so need in our area,” she said.

“This is a need that the nation has and we need to move forward with it,” Ivey added.

In a recently released joint statement, Ivey and other local leaders said they would continue working to ensure that the headquarters is brought to Maryland.

And although the president claimed, “They were gonna build an FBI headquarters three hours away in Maryland,” the new facility would only be located less than 20 miles — or 35 minutes — away from its current location on Pennsylvania Avenue.

According to Ivey, it now could be up to the administration and the agency to determine what happens next.

“This is the part where you kind of wait and see,” said Mack, watching her phone.

She’s used a wheelchair since she was 10 — moved to D.C. after college, she said, because our city was trying to be more accessible. When the I-Team asked if the city was keeping its promise, she responded, “Here and there.”

D.C. does has a few options for passengers with wheelchairs.

Metro trains and buses are accessible. MetroAccess works too, but it requires setting up rides days in advance and being willing to wait.

The Transport DC program offers subsidized taxi rides, but only within the district.

When it comes to ride share companies like Uber and Lyft, the District does not require them to have wheelchair accessible vehicles — even though they account for 95% of all the for-hire rides here.

That leaves taxis, which make up just 5% of all for-hire trips in D.C. Taxis are District regulated and provided 23,000 trips for people who use wheelchairs last year.

“I call it the Yeti, because it’s rumored to exist, but, you know, I rarely ever see it,” exclaimed a frustrated Mack while waiting on a taxi she had reserved days before we met up.

The District has worked to increase service. D.C. has a law mandating 20% of large cab fleets be wheelchair accessible, but the I-Team couldn’t find it’s ever been enforced.

The head of the Department of For-Hire Vehicles (DFHV) told the I-Team, “we can’t punish them into compliance.”

Passenger Naomi Hess was hopeful last year when D.C. set aside $500,000 to incentivize cabdrivers to operate Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles -paying more per hour or to work late hours.

“There really, really needs to be progress,” said Hess.  The city even set up a  Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle (WAV) hotline for people to get connected.

“I tried that pilot line multiple times and they just couldn’t find one for me. Where is the money going?” asked Hess.

The city already spent $255,000 in that pilot program and told the I-Team it generated 435 taxi trips from June to December. That’s $586 per ride.

Jonathan Rogers — the Director of DFHV, which spearheaded the pilot — wouldn’t talk to News4 on camera, but said “Council encouraged us to experiment and figure out what would change behavior… so that’s what we did.”

He said he hoped it would build momentum, and that the six new drivers with accessible vehicles added, would stick with it.

The department just launched a new pilot program in March, and says it’s offering more incentives to taxi companies and drivers. Plus, a spokesperson said it would be sending letters to all taxi companies asking for their long-term plans to address the issue.

“Anyone without a wheelchair can get an Uber, Lyft or taxi, whatever they want. It’s just not fair. And it has put me in unsafe situations,” Hess told the I-Team. 

Last fall, she had all her travel planned out so she could attend the Sabrina Carpenter concert in Baltimore. But a delayed train back to D.C. got her to Union Station at 1 a.m., leaving her with few options.

“I was forced to walk home alone in the middle of the night.”

Both she and Mack say it isn’t like this everywhere. In New York City, there are more than 12,000 wheelchair accessible taxis and ride share vehicles, according to the NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission.

The city said 46% of its taxi fleet is wheelchair accessible. By law, anyone who now wants to start driving for ride shares has to use an accessible vehicle there.

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Back in D.C., Uber has some accessible vehicles, but did not respond to our questions about how many.

While Lyft offers accessible rides in nine other cities, it does not in the District. A spokesperson told the I Team it “will continue to push for solutions that make rideshare as accessible as possible for everyone.”

As for taxis, none of the larger companies in town would talk to News4 on camera. But they did admit it’s a challenge, saying wheelchair accessible taxis are both expensive to buy and costly to maintain due mostly to their weight and modifications.

That could explain why the I-Team found so many out-of-commission vehicles in taxi lots with markings that read “junk” and “need engine and transmission.”

Back at Mack’s apartment, she still waited for confirmation her taxi was on the way. It’s been so frustrating for her that she started keeping track of all her taxi calls for the last three years.

“I had 72 attempted trips,” she said. “I averaged those years and came out with a 71% failure rate.”

Which is exactly what happened on the day we hung out with her. 

“We’ll wait a few more minutes and then probably gear up, put on the coat, head out,” she said.

But that taxi never came.

Ella Robinson contributed reporting to this investigation.

According to a press release from the department, the alleged violations happened because the universities worked with “The PhD Project,” a relatively small organization aimed at helping underrepresented students obtain doctoral degrees.

“Through conferences, mentoring, and networking, The PhD Project encourages and supports historically underrepresented candidates on their journey to acquiring a PhD,” the organization says on its website. “We are a critical bridge between businesses and our alumni PhDs and their students, providing connections to high-potential recruits.”

The organization was founded in 1994, and has helped 1,500 members earn a PhD in that 21-year period, the website says.

Many of those members earned their doctoral degrees in business, then went on to enter higher education.

In helping members of the organization network and get tips on how to navigate graduate school, the PhD project says, they create “more diverse business faculty … inspiring new generations of future leaders, bringing diversity to our workforce, and creating a better world for all of us.”

According to the Department of Education, the organization “limits eligibility based on the race of participants,” which means each of the 45 schools being investigated was “allegedly engaging in race-exclusionary practices in their graduate programs,” the release says.

The release cites a “Dear Colleague” policy memo sent from the Office of Civil Rights to a wide variety of education institutions on Feb. 14.

That letter gave a Feb. 28 deadline “to end diversity programs or risk having their federal money pulled by the Trump administration,” according to the Associated Press.

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“Discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin is illegal and morally reprehensible,” the letter begins. “Accordingly, I write to clarify and reaffirm the nondiscrimination obligations of schools and other entities that receive federal financial assistance from the United States Department of Education.”

The memo cites Students for Fair Admissions v Harvard, the 2023 Supreme Court decision overturning 45 years of legal precedent in support of affirmative action, as a framework for considering race in education programs, and states that DEI programs “frequently preference certain racial groups.”

The release mentions that letter as the particular clarifying document that “reiterated schools’ civil rights obligations,” before describing the alleged civil rights violations of the 45 schools being investigated.

Here is the full list of all 45 schools. The three D.C.-area schools have been bolded by News4.

• Arizona State University – Main Campus  
• Boise State University  
• Cal Poly Humboldt  
• California State University – San Bernardino  
• Carnegie Mellon University  
• Clemson University  
• Cornell University  
• Duke University  
• Emory University  
• George Mason University  
• Georgetown University  
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)  
• Montana State University-Bozeman   
• New York University (NYU)  
• Rice University  
• Rutgers University  
• The Ohio State University – Main Campus  
• Towson University  
• Tulane University  
• University of Arkansas – Fayetteville   
• University of California-Berkeley  
• University of Chicago  
• University of Cincinnati – Main Campus  
• University of Colorado – Colorado Springs
• University of Delaware  
• University of Kansas  
• University of Kentucky  
• University of Michigan-Ann Arbor 
• University of Minnesota-Twin Cities  
• University of Nebraska at Omaha  
• University of New Mexico – Main Campus  
• University of North Dakota – Main Campus  
• University of North Texas – Denton   
• University of Notre Dame  
• University of NV – Las Vegas  
• University of Oregon  
• University of Rhode Island  
• University of Utah  
• University of Washington-Seattle  
• University of Wisconsin-Madison  
• University of Wyoming  
• Vanderbilt University  
• Washington State University 
• Washington University in St. Louis  
• Yale University 

The same Department of Education press release announced that the Office of Civil Rights is investigating six other schools for “allegedly awarding impermissible race-based scholarships and one university for allegedly administering a program that segregates students on the basis of race.”

Here are those six schools:

• Grand Valley State University   
• Ithaca College  
• New England College of Optometry   
• University of Alabama  
• University of Minnesota, Twin Cities 
• University of South Florida  
• University of Oklahoma, Tulsa School of Community Medicine 

“The Department is working to reorient civil rights enforcement to ensure all students are protected from illegal discrimination,” Linda McMahon, the new education secretary, said in part in the release. “Students must be assessed according to merit and accomplishment, not prejudged by the color of their skin. We will not yield on this commitment.”