Thomas Robertson

11 hours ago | wtop.com | Thomas Robertson

The grandfather of an elementary school student who brought a gun to school that accidentally went off inside a classroom in Charles County, Maryland, has been charged in the case, according to authorities. Investigators with the Charles County Sheriff’s Office said the inside Billingsley Elementary School in Waldorf belonged to 68-year-old Phillip Bright, of Crestview, Florida. No one was injured when the 9-year-old accidentally discharged the gun.

1 day ago | wtop.com | Thomas Robertson

Crime is down in the District so far this year, and D.C. police say that it’s a result of their public safety initiatives. Robberies are down 24%; homicides are down 17%; and assaults with a dangerous weapon are down 14%, compared to the same time last year, according to D.C. police. D.C. crime data shows a 22% drop in all violent crime so far, and a 2% dip in property crime, which is far more common. All told, crime is down 5% to start 2025, compared to this point last year.

2 days ago | wtop.com | Thomas Robertson

April didn’t get the memo, as most of the D.C. area is experiencing drought conditions, but the showers are coming in earnest this week, providing some relief and much-needed rainfall while also bringing the risk of flooding. D.C.’s western suburbs and southern points will be under a flood watch from Tuesday morning until Wednesday morning. The showers will begin Monday night, but that’s just the start of a prolonged period of moderate to heavy rain, according to the National Weather Service.

5 days ago | wtop.com | Thomas Robertson |Ciara Wells

Two days into the conclave, Cardinal Robert Prevost was elected as the new head of the Catholic Church, choosing the papal name Leo XIV. It is the first time in the 2,000-year history of the Catholic Church that the pope is from the United States. Prevost, 69, was born in Chicago and raised in a nearby Illinois suburb. He joined the Order of St. Augustine in 1977 and spent most of his career ministering in Peru.

6 days ago | wtop.com | Thomas Robertson

This article was republished with permission from WTOP’s news partner InsideNoVa.com. Sign up for InsideNoVa.com’s free email subscription today. The Virginia High School League ratified its transgender student participation policy Wednesday as its executive committee meeting. The league’s executive committee voted Feb. 10 to change the policy in compliance with President Donald Trump’s executive order to keep transgender women from playing on women’s high school sports teams.