WTOP-FM (Washington, DC)

1 day ago | wtop.com | Kate Ryan

Montgomery County Council President Kate Stewart announced a plan that would cover nearly all of the $3.6 billion requested by the county school system in its 2026 budget while avoiding a tax hike. At a news conference Tuesday, Stewart said the council has agreed to tap into an employee retirement benefit fund on a one-time basis to cover 99.8% of what the school system has requested in its spending plan for the next fiscal year.

1 day ago | wtop.com | Jeff Clabaugh

Staging a home that is for sale — with new, but neutral furniture and art to make the home appealing to more buyers — is effective, according to a survey of real estate agents conducted by the National Association of Realtors. But not a slam dunk. In its survey, 29% of agents reported staging led to a 1% to 10% increase in the selling price, and 40% said staging helped sell the home faster. The cost of staging a home depends on whether it is done professionally, and who pays for it, also varies.

1 day ago | wtop.com | J.J. Green

WTOP National Security Correspondent JJ Green is traveling in Europe, taking a closer look at Russia’s hybrid warfare and sabotage activities, which pose a significant and escalating threat to European countries and the U.S. Russia’s hybrid warfare strategy poses a sustained and multidimensional threat to Eastern Europe, aiming to destabilize the region and fracture the West’s security architecture.

1 day ago | wtop.com | Kate Ryan

Twenty Montgomery County Public School students have been named National Merit Scholars. One of them, 17-year-old Quinn C. Parker, a senior at Bethesda Chevy Chase High School, plans on going into medicine, specifically neurosurgery. As Parker puts it, “I kind of gained my interest in the brain when my grandma got dementia. She suffered with it for five years.” She thought to herself that there has to be a cure for a disease that takes such a heavy toll.

2 days ago | wtop.com | Kate Ryan

It’s been in the works for years, but next month, Metro is rolling out its systemwide “Better Bus” overhaul. As part of the streamlined, consolidated service, WMATA is eliminating 527 bus stops — about 5% of the stops across the system that services D.C., Maryland and Virginia. According to the Better Bus website, Metrobus focused on stops that were bunched close together, had low ridership or posed safety issues given traffic and roadway conditions.