WTOP News (Maryland)

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New car prices rising as tariffs start to take hold

1 day ago | wtop.com | Neal Augenstein

The average new car buyer paid 2.5% more in April than in March — just over a month after President Donald Trump imposed a 25% tariff on imports of automobiles and certain auto parts, according to Kelley Blue Book. Executive Editor Brian Moody, who serves in the same role for Autotrader, said the average buyer paid $48,699 last month. Prices usually increase in April, but that figure is the second-highest April jump in a decade.
Manassas woman charged with animal cruelty after kitten euthanized, 23 cats seized

1 day ago | wtop.com | Jessica Kronzer

This article was republished with permission from WTOP’s news partner InsideNoVa.com. Sign up for InsideNoVa.com’s free email subscription today. Animal control officers seized 23 cats and charged a Manassas-area woman with six counts of animal cruelty after a Scottish-fold kitten in her care had to be euthanized due to mistreatment, according to police. A local veterinarian contacted police Feb.
What new data tells us about homelessness in the DC region

1 day ago | wtop.com | Mike Murillo

The D.C. region, as a whole, saw homelessness decrease slightly this year over 2024, according to the annual point-in-time survey done by area jurisdictions. The count, done by volunteers and others on two nights, found 9,659 people experiencing homelessness in the region — down 115 people from last year.
Treating hearing loss could reduce the risk of dementia, study finds

2 days ago | wtop.com | Mike Murillo

Addressing hearing loss early can delay the onset of dementia, according to the findings of a new study done by several universities, including Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The study followed people between the ages of 66 and 90 years old for eight years and found a 32% increase in the risk of getting dementia in people whose testing showed confirmed hearing loss.
Grandfather of student charged after gun went off inside Md. elementary school last month

2 days 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.
Police: Teenager shot, killed by man playing with gun in Beltsville home

2 days ago | wtop.com | Neal Augenstein

A 16-year-old from Beltsville, Maryland, who played on his high school’s football team, was shot and killed inside his home by a man who was messing with a gun, according to police. Derrick Palmer was a football player at John F. Kennedy High School in Wheaton. He was killed at his home on Heartwood Drive on Saturday afternoon, according to Prince George’s County Police. Kimaury Kamara, 18, of Mt. Holly Springs, Pennsylvania, is charged with manslaughter, having a “ghost gun,” and other counts.
Montgomery County Council has a plan to fund schools and avoid a tax increase

2 days 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.
With DC crime under federal and local microscope, numbers trending in right direction

3 days 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.
‘Helps the community’: Montgomery Co. expungement clinic aims to remove barriers after minor criminal convictions

3 days ago | wtop.com | Neal Augenstein

Having a criminal conviction can make it difficult to work toward to a better future; Montgomery County, Maryland, is holding an expungement clinic Saturday, to help some people get back on track. “Expungement is where we, through a legal procedure, remove from public record evidence of a prior criminal conviction,” said State’s Attorney for Montgomery County John McCarthy.
New push from Kaine aims to close retirement gap for Virginia’s youngest workers

3 days ago | wtop.com | Markus Schmidt

This article was reprinted with permission from Virginia Mercury. U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., is backing bipartisan legislation aimed at helping workers as young as 18 — particularly those who enter the workforce straight out of high school — gain access to employer-sponsored retirement plans, a benefit many currently don’t receive until age 21.