DC students made small gains on last year’s standardized tests, but still below prepandemic levels...

WTOP News 8/20 11:00A Scott Gelman

D.C. students made small gains in reading last year, but math results haven t yet reached prepandemic levels, according to new citywide standardized test data released Thursday. At a news briefing, District education officials shared results from...

12-year-old arrested, charged with fatally shooting 13-year-old in DC

WTOP News 8/20 10:19A Thomas Robertson

A 12-year-old was arrested Wednesday and charged in the fatal shooting of a 13-year-old that happened in July in D.C. s Kingman Park neighborhood. The 12-year-old boy was arrested by members of the Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force and...

Metro and IndyCar team up for a busy weekend of Freedom 250 Grand Prix events

WTOP News 8/20 9:04A Alan Etter

This page contains a video which is being blocked by your ad blocker. In order to view the video you must disable your ad blocker. Metro and IndyCar team up for a busy weekend of Grand Prix events No, you weren t hallucinating Thursday morning —...

The Weekend Scene: Famed DC music venue back for 3 nights, and more to do Aug. 20-23

NBC DC (Local) 8/20 8:49A Sophia Barnes and Tommy McFly

Subscribe to The Weekend Scene newsletter to get our picks delivered straight to your inbox — every Wednesday Rev your engines! Freedom 250 Grand Prix weekend is here, and soon cars will be zooming near the National Mall over 150 mph. Tommy caught...

An inside look at final preparations for Freedom 250 Grand Prix in DC

WTOP News 8/20 8:38A Luke Lukert

This page contains a video which is being blocked by your ad blocker. In order to view the video you must disable your ad blocker. How DC is preparing for the Freedom 250 Grand Prix The Freedom 250 Grand Prix in D.C. is just days away. It is...

‘Worse than cherry blossoms’: Drivers react to Freedom 250 Grand Prix road closures

WTOP News 8/19 11:40P Jimmy Alexander

This page contains a video which is being blocked by your ad blocker. In order to view the video you must disable your ad blocker. Commuters say Freedom 250 Grand Prix traffic is ‘worse than cherry blossoms’ IndyCar drivers will be going close to...

DC’s Carter Barron Amphitheater welcomes back crowds after decade-long closure

WTOP News 8/18 10:03P Mike Murillo

The amphitheater's last full season was in 2016 before structural problems forced it to close. This week marks the first time audiences will return for live performances in nearly a decade.(Courtesy...

African American history museum on National Mall marks a decade with anniversary events

WTOP News 8/18 12:22A Anna-Lysa Gayle

The Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture is preparing to celebrate its 10th anniversary next month, marking a milestone for a museum whose first donor plans to be there for the occasion. Related stories Son of DC...

DC-area schools crack national top 10 in new US News rankings

WTOP News 8/17 10:58P Kyle Cooper

Two D.C. area high schools are among the 10 best schools in the nation, according to new U.S. News and World Report rankings. Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Fairfax County ranked sixth nationally, and the District s...

Preserving Shakespeare: How DC’s Folger Library keeps 400-year-old volumes pristine

WTOP News 8/17 10:53P Matt Kaufax

This page contains a video which is being blocked by your ad blocker. In order to view the video you must disable your ad blocker. Inside the room where 400-year-old copies of Shakespeare are restored Follow WTOP’s Matt Kaufax as he explores...

Trump blames vandals for damaged grass in the same spot where he held his big July 4 celebration

WTOP News 8/16 11:26P WTOP Staff

FILE - Workers dismantle structures from Salute to America, an Independence Day event honoring the nation's 250th anniversary, as seen from the Washington Monument, on July 10, 2026, in Washington....

From taekwondo champion to AIDS activist: DC’s Bishop Rainey Cheeks dies at 74

WTOP News 8/16 1:58A Jimmy Alexander

D.C. native Bishop Kwabena Albert “Rainey” Cheeks, a taekwondo champion, minister and longtime HIV/AIDS activist, died Aug. 11. He was 74. Related stories The AIDS Memorial Quilt made a fearful epidemic powerfully human US actions harm global...

DC man gets 17 years in prison for string of mail carrier armed robberies

WTOP News 8/15 3:58A Thomas Robertson

A man was sentenced to 17 years in prison for his role in the armed robbery of seven mail carriers in the D.C. region in 2022, prosecutors announced this week. Related stories Gaithersburg man sentenced to 25 years in pipe-bombing case...

Kentucky woman charged in connection to DC’s World War II Memorial vandalism

WTOP News 8/14 9:08A Scott Gelman

This page contains a video which is being blocked by your ad blocker. In order to view the video you must disable your ad blocker. Investigation underway after vandalism, bubbles found at DC’s World...

Starting Friday night, expect closures, delays near Suitland Parkway Interchange project

WTOP News 8/14 3:51A Neal Augenstein

A new traffic pattern will be in effect Monday morning in connection with the large Maryland Route 4 and Suitland Parkway Interchange project. But drivers should avoid the area beginning Friday...