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Buddhist monks on 2,300-mile ‘Walk for Peace’ will pass through Old Town on Monday

By Katie Taranto and The Associated Press

Published February 7, 2026 at 8:30AM | Updated February 8, 2026 at 7:10PM

Buddhist monks who are participating in the, "Walk For Peace," are seen with their dog, Aloka, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)

Alexandria will recognize a group of Buddhist monks on a 2,300-mile journey to D.C. on Monday as they near the end of their months-long “Walk for Peace.”

The group of monks, who began their pilgrimage on Oct. 26, 2025, at a Vietnamese Buddhist temple in Texas, are expected to pass through Old Town on Monday and interact with passersby at Christ Church (118 N. Washington Street) around noon.

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Washington Post says one-third of its staff across all departments is being laid off

By The Associated Press and ALXnow.com

Published February 4, 2026 at 10:20AM

A sign for the Washington Post is seen at the company's offices, Monday, Jan. 26, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

The Washington Post says one-third of its staff across all departments, not just the newsroom, is being laid off.

The troubled Post began implementing large-scale cutbacks on Wednesday, including eliminating its sports department and shrinking the number of journalists it stations overseas. The changes were announced by executive editor Matt Murray in a Zoom meeting with staff.

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Trump signs bill to end partial shutdown as Democrats continue push for ICE reform

By The Associated Press

Published February 3, 2026 at 5:05PM

The Capitol is seen under gray skies on the thirteenth day of the government shutdown, in Washington, Monday, Oct. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

President Donald Trump signed a roughly $1.2 trillion government funding bill Tuesday that ends the partial federal shutdown that began over the weekend and sets the stage for an intense debate in Congress over Homeland Security funding.

The president moved quickly to sign the bill after the House approved it with a 217-214 vote.

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Virginia Democrats plan appeal after judge rules redistricting resolution illegal

By The Associated Press

Published January 28, 2026 at 8:00AM

FILE - The state and U.S. flags fly over the Virginia State Capitol as the 2024 session of the Virginia General Assembly gets underway, Jan. 10, 2024, in Richmond, Va. (AP Photo/Steve Helber, File)

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A Virginia judge ruled Tuesday that a proposed constitutional amendment letting Democrats redraw the state’s Congressional maps was illegal, setting back the party’s efforts to pick up seats in the U.S. House in November. In Maryland, Gov. Wes Moore testified for a new map that could enable Democrats to defeat the state’s only House Republican.

The latest developments are part of a national battle over unusual mid-decade redistricting attempts, launched last summer by President Donald Trump who urged Republican officials in Texas to redraw maps to help the GOP win more seats. He did so in hopes of holding on to a narrow House majority in the face of political headwinds that typically favor the party out of power in midterms.

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Trump-appointed prosecutor who pursued Comey indictment departs post after 120 days

By The Associated Press

Published January 21, 2026 at 8:15AM

FILE - Lindsey Halligan, special assistant to the president, speaks with a reporter outside of the White House, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

Lindsey Halligan, who, as a hastily appointed Justice Department prosecutor, pursued indictments against a pair of President Donald Trump’s adversaries, is leaving her position as her months-long tenure has now concluded, Attorney General Pam Bondi said Tuesday night.

Halligan’s departure from the role of interim United States attorney for the Alexandria-based Eastern District of Virginia came as multiple judges were casting doubt on her ability to remain in the job legally following a court ruling two months ago that declared her appointment illegal.

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Search of Washington Post reporter’s home took place in Alexandria, FBI confirms

By The Associated Press and Katie Taranto

Published January 15, 2026 at 1:41PM

FILE - A person walks into the One Franklin Square Building, home of The Washington Post newspaper, June 21, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

FBI agents searched a Washington Post reporter’s Alexandria home yesterday (Wednesday) as part of a leak investigation into a Pentagon contractor accused of taking home classified information, the Justice Department said.

Hannah Natanson, who has been covering President Donald Trump’s transformation of the federal government, had a phone, two laptops and a Garmin watch seized in the search of her Alexandria home, the Post reported. Natanson has reported extensively on the federal workforce and recently published a piece describing how she gained hundreds of new sources — leading one colleague to call her “the federal government whisperer.”

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JUST IN: Judge dismisses Comey indictment after finding that prosecutor was illegally appointed

By The Associated Press

Published November 24, 2025 at 1:00PM

FILE - Former FBI director James Comey speaks during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Capitol Hill, June 8, 2017, in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge on Monday dismissed the criminal cases against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, concluding that the prosecutor who brought the charges at President Donald Trump’s urging was illegally appointed by the Justice Department.

The rulings from U.S. District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie halt at least for now a pair of prosecutions that had targeted two of the president’s most high-profile political opponents and amount to a sharp rebuke of the Trump administration’s legal maneuvering to install an inexperienced and loyalist prosecutor willing to file the cases.

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Comey lawyers seek indictment dismissal over ‘vindictive and selective’ prosecution

By The Associated Press

Published November 19, 2025 at 9:30AM

Family of former FBI Director James Comey and others, arrive at federal court in Alexandria, Va., Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Former FBI Director James Comey will make another run Wednesday at getting his criminal case dismissed, with his lawyers looking to convince a judge that the prosecution is vindictive and rooted in President Donald Trump’s hatred of him.

The arguments arrive as the Comey case appears freshly imperiled following a judge’s excoriation of the Justice Department on Monday and as multiple challenges to the indictment may result in its dismissal.

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House passes bill to end government shutdown, sending measure to Trump

By The Associated Press

Published November 12, 2025 at 8:56PM

The Capitol is seen at dusk as Democrats and Republicans in Congress are angrily blaming each other and refusing to budge from their positions on funding the government, in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

WASHINGTON — The House passed a bill Wednesday to end the nation’s longest government shutdown, sending the measure to President Donald Trump for his signature after a historic 43-day funding lapse that saw federal workers go without multiple paychecks, travelers stranded at airports and people lining up at food banks to get a meal for their families.

House lawmakers made their long-awaited return to the nation’s capital this week after nearly eight weeks away. Republicans used their slight majority to get the bill over the finish line with a mostly party-line vote of 222-209. The Senate has already passed the measure.

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Northern lights could return to N. Va. skies tonight after Tuesday auroras

By Katie Taranto and The Associated Press

Published November 12, 2025 at 1:30PM

The northern lights fill the sky behind the Saint Joseph the Woodworker Shrine Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025, near Valley Falls, Kan. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Solar storms brought colorful auroras to unexpected places last night (Tuesday), and there could be more to come across the D.C. area this evening.

Space weather forecasters confirmed that storms reached severe levels Tuesday, triggering vibrant northern lights as far south as Kansas, Colorado and Texas. In Virginia, residents posted about aurora sightings from northern localities like Arlington and Vienna, and out west in Rockingham County.

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Senate passes deal to reopen government, but hurdles remain for health care funding

By The Associated Press

Published November 10, 2025 at 9:00AM

Sen. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of N.Y., speaks with reporters at the Capitol Subway on the 36th day of the government shutdown, Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)

A legislative package to end the government shutdown appears on track Monday after a handful of Senate Democrats joined with Republicans to break the impasse in what has become a deepening disruption of federal programs and services, the longest in history.

What's in and out of the bipartisan deal drew sharp criticism and leaves few senators fully satisfied. The legislation provides funding to reopen the government, including for SNAP food aid and other programs, while also ensuring backpay for furloughed federal workers the Trump administration had left in doubt.