Articles

Washington Post |  Sixteen months after Bijan Ghaisar was shot to death by two U.S. Park Police officers in Fairfax County, Va., the officers were identified for the first time Friday as Alejandro Amaya and Lucas Vinyard. No decision has been made by the Justice Department on whether the shooting was legally justified or whether the two officers will be charged with a crime. The… Read more »

Falls Church News Press |  Speaking before a surprisingly large turnout of over 200 at a town hall at Edison High School in Franconia Tuesday night, U.S. Rep. Donald S. Beyer Jr., a Democrat who represents the 8th District of Virginia that includes the City of Falls Church, said he’s “confident” the full report submitted by Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller last week will be made… Read more »

Independent Journal Review | Democrats are outraged over Education Secretary Betsey DeVos‘ proposed a new department budget that includes cutting all $18 million of federal funding to the Special Olympics. Lawmakers in the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives are reassuring the public that they will fight for the organization’s funding. “This will never happen. Full… Read more »

WUSA 9 |  Friday, special counsel Robert Mueller turned over his long-awaited report on the Russia investigation. After two years of investigation – which, at times entangled President Donald Trump’s family and resulted in charges against some of his associates – the report is now in the hands of Attorney General William Barr. Immediately after the news broke Friday night,… Read more »

Business Insider |  It's been a rough week for President Donald Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner. Questions surrounding the circumstances of his security clearance (and whether Trump influenced the process), still loom as lawmakers demand the US Justice Department launch an investigation into the matter. According to people who were briefed on a… Read more »

E&E News |  Seismic blasting in the Atlantic Ocean would be prohibited under a bill introduced in the Senate yesterday. "This bill prevents fossil fuel related seismic testing and makes clear that the Atlantic is off-limits to any type of offshore oil exploration," said Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), chief sponsor of S. 828, the "Atlantic Seismic Airgun Protection… Read more »

WAMU 88.5 |  For years, Fairfax County Public Schools reported to the federal government that not a single student was physically restrained or trapped in an isolating space. But documents obtained by WAMU reveal hundreds of cases where children, some as young as 6 years old, were restrained or put in seclusion multiple times. In some cases, a single child was confined to a room… Read more »

POLITICO |  Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) is sending a letter to all of his male House colleagues asking them to sign the GenderAvenger pledge, which commits men not to participate in panel discussions (outside Congress) that omit women. Reps. Joe Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Bill Keating (D-Mass.) and Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) have already signed. Read more »

Federal News Network |  Maybe the third, fourth or fifth time is the charm. House lawmakers on Tuesday again revived their attempts to pass a paid family leave bill for federal employees. This time, Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.), along with House Majority Speaker Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) and Reps. Jennifer Wexton and Don Beyer (D-Va.), have introduced the Federal Employee Paid… Read more »

Local DVM |  Friday morning the House passed a bill known as HR 1, which aims to expand voters' rights and reduce money in politics.The bill increases donor transparency and cracks down on lobbying. It also requires presidential and vice presidential candidates release their tax returns.  The Democrat's bill likely won't be made into law. Ahead of the vote on Thursday,… Read more »