Associated Press

Report: Self-driving taxi from Tesla spotted on Fairfax County roads

Published September 9, 2026 at 8:30AM

A Tesla Cybercab turns into a residential neighborhood in McLean at Woodhurst Blvd and Lewinsville Road (screenshot courtesy of Adam Tuss/X)

Gold-colored robotaxis developed by Tesla have been spotted driving on roads in Fairfax County, specifically in the Tysons area.

Footage shared last Thursday (Sept. 3) by NBC4 Washington and its transportation reporter, Adam Tuss, showed a so-called Cybercab traveling on Route 7 (Leesburg Pike) and turning into a residential neighborhood off Lewinsville Road in McLean. The self-driving vehicles appear to be collecting data on local roads and traffic.

Countywide

Virginia awarded $353M from Meta settlement of teen social media addiction lawsuit

By Angela Woolsey and Associated Press

Published August 26, 2026 at 11:45AM | Updated August 26, 2026 at 12:07PM

Screenshot of social media mobile apps

Meta has agreed to pay $17 billion and add child-safety measures to its Facebook and Instagram platforms to end a landmark trial over teen social media addiction and settle claims filed by 47 states, state attorneys general announced today (Wednesday).

The agreement guarantees $353 million for Virginia alone, making it one of the largest consumer protection settlements in state history outside of settlements with tobacco companies in the 1990s, Attorney General Jay Jones said in a statement.

News

National Symphony Orchestra to play at GMU in Fairfax amid Kennedy Center uncertainty

By Associated Press and Angela Woolsey

Published August 18, 2026 at 12:05PM | Updated August 18, 2026 at 7:23PM

FILE - Music Director of the National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) Gianandrea Noseda conducts the orchestra during a rehearsal at Milan's La Scala theatre, Italy, on Feb. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni, File)

George Mason University’s Center for the Arts is one of six D.C.-area venues that will host the National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) during its upcoming season.

Faced with an uncertain future due to a potential two-year closure of the Kennedy Center, its long-established home, the NSO made its delayed 2026-27 season announcement today (Tuesday), 5 1/2 weeks before its opening concert on Sept. 26 and five months later than the release of its 2025-26 schedule.

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UPDATED: Trump announces $22B plan to remake Dulles Airport

By Angela Woolsey and Associated Press

Published July 29, 2026 at 2:50PM | Updated July 29, 2026 at 6:48PM

Mobile lounges at Dulles International Airport with the main terminal building in the background (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

President Donald Trump officially unveiled his sought-after plan to renovate Dulles International Airport this afternoon (Wednesday) at an Oval Office event with U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.

A presentation of the proposal, which is expected to cost approximately $22 billion and eliminate the airport’s polarizing mobile lounges or “people movers,” was shared this spring by the newsletter Airport Architecture.

Countywide

Virginia study of data centers’ impact on groundwater calls for tighter regulations

By Associated Press

Published July 24, 2026 at 4:45PM

FILE - Cars drive past data centers in Ashburn, Virginia, on July 16, 2023 (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey, File)

By SARAH RANKIN Associated Press

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia, the world’s largest data center hub, has released a long-delayed study that examined the state’s eastern region groundwater supply and the resource-hungry industry’s possible impact on it, finding declines are likely in a critical aquifer due to population growth and industrial use, and urging stricter regulations.

Countywide

NOW: Outdoor activities, trash service canceled in Fairfax due to wildfire smoke

By Angela Woolsey and Associated Press

Published July 17, 2026 at 10:30AM | Updated July 17, 2026 at 11:51AM

Wildfire smoke around the Reston Town Center Metro station (via Fairfax County government/X)

Hazardous air quality levels due to wildfire smoke have been reported in the D.C. region, prompting cancellations of outdoor activities across Fairfax County.

Early this morning (Friday), the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG) issued a Code Purple Air Quality Advisory for the region after conditions considered “very unhealthy” for everyone were recorded in D.C., Northern Virginia and parts of suburban Maryland by 9 a.m.

Countywide

JUST IN: Unhealthy air expected in D.C. region Friday due to wildfire smoke

By Angela Woolsey and Associated Press

Published July 16, 2026 at 4:45PM

A watercraft sits in the Detroit River near the skyline during poor air quality due to smoke from Canadian wildfires Thursday, July 16, 2026, in Detroit (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Fairfax County hasn’t yet seen clear evidence of the wildfires raging in Canada and Minnesota, but that could change tomorrow (Friday), as smoke continues wafting toward the East Coast.

The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG) are both forecasting Code Red air quality tomorrow for Northern Virginia and the greater D.C. region, meaning conditions will be unhealthy for everyone.

Countywide

Trump administration sues Virginia over assault weapons ban

By Angela Woolsey and Associated Press

Published July 1, 2026 at 5:30PM | Updated July 2, 2026 at 1:12PM

FILE - Assault style weapons and hand guns are displayed for sale at Capitol City Arms Supply on Jan. 16, 2013, in Springfield, Ill. (AP Photo/Seth Perlman, File)

Virginia is facing another lawsuit over its newly adopted but not-yet-enacted ban on future sales and manufacturing of assault firearms.

The Trump administration sued the Commonwealth of Virginia and Virginia State Police in federal court today (Wednesday), arguing that its planned restrictions on gun sales violate the Second Amendment.

News

BREAKING: Herndon man sentenced to life for double murder in ‘au pair affair’

By Mary Stachyra Lopez and Associated Press

Published June 5, 2026 at 1:45PM | Updated June 5, 2026 at 3:08PM

Brendan Banfield speaks during his sentencing on June 5, 2026 (screenshot via Law and Crime video pool feed)

A Herndon man was sentenced in Fairfax County Circuit Court today to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murder of his wife and a stranger he lured to their home through a fetish website.

Brendan Banfield, a former IRS law enforcement officer, claimed that he shot Joseph Ryan after he came across Ryan attacking his wife on the morning of Feb. 24, 2023. But earlier this year, a jury convicted him of murder after prosecutors argued that Banfield and the family’s au pair, Juliana Peres Magalhães, set Ryan up in a scheme to murder Christine Banfield, a pediatric intensive care nurse.

News

Ex-CIA official charged with stealing millions of dollars in gold bars from federal government

By Associated Press and Angela Woolsey

Published May 28, 2026 at 11:45AM

The CIA seal next to a U.S. flag at the agency's Langley headquarters (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

A former senior CIA official with top secret-level clearance is accused of stealing hundreds of gold bars worth more than $40 million from the federal government and stashing them in his home.

David Rush was arrested and charged with criminal theft of public money last week, according to federal court filings in Virginia, where he lives.