Author: Associated Press

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Countywide

United Airlines testing security wait times tracker at Dulles, as DHS shutdown drags on

By Angela Woolsey and Associated Press
A security screening area at Dulles International Airport in April 2025 (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

United Airlines is testing a digital tracker for airport security wait times after the ongoing Department of Homeland Security shutdown snarled lines at major airports across the country.

Touting the tool as the “first of its kind” from a major U.S. airline, United added the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) wait times tracker to its mobile app on Wednesday (April 1). It’s currently available for seven pilot locations, including Dulles International Airport.

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Around Town

Labubu maker to open retail shop at Tysons Corner Center

By Angela Woolsey and Associated Press
A Pop Mart retail store is coming soon to Tysons Corner Center (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

The Labubu craze is coming to Tysons Corner Center, where it will no doubt be greeted by avid collectors and befuddled observers alike.

Pop Mart, the Chinese toy company best known for its popular line of grinning, bunny-eared monster dolls, is planning to open a retail store at the mall, its second in the D.C. region following a launch in Pentagon City last November.

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News

FCC approves $6.2B takeover of Tysons-based Tegna as Virginia AG sues to block it

By Angela Woolsey and Associated Press
Jay Jones is sworn in as Virginia Attorney General by Lyn M. Simmons, chief judge of the Norfolk Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court, on Jan. 17, 2026 (staff photo by James Cullum)

The Federal Communications Commission announced yesterday (Thursday) that it has approved local television giant Nexstar Media Group’s $6.2 billion takeover of Tysons-based rival Tegna.

Earlier that same day, Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones and his counterparts in seven other states filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in Sacramento, California, arguing that the merger will illegally reduce competition in journalism and the broadcasting industry while resulting in increased prices and worker layoffs.

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Countywide

General Assembly’s data center tax dispute leaves Va. budget unresolved

By Emily Leayman and Associated Press
CoreSite's Reston data center campus (staff photo by James Jarvis)

A dispute over ending a sales tax exemption on data centers stood in the way of the Virginia General Assembly passing a state budget passing before its regular session ended.

Over the past 18 years, Virginia became the world’s largest data hub, but community opposition to data centers has swelled. Most recently, in Fairfax County, environmental groups are questioning plans to sell part of a county-owned parcel at 3721 Stonecroft Blvd in Chantilly to data center developer Starwood Capital Group.

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Countywide

Virginia legislators debate whether to scrap tax breaks for data centers

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

By OLIVIA DIAZ and MARC LEVY Associated Press

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Nearly two decades ago, Virginia gave tech companies a tax break on equipment and software, and they began to build. The state became a data center hub, and they kept building. Residents bemoaned the noise while they built some more. Artificial intelligence boomed, and the power grid strained — still, more building.

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News

Former Va. first lady Dorothy McAuliffe to run for Congress in proposed 7th district

By Angela Woolsey and Associated Press
FILE - Dorothy McAuliffe speaks during a campaign event for her husband Virginia democratic gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe at Lubber Run Park, July 23, 2021, in Arlington, Va. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)

Former Virginia first lady Dorothy McAuliffe is officially running for Congress.

The onetime state department official and wife of former Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe announced today (Wednesday) that she will campaign for the proposed 7th Congressional District seat, which would include Annandale, Burke, West Springfield, West Falls Church and Pimmit Hills in Fairfax County.

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News

Great Falls boater sues over Potomac River sewage spill, while report finds possible leaks

By Angela Woolsey and Associated Press
A warning sign at the site of a massive pipe rupture, as sewage flows into the Potomac River, right, in Glen Echo, Md., Friday, Jan. 23, 2026 (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)

The fallout from the January sewer collapse that dumped over 200 million gallons of wastewater into the Potomac River continues to pile up, bringing a new lawsuit and a report that suggests the river might still be getting contaminated.

A Great Falls resident filed a class action lawsuit against DC Water on Friday (March 6) in the U.S. District Court in Greenbelt, Maryland, calling for the utility to compensate himself and other individuals “whose property interests in and use and enjoyment of the Potomac River … have been impaired by [the] Defendant’s conduct.”

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News

UPDATED: NTSB member who served as face of Potomac crash investigation fired

By Associated Press
FILE - National Transportation Safety Board member Todd Inman speaks with reporters at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Feb. 1, 2025, in Arlington, Va. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, file)

By JOSH FUNK AP Transportation Writer

The White House said it fired a National Transportation Safety Board member after reports of drinking on the job and harassing staff, but Todd Inman flatly denied the allegations Monday and said he plans to fight back.

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Around Town

BREAKING: Saks Fifth Avenue to close Tysons Galleria store after 38 years

By Angela Woolsey and Associated Press
Saks Fifth Avenue inside Tysons Galleria (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Tysons Galleria will soon lose another longstanding tenant.

The mall is home to one of 12 Saks Fifth Avenue stores now slated to permanently shutter as part of the fashion retailer’s ongoing bankruptcy restructuring. The list also includes a location at The Collection in Chevy Chase.

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Countywide

Virginia Supreme Court allows redistricting referendum, with early voting starting Friday

By Angela Woolsey and Associated Press
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)

For the second time, Virginia’s Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that voters can cast ballots on a Democrat-led congressional redistricting plan that could help the party win four more U.S. House seats, as the justices review legal challenges to the effort.

The court ruled that a statewide referendum can be held on April 21 on whether to authorize mid-decade redistricting, upending a temporary restraining order put in place by a Tazewell County judge last month. It comes after the top court made a similar ruling last month in a related case.

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