The Washington Post • April 21, 2024

They fled Venezuela — and transformed D.C.’s food delivery scene

For most, food delivery offers far more autonomy over their schedules and pay than other industries. But they acknowledged numerous hurdles — for instance, the lack of access to health insurance, which heightens the financial risks of any accident. Expenses such as “renting” food-delivery accounts and financing mopeds add to their burdens. And while some drivers say that their ability to deliver food quickly has been praised by customers and restaurants, some D.C. residents have publicly express

The Washington Post • April 13, 2024

They got their son a pet octopus. Weeks later, there were 50 more.

But that was only the first twist in a saga playing out in Edmond, Okla., that captivated thousands of people on social media. The biggest surprise, Clifford said, actually came one night in February, when he picked up one of the eggs — which he had long assumed weren’t fertilized — and accidentally popped it. What he thought was a “blob of some strange liquid” came out and fell back into the tank. “It’s something that I think a lot of people need because there’s so much bad news in the world,”

The Washington Post • April 12, 2024

1 killed, 13 hurt after driver rams truck into Tex. state agency, officials say

One person was killed and 13 others injured Friday after a man crashed a stolen 18-wheeler truck into a Department of Public Safety office in Brenham, Tex., one day after he was denied a commercial driver’s license in the same building, officials said. The driver, identified by authorities as Clenard Parker, 42, was being pursued by police when he slammed the semitrailer into the exterior wall of the government building about 75 miles northwest of Houston, Sgt. Justin Ruiz with the Texas Departm

The Washington Post • April 8, 2024

Elon Musk challenges Brazilian judge over order to block X accounts

Elon Musk said Sunday that X would defy an order by Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes to block some accounts amid a growing confrontation between the social media company and the country’s judiciary over free speech and misinformation. His stance quickly prompted a response from Moraes, who on Sunday evening ordered federal authorities to investigate Musk as part of an ongoing probe over what he alleges is the use of social media to undermine Brazil’s democracy. Moraes also ann

Washington Post • April 3, 2024

Squatters have become a right-wing talking point. What to know about the rare practice.

Squatters have become a right-wing talking point. What to know about the rare practice. The national conversation around “squatters” has reached a fever pitch in recent weeks, spurred by conflicts that have gone viral and legislative actions in at least four states. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) last week signed a bill aimed at giving Floridian homeowners, as he put it, “the ability to quickly and legally remove a squatter from a property,” while Georgia, South Carolina and New York have introd

The Washington Post • March 28, 2024

Massive crane, $60M in federal funds bolster Baltimore bridge cleanup

A 1,000-ton crane is expected to arrive Thursday night in Baltimore after federal officials approved $60 million in emergency-relief funding, as work to clear the Patapsco River of mangled metal continues since a container ship crumpled the Francis Scott Key Bridge nearly three days ago. Recovery efforts have been suspended for four construction workers who fell into the frigid waters and are presumed dead. The bodies of two workers were recovered Wednesday, and two other people were found alive

The Washington Post • March 27, 2024

Bridge collapse brings stark reminder of immigrant workers’ vulnerabilities

While full details about the victims in the bridge collapse have not been released to the public, they are known to be natives of Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador. Two workers were quickly rescued, but the search for others was ongoing. Authorities announced Wednesday they had recovered two bodies, those of Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes, 35, of Baltimore and Dorlian Ronial Castillo Cabrera, 26, of Dundalk, Md. Some 130,000 immigrants work in the construction industry in the Baltimore a

The Washington Post • March 25, 2024

Florida latest to restrict social media for kids as legal battle looms

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) on Monday signed strong restrictions against children using social media, following other Republican-led states amid a national push to crack down on minors’ access to online platforms over safety fears. “You can have a kid in the house safe, seemingly, and then you have predators that can get right in there into your own home,” DeSantis said during a news conference Monday. “You could be doing everything right but they know how to get and manipulate these different

The Washington Post • March 22, 2024

Senate passes spending bill after deadline, averting shutdown

Government shutdown: What to know The latest: The Senate approved a $1.2 trillion spending bill in the wee hours of Saturday morning to prevent a brief partial government shutdown, sending the bill to President Biden to sign into law. See how every Senate and House member voted. What would be affected in a shutdown? The funding that was set to expire on March 22 covers agencies that represent roughly 70 percent of the federal government. If the partial government shutdown lasted past the weeke

The Washington Post • March 19, 2024

Before Bernie Sanders, Richard Nixon championed the 4-day workweek

While this could describe the present moment — down to the unemployment rate — the year was 1956. Long before artificial intelligence entered the chat and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) filed a 32-hour workweek bill, another leader — then-vice president Richard M. Nixon (R) — made a similar proposal in a speech that campaign season, saying he envisioned a “not too distant” future where the “backbreaking toil and mind-wearying tension will be left to machines and electronic devices.” “These are not

The Washington Post • March 16, 2024

Tyre Nichols’s death sparked reform. His parents must fight for it again.

With the bill heading to the governor’s desk, Lee stands as the final recourse for Wells and her husband, Rodney, who are seeking an audience with the state’s top elected official — or one last bid to convince him to veto the legislation. “We just hope he’ll sit down with us and hold his word as to what he told us in the beginning,” Wells told The Washington Post on Friday, hours before the family sent a letter to the governor urging him to “prevent this dangerous legislation from becoming law.

The Washington Post • March 14, 2024

Her trafficking story became political theater. It ‘isn’t a game,’ she says.

Jacinto is no stranger to attention, though. After escaping from the clutches of human trafficking almost 16 years ago, she has risen as a powerful voice for victims of the same crime. Now an advocate for Reintegra, an anti-human-trafficking organization that supports survivors as they rebuild their lives, she’s been face to face with top leaders in the United Kingdom, Mexico, the Vatican and the United States — meetings where she has shared her story to help prevent others from suffering simila

Washington Post • March 9, 2024

Will brie and Camembert cheeses go extinct? Here’s what scientists say.

Will brie and Camembert cheeses go extinct? Here’s what scientists say. Legend has it that the world has the French Revolution to thank for Camembert. The cheese with hints of caramelized butter and earthy mushrooms dates back to 1791, when a fleeing priest is said to have shared the recipe with a farm woman from Camembert who’d welcomed him into her home. The cheese has since become a staple in France and abroad. McDonald’s — to some French customers’ dismay — once rolled out a burger topped

The Washington Post • March 2, 2024

Paramedic sentenced to five years over 2019 death of Elijah McClain

A former Colorado paramedic was sentenced to five years in prison Friday for his role in the 2019 death of Elijah McClain, a 23-year-old Black man whose case fueled protests over racial injustice and spurred a slew of policy changes. Peter Cichuniec, 51, was one of two Aurora Fire Rescue paramedics convicted last year of criminally negligent homicide for injecting McClain with what prosecutors said was a dangerous — and ultimately fatal — dose of the potent sedative, ketamine, after McClain was

The Washington Post • March 1, 2024

LGBTQ organization sues Texas AG over youth transgender records probe

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) earlier this month demanded records pertaining to the support an LGBTQ+ nonprofit provides to families seeking gender-affirming care for their transgender children — a treatment the state banned last year. Fast, informative and written just for locals. Get The 7 DMV newsletter in your inbox every weekday morning. But rather than turning over the information, the group, PFLAG, is now suing Paxton. The lawsuit — filed Wednesday evening by advocacy groups Lambd

Washington Post • February 28, 2024

Despite doubts about evidence, Texas executes man convicted of killing two

The state of Texas executed Ivan Abner Cantu, a 50-year-old Dallas native who maintained his innocence and garnered support from celebrities asking for his life to be spared, on Wednesday evening. Cantu’s execution — the first one carried out in Texas this year — comes more than two decades after he was convicted in a fatal shooting in 2000. Yet, his advocates long pleaded for Cantu to have another day in court — claiming that prosecutorial and defense misconduct, the discovery of physical evide

The Washington Post • February 28, 2024

Fires in Texas Panhandle lead to evacuation orders

A fast-moving wildfire fueled by dry and unseasonably warm conditions spread in the Texas panhandle Tuesday afternoon, burning more than 250,000 acres, prompting evacuation orders, closing roads and enveloping much of the region in black smoke. Want to know how your actions can help make a difference for our planet? Sign up for the Climate Coach newsletter, in your inbox every Tuesday and Thursday. The Smokehouse Creek Fire — the largest of at least four wildfires scorching the northernmost regi

The Washington Post • February 26, 2024

Trump’s deportation plan is modeled on ‘inhumane’ 1950s program, experts say

“Americans can expect that immediately upon President Trump’s return to the Oval Office, he will restore all of his prior policies, implement brand new crackdowns that will send shockwaves to all the world’s criminal smugglers, and marshal every federal and state power necessary to institute” the deportation operation, Trump campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said in a statement to The Washington Post. She added that undocumented immigrants “should not get comfortable because very soon they w

The Washington Post • February 23, 2024

NRA and ex-leader found liable after being sued over lavish spending

The National Rifle Association and its former CEO were found liable Friday after the New York attorney general’s office sued them, saying they misspent millions of dollars on extravagant perks. A New York jury found that Wayne LaPierre, who led the NRA for three decades, squandered millions on vacations, private jets and expensive clothes, and said he was liable for $5.4 million in damages. Jurors also determined that the NRA failed to include or misrepresented information in tax filings and bro

The Washington Post • February 21, 2024

YouTuber Ruby Franke sentenced to prison for child abuse

Ruby Franke, a Utah mother who was known for documenting her strict parenting on social media, was sentenced Tuesday to at least four years of prison for subjecting her children to what prosecutors described as “physical torture.” A tearful Franke, 42, said during the sentencing hearing in Washington County, Utah, that she is “willing to serve a prison sentence as long as it takes to unravel what I believed.” Franke — who regularly posted videos of her family on YouTube, including how she discip