“Most of the rain, the accumulations occurred in the eastern portion of the (Potomac River) basin that’s downstream from the intakes for the D.C. water suppliers,” said Michael Nardolilli, executive director of the Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin. “A lot of places got a lot of rain, so gardens are going to pop back to life, but our focus is on the drinking water supply for the Washington, D.C. area.”

“The real question is: where did the rain fall? We need it to fall in the western part of the basin, which is upstream from the intakes for the D.C. area water suppliers,” Nardolilli said. The three local water suppliers are WSSC Water, the Washington Aqueduct and Fairfax Water.

Daily drought monitoring begins when the flow at the U.S. Geological Survey’s stream gauge at Point of Rocks, Maryland, falls below 2,000 cubic feet per second.

“The river is very low and it has been low 鈥� right now it’s at 1,720 cubic feet per second,” Nardolilli said. “We don’t think it’s a problem with the gauge. We think it’s a problem with the river.”

To illustrate, Nardolilli said the median for the date of Aug. 3, over 130 years of data collection, is 2,760 cubic feet per second: “We’re basically 1,000 cubic feet per second of the median for that date.”

While heavy rain is expected to continue this week, Nardolilli doesn’t think it will be enough to cause the cessation of the daily drought monitoring.

“Summertime is a traditional low part of the river flow, and we’re going into the fall, which really is the lowest part,” he said. “We’re pleased we’ve had so much rain, but it didn’t do much to dent the drought from our perspective, looking at drinking water supply.”

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In 2002, Sifrit and his then-wife Erika killed and dismembered Martha Crutchley and her boyfriend Joshua Ford.

The couples met on a bus in Ocean City during Memorial Day weekend before a night of drinking at the Seacrets nightclub.

In the Sifrit’s rented condominium, Benjamin forced the couple into the bathroom and told them to strip down; shots were fired through the door. Ford was killed by gunfire. Prosecutors have never been able to specify how Crutchley died.

In Benjamin Sifrit鈥檚 trial in Montgomery County, jurors didn’t accept the prosecution’s claim that Benjamin fired, and he was cleared of wrongdoing in Ford鈥檚 death, but convicted of second-degree murder in Crutchley鈥檚 death and sentenced to 38 years.

Judge Paul Weinstein, who came out of retirement to pronounce sentence, told Benjamin Sifrit during sentencing that had it not been for masterful lawyering, the former Navy SEAL would likely be facing life in prison.

鈥淚t鈥檚 one of the few instances in 20 years I disagree with the jury鈥檚 verdict,鈥� Weinstein said on July 7, 2003. 鈥淭his was nothing more than a thrill-killing you and your wife committed. You鈥檙e a butcher.”

In 2022, Benjamin Sifrit was denied parole.

After recently petitioning for a reduced sentence under Maryland鈥檚 Second Look Act, Benjamin has a hearing scheduled for Aug. 11 in Rockville. In his petition, he acknowledged dismembering and disposing of the bodies. However, 鈥淭o be clear, I have always, and still do, maintain my innocence regarding any act of murder.鈥�

Erika was sentenced to life in prison plus 20 years in Frederick County, where the case was moved, convicted of first-degree murder in Ford鈥檚 death and of second-degree murder in Crutchley鈥檚 death. In April, Erika was refused parole.

Lawyer lists reasons Benjamin should be released from prison

In a motion filed this week, assistant public defender Brian Saccenti offered a variety of reasons why his client should have his sentence reduced under the Second Look Act, and be released with time served.

In considering the nature of the offense, Saccenti said there are two ways to ascertain the facts of the case.

“The first way is to defer to the considered judgment of the jury and hew to its findings as implied by its verdict. The other way is to disregard the jury’s judgment and cobble together a narrative by cherry-picking the evidence, extraneous information and inferences that are the most harmful to Mr. Sifrit and not coincidentally, the most sensational,” wrote Saccenti.

In its opposition to the petition, the Worcester County State’s Attorney’s Office wrote, “These murders stand out for their cruelty and brutality and for the disturbing way in which the victims were dismembered and disposed.”

Saccenti said Benjamin, who goes by B.J., has matured while behind bars and become a dependable, responsible inmate. After three prison infractions early in his incarceration, he’s had none in the past 14 years.

He’s picked up several vocational skills during his prison jobs, Saccenti said, including work as a purchasing clerk, a plumber and participation in a Department of Corrections training program about workplace blood-borne pathogens cleanup.

Since 2024, as a plumber’s apprentice he has accompanied supervisors outside the prison fence to perform repairs at other Maryland prison facilities.

Prosecutors have not been impressed.

鈥淭he State asserts that the facts in this case, which indicate a thrill killing of two individuals, who were then completely dismembered by defendant would not warrant a sentence reduction regardless of any demonstration of maturity or rehabilitation,鈥� they wrote.

Two supervisors provided letters of recommendation.

“B.J. has consistently demonstrated a strong work ethic. He has never missed a day of work, is dependable, willingly stays late when needed, and takes pride in doing the job right.”

Another supervisor wrote, “Benjamin Sifrit is a dependable and trustworthy worker who has consistently conducted himself in a responsible manner.”

Photos included in the filing include Benjamin Sifrit operating two types of heavy machinery 鈥� a backhoe and an aerial boom lift 鈥� and releasing a skunk that was caught inside the prison facility.

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Ten years ago on the night of July 30, 2016, the first of two 鈥�1,000-year floods鈥� to devastate Ellicott City, Maryland, within two years killed two people and severely damaged dozens of buildings in the popular historic district.

Now, in 2026, construction continues on a tunnel that aims to keep stormwater from running downhill in the hilly former mill town onto Main Street and instead dump it into the nearby Patapsco River.

In 2016 more than six inches of torrential rain fell in less than two hours, causing flash flooding that swept away hundreds of cars. Two people, Jessica Watsula and Joseph Blevins, were killed in the flooding.

Two years later, in 2018, another “once in a millenium” flood struck Ellicott City, killing Edison Hermond, who was swept away while trying to help rescue a woman on Main Street.

Then new Howard County Executive Calvin Ball announced the 鈥淓llicott City Safe and Sound鈥� plan, projecting to cost $140 million, to be finished by mid-2025.

Since then, the county has installed a new outdoor tone alert system to warn people when a flood is imminent. New evacuation routes have also been developed, with signs posted in Ellicott City.

Three of five planned upstream retention ponds have been built to intercept stormwater before it runs downhill to Main Street. Three tributaries run through the watershed: Tiber Branch, Hudson Branch, and New Cut Branch which have funneled stormwater toward Main Street during flash flooding.

One mile up Main Street is the construction site for the North Tunnel Project, designed to carry 26,000 gallons of water per second underground, and away from Main Street. Tunnel boring machines have been cutting through granite to create the 18-foot-diameter tunnel.to the Patapsco River.

By July 2026, the broader flood mitigation program had grown from an originally projected $140 million to about $386 million, based on inflation and extending the tunnel further uphill than initially projected.

The North Tunnel Project is now expected to be completed by late 2027.

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A recently opened 12-story underground pumping station in Alexandria, Virginia, is helping solve a problem that has existed for more than 100 years.

Alexandria’s 1800s-era combined sewer overflow system served Old Town, where stormwater and sanitary sewage flowed in the same pipe.

During heavy rains, when large amounts of runoff from streets entered the combined sewer system, the excess mixture resulted in untreated flows entering the Potomac River, Hunting Creek and Hoofs Run.

Opened in July, AlexRenew’s RiverRenew project is expected to prevent 120 million gallons of combined sewer overflows from polluting the Potomac and its tributaries each year.

In the recently opened facility, “During wet weather, when flow levels rise, it overflows into our new diversion chamber, rather than overflowing into the river,” RiverRenew Program Manager Ryan Payne said. “It flows by gravity down a drop pipe and into our waterfront tunnel.”

The 130-foot-deep, 2.2-mile-long tunnel along the waterfront has the capacity to capture and hold stormwater in the midst of the storm.

“Once the rain event is over, we screen out any remaining debris and the flows are pumped through our tunnel dewatering pumps, up to the surface, where they’re treated at AlexRenew’s wastewater treatment plant,” which is adjacent, said Matt Robertson, spokesman for the company, during a Wednesday tour.

Robertson said the new system provides flexibility in the midst of a downpour.

“During the wettest events in Alexandria, the wet weather pumping station gives us additional options for treatment,” he said. “We could redirect flow to the waterfront tunnel for storage or we can redirect them to various places in our plant where those flows can be treated.”

In 2017, Virginia’s General Assembly passed a law requiring Alexandria to solve its combined sewer overflow problem by 2025.

“We made a commitment to our community in 2017 to solve this long-standing environmental issue, and we’ve worked tirelessly every day since to stand by it,” General Manager and CEO Justin Carl said on July 1, when the project became fully operational.

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A man who was with two swimmers called 911 from the shoreline of the Potomac River, south of Sandy Landing, at around 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, a spokesman for Montgomery County Fire and Rescue told 黑料不打烊.

One swimmer, in his late teens or early 20s, was able to get out of the water. But a man who’s about 25 years old is still missing, according to the spokesman.

The younger swimmer who got himself out of the river was evaluated and treated by Fairfax County Fire and Rescue at the scene.

Tuesday鈥檚 search included nine swift water boats, sonar, underwater drones and K9. The search had to be paused as evening storms rolled in.

Crews from the fire and rescue departments in Montgomery County and Fairfax County picked up the search Wednesday morning.

If the missing swimmer isn’t found, the fire department spokesman said the search would continue Thursday morning.

It is illegal to swim or wade in the .

Earlier this summer, a 20-year-old and a 16-year-old died in separate incidents on the river.

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Stafford County Circuit Court Judge Charles Clark overturned a lower court’s bond decision and set bond for Jing Sheng Dong at $25,000.

Dong faces five involuntary manslaughter charges in connection with the May 29 crash on Interstate 95 in Stafford County, near mile marker 146.

As conditions of his release, Clark ordered Dong to surrender his Chinese and U.S. passports, commercial driver’s license and driver’s license. He also must secure housing in Virginia, remain on house arrest under pretrial supervision, refrain from driving, avoid contact with victims and not consume alcohol.

Dong remains in custody at Rappahannock Regional Jail while arrangements are made to meet those conditions.

“He’s a bus driver, so it’s not like he has a lot of money. The man was trying to earn a living for his family with a 17-year-old son, so we have to find a place. Hopefully, some place up toward me, so I can communicate with him and see him, because he can’t drive or leave the Commonwealth,” attorney Thomas Walsh told 黑料不打烊.

Bus driver Jing Sheng Dong鈥檚 attorney Thomas Walsh, after judge granted $25,000 bond and imposed several conditions until trial for 5 counts of involuntary manslaughter in deadly bus crash on I-95 in Stafford County, Va.

鈥� Neal Augenstein (@Augenstein黑料不打烊)

Walsh said he is working with his client to secure his release.

Dong’s trial is scheduled for Oct. 6, though Walsh previously said the date could change following the bond ruling.

黑料不打烊’s Neal Augenstein reported from Stafford.

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In a news conference Friday, owner Chuck Kuhn said he would donate the historic vessel and its operations to Montgomery County. At the same time, the county will purchase the land where the ferry docks on the Maryland side of the Potomac.

The county will pay $1.5 million for the approximately 2.5 acres of riverfront land, a store, a ferry ramp, a boat launch and storage buildings. Once the sale is finalized and the county assumes possession of the property, the vessel will be pulled out of the river and examined for repairs, officials said. The county hopes it can finalize the transition in the next two months.

Kuhn, who purchased White’s Ferry with his wife, Stacy, six years ago, said the goal was to get the ferry open.

“We never were worried about who owned it. We just wanted to make sure the ferry got back open for the community. It was an amazing journey and today is a great step,” Kuhn said.

In December 2020, the ferry shut down after a Loudoun County judge ruled White’s Ferry had been trespassing since the end of a licensing agreement that allowed the ferry to dock at Rockland Farm on the Virginia side of the Potomac.

Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich said the ferry’s shutdown has heavily impacted the city of Poolesville, where the ferry is located. He called the deal a “major milestone, a significant step” toward reopening the ferry. After years of assisting with negotiations with both landowners, he said owning the property itself was the most “logical and simple thing” to resume service.

“I hope that our colleagues in Loudoun County and the Commonwealth of Virginia take note of this major shift, and see their way to acquire the rights needed to restart the service, and we stand ready to work with them to achieve that goal,” Elrich said.

“I’m optimistic that the climate on the other side of the river has improved.”

Over the years, Kuhn has been unable to reach a deal with Libby Devlin and her brother Peter Brown, who own Rockland Farm, to allow the ferry to resume service. This includes the Montgomery County Council putting together a $3 million offer to resolve issues.

In 2021, Loudoun County’s Board of Supervisors urged Kuhn and Devlin to negotiate a deal on their own. “Work it out,” Chair Phyllis Randall encouraged the private owners at the time.

Montgomery County officials said they last spoke to the Rockland Farm owners around February, with Elrich adding that he would like to negotiate a deal to resume service. Devlin told 黑料不打烊 Thursday she was unaware of the deal between Kuhn and Montgomery County and hadn’t been invited to participate in Friday’s news conference.

When asked if this deal might pave the way for Loudoun County to exert eminent domain over the land in Virginia where the ferry docks, Elrich said it’s possible, but it should be the final step, as it could be delayed through a lengthy court battle. However, he admitted it has been a struggle to work with the Rockland Farm owners.

“But if it came down to eminent domain, I’d hope the state would consider doing it,” Elrich said.

“They聽recognize the economic value and the purpose. This is something they should be willing to do. They certainly have the power to do it.”

In a statement to 黑料不打烊, a spokesperson for the Office of the County Administrator in Loudoun County said that Montgomery County informed them of the White’s Ferry acquisition Thursday, adding that the jurisdiction sees the deal as a positive development.

鈥淭his is an important milestone toward improving regional connectivity,” Loudoun Economic Development Executive Director Buddy Rizer said in a statement. “Working together on projects like this creates stronger local economies and better opportunities on both sides of the river.鈥�

Established in 1786, White’s Ferry carried between 600 and 800 vehicles daily across the Potomac River and more on weekends. Once it is open and running, Montgomery County will hire people to operate the ferry.

“The ferry is a vital service that we want to have restored,” Montgomery County Department of Transportation Director Chris Conklin told 黑料不打烊. “With this arrangement, we have the Maryland landing and ferry operations in control and continue to seek solutions by finding answers to where the boat can land in Virginia.”

黑料不打烊’s Jos茅 Uma帽a contributed to this report.聽

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Jesica Argueta, 23, of Silver Spring pleaded guilty Wednesday to vehicular manslaughter by gross negligence and one count of second-degree assault for causing the crash that killed Josephine Gieske, who was riding in the passenger seat of a Toyota 4Runner, and seriously injured the driver.

Montgomery County police and prosecutors said Argueta was driving her Toyota GR86 at speeds up to 84 miles per hour in a 40-mph zone. Argueta admitted she was weaving through morning rush hour traffic when she hit the vehicle Gieske was riding in as it attempted to turn left from Randolph Road onto Sherwood Forest Drive.

Argueta faces a maximum of 20 years in prison. She’ll be sentenced Sept. 16.

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With one month until Indy cars race through the streets of the nation’s capital during the Freedom 250 Grand Prix, preparations for the District’s road course are ramping up.

Crews on Wednesday laid hot asphalt along sections of Pennsylvania Avenue, one of the main stretches of the 1.66-mile circuit. The course also includes Independence and Constitution avenues, 9th Street, and crosses the National Mall at 7th and 3rd streets NW.

Race organizers said crews will begin installing safety walls and fencing on Sunday to prepare the course for drivers and spectators.

According to organizers, most of the heavy construction work will take place overnight and during periods outside rush hour.

Crews have already removed a number of street poles and objects from medians as preparations continue for the races on Aug. 22 and 23.

Organizers said road closures are not expected to become an issue until shortly before and during race weekend.

Here is the course map:

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The bill is sponsored by Rep. James Comer, a Kentucky Republican who chairs the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

鈥淩adical D.C. Democrats want to solve their spending problem by reaching deeper into taxpayers鈥� pockets and driving further on the path to socialism,鈥� Comer said.

Comer alluded to but did not name D.C. Council member Janeese Lewis George, who is likely to become the city鈥檚 next mayor after winning the Democratic nomination.

D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton said the bill would mark a major blow to local control.

鈥淚f enacted, this will be the most consequential reduction in D.C.鈥檚 authority to govern itself since the D.C. Home Rule Act was passed in 1973 the entire modern history of D.C. home rule,鈥� Norton said.

For all the latest developments in Congress, follow 黑料不打烊 Capitol Hill correspondent Mitchell Miller at Today on the Hill.

Mayor Muriel Bowser also opposed the legislation in a statement Wednesday.

鈥淭his would render the District incapable of recovering from the debilitating impacts of COVID, federal remote work, and DOGE,鈥� Bowser said.

In a letter to Comer, D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson said the bill 鈥渨ould straitjacket District government while not adding to Congressional authority over the District. Congress already has the authority to disapprove any and every tax increase adopted by the Council.鈥�

Council member Robert White, the Democratic nominee in the 2026 election to replace Norton as D.C.鈥檚 congressional delegate, said the bill 鈥渨ould be devastating.鈥�

鈥淥ur budget would become a request we sent to Congress that dies the moment they ignore it. That鈥檚 not oversight. It鈥檚 a veto over our own city,鈥� White said.

If the bill eventually gets a vote on the House floor, it will still face an uphill battle in the Senate, where Democrats would likely block it with a filibuster.

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Charles County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Diane Richardson said the thefts took place at Trinity Memorial Gardens, on Mattawoman Beantown Road, in June and July.

“On July 8, our detectives were conducting late night checks in the area near the cemetery when they noticed a van parked in a spot that really didn’t make sense for that time of night or that location,” Richardson said.

Investigators canvassed the area and recovered at least 40 vases from a trash can near the van, according to Richardson.

“They learned that the van had been rented, and from that they were able to determine who rented it,” Richardson said.

One suspect, Trey Franklin Mason, 25, was found in a motel in Waldorf that night. Further investigation led to the arrest of the second suspect, 34-year-old David Anthony Downing of Waldorf.

Detectives determined that up to 100 bronze vases had been taken to a scrap metal recycling facility in another jurisdiction.

“We actually went to that scrap dealer and were able to recover over 100 vases,” before they were melted down, “which were returned to the cemetery.”

Asked about a possible motive, Richardson said: “It’s sad and unfortunate, but it’s because there’s a profit in it.”

Mason and Downing are charged with theft scheme, destruction of property, fraud and other charges, and are being held without bond.

Richardson said the scrap dealer that purchased the items is being investigated by Maryland State Police.

“In Maryland it is illegal for scrap dealers to buy cemetery bronze, which includes vases, markers, plaques or any bronze originating from a cemetery.”

Mason and Downing are both scheduled to appear in court in September.

Contacted by 黑料不打烊, Trinity Memorial Gardens declined comment.

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“Human trafficking and labor trafficking doesn’t always occur or look the way people expect it to,” council member Dawn Luedtke said. “It often occurs in businesses that appear perfectly legitimate until you look a little deeper.”

aims to reduce repeat offenders in Montgomery County.

“From June 2024 to February 2026, police issued 40 civil citations to 25 spas, and charged 13 spa owners with felony offenses related to illegal operations,” Luedtke said.

Despite the increased enforcement, operators of the illegal businesses have exploited a loophole.

“Here’s the problem: Some of the same individuals who get cited and shut down that particular business, they just pop up as a new LLC in a different part of the county, and apply for another license, and the cycle starts over again,” Luedtke told the council.

Her new bill would involve collaboration between police and the county’s department of health and human services to close the loophole.

The bill would require applicants for a bodyworks establishment to disclose all corporate officers and business managers to HHS, which would be prohibited from issuing a license if an officer or manager has been convicted of human trafficking or prostitution-related charges.

In addition, applicants would be ineligible if they previously owned or managed a bodyworks establishment whose license was revoked.

“Working to close that gap is in the best interest of our public and those who are being victimized by trafficking,” Luedtke said.

The bill was developed in consultation with county police, members of the county’s Human Trafficking Prevention Committee and the health and human services department.

A public hearing on the bill will be held Sept. 15.

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Fairfax County police said 29-year-old Kumneger Ayalsew of Alexandria is facing nearly 200 criminal charges connected with stealing from cars that are parked at fitness centers across the county and neighboring jurisdictions.

According to police, the modus operandi in the monthslong string included “stealing wallets, credit cards, and other personal belongings from unlocked vehicles before quickly making fraudulent gift card purchases at nearby retailers, often before victims realized the thefts had occurred.”

Police said detectives linked multiple cases using surveillance footage, financial records, digital evidence and search warrants. He was arrested in Alexandria on June 26.

The charges against Ayalsew include credit card larceny, credit card fraud, vehicle trespassing, identity theft, petit larceny, money laundering and obtaining money by false pretense.

On July 14, Ayalsew was released on his own recognizance on the Fairfax County charges, over prosecutors’ objections. He remains behind bars at the Arlington County Detention Center on charges filed by the Falls Church Police Department.

Ayalsew has a motions hearing in Fairfax County District Court on Thursday, with a preliminary hearing set for Aug. 5.

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Prior authorization is a requirement that a doctor, hospital or other healthcare provider obtain approval from a health insurance company before a specific drug, procedure or medical test will be covered.

“Health insurance plans are increasingly using prior authorization to determine what medical care we get,” said Kevin Brasler, executive editor of. “Certain drugs or classes of drugs, any elective surgery or medical imaging tests must be approved by the health insurance plan before you can go get that.”

The process can leave patients waiting for days to learn whether their insurance will cover a treatment, medication or diagnostic test.

Insurance companies said prior authorization ensures treatments are medically necessary, encourages the use of lower-cost alternatives when appropriate and helps prevent unnecessary spending and fraud.

According to , the national trade association representing the health insurance industry, “Prior authorization is an important safeguard used by both public and private payers to ensure patient care follows clinical guidelines. It helps reduce patients’ exposure to low-value, unsafe or inappropriate care.”

“One thing they do, for example, is say, ‘The doctor’s prescribed this expensive drug, we want you to try the less expensive drug first, before you can use the more expensive one,'” Brasler said.

He said patients are not required to simply accept an insurance company’s decision.
“The first step, if you’re denied under prior authorization is to ask the doctor to go to bat for you,” Brasler said.

According to an , doctors now juggle an average of 43 prior authorization requests per week.

“That’s what’s frustrating now, not just for patients, but for doctors,” Brasler said. “Surveys of doctors found they’re spending 15-plus hours a week, on average, just fighting these prior authorization battles for their patients.”

Most people do not appeal prior authorization denials. Fewer than 1 in 10 denied requests are appealed, of data that Medicare Advantage insurers submitted to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services between 2019 and 2022.

However, more than 83% of appeals resulted in an insurance company partially or fully overturning the initial denial in 2022.

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The last remaining streetcar bridge in D.C. will soon be demolished.

On Wednesday, the a Memorandum of Agreement to allow removal of the Foundry Branch Trestle Bridge, which is owned by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority 鈥� or WMATA.

The 280 foot bridge was built in 1896. It carried the Glen Echo Line, which took streetcars from Georgetown past Glen Echo Park, in Montgomery County, Maryland, until 1960.

Over the years, it became overgrown, and weather took its toll on the largely wooden structure.

The trestle bridge is located on federal parkland in Glover-Archbold Park, which is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and the D.C. Inventory of Historic Sites.

Since 2014, the National Park Service has been doing feasibility and engineering studies to determine whether the structure could be preserved or integrated into the parkland.

The Glover-Archbold Trail, which runs beneath the bridge was cordoned off in 2016, when debris from the bridge began falling.

Under the Memorandum of Agreement, during demolition of the bridge, WMATA will “preserve and protect the remaining concrete Trestle footers (in place) to provide tangible evidence of the former location.”

After demolition, the landscape will be reestablished with native vegetation, and the Glover-Archbold Trail will be reopened.

“This will allow the park to continue to function as a critical greenway that extends from upper Northwest Washington, D.C., to the Potomac River,” according to the MOA.

Signage will be developed to provide the historical and architectural characteristics of the trestle, as well as its function as part of the Washington and Great Falls Electric Railway Company operations.

The Park Service said the signage will be placed along Canal Road NW in a location and manner that is accessible to all visitors.

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