Here are five stand-out Airbnbs to consider for your next family vacation or girlfriends getaway Drive Time: Approximately 45–50 minutes from Alexandria Modern kitchen and open-concept living area Estimated Pricing: $750–$1,200 per night (varies by season and availability) Naval Academy and explore historic downtown Annapolis Enjoy sailing or kayaking on the Chesapeake Bay Dine on fresh seafood at local favorites like Cantler's Riverside Inn Link: Annapolis Waterfront Retreat Drive Time: Approximately 1 hour 45 minutes from Alexandria Private pool with expansive waterfront views Multiple outdoor seating areas for relaxation Close proximity to charming towns of Easton and St Estimated Pricing: $1,000–$1,500 per night (varies by season and availability) Visit the historic Avalon Theatre and Academy Art Museum in Easton Explore the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in St Enjoy biking or walking tours through the scenic countryside Link: Waterfront Estate near Easton & St. Michaels Drive Time: Approximately 2 hours 15 minutes from Alexandria Proximity to the University of Virginia and local attractions Comfortable living spaces with stylish decor Estimated Pricing: $400–$600 per night (varies by season and availability) Stroll through the historic Downtown Mall with shops and restaurants Visit nearby wineries and breweries along the Monticello Wine Trail Link: Luxury 3-Bedroom House at UVA Drive Time: Approximately 3 hours from Alexandria Fully equipped kitchen and open-concept living space Estimated Pricing: $800–$1,200 per night (varies by season and availability) Walk or bike along the Virginia Beach Boardwalk Visit the Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center Explore the ViBe Creative District for local art and dining Link: Bayberry House – Virginia Beach Floor-to-ceiling windows with panoramic forest views Fully equipped kitchen and cozy indoor fireplace Estimated Pricing: $300–$500 per night (varies by season and availability) including trails like Hawksbill and Stony Man Visit local wineries such as Wisteria Farm and Vineyard Link: The Gramophone – Stanley, VA Alexandria Living Magazine is your go-to source for exploring the past The Vermont senator and the New York representative are rallying huge crowds with a message to reshape the Democratic party Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and the courage to brawl for the working classThis article is more than 1 month oldThe Vermont senator and the New York representative are rallying huge crowds with a message to reshape the Democratic party But he is drawing larger crowds now than he did when he was campaigning for the White House with his shock of white hair and booming delivery is that his fears – a government captured by billionaires who exploit working people – have become an undeniable reality and people are angry “For years, I’ve talked about the concept of oligarchy as an abstraction,” Sanders, an independent who votes with Democrats and twice sought the party’s presidential nomination, said in an interview after a joint rally in Tempe, Arizona, with the New York representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez The Vermont senator recalled Donald Trump’s inauguration when the three wealthiest people on the planet – Elon Musk Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg – were seated in front of his cabinet nominees in what many viewed as a shocking display of power and influence “You gotta be kind of blind not to understand that you have a government of the billionaire class you’ve got Trump moving very rapidly toward an authoritarian form of society.” Two months after Trump was sworn in for a second term Democratic activists and an increasingly vocal chorus of voters say they are terrified the 83-year-old democratic socialist is stepping in to fill the void But his aim is not only to revive the anti-Trump resistance movement – he wants a bottom-up overhaul of the American political system Them just holding paddle boards up and staying quiet or wearing pink blazers is not enoughAlexandra Rodriguez, 20“It’s not just oligarchy that we are going to fight. It’s not just authoritarianism that we’re going to fight,” Sanders told an arena full of supporters at Arizona State University on Thursday night “We will not accept a society today in which we have massive income and wealth inequality where the very rich have never done better while working families are struggling to put food on the table.” voters have been showing up at town halls to vent their alarm and rage over the president’s aggressive power grabs and the Musk-led mass firings of federal workers But they are also furious at the Democratic leadership charging that their party spent an entire election season warning of the threat Trump posed to US democracy and yet now appeared either unable or unwilling to stand up to him “Them just holding paddle boards up and staying quiet or wearing pink blazers is not enough,” said Alexandra Rodriguez referring to the Democrats’ acts of protest during Trump’s address to Congress earlier this month “I think they do need to be willing to go to extremes.” The decision has unleashed a torrent of anger from his party’s base forcing him to postpone a book tour as he defends himself against calls to step down as leader On Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez’s western tour the New York representative was interrupted by intermittent calls to “Primary Chuck!” We need a Democratic party that fights harder for us She urged the crowd to help elect candidates “with the courage to brawl for the working class” Democrats “absolutely need to get stronger” said as she waited with her mother and aunt to enter the venue on Thursday night Robbie Lambert, 70, a retired special education teacher, said keeping up with the turmoil in Washington was beginning to feel like a full-time job. Just that afternoon, Trump had signed an executive order aimed at dismantling the Department of Education who was on vacation in Arizona and decided she had to attend the Tempe rally makes you feel like you’re doing something.” The Arizona representative Yassamin Ansari said she had been hearing similar calls for action from constituents across her district this week including at an event with LGBTQ+ business leaders and an at-capacity town hall where several people shared that it was the first political event they had ever attended “People are really fed up,” Ansari said in an interview makes you feel like you’re doing somethingRobbie Lambert Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez are the most prominent Democrats offering both a strategy to confront Trump and an alternative vision for the party In 2024, Democrats lost support among young people and Latino voters – core constituencies – and recent polling found that the party’s popularity is at an all-time low Few Democrats disagree that their party needs to course-correct but how and to what degree remains a topic of intense debate Supporters say the success of Sanders’ tour, which began last month in Omaha, Nebraska, is a clear sign that Democrats want the party to aggressivelyfight what they view as Trump’s encroaching authoritarianism – not “roll over and play dead”, as veteran strategist James Carville suggested in an op-ed They also view it as an endorsement of Sanders’ policy agenda arguing that his brand of economic populism is the right match for this turbulent political moment According to a memo by Sanders’ longtime adviser the senator has raised more than $7m from more than 200,000 donors since February and is drawing crowds 25% to 100% larger than at the height of his presidential campaigns in 2016 and 2020 more than 30,000 people attended a rally in Denver – the largest audience Sanders has ever drawn “We’re living in an intensely populist moment right now,” Shakir wrote It’s ‘very top versus everyone else’.” The title of his memo: “It’s a populist revolt The joint appearance by the 35-year-old New York representative and the Vermont senator who she has said inspired her to run for office naturally raised the question: is Ocasio-Cortez the heir to the progressive movement Sanders has been building since before she was born Several rally-goers in Tempe believed she had the potential to lead the party – and perhaps even the country “I hope she’s the first woman president,” said Norman Ellison There was also a tinge of wistfulness in the arena Supporters dressed in old campaign t-shirts and hats and one person sported a pin that said who has all but ruled out a third run for president 50-minute critique of the “top 1%” with the moral ferocity that has long endeared him to legions of politically disaffected supporters “In other words, being working class in America is a death sentence,” he bellowed. Ocasio-Cortez’s opening remarks were no less visceral. She charged that Trump and Musk, his billionaire lieutenant, were “taking a wrecking ball to our country” and “screwing over” working people. “We’re gonna throw these bums out,” she declared. While both Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez share a political vision, their double act showcased the distinct styles of two progressive leaders at opposite ends of their career arcs. Ocasio-Cortez offered a more personal touch, weaving elements of her biography into her speech – something Sanders is typically loath to do. She spoke of her mother, who cleaned homes, and her father, whose death from a rare form of cancer plunged the family into economic uncertainty. “I don’t believe in healthcare, labor and human dignity because I’m an extremist,” she said, pushing back on the rightwing caricature of her. “I believe in these things because I was a waitress.” She said she empathized with Americans who felt overwhelmed and demoralized, and encouraged them not to give in to despair. “We won’t do that,” someone in the crowd yelled. When the event concluded, Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez left the arena to address an overflow crowd that hadn’t been able to get in. “This is where the future is,” said Sebastian Santamaria, 25, gesturing toward the empty podium adorned with a “Fight Oligarchy” placard. “As a person who has supported Democrats in the past, I don’t want to keep supporting you if it doesn’t look more like this.” This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. The action you just performed triggered the security solution. There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data. You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked. Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page. Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., holds hands with Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., during a “Fighting Oligarchy” event at the Ford Idaho Center in Nampa, Idaho, Monday, April 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Kyle Green) An attendee hugs Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., after his “Fighting Oligarchy” event at the Ford Idaho Center in Nampa, Idaho, Monday, April 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Kyle Green) Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., speaks during a “Fighting Oligarchy” event at the Ford Idaho Center in Nampa, Idaho, Monday, April 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Kyle Green) Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., speaks during his “Fighting Oligarchy” event at the Ford Idaho Center in Nampa, Idaho, Monday, April 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Kyle Green) U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) speaks to the City Club of Cleveland, in Cleveland, Monday, April 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki) Attendees cheer as Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., speaks during a “Fighting Oligarchy” event at the Ford Idaho Center in Nampa, Idaho, Monday, April 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Kyle Green) Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., left, speaks as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., responds to calls of support during a stop of their “Fighting Oligarchy” tour that filled Civic Center Park, Friday, March 21, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski) Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., left, greets Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., as they speak during a stop of their “Fighting Oligarchy” tour that filled Civic Center Park, Friday, March 21, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski) SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Stephanie and Ryan Burnett were perplexed. The crowd was enormous. The line snaked endlessly between buildings. Were they in the right place? “We’re not used to that in a place like Utah,” said Ryan, a 28-year-old server and retail manager from South Weber, about 20 miles north of the arena. While Utah, Idaho and Montana will almost certainly remain Republican strongholds for the near future, the events offer a glimpse of widespread Democratic anger over the direction of President Donald Trump’s administration and a dose of hope to progressives living in the places where they’re most outnumbered. Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez are among a cadre of Trump critics venturing into potentially hostile territory as Democrats are thinking about how to reverse their fortunes in next year’s midterms and the following presidential election. Ocasio-Cortez, 35, is seen as a potential successor to Sanders’ mantle — the 83-year-old Vermont senator jokingly called her his “daughter” in Salt Lake City — and a contender for the Democratic nomination in 2028. “Democrats have got to make a fundamental choice,” Sanders told The Associated Press after his Salt Lake City rally that filled the 15,000-seat University of Utah basketball arena, with thousands more unable to get in. “Do they want these folks to be in the Democratic Party, or do they want to be funded by billionaires?” Trump won Utah 60% to 38% and Idaho 67% to 30%. Neither state sends any Democrats to Congress. Republicans control all of the statewide offices and dominate the legislatures. “Utah, I know that it can look or feel impossible sometimes out here for the Republicans to be defeated, but that is not true,” Ocasio-Cortez said. Then she evoked her own improbable victory over a powerful member of the Democratic leadership in a 2018 primary: “From the waitress who is now speaking to you today, I can tell you: impossible is nothing.” Pockets of Salt Lake City and Boise have strong counter-culture scenes; but elsewhere, being liberal can be isolating. “Being progressive in a place like this, people are almost masked or something, kind of seem like the quiet minority,” Ryan Burnett said as he waited to enter the Utah rally. “But this is a space where it’s the opposite of that. This kind of event is especially meaningful right now.” His mother, a 52-year-old caregiver with an online reselling business, said it was refreshing to be around like-minded people. She’s feeling increasingly like an “outcast” at her congregation of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, where the parking lot is filled with Trump bumper stickers. “I went to our church this morning. I’m coming to this now because I feel more accepted here,” Stephanie Burnett said. Democrats need to project a kinder, less judgmental image to make progress in red America, said Owen Reeder, 63, an accountant from Bountiful, Utah. “You’re never going to make a friend by lecturing and pounding somebody on the head with a sledgehammer,” Reeder said. “You’ve got to be nice to everybody.” Meghan Nadoroff, 36, and their mother, Kathy Franckiewicz, 59, went to the Idaho event Monday. They both live in in the small farming community of Kuna about 17 miles southwest of Boise. They’ve felt disenfranchised by both parties – bullied by some of the far-right policies of the Idaho’s GOP supermajority, and ignored by the national Democratic Party because Idaho has been written off as a lost cause, said Franckiewicz. “We have so little presence in Idaho overall,” Nadoroff said of Democrats. “It’s easy to just kind of give up, politically.” In what feels to many Democrats like dark times, hope and camaraderie are especially valuable. “It feels safe, to know that there are more of us out there and we’re not just a blue dot in a red state,” said Jaxon Pond, 20, of Meridian, Idaho. That’s a sharp contrast to everyday life, Pond said. “Especially as a gay man, I feel like I have to walk on extra eggshells about what I say because Idaho’s not necessarily the safest place to be gay,” he said. Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker a crowd of thousands suggested that the left still has a pulse Save this storySave this storySave this storyOn a recent Saturday standing in the blinding midday sun on a football field in Tucson spoke about their frustrations with their party “They’re not stepping up,” a retired nurse named Mark Creal said “They’re not doing their jobs.” He wore a button that said “Proud Democrat.” The LedeReporting and commentary on what you need to know today. it seemed striking that thousands of people (the organizers reported a crowd of twenty thousand) had turned out on a Saturday to see three out-of-state politicians—Sanders a young congressman from Austin—none of whom is actively campaigning for national office “I’ve never really heard Bernie speak from end to end because I want to hear everything that he has to say.” appearances by Republicans in their home districts—have become flash points for an angry citizenry House Speaker Mike Johnson encouraged Republican lawmakers to skip town halls to avoid confrontations with what he claimed were paid protesters and during last week’s congressional recess many Republican lawmakers avoided open forums On March 14th, following Sanders’s lead and perhaps attempting to fill the vacuum left by Republicans, the Democratic Party announced that it would be holding its own series of “People’s Town Halls” in congressional districts won by Republicans they consider to be vulnerable. Tim Walz the governor of Minnesota and losing 2024 Vice-Presidential candidate the California congressman whose district includes parts of the Bay Area at a time when the Democratic Party’s approval rating is at a historic low constituents are venting their exasperation with their party as well supported a Republican spending bill to prevent a government shutdown public outcry against him was pronounced enough that he postponed a planned book tour And rock-bottom favorability ratings aren’t the Party’s only problem: it’s also facing a grim map for Senate races in 2026; a demographic crisis as the populations of its strongholds shrink; and legislative incapacitation because of conservative majorities in both houses of Congress and the Supreme Court of not putting up enough of a fight against Republicans at an event where the Republican congressman Andy Biggs appeared only registered Republicans were allowed to attend protesters gathered outside and denounced him Several hundred protesters also visited the office of Representative Juan Ciscomani a Republican whose district includes parts parts of Tucson to criticize him for not holding any public meetings at all But none of these gatherings had attracted the same attention The people I spoke to had shown up in part because Sanders is an Independent “I don’t know if I’m part of the Party anymore—they’ve really failed us in a lot of ways,” a twenty-eight-year-old named Brendan Crowley said to me they need to work on getting the Old Guard out of office and actually letting the progressive wing of the Party that represents the people through.” Out in the crowd a medic was called to attend to someone who’d fainted in the heat—the first of several such incidents who had dressed practically for the weather in a sun hoodie and a wide-brimmed hat “There aren’t a lot of us here.” I asked about those of his co-workers who support Trump “They have grievances against the economic state of America they feel that their voices aren’t heard,” he said “The grandstanding of the Democratic Party has totally looked down on them.” “Nothing’s happening that’s supposed to be happening,” a forty-year-old named Nikki Montaño Brown told me She was at the rally with her adult daughter where she has worked as a cashier at the grocery chain Albertsons for twenty-five years but this is the biggest fight we’ve had right now in my whole life,” she said The crowd’s attire was a retrospective of Democratic memes dating back to at least 2016: I saw a coconut; I saw merchandise from Sanders’s 2016 and 2020 Presidential campaigns there probably would have been a pussy hat whether she thought rallies really accomplished anything “It lifts you up to know that this many people actually care.” “I wanted to hear the positive message after all the negative that’s been going on,” another attendee She is of the Navajo clan Naakai Dine’é and had travelled to the rally from her home on the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community She expressed her disappointment in Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries “The only ones that I see speaking out are Jasmine Crockett”—a congresswoman from Texas—“A.O.C. Shannon Hardnock wore a beige visor and a shirt that said “MORONS ARE GOVERNING AMERICA.” “We’re really being taken over by a dictatorship She expressed worry about the cuts to the Department of Veterans Affairs—her husband is a veteran who had a traumatic brain injury during a training exercise before a planned deployment to Afghanistan in 2001 though—“I feel like their hands are tied,” she said After a performance by the indie rock band Calexico and an introduction by one of the late Raúl Grijalva’s daughters—Grijalva was a long-serving Democratic congressman from Tucson who died on March 13th—the headliners gave their speeches Standing at a lectern affixed with a “FIGHT OLIGARCHY” sign they hammered home a single message: the government has been taken hostage by a cabal of billionaires and the only way to wrest it back is by unifying the working class the Elon Musks of their day—they took over our government who in his two years in office has risen to chair the House Progressive Caucus “But people just like you didn’t play dead.” Ocasio-Cortez followed this speech with more “Donald Trump and the Republican Party’s disdain for the working class doesn’t just come from not being raised right,” she said “It’s a shorthand for the right wing’s entire political agenda and a certain ugly kind of politics that at its core is about lying to and screwing over working- and middle-class Americans.” She continued “But there’s a word for this kind of thing and Elon Musk—the three richest men in America—with at least a dozen other billionaires arrayed behind them “These guys literally don’t know what to do with their money They own their own jet planes; they own their own helicopters Send their kids to the best private schools and just for kicks the very rich decide to take a trip to outer space.” But both Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez seemed to acknowledge that many Americans prefer to ally themselves with the richest person rather than the poorest or have lost faith entirely in the idea of a functioning government “What Republicans do is that they try to make working people like you and me feel like we’re just one step outside of that club maybe we’ll be a billionaire too,” Ocasio-Cortez said “Except those kinds of spoils aren’t earned Where does that leave demoralized progressives Sanders spoke with reporters in the high-school gym a majority of the people who R.S.V.P.ed weren’t already in his campaign’s database He brushed away concerns that young adults voted more conservatively in the most recent election than they had before and he came back to people’s views of the Democrats “They’re seeing their position on supporting Netanyahu,” he said The standard of living is going to be lower than their parents’ ‘Where are the Democrats?’ ” After Sanders departed He acknowledged that whatever might pass as mass resistance to the policies of Trump’s second term had been slower to materialize than resistance to the President’s policies the first time around But he suggested that the divide within the Democratic Party was less between right and left than between what he called “fighters and folders,” the latter being “people who say the Democratic Party should just not do much they should just fold and let the Republicans look bad.’ But that is playing some sort of political game,” he continued “where most people don’t think of their lives as a political game They think of their lives as their only life on earth.” ♦ A long-ago crime, suddenly remembered A limousine driver watches her passengers transform The day Muhammad Ali punched me What is it like to be keenly intelligent but deeply alienated from simple emotions? Temple Grandin knows The harsh realm of “gentle parenting.”  Retirement the Margaritaville way Fiction by F. Scott Fitzgerald: “Thank You for the Light.”  Sign up for our daily newsletter to receive the best stories from The New Yorker. Though American politics is conducted at the state and congressional district level polling and analysis are largely done at the national level and will use state-of-the art techniques in political science and data science to bring layers of nuance and depth to polling political science research has demonstrated that policy-makers don't understand the attitudes of their own constituents Our first project involves helping reporters politicians and commentators understand the geography of public opinion through multi-level regression and post-stratification Learning about the political climate is pointless unless we can use that information to bring about change so we'll be collaboration with social scientists and data scientists to bring the techniques they use every day in the office to advance common sense solutions that improve the lives of all Americans From March 26-31, Data for Progress conducted a survey of 767 likely Democratic primary voters in New York using SMS and web panel respondents The polling finds that Schumer is in a weak position to win a contested primary — he has the lowest favorability of all New York Democrats tested and loses a hypothetical 2028 matchup to Ocasio-Cortez by 19 points The most popular Democratic figures tested in the poll include Sen Schumer has the highest disapproval of all Democratic leaders tested New York Democratic primary voters consider “threats to democracy” to be the most important issue to their vote followed by “programs like Social Security and Medicare” and then “economy A staggering 84% of these voters also say that Democrats in Washington are not doing enough to stand up to Trump and the MAGA movement In a hypothetical matchup for the 2028 Democratic primary for the U.S Ocasio-Cortez leads Schumer by a 19-point margin Ocasio-Cortez leads with primary voters across racial and ethnic subgroups and she carries voters 45 and over by 8 points Ocasio-Cortez also leads with voters across gender and educational status while Schumer only leads among self-identified moderates The polling also indicates that the race is relatively static and does not move when voters are given additional information about either candidate.  voters were shown two biographical statements about Ocasio-Cortez and Schumer in a randomized order voters were given a statement that includes information about her background her unseating of an incumbent Democrat in 2018 and her support for progressive policies such as Medicare for All and the Green New Deal 82% of New York Democratic primary voters say they have a favorable opinion of Ocasio-Cortez Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was born in the Bronx and witnessed firsthand the challenges facing working-class families and immigrant communities she worked as a community organizer and educator before unseating a long-serving incumbent in one of the biggest upsets of the 2018 election Ocasio-Cortez has been a leading progressive voice and is seen as a rare member of Congress willing to rock the boat and speak truth to power bold climate action through the Green New Deal and greater accountability for corporate power She has also fought to protect reproductive rights and to hold the Trump administration accountable for its abuses of power Ocasio-Cortez continues to champion policies aimed at creating economic opportunity and uplifting underrepresented voices across New York and the country do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez The biography for Schumer includes details about his background and support for mainstream Democratic priorities — such as lowering health care costs and defending Social Security and Medicare jumping from a +26 to +47-point margin.  Chuck Schumer was born and raised in Brooklyn where he learned the importance of hard work and public service at an early age Schumer began his career in the New York State Assembly before moving on to the U.S House of Representatives and then winning election to the U.S Schumer is seen as one of the most powerful officials in Washington and has delivered billions of federal dollars to New York He has championed efforts to lower healthcare costs He has been a vocal critic of the Trump administration's attempts to undermine democracy standing up for voting rights and pushing back against extremism Schumer remains committed to protecting Social Security and other vital programs that support working families across New York and the nation voters were once again asked whom they would vote for if the 2028 primary were held today with Ocasio-Cortez winning 56% and Schumer winning 36% of the vote Voters were also shown potential lines of attack against the two candidates The first statement describes Ocasio-Cortez as a polarizing figure who divides Democrats and pushes policies that are too extreme for the party Fourteen percent of New York Democratic primary voters say this statement is “very concerning.” Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez may be able to energize more extreme elements in her party but she has proven to be a polarizing figure who often divides Democrats and alienates moderates Her confrontational style and social-media presence have overshadowed efforts to build consensus and achieve real legislative progress Instead of working effectively within the party to advance progressive causes Ocasio-Cortez has made headlines by clashing with other Democrats and pushing proposals that are seen as too extreme by many Americans critics say her approach is more about personal branding than delivering for her district New Yorkers deserve a representative who can unite people around shared goals and work productively in Congress rather than stoking division and controversy.  The second statement describes Schumer as a “career politician” who has cozied up to big corporations and voted with MAGA extremists instead of helping working people Thirty-three percent find this statement “very concerning.” Chuck Schumer is a career politician who has spent decades in Washington often prioritizing political calculations over the needs of New Yorkers he joined Trump and MAGA leaders in Congress to vote for their spending bill earning backlash for aligning with extremists Schumer has been criticized for cozying up to big corporations and failing to deliver tangible results for working families across the state At a time when Democrats need to stand firm against Republican threats to healthcare Schumer's willingness to accommodate Trump has called his judgment into question New Yorkers deserve a senator who is focused on fighting for middle-class families not clinging onto a leadership title in Washington.  with Ocasio-Cortez continuing to lead by 20 points The results indicate that Schumer has left himself vulnerable to a primary challenger in 2028 and that Ocasio-Cortez could be a strong candidate to defeat the incumbent New York senator New York Democrats — and Democrats nationwide — clearly want a leadership that fights harder to defeat 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We will never sell or give away your information to anyone without your consent. “Unbelievable!” he declared upon reaching the microphone “There are people half a mile away!” Moments later he claimed 36,000 people were gathered before him which constituted “the largest rally that we have ever had.”  If I were forced to paint with a broad brush—and at 36,000 people a broad brush would be the instrument of choice—I’d say the crowd was a coalition of aging hippies and entertainment industry millennials but nobody in the throngs surprised me by their presence I did manage to find one woman who voted for Donald Trump in 2016 before voting for Biden in 2020 “I’m so thankful [Bernie] is doing this kind of thing.” This was a message I heard repeatedly from attendees: Those gathered were hoping for hope itself “I’m hoping for some answers about how to stay encouraged … I’m hoping this is a positive day and adds some clarity to the situation.” Moments later There were plenty of therapeutic aspects to the rally like Joan Baez crooning “Imagine” or Neil Young and Baez singing “Keep on Rocking in the Free World.” But despite Sanders’s promise that “we’re going to make our revolution with joy We’re going to sing and dance our way to victory,” it was hard to characterize the crowd as hopeful there was a determination among these 36,000 people A 32-year-old screenwriter named Brett told me: “The only way I know how to go on is to hope and believe—and certainly it won’t happen if we don’t come here and try to work together and listen to each other.”  And there was that other kind of determination as well—the determination to unite a left wing in the place of an official institutional party organ that feels incapable of much at the moment This was not the hardened Bernie crowd of 2016 I saw far more Harris-Walz shirts than Bernie 2020 shirts That determination to hope has seemingly expanded the tent there’s a precarious challenge that Sanders—and his younger protégés who will carry this movement into the post-Trump era—are going to have to face They have to unite a defeated half of the political spectrum and turn all of these determined sparks of hope into a structured movement “When something big happens in the country and people feel like something’s wrong they’ll pick one of two things—sometimes it drives them further into apathy We see this billionaire takeover of our country and now we have to stand at that crossroad and try to get people into something Because there’s also a lot of people in this moment who will fall more into apathy and our job is to make sure that doesn’t happen.” this crowd was far from apathetic; indifference isn’t a strong enough force to get the average person to stand in the Los Angeles sun all day the heat was punishing: Sanders had to stop his speech several times to call medics into the crowd the nurses’ union rushed off the stage to help And their assistance was limited to the people they could see: If there really were 36,000 people at this thing only about 10,000 of them were visible from the stage; the rest were on the other side of a treebank and the press riser.  That crowd stood in a dirt lot watching a Jumbotron The mood became more vague as you worked your way through the outer reaches; in the further orbit there was less of that sense of passion and determination even at the margins there was a consensus among the furthest-flung that this was Here on the periphery you’d encounter a hollowed-out dumpster with a younger group perched on the rim watching the event unfold on the big screen.  “This moment did not come out of nowhere,” she said “The destruction of our rights and democracy is directly tied to the growing and extreme wealth inequality that has been growing for years in America.” This was where the nerve was most visibly touched: Attacks against the encroaching oligarchy received noticeably louder responses even than attacks against Trump One union leader’s remark lambasting a “bone-spurred chicken-hawk commander in chief” didn’t receive quite the same boos as her line hitting the “one percent and the corrupt politicians who got richer out of the market manipulation we saw last week.”   as I did during the nascent stages of the Trump movement that enough of these people are pissed off about the same things that they might actually do something they might even do that radical thing where they all get together and vote there was a clear passing of the torch and a message taking shape Sanders’s argument was broad; he bashed “a corrupt campaign finance system” and Elon Musk generally Both of those were ripe objects of criticism but Ocasio-Cortez had a more finely tuned message While he criticized them for listening to “their billionaires,” she attacked specific practices like congressional stock trading and corporate lobbying Sanders attacked Trump’s billionaire coterie we must defeat the system that created him.” and if that movement becomes a tent big enough to win elections anti-corruption is the tentpole propping it up Our present shit show of a health care system can be tied to billionaire health care CEOs are corrupt by virtue of their obscene wealth alone The horror of the Gaza genocide can be tied to AIPAC’s influence in Washington which so often feels like naked corruption The housing crisis too can be blamed on billionaires—again corrupt by virtue of their wealth alone—buying up property just to drive up the price of living Corruption is quickly becoming the through line and the message from the Los Angeles stage hammered this home: Your life feels more difficult more stressful today as a direct result of a deeply entrenched plutocratic perfidy Jason Lemon is a Senior Politics Editor at Newsweek based in Brooklyn, New York politics and international affairs. He joined Newsweek in 2018 and had previously worked as an editor at a Middle Eastern media startup called StepFeed He also worked a year as a contributor to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and has bylines in The Christian Science Monitor Al Fanar Media and A Magazine. He is a graduate of the American University of Beirut in Lebanon and Andrews University in Michigan You can get in touch with Jason by emailing j.lemon@newsweek.com either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a New York Democrat, has increasingly been discussed as a leading star within the Democratic Party with some suggesting she could be a 2028 contender for the party's presidential nomination While potential announcements for 2028 candidates are likely still a couple years off, a number of recent polls are already showing how voters are thinking about the upcoming primary—with Ocasio-Cortez emerging as one of the top few contenders Newsweek reached out to Ocasio-Cortez's office for comment on Sunday morning Democrats have largely struggled to respond to President Donald Trump and Republicans since their defeat in the 2024 election Analysts and activists have consistently highlighted that the party appears leaderless Ocasio-Cortez, however, has emerged as one of the Democrats many see to be pushing back in a way that resonates with the party's base The congresswoman has also been holding massive rallies in several states alongside progressive Senator Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent. With thousands turning out for these events it suggests the progressive duo has a message that resonates with a significant constituency of voters A CNN poll carried out from March 6 to 9 showed that Ocasio-Cortez was the top politician among Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents when asked which "one person best reflects the core values" of the party The New York progressive was named by 10 percent of respondents. That was narrowly ahead of former Vice President Kamala Harris adults with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.3 percent While Ocasio-Cortez may be seen as best at representing the party's values a poll carried out by Morning Consult from March 14 to 16 showed her in third place when respondents were asked about who they would support in 2028 In that survey, Harris led the pack by a wide double-digit margin, with 36 percent support. In second was former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg Ocasio-Cortez had half of Buttigieg's support She was tied for third with Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, who was Harris' 2024 running mate, and California Governor Gavin Newsom. Billionaire Mark Cuban came in just behind at 4 percent The poll included 2,210 registered voters and had a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points Another recent Echelon Insights poll conducted from March 10 to 13 Harris was at 33 percent and Ocasio-Cortez was at 7 percent Buttigieg was in second place at 10 percent That poll surveyed 1,007 registered voters and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points carried out in late January among 414 likely voters behind Buttigieg at 9 percent and Newsom at 7 percent Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez at a Las Vegas rally on Thursday: "This isn't just about Republicans We need a Democratic Party that fights harder for us But what that means is that we as a community must choose and vote for Democrats and elected officials who know how to stand up for the working class." who attended Ocasio-Cortez's Denver rally with Sanders on Friday told Newsweek: "The Democratic Party has not been taking strong actions for the working class and then laid out their plans for action which were met with strong cheers from the 30,000 people who showed up Those moments were when I felt the most empowered and ready to fight for my neighbors." Monica Crowley, a former official in the Treasury Department during the first Trump administration, told Fox News in November: "Just a word of warning to the Republicans Democrats interested in running in 2028 aren't expected to officially announce until 2027 although it's possible someone could announce sooner Buttigieg, Newsom and several prominent Democratic governors are rumored to be considering runs. While Harris is also widely speculated to be weighing a second presidential bid, she is also reportedly looking at a run to be California's next governor in the state's 2026 election Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground Newsweek is committed to journalism that's factual and fair Hold us accountable and submit your rating of this article on the meter. Newsletters in your inbox See all What Happened: Trump announced a pause in the tariffs in a Truth Social post around 1:18 p.m the founder of Tolou Capital Management and Unusual Whales a popular social media commentator and online suite for data feeds and tools on options flows showed that call volumes for various contracts started spiking around 1:00 p.m said that “Any member of Congress who purchased stocks in the last 48 hours should probably disclose that now.” AOC added that “We're about to learn a few things It's time to ban insider trading in Congress.” Unusual Whales highlighted that SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY 509 calls expiring on Wednesday Series 1 QQQ 406 calls expiring on April 17 someone knew,” said Unusual Whales in its X post Join Plus500 today and get up to $200 to start trading real futures then jump into live markets with lightning-fast execution See Also: Ford, GM To Witness ‘Higher Demand’ As American Carmakers Set To ‘Reap The Fruit Of Protectionism,’ Says Expert: Here’s A List Of Potential Gainers And Losers From Trump Tariffs disclosed the purchase of several stocks that faced steep drawdowns last week The purchases were made on April 3 and April 4, according to the Benzinga Government Trades tracker and all trades reported in the filing have a reported value ranging from $1,000 to $15,000 Berkshire Hathaway Inc. BRK, Caterpillar Inc. CAT, Dell Technologies Inc. DELL, and FedEx Corp. FDX are some of the other 17 total stocks she purchased. Price Action: SPY rose by 10.50% on Wednesday, whereas QQQ advanced 12.00%. Nasdaq 100 rose to exit the bear territory and was down 13.85% from its previous record of 22,222.61 points. The S&P 500 was still in the correction zone, down 11.23% from its last high of 6,147.43 points. Whereas Dow Jones was 9.91% lower than its 52-week high of 45,073.63 points. On Thursday, the futures of Dow were down by 0.22%, and the futures of S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 index were 0.56% and 1.03% lower, respectively. Stock Score Locked: Want to See it?Benzinga Rankings give you vital metrics on any stock – anytime Benzinga does not provide investment advice Date of Trade▲▼ticker▲▼Put/Call▲▼Strike Price▲▼DTE▲▼Sentiment▲▼Click to see more Options updatesOptions ActivityIdentify Smart Money MovesSee what positions smart money is taking on your favorite stocks with the Benzinga Edge Unusual Options board free reports and breaking news that affects the stocks you care about and trade ideas delivered to your inbox every weekday before and after the market closes This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page Emad El Nahas has announced the starting XI for our game against Haras El Hodoud in the Egyptian Premier League at Cairo International Stadium Shobier - Maaloul - El Aash - El Saaiy - Afsha - El Shahat - Ahmed Reda - Karim Walid - Gradišar Design and Developmentrobusta The Province of Alexandria has held its first Synod since the election of its bishops and the endorsement of its archbishop. Because of some international travel restrictions, the meeting was held in Uganda last month in the hope that every Diocese could participate. The meeting was also attended by Bishop Anthony, who had been acting bishop of North Africa, bishop elect Ashley, his successor who will be ordained bishop on May 11th, and bishop Grant, who had overseen the election process. The main business of the Synod involved working together on a vision statement and mission strategy for the Province. In summary that vision was for a Church that is: rooted in Christ, sharing in witness, transforming communities and acting with the love and truth of the Gospel. That translated into five practical mission objectives: To proclaim the Gospel faithfully in word and deed, To shepherd the people of God through sacramental life, discipleship and pastoral care To equip and empower local churches to serve their communities with compassion and justice, To engage in mission, evangelism and interfaith dialogue throughout the Province and To promote unity in diversity across cultures and dioceses. Archbishop Samy identified this as “work in progress.” The Friends were also brought up to date with developments at the Alexandria School of Theology, which is hoping to add to its accredited courses with a D. Min in the near future. The School has bases in Alexandria, Cairo, Gambella and Tunis. Notifications can be managed in browser preferences. Progressive New York Democrat draws focus with campaign-style video I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has brushed aside speculation that she could be preparing a presidential run in 2028 With her party still reeling from former vice president Kamala Harris’s defeat last November, the New Yorker has emerged as a leading light of its progressive wing . Recently she crossed the country with Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders on a joint “Fighting Oligarchy” speaking tour that has attracted large crowds Ocasio-Cortez has also drawn focus by posting a campaign-style video on social media this month showcasing clips from the tour that some have seen as a hint at her future White House ambitions Asked whether that was the case by a Fox News Digital reporter on Capitol Hill on Tuesday answering mockingly: “Because of my Instagram posts?” Pressed for a response, she said: “Look, it’s a video. Frankly, what people should be most concerned about is the fact that Republicans are trying to cut Medicaid right now and people’s healthcare It’s a danger and that’s really what my central focus is.” Ocasio-Cortez was also asked about recent favorable polling, including a Yale University survey that found that she was the second most popular Democratic presidential contender ahead of the next election, behind only Harris. “To me, this moment is not about campaigns or elections or about politics. It’s about making sure people are protected,” she said. “And we’ve got people that are getting locked up for exercising their First Amendment rights, we’re getting two-year-olds getting deported into cells in Honduras, we’re getting people about to get kicked off of Medicaid. That, to me, is the most important thing.” In the video in question, Ocasio-Cortez is seen speaking with Sanders in Nampa, Idaho, on April 14 and telling their audience: “Don’t let them trick us into thinking we are enemies. “Don’t let them trick us into thinking that we can be separated into rural and urban, Black and white and Latino. We are one.” The clip also reminds viewers that the congresswoman was once a waitress from the Bronx. “Impossible is nothing,” she tells the crowd. Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies govt and politics"},{"score":0.7748,"label":"/law govt and politics/government"},{"score":0.75226,"label":"/law govt and politics/politics/elections/presidential elections"},{"score":0.583379,"label":"/art and entertainment/shows and events"},{"score":0.540026,"label":"/society/work"},{"score":0.539192,"label":"/law govt and politics/politics/political parties"},{"score":0.500621,"label":"/law Alexandria’s curbside composting program officially launches on July 1 the program will now be offered as a voluntary subscription-based service for residents who receive City trash and recycling collections,” the City of Alexandria shares in a press release Residents who get city trash and recycling pickup can now join this optional service for $5 monthly or $55 yearly with the city covering about 75% of the cost the program offers weekly pickup of food scraps and compostable items you’ll get a starter kit with a 7-gallon bin and one free bag of finished compost each year if you want it you’re automatically enrolled in the full program—there’s no need to sign up again you can still drop off compost for free at local farmers’ markets on weekends Want to learn more about composting in Alexandria? Check out alexandriava.gov/FoodWaste for all the details By 2025-02-11T05:00:00+00:00 EGYPT: Under a 341·2bn won contract, Hyundai Rotem is to supply trams for the project to upgrade Alexandria’s Raml tram network to a modern light rail service, the manufacturer told Railway Gazette International on February 6 The contract was signed between Hyundai Rotem and Egypt’s National Authority for Tunnels last June and runs until April 2037 Local media reports have said that the contract covers the supply of 30 trams 65 m long Chairman of the National Authority for Tunnels said on January 15 that work to modernise the Raml tram network’s infrastructure will start in June The investment covers renewal of 13·2 km of tramway Works are to include the reconstruction of track and 24 of the 38 stops while the remainder would be closed to give at least 500 m distance between each stop This is intended to facilitate a planned increase in the average speed of services from 11 km/h to 21 km/h The tramway’s electrical and mechanical equipment, signalling and communications systems and the ticketing and fare collection equipment are all to be upgraded.  with one section of route being abandoned and a 1 km extension in the city centre being built to serve Ahmed Orabi Square A key aim is to fully segregate the light rail lines from road traffic The project is due to be completed in June 2027 A consortium of Arab Contractors and Hassan Allam was awarded a €363m contract to last November to lead the work It is to be co-financed from loans provided by the French Development Agency and the European Investment Bank with a total value of €238m ACE and Projacs is providing design and supervision services for the project under a November 2020 contract The Alexandria tramway traces its history back to 1863 It is one of the few remaining tramways to operate double-deck trams in regular service EGYPT: The National Authority for Tunnels has awarded a consortium of Orascom Construction and Colas Rail a €1·3bn contract to build the first metro line in Alexandria procurement and construction of the 21·7 km first phase of the metro line ACE and Projacs is to provide design and supervision services for the rehabilitation of the Alexandria tramway’s Raml Line under a contract awarded by the National Authority for Tunnels which is responsible for urban rail projects EGYPT: The first of 15 high-floor trams that Tatra-Yug is supplying to Alexandria Passenger Transportation Authority began test running on February 10 having arrived in Alexandria four days earlier The tram is expected to enter revenue service on the 32 route-km standard gauge network in late February Site powered by Webvision Cloud coasters and canvases that Suzanne Williams She started watching YouTube videos on how to decorate coasters “I stepped out of my comfort zone and started doing it,” Williams said “I taught myself everything by watching videos and just trying.”  coasters and canvases are decorated with different themes a Christmas scene with an old red pick-up and steampunk scenes her favorite designs include those that have children in them The coasters she makes that have blue herons on them are a crowd favorite She tries to have different themes to grab someone’s attention What may not sell one week may eventually sell the next to someone who was looking for something just like it “You never know what people are going to be attracted to,” she said Willams started decorating cigar boxes because she wanted to see how they turned out “I try to make all sizes and anything I can think of to go in them,” she says  She also likes to use them because she can decorate them however she wants “And people really started liking them,” she said You could keep anything you want to in here,” Williams said “I just sit home in my little craft room and create,” Williams said She knows she won’t make a fortune selling her creations but making people happy is priceless to her She’s been a vendor at the the Cabrini Farmers Market for a little over a month “This is the only place I’ve ever been,” she said “I love it here because it’s like a community.”  to noon Saturdays in the back parking lot of St Francis Cabrini Church on East Texas Avenue The ancient Mediterranean city is at risk as sea levels rise But most people in the vulnerable fishing village of El Max believe it will always weather the storms of time Ahmed Gaz is untangling his fishing net on the beach after landing his catch at dawn destined to fish for a living: “My whole life is in the sea thousands of kilometres of the Nile delta could be fully submerged by 2100 Like the rest of Egypt’s Mediterranean coast around the delta El Max also faces several other environmental risks earthquakes and water pollution from nearby petrochemical plants which all add to the increasing vulnerability of the area director of Alexandria University’s Research Centre for Adaptation to Climate Change says: “Part of the problem is that when people talk about the impact of rising sea levels in Egypt they are talking about what’s going to happen by 2100 “And with the economic situation,” he adds “people are not interested in the far future.” The fishing community in El Max is witnessing the effects of the climate crisis but often without the awareness of its long-term impacts “This year the sea is moving back behind the island [by the lighthouse of El Max about 50 metres from shore],” says a young fisherman on El Fanar beach Another adds: “We used to catch 50kg of fish [a day]; now it’s only 10kg.” Part of the difficulty with trying to get local communities to engage with the problem is that the threat of Alexandria sinking and disappearing is far from a recent phenomenon The city has suffered many climate-related catastrophes before and survived Earthquakes and a tsunami destroyed the lighthouse Illustration: Science History/AlamyEgypt’s second-largest city has experienced “seven or eight” tsunamis throughout history was caused by an 8.5-magnitude earthquake in Crete that had disastrous effects across the eastern Mediterranean “It caused water to go inside the soil and destroyed the entire ancient port Some archaeologists believe that the temples of Alexander the Great and Cleopatra are still underwater because the royal neighbourhood was completely sunk.” Another tsunami struck in 1303 and caused the Lighthouse, or Pharos, of Alexandria one of the seven wonders of the ancient world Concrete blocks were added to Alexandria’s corniche as the city faces ever bigger storm surges Photograph: Alexander Durie/The Guardian“People always say that life in Alexandria is a cycle just like the cycle of life,” Hussein says then it falls and slowly disappears completely A number of Alexandrians say they are worried about how rapidly the coastline is being developed by authorities Hussein describes how Alexandria has lost more than 40% of its beaches in the past 25 years from a combination of coastal erosion heavy construction and privatisation of coastal areas “This is happening at an unprecedented speed in the city,” she says She adds that while last year Alexandria was recognised by Unesco as Egypt and Africa’s first “tsunami-ready” community – meaning that it met key indicators for mitigating the risks of the devastating waves and other coastal hazards – Hussein and other local researchers feel that the city is not prepared at all Free newsletterGet a different world view with a roundup of the best news but I don’t know where to go … This sea is my soul and I cannot live without itUmm AmrThe local government has installed concrete blocks along Alexandria’s corniche to protect the shore but several experts say this is an unviable solution in the long term because water goes under the blocks and into the soil Some of the fishing community have already been moved to high-rise buildings farther inland after their houses were flooded settling away from the coast has been a challenge Umm Amr inside her kiosk on El Fanar beach in El Max but I don’t know where to go.’ Photograph: Alexander Durie/The GuardianAbdrabo says: “People in Egypt are very attached to their land.” It is an attitude that applies across the country particularly to those who make their living from fishing and farming He says people’s attachment to their local area ought to be recognised in any long-term plan for the region but ultimately: “Whatever you do in coastal areas will get back to you Umm Amr has been running a kiosk on El Fanar beach all of her life. She was initially sceptical about the climate emergency, but after learning about the catastrophic floods along the coast in Derna, Libya, in 2023, she was scared, thinking that if it could happen to “our neighbour”, it could happen to El Max too. Read more“They [authorities] want us to leave here “I grew up on the sand of El Max and lived here among good people who love each other To leave and abandon this bond with the area is not easy for local people “It’s better to stay and find ways to adapt,” Hussein says suggesting that people in sinking cities around the world could collaborate and share strategies on saving their home towns “All we’re asking for is that we’re given the tools to learn how to adapt.” Egypt’s Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation said: “The projects in Alexandria are part of the coastal-protection projects the ministry is implementing to counter the negative effects of climate change provide protection for citizens and facilities and stabilise residential and industrial areas and low-lying areas from the risk of rising sea levels.” This piece is being published in conjunction with the online magazine Magma What's Hot: 262-Unit Development With 'Main Street' Retail Pitched For Columbia Pike by UrbanTurf Staff ✉️ Want to forward this article? Click here A proposal to convert the former Old Towne Motel property into luxury condos is heading before Alexandria's Board of Architectural Review later this month.  PT Blooms has plans in the works to turn the former motel property at 802-808 North Washington Street (map) into a 48-unit condo building The project -- designed by Eric Colbert & Associates -- will be the second phase of The Whitley The first phase consists of a 78-unit building just down the block.  The new development will deliver one- to three-bedroom condos along with 47 parking spaces in an underground garage a historic townhouse at the development site will be preserved.  there were plans in the works to replace the closed motel with a five-story hotel That proposal was scrapped due to financial constraints the Alexandria Planning Commission unanimously voted to approve the new condo development.  This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/a_plan_to_convert_shuttered_alexandria_motel_into_48_condos_looks_for_appro/23468 Questions about real estate in DC, VA or MD? Email us UrbanTurf Listings showcases the DC metro area's best properties available for sale The huge DC news of the week is that the Washington Commanders are going to build a n... read » Plans to redevelop a strip mall along the thoroughfare are back in the works after a ... read » Today, UrbanTurf checks in on the status of the development pipeline over in Congress... read » The new 230-room citizenM hotel is expected to open at the beginning of 2026.... read » Dubbed the Stratford House, the property had not been listed for sale in decades prio... read » Virginia's homebuyer assistance programs can seem complex. This edition of First-Time... read » In April, UrbanTurf looked at programs in the District that help homebuyers defray ... read » In this article, UrbanTurf looks at the estimated annual maintenance costs associated... read » In this article, UrbanTurf will explain what special assessments are, how they work, ... read » The center for the Washington Capitals is listing the 16,000 square-foot home for jus... read » With this weekend's DC houseboat tour a day away, UrbanTurf thought it only fitting t... read » President Obama travels to Denver this morning to sign the stimulus bill that has bee... read » In this week's installment of Ask An Agent, a reader wonders if there is a rule for h... read » As The Wharf prepares to begin construction, DC's houseboat community heads to its ne... read » In this week's installment of Ask An Agent, a reader asks a fairly common question th... read » Short guides to navigating the DC-area real estate market We've collected all our helpful guides for buying selling and renting in and around Washington Awesome and unusual real estate from across the DC Metro Mandy Taheri is a Newsweek reporter based in Brooklyn You can get in touch with Mandy via email: m.taheri@newsweek.com A pro-Palestinian activist and constituent heckled Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez during an event in Queens repeatedly calling her a "war criminal" over her stance on the ongoing Israel-Hamas war Newsweek has reached out to Ocasio-Cortez's press team for comment via email on Saturday Ocasio-Cortez is often considered one of the moreprogressive members of the Democratic Party. She has recently been touring the country with Senator Bernie Sanders' holding rallies to mobilize and "fight oligarchy" and oppose President Donald Trump The ongoing war in Gaza, which has resumed after a temporary ceasefire, remains a flashpoint in U.S. politics. Trump has voiced his strong support for Israel, floated the idea of taking over the Gaza Strip, and has condemned pro-Palestinian protests on school campuses. He has also supported the arrests of some protestors such as Mahmoud Khalil The Democrat has accused Israel of carrying out a "genocide," claims the country has dismissed, but hasn't consistently used this characterization. In the early months of the war, she called for "conditioning aid to Israel," as a "responsible course of action," to ensure that "public resources do not facilitate gross violations of human rights and international law." She has also called out a pro-Palestinian protest in New York City as "unacceptable and harmful" for alleged expressions of antisemitism Pro-Palestinian activists have confronted Ocasio-Cortez before, saying she's not doing enough for the Palestinian cause. Many progressive voters in the 2024 presidential election were frustrated with then-President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris over the issue did not do enough to halt Israel's military campaigns and provide humanitarian aid to Gazans and I want to know what you're doing about the genocide in Gaza." She continued by calling the representative a "war criminal." Kings has shared videos and images from the town hall on her social media account. Her account features several other pro-Palestinian posts and videos, and recent Instagram stories calling out Representative Ocasio-Cortez Newsweek has reached out to Kings on Instagram for comment and confirmation via email on Saturday "At least with the Republican Party we know what we are dealing with you're a snake," she can be heard saying in another video but not before she told the congresswoman to "stop the genocide Ocasio-Cortez said: "I more than welcome people who disagree or are super pissed off at me for any issue to come Please wait for the Q&A because we don't want to deprive all of our neighbors of the ability to have information and hear them respond to it." Kings' posted an Instagram Story of the town hall with the words "Do you notice how Gaza isn't even on the agenda??? Shame on these fascists." She has over 53,000 followers on the social media platform The most recent conflict in Gaza, which began after Hamas launched a fatal attack on Israel on October 7 killing about 1,200 people and taking 250 people hostage The war has since spread across multiple fronts in the Middle East The Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza reports more than 52,400 people have been killed Israel has repeatedly bombed and blockaded the enclave and aid trucks have reportedly not entered the area since early March Israel has been repeatedly withheld and blocked humanitarian aid from entering Gaza Ocasio-Cortez wrote about the U.S.'s hold on ammunition to Israel "The United States has an obligation to uphold its own laws and to respect human rights globally withholding US military aid is a major development towards ceasefire." In November 2024, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in part finding him guilty of "the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare." Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wrote in an X post on Saturday morning: "Thank you to all our neighbors who joined us for yesterday's town hall—it was our largest district town hall ever the United Nations under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and relief coordinator said in a statement on Thursday: "Aid It leaves them without basic medical support Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wrote on X on April 30: "Israel is waging a just war with just means against Hamas that murdered 1200 innocent people on October 7 and still holds 59 innocent people hostage." Ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas have stalled Israeli media has reported that the country's security Cabinet has approved plans for an expanded operation in Gaza Ocasio-Cortez's current term ends on January 3, 2027. She has emerged as a prominent figure within the Democratic Party She has not indicated whether a presidential run is in her future though early polling indicates she is among the top contenders for the Democratic nomination in 2028 Hold us accountable and submit your rating of this article on the meter. Alexandria and Granville filed a plan with the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency on May 1 outlining how it can provide water and sewer service to parts of western and northwestern Licking County Jersey Township officials sued the coalition filed the same day in Licking County Common Pleas Court claims “these entities conspired to take control of portions of Jersey Township through improper and unlawful closed-door meetings that violated Ohio’s Open Meetings Act” in a July 15 Jersey Township Trustee Dan Wetzel said in a release that the lawsuit is “about protecting our sovereignty No political subdivision has the right to override the will of another’s voters … Jersey Township has elected leaders for a reason and we will not allow outside officials to usurp our authority or speak for our residents.” Granville Village Manager Herb Koehler said May 1 that the coalition could supply water and sewer service to parts of Jersey Township — if property owners request it — but the coalition is not seeking to “take control” of the township the municipalities said they “vigorously deny the allegations in the lawsuit the City of Johnstown received a letter in early July 2024 from a Jersey Township trustee explicitly threatening litigation,” the release said Johnstown Mayor Donny Barnard said in the release: “We remain committed to transparency and serving the best interests of the residents of Johnstown We are confident in the integrity of our city’s leadership and governance and we trust that the court will dismiss this frivolous lawsuit.” Jersey Township is part of the rapidly growing area between New Albany to the west State Route 161 to the south and the city of Johnstown to the north and Platte and the township are seeking an injunction against coalition members Among the township's requests is for the court to invalidate some actions coalition members took after their July 15 meeting including the Johnstown City Council’s approval of a comprehensive development plan during the July meeting suggesting it is to get more customers for financial gain rather than growth management Platte referred questions to the township's attorney Tension among local government entities in western Licking County has been simmering for more than a year and is rooted in a debate over service areas for local utilities Members of the Johnstown-Alexandria-Granville coalition — known as the Municipal Utility Coalition of Licking County — have said for months that their goal is to offer an alternative to the Licking Regional Water District formerly known as the Southwest Licking Community Water and Sewer District and coalition members say they want to manage growth according to their comprehensive development plans They have concerns that a stand-alone utility will not fully consider development plans when installing lines “We’re not at all implying that Licking Regional doesn’t have a part in the future of western Licking County,” Koehler said We think our service can complement what they offer to the benefit of all customers.” But when the Licking County Commissioners voted in 2022 to expand the Licking Regional Water service area from about 8,000 acres in southwestern Licking County to 18,182 acres stretching to the north and east of its original service area leaders from the coalition communities and surrounding townships became concerned about losing their ability to manage growth to their plans Their concerns intensified when Licking Regional Water bought about 100 acres along State Route 161 in St. Albans Township and proposed a large sewage-treatment facility and a future water-treatment facility within a few miles of Alexandria and Granville That’s when the leaders began serious discussions about forming a utility coalition “Our Plan takes direct inspiration from the Licking County FRAMEWORK report,” Koehler said in a release businesses and residents developed to plan for future growth in western Licking County The report is full of recommendations “to maintain the values and sense of community that attracted our residents and is now attracting major businesses and investment,” Koehler said organic growth while ensuring that our local schools and other critical community needs are not neglected Our ‘inside-out’ approach will allow us to increase treatment capacity and construct centralized sewers as the need arises allowing us to keep sewer rates affordable.”   Alexandria Mayor Sean Barnes said in the coalition’s response to the lawsuit: “We value our partnership with Johnstown and Granville especially in light of the growth that is coming to Licking County Collaborations such as ours are necessary if we hope to positively shape the future of the region.” Granville Mayor Melissa Hartfield said in the release that she is disappointed in Platte and Jersey Township's actions: “I believe this is a deliberate attempt to distract us from working in the best interests of our constituents.” Wetzel said Jersey Township officials “hope that this lawsuit can be resolved amicably.”  Platte and Jersey Township are serious about a sustainable future Alan Miller writes for TheReportingProject.org, the nonprofit news organization of Denison University’s Journalism program, which is supported by generous donations from readers Alexandria’s road work schedule for May 5-9 is out the citywide street repaving project targets South Royal Street including ADA ramp upgrades and curb and gutter fixes Work areas include the intersection of South Van Dorn Street and Eisenhower Avenue The city says businesses and residents on streets set for repaving get advance notice They’ll also put up temporary “No Parking” signs before work starts to help people avoid tickets and towing Keep in mind that the repaving list and schedule might change or coordination with other city projects and utility work can affect the timeline concrete maintenance will be performed on Duke Street from Roth Avenue to Wheeler Avenue This work is preparation for future repaving Expect lane closures and delays as crews work to finish the job safely and efficiently For more info or to report issues, check out the city’s website or use Alex311 Rep. Don Beyer is pushing for $5.9 million in Community Project Funding for Alexandria as part of his fiscal year 2026 proposals The requests focus on improving infrastructure is aimed at upgrading storm drains along East Howell and East Bellefonte Avenues This project is part of the broader Flood Action Alexandria program which implements both short and long-term flood prevention measures Another $1.5 million request is for an energy-independent emergency shelter system This would allow the shelter to operate off-grid for up to 72 hours during extreme weather events One is for enhancing technology and data management for the Alexandria Police Department The other would upgrade radio systems for both the Police Department and Sheriff’s Office These improvements would boost communication capabilities especially when assisting federal partners like the U.S with a $1.5 million request for The Square at 511 This money would help extend the lifespan of this affordable housing complex in the Arlandria neighborhood by modernizing elevators Beyer’s larger set of 15 Community Project Funding proposals for FY26 across his district The House Appropriations Committee will review all proposals before making final decisions on which projects to fund 🌥️ Today’s weather: Showers and thunderstorms before 3 p.m. then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm between 3 p.m then scattered showers and thunderstorms after 4 p.m Light east wind becoming southeast 5 to 10 mph in the morning New rainfall amounts between a tenth and a quarter of an inch except higher amounts are possible in thunderstorms Showers and thunderstorms tonight before 2 a.m. Southeast wind 5 to 9 mph becoming calm after midnight The chance of precipitation is 80%—new rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch are possible Alexandria is rolling out a mix of free and ticketed events this month (May) to mark National Historic Preservation Month The city’s Office of Historic Alexandria is behind the lineup which spotlights local landmarks and ongoing preservation work Special tours at Gadsby’s Tavern Museum and Fort Ward Museum & Historic Site are on the agenda The Friendship Firehouse Museum will open its doors for free on May 17 the Alexandria Archaeology Museum offers free admission and features “A Community Digs Its Past: The Lee Street Site.” The Alexandria History Museum at The Lyceum hosts an escape room-style event on May 30 Participants can uncover hidden artifacts while tackling preservation-themed puzzles If you prefer to explore at your own pace, self-guided tours are available for download at AlexandriaVA.gov/SelfGuidedTours The Office of Historic Alexandria oversees eight museums Good news for locals: Alexandria residents get free entry to all city-owned museums To book tickets or make reservations for any of these events, head to AlexandriaVA.gov/Shop Stay in the know about Alexandria! Join 8,700+ residents who rely on the ALXnow free newsletter for the latest news, restaurant openings, and essential information delivered straight to their inbox. Sign Up For Our Free Newsletter The following are the most-read ALXnow articles for May 4 Here’s what’s happening today in Alexandria Organizing an event? Submit your event to ALXnow’s Event Calendar Kate Plummer is a Newsweek reporter based in London and she is particularly interested in the impact of social policy decisions on people as well as the finances of political campaigns Kate joined Newsweek in 2023 from The Independent and has also been published in multiple publications including The Times and the Daily Mail in History from the University of Oxford and an M.A You can get in touch with Kate by emailing k.plummer@newsweek.com "Don't let them trick us into thinking we are enemies," Ocasio-Cortez told the packed Ford Idaho Center in Nampa The rousing message made it into a 90‑second video of the event—shared on X last week—which pulled in 8.5 million views and reignited an old question: Could the youngest woman ever elected to Congress become the youngest person ever elected president who has represented New York's 14th congressional district since 2019 told reporters it was "just a video," but 2028 noise is already buzzing among social media pundits and political analysts "She is running and she is going to be more formidable than some Democrats seem to think," said media commentator Chris Cillizza in a post responding to the viral X video Newsweek contacted representatives for Ocasio-Cortez by email to comment on this story If the former bartender from the Bronx does decide to run she will first have to convince Democratic voters in what is likely to be a crowded primary Pollster Nate Silver, founder of FiveThirtyEight, argued earlier in April that Ocasio-Cortez's youth and media savvy could make her a strong 2028 candidate although he cautioned that she might choose not to run the minimum age required to be eligible for president Recent polls reflect a growing appetite among Democrats for Ocasio-Cortez's candidacy. A Quantus Insights survey of 700 Democrats found her to be the second-choice candidate for 2028 with 14 percent support. She was behind former Vice President Kamala Harris who lost to Trump in November and got 30 percent in the Quantus poll The poll was conducted between April 21 and April 23 and has a margin of error of +/- 3.1 percent told Newsweek that Ocasio-Cortez poses a "serious threat" for the nomination citing her "huge rally turnouts" and strong poll numbers an associate professor in the Department of Political Science at the University at Buffalo noted that her prospects hinge on how Democrats interpret their 2024 defeat—whether they believe Harris being "too moderate" hurt the party or not parties tend to 'double down' on whatever strategy they had in the previous campaign," he said this means being more conservative or more liberal if the perception among insiders is that they weren't sufficiently 'pure' enough to excite the base It's not clear what Democrats are thinking on this dimension If the internal narrative is that Harris tried to be too moderate then someone like AOC might have some appeal I simply don't know where the party is in terms of the narrative that they are constructing surrounding Harris' loss." While there has been much soul-searching and analysis about Harris' election defeat according to polling conducted after the election by J.L the two main reasons the then-vice president lost was because of voter's reticence to elect a woman and because of economic concerns a political scientist who runs the Centre on U.S Politics at University College London (UCL) agreed and said Ocasio-Cortez was likely to come up against opposition similar to the opposition Sanders faced when he ran for the Democratic nomination In 2016, the Independent from Vermont garnered around 19 percent of the vote in the Democratic primary He dropped out in 2020 after receiving over 1,000 delegates "AOC is a celebrity with a near cult following," Gift told Newsweek. "However, the same problem that Bernie Sanders ran into is the one AOC will run into if she aspires for the White House It's hard for a quasi-avowed socialist to win a national election in the U.S it remains unclear whether she widen her circle of support and pick off a certain fraction of former Trump voters and moderate Democrats she'll be picked apart for fringe views on a litany of cultural issues and her big government approach to policymaking." If Ocasio-Cortez wins the Democratic nomination, she will then face the electorate at large and run for president against the Republican nominee—likely to be Vice President JD Vance A Siena College poll of 802 New York state voters found that 21 percent of Republicans now view her favorably—up from just six percent in 2019 Neiheisel said this "could just be a reflection of greater familiarity with her in the state" or because New Yorkers might "see her as one of the more reasonable" members of the so-called "squad", a group of progressives in Congress And a Gallup poll in January suggested she had a net favorability rating of -10 percent among Americans suggesting her popularity is far from assured told Newsweek Ocasio-Cortez was too progressive to win over the electorate "AOC has as much chance of winning the White House as the Las Vegas Raiders have in winning the Super Bowl immigration and healthcare will not appeal to swing voters in the battleground states especially more traditionally conservative suburbanites as two of the last three presidential elections have shown slightly left of center female nominees are not electable due to traditional culturally biased attitudes against women in positions of high authority an expert in American politics at the University of Surrey in the U.K. said Ocasio-Cortez doesn't play as well with "older more centrist Democrats" and is seen as radical by some states where "Democrats have to appeal to the center-right as much as the center-left." "The USA is an inherently conservative capitalist country and therefore it will always be hard for a true progressive to win the middle ground to a necessary extent to win the White House," he told Newsweek But some conservative voices are sounding alarms about Ocasio-Cortez's potential "Just a word of warning to the Republicans, to my party, do not underestimate AOC, she's young, she's vibrant, she's attractive," former Trump Treasury official Monica Crowley told Fox News last November. "I think she's wrong on everything And all the energy and activism in the Democrat party remains with the revolutionary left "She's going to run and her message of economic populism is more powerful than people are giving her credit for," conservative political commentator Meghan McCain predicted earlier this month Ocasio-Cortez raised approximately $15.16 million during the 2023–2024 election cycle for her 2024 congressional reelection campaign according to Federal Election Commission data The average for House members that year was $3.31 million Ocasio-Cortez achieved her strongest fundraising quarter to date bringing in $9.6 million from 266,000 individual donors she would become the first female president of the United States and the youngest ever person to hold the office A President Ocasio-Cortez would also beat the record for the U.S president with the longest surname in history That polysyllabic distinction currently belongs to former President Dwight D who served in office between 1953 and 1961 An Alexandria apartment complex along a narrow stretch between West Braddock Road and N Beauregard Street is about to get a little denser LLC wants to convert former laundry rooms into 11 new apartments at the three-building 122-unit garden-style property while keeping the number of available parking spaces for residents as-is at 152 The Planning Commission will review the proposal on Tuesday (May 6) and City Council will consider the matter at its hearing on May 17 This is the second project of its kind that KMF XII Alexandria, LLC, is bringing to the city for approval this month. The company bought this property, The Oliver, and The Alante Apartments nearby at 4800 Kenmore Avenue in 2018 added washers and dryers to the apartments and have proposed converting the old communal laundry rooms into apartments The applicant proposes to convert the former common laundry rooms into eleven new apartments (one studio ten one-bedrooms) for a new total count of 133 units The units would be entirely within the existing buildings and would not require any new square footage… The site currently has 122 apartments and 152 parking spaces with a parking ratio of 1.24 spaces per unit The complex was constructed in the late 1960’s and has maintained approximately the same number of parking spaces since that time and a parking ratio of 1.14 spaces per unit which is in line with what is being proposed with similar new residential developments in the West End After a firestorm of criticism from city leaders and student journalists over proposed oversight changes to Alexandria City High School’s student newspaper, Theogony the Alexandria School Board’s Governance Committee returned to the drawing board Theogony student journalists take their roles seriously with City Council members warning of potential “censorship” and “authoritarian” behavior from the school system student journalists are alleging a concerted effort from the administration of Superintendent Melanie Kay-Wyatt to suppress touchy or controversial stories from appearing in the monthly publication “Today’s meeting shows some movement in the right direction but it remains clear that the work is far from over,” James Libresco whether through explicit rules or vague language are not acceptable for a school district that claims to support student voice and equity or any school district for that matter.” Kay-Wyatt did not respond for a comment for this story Tim Beaty and Abdulahi Abdalla serve on the committee and couldn’t reach consensus on staff changes to create a structure where stories could be stopped from publication by the editor The trio agreed to pursue the issue in a work session in June which postpones the Board’s scheduled May 8 vote on the matter especially where we are with the budget and redistricting I don’t know if this is a work session that will happen before June,” Baird said “I know that we were really hoping to get this wrapped up by the end of the school year but I know a work session will take some time and there’s a lot on our calendar right now.” Abdalla said that the school principal should not have the final say on stories “I don’t think leaving it up to the principal as the final say is beneficial for the process of them learning to be journalists,” Abdalla said “I would love the principal to be involved in the process I don’t think the principal should have any say in editorial changes.” Baird said that the school system needs to facilitate a good educational experience for students “They are learning how to be writers how to be citizens in the world,” Baird said “My thinking is that the role of adults in supporting students’ education is to be there to help them think more critically to help them identify where there might be challenges to help them think about the implications of their writing.” said that the executive principal should have the final say be points in time where a particular topic something is on the borderline about whether or not it creates defamation or it creates some other kind of violation of the policies,” Beaty said “Somebody’s got to decide there and so I think designating the principal as that person is about right in my book.” In a draft proposal released three weeks ago news stories that “may be controversial” would have to be submitted by students to the “Campus Administrator who is responsible for ensuring the content will not cause substantial disruption of school activities.” The principal would also have to approve the republication of articles to outside news outlets like ALXnow The current proposal also removed a guideline that students should be instructed to follow the “Code of Ethics of the American Society of Newspaper Editors and help students and understand and follow it,” because the organization no longer exists “School publications faculty co-editors shall instruct students in the recognized practices and ethical considerations of journalism.” The amended policy also states that the “Superintendent may establish additional editorial levels between the faculty sponsor and the principal as needed to ensure the process is efficient and effective.” The ACPS policy on student publications has been in place since 1994 and hasn’t been updated since 2014 This policy is among several that are up for review by the school system The established policy lays out a structure where the School Board is the publisher of all student-created content the staff advisor is the equivalent of a co-editor and students are assistant editors and reporters Theogony students are led by two student co-editors and advised by a teacher the school principal has largely left the publication up to the discretion of the students and their academic advisor determine the stories,” Libresco said “We have a budget meeting at the beginning of each cycle where students pitch ideas and then our student reporters fill out a pitch form It’s reviewed by the co-editors in chief and then we sign it and it goes to our advisor our advisor does not decide the content we can cover or we cannot cover but not this person,’ and ‘Yes but not about that story.’ Those are all student decisions.” School Board Chair Michelle Rief says that the proposed changes are intended to protect students and the school division “The intention behind the proposed revision to Policy JP (journalism practices) is to ensure that student publications are supported with adult oversight that promotes accuracy and adherence to laws and policies that govern our school division regarding student privacy,” Rief said in a statement “This oversight is not meant to silence student voices but to help protect the rights of all students.” City Council Member Abdel Elnoubi was on the School Board until his recent election last fall and said that the new policy “crosses into censorship.” Elnoubi said that reasonable limits on students should be established but he was compelled to speak up because the “free speech of students is under attack” during a time “when democracy and free speech are under threat nationally.” “I grew up under an authoritarian regime (in Egypt) that used vague subjective terms like ‘controversial’ and ‘disruption’ to silence dissent,” Elnoubi said in a statement “I recognize these red flags when I see them.” A new draft proposal published on Thursday dropped the word “controversial” and replaced it with “material that the staff co-editor believes may be in violation of the ACPS Journalistic Principles or ACPS policy or regulation.” City Council Member John Taylor Chapman said that the language change seems unnecessary “I think the expansion of their policy doesn’t seem warranted,” Chapman said students haven’t violated any ACPS policies I do think it is interesting that ACS looked at this policy when they’ve had a number of articles in Theogony about some of the decisions that have been made I don’t get the sense that school board members are pushing this issue I really want to understand why this is coming up as something that’s on their docket It’d be great to see this policy come from the School Board versus a staff that has a bias on (what) they want to see printed and discussed in the community about ACPS.” City Council Member R. Kirk McPike told ALXnow that he’s ready to fight for the rights of ACHS student journalists. McPike said he was a student journalist in high school and was directly impacted by the U.S. Supreme Court’s 5-3 ruling in 1988 which allowed school districts to censor all school publications “When I was a high school journalist our principal attempted to prevent the release of an issue of our newspaper because a parent complained about a picture of their son smoking,” McPike said “It was part of an article about the challenges the school was having in preventing smoking by students So I take the impacts of prior review policies on the ability of student journalists to be real journalists very seriously.” McPike said that Theogony’s reporting has made a positive impact “School systems can adopt policies that give greater protection to student journalists,” he said “The ACPS School Board Members I have spoken to about the proposed policy changes recognize and value the great work of the journalists at Theogony They want to see these students thrive and improve their skills I hope they will respond to the concerns of the students who produce Theogony and adopt regulations that further empower these young journalists.” Libresco said he and his student reporters have felt pressured by ACPS central office staff to amend headlines and stories “It’s straight from the playbook of authoritarian governments and regimes,” Libresco said “This is not something that should be happening in Alexandria where we claim to have an equity focus and a student empowerment focus that is not reflected at all in this policy.” Libresco also launched an online petition that’s garnered nearly 700 signatures “All we’re asking for is the freedom to tell the truth of what’s going on,” he said “They’re not saying our articles haven’t gone through a proper editing process; they’re saying that they don’t like what we’re writing about and that’s a huge difference.” Libresco said that he and his student reporters were asked to alter their content several times since the end of the last school year In two recorded meetings held in May and June last year ACPS communications staff requested a more collaborative relationship with Theogony staff The newspaper’s students were asked to submit requests to interview any ACPS staff with the communications department and students who participated in those meetings were concerned that the new proposed measures were punitive the ACPS chief of school and community relations and her staff asked for closer collaboration with Theogony to ensure that staff being interviewed were providing accurate information we have remained focused on building a collaborative and respectful relationship with the Theogony team,” Burgos told ALXnow “At no point have we requested to review Our goal has always been to support student voices and uphold their editorial independence.” Libresco says that the Central Office is proposing the changes “I have a great relationship with our current principal and he has been very supportive of Theogony and all its efforts,” he said “I want to make clear that this policy change and this standard operating procedure this was directly from Central Office leadership That was not from our school administration at all Theogony reporter Isabelle Shultz said that the publication strives to be accurate “It should be of note that we are very happy to change anything that might be non-factual,” Shultz said “Every time we ask the superintendent to comment that is her chance to put her input in on our articles and that is where any input belongs — in our articles We are fully committed to making sure that we tell the full story.” Libresco and his staff of ACHS students have an alternative proposal guaranteeing students’ First Amendment protections. Their Voices Unbound policy is also backed by Mayor Alyia Gaskins and it largely prevents administrators from interfering with articles we have an opportunity to build the next generation of journalists and civic leaders,” Gaskins said “We have seen how their articles have pushed our community to ask better questions and critically examine our decisions The proposed changes put leaders in a position of editing critical and necessary coverage I hope the School Board will adopt the Voices Unbound framework which was designed to elevate student voice and thoughtful expression while respecting the responsibilities of school leadership.” A majority of the Board members need to support the policy Libresco still plans to speak at the May 8 Board meeting “We urge the school board to listen to the community to legal experts and to the students most directly affected,” he said “Adopt the entire Voices Unbound framework Guarantee full First Amendment protections for your students.” var pd_tags = new Array;pd_tags["15421370-src"]="poll-oembed-simple"; There are plenty of beautiful towns within driving distance of Alexandria to explore as a potential second-home getaway The reasons most people purchase a second home Some popular areas within driving distance of Alexandria (that include a range of home prices) include wine country both near Middleburg and Upperville as well as further south near Charlottesville Other getaway areas include Deep Creek Lake We'll take a look at these areas and others along with a variety of real estate options in those locations There are several options for home purchases in the area Set on an idyllic five-acre parcel and bordering a 400-acre private estate this extraordinary Neoclassical Palladian villa offers nearly 6,000 sq feet of interior living space with spectacular views of the iconic Blue Ridge Mountains Originally built in 1997 by esteemed architect Errol Adels the home finished a two-year renovation in late 2017 and continues to be well maintained a magnificent great room includes the gourmet kitchen dining room and two seating areas that overlook the terrace and swimming pool Each of the home’s five bedrooms - including two large ground level master suites - offer ensuite baths clad in floor to ceiling Carrara marble Additional noteworthy features include 10' custom doors 180-year-old reclaimed wide-plank flooring The 1,225 sq foot guest house has a spacious entertaining space with a concealed full kitchen outdoor spaces and gardens are inviting and well proportioned Completely private and in the middle of Virginia hunt country Lily Pad is an ideal weekend or full-time residence Listed by Laura Farrell• TTR Sotheby's International Realty •540-212-9993 (broker) •theplains@ttrsir.com (broker) Listed by Michael Rankin• TTR Sotheby's International Realty •202-333-1212 (broker) •georgetown@ttrsir.com (broker) Residences at Salamander: If you’re interested in living a resort lifestyle your home purchase comes with membership at Salamander Middleburg That includes concierge services to help with dining and spa reservations or tee times and horseback riding Each residence also includes a one-year membership to Creighton Farms Golf Club Current homes on the market are priced from $3,950,000 for a four-bedroom seven-bath home to $2.7 million for a four-bedroom If you’re looking for a home that might work as an Airbnb, how about a two-bedroom, one-bath cottage, on the market for $485,000? Known as “The Pink Cottage,” it sits on a half-acre lot just outside of Middleburg. Listed by: Sam Fisher 703-408-4261, On The Market Properties, Co-Listing Agent: Curt Andrew Schaber 703-338-7300, On The Market Properties Alexandria Living Magazine is your go-to source for exploring the past, present and future of Alexandria’s people, culture and happenings. Come explore with us! 201 N. Union Street, Suite 110, Alexandria, VA 22314 The Congresswoman remained calm and repeated that she would be ‘happy’ to take her question during the event in Queens Star lawmaker Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was heckled while giving a town hall making her the latest member of Congress to be loudly confronted by upset constituents The incident occurred during a town hall on Friday night in the Democrat’s home district in Queens, New York. A woman in the crowd, who identified herself as a nurse, stood up and began shouting as the Democratic Congresswoman described which parts of her district are “under threat” by the Department of Government Efficiency cuts. “I want to know what you’re doing about the genocide in Gaza!” the woman shouted repeated that she would be “happy” to take her question and said “we’ll get to that in the Q&A” portion of the evening the woman persisted and was met with boos from other audience members Some even shouted at her as others waved for her to leave the room The heckler was eventually escorted out of the event with town halls: I more than welcome people who disagree or are maybe even super pissed off at me for any issue to come but we have some ground rules here Please wait for the Q&A because we don’t want to deprive all of our neighbors of the ability to have information and hear things and respond to it,” Ocasio-Cortez told the crowd.” The stop in her home visit comes as the New York Democrat has been hosting the “Fighting Oligarchy” tour with Vermont independent Senator Bernie Sanders The heckling at Ocasio-Cortez’s event is just the latest public town hall where lawmakers have faced outcry from the crowd Last month, a group confronted California Democrat Laura Friedman in the middle of her town hall, accusing her party of not doing enough to push back on President Donald Trump’s agenda “I don’t believe that you have fought hard enough!” one protester shouted A handful of Republicans have also been the target of their constituents’ rage over the Trump administration’s sweeping moves over the past 100 days Police tased two individuals and charged three after a group disrupted Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s town hall last month “This is a peaceful town hall,” she told the crowd In late February, Georgia Rep. Rich McCormick’s constituents booed and asked angry questions at his town hall. One attendee even asked what the Republican Congressman planned to do to “rein in the megalomaniac in the White House?” That same month, a 54-year-old veteran was escorted out of a town hall following a shouting match with North Carolina Rep. Chuck Edwards. “And you wonder why folks don’t want to do town halls anymore?” the Congressman quipped. govt and politics"},{"score":0.803914,"label":"/law govt and politics/government"},{"score":0.66927,"label":"/law govt and politics/politics/elections/presidential elections"},{"score":0.597967,"label":"/art and entertainment/shows and events"},{"score":0.550411,"label":"/law govt and politics/government/government contracting and procurement"},{"score":0.531436,"label":"/travel/traveling with kids"},{"score":0.524656,"label":"/law