www.youtube.com – NBC4 Washington – 2025-03-20 22:43:57
SUMMARY: A federal judge has blocked the deportation of Badar Khan Siri, a Georgetown University researcher detained by Homeland Security agents for allegedly spreading Hamas propaganda. Siri, an Indian citizen on a student visa, was arrested outside his home in Arlington. Supporters argue that the accusations are false and an infringement on free speech, drawing parallels to oppressive regimes. While a judge ruled against his deportation, Siri remains in detention at an ICE facility in Louisiana. His attorney has indicated that legal action will continue, with the ACLU of Virginia also filing a lawsuit on his behalf.
A federal judge ordered immigration officials not to deport a Georgetown scholar detained by the Trump administration and accused of spreading Hamas propaganda in the latest battle over speech on U.S. college campuses. Northern Virginia Bureau Reporter Drew Wilder is following the story.
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www.thecentersquare.com – By Sarah Roderick-Fitch | The Center Square – (The Center Square – ) 2025-03-20 10:07:00
(The Center Square) – Legislation has been introduced into the U.S. House of Representatives to ensure Coast Guard members receive the same 20-year retirement benefits as other branches of the military.
Reps. Jen Kiggans, R-Va., and Jill Tokuda, D-Hawaii, introduced the Coast Guard Separation Parity Act, a bipartisan bill aimed at establishing “equal protections” for members of the Coast Guard by creating parity with the other armed forces.
The legislation would ensure that enlisted Coast Guard members who have served a minimum of 18 years would not be forced to depart the service two years shy of reaching a 20-year retirement. The proposal would provide them with the same protection and benefits as members of other armed forces.
Currently, Coast Guardsmen are not entitled to the same protections, which leaves them vulnerable to separation before the 20-year mark.
The Coast Guard is unique from other branches as it operates under the Department of Homeland Security during peacetime and is the only branch of the armed forces with both civilian and military responsibilities. It has a workforce of over 57,000, including active duty, reserve and civilian personnel.
The lawmakers argue that the legislation would ensure “experienced personnel can complete their 20 years of service strengthens retention, morale, and fairness.”
“After years of dedicated service to our country, every member of our armed forces deserves the right to retire with the benefits they’ve earned – including the Coast Guard,” said Kiggans. “The Coast Guard Separation Parity Act ensures that the brave men and women who wear the uniform in our nation’s maritime force receive the same protections as their military counterparts in other branches. This is about fairness, recognizing the sacrifices of our Coast Guard, and ensuring these servicemembers are not forced out just before reaching retirement eligibility.”
The bipartisan legislation has received the support of several military-affiliated organizations.
www.youtube.com – 12 On Your Side – 2025-03-20 04:46:28
SUMMARY: Today’s forecast predicts warm weather with afternoon showers and highs in the mid-70s for Charleston. Although a cool front will bring lower temperatures tomorrow—down to the 50s—there’s no significant winter chill expected. Expect scattered showers and potential thunderstorms by the afternoon, particularly around 2 or 3 PM, with rain increasing along the I-95 corridor. This evening will remain breezy and wet, while tomorrow will transition to cooler, sunny conditions, with highs around 57 degrees. The weekend looks promising with temperatures in the 60s, and another chance for light rain on Monday.
Thursday Forecast: Warm and breezy with afternoon showers
Donning a face mask for protection, Lauren Stephenson pointed to new wood installed along the baseboard of her kitchen cabinets, one of several spots where black mold has been growing inside her apartment at Jefferson Pointe in Prince George County. Other spores sprouted inside cabinets, along windowsills and the doorframe to enter her residence. Signs of leaking water were visible along the ceiling.
The persistent mold spores — and the apartment management’s apparent lack of proper remediation — are at the center of a lawsuit Stephenson has filed with the help of a former Virginia legislator that spotlights how state law protects tenants from living conditions that threaten their health.
It isn’t uncommon for Stephenson to have breathing issues, since she’s dealt with asthma throughout her life, she said. But the onset of chronic headaches last December, more severe breathing issues and flu-like symptoms, along with skin rashes on her baby son Brycen prompted a hospital and specialist visit.
As an infant unable to speak, she said he couldn’t tell her when “something was wrong,” and the fact that he was sick alongside her “really bothers me,” she said, her voice cracking briefly.
Testing from a pulmonologist eventually confirmed mold exposure. Despite filing work orders and sending other notification of the diagnosis stemming from mold to her rental property’s office, Stephenson eventually had to pack or discard most of her belongings and move in with her parents. She still pays her $1,300 per month rent, she said.
And now she’s filed a lawsuit. Former Republican state delegate Tim Anderson is representing Stephenson’s case, filed in Prince George County Circuit Court, which is seeking a court trial.
Stephenson’s on-site property management declined to comment on the pending litigation, as did the Florida-based realty firm that oversees it.
Mold spore growth along the doorframe to enter Lauren Stephenson’s apartment on March 17, 2025. Photo by Charlotte Rene Woods / Virginia Mercury
The filing outlines how Stephenson submitted a work order to her landlord in early December inquiring if something could be done about mold she’d spotted in her home. Allegedly no action was taken until February when she reported that the baseboard beneath her kitchen sink appeared rotted from water damage and that she saw black mold behind it.
The case cites state law, the Virginia Landlord Residential and Tenant Act, which outlines the rights and obligations for landlords and renters in Virginia. On mold specifically, it requires that landlords promptly remediate reports of its presence using professional standards of guidance documents published by various U.S. health, housing and environmental departments. Tenants are also supposed to receive copies of paperwork regarding the remediation.
But instead, Anderson said, “They take some wood and they literally boarded up over the black mold, like ‘ah, problem solved.’”
The apartment’s walls were also painted with a coat of Kilz, which is a primer paint meant to prevent mold from forming in the first place.
By this point, Stephenson left her apartment at the recommendation of her doctor. Stephenson said she shared a doctor’s note advising such with her landlord in an attempt to break her lease early to no avail.
A state law that was signed last year makes it a violation of the Virginia Consumer Protection Act to sell or offer services as a professional mold remediator to residential dwelling units without certification from the Institute of Inspection, Clearing and Restoration Certification. It’s unclear if mold remediation services done at Stephenson’s apartment were performed by a company holding such certification.
Stephenson is “grateful” that she had somewhere to go when her home became unsafe. But medical bills and continuing to pay rent on a home she can’t live in is a challenge. She wouldn’t be able to afford another apartment while paying for her current one.
Her lawsuit seeks $2 million in compensatory damages, legal fees and reimbursement for rent paid during March, April and May of this year.
Given the signs of water damage and the mold remediation issues Stephenson experienced, she wonders if any of her neighbors might be having similar problems and what the source of the mold might be.
“I feel bad if other people are suffering as I have,” she said. “We don’t deserve to pay thousands of dollars to live somewhere that’s toxic for our health.”
Mold has been a major concern for residents in several Virginia localities in recent years, including in Virginia Beach, Herndon and Henrico County. Tenants who suspect they may be living with mold should contact their apartment managers and may find more information and resources through the Virginia Office of the Attorney General’s Office of Consumer Protection at 804-786-2042 or 1-800-552-9963.
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