Good morning. This is the NOTUS Metro newsletter for Aug. 18, 2026. You can get it in your inbox every day by signing up here — it’s free!
THE LATEST
D.C. public safety leaders — including U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro and interim D.C. Police Chief Jeffery Carroll — were slated to discuss violent crime trends at a rare joint public meeting last night. But the event was canceled, with little explanation as to why.
The public event was sure to be a minefield at a time when a crime statistics scandal is roiling the D.C. police department, an ongoing surge in federal law enforcement and National Guard deployment has outraged city activists, and Pirro’s recent spat with President Donald Trump has made headlines and raised questions about whether she’ll keep her job.
Trending
Free D.C., a group of local anti-Trump activists who have loudly opposed Pirro, had been encouraging D.C. residents to show up to the meeting and make their voices heard.
Now, “it seems pretty clear that they don’t actually want to hear from D.C. residents,” said Free D.C. co-founder Alex Dodds, speaking about Pirro and the Trump administration.
It’s not the first time something like this has happened: The event had previously been scheduled for June, but it was postponed. This time, the organizer — D.C.’s Criminal Justice Coordinating Council — made no promises that it would be rescheduled. Asked to explain the reason for the cancellation, CJCC spokesperson Margarita Mikhaylova said they “do not have additional information to share.”
“Our focus now is on determining the best approach for future public engagement,” she wrote in an email. A Pirro spokesperson referred questions about the event to the CJCC.
DEEP DIVE
Five summers ago, the Nationals acquired an outfielder named Donovan Casey as part of a blockbuster trade. The next spring, in April 2022, the Nats called up Casey from the minors, inching him right to the edge of his lifelong dream.
But, as NOTUS’ Jesse Dougherty writes in a longform profile, this is where Casey’s baseball journey gets complicated. For five days, he sat on the bench for the Nationals, preparing — both mentally and physically — for an opportunity that never came. While he packed up to head back to the minors, Sean Doolittle, then the team’s closer, told Casey he would be back.
Casey agreed, still confident even at a low point that he would return to the major leagues. But he never did.
The following years were tough, including panic attacks and long stretches of doubt. Casey left long voice memos for his wife, saying through tears that he wasn’t strong enough, wasn’t fast enough, wasn’t a good enough hitter. Eventually, though, he learned to live with getting so close to his ultimate goal without reaching it. The question now, years later: Does he consider himself a big leaguer, even though he never played a game?
FROM THE DISTRICT
A woman was killed by a driver in Northeast D.C. over the weekend, Fox 5 reports. It’s the 28th traffic fatality of the year.
That number is a notable increase from last year, which saw 25 deaths through the entire year. But rather than being a spike, it’s more of a troubling return to the city’s usual numbers. On average, there were 36.2 traffic fatalities annually over the past 10 years. In both 2023 and 2024, 52 people died in traffic accidents. Still, as The Washington Post reported, a return to those numbers runs counter to the promises of soon-to-be-former Mayor Muriel Bowser, who vowed in 2015 to get traffic fatalities to zero.
The District might soon control the D.C. Armory — the longtime home of the D.C. National Guard — rather than the National Park Service, the Washington Business Journal reports.
More than 220 manhole covers had to be welded shut ahead of the Freedom 250 Grand Prix this weekend. Why? City Cast DC asked a physicist.
A Catholic-run boarding house in Northeast D.C., where young women could find below-market rents and community, has closed, NPR reports.
SPORTS
College football season is around the corner, but local fans may not have a whole lot to look forward to on Saturdays this fall. The Associated Press released its preseason Top 25 on Monday afternoon and Maryland is … nowhere to be found. Coming off a 4-8 season, the Terps are projected by ESPN to once again finish in the bottom half of the Big Ten.
What to Watch Today
MLB: Nationals at Rangers, 8:05 p.m. (MLB.TV)
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The newsletter was produced by Jaden Amos, Michael Errigo and Nikie Johnson. Photo by Kannetha Brown-Ngeth for NOTUS. Finally, yesterday’s trivia answer was A) RFK Stadium. In 2002, there was an American Le Mans series race in the stadium’s parking lots. A special shout-out to Halle Czechowski, who answered first.
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