Good morning. This is The Washington Sun Metro newsletter for Sept. 23, 2026. You can get it in your inbox every day by signing up here — it’s free!
In today’s newsletter: Closing arguments in the Trayon White trial, how D.C. government wants to use AI and the Mystics’ playoff push.
Capital Weather’s Daily Digit: 4/10. Another cloudy, damp and cool day puts summer farther back in the rearview mirror on this first full day of fall. Read the full forecast.
THE LATEST
Trending
The jury in the Trayon White trial is expected to begin deliberations today.
White, who maintains his innocence, stands accused of accepting cash bribes from a D.C. government contractor in exchange for agreeing to help him continue to secure lucrative city work in violence intervention.
The question for the jury is not whether White took the money, The Washington Sun’s Jenny Gathright reports. His defense does not deny that he did (and that’s seen clearly on tape!). Instead, the jury must decide a more complicated question: whether White intended to be influenced to act in ways that qualify as bribery under federal law.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Rebecca Ross argued Tuesday that White clearly “sold his position, his power, his access for his own personal greed.”
The defense, however, said prosecutors had not done enough to prove that White acted or intended to act corruptly.
“There is no evidence Trayon White has done a corrupt thing, then or ever,” said Gary Kohlman, one of White’s attorneys, in his closing argument.
White opted not to testify, as is his right. But on Tuesday, he still logged into the D.C. Council’s meetings via Zoom — even chiming in at one point.
During a discussion about opioid-related services, White asked who currently had a contract with the D.C. government to do that work in Ward 8.
Then — never mind.
“I don’t want to talk about contractors right now,” he said with a laugh.
DEEP DIVE
Identifying vacant homes. Screening 911 and 311 calls for quality. Improving benefit payments.
These are just some of the ways D.C. government wants to use AI to stretch its limited resources, automate tedious paperwork and generally speed up city services, The Sun’s Zara Norman, Martin Austermuhle and Michael Brice-Saddler report.
In February 2024, Mayor Muriel Bowser established ground rules for how District agencies adopt AI, detailing six core values — including privacy, equity and human accountability — that they must weigh in doing so. The order also created a citywide AI task force, set a timeline requiring every agency to submit a formal strategic plan by October 2026, and gave the Office of the Chief Technology Officer broad authority to vet any new technology.
Now those ideas are in, and Chris Rodriguez, the assistant city administrator for OCTO, stressed that he doesn’t see AI substituting for city workers. “It’s meant to assist,” he said. “It’s not meant to replace.”
Still, concerns linger in a city with the highest unemployment rate in the country. Many residents worry about privacy, too. “One of the top concerns many parents have is, how is our kids’ data being used?” said Maya Mechenbier, a DCPS parent and leader of Schools Beyond Screens D.C.
Most residents who turned up to public AI task force hearings expressed “cautious optimism,” said Christopher Jordan, a program manager of AI and innovation at the National League of Cities. “When the public can see inside the city’s strategy and their intent, I think that it just creates a much better forum to have these conversations, rather than starting with distrust.”
FROM THE DISTRICT
D.C.’s ballot initiatives may soon face new restrictions. The D.C. Council has given initial approval to a bill that adds new regulations on the city’s ballot initiatives, which allow residents to bypass lawmakers and approve laws themselves. Proponents say the new rules are meant to give the public more chances to weigh in on proposed initiatives, while critics say they’re an underhanded attempt to kill them off.
D.C. had no local colleges crack the top 20 in the latest U.S. News and World Report listing of the nation’s best universities. Georgetown was ranked highest, tying at No. 23, and Howard made a historic 15-point leap up to No. 73. According to WTOP, both American University and the University of Maryland at College Park slid down in their rankings, in part due to a decline in Pell Grant enrollments.
Punk is back! Two fans are working to revive D.C.'s politically charged punk rock scene with a mutual aid concert this weekend on the National Mall, The Sun’s Torrie Herrington reports.
Going for gold. Metro is celebrating its golden anniversary by releasing five commemorative gold-tinted Smart Trip card designs to mark five decades of service. About 20,000 of each design will be available at “select stations” starting Thursday, with a new design rolled out every two weeks.
A D.C. judge has ordered a prominent developer to start improving housing conditions at a troubled building the developer owns in Northeast, City Cast D.C. reports. Conditions at the Delta Pearl drew the attention of D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb, who sued developer Buwa Binitie this month over what he called “extreme disrepair and neglect.” The situation attracted more attention last week when Binitie’s lawyer — a former D.C. attorney general — argued with building tenants at a protest.
Police say a cyclist was killed Tuesday in a collision with a truck near Logan Circle, ABC7 reports.
FROM MARYLAND
Officials with the Prince George’s County Police Department have ruled the death of a Black man found hanging on the side of a road in Upper Marlboro to be a suicide, The Sun’s Justice Covert reports.
PLAN YOUR WEEKEND
For theater lovers: Theatre Week, through Oct. 11.
For Eurovision fans: MARO at The Black Cat, Saturday.
For the folksy: Takoma Park Folk Festival, Sunday.
For more info on this weekend’s events, read our weekly culture calendar here.
SPORTS
At this time a year ago, the Nationals were still in the process of hiring Paul Toboni, who officially started as president of baseball operations on Oct. 1, 2025. Once he was in the job, he turned over the entire operation at a breakneck pace, leading to dozens of new hires for the front office, major league coaching staff and player development system. With less than a week left in his first season on the job, that process is continuing. The Nats are reportedly hiring Brian Rodgers as their next director of international scouting, as The Sun’s Alex Schiffer writes. Rodgers had been with the Houston Astros since 2022.
The Mystics’ playoff fate is getting (a little) clearer. They handled business on Tuesday with a 79-69 win over the Connecticut Sun. (Shakira Austin put some finishing touches on her case for Most Improved Player with 25 points and 13 rebounds.) The Mystics’ playoff seeding will not be clear until the regular season wraps on Thursday, but the win last night seriously helps their chances of moving up the standings. If they can get one more win in their regular season finale Thursday against Chicago, they’ll have a real shot at the best possible outcome as the fifth seed.
What to Watch Today
MLB: Nationals at Tigers, 1:10 p.m. (MLB.TV)
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The newsletter was produced by Nikie Johnson, Jeff Dooley and Jaden Amos.
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