Good morning. This is The Washington Sun Metro newsletter for Sept. 11, 2026. You can get it in your inbox every day by signing up here — it’s free!
Capital Weather’s Daily Digit: 6/10. Cooler and more comfortable, but a lingering early shower, humidity and plentiful clouds keep it from being a standout. Read the full forecast.
THE LATEST
If you’re looking for a rare breed in D.C., try to find a local Republican. They make up just 5% of the city’s 485,000 registered voters, and none has served in elected office for almost two decades.
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But those significant political obstacles aren’t stopping seven D.C. Republicans who are running for D.C. Council, attorney general and the nonvoting delegate to Congress, The Washington Sun’s Martin Austermuhle reports.
“This election is especially important because it represents a renewed effort by the Republican Party to offer the District’s voters a range of ideas and qualified candidates,” said Manuel Rivera, a Puerto Rican-born immigration lawyer (and former Democrat) who is running for attorney general.
The candidates are running on bread-and-butter issues: Improving public safety, better city services, fighting D.C.’s notorious rats, keeping spending and taxes under control and continuing some of the gains in public schools. They don’t often bring up President Donald Trump, which might be a wise political move — he only notched 6% of the city’s vote in 2024, and his recent forays into local issues haven’t proved to be particularly popular here.
Some former Republicans say it’s a fool’s errand. “It’s pointless,” said David Krucoff, who ran for the Ward 3 council seat as a moderate Republican in 2022 and won 22% of the vote. He’s now an independent, and says he thinks there’s more hope for right-leaning residents there.
In 2028, independent voters will be allowed to vote in a partisan primary of their choice, which Krucoff says will give them a bigger chance to moderate city politics without carrying the heavy political baggage the GOP currently does in many urban areas.
Whether or not they can win, the Republican candidates in D.C. still think there’s value in running for office. “Washington, D.C., is a one-party system,” Rivera said. “I believe democracy works best when voters have a real choice. Somebody must be willing to challenge that status quo.”
DEEP DIVE
The D.C. Police Union has joined the anti-Flock chat.
The group issued a press release Thursday sounding the alarm about the powerful cameras, which the Metropolitan Police Department uses to store license-plate information in a searchable database.
The union filed a grievance this summer, complaining that D.C. police managers had been misusing the tech. Union chair Gregg Pemberton tells The Sun’s Jenny Gathright that the department refused to investigate — so he decided to go public with the concerns.
“All I can tell you is that we discovered improper access or improper queries,” said Pemberton, who declined to share more details about what the managers were allegedly looking up in the Flock data.
A D.C. police spokesperson said the union’s grievance was over the use of Flock cameras in an internal affairs investigation regarding the misconduct of a union member.
“The DC Metropolitan Police Department’s has a stringent policy regarding the use of license plate reader (LPR) technology that was updated in April 2026,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “The Department’s position is that the use of LPR in the misconduct investigation was appropriate.”
The department has taken some steps to limit other police agencies’ access to its Flock data and firm up its internal policies on license-plate readers, but it has notably denied public records requests seeking details of how its cameras have been used.
Pemberton acknowledged that Flock cameras can be useful for solving crimes — but he’s urging the D.C. Council to explore legislation to put guardrails on the program. That’s a rare step for someone who has been an outspoken critic of the legislative body’s approach to police reform.
“At the end of the day, I’m just sick of citizens not trusting cops,” Pemberton said. “Here we are, acting bizarrely and very secretive about this program.”
FROM THE DISTRICT
A quarter-century after Sept. 11, the Pentagon remains the only one of the three memorial locations without a visitor education center,The Washington Post reports.
The D.C. Fire and EMS Foundation captured the stories of D.C. firefighters who responded to the Pentagon and to Ground Zero in New York City in a forthcoming oral history project;watch a preview here.
The Justice Department is suing D.C. over its policy of allowing undocumented immigrants to get in-state tuition rates at the District’s public university, calling the benefit an unconstitutional preference, reports The Sun’s Kendall Staton. Similar lawsuits have been filed in 21 states since last month as part of the administration’s broader crackdown on immigration.
Remember the D.C. Department of Buildings plan to use AIto find housing violations and vacant properties? Rep. James Comer (R-Kentucky), who chairs the congressional committee overseeing D.C.,wrote a letterto the city expressing concern that it will “ensnare District property owners in a regime of excessive fees.”
FROM VIRGINIA
A new bill would limit the number of flights in and out of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, The Sun’s Kendall Staton reports. The measure, set to be introduced by Virginia Democratic Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner, would cap arrivals at 28 per hour; there were 36 prior to the January 2025 crash between a commercial airliner and military helicopter that killed 67 people.
METRO MOMENTS
When a massive storm hit D.C. last week, it brought down hundreds of trees, including the top half of a decades-old oak in the middle of Dupont Circle.
Since then, residents have been pinning condolence notes to the 15-foot-tall section of trunk that remains. They include everything from heartfelt odes (“Even your half makes us whole”) to tree puns (“You were the best at throwing shade,” “We are rooting for you to come back!”). Some people have even demanded that the National Park Service not remove what’s left of the tree.
It’s unclear whether the Park Service will listen. “Life’s a birch,” as one writer noted.
SPORTS
Sonny Styles is a football unicorn. The Commanders’ rookie linebacker, the No. 7 overall pick in April’s draft, has unsurpassed athleticism for someone his size. At 6-foot-5, 244 pounds, with the speed of a running back, he isn’t merely representative of the modern, versatile NFL player, The Sun’s Dave Sheinin writes. The 21-year-old is something altogether new.
“He’s a jack of all trades,” safety Jeremy Reaves said of his young teammate. “I’ve never seen a guy who plays in the box go sideline to sideline like he does. … He’s going to be one of the ones we talk about 30, 40 years down the road.”
What to Watch This Weekend
Friday
MLB: Nationals vs. Angels, 6:45 (MLB.TV)
Saturday
NCAAF: Maryland at UConn, 3:30 p.m. (CBS Sports Network)
MLB: Nationals vs. Angles, 4:05 p.m. (MLB.TV)
MLS: D.C. United vs. Atlanta United, 7:30 p.m. (Apple TV)
Sunday
NWSL: Spirit vs. Boston FC, 1 p.m. (ESPN)
MLB: Nationals vs. Angels, 1:35 p.m. (MLB.TV)
NFL: Commanders at Eagles, 4:25 p.m. (Fox5)
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The newsletter was produced by Jaden Amos, Michael Errigo and Nikie Johnson.
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