A Metro escalator
Credit: Darrow Montgomery/File

Rail Lines

Following the fireworks display on the National Mall, hordes of people clogged the nearby Smithsonian Metro station. The situation became so dangerous that Metro Transit Police blocked the entrance until the station below cleared out. Videos on social media showed hundreds of people waiting in line. The delays are due in part to the reduced number of cars Metro has in service, WUSA reports. But it’s not like they didn’t warn you.

Two killed in vehicle crash

A cyclist and a man working a fireworks stand were killed Saturday after a driver lost consciousness and crashed into them, according to D.C. police. The driver of a pickup truck was going north on Minnesota Avenue NE and hit Michael Hawkins Randall, 70, who was riding his bicycle on Nannie Helen Burroughs Avenue NE. The truck then smashed into a fireworks stand on Minnesota Avenue NE and hit and killed Charles Jackson, 64, who was working the stand. The driver and passenger, who were not identified, were taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, according to police.

Going postal

Multiple mail carriers in D.C., Maryland, and Virginia were robbed at gunpoint last Thursday and Friday, according to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Postal inspector and spokesperson Michael Martel said the suspects in a robbery in Takoma Park brandished a weapon, assaulted the mail carrier and drove off in a black sedan. Another carrier in Montgomery County said they were approached by a man in a black ski mask, carrying a gun. Martel said the suspects took “Postal Service property,” but no mail.

—Mitch Ryals (tips? mryals@washingtoncitypaper.com)

  • To see today’s COVID-19 data, visit our coronavirus tracker.
  • DCPS teacher Kendall Maloney reflects on the first in-person school year following the pandemic that forced students into virtual learning. [Axios]
  • More than a dozen climate activists were arrested Monday while they blocked traffic on the Capital Beltway in Silver Spring. [Bethesda Beat]
  • Ex-Georgetown University tennis coach Gordon Ernst was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison for his role in the college admissions scheme. [Reuters]
  • A 16-year-old boy was killed early Tuesday morning in Northeast. D.C. police are investigating at least six other shootings and one stabbing that occurred Monday and Tuesday. Nineteen people have been shot in D.C. since July 1. [NBC4, Twitter]

By Mitch Ryals (tips? mryals@washingtoncitypaper.com)

  • Ward 5 Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie isn’t ready to leave the Wilson Building just yet, opting to run for an at-large seat after his attorney general bid stalled over questions of his legal eligibility. He’s becoming an independent to make the move, putting him on a collision course with At-Large Councilmember Elissa Silverman for the seat set aside for a non-Democrat on the Council. [Post, DCist]
  • The D.C. Department of Transportation is investigating after cars on D.C. 295 became stuck in some sort of asphalt material covering the highway. The politically connected Fort Myer Construction was managing the process, and the company is blaming the mix-up on a subcontractor. [Post]
  • Politicians from across the city swarmed the annual Independence Day parade in Palisades. [NBC4, Twitter]

By Alex Koma (tips? akoma@washingtoncitypaper.com)

  • Rob Sonderman and Steve Salis’ idea to compete with Popeyes hasn’t exactly panned out. But with names like that behind Honeymoon Chicken, which opened in January, they don’t have to. [Post]
  • If you didn’t get your fireworks fix this past weekend, L’Ardente puts sparklers on their desserts. [Eater]

By City Paper staff (tips? editor@washingtoncitypaper.com)

Sarah Marloff is off today. Arts links will return later this week.

By Sarah Marloff (tips? smarloff@washingtoncitypaper.com)

  • WNBA star Brittney Griner wrote a letter to President Joe Biden, asking him not to forget about her. “I’m terrified I might be here forever,” Griner wrote from a Russian prison, where she is detained on drug charges. [WJLA, NYT] 
  • The Nats are almost dead last in the MLB power rankings. “There is no team in baseball purgatory quite like the Nationals. They’re not quite rebuilding, not quite reloading. They simply exist in a limitless void, waiting for something else.” [The Athletic]
  • Some words surrounding Dan Snyder and his crew, from Post columnist Sally Jenkins: “a sneak,” “backstab,” “pervy,” “coverups, private dicks, badgering lawyers,” “cowardly and covert nastiness,” and “inveterate loser.” [Post]

By City Paper staff (tips? editor@washingtoncitypaper.com)

Editor’s note: A previous version of this article reported that Mary Cheh did not hand out free pocket constitutions during the Fourth of July parade. Cheh says she did hand them out, and added “ we need this now more than ever!” The article has been updated.

Sign up: To get District Line Daily—or any of our other email newsletters—sent straight to your mailbox, click here. Send tips, ideas, and comments to newsletter@washingtoncitypaper.com.