A group of nearly 1,400 Catholic middle school students from Northern Virginia spent a recent Saturday strengthening their faith, making new friends and enjoying fellowship — with the event's organizers believing the students are building a critical foundation for lifelong involvement in the church. The 20th-annual "BASH" is the Diocese of Arlington's largest gathering for middle school-aged children. It was held on May 4, 2024, at Bishop O'Connell High School in Arlington. The event has grown considerably from its beginnings at a parish hall in 2003 — and this year,...

Another week, another Republican state lawmaker caught proudly saying something disgusting—this time, though, the lawmaker killed two birds with one stone and was gross about both abortion and child marriage all in the same breath. In a video shared last week that’s since picked up steam, New Hampshire state Rep. Jess Edwards said that a bill to ban marriage for individuals under 18 would increase the demand for abortion. (??) “If we continually restrict the freedom of marriage as a legitimate social option, when we do this to people who...

An Oklahoma chiropractor who works with both humans and animals has gone viral thanks to a video of him making some adjustments for a giraffe in need. The giraffe, named Gerry, has a private owner who noticed he was chewing abnormally. His owner called Joren Whitley after meeting the chiropractor at an event. Whitley saw Gerry on Feb. 16 and posted a video of the adjustments he made on April 16. Since then, the clip has amassed over 682,000 views. In the video, he felt Gerry’s jaw and moved it...

Virginia had bilateral pneumonia and granulomas in her lungs. She nearly went septic and could have died. The Bickslers were told the granulomas were a common bacterium that her body should have been able to fight but wasn’t. Her body could not make hydrogen peroxide, which meant it couldn’t fight off certain bacterial and fungal infections. She was diagnosed with a white blood cell disorder called Chronic Granulomatous Disease, so rare, only 1 in 200 million people have it. There are 49 babies diagnosed in the United States each year....

At a meat-n-three, the format is spelled out in the name, and the style of food is familiar through tradition. But given the names behind a new one coming soon to the Uptown neighborhood near the universities, you know it will be a bit different. Hot Stuff is set to open in the weeks ahead at 7507 Maple St. It’s the latest sibling for Turkey and the Wolf, the Irish Channel restaurant known for its creative sandwiches and the droves of people who line up to try them. Hot Stuff...

Powerful tornadoes and storms swept through southwestern Michigan Tuesday evening, destroying or damaging homes and businesses and injuring several residents – and millions more from northeast Texas to the Carolinas face at least a slight risk of severe weather Wednesday. At least a dozen people were injured at a mobile home park in Pavilion Township following a tornado Tuesday, according to a county official. The township is located in Kalamazoo County, where 15 to 20 people had minor injuries and were transported to two area hospitals, according to the county’s...

Between 200 and 250 people, including parents and their children, turned out on Saturday, May 4, for a “Love Fest” Drag Story Hour brunch hosted by the Arlington, Va., LGBTQ establishment Freddie’s Beach Bar and Restaurant. Local drag performer Tara Hoot, who read children’s stories and handed out coloring books to the kids attending the event, was joined by members of the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, which sang several songs before Hoot began reading from children’s books in keeping with the tradition of drag queens conducting Drag Story Hour...

Two Miami-Dade County men are in jail awaiting extradition to Virginia in connection with a huge cigarette heist there last month. Alberto Rico Perez, 31, of Miami Gardens and Ramon Izquierdo, 57, of Hialeah were arrested Friday by the Miami-Dade County Fugitive Task Force and Doral Police Department, according to officials. Police in Culpeper, Virginia, say the men were among a crew of five thieves who burglarized the Merchants Grocery Company on March 23. They forced their way inside the building and stole an undisclosed amount of cigarette cartons, Officer...

(SALT LAKE CITY) — Transgender activists have flooded a Utah tip line created to alert state officials to possible violations of a new bathroom law with thousands of hoax reports in an effort to shield trans residents and their allies from any legitimate complaints that could lead to an investigation. The onslaught has led the state official tasked by the law with managing the tip line, Utah Auditor John Dougall, to bemoan getting stuck with the cumbersome task of filtering through fake complaints while also facing backlash for enforcing a...

Score a victory for Mayberry. America’s small towns, like the iconic setting of television’s The Andy Griffith Show from the 1960s, saw more in-migration in 2023 than larger areas for the first time in decades. The remote work boom that prompted Americans to flee urban areas for mountain hamlets and seaside towns during the pandemic continued at least through last year, according to University of Virginia demographer Hamilton Lombard. An estimated 291,400 people last year migrated from other areas into America’s small towns and rural areas, which Lombard defines as...