On January 20, 2025, President Donald Trump signed Executive Order (EO) 14168 titled “Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government.” Eleven days later, Dr. Mandi Pratt-Chapman was notified her grant had been terminated.

By 5 p.m. on January 31, her study on how rural cancer centers collect sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) data was shut down.

Pratt-Chapman is the Associate Director of Scientific Communication & Dissemination at The George Washington University (GW) Cancer Center and a professor in the Department of Medicine and Department of Prevention & Community Health.

“There was an intentional targeting of higher education and science– and to an extent it worked,” she said. “There was an intention to be overwhelming and a lot of us were very overwhelmed.”

Her grant was one of many canceled following the implementation of President Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), primarily focused on reducing federal spending. On the DOGE website, it states that 15,887 grants from various government agencies have been terminated, saving approximately $49 billion.

Pratt-Chapman’s funding was flagged because EO 14168 states that “federal funds shall not be used to promote gender ideology.” It enforces a strictly binary understanding of sex and gender which is part of larger anti-transgender rhetoric from the Trump Administration.

Pratt-Chapman described her grant as relatively small, but its cancellation raised big questions on the future of LGBTQ+ research and federally funded science. She said the data lost will have lasting effects after Trump’s term.

Grant cancellations are just one part of the administration’s greater agenda against the education bureaucracy they say is failing. In another unprecedented EO last year, Trump dismantled the Department of Education, saying its closure “would drastically improve program implementation in higher education.”

Pratt-Chapman’s terminated grant was for the study “Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Data Collection in Community Oncology Practice.” Pratt-Chapman and her colleagues were following up on their study of how SOGI data of cancer patients is collected in urban and more populated areas.

They had already gathered more than one-third of the federally funded data, and planned to interview 16 additional rural cancer centers when they lost funding.

“I felt personally in a crisis,” she said. “So I organized a space for others experiencing this to be heard and validated.”

She began a monthly meeting for the sexual and gender minority interest group that was previously hosted by the National Cancer Institute. When the meeting series ended, Pratt-Chapman took over as a touchpoint for researchers to continue building community.

“I still have a monthly call for scientists in the LGBT community that want to talk about research or vent,” Pratt-Chapman said. “I still hold that hour every month just in case someone wants to call in.”

In an interview, Dr. Lauren Houghton, an epidemiologist, researcher at Columbia University, and colleague of Pratt-Chapman described her as a leader in the sexual and gender minority cancer community.

“She immediately offered sessions and places for us as researchers going through a trauma to connect,” Houghton said.

In addition to the monthly meetings, Pratt-Chapman surveyed 158 researchers and interviewed 22 on their experiences with grant terminations, financial instability and job changes. She anticipates the analysis being submitted to a journal by the end of March.

“The way I look at all of my research is trying to remedy an injustice,” she said. “It was the same skillset, just applied to my peers.”

On February 7th, 2025, Pratt-Chapman shared her experience in Science Magazine– an action many other researchers were hesitant to do. She says she was shocked by the level of intimidation people felt and hoped that speaking out would lead to justice.

Houghton described Pratt-Chapman’s willingness to speak with the media as inspiring.

“She was one of the first people to do it,” Houghton said. “I think it was important to have that voice out there and not be afraid. She was so brave.”

Pratt-Chapman said it felt like the natural thing to do. Being a point of connection not only helped strengthen her professional community, but document the shared experiences of researchers.

“If you don’t state truth, then you are at risk of losing it,” she said. “And if you don’t stand up for the values that you believe in, then you lose them too.”

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For the first time in 44 years, the election for Ward 1’s Council seat will not include the incumbent council member after Brianne Nadeau announced she would not be seeking reelection last year. Several candidates have entered the race to represent one of the city’s most densely populated and progressive wards and are ramping up their campaigns for the primary election in June. 

Among these candidates is Aparna Raj, who has volunteered with the local Democratic Socialists of America chapter and has been endorsed by 11 unions. Raj is the child of Indian immigrants, is a nonprofit worker, has organized for tenant and workers rights, and is a member of the Washington-Baltimore News Guild union, which represents news, information, and nonprofit workers. 

Raj’s platform consists of free childcare, rent caps, and expanding workers rights. Her platform and proposed policies have led to endorsements from workers and unions in D.C., including Teamsters Local 639, United Food and Social Workers Local 400, and the Washington-Baltimore News Guild, which Raj is a member of.  

“I think sometimes people view political endorsements as just a logo that’s in literature or on a mailer,” Raj said “It really means that the members and the workers who form these unions put their faith and trust in me. They see this campaign as one that will fight for them.” 

Raj says her labor platform seeks to expand D.C. worker’s power. She supports the increasing of the minimum wage to $25 from $17.95 and the restoration of Initiative 82 which would increase tipped minimum wage. As well as the protection and expansion of the Pay Equity Fund which would raise childcare workers wages, and the strengthening the right to organize for workers in the public sector.  

“I know that in the Wilson Building [D.C. Council Building], I will be able to collaborate with them [unions] and I know that labor has got my back, that workers have got my back, and I will always have theirs,” Raj said.  

The Trump administration hasthe National Labor Relations Board, and has rolled back the Biden administration’s pro-Union positions and replaced officials placed by the former administration. As a result, Raj plans to propose a D.C. Right to Organize Act, similar to legislation seen elsewhere in the country and on the national level, including the proposed . 

If the Trump administration were to dismantle the NLRB, the D.C. Right to Organize Act would protect workers rights in the city and expand on labor protections for workers who are not currently protected by federal labor law. A key element of this proposed legislation includes allowing workers to unionize through majority card check. 

“It is a way for us to try to preempt some of the big federal antilabor legislation we anticipate,” said Raj. 

Recently, Raj hosted an event in collaboration with the Nonprofit Professional Employees Union and Unite Here Local 25, which is the union which represents hotel, casino, and restaurant workers. Both of the unions have endorsed Raj.

Raj spoke to the attendees of the event about her reasons for running for office. Her parents’ experiences as immigrants and laborers, her own experiences with others while organizing, and disappointment with the current city government were all reasons she stated. 

“I have organized alongside tenants who are living in terrible conditions. People who have to deal with mold, with rodents, with water leakages, with the heat going out in the winter, so they have to use their ovens to stay warm,” Raj told the audience “I have organized alongside workers who are working two or three jobs to get by, or people who are forced to leave D.C. entirely, because they can’t afford rent, groceries, childcare, and utilities. And I have seen our Council let this happen.” 

Hannah Stephens, the vice president of organizing at the Nonprofit Professional Employees Union Local, said that the union represents and fights for the best interests of its members while being politically engaged through legislative work and political education events. Stephens described the decision to endorse Raj as an easy one for herself and the members of NPEU.  

“We did a poll for our members and our D.C. members voted 96% in favor of endorsing Aparna and a lot of that is because she’s a union member herself. She is unapologetically pro-worker,” Stephens said “We are a huge part of the DC community, and we feel seen in her campaign.” 

Raj has hosted events with DC mayoral candidate front-runner Janeese Lewis George, including a tenant rally at The Woodner Apartments in late March. Raj said that she is a big supporter of her mayoral campaign and was involved in her reelection campaign for Council in 2024. Raj and Lewis George are running on similar progressive, affordability focused, and worker oriented platforms. 

“I think if we both get elected it will shift government in a way that we haven’t seen before and really give power to renters and workers in developing policy,” Raj said “I think on the council side, having a friendly mayor is huge.” 

In her speech at the event, Raj spoke about her disapproval of the current Mayor Muriel Bowser, who is not seeking reelection. 

“I have seen our mayor give billions of dollars to a billionaire sports stadium owner, while our schools are crumbling, while our libraries and our rec centers and our parks are falling apart. And I am tired of us always having to be on defense for emergency rental assistance, or to protect our wages, to protect the things that belong to us. And I think it’s time that we had a government that fought for us.”  

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Washington D.C. restaurants face economic and staffing problems depending on the Ward they reside in with the United States economy fluctuating throughout 2025 and 2026. 

“There used to be five of us in this kitchen, 14 years ago,” said Sergio Lobo, the owner of Mario’s House Pizza in Anacostia. “Now it’s just me, one staff worker, and my wife”.

The restaurant has been around since 1936, serving sandwiches and pizza by the slice. It sits in Ward 8, next to the bridge that connects Anacostia to the rest of D.C. Lobo worked in the restaurant as staff for over a decade before moving to Nevada in search of job opportunities. When visiting D.C. two years ago, the owner of Mario’s offered to sell the restaurant to Lobo, leaving him as owner. 

“Everything right now is expensive. Especially meat. We only buy ribeye. Since people are so used to us using ribeye, I can’t change the cut”, said Lobo. “Vegetables are expensive too, sometimes tomatoes fluctuate in price”.

Tariffs and inflation have affected various businesses throughout D.C.  that in 2025, 92 restaurants throughout the city were closed. The number went up from 2024, where 73 restaurants shut their doors. “If the trend continues, the city could surpass 100 closures by the end of 2026,” said ABC. 

“The majority of the tourists that come to D.C. are downtown. We don’t get a lot of them down here,” Lobo said. “We’ll sell around 60 pizzas on a good day. On a bad day, we will sell 10”. 

Lobo points out the neighborhood’s lack of security, pointing at a bullet hole on the main door of the restaurant. 

Anacostia is regarded as one of the least safe neighborhoods in D.C.  reports Anacostia to be in the 7th percentile for safety, meaning it is less safe than 93% of average U.S. neighborhoods. 

The Urban Institute, a D.C.–based nonprofit research organization  that there is a disparity in capital and funding distribution within Washington, with lower-income Wards like Ward 8 being less likely to receive funding. 

“DC’s neighborhoods east of the Anacostia River, as well as much of Prince George’s County, received relatively low investment per household,” the authors of the report said. “In the Washington region, in general, the greater the share of white residents in a neighborhood, the more investment that the neighborhood receives. On average, neighborhoods with the largest shares of white residents (more than 80 percent) receive 2.3 times more overall investment than neighborhoods with the smallest shares of white residents. These trends are largely the reverse for majority-Black and majority-Latine neighborhoods”. 

Lobo mentioned the current political climate under the Trump administration. “The Hispanic business owners are dealing with the worst of it right now, due to the political situation,” said Lobo. 

A  article reported that after the continuous ICE raids that have occurred within the U.S. throughout the Trump administration, Hispanic people are more likely to stay at home and do shopping online. The authors of the article said that small businesses have suffered the most from this, as those with small online presences lose a chunk of their market. This same thing is happening in D.C. to the restaurant business. 

Seventeen minutes away from Mario’s House Pizza is Barcelona Wine Bar, a Spanish restaurant known for serving tapas. It has two locations within D.C. Established near Logan Circle in 2013 and later expanded into Tenleytown, the restaurants are funded by private equity. They lie within Wards 2 and 3, two of the most affluent Wards in D.C.

“We have never had to worry about closing. We have expanded to other states. The restaurants here on 14th Street are the busiest ones for the whole business. It’s really popular, we have some customers that come by every day,” said Bryan Alas, the manager for the Ward 2 location of Barcelona Wine Bar. 

“Our location helps a lot. When tourists come, they are near our location and our restaurants always appear on recommendation lists. People come from so many places, increasing our popularity,” said Alas. “I attribute the success to our location and team. All the team we hire gets a lot of preparation to become good servers, line cooks, and bartenders and to give the best service. Our (low to medium) food prices help us too”. 

On a good week, the Logan Circle location of Barcelona Wine Bar sells around 30,000 to 40,000 plates. 

“I go about twice a month,” said Abagael Smith, a Barcelona Wine Bar frequenter. “It’s a cool atmosphere and offers something different than other bars. There’s just more options, and it feels a bit more upscale and safe”.

Barcelona Wine Bar sits a short distance walk away from important D.C. landmarks like the National Mall and the White House.

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The total number of full grocery stores in the district increased from 76 to 80 in 2025, with only one being placed in Ward 8, according to a report released by D.C. Hunger Solutions. Between Wards 7 and 8, where half of the district’s food deserts lie, there are seven grocery stores in total.

Calvin Conway, who lived in the Anacostia area for 14 years, said their neighborhood does not get the best selection of food and fresh produce is especially hard to find.

“It [produce] says it’s fresh. But you can tell it’s been frozen before,” Conway said. “It doesn’t look that great. And it doesn’t hold up that long in the refrigerator.”

The scarcity of retail grocery stores in low-income neighborhoods leave local residents to rely on corner stores and bodegas to shop for groceries, according to USDA SNAP-Ed Connection. Corner stores, like King Street Convenient Store, allow for locals to shop for their food at lower prices.

Maradait Jackson, a resident of southeast DC, travels to Virginia to do her grocery shopping.

“If I want to eat healthy, I’m gonna find it,” Jackson said.

Jackson arrived at King Convenient Store to buy her “junk food,” for the day, and said she normally has someone drive her to do her grocery shopping twice a week.

Jemil Issa, a worker at King Convenient Store in Anacostia, alongside his brother, said the most popular items sold in store are canned foods, sodas and groceries, similar to larger grocery stores.

“The store is convenient and prices are fair,” Issa said. “The customer has to be happy and they’ll tell you if they aren’t.”

Affordability is one of the issues in generating full service grocery stores in food deserts. Inflation continues to increase the prices of groceries, with the cost of meat, poultry, fish, and eggs rising 6.5%, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index.

Conway noticed this change when shopping for groceries and producing basic dinner meals.

“You used to be able to make spaghetti for ten dollars. Now the meat itself is ten dollars,” Conway said. “Oodles and noodles used to be the cheapest thing you could get. Three or four packs for a dollar, now they want seventy-five cents for a pack. They make it pretty hard for us.”

In order to reach consumers and retailers in low-income neighborhoods in the district, programs like DC Central Kitchen have initiatives to deliver fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables to stores in these areas. The program supplies products at a volume discount price and in smaller quantities, according to the DC Hunger Solutions report. Resources like these, from large agencies that can provide, make accessing food more affordable for store owners and consumers.

In September 2025, Dreaming Out Loud, a nonprofit designed to create economic opportunities for marginalized communities, opened Marion Berry Avenue Market. The organization works by building community-based food systems in Wards 7 and 8.

Maiya Ennis, the Market’s culinary production manager, said the community aspect is what made her want to work at Marion Berry Avenue Market, and everyday looks different.

“[We are] able to provide fresh fruit and vegetables outside of a normal corner store that has snacks and drinks,” Ennis said. “ I think people being able to have access to fresh, local food is really important.”

She mentioned the lack of grocery stores within Ward 8, which creates a greater need for stores like the Marion Berry Avenue Market. Especially for those who deal with deal issues and cannot travel far distances to access fruit and vegetables.

“People are also dealing with high cholesterol, diabetes, and all sorts of different diseases and things like that. So the food that you eat is gonna fuel you and can help heal you,” Ennis said.

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When Kareen Gill first became a senior at American University, she was hopeful that with her undergraduate degree in political science, she would be able to secure a full-time job, or an internship that could lead to one in politics. She quickly realized that was not the case.

“In 2024 it was way easier to network and get an internship,” Gill said. “A lot of the jobs I thought I would be interested in don’t really exist because the agencies don’t exist.”

Kareen is among thousands of students across the country who are choosing to go straight from their undergraduate degree into graduate school, in the hopes that it will give them a competitive edge in the job market.

But graduate school is not the only way that Gen Z college students are changing the “typical” college experience. Data released by top universities across the country, including Harvard, Belmont, Yale and University of California Los Angeles, demonstrated that there has been a significant increase in double-majoring.

While some students who are choosing to double major are doing it out of choice, many others choose to double major in college in order to set themselves apart from the “crowd,” using it as another way to gain a competitive advantage in the post-grad job market.

Another popular choice for Gen Z students is transferring as many credits as possible from high-school into college or pursuing accelerated programs, in order to spend as little time in college as possible.

Students are also taking part in dual or combined degree programs that allow them to stay on at their university after completing their undergraduate degree, and complete a masters degree in a year, for a fraction of the price of a graduate degree.

And the data reflects these choices. In the 2023-2024 academic year, the National Center for Education statistics found that more than 5.3 million degrees or certificates at postsecondary institutions of education were awarded to about 4.8 million students.

Angelina Szkotak is one of the millions of students who have chosen to take part in a dual degree program. Szkotak received her undergraduate degree in Public Relations and Strategic Communications at American University in May of 2025, and is on track to graduate with a master’s in Strategic Communications in May of 2026.

Szkotak’s older sister, a teacher, helped her make the decision to stay and get her master’s – a decision that has improved her job prospects.

“She [Szkotak’s sister] decided to go right from undergraduate into work, so she did not get a master’s degree”

As Szkotak was trying to make the decision on whether or not to stay on at American, her sister told her that she wished she “had just done both.”

Szkotak saw the dilemma her sister was dealing with. Despite wanting to go back to school, she would have to contend with the amount of time and effort it would take, and how that time away from her job would affect her earning potential.

In the end, Szkotak made the decision to stay. “It only benefits me,” she said.

She is right. Since starting to apply for jobs, she has received three job offers, something she feels the university contributed to.

Evelyn Thimba, the Vice President of Undergraduate Enrollment Management at American University, has noticed a difference in the way students are approaching college, and is working with the university to create a new Strategic Plan to address the concerns that both students and parents have regarding the “return on investment” of an American University degree.

“At AU, we don’t have a heavy STEM focus, but we are thinking about how do we build competency tracks that allow students to say “I’m an art history major but I have tech literacy in these areas.”

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RICHMOND, Va. — Winsome Earle-Sears flipped pancakes and served coffee to patrons of Shorty’s Diner in the final hours of her campaign for governor of Virginia on Monday. 

Earle-Sears was joined by Gov. Glenn Youngkin and the rest of the Republican ticket at the a traditional Republican campaign stop. 

“Folks, we’re looking good because we have all the right ideas,” Earle-Sears said. “Our governor has begun it, and we’re gonna finish it.”

The diner’s owner, Tony Short, said that his diner has been a regular venue for Republican campaigns since 2021, when then-Fox & Friends anchor Pete Hegseth patrons at his Williamsburg location.

“Our place is full of the kind of customer you want to interview,” Short said. “Retired military, steel workers, people who were affected by COVID, and they were just loving it.”

Short is a lifelong Republican and voted for all the Republican candidates on the ballot this campaign cycle. In recent years, Short said he has become more involved in politics as a business owner and hopes to see the interests of small businesses addressed by whichever candidate wins the governorship.

‘I’m an egg guy.’

“I’m an egg guy. No one could talk better about it,” he said. “We sell 6,000 eggs a week, and the eggs went from $2 a dozen to $7 a dozen. There needs to be some government support for that.”

Jason Miyares, the incumbent attorney general seeking reelection, and John Reid, who is running for lieutenant governor, were among the other candidates who showed up to talk to diners.

Despite the most from Roanoke College showing a lead for Democrat and State Sen. Ghazala Hashmi in the lieutenant governor race, Reid said he was optimistic going into election day.

“I think Independents are breaking for me,” Reid said. “I’m the guy who’s gonna be the ambassador for entrepreneurship in Virginia.”

Deborah and Kerry Koslovic were unaware candidates were visiting that morning. They come to Shorty’s for breakfast whenever Deborah, a special-education teacher in Richmond Public Schools, is off work. 

Earle-Sears stopped at their table and chatted with them about Kerry’s service in the Navy.

“We were just so happy to meet her and wish her well, and she’s the one that asked us questions,” Deborah said. 

The Koslovics are fans of Reid, too. Deborah said she admired him when he was a radio host at WRVA and knew early on about his candidacy for lieutenant governor. of sexually explicit posts on an account linked to Reid did not bother her, she said. 

“I didn’t even pay any attention,” Deborah said.

Kennedy Jackson, a volunteer for the Earle-Sears campaign and lifelong resident of the Commonwealth, said he enjoyed meeting all the candidates and was looking forward to seeing the results of their campaign efforts on election day.

Now retired as a judge’s assistant for Richmond’s Circuit Court, Jackson started a nonprofit organization that is dedicated to “economic and social transformation” for Black families in Virginia. He said he believes Earle-Sears will make the change he wants to see.

“Her tenacity, her knowledge, her determination to make Virginia a great state is one of most important things too,” Jackson said.

‘She stands for Trump’

On Sunday night, Earle-Sears rallied her base outside the Hanover County Government Office, just north of Richmond, sticking to sharp attacks on Spanberger over transgender issues she’s employed throughout the race. 

Roger Martin, a retired first-time rally attendee from Hanover, said he has “voted in every election for both Republicans and Democrats” before but feels more strongly about this race. 

“Spam is bad for your computer. ‘Spamberger’ is bad for Virginia,” he said.

Martin said he wants to “back Trump because of what he’s doing in Washington, D.C.,” and called the border his top issue. He added that he was “surprised Trump has not said more” about Earle-Sears, whom he has not offered his endorsement.

Charlie Waddell, 68, a substitute teacher from Hanover and a former elected official in Herndon, said he came out to support Earle-Sears because she was the “fittest candidate for the job.” 

As a teacher, Waddell said he was “concerned” about Spanberger’s position on transgender children in school bathrooms. He called it “crazy” and said “we need to protect our schoolchildren.”

On the lack of a formal Trump endorsement in the race, Waddell said he “likes endorsements but locally people make up their own minds.” 

He added that he believed Trump had implied his support for Earle-Sears, saying “she stands for Trump, has the apprenticeship, and conservatives see that.”

At the rally,  Kathy and Fred Whitten sat in the back of their pickup truck with Terry Tuckerman and Tom Phillips, chatting about life and politics as if they’d been friends for years. In reality, they had met moments before. 

Fred Whitten emphasized the strength of the community in Virginia, which extended from fellow rally attendees to police officers protecting the county. 

“Republicans are kind people,” he said. “That’s just community.” 

The four said they showed up to the rally to support the candidates and preserve the quality of life in the state. 

“We enjoy the Commonwealth of Virginia as a place to raise children, do business and thrive as a family,” said Fred Whitten, who has lived in Virginia nearly his entire life and worked in the pharmacy industry for 33 years. 

All four agreed they wanted to continue Youngkin’s work in the state and said they supported the candidates with strong Christian values. 

“We want to avoid insanity,” added Tuckerman, who was born and raised in Virginia. “A lot of the views the other party has are insanity. I don’t understand it.” 

Meet-and-Greet in Prince George

Earlier on Sunday, Earle-Sears held a meet-and-greet in Prince George, Virginia, a community southeast of Richmond. 

In the loft of a rustic barn, 150 of her supporters traded campaign signs, proudly displayed their shirts and crowded together for selfies against the backdrop. Many of them had been to this loft before, and some were newcomers. 

The crowd got a surprise appearance from Youngkin. Miyares spoke with the voters beforehand and introduced Youngkin. 

“Virginia is making a choice,” Youngkin said. “A choice for prosperity, a choice for economic growth, a choice for public safety…a choice between light and dark.”  

Youngkin then asked the crowd, “who has already voted?!” A majority of the room threw their hands up in the air and cheered, the governor shared a call to action with them. 

“For those of you that have already voted,” Youngkin said, “you are now in charge of finding 10 friends to go vote, and if you’re married, that’s 20 friends!”

Earle-Sears joined Youngkin as he highlighted his administration’s successes, mentioning job creation numbers. She took over the mic to continue touting Youngkin’s victories, and reminded the audience that her administration would continue that work for them. 

Earle-Sears discussed the economic challenges facing Virginians, promising the crowd to get rid of the gas and car tax, and using the Youngkin administration’s job numbers to push that only she would be able to continue growing Virginia’s prosperity. 

Turning to the topic of taxes, Earle-Sears took aim at Spanberger, accusing her of supporting economic policies that would raise taxes on Virginians. 

“They are trying to be good with our money,” Earle-Sears said. “No! Let me be good with my money.” 

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NORFOLK — John Bull, who reported on politics in Philadelphia for two decades, has met every president since Ronald Reagan. Except for Barack Obama. Bull had not even seen Obama in person.

But on Nov. 2 he waited in a line that wrapped around the 9,000-seat Chartway Arena at Old Dominion University to see Obama cheer on Abigail Spanberger, the Democratic nominee for Virginia’s governor. Bull said he wanted to hear Obama’s “prescription for preserving democracy.” He also hoped the rally opened people’s minds.

“I would like to see the people that attend here energized enough to speak to their friends and their neighbors in an honest way,” he said, “so that folks that have an open mind will continue to have an open mind on election day.”

Jane Elizabeth, a former Richmond Times-Dispatch journalist and Bull’s spouse, said she hoped lots of people came to the rally for Obama and left excited to vote for Spanberger. Obama is the best person to excite voters on the fence for Spanberger, Elizabeth said.

“He’s just the most iconic Democrat, and also people are very nostalgic for his time in office,” she said. 

In Virginia over the weekend, gubernatorial candidates Spanberger and Lt. Governor Winsome Earle-Sears (R) rallied supporters in their respective political strongholds ahead of Tuesday’s vote. Spanberger’s sprint, however, was bolstered by the presence of former President Barack Obama while Earle-Sears remained without even a Trump endorsement.

Standing in line waiting to get into the 9,000-seat arena, Air Force veteran and lifelong Republican Dave Phelps described himself as a “never-Trump Republican” and said he was supporting “anybody that will help move the MAGA out of our politics.”

Phelps had voted for Trump in 2016 and confessed that he is emotional about the state of the Republican party. “I feel like I’ve been kicked out of my party,” he said.

Phelps admitted he would probably be voting Democratic for the rest of his life because his party had disillusioned him. “I thought the Republican Party represented honesty. It represented law-abiding people, and a strong defense,” Phelps said. As a veteran he felt betrayed by Trump’s NATO and UN rhetoric, he said, highlighting just how important those treaties are.

“There’s no air space between any of the Republicans back to Trump…whether it be our [gubernatorial] candidate or whether it be our local representative. There’s no oxygen between them.”

Toward the back of the stadium sat a single-father with his two young sons. He entertained them with games of rock-paper-scissors. The crowds chanted and waved signs while waiting to hear gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger and former President Barack Obama speak.

“I want them to experience democracy. I want them to see it in action. I want them to experience it amidst the chaos,” he said. “I want them to remember we showed up when it mattered.”

The father is a former federal employee at the U.S. Department of Agriculture who asked that his name not be used because he’s worried about retaliation. He said he doesn’t usually attend political events, rallies or protests because as a federal employee he’s expected to remain nonpartisan. But he said “he had to show his sons the importance of democracy, in this moment… I just want to raise good men.”

As Obama took the stage, they all stood, the father taking the hand of one son, while the other enthusiastically waved his Spangberger sign and chanted, “Obama, Obama, Obama,” with the crowd.

Olivia Cherry, president of an LGBTQ+ student group at Hampton University called MOSAIC, was holding a bisexual pride flag as she stood in line outside Chartway Arena. She said she voted early for Spanberger and Jay Jones, the Democratic attorney general nominee who texted fantasies of killing then-House Speaker of Virginia Todd Gilbert.

Cherry learned of the texts after she voted, but she said she has no regrets.

“I’d still rather see him in office than (current attorney general) Jason [Miyares],” she said. “But I understand how that could change some people’s perspective on doing early voting and then finding out something later on that could have influenced your vote a little bit more.”

Elizabeth, the former Richmond Times-Dispatch journalist, said Spanberger may lose points with voters for sharing the ticket with Jones.

“Not a good look,” she said. “I would like to see them have a message that resonates with people who are on the fence.”

But Elizabeth wasn’t one of those people. She said she has a sign in her front yard supporting Spanberger, and she thought a lot of people waiting for hours to hear her already supported Spanberger.

It’s possible Obama’s appearance could draw the attention of people who hadn’t voted yet, though, Elizabeth said, noting that could ultimately help Spanberger win the undecideds.

“I don’t know if it will work or not,” she said. “I would say all these people already know who they’re going to vote for, but it’s worth a shot.”

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As tariffs threaten to drive up prices on everything from bananas to backpacks, and fears of a recession loom, many Americans wonder how they’ll continue to afford necessities.

ajor retailers are already warning that shoppers will see emptier shelves and higher prices, especially for essentials like clothing and school supplies.  that items such as laptops, toys and coffee could see price hikes.

But amid this economic uncertainty, a different system is quietly taking root—one built not on profit but on cooperation.

Since the start of the pandemic, many communities in Washington, D.C. have embraced what’s known as the solidarity economy: a network of grassroots efforts centered on meeting people’s needs.

“The solidarity economy is a name for economic practices that prioritize people and planet over profit,” said Dr. Stephen Healy, a professor at Western Sydney University and co-author of Solidarity Cities: Confronting Racial Capitalism, Mapping Transformation. “Democratic inclusion, cooperation, and sustainability are kind of the guiding commitments.”

This growing movement can be seen across Washington, from community gardens donating fresh produce to mutual aid hubs like Remora House DC, where volunteers provide cash, supplies and emotional support to those most in need.

“It’s a very simple gesture but incredibly powerful,” said Healy.

“And it’s kind of insisting that actually we can arrange to take care of one another and meet one another’s needs on a basis of voluntary cooperation.”

As the cost of living climbs and economic support systems falter, organizers say this way of living—rooted in mutual aid and connection—matters now more than ever.

“We’re going to need to figure out how to show up for one another and be sure people are fed and getting access to the medical care they need,” said Shannon Clark, co-founder of Remora House DC.

A Garden That Gives Back

At Newark Street Community Garden, nestled in Northwest D.C., more than 200 garden plots sit side-by-side, each tended by community members. While the garden offers people a chance to try their hand at growing vegetables, it’s also a hub of giving and connection.

Ryan Fitzgerald, president of the garden, said hundreds are on the waitlist for a plot. “We want a lot of people in the city to have the opportunity to try gardening,” he said.

But the garden is about more than just trying a new hobby. Members volunteer their time and donate their harvests to So Others Might Eat (SOME), a nonprofit that provides food and services for people experiencing poverty. The garden even has a dedicated donation plot, but many gardeners give away their best produce from their beds.

“People are pretty good about it, they know where it’s going,” said Fitzgerald. “They’re not digging up a bunch of random junk and giving it. I have noticed people will have nice lettuce, salad things, things that can be cooked.”

The connection with SOME helps gardeners be more intentional about what they grow and give, ensuring their donations become nutritious meals.

And beyond food, the garden itself is a space for building community. Interest in community gardens grew during and after the pandemic, in Urban Forest & Greenery.

“I think people were a little more focused on their home neighborhoods, their communities, being closer to home and being outdoors,” said Fitzgerald.

       Applications reported by 28 garden coordinators, by year. Source: ScienceDirect

Even those without plots stop by to walk through, admire the plants, or chat with gardeners.

“It’s interesting, you can walk through the garden and see hundreds of different plants,” said Fitzgerald. “There’s tons of birds, birds love this place.”

And for those who do have plots, the space has become a social hub.

“It’s a great place to just hang out,” Fitzgerald added. “I spend way less time on my plot than I do just walking around, helping people out or just seeing what people are up to.”

Mutual Aid, Built on Trust

Remora House DC began with just a sewing machine and a few packs of sanitizing wipes during the early months of the pandemic. Clark, a grad student at American University, co-founded the mutual aid group to help unhoused neighbors survive the crisis.

“Starting from sewing masks and handing out sanitizing wipes, it’s really, really grown over the years,” Clark said. “We’ve just kind of responded to the needs as they’ve been brought up to us.”

Today, the group provides everything from moving help during encampment sweeps to emergency rent support. At the start of each month, they distribute $150 to 15 people—no strings attached.

“Whereas a lot of people doing that direct cash aid would be like, ‘well it has to go to food’ or ‘it has to go to medication,’ we don’t set those parameters around it,” Clark said. “That’s just our way of giving people that autonomy over determining their own needs.”

What sets Remora House apart is its long-term commitment. The organizers work to build genuine, lasting relationships with the people they support.

“We see at the core of what we’re doing is the relationships,” Clark said. “We prioritize continuing on that kind of support even when folks do get moved into housing.”

Clark sees mutual aid as more than charity or a response to immediate needs. It’s a push against the isolation and inequality embedded in capitalist systems.

“It’s not just making sure people have hand warmers when it’s cold out,” Clark said. “To us, it’s a revolutionary act to build that kind of community and connection with people in a world that’s intentionally built to break down those kinds of connections.”

She believes that collective care isn’t just helpful—it’s necessary.

“Because you’re going to need that help one day,” she said. “Mutual aid is all about how we all need each other. We’re paying into building a community that can be there for us when we need it.”

A Growing Movement

The solidarity economy continues to grow in large and small ways — from food co-ops to tenant unions to neighborhood gardens. In Solidarity Cities, Healy and his co-authors explore examples of these networks in New York City, Philadelphia and Worcester.

     Source: Solidarity Cities: Confronting Racial Capitalism, Mapping Transformation

While his research documented more formal mutual aid networks and cooperatives, Healy said many acts of solidarity happen informally every day, often in ways that can’t be tracked.

“How would you put them on the map? They’re everywhere,” he said. “They are coextensive with the space in every human community. The metaphor we’ve used is that these are the fruiting bodies and that the mycelial network of solidarity is everywhere and beneath the soil.”

To Healy, these everyday gestures and relationships point toward a future not built on the collapse of capitalism but on intentional transformation.

“And so rather than imagining that we need to wait for capitalism to implode under the weight of its own contradictions,” Healy said, “we can bring to practice a post-capitalist politics now.”

Healy believes this shift will only become more necessary and visible in the years ahead.

“As things become more socially and ecologically precarious, my suspicion is that practices of cooperation and mutuality will become more significant,” he said. “And every time that happens, it’s a space for people to learn that it is actually possible.”

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Craig Idlebrook wants to believe that people are smart. When he hears Robert F. Kennedy Jr. talk about vitamins and vaccines, he likes to think that people will know better. However, seeing how people have profited from spreading misinformation fills him with anger and frustration.

But most of all, Idlebrook, 49, is worried for his 10-year-old son.

A writer and editor, Idlebrook speaks to him about world events, and he tries to keep him informed. But Idlebrook sees the deluge of misinformation now becoming mainstream, and he worries about what will happen to his kids and how they see the world.

After all, a little more than a decade ago, he believed those things too.

On August 23, 2024, Kennedy endorsed now-President Donald Trump that asked, “Don’t you want a president who is going to make America healthy again?” Since then, the slogan “Make America Healthy Again” has turned into a movement, amplifying misinformation around health topics such as vaccines, just as measles outbreaks have swept across the country.

Health misinformation and conspiracies have been placed in the spotlight — as have the people who believe in them. But although the factors that compel people to believe these things are strong, deprogramming isn’t impossible. They can still be reached.

There are several reasons why people believe misinformation, said Lucy Butler, a research fellow in the Psychology of Misinformation Lab at Northeastern University. Evidence-based science is complicated, while misinformation and conspiracy theories tend to offer simplistic explanations. The naturalistic fallacy — a logical fallacy in which people believe natural things must be healthier — and safety concerns can also provide rabbit holes for well-meaning people to fall into.

What’s more, health as a subject is constantly evolving, meaning that the available treatments tend to be far from perfect, Butler said. This fuels disillusionment in the medical system, which might send people looking for more stable and concrete information.

“People often struggle with a lot of uncertainty surrounding health issues, and misinformation provides a lot more certainty than accurate information does,” Butler said.

Echo chambers

Once people become inclined toward certain false claims, the internet and social media quickly reinforce those beliefs. Especially with the rise of political polarization, people find themselves in echo chambers that don’t question their beliefs, said Alexandros Efstratiou, a postdoctoral scholar at the University of Washington’s Center for an Informed Public.

“When there’s polarization, then there’s essentially a minimization of dialogue between people that would otherwise have different opinions,” Efstratiou said.

Efstratiou said that even when people do venture out to engage with those who disagree with them, the end result is usually those beliefs being fortified rather than challenged.

“Situations in which that happens tend to be quite uncivil, and so that interaction doesn’t necessarily equate to better dialogue,” Efstratiou said. “It just equates to even more backfiring into being even more enclosed into these echo chambers that we talk about.”

The internet has also become ripe ground for disinformation campaigns, which can contribute to and reinforce people’s beliefs in health-related falsehoods.

In 2021, for example, that a Russian intelligence campaign had spread false information about COVID-19 vaccines produced by Western countries.

Whether it originates authentically or through an intentional campaign, health misinformation spreads partly because humans are social animals. People trust the people they are close to more than they do public health officials, said Susan Polan, the associate executive director for public affairs and advocacy at the American Public Health Association.

“If I was in your social circle, and I sent out something on social media that was science and evidence-based, you might believe it because you know me, and you could trust me,” Polan said. “And the same thing is true for people who sent out false information but presented as science, because they know you and they trust you and they don’t think you’re going to have anything but their best interest at heart.”

Something to shield against

In the early 2000s, Idlebrook and his wife were living in rural Maine, in an effort to get back to the land. They started out as vegetarians and then switched to veganism. Then their diet consisted only of natural foods. Once they started, Idlebrook said it was hard to stop. Why should they? Idlebrook was feeling healthy, literally climbing mountains in his free time. They were slow to get a telephone and fretted over whether it was acceptable to use a car. Idlebrook renounced toothpaste with fluoride in it and quit going to the dentist. Their group of friends, as concerned with health and the environment as they were, cheered them on.

“The world became something to shield against, rather than something to do better in,” Idlebrook said.

He can’t remember who introduced him to “Mothering,” a natural living parenting magazine, after he and his wife found out they were expecting. Idlebrook studied history and Spanish at Earlham College in Indiana and received a teaching certificate from the University of Findlay. He thought he knew the signs that marked a source as trustworthy, like footnotes describing where information came from. So when he looked at the articles inside, he found what seemed like trustworthy studies on natural food, co-sleeping and the possible dangers of vaccines and the healthcare industry.

When it came time, Idlebrook and his wife tried for a homebirth. As it went on, they rejected the Gatorade bottles offered to his wife to replace electrolytes. After 24 hours, the couple ended up at the hospital, where their daughter arrived only to begin seizing and stop breathing. When all three of them finally left, their daughter was unvaccinated, and Idlebrook and his wife were even more certain about their decision. They just hadn’t been natural enough.

The misinformation firehose

When it comes to health misinformation, the social element is key to both internalizing and unlearning it. When a person’s misinformed beliefs are repeatedly reinforced, it becomes difficult to convince them they are incorrect. They might learn one belief is false, but if they come back to the same environment, they’ll be pulled back in, said John Cook, a senior research fellow at the Melbourne Centre for Behaviour Change.

“If they return to their misinformation firehose of falsehoods, then all that repair can be washed away by continued damage,” Cook said.

Instead, what Cook has found to be successful is giving people the tools to spot misinformation and conspiracy theories for themselves by exposing them to weakened versions of misinformation, otherwise known as “inoculation.”

There are two types of inoculation — preemptive and reactive. Preemptive inoculation teaches people the critical thinking skills to spot misinformation before they actually encounter it, while reactive inoculation helps people unlearn misinformation they already believe.

Cook created a free mobile game called Cranky Uncle, which is intended to inoculate players by teaching them about different misinformation techniques. The game uses cartoons and humor to debunk arguments used to bolster conspiracy theories. For example, the titular Cranky Uncle might ask players to identify the logical fallacy used in a climate denialism argument or to select which claim includes cherry-picked data.

The game has been successful on a small scale, Cook said, but scaling it up has been difficult. He worked with teachers to introduce the game into classrooms, but the use isn’t broad enough yet to shift the needle. Even better than an individual game like Cranky Uncle would be a group activity, where players could play as teams or compete against each other in critical thinking contests.

“Once you socialize, then it spreads,” Cook said.

The same legitimacy as the government

But deprogramming has become more difficult in this political moment, when politicians and other authority figures repeat provably false medical misinformation.

Kennedy, who originated the “Make America Healthy Again” slogan, is now the Secretary of Health and Human Services under Trump. He has previously promoted that vaccines cause autism and that wireless networks cause cancer. Since assuming the position, he has in an interview with Fox News that the MMR vaccine is ineffective and can cause death. His skepticism has been echoed by Trump, who on Feb. 15 creating a “Make America Healthy Again” Commission, which listed “medical treatments” as a possible cause of childhood chronic illness.

Misinformation that comes from a traditionally legitimate source, such as the government, is harder to combat, said Morgan Wack, a postdoctoral scholar studying misinformation and disinformation at the University of Zurich. Not only are people more likely to trust information coming from these institutions, but it is also more difficult to convincingly fact-check those claims.

“It’s hard to come up with counter-evidence that can be on the same level of legitimacy as from the government, right?” Wack said.

Wack said focusing on weighing and evaluating evidence was one way to help people deal with unreliable institutions.

“I think when it comes to people who are actually in power and promoting things, we can’t get anyone to stop saying things that are untrue, but we can promote quality evidence,” Wack said.

And although messages from government officials are impactful, Cook, the researcher at the Melbourne Centre for Behaviour Change, said the input of friends and family can also make a difference.

“There’s a lot of power in sending social signals, not just from our political leaders or our tribal leaders, but from our peers,” Cook said. “So even just sending views to your family members about respecting science or respecting the facts — that can matter.”

Changing the mind of someone who deeply believes misinformation can be difficult, and breaking through can be almost impossible. However, Cook said that if someone wants to reach out, they should start by approaching the situation with empathy and patience.

“People who tend to be conspiracy theorists, they think of themselves as critical thinkers,” Cook said. “So appealing to the common value of critical thinking and encouraging them gently, with empathy and love, to turn their critical thinking towards their own conspiracy theories can be one approach that might work, but again, it’s a challenging situation.”

Individual moments

Idlebrook’s beliefs didn’t change all at once. He and his wife moved to Boston in 2010, leaving behind rural Maine and their insular group of friends. Once there, some things became clear to him. Surrounded by people who didn’t subscribe to his lifestyle, he noticed how poorly his daughter was dressed and how her rarely combed hair looked. When they registered her for kindergarten, he and his wife lied and said she had a religious exemption from getting vaccinated.

But Idlebrook said he felt an uncomfortable tug on his conscience as they did it, knowing it wasn’t true. Increasingly, their daughter’s well-being became a point of tension, and he and his wife separated. Two weeks later, he met the woman who would eventually become his second wife.

Her family is Jewish and was eager to feed him and his daughter. In their home, he presented a daunting challenge: maintaining a vegetarian diet, insisting on whole grains and refusing to let them give his daughter any sweets. But they persisted, albeit cautiously. Their approach to Idlebrook’s other beliefs was the same. Gently and without judgment, they asked him if he was sure the information he’d heard was right. Idlebrook can’t remember a specific conversation that changed his mind. What he remembers most, instead, is the warmth they approached him with.

“It’d be great if we could just have one person that could give a speech on the Senate floor that can sort of dispel the myth,” Idlebrook said. “I think it’s going to take individual conversations, individual moments.”

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The bell rang as an older man opened the door of Kalorama Market late afternoon on March 21. He poked his head in and hovered in the doorway, a woman and dog standing behind him, and asked when the store would be opening.

This is a frequent occurrence for Daniel Petita, the new owner of the storefront. At the time, the store had boxes stacked on the floor. Pasta and wine lined different shelves, and hand-tiled counters supported the checkout desk.

He told the man it would be open in a few days.

“Of course,” Petita replied, smiling. “See you later. Thank you for coming.”

That was two months ago, just days before the opening of Kalorama Market. The market, open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., is the manifestation of Petita’s dream to open a business serving quality food to his community.

Petita started cooking when he was 15, growing up in a small town outside Rome. He was a good cook, and he said he knew the career would give him the opportunity to travel. Yet, he said, even when he started working in professional kitchens, he would refuse to cook for his family.

“I used to cook, but I remember it took me years to cook at home and be able to face all the criticism and stuff,” he said. “Because everybody in Italy thinks he’s a chef.”

He started to travel all over Italy, all the way up to the Swiss border, until eventually he ventured into the rest of Europe and moved to London.

London was where he got the toughest training in the kitchens, with often no time for a water or lunch break, working minimums of 16-hour shifts. He said it enhanced his skills, and he still keeps in touch with many of his mentors.

“London’s always been – is always gonna be in my heart, even, because it was like part of my training, that’s where I got my toughest training ever in the kitchen,” Petita said.

“I always say you don’t have to bleed to become a good chef, but sometimes helps discipline and stuff,” he said. “Those are things that I will keep with me forever.”

It was also in London that he met his now-wife, Stephanie Ruiz, an American graduate student at the time studying at the London School of Economics. After working a difficult shift, he went out to a salsa club and saw her.

“She does that, kind of like, ‘come here,’” he said, curling his finger in toward his body the way she did that night. “And I was like, ‘wait what?’ I woke up right away.”

After Ruiz returned to the United States, Petita said they did long distance for a year and a half. It was for Ruiz that Petita decided to move to Washington, D.C, after five years of living in London.

“I can technically work anywhere in the world. I can cook anywhere, people eat everywhere,” he said. “So I can again just, you know, one of us has to make the — one of us has to follow the other, right?”

Coming to Washington, Petita had to relearn everything, metrics like cups, quarts and gallons. He worked at Michelin-star restaurants across the district, most recently at Jônt. As a chef, Petita prefers food in its purest form, with one or two ingredients per dish.

Ruiz said Petita cares a lot about the quality of the food he serves and that he’s very creative.

“He’s the funnier and funniest person in the couple,” she said. “And he’s just also light and, he’s just – he’s like, I think the perfect person to run a business, because he’s also not stressed ever.”

Ruiz said he was a curious person and a talented cook, along with being creative and fun.

“He demonstrates his talent, not in how he expresses himself, or how he talks about himself, or rather what he does, which is really important and sometimes undervalued in society,” she said. “I think he’s just the epitome of a really good, hard worker, honest person that I know, and that’s why I married him.”

Anna Kinzer met Petita through Ruiz, with whom she was friends through work. She said Pettita would often cook for the community.

“His whole world is food, and, you know, the culinary world — that’s been his whole universe,” she said. “And he is really focused, but also really excited, like he has, you know, been known to put together, like really elaborate meals for events.”

She recalled when he made pizzas for his dog’s birthday party at the park.

“There was a huge turnout and it was a really fun, really fun event,” Kinzer said.

Petita had previously tried to start his own business, working long hours at the restaurants and going home to work on his personal project, even doing pop-ups, but said it was difficult.

“I never spent a day without thinking about, like, doing something for myself,” he said. “Like building something for myself, for my family.”

Petita lives by Kalorama Market, and he said he had been eyeing the market for a year. He said he saw the neglect from the old owners, and saw the potential the storefront had. When he heard the store was for sale, he knew he had an opportunity.

“Everything comes from, you know, 20 years of savings, like myself, my wife, you know — those are our savings, and those are our sacrifice,” he said. “So, like, put everything in one plate.”

Negotiations started, then construction. Ruiz’s father, who works in construction, came up from Miami and helped them hand-tile the counters and put the store together.

Friends came to help unpack boxes before the opening and set up the place. Ruiz and Petita stayed in the store until 2 a.m.

“We went from, like, never seeing each other to seeing each other quite a lot and working a lot on different logistics,” she said.

Ruiz said it helps that they have different niches. She works primarily on budget and logistics, while he works more with vendors. Petita’s experience in the kitchen has transferred well to identifying quality foods and working with vendors, including local farmers in Pennsylvania.

“This is stuff that I want to be surrounded by,” he said. “And these are the ingredients that I want to vouch for.”

Petita said he’s received immense support from the community. He said he wants his market to be a point of community for Kalorama-Sheridan. Part of his vision for the shop includes making his own food to sell.

Still, the store allows him to pursue his dream and continue his cooking career. When he started, he said he felt like he was the best in the world. As the years have gone by, he’s realized how untrue that is, and how much he has left to learn.

“You have a lot to learn, and the more you learn, the more you feel that you don’t know anything,” he said. “But having that confidence, that energy, you know, really does good and bad to you, you’ve got to manage it. But I think I’m fascinated by it, and sometimes I still have it even if I’m not 15 anymore.”

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