The history of federal control in Washington, D.C.

WBUR

Published August 14, 2025 at 11:50 AM EDT

In Washington, D.C., troops from the National Guard are patrolling areas around national monuments.

On Wednesday night, federal agents and D.C. police officers stopped vehicles at checkpoints, pulling people over for broken taillights or not wearing their seat belts.

Protesters stood nearby, shouting, “Go home.”

As NPR’s Rachel Treisman reports, President Trump’s takeover of D.C. law enforcement is not the first time the city has been under tighter federal control.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

More from WGCU

Arts & Culture

Readers can earn prizes this summer at Collier County Library

Cary Barbor

Collier County Public Librarystarted a summer reading program this month.
Environment

Introduction to Knight Anole

Dr. Jerry Jackson

The Knight Anole is a newcomer to Florida – first found here in the 1950s near Miami, and now found almost anywhere in the state. It is a native of Cuba that has also been spread to other islands of the Caribbean and to California – in part as a result of stowaways hiding in plants and among crates being shipped taken from Cuba and Florida, and in part through the pet trade. The Knight Anole is a handsome lizard – and a very large one – sometimes reaching 17 inches from the tip of its nose to the tip of its tail. It is also an omnivore – eating almost anything, including other lizards, baby birds, mice, fruit, and more. It has been known from southwest Florida for several years and its numbers are growing.Watch for this green invader with white stripes on its face and side. Between April and August it can often be seen clinging head down on a tree trunk – waiting patiently for potential mates or the arrival of competitors. The rest of the year it is typically in the canopy of trees or palms feeding on whatever it can find among dense foliage.
Agriculture

Florida braces for screwworm, passes emergency rules after earlier discovery of insect in Texas

Ana Goñi-Lessan/News Service of Florida

Florida enacted emergency rules Friday to prevent the New World screwworm from making its way to the Sunshine State. The state created protocols to protect Florida’s cattle herds from the parasitic fly after it was found in Texas earlier this week.

Accessibility Note

The history of federal control in Washington, D.C.

Local News, Right Sized for Your Morning