Gael Gomez, Mount Pleasant's sidewalk astronomer. (Sam Delgado)
We've got a very special Friday newsletter for you, with a story about Gael Gomez, who built his first telescope when he was a nine-year-old in Venezuela. These days, he's one of the brains behind the Mount Pleasant Sidewalk Astronomers, bringing views of star trails, nebulas, and Saturn's rings to the neighborhood's tight-knit community.
More than 150,000 Washingtonians receive federal food benefits each month. (1Flatworld)
Federal funding for food assistance programs is expected to lapse over the weekend, as the Trump administration has refused to use a contingency fund to pay for SNAP benefits.
The city is now stepping in to prevent an already difficult 30-day federal government shutdown from getting even worse for tens of thousands of households. D.C. will pay for the programs out of its own coffers, Mayor Muriel Bowser announced last night.
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