Man killed by state trooper after fatally stabbing a woman and a dog in road rage incident near DC

A man stabbed four people, one fatally, before he was shot and killed by a Virginia trooper on a busy interstate near Washington, DC, authorities said.

The incident Sunday afternoon on the Interstate 495 Beltway was described as road rage and is not believed to be terrorism-related, officials said.

According to Virginia State Police, a trooper was called to the scene in Fairfax County around 1:17 p.m. for a reported road rage incident following a car crash.

"When the trooper arrived on scene, he was confronted by a male suspect carrying a knife," police said in a statement. "The trooper then shot the suspect in self-defense."

The suspect was transported to hospital and later succumbed to those injuries, the statement said.

The victim who died was a 39-year-old woman, according to police. A dog was also stabbed to death.

The condition of the other victims is unknown.

A preliminary investigation indicates the stabbings occurred following a crash on I-495 southbound, police said, adding the crash is under investigation.

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Several lanes of the interstate were closed for hours as authorities investigated, slowing traffic to a standstill.

One witness told CNN he was driving with his wife when traffic slowed significantly and he saw two cars "kind of banged up." He then spotted two people covered in blood and a man with a knife.

A woman appeared to be trying to stop the assailant, but the man kept swinging his knife, the witness said.

"I just kept driving with the traffic," he said. "It was really, it was really scary."

A second witness also described seeing a woman covered in blood trying to defend herself from a man.

Another witness, on his way home from a weekend with family, told CNN he saw a scuffle he now believes was a stabbing. He then saw a state trooper pull up and fire at least two to three shots at the man.

This story has been updated with additional information.

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byMichael Cox

in

March 02, 2026

Man killed by state trooper after fatally stabbing a woman and a dog in road rage incident near DC

A man stabbed four people, one fatally, before he was shot and killed by a Virginia trooper on a busy interstate near Wa...

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Hezbollah attacks Israel, prompting Israeli strikes and Lebanese criticism

By Laila Bassam, Yomna Ehab, Nayera Abdallah and Steven Scheer

Smoke rises after Israeli strikes in Beirut's southern suburbs

BEIRUT/JERUSALEM, March 2 (Reuters) - Hezbollah attacked Israel on Monday to avenge the killing of Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, prompting Israeli strikes on Beirut and setting the group at odds with Lebanese leaders who want ‌the country kept out of a regional war.

Israeli strikes on the Hezbollah-controlled southern Beirut suburbs and southern Lebanon killed 31 people, Lebanon's health ministry ‌reported. People fled the southern suburbs on foot and by car, clogging the roads. More than a dozen powerful explosions shook the capital starting around 2:40 a.m. (0040 GMT).

The violence widened the conflict ​that has spread through the Middle East since the United States and Israel attacked Iran on Saturday. Hezbollah, a Shi'ite Muslim group established by Iran's Revolutionary Guards in 1982, is one of Tehran's principal allies in the Middle East.

Israel held Hezbollah responsible for the escalation, after the group said it had fired rockets and drones to avenge "the pure blood" of Khamenei and in response to what it described as repeated Israeli attacks.

The Israeli military said no injuries or damage were reported in Israel.

Hezbollah's attack ‌was its first on Israel since a war in ⁠2024, while Israel's strikes on the southern suburbs were the heaviest since that conflict.

"Hezbollah opened a campaign against Israel overnight, and is fully responsible for any escalation," Israeli Chief of the General Staff Eyal Zamir said in a statement.

"We must prepare for ⁠many prolonged days of combat ahead," he said in a later statement, saying Israel had launched an offensive campaign against Hezbollah.

LEBANESE STATE OFFICIALS CRITICISE ATTACK ON ISRAEL

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun condemned the Israeli attacks but also warned against Lebanon being used as a platform for wars "we have nothing to do with", saying it would "expose our nation once more ​to ​dangers".

"This is something the state will not allow to be repeated and will not accept," ​said Aoun, whose administration has adopted a policy aimed at Hezbollah's ‌disarmament since taking office with U.S. support a year ago.

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Lebanese state media reported that the public prosecutor had ordered security forces to immediately arrest those who fired the rockets at Israel, after a phone call from Lebanese Justice Minister Adel Nassar.

Hezbollah's arms have long been a point of division in Lebanon - a country that was shattered by civil war from 1975-1990 - and demands for the group to disarm have intensified since the 2024 war with Israel.

The group emerged from that war greatly weakened, with its leader Hassan Nasrallah killed along with thousands of its fighters.

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said launching rockets from Lebanon was irresponsible and jeopardized ‌Lebanon's security.

EVACUATION WARNINGS

The initial wave of strikes was followed by a warning from Israel ordering ​residents of dozens of villages in southern and eastern Lebanon to evacuate.

The Israeli military said ​it struck Hezbollah targets across Lebanon, including senior Hezbollah members in the ​Beirut area.

Hezbollah said its attack had targeted an Israeli military missile defence facility south of the city of Haifa. The Israeli ‌military said several projectiles that crossed from Lebanon fell in ​open areas and one was intercepted by ​the Israeli air force.

Since a U.S.-backed ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon in 2024, Israel has carried out regular strikes against what it has identified as Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, accusing the group of seeking to rearm.

This was Israel's first attack on the southern suburbs since it killed the group's ​military official Ali Tabtabai in November.

Lebanon's presidency said on ‌Saturday it had been told by the U.S. ambassador that Israel would not escalate against Lebanon as long as there are no hostile ​acts from the Lebanese side.

(Reporting by Laila Bassam in Beirut, Jana Choukeir in Dubai; Yomna Ehab and Nayera Abdallah in Cairo; Writing ​by Nayera Abdallah and Tom Perry; Editing by Bill Berkrot and Michael Perry)

byMichael Cox

in

March 02, 2026

Hezbollah attacks Israel, prompting Israeli strikes and Lebanese criticism

By Laila Bassam, Yomna Ehab, Nayera Abdallah and Steven Scheer Smoke rises after Israeli strikes in Beirut...

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The Latest: Iranian-backed militias join fight as war on Iran widens

Iran fired missiles at Israel and Arab states Monday and the war expanded to include militias Tehran backs in the Middle East with an attack by Hezbollah on Israel, which struck back against the group in Lebanon and with the United States pounded targets in Iran.

APTOPIX Emirates Iran US Israel

As the American and Israeli airstrikes kept hitting the country, top Iranian security official Ali Larijani said on X: "We will not negotiate with the United States."

Trump, who a day earlier had encouraged Iranians to "take over" their government, signaled Sunday that he was open to dialogue with Iran's new leadership.

Meanwhile, Iran's foreign minister suggested earlier that military units were acting independently from any central government control after being pressed about attacks on Gulf Arab nations that have served as intermediaries for Tehran in the past.

More than 200 people have been killed since the start of the strikes thatkilledIran's Supreme LeaderAyatollah Ali Khameneiand other senior leaders, Iranian leaders have said.

Here is the latest:

Lebanese government holds emergency meeting

Lebanon's government is holding an emergency meeting after Hezbollah's attack on Israel triggered Israeli airstrikes in different parts of the country.

The meeting started Monday morning and is being attended by the army chief, Gen. Rudolph Haikal.

The state-run National News Agency reported that the Cabinet will discuss the volatile situation and the measures it plans to take.

Smoke seen over Kuwaiti neighborhood home to the US Embassy

A witness said he saw smoke over a Kuwait neighborhood home to the U.S. Embassy as Americans had been urged to stay away.

Ayman Moawad, an Egyptian worker living near the U.S. Embassy in Kuwait, told The Associated Press that he saw smoke over the area.

However, he didn't know if it was specifically the embassy hit in an ongoing Iranian attack targeting the small Mideast nation.

The U.S. earlier issued an urgent warning to Americans there to take cover and remain indoors.

It said: "Do not come to the Embassy," without elaborating.

Strike hits Iranian state TV, witnesses say

Strikes across Iran continued into Monday, with one apparently taking Iranian state television off air.

Witnesses said an attack in northern Tehran's Niavaran neighborhood struck one of the transmitters used for Iranian state TV.

Since then, its satellite signals have dropped.

State media had said hospitals and residential areas had been hit in strikes by the Americans and Israelis.

Iran has not offered any details on its materiel losses.

UAE closes stock exchanges

The United Arab Emirates is shutting the country's main stock exchanges for the start of the trading week as the regional war intensifies.

The country's Capital Market Authority said the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange and Dubai Financial Market would be closed Monday and Tuesday.

It says it will closely monitor the regional situation and take any further steps as necessary.

Another market, the Nasdaq Dubai, also said it was halting trading both days.

Dubai is the Gulf's main business hub, though the Emirati capital Abu Dhabi is also an important regional financial center and home to some of the world's biggest sovereign wealth funds.

The benchmark index for the Saudi Exchange, the region's largest stock market, fell 2.2 percent on Sunday.

US issues urgent warning to Americans in Kuwait

As Kuwait faced an ongoing attack, the U.S. issued an urgent warning to Americans there to take cover and remain indoors.

It said: "Do not come to the Embassy," without elaborating.

Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon kill at least 31 people

Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon after Hezbollah attacked it have killed at least 31 people, Lebanon's Health Ministry said Monday.

The Hezbollah attack and the Israeli retaliatory strikes expand the ongoing war gripping the Mideast after the U.S. and Israel launched an airstrike campaign targeting Iran.

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The Health Ministry said that the strikes also wounded 149 people.

It said about two thirds of the dead were in southern Lebanon.

Cyprus president says drone caused 'minor material damage'

Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides said a Shaheed-type drone caused "minor material damage" to military installations inside the U.K.'s RAF Akrotiri air base on the island's southern coast.

Christodoulides said in a brief national address that the drone struck just past midnight Monday.

He said all relevant authorities have been put on alert and that he has called a meeting of the country's national security council to take stock of the situation.

He added that he's in contact with other European leaders.

"I want to be clear: our homeland is not participating in any way, nor is its intention to take part in any military operation," Christodoulides said in his address.

He said Cyprus remains focused on the humanitarian role that it plays in the region and that it seeks to be "part of the solution and not the problem," adding that his primary concern remains the safety and security of the country and its people.

Airstrikes reported in Iran

Overnight, airstrikes were reported across Iran.

Elsewhere, explosions were heard in Dubai on Monday.

In Bahrain, the Interior Ministry said sirens sounded across the country as it urged residents to "head to the nearest safe place."

And in Kuwait, authorities said debris fell on its Ahmadi oil refinery, slightly injuring two workers there.

The state-run KUNA news agency said earlier that Kuwait's forces had thwarted a drone attack early Monday.

Top Iranian security official says Iran 'will not negotiate' with US

A top Iranian security official on Monday said: "We will not negotiate with the United States."

Ali Larijani made the statement on X, responding to a report from Qatar's Al Jazeera news network.

The comment comes as an American and Israeli airstrike campaign continues to target Iran.

Iran and its militia allies have expanded their attacks over the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Pentagon to brief media on Iran strikes

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, are planning to hold a press conference Monday morning about the military operation against Iran.

The Pentagon announced the 8 a.m. EST media briefing on social media Sunday night.

On Tuesday, Hegseth and Caine will join U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and CIA Director John Ratcliffe in briefing the full membership of Congress on the strikes, the White House said.

Rubio also was slated to brief Hill leadership Monday.

Hezbollah attacks on Israel 'expose our country to risks,' Lebanon's president says

In a statement Monday, President Joseph Aoun said Hezbollah's rocket launches from Lebanon "target all the efforts and endeavors exerted by the Lebanese state to keep Lebanon away from the dangerous military confrontations taking place in the region."

He added that while Israeli strikes on Lebanon are condemned, "persisting in using Lebanon once again as a platform for proxy wars in which we have no involvement will expose our country to risks once more."

Cyprus says drone that hit British military base caused 'limited damage'

Cyprus' government spokesperson said an "incident" that happened at a British air base on the island nation's southern coastline involved an "unmanned drone which caused limited damage."

Spokesperson Constantinos Letymbiotis said the incident at RAF Akrotiri occurred shortly after midnight Monday.

He said "information received through various channels" indicated a drone strike.

He didn't specify what kind of drone, where it was launched from or the extent of damage.

Letymbiotis said Cypriot authorities have enacted security protocols and are monitoring the situation in coordination with the U.K. and its two military bases in Cyprus.

The suspected drone strike occurred after British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the U.K. would help the U.S. in the war against Iran.

byMichael Cox

in

March 01, 2026

The Latest: Iranian-backed militias join fight as war on Iran widens

Iran fired missiles at Israel and Arab states Monday and the war expanded to include militias Tehran backs in the Middle...

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Myanmar's military government pardons 10,000 prisoners before parliament opens

BANGKOK (AP) — The head of Myanmar's military government granted amnesty to more than 10,000 prisoners and reduced the sentences of others to mark a holiday, state-run media reported Monday.

There was no sign former leaderAung San Suu Kyi, who was ousted in the military takeover in 2021 and has been held virtually incommunicado since then, would be freed.

The amnesty comes two weeks before parliament isset to convenefor its first session in more than five years following the recent election that critics said was neither free nor fair.

State-run MRTV television reported that Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, the head of the military government, pardoned 10,162 prisoners, including 7,337 convicted under a counterterrorism law, on Peasants' Day, a national holiday honoring farmers.

A separate statement said 12,487 people who were either being prosecuted under that law or were in hiding, will receive amnesty and have their incitement cases closed.

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The law carries a potential death penalty and was widely used to arrest and imprison political opponents, journalists, and others involved in dissent since the 2021 army takeover.

Ten foreigners will also be released and deported from Myanmar, it said in a separate statement.

Mass amnesties to mark holidays are not unusual in Myanmar. The prisoner releases began Monday but may take a few days. The identities of those released were not immediately available.

According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, an independent organization that keeps detailed tallies of arrests and casualties linked to the nation's political conflicts, more than 22,800 political detainees were in detention as of last Friday.

They include the 80-year-old Suu Kyi, who is serving a 27-year sentence after being convicted in what supporters have called politically tinged prosecutions.

byMichael Cox

in

March 01, 2026

Myanmar's military government pardons 10,000 prisoners before parliament opens

BANGKOK (AP) — The head of Myanmar's military government granted amnesty to more than 10,000 prisoners and reduced t...

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What each side wants in the Homeland Security shutdown standoff

WASHINGTON – TheDepartment of Homeland Securityhas been shut down for more than two weeks,jeopardizing airport security, disaster relief, coastline safety and even pay for members of the Secret Service as they guarded the president during theState of the Union.

The Trump administration sent its latest proposal to Senate Democrats to reopen the agency on Feb. 27, but the negotiations between the White House and Capitol Hill have been happening largely behind closed doors.

There's still no end in sightto the funding impasse. Members of both parties have continued talking past each other, at least publicly, in recent days. Patty Murray, the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, told reporters Feb. 25 the Trump administration had yet to start negotiating earnestly about demands to reform federal immigration enforcement.

Another person has been fatally shot by federal law enforcement in Minneapolis, officials said on Jan. 24. The shooting comes just over two weeks after 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good was shot in the head by a federal immigration officer in a residential neighborhood south of downtown. See the scene of a shooting.

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Man fatally shot by federal officers in Minneapolis. Photos show the scene

Another personhas been fatally shot by federal law enforcementin Minneapolis, officials said on Jan. 24. The shooting comes just over two weeksafter 37-year-old Renee Nicole Goodwas shot in the head by a federal immigration officer in a residential neighborhood south of downtown. See the scene of a shooting.

Hours later, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-South Dakota, contradicted Murray, pointing to the fact that top administration officials and Senate Democrats were trading paper.

"The White House, I think, has been, in good faith, trying to come to the table and work out some of the differences that the Democrats have," he said, "but in ways that don't jeopardize or undermine the ability of our law enforcement officials to do their jobs, and do them in a way that keeps them safe."

It was an indication of how far apart both sides still remain in the shutdown standoff – the third occasion in PresidentDonald Trump's second term during which funding for the 9/11-era Cabinet agency has lapsed.

Lawmakers and administration officials have indicated thousands of employees are working without pay while some critical functions, including at the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Coast Guard, have been scaled back until the shutdown ends. (Immigration enforcement operations have continued as usual.)

Despite those high stakes, the president made sparing mentions of the funding lapse duringhis State of the Union speechon Feb. 24. The lack of attention he brought to the issue underlined just how commonplace shutdowns have become in Washington, especially in the second Trump era.

The longer the situation drags on, the worse it will become. Union leaders for workers at the Transportation Security Administration are already anticipating longer wait times for airline passengers after TSA employees received a fraction of their usual pay on Friday, Feb. 27.

But it doesn't feel like lawmakers are experiencing a critical mass of pressure from their constituents yet to force a deal. And the further away the timeline gets from the fatal shootings of two Minnesotans in January, the more leverage Republicans may sense they have. Washington's attention has already started largely turning away from the politics of immigration enforcement and toward heightened tensions with Iran and Cuba.

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Read more:Why travelers should prep for a DHS shutdown with no end in sight

What Democrats want

Weeks ago, Democrats made 10 central demands to the White House.

Afterthe killing of Alex Pretti, Democrats took a stand to push for a ban on mask-wearing for agents, stricter use-of-force standards and body camera requirements. They also want tightened restrictions around what types of warrants authorize federal officials to arrest people and use force to enter residences. And they want to reestablish a longstanding precedent that Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, won't target so-called "sensitive locations" such as schools, hospitals and churches.

"All they have to do is agree with our simple ideas that every police department, just about, in America, follows," said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York, on Feb. 25. "It's plain and simple."

An incident in Schumer's own state a day after he made those remarks may throw a wrench in the negotiations with the White House. According to administrators at Columbia University in New York City, five federal agents misrepresented who they were – falsely saying they were police looking for a missing child – in order to gain access to a residential dorm. Without a warrant, they thendetained a senior named Ellie Aghayevaover concerns about her student visa. She was released later that day after New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani made a personal appeal to the president.

What Republicans want

Republicans in Congress and the White House are still pushing back on various pieces of Democrats' proposals.

House Speaker Mike Johnsonhas said that appeals for a mask ban and judicial warrant requirements are nonstarters. Face coverings are arguably the biggest sticking point, as Johnson and other GOP lawmakers have said they help prevent federal agents from becoming targets for harassment or threats.

The speaker has, however, indicated an openness to limits on so-called "roving patrols," or random stops of suspicious vehicles, and to bolstering body-worn camera usage. Before the fatal shooting of Pretti by Border Patrol agents upended the bipartisan agreement to fund DHS through the rest of the year, Republicans had already agreed to set aside $20 million for body-worn cameras for immigration enforcement agents.

Schumer's office said Feb. 27 it was closely reviewing the White House's latest counteroffer.

Zachary Schermele is a congressional reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach him by email at zschermele@usatoday.com. Follow him on X at @ZachSchermele and Bluesky at @zachschermele.bsky.social.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Where things stand in the Homeland Security shutdown standoff

byMichael Cox

in

March 01, 2026

What each side wants in the Homeland Security shutdown standoff

WASHINGTON – TheDepartment of Homeland Securityhas been shut down for more than two weeks,jeopardizing airport security,...

Read More