• An Islamic State radical opened fire at Old Dominion University Thursday, killing one person and wounding two others. ROTC students tackled and subdued the shooter, almost certainly preventing more casualties. The attack is drawing national attention and raising hard questions about campus security in the region. WTOP report | Washington Post report

• Yesterday's weather was genuinely unhinged. The D.C. area swung from summer-like warmth to winter cold in a matter of hours, with gusty winds and a dramatic pressure drop that forecasters are still dissecting. Today stays blustery and sharply colder; the weekend mellows out before a stormy Monday rolls in. Washington Post breakdown | Friday forecast

• Fairfax County Public Schools will close on the day of the redistricting referendum special election. The closure frees up school buildings as polling sites. Two other Northern Virginia school systems made the same call. FFXnow | WTOP

• Fairfax County is building out a formal strategy to address AI's economic and workforce impacts. The county is moving beyond talking points and into actual planning: workforce retraining pipelines, employer partnerships, and curriculum shifts. Details are still thin, but the effort is real. FFXnow

• Sen. Chris Van Hollen introduced a bill to eliminate federal income tax for low-income Americans. The proposal targets millions of workers at the bottom of the income scale. It has no Republican co-sponsors yet and faces a steep climb in the current Congress. WTOP

• A driver died Thursday after a tree fell on their vehicle on the George Washington Parkway. The storm system that hammered the region Wednesday into Thursday brought down trees across NoVA; this was the deadliest result. WTOP

• Fairfax County detectives are hunting suspects in a string of ATM burglaries and offering a cash reward. Multiple machines were hit; police released surveillance images and are asking for tips. Fairfax County Police

• A former Reston man who threatened to kill President Trump was sentenced to federal prison. The case dates to threats made online; sentencing came down this week. FFXnow

• A vacant lot near the Tysons water tower was acquired for affordable housing development. The site sat idle for years. The acquisition signals continued pressure to squeeze affordable units into one of NoVA's priciest corridors. FFXnow

• The Iran conflict is rattling the Fairfax County housing market just as spring buying season kicks off. Uncertainty among federal contractors and defense-sector workers is cooling what should be a hot market. Sellers are noticing. FFXnow

• Reston Station CVS is not closing. Earlier reports had the store on the chopping block; the company reversed course. FFXnow
• Ashburn's Bilstad's Beignets is shutting down for good. The local favorite announced the closure this week. The Burn
• UVA research links severe COVID-19 and flu to elevated lung cancer risk years later. Worth knowing. WTOP
• Fairfax County crime rates dropped across most categories in 2025, per new FCPD data. FFXnow
• FBI agents will train with UFC fighters at Quantico. Sure. WTOP
• Loudoun's first Household Hazardous Waste event of 2026 runs March 28 in Leesburg. Good time to clean out the garage. Loudoun County
• Pi Day is Saturday. NoVA has options. Arlington Magazine

NoVA is shaken. The ODU shooting hits close to home for a region full of students, parents, and campus commuters. The ROTC students who stopped it are being called heroes, and they earned it. Everything else this week feels secondary.

Have a safe weekend, NoVA. Know someone who'd find this useful? Forward it their way; they can subscribe at thenovasignal.com.