Virginia Amtrak train delayed nearly 12 hours Thursday

By Teddy Gelman
December 24, 2021 | 8:03 AM

In a rough start to the Christmas holiday for some Amtrak passengers, a train from Lorton, Virginia to Sanford, Florida was delayed for nearly 12 hours Thursday — affecting more than 350 people. Amtrak told WTOP that the train was supposed to leave Fairfax County at 4 p.m. but it didn’t actually head out until 3:20 this morning because of a freight issue.

On social media, some people complained about waiting in crowded and dirty conditions in the terminal.

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Friday’s trains both to and from Lorton and Sanford have been canceled.

Breaking the silence around suicide: A Virginia mother shares thoughts on prevention

By Kate Ryan
September 1, 2026 | 4:22 AM

September is Suicide Prevention Month, and Betsy Stephenson, an Alexandria, Virginia, resident and a mother who lost her son to suicide, wants people to talk about it. "By not talking about suicide, we are not going to make it go away. In fact, I think that we could inadvertently give it a little more power than it deserves," she told WTOP. One of the things that Stephenson wants families to know is that people who are struggling can appear to be doing well. "You can be very high-functioning as a depressed person or an anxious person," she said. "You can be connected socially. You can be doing well at school or work. You can be making plans, smiling, laughing, engaged, but still be struggling deeply, you know, cosmically, inside."

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