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Protesters gather in DC after grand jury reveals decision on killing of Breonna Taylor

(EDITOR’S NOTE: The above video may contain offensive language.)

People in D.C. and in other parts of the U.S. gathered Wednesday night to protest the recent grand jury decision that brought no charges to Louisville police for the killing of Breonna Taylor.

Crowds initially gathered at the Justice Department Building on Pennsylvania Avenue and at Black Lives Matter Plaza near Lafayette Square, WTOP’s Ken Duffy reported.

“It’s black and white. Wrong is wrong, and right is right. Regardless if they had no-knock warrants or whatever, someone’s dead in the process, regardless of what they have. And she should still be living. Let’s look at that fact,” a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, man told Duffy.

By 10 p.m., Duffy said the protest started to get more tense in Northwest D.C., where demonstrators on bikes blocked police, also on bikes, from following marchers.

Some marchers damaged outdoor restaurant seating areas in the Adams Morgan neighborhood, and a glass bus shelter south of Dupont Circle was shattered, Duffy said.

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Taylor, an emergency medical worker who is Black, was shot multiple times by white officers who entered her home on a no-knock warrant during a narcotics investigation — although state Attorney General Daniel Cameron said Wednesday the investigation revealed the officers did announce themselves before entering, The Associated Press reported.

The warrant used to search her home was connected to a suspect who did not live there, and no drugs were found inside.

Demonstrators, who for months called for justice, resumed their protests Wednesday after prosecutors announced a single officer had been indicted — but not on charges involving the Black woman’s death, The Associated Press reported.

In Kentucky, authorities said two officers were shot and wounded Wednesday night during the demonstrations expressing anger over the killings of Black people at the hands of police.

Police described road closures in D.C. due to the protest as “rolling.”

DC students made small gains on last year’s standardized tests, but still below prepandemic levels in math, data shows

D.C. students made small gains in reading last year, but math results haven't yet reached prepandemic levels, according to new citywide standardized test data released Thursday. At a news briefing, District education officials shared results from the D.C. CAPE standardized test. The assessment is given to third through 12th grade students in English, language arts and mathematics in the spring. It assigns students a level between one and five. Students scoring Level 1 didn't yet meet expectations, and Level 5 is defined as exceeding expectations. Scores of Level 4 or 5 are considered proficient and on grade level. Across the city, there was a 2% increase in ELA proficiency and a 2.1% bump in math proficiency, compared with the 2025 results. About 39.6% of students were considered on grade level in reading in the spring, the highest proficiency the city has reported since 2015. About 28.5% were proficient in math. Officials attribute several years of improving scores to investments in high-impact tutoring programs, teacher training materials and a focus on students adjusting during their first year of middle or high school. But while the city has surpassed its reading scores from before the pandemic, it hasn't yet reached that level in math.
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