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Search for fisherman in Potomac River becomes recovery effort

Rescuers searched for the body of a 67-year-old man who slipped from the rocks on the Virginia side of the Potomac River near the Chain Bridge. D.C. Fire and EMS spokesman Vito Maggiolo told WTOP a family member saw the man, who is considered a “moderately good” swimmer, fall at 7:40 a.m. Friday. After a 75-minute search that used fireboats, inflatables, and people and dogs searching the shoreline, the search turned into a recovery operation. Boats were monitoring the river downstream to find the man.

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Chain Bridge was closed in both directions between Va. 123 and Canal Road for almost two hours. Multiple agencies assisted D.C. Fire and EMS, including the D.C. police, Arlington County Fire Department and the U.S. Park Police. WTOP’s Megan Cloherty and Fonda Mwangi contributed to this story. 

Martin Scorsese, Cynthia Erivo to headline National Book Festival in DC

The National Book Festival is Saturday at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Northwest D.C. It will, of course, feature dozens of authors discussing their work, as regular attendees have come to expect. But this year, there’s more than just books and authors being celebrated. “We want people to understand the magic and the vastness of the collections at the Library of Congress,” Clay Smith, literary director of the Library of Congress told WTOP. His team puts the festival together each year. The festival is aiming to give attendees a broader look at American culture beyond books and the written word, Smith said.
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