This week on the Politics Hour, WAMU's Maryland reporter Jenny Abamu talks about The Sphere, the governor's race, and Prince George's County politics. Plus, D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb on why he's prioritizing housing conditions.

DC, we went all the way to the US Supreme Court to protect your right to vote by mail. Now, it’s your turn to exercise your right by voting in the General Election.

Thank you @wusa9.com.web.brid.gy for tracking this story from start to finish:

Ward 7 resident Sehree Mickel knew something was wrong when her Prime packages were arriving slower than her friends in other parts of DC. So she filed a complaint with our office. Her complaint launched an investigation that led to $7.25 million in refunds for her and thousands of her neighbors.

A big part of my job as Attorney General is to ensure companies operating in DC treat our residents fairly. At a time when so many in DC are struggling, I will not allow anyone to take advantage of our communities. No corporation, no matter how rich or powerful, is above the law — not even Amazon.

Amazon will pay $7.25 million in refunds to Ward 7 and Ward 8 residents who were excluded and $1 million in penalties. Critically, Amazon has lifted its delivery exclusions for ZIP codes 20019 and 20020. It will also be required to notify customers and DC if it makes similar changes in the future.

That's wrong, and it crossed a serious line. We sued Amazon in 2024 — alleging it violated District consumer protection laws. Today, we asked the Court to approve an $8.25 million settlement that provides refunds to impacted residents and implements safeguards to prevent this from happening again.

The company says that it made the change for safety purposes. But here is the problem: Amazon never told people in these ZIP codes they were being excluded. So for years, DC residents in ZIP codes 20019 and 20020 were deceived into paying full Prime rates while receiving inferior services.

Amazon knew this could slow down deliveries, but it covertly did it anyway. Then, delivery speeds in these ZIP codes plummeted. In 2021, over 72% of Prime packages in 20019 and 20020 were delivered within two days of check-out. By 2023, only 25% of Prime packages were delivered within two days.

Here is what happened. Amazon heavily promotes same-day, one-day, and two-day delivery speeds in its ads for Prime. But in 2022, Amazon secretly decided to stop using its trucks to make Prime deliveries in ZIP codes 20019-20 and only service these areas with third-party delivery like UPS and USPS.

NEW: Amazon will refund thousands of Prime members in Wards 7 and 8 for secretly excluding them from full delivery services. The exclusions have now been lifted, and Amazon will also be required to change its practices. No corporation is too big to be held accountable for deceiving DC residents.

JUST IN: We secured a Preliminary Injunction ordering urgent security measures at this property. The Court credited our evidence and the testimony of a tenant, MPD officer, and the ANC Commissioner about the criminal activity being facilitated at 1828 Q Street SE and the need to quickly abate it.

By law, property owners in DC must take basic steps to keep their buildings safe. While we always try to work collaboratively with owners out of court, we won’t hesitate to take legal action when they refuse to address persistent criminal conduct at their buildings.

⚠️ Heads up for student loan borrowers! ⚠️ Borrowers who enroll in autopay payments by September 30 will receive a 1% interest rate reduction — up from the current 0.25% reduction. The 1% rate reduction will last until June 2028 and is available for loans made after July 1, 2012.