Jackie Bensen is a general assignment reporter for News4. She specializes in reporting breaking news, mostly for News4 at 11.
Bensen joined News4 in 1999 after spending 12 years at WTTG-TV in a variety of roles including news writer, special projects producer and, for the last few years, general assignment reporter. She has also worked for Media General's cable channel and in the Washington Bureau of Outlet Communications.
Bensen is frequently called upon to speak at community and public safety events. She has been a guest lecturer at the FBI's National Training Academy in Quantico. She has also served as grand marshal of the Montgomery County Humane Society's Walk in the Park and the City of Rockville Memorial Day Parade.
A Philadelphia native, Bensen came to Washington to attend American University where she earned a Master's Degree in Journalism and Public Affairs. She has an undergraduate degree in English Literature from Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pa.
Bensen and her family live in Montgomery County.
The Latest
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Pepco releases details after dogs electrocuted in Northwest DC
“The dogs were just walking by, and the concierge is like, ‘Hey, they’re yelping and they’re screaming as they come through the door.’” Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner Edward Daniels described the incidents constituents brought to his attention back in 2021. He said Pepco was asked to investigate after people reported their dogs received electric shocks as they walked into or...
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Two dogs electrocuted in Northwest DC
Neko Williams was walking his dog, King, near 19th and M streets NW in the snow Monday evening when King suddenly collapsed. Williams said he could feel mild electrical shocks coming from the ground as he knelt to help his beloved boxer. “I felt electricity on the ground, and throughout his body,” Williams said. King was not the only dog…
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Montgomery County video contest aims to raise awareness about opioids
A contest to increase opioid overdose awareness in Montgomery County features videos that are a “gut punch” look into the lives of high school and middle school students. The theme running like a raw nerve through many of the 600 student videos submitted to the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office “Speak Up, Save A Life” contest is stress. The...
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DC tightens security after New Orleans attack, before Carter funeral and inauguration
The nation’s capital will soon host two significant events that draw large crowds: next week’s state funeral for former President Jimmy Carter, followed by Donald Trump’s second inauguration. After 15 people were killed and dozens injured in New Orleans on New Year’s Day and a second suspected terror attack in Las Vegas, extra precautions are going into place in...
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Woman hurt, burning building collapses after Northeast DC crash
A woman is seriously hurt and a burning building partially collapsed in Northeast D.C. early Thursday after a car crashed into the building, authorities say.
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Bitter cold Christmas Eve for residents of condo complex without heat
This cold Christmas Eve was even more uncomfortable for hundreds of residents of a condominium complex in Maryland. They say they have been without heat since mid-December. Residents of Chelsea Wood Condominiums in Greenbelt told News4 they’ve been informed it could be another couple of weeks, at minimum, until their homes are warm again. Coats and hats are indoor...
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New York family's puppy and car stolen from Forestville Wawa
He’s a small dog out there in a big world. A 3-month-old puppy named Benji was stolen Friday, along with his family’s car, at a Wawa in Forestville, Maryland. “He’s tiny,” said KerryAnn Wiltshire, one of Benji’s owners. “He’s very, very tiny, very loving.” Wiltshire says she and her boyfriend were driving from New York to North Carolina Friday...
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Veteran faces extradition to Philippines over unfounded allegations, lawyer says
A 66-year-old American citizen has been in the DC jail for almost 10 months awaiting extradition to the Philippines for a crime her attorneys say there’s no evidence she committed. Air Force veteran Grace Lourenco earned commendations for her service. In 1981, she was part of the flight crew aboard the Air Force plane that returned 53 U.S. diplomats and…
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5-year-old girl in critical condition after 3-year-old brother accessed gun
A 5-year-old girl in D.C. is in critical condition after her 3-year-old brother somehow got access to a gun and it went off, shooting her in the chest Monday evening, police say. The shooting happened inside an apartment building in the unit block of Galveston Street SW in the Bellevue neighborhood, not far from the Maryland border. A man...
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Girl, 14, jumped and assaulted by group of students at Maryland high school
A 14-year-old girl was jumped and beaten on her way to cheerleading practice last week at her Maryland high school, her mother told News4. Juanita Caldwell says her daughter was assaulted by a group of students at Potomac High School in Oxon Hill. “My daughter had a knot on the left side of her face,” Caldwell said. “On the right…
