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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DOJ dropping charge against Virginia man they called top MS-13 leader
The U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia filed a motion to drop a charge against a man arrested last month, who top federal officials accused of being one of the U.S. leaders of the gang MS-13.
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Drug dealer sentenced in fentanyl overdose death of Chevy Chase teen
Friends and family of Aiden Vining got a chance to speak for him, and about him, at Monday’s sentencing for Cesar Alexander Lopez, 26, of Hyattsville, Maryland. Last November, Lopez pleaded guilty to Involuntary Manslaughter for selling counterfeit Percocet found to be laced with deadly amounts of fentanyl. Aiden Vining, who was 17, was found unresponsive in his family’s Chevy…
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Foul play suspected in Waldorf mother's disappearance
Her disappearance has been surrounded by mystery and innuendo-filled Facebook posts. Now, investigators in Charles County, Maryland, are setting the record straight about the intense search for a young mother who has not been seen since the end of March. The Charles County Sheriff’s Office says they suspect foul play in the disappearance of Lesbia Mileth Ramirez Guerra. They...
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Automakers prepare for President Trump's tariffs
Many U.S. auto dealers saw a mini buying boom at the end of March in anticipation of a 25% tariff on foreign made cars. Now, car dealers are trying to figure out what this is going to look like for customers who walk into the showroom, said Rob Smith, President Of Montgomery County-based Fitzgerald Auto Mall. News4 spoke to him…
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Canadian tourism to DC may drop as residents ‘choose Canada' and skip US trips
Spring is among the most popular times for tourists to visit D.C. – but we may see fewer tourists from Canada. In a recent speech, then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau urged Canadians to “choose Canada” in response to President Donald Trump’s tariffs on the nation. He said Canadians should reconsider what they buy and where they travel. “Now is also...
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Kennedy Center contractor fired after naked protest of Trump takeover
A now former Kennedy Center contract worker used nudity to express outrage at President Donald Trump’s takeover. “I may be out of a job, but I’m not out of hope,” Tavish Forsythe said. Forsythe is artistic director of Bird City Improv, which teaches improvisation for social change. Until Thursday, he was also a program director — a contract employee...
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Sen. Warner seeks answers on why ICE detained a US citizen in Manassas
U.S. Sen. Mark Warner asked officials at the Department of Homeland Security and Immigrations and Customs Enforcement to explain how a U.S. citizen came to be detained and handcuffed in Manassas, Virginia, earlier this month. Jensy Machado, who says he voted for President Donald Trump, told Telemundo 44 that on March 5, ICE agents blocked in his pickup truck not…
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US Institute of Peace says DOGE broke into its building
Employees of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency have entered the U.S. Institute of Peace despite protests from the nonprofit that it is not part of the executive branch and is instead an independent agency. The organization’s CEO, George Moose, said, “DOGE has broken into our building.” The DOGE workers gained access to the building after several unsuccessful attempts Monday...
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Judges order reinstatement of fired federal probationary employees. Now what?
The firings of thousands of federal probationary employees have been declared illegal by federal judges in Maryland and California, but questions remain about what happens next. “The latest is that we’re waiting to hear,” said former IRS IT specialist George Johnston, one of those probationary workers (generally, those with less than a year on the job, but, in some...
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2 PGCPS students died from flu
Two Prince George’s County Public School students died from the flu, the school district superintendent confirmed to News4. The students attended CMIT North Elementary School in Laurel and John Bayne Elementary School in Capitol Heights. A third student also died recently, but it’s unclear if it was from the flu. “It’s disheartening to lose any family member, but we’re...
