All articles tagged with #district of columbia
Thousands of supporters of the Kennedy Center gathered outside the building as doors remained closed, linking arms and chanting 'Hands off' in a Friday rally that capped a tense week over the center's fate and proposed changes.
Rahmanullah Lakanwal, Afghan national charged with shooting two National Guard troops in Washington, D.C.—killing one—has been placed on nonconsensual nutrition after refusing food and water. U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta authorized the feeding to keep him alive for trial, as his condition reportedly deteriorates, and prosecutors say the Justice Department is weighing whether to seek the death penalty.
Philan Tam Duy Le, a California man charged with attempted possession of a prohibited weapon after authorities say he transported a guillotine in a pickup and parked it near the Supreme Court, was released by a judge who cited his cooperation and lack of prior criminal history; prosecutors had sought to keep him jailed, and his next court date is in September.
Jeanine Pirro, DC’s U.S. attorney and a longtime Trump ally, faces political and legal headwinds after dropping vandalism charges tied to the Reflecting Pool renovation, signaling a rare rift with President Trump over how high-profile cases are pursued.
Washington, D.C. was enveloped in smoke from wildfires in Minnesota and Canada, prompting health advisories urging children, the elderly, and people with heart or lung conditions to stay indoors and limit outdoor activity as air quality reached very unhealthy levels.
Washington, DC’s 40-minute Fourth of July show, staged by Pyrotecnico, will light the sky with more than 850,000 fireworks and effects and more than 4,250 pounds of fireworks per minute across three launch areas (Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, West Potomac Park, and the Potomac River). The operation requires 50+ trucks and a crew of at least 75, and, if completed as planned, could break the current world record for the largest fireworks display (held by Iglesia Ni Cristo in the Philippines since 2016) as part of the nation’s 250th birthday celebration.
Slate’s Molly Olmstead visits Trump’s Great American State Fair on the National Mall and finds it a dud: a partisan, rally-forward affair that crowds out entertainment, with sparse attendance, stage talks and booths from conservative groups, and only NASA/SpaceX displays offering visual interest. The fair feels more like a MAGA event than a traditional fair, and Trump himself has criticized the outcome as a failure to fuse politics with fun. By contrast with beloved state fairs, this event underscores how politics can supplant amusement at such gatherings.
The Washington Post reports that the National Mall’s July Fourth fireworks show will begin later, run about 40 minutes, and feature more than 850,000 fireworks—a record-breaking display produced with heightened security and safety measures.
After the Reflecting Pool’s renovation, a dead duck was spotted there and two more were found nearby; the two ducks recovered from Constitution Gardens will undergo necropsies to determine their cause of death as wildlife investigators assess impacts of the restoration on the local population.
Two additional suspects were arrested in connection with a foiled plan to attack Donald Trump’s UFC event. Investigators recovered high-powered firearms and reviewed encrypted messages among about 20 participants who described drones, a safe house and escape routes; one conspirator distributed cash and facilitated the purchase of a 3D printer and drone parts. Some questioned defendants said they did not intend to carry out violence, aiming instead to observe others, and it remains unclear how close the plot came to fruition as the case continues to unfold.
Live updates from primaries and runoffs across Georgia, Washington, DC and Oklahoma (with Alabama and California in play), highlighting Trump-backed contenders, the Georgia insider-outsider dynamic, DC’s new ranked-choice voting that could delay results, a DC mayoral contest focused on federal pushback, Alabama’s heated Senate and attorney general races, and Oklahoma’s self-funded governor and Senate hopefuls as endorsements and fundraising shape the outcomes.
Voters in Oklahoma, the District of Columbia, Alabama, Georgia and California head to the polls Tuesday as primaries launch the general-election campaigns for Senate and governor in battleground Georgia. Trump endorsements loom large: in Georgia, Mike Collins faces Derek Dooley in a Senate runoff while Burt Jones battles Rick Jackson for the GOP gubernatorial nomination, with Kemp backing Dooley and others backing Jones; Alabama’s Senate runoff pits Barry Moore against Jared Hudson; Oklahoma’s slate includes Mazzei for governor and Hern for Senate, plus a lieutenant governor race with Trump backing T.W. Shannon; DC’s mayoral race could take days to resolve under ranked-choice voting; California’s 14th District will elect a replacement for Swalwell in a special election. Additionally, open-seat contests in Oklahoma’s 1st District and Georgia’s 11th District could produce new House members.
Thousands gathered on the National Mall in Washington for an America-themed prayer rally, showcased in AP’s photo gallery.
The Trump administration released plans to overhaul East Potomac Golf Links in Washington, DC, redesigning it into a par-72, 7,660-yard, 18-hole championship course with a pitch-and-putt and expanded practice area; designed by Fazio Design, the project seeks to elevate the historic municipal course but has triggered local outrage and a federal court challenge over the takeover.
Hundreds of students and teachers faced freezing classrooms in Washington, D.C., after heating systems failed at several schools, with some rooms dipping into the 40s; DC Public Schools urged families to bundle up and keep warm indoors and for commutes to school.