Washington
Old North Church’s George Washington bust revitalized (Photos)
After well over a century, everyone starts showing their age.
But there’s good news for the marble bust of George Washington housed at the Old North Church: a specialist named Christopher Gutierrez knows all the tricks to fix any blemish.
“Today we are working on the restoration cleaning of the sculpture of General George Washington, president George Washington to the rest of us,” Gutierrez said Saturday as he approached the bust with an ultraviolet light. “First steps are going to be to give it a thorough inspection and both visually and with a black light to make sure that there are no defects within the marble. … My guess is there’s probably nothing wrong with it, just it needs a cleaning.”
That wasn’t the case for the four wooden angels across the church, up on the balcony with the organ, which had been busted up pretty badly in years past. Gutierrez said they’d just returned from the shop of the company where he works as lead technician and art handler for the Boston-based Manzi Appraisers & Restoration.
The bust was donated to the church, then known as Christ Church, by Shubael Bell Warden in 1815, according to its plaque. And it quickly got a reputation as one of the truest representations of America’s first president in art, even according to someone who should rightly know: Washington’s own revolutionary friend, the Marquis de Lafayette of France.
“In 1824, the Marquis de Lafayette did this tour in America and came to the church and said that this bust was the best likeness ofGeorge Washington he’d ever seen,” said David Manzi, owner of Manzi Appraisers and Restoration.
The New England Historical Society quotes the Marquis as saying this: “Yes, that is the man I knew and more like him than any other portrait.”
And after all that time, Washington might just need a quick dusting to get back to looking his best.
“We’re not talking very high tech with the stuff,” Gutierrez said. “That’s the funny part part, but it’ll be Swiffer to get the big dust and I’ll be using a Dust Buster to vacuum up the dust so we’re not just redistributing the dust.”
Gutierrez also applied a paste he hopes will give the marble a good cleaning and shine. He put a sample on the back of the bust so that if it doesn’t work or fouls the marble, the visible part of the bust won’t be affected.
Washington
The Fallout From the Epstein Files
The Department of Justice is facing scrutiny this week after it was revealed that records involving President Trump were missing from the public release of the Epstein files. On Washington Week With The Atlantic, panelists joined to discuss the ensuing political fallout for the Trump administration, and more.
“The key thing to remember about the Epstein story is that it is a case that has been mishandled for decades. The reason that we’re hearing about this now and why it’s exploding into public view is because, for the first time, Republicans in Congress and Democrats in Congress were willing to openly defy their leadership and call for the release of these files,” Sarah Fitzpatrick, a staff writer at The Atlantic, said last night. “That has never been done before, and I think it really is changing the political landscape in ways that we’re still just starting to learn.”
“What’s been so striking is how many of those very same Republicans who were calling for the release of those files, who had promised to get to the bottom of them, are now saying things that are just the opposite,” Stephen Hayes, the editor of The Dispatch, argued.
Joining guest moderator Vivian Salama, a staff writer at The Atlantic, to discuss this and more: Andrew Desiderio, a senior congressional reporter at Punchbowl News; Fitzpatrick; Hayes; and Tarini Parti, a White House reporter at The Wall Street Journal.
Watch the full episode here.
Washington
Man charged with shooting co-worker in Washington Heights
A 26-year-old man had an argument with a co-worker before allegedly fatally shooting the colleague in Washington Heights, prosecutors said Friday.
Bobby Martin, who was charged with first-degree murder Thursday, made his first appearance Friday in Cook County court.
Martin, is accused of killing his co-worker, Antoine Alexander, 32, in a parking lot at 9411 S Ashland Ave about 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, according to Chicago police.
Prosecutors said Martin and Alexander worked together at an armed security company and got into a verbal altercation inside the guard shack on Tuesday afternoon. During the altercation, prosecutors said Alexander removed his bullet proof vest and threw it to the ground. A witness, another co-worker, then told the defendant and the victim to take the altercation outside.
After stepping outside, the defendant pulled his firearm and fired one shot into the victims abdomen, prosecutors said. The victim’s firearm was holstered at the time of the argument and the shooting. The defendant fled the scene and came into contact with another co-worker, whom he told that he had just shot Alexander.
Alexander was then taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he was pronounced dead.
Martin was arrested by authorities three blocks from his home approximately 20 minutes after the shooting, prosecutors said.
Martin was detained and will appear in court again on March 17, authorities said.
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Washington
Washington Spirit goalkeeper Aubrey Kingsbury announces she’s pregnant
Trinity Rodman signs record deal with Washington Spirit
USWNT forward Trinity Rodman signed a three-year deal with the NWSL’s Washington Spirit. The deal makes Rodman the highest-paid female footballer in the world.
unbranded – Sport
Washington Spirit goalkeeper Aubrey Kingsbury has announced that she and her husband Matt are expecting a baby in July.
The couple made the announcement in a video on the Spirit’s social media channels, holding a baby goalkeeper jersey on the pitch at Audi Field.
Kingsbury becomes the most recent Spirit star to go on maternity leave, following defender Casey Krueger, midfielder Andi Sullivan and forward Ashley Hatch.
Sullivan gave birth to daughter Millie in July, while Hatch welcomed her son Leo in January.
Krueger announced she was pregnant with her second child in October.
Kingsbury has served as the Spirit’s starting goalkeeper since 2018, and has been named the NWSL Goalkeeper of the Year twice (2019 and 2021).
The 34-year-old has two caps with the U.S. women’s national team, and was named to the 2023 World Cup roster.
The club captain will leave a major void for the Spirit, who have finished as NWSL runner-up in back-to-back seasons.
Sandy MacIver and Kaylie Collins are expected to compete for the starting role while Kingsbury is on maternity leave.
The Spirit kick off their 2026 campaign on March 13 against the Portland Thorns.
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