Washington, D.C

Protests, vandalism after &pizza doubles down on ‘Marion Berry Knots'

Published

1 year ago

October 23, 2024

Protests, vandalism after &pizza doubles down on ‘Marion Berry Knots'

Protesters are demanding an apology and a D.C. pizza shop has been vandalized amid the controversy over &pizza’s ad campaign that makes light of the late “Mayor for Life” Marion Barry’s drug use.

D.C.-based &pizza promoted a new menu item Monday called Marion Berry Knots, a dessert with marionberries. The dish is “so good it’s likely a felony,” a press release said.

“For a good time, it’s the powder that’s the ultimate headline grabber. The Marion Berry Knots have enough powdered sugar that will have customers bumping elbows to order and even force the DEA to look twice,” &pizza said in ad copy full of drug references.

Demonstrators gathered Wednesday morning outside the company’s location on U Street, calling for &pizza to remove the dessert from its menu and apologize.

Many people who spoke with News4 Wednesday said the ad was in poor taste. One protester described it as “degrading” to Barry’s legacy.

A campaign by a D.C. business mocking “Mayor for Life” Marion Barry is drawing criticism and sparking calls for a boycott. News4’s Shawn Yancy explains.

“Also, to his family. You have to think about his family, as well. … We have to think about – we’re on U Street right now and this street carries a lot of history,” protester Austin Lee told News4.

Someone vandalized the chain’s location in the Skyland neighborhood of Southeast D.C. Yellow and orange paint was splattered all over the windows of the business Wednesday morning.

Barry got his start in politics as a civil rights activist and remains revered by many Washingtonians. A statue of the four-term mayor stands outside the Wilson Building in downtown D.C., and Southeast D.C. has Marion Barry Avenue SE.

He was arrested in a hotel room in 1990 in a videotaped drug sting by the FBI and D.C. police. Barry famously complained that his ex-girlfriend, an FBI informant, had set him up. Out of 14 charges, a jury convicted him of a single misdemeanor possession charge.

Barry was sentenced to six months in prison, released in 1992 and won the Ward 8 D.C. Council seat. He returned as mayor for a fourth term in 1994 and remained influential until he died in 2014 at 78. Next month marks a decade since his death.

D.C.’s NAACP branch on Tuesday called on &pizza to take the “inflammatory, culturally insensitive and drug-use insinuating” item off the menu and to “issue remuneration to support substance-abuse prevention in all cities within the &Pizza marketing area.”

NAACP DC President Akosua Ali said in a statement Tuesday: “The life, legacy, lineage and name of Marion Barry deserves to be remembered as a pioneer for economic development, real-estate development, black business empowerment, youth employment and as the Mayor of the people. Mayor Barry taught us the power of economics and today, we call on the community to demand &Pizza right this egregious wrong.”

&pizza is “spitting on Marion Barry’s grave,” community activist Ron Moten said on Instagram. “[…] We cannot continue to support people who disrespect us.”

Moten said discussions are underway for a boycott of the chain, which opened its first location on H Street NE in 2012 and now has locations in D.C., Maryland, Virginia, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

Former D.C. first lady Cora Masters Barry is hurt by the menu item and campaign, a representative told News4. She was flooded with calls from community leaders and residents who “expressed disappointment and outrage by the promotion’s interference,” the representative said. She “requested that the attorneys for the Estate of Marion Barry Jr. look into the matter and act accordingly,” the representative said.

D.C. restaurant owner Peyton Sherwood said on X that &pizza “crossed a line.”

“Barry’s life was about opportunity, dignity, and equality for everyone in Washington, D.C. To reduce that legacy to a crass ad about his darkest moments is not only offensive it’s cruel,” he wrote. “It disregards the immense good Barry did for this city and the battles he fought on behalf of all its people.”

News4 sends breaking news stories by email. Go here to sign up to get breaking news alerts in your inbox.

News4 asked &pizza Tuesday if they wanted to comment on the reaction to their campaign.

CEO Mike Burns said in a statement: “We’re talking about a marionberry, that’s spelled with an ‘e’. We stuff that into a knot, drizzle it with icing and then top it with powdered sugar. It’s delicious – we can’t wait for D.C. to try it.”

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Washington, D.C

Venerable monks wrap 15-week long Walk for Peace from Texas to DC

Published

8 hours ago

February 12, 2026

Press Room

Venerable monks wrap 15-week long Walk for Peace from Texas to DC

WASHINGTON (7News) — A group of Buddhist monks walked from Fort Worth Texas to Washington D.C. finishing their months-long journey on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.

Thousands waited on the memorial to welcome them and hear about their journey.

The monks have made many strides but not without challenges along the way including a monk being hit by a car in Texas and Aloka, the peace dog needing surgery during their stop in South Carolina.

Millions have tracked the monks progress through a live map.

Throughout the eight states, millions of Americans have followed their journey in person or on line.

SEE MORE | Where to see the Monks’ Walk for Peace during last full day in DC

Two friend drove from Indianapolis, Indiana to DC to see the monks.

“I feel like its important. I support the fact that they are bringing attention to world peace and I wanted to be apart of it,” Rhonda Harris told 7News.

“I had been following them some time ago, when thy got to Georgia and my daughter lives in Columbus and I missed them to see them so I’ve been waiting on the opportunity to come and join them, Lasima Packet said.

Marissa Shea, traveled from Fort Lauderdale Florida, but not without stopping and seeing them in South Carolina first. She drove from Florida to see them in Washington, D.C.

SEE ALSO | Venerable Monks touch hearts during Walk for Peace in Virginia en route to DC

“The message is so needed right now.. and its brought me so much peace.”

Now that the monks have completed their journey, a source tells 7News, the group will take a chartered bus back to Fort Worth, Texas but the message on peace will continue.

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Washington, D.C

Walk for peace that stopped in Mississippi arrives in Washington DC

Published

2 days ago

February 10, 2026

Press Room

Walk for peace that stopped in Mississippi arrives in Washington DC

Jasper Ward
| Reuters

Draped in burnt-orange robes, two dozen Buddhist monks arrived in Washington D.C. on Tuesday on a 2,300-mile “Walk for Peace”, a self-described spiritual journey across nine states that has been cheered on by crowds of thousands.

“I feel like in our country and in our world right now that you have to show your support for peace in every possible way you can,” said Bob Anderson, 74, of Gloucester County, Virginia, during a stop by the monks in Richmond on February 3. “And so this is a great way to do so. That’s why I’m here.”

The monks began their walk in Texas more than three months ago, at times braving frigid winter temperatures, sometimes with bare feet, to raise “awareness of peace, loving kindness, and compassion across America and the world.”

The marchers continued on despite a powerful winter storm that spread a paralyzing mix of heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain from the Ohio Valley and mid-South to New England, compounded by bitter, Arctic cold gripping much of the U.S.

Accompanied by Aloka, a rescue dog, their journey comes amid growing tension in the United States, partly spurred by President Donald Trump’s tough immigration policy that has seen National Guard troops deployed in some U.S. cities, with both American citizens and immigrants killed by federal agents.

“We walk not to protest, but to awaken the peace that already lives within each of us,” said Bhikkhu Pannakara, spiritual leader of the Walk for Peace. “The Walk for Peace is a simple yet meaningful reminder that unity and kindness begin within each of us and can radiate outward to families, communities, and society as a whole.”

They will spend Tuesday and Wednesday in Washington and end their journey in nearby Annapolis, Maryland on Thursday.

Support and flowers

The walk has garnered support from millions of people on social media, with many sharing messages of support for the monks. Supporters have braved snow and rain to meet and offer flowers to the monks as they passed through their cities.

During their stop in North Carolina, the state’s governor, Josh Stein, thanked the monks for bringing hope to millions with their message of peace, equality, justice and compassion.

“You are inspiring people at a time when so many are in need of inspiration,” Stein said.

The Walk for Peace has made stops in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia. The monks are expected to meet with spiritual, city and other leaders when they arrive in Washington, where they will visit the National Cathedral and host a meditation retreat.

Although the walk has been positive, it has not been without obstacles. While walking through Dayton, Texas, a truck struck the monks’ escort vehicle, injuring several people, according to local media. Two monks sustained serious injuries and one had his leg amputated.

Despite the accident, the group continued to trek across the U.S. to honor not only their original message of peace but also their brothers.

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Washington, D.C

Idaho robotics team gears up for national competition in Washington D.C.

Published

2 days ago

February 10, 2026

Press Room

Idaho robotics team gears up for national competition in Washington D.C.

The Project Impact STEM Academy robotics team, known as The Quackens, is set to represent Idaho on a national stage in Washington, D.C. The team has been selected by Gov. Brad Little to compete in the United States Governors Cup, a prestigious event that brings together elite robotics teams from all 50 states.

Team captain and programmer Kaia Peterson explained the competition’s unique challenges: “We have a playing field that we have to complete different tasks on so this year we have to shoot balls into a goal and our goal is to pick up they look like wiffle balls, there’s purple ones and there’s green ones and we call them artifacts and your goal is to pick up artifacts and shoot them into the goals. And once you shoot them into the goals they roll down into these ramps that are called classifiers and if you put the artifacts in the classifiers in a certain order, you get a motif you get pattern points, for having them in a certain order so you wanna score them in the goal but you also want to get them in the certain pattern.”

The competition will test not only their engineering skills but also their teamwork, problem-solving, and ability to strategize with alliance partners. “One of the reasons we go and talk to other teams is so we can be one of their choices for an alliance because you really wanna talk and develop those connections with teams cause you’re going to have a higher chance to be in the finals, that and having a good robot,” Peterson said.

Being chosen to represent Idaho is an honor the students are taking seriously. “Even now as we’re preparing to go to D.C we’re trying to make as many changes as we can to be better than we were at state when we go to D.C.,” Peterson added.

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However, the trip comes with significant costs, including travel, accommodations, and competition fees. The Quackens have launched a GoFundMe campaign and are only $500 away from reaching their goal to make their dream a reality. Those interested in supporting Idaho’s best and brightest can donate through their GoFundMe campaign.

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