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As Trump inauguration is moved indoors, tourists in DC say they just ‘wanted to be a part of it’ – WTOP News

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As Trump inauguration is moved indoors, tourists in DC say they just ‘wanted to be a part of it’ – WTOP News


Due to the expected freezing temperatures on Monday, the 60th inauguration was moved to inside the U.S. The Capitol and the inaugural parade will now be taking place at Capital One Arena.

More than a quarter of a million tickets were handed out for President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration Monday.

Due to the expected freezing temperatures, the 60th inauguration was moved inside the U.S. Capitol and the inaugural parade will now be taking place at Capital One Arena.

Now, hundreds of thousands of people are not only looking for things to do while they are visiting the nation’s capital, they are also hoping to find the perfect spot to view Trump take the oath of office.

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If you are wondering why some don’t scrap their plans and watch from home, money may be an issue.

Madison Jones and her friends traveled from North Carolina for the inauguration. Jones told WTOP that she is paying $1,600 for a two-night stay in D.C. She hopes she will be able to attend Sunday’s Trump rally at Capital One Arena.

“Main thing is listening to him speak and sightseeing,” Jones said.

While a lot of those that call the D.C. area home only visit the tourist sites in D.C. when they have friends or family in town, Brandon Moore and his friends from Ohio fit in a year’s worth of sightseeing.

“We went to the Capitol and walked around. The Supreme Court, the Library of Congress, the Bible Museum. Just about anything we could get to we went inside,” said Moore.

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Moore hopes the inaugural tickets he received from Vice President-elect JD Vance’s senate office will get him into the Capital One Arena. If not, Moore said he and his friends will make the best of it.

A lot of the folks in town are taking in the Memorials and monuments, including Stacey Rayford. He and his friends came to town from Louisiana after snagging inaugural tickets from the office of Majority Leader Steve Scalise.

“It’s going to be a historic event on multiple levels, and we wanted to be part of it,” Rayford said.

While he is not sure where they will watch the swearing-in ceremony, Rayford told WTOP he knows the type of place he wants.

“We’re going to find somewhere warm and some good food to eat, and hopefully have an opportunity to socialize with some of the people we have things in common with,” said Rayford.

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An hour after their plane landed, 21-year-old LeBron Maverevedze and his father wanted to witness Trump become the 47th President of the United States, which may be surprising to some, considering they are both Canadian.

“The United States President is considered the president of the world, since it’s a superpower. So, we all have to support whoever is gonna be inaugurated,” Maverevedze said.

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Washington, D.C

Police search for suspect caught on camera slashing tires in Georgetown

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Police search for suspect caught on camera slashing tires in Georgetown


Washington D.C. police are searching for a vandal who was caught on surveillance video slashing the tires of multiple vehicles in a Georgetown alley on Tuesday afternoon. The suspect, who fled the scene on a red bicycle, targeted a Chevy Suburban and a Ford Escape on the 1700 block of 35th Street Northwest.



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Reflecting Pool being drained – again – as Trump administration tries once more to fix DC landmark – WTOP News

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Reflecting Pool being drained – again – as Trump administration tries once more to fix DC landmark – WTOP News


Crews began draining the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool on Sunday, according to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, for the second time in three months.

(CNN) — Crews began draining the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool on Sunday, according to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, for the second time in three months.

In an interview released Tuesday with Katie Miller, a conservative podcaster and wife of President Trump’s deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, Burgum said they started draining the pool as planned after the July Fourth fireworks show, noting some of the fireworks debris was still in the water.

Asked about the schedule for this round of renovations, he gave no specifics beyond a broad overview.

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“Drain the water. Clean up the fireworks stuff. Repair the vandalism that was done. Fill it back up again,” Burgum said.

As of Tuesday evening, there was still water in the pool, and it was unclear if it will be drained further. Burgum indicated over the weekend that it may only need to be partially drained.

The move comes after weeks of problems – algae blooms, green-hued water, a chipping bottom and allegations of vandalism – have plagued the iconic landmark, making its woes the subject of a national fixation.

Members of the Trump administration, including President Donald Trump, have said vandals caused damage to the Reflecting Pool by gashing the lining, though they have not provided evidence to support that claim. In late June, the president said the pool would be drained after the July Fourth holiday to fix it.

The administration will use the same contractor, Virginia-based Atlantic Industrial Coatings, for this next round of repairs. Previously, the company landed a no-bid contract worth more than $14 million for their part of the work – sealing the pool and painting the bottom “American Flag- blue.”

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Asked about the timeline for his part of the repairs, Eddie Gross, owner of Atlantic Industrial Coatings told CNN that “nothing has been set yet.” He declined to answer questions about his contract and the cost of additional repairs.

The Department of Interior did not respond to questions about the timeline for this round of repairs.

Burgum, in an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday, suggested the repairs could happen with the pool only being partially drained. He sought to portray the costs as minor.

“It’s going to be a small number because the majority of the work was related to the labor and the materials for the liner,” Burgum said.

“We’ll use the same company, because they did a fantastic job,” he said.

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Burgum also said the government could “absolutely” prove the damage was caused by vandals, and that there are photographs supporting the claim. But he dodged a question about whether those photographs show anyone damaging the pool.

The secretary also denied that Trump having his motorcade drive through the pool mid-renovation in May did any damage to the site.

“No, I was with him when we came that night … We were driving in a Cadillac Escalade. It is one of the presidential fleet of cars,” Burgum said, adding that the vehicle Trump took on the ride was “substantially lighter” than the armored presidential limousine known as “The Beast.”

“The whole base level of this industrial rubber layer was not yet completed, and so there was no damage that night whatsoever,” he said. “That was one of the questions we asked before we even brought the presidential motorcade there, but not a chance.”

The other contractor involved in the project, Greenwater Services, previously told CNN that when the pool is drained it will not affect their system, which is up and running.

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Chas Antinone, the president of Greenwater Services, told CNN the company can shut down and then restart the so-called ozone nanobubbler, as necessary.

Companies involved in the renovation have found themselves at the center of national news as Reflecting Pool issues continued.

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DC is second riskiest city for driving, Allstate says

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DC is second riskiest city for driving, Allstate says


D.C. is the second riskiest city for driving, an insurance company report says.

Allstate said it looked at the number of crashes, how often they happen and certain types of behavior behind the wheel.

“On the phones, bike lanes, people on motor scooters having no regard for the law,” one driver told News4. “It is risky, yeah. I’ve seen a lot of close calls.”

The average driver around D.C. goes just about four years in between collisions. Drivers in the least risky city — Brownsville, Texas — go about 15 years in between collisions.

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D.C. also got dinged for bad driving — like being on phones a lot — and plenty of nighttime driving, which increases risk.

Allstate analyzed property damage claims from January 2023 through December 2024 to rank cities. Here’s the Top 10:

  1. Boston
  2. D.C.
  3. Baltimore
  4. Worcester, Mass.
  5. Springfield, Mass.
  6. Glendale, Calif.
  7. Providence
  8. Sunrise Manor, Nev.
  9. Los Angeles
  10. Philadelphia

But local Allstate agent Rudy Alston says D.C. drivers themselves may not deserve the bad rap.

“I think a lot of it isn’t so much from D.C. natives,” he said. “I think it’s a lot of people coming from outside of D.C. — coming from Maryland and Virginia that commute to D.C. — that maybe aren’t as familiar with the traffic laws in D.C. and how congested D.C. is with the influx of pedestrians, Uber drivers, the Door Dash guys on the scooters, the Metrobuses. So, I just think when they get here, they’re just not familiar with it.”



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