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Capital Pride reveals theme for WorldPride 2025

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Capital Pride reveals theme for WorldPride 2025


Capital Pride Alliance announced the theme for WorldPride taking place in the District next year.

Three million people are expected to travel to the DMV in May for “The Fabric of Freedom.”

“The concept of freedom is what we knew a couple of years ago that we wanted to build toward,” Capital Pride Alliance Board President Ashley Smith said.

Organizers want visitors to D.C. and the United State to see it as a place of freedom, he said.

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“All of us have come from a different cloth; all of us had different experiences,” Smith said. “Those are the different fabrics you have to look at that create the fabric of freedom.”

WorldPride starts May 17 and runs through June 8. The first two weeks feature Trans Pride and Black Pride. Shakira performs at a concert May 31. There will be a “Capital Cup” sports tournament. A music festival will be held at RFK Stadium. June 7 will be the familiar parade from Logan Circle to downtown and onto Pennsylvania Avenue. The street festival will be held over two days. And a march and rally is planned for June 8.

Smith also addressed concerns about how President-elect Donald Trump’s administration and Republican-controlled Congress could impact the event.

“I think that it will have some impact, yes, but we are not going to allow it to stop us from what it is that we’ve been working on for the past two-and-a-half years to really make this kind of a great experience,” Smith said. “We always knew that there would be an impact of whoever’s in the White House, but this event is not for, per se, that space. This event is on a world stage really celebrating our pride.”

“I just ask that everybody rally behind our Capital Pride Alliance family and team,” Smith he added. “If you want to join us, we’ll be more than happy to have you, welcome you in. But it’s all about the fabric of freedom, and that’s what we’re going to be focused on.”

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Next year also marks the 50th anniversary of Pride celebrations in the nation’s capital.



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Jeff Landry headed to D.C. for talks on Greenland as his invitation to the island’s dog sledding race is in peril

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Jeff Landry headed to D.C. for talks on Greenland as his invitation to the island’s dog sledding race is in peril


President Donald Trump, who has called for a U.S. takeover of Greenland, in December named Landry as the Arctic territory’s “special envoy.” Even as Landry’s Washington visit approached, however, his invitation to a prestigious dog sledding event on the island appeared to be in peril.



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Suspected National Guard shooter due back in court on two new charges

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Suspected National Guard shooter due back in court on two new charges


A deadly shooting case with ties to the National Guard and the White House is heading back to court, and prosecutors have now expanded the charges.

FOX 5’s Maureen Umeh reports this is one of the District’s highest profile cases, and the man accused in the ambush is expected to appear before a judge on Thursday.

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What we know:

Prosecutors have added two new counts, and the hearing could help shape the direction of the case as it moves forward in federal court.

Rahmanullah Lakanwal is accused of opening fire on two West Virginia National Guard members near the White House the day before Thanksgiving. Prosecutors have now added two counts of assault with intent to kill, tied to the National Guard member who tackled and subdued him after the shooting.

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READ MORE: Who is Rahmanullah Lakanwal? Afghan national accused of shooting 2 National Guard in DC

Specialist Sarah Beckstrom was killed. Staff Sergeant Andrew Wolfe was critically injured and continues to recover.

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Lakanwal now faces first degree murder while armed, multiple assault charges, and several weapons offenses. Federal prosecutors say they are aggressively pursuing the case and note that nothing is off the table, including whether to seek the death penalty, one reason the case is now being handled at the federal level.

The indictment includes nine criminal counts. Lakanwal has pleaded not guilty to the initial charges.

READ MORE: Two new charges for alleged gunman in National Guard shooting

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The Source: Information in this article comes from the Associated Press and previous FOX 5 reporting.  

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D.C. set to receive $200M in federal funds

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D.C. set to receive 0M in federal funds


The House and Senate appropriations committees included almost $200 million in the first draft of an upcoming appropriations bill, which, if approved by Congress, would fund D.C. programs including school choice, college tuition, HIV prevention, clean rivers and police overtime.

If approved, $90 million would reimburse the District government for the cost of providing police and other support at events like large protests, state funerals and the upcoming 250 birthday celebration of the country.

While the Bowser administration is happy with the funding, the mayor sent a letter to Congress asking for an additional $10 million to offset the added costs to D.C. taxpayers for the federal surge, writing, “This higher funding level is also essential to support the ongoing federal law enforcement surge and the associated increased costs to the Metropolitan Police Department, including MPD’s work to coordinate with federal agencies, facilitate National Guard deployments, and sustain police overtime required to support the surge.”

There is also $40 million to fund D.C. tuition assistance grants, which help offset the cost of college tuition for D.C. high school grads. If approved, the funds would allow D.C. to increase the amount students could qualify for each year from $10,000 to $15,000 and boost the lifetime cap from $50,000 to $75,000.

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“Which is a huge amount of money for families, and that’s going to help us help more of our residents on their pathway to getting degrees,” said Mayor Muriel Bowser’s chief of staff, Tomas Talamante.

Schools would benefit, too.

“We were able to get 17.5 for D.C. Public Schools and 17.5 million for D.C. public charter schools, as well as the 17.5 million that goes to the voucher program,” Talamante said. “We also were able to get money for HIV/AIDS prevention, about $4 million that we were able to secure for HIV/AIDS prevention. We were also able to secure $8 million for DC Water, which their clean rivers project is the huge tunnel-boring system that helps keep the Anacostia and our waterways clean.”

The legislation includes riders placing restrictions on recreational cannabis, and Congress could add other riders, including changes like doing away with cashless bail or photo traffic enforcement in the District.

The legislation still must go through the House Rules Committee before a full House vote.

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