Washington, D.C
Couples, community and a bunch of baby animals: Good news from the DC area in 2025
Whether 2025 was the best of times, the worst of times, or both, congratulations: You made it to the end, dear reader, and a fresh start is just around the corner.
Maybe you clicked on this good news article because you want to keep the warm-and-fuzzy holiday vibes going. Or maybe you clicked it because you needed something to pick you up again after one too many hits.
Whatever the reason, let’s take a second to appreciate the good stuff — and no matter how hard times get, there is always some good stuff to be found.
Baby animals were born. Neighbors helped each other through hard times. Problems were solved, and new plans were made.
Cheers to everything we accomplished together in 2025… even if it was just making it to 2026. Let’s take a look back.
We saw some beautiful love stories
Katie Lettie and Vincent Bauer got married at the Arlington Central Library after winning a contest for a free wedding at the library.
Back before Valentine’s Day, the Arlington Public Library announced a contest to host a free wedding for one lucky DMV couple.
In July, that couple — Arlington residents Katie Lettie and Vincent Bauer — tied the knot at the Arlington Central Library location.
It made sense: The pair has the kind of love story you read about in books. The pair has been together for more than a decade, sometimes on opposite coasts, sometimes an ocean apart, according to the library system.
“Arlington was the first place that we were ever able to live that was permanent,” Lettie said. “Or had a sense that like, the future could go on, as the current moment was.”
The couple’s nuptials are a testament to the community they found and built in Arlington, with library patrons, staff, volunteers and local vendors coming together to pull off the wedding.
“This is such an amazing gift,” Lettie said. “It’s such a magical experience. It’s so cool.”
A Northern Virginia couple was so grateful for the care their daughter received in the Inova Fairfax NICU that they decided to have their wedding there. News4’s Aimee Cho shares their sweet story.
Later in the year, in nearby Fairfax County, another couple’s wedding was boosted by a community that lifted them up — and literally kept their family alive through hard times.
Timeshay Brown, a nurse at Inova Fairfax Hospital, and her now-husband Jarvis Parrish, had been planning their dream wedding for October.
But then their baby, Jayla, was born earlier than expected, at just 25 weeks.
“We went to the ultrasound, and the doctor came in and she was like, ‘Well, you’re gonna have this baby today,’” Brown said.
Taking care of baby Jayla became their priority. But amid their long nights in the NICU, Brown and Parrish knew they still wanted to be husband and wife.
Then, Brown had an idea, and her fellow nurses — many of whom had helped care for baby Jayla — ran with it.
Brown and Parrish exchanged their vows in November in the NICU, in front of their baby daughter and the medical team that saved her life.
“Because of you, our daughter will never have to wonder what real love looks like,” Brown told Parrish. “She’ll see it in the way you love me, and the way you protect her.”
Parrish, in return, promised Brown he’s committed to “always being a place of comfort and safety that you can rest your heart in completely.”
You did it, DMV! 1,435 couples came to Anthem Row in Northwest D.C. to break the Guiness world record for most couples kissing under the mistletoe in a single venue.
And about a month later, D.C. broke a world record — and maybe even started to turn the tide on its rocky romantic reputation.
A whopping 1,435 couples turned out to Anthem Row in Northwest D.C. to break the Guinness World Record for most couples kissing under the mistletoe in a single venue.
The Downtown D.C. Business Improvement District (BID) is now the proud owner of that record, beating out the previous record holder of St. Louis, Missouri with just 488 couples.
Community members came together
Speaking of love stories and community: Friends to Lovers bookstore in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia, is an expert in both, at this point.
The romance novels are the main draw of the first romance bookstore in the D.C. metro area, of course. But after owner and founder Jamie Fortin poured her heart into her dream and then watched it go up in flames, Fortin learned that love also comes in the form of community – lifting it up, and being lifted in return.
The store’s first grand opening was in November 2024. But just three days after it opened, disaster struck.
“That night, really, I just got a call at like 11 p.m. that the store was on fire,” Fortin said. “Like I just got a text, ‘There’s a fire,’ in all caps, which was terrifying.”
The inside of the building was torched, and three women-owned businesses inside, including Friends to Lovers, were forced to close the night of Nov. 18.
But then the next day, the business owners from that building gathered with others on the block.
That’s when Fortin, who wanted to build up women and people in the LGBTQ+ community with her business, learned the community wanted to build her up, too.
“We all really rallied together immediately,” she said.
Within a week of the fire, the GoFundMe campaign raised $46,000, Fortin said. Donors ranged from local business owners to grad students sharing what little cash they had pitching in to help Friends to Lovers get back on its feet. Most of them were people who had never been in the store.
“About five months later, we were able to fully open a new location,” Fortin said. “And we are so grateful for where we’re at now.”
Over a year later, the bookstore is thriving, with a new location on Cameron Street and its own booth at the Downtown DC Holiday Market.
There are plenty more examples of communities rallying after chaos caused by forces of nature. Back in June, you may remember, a series of powerful thunderstorms walloped the D.C. area several inexplicable weekends in a row.
If you remember those storms, you also remember the damage they did to several neighborhoods, including one in Arlington. One resident of that neighborhood told News4 that her backyard tree, estimated to be 80 years old, split in two and largely fell on her 90-year-old neighbor’s home.
When the tree came down, it crashed into an area of the house where that 90-year-old typically sits. She was thankfully elsewhere in her home at the time — and other neighbors took her in.
“My neighbors brought her over. They sat her down on their porch and had her relax and called her kids,” the resident said.
“The people here are nice. Everybody watches out for each other,” she continued. “My neighbor who lives on the other side of me is out of town and texted me to see we were OK and if we needed anything.”
“It really says a lot because this is an urban area. But people know each other. We watch out for each other.”
As the region braces for another day of high temps, officials in Montgomery County are making an urgent call for help as the AC goes out at Derwood Animal Shelter. News4’s Walter Morris reports.
And communities stepped up for each other, even for community members with four legs and a tail.
An animal shelter in Montgomery County, Maryland thanked residents for stepping up when its air conditioning went out amid a June heat wave in the D.C. area, and the animals needed temporary foster homes.
About 20-30 dogs at the animal shelter were at high risk in extreme heat due to age or other health conditions and needed to get out of the overheated building as soon as possible.
After the shelter put out a plea on social media, more than 40 animals got temporary foster homes from nearby residents, allowing crews to work overnight to repair the A/C system.
“THANK YOU for all of your help during this crisis,” the shelter said on its website.
Baby animals arrived in D.C.
Giant pandas Bao Li and Qing Bao played in the snow Monday at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo in Washington, D.C.
From dogs and cats to panda bears, D.C. saw plenty of new animals arrive.
The most pandemonium came with the public debut of Bao Li and Qing Bao at the National Zoo in January. The 3-year-old giant pandas made their official debut on Jan. 24, and the zoo’s Giant Panda Cam returned shortly after.
Before the public could go visit Bao Li and Qing Bao in person, the zoo gave us all a sneak peek with some footage of them both playing in the snow, after D.C.’s biggest winter storm in years dropped 5 inches on the District.
The pandas went on a brief hiatus again during the lengthy government shutdown this fall, but their brief absence just made DMV residents all the more excited when the National Zoo reopened.
The zoo’s reopening after the shutdown also brought exciting news about the cheetahs that live at the Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Virginia.
On Oct. 17 and 18, a litter of four new cheetah cubs was born, and they were doing well when the zoo announced their birth after the six-week shutdown ended.
Their mom, Amabala, is a 5-year-old adult cheetah that was also born at the Front Royal facility back in 2020. It was a full-circle moment for an endangered species, and for the conservation program at the zoo.
The baby elephant could arrive anytime between February and March, the zoo said. News4’s Megan McGrath reports.
The good animal news will continue into 2026, too. The zoo announced one of its elephants is pregnant, and sometime this winter the National Zoo will welcome its first baby elephant in 25 years.
It’s not yet clear whether 12-year-old Nhi Linh will welcome a boy or a girl when she delivers her first baby.
It marks a landmark moment for Asian elephants, an endangered species with an estimated number of fewer than 50,000 living in the wild.
Washington, D.C
Supporters press for a DC memorial to Thomas Paine, whose writings helped fuel the Revolutionary War – WTOP News
NEW YORK (AP) — Some 250 years after “Common Sense” helped inspire the 13 colonies to declare independence, Thomas Paine…
NEW YORK (AP) — Some 250 years after “Common Sense” helped inspire the 13 colonies to declare independence, Thomas Paine might receive a long-anticipated tribute from his adopted country.
A Paine memorial in Washington, D.C., authorized by a 2022 law, awaits approval from the U.S. Department of Interior. It would be the first landmark in the nation’s capital to be dedicated to one of the American Revolution’s most stirring, popular and quotable advocates — who also was one of the most intensely debated men of his time.
“He was a critical and singular voice,” said U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., a sponsor of the bill that backed the memorial. He said Paine has long been “underrecognized and overlooked.”
Saturday marks the 250th anniversary of the publication of Paine’s “Common Sense,” among the first major milestones of a yearlong commemoration of the country’s founding and the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776.
Paine supporters have waited decades for a memorial in the District of Columbia, and success is still not ensured: Federal memorials are initiated by Congress but usually built through private donations. In 1992, President George H.W. Bush signed bipartisan legislation for such a memorial, but the project was delayed, failed to attract adequate funding and was essentially forgotten by the mid-2000s.
The fate of the current legislation depends not just on financial support, but on President Donald Trump’s interior secretary, Doug Burgum.
In September 2024, the memorial was recommended by the National Capital Memorial Advisory Commission for placement on the National Mall. Burgum needs to endorse the plan, which would be sent back to Congress for final enactment. If approved, the memorial would have a 2030 deadline for completion.
A spokesperson for the department declined comment when asked about the timing for a decision.
“We are staying optimistic because we feel that Thomas Paine is such an important figure in the founding of the United States of America,” said Margaret Downey, president of the Thomas Paine Memorial Association, which has a mission to establish a memorial in Washington.
A contentious legacy
Scholars note that well into the 20th century, federal honors for Paine would have been nearly impossible. While Paine first made his name through “Common Sense,” the latter part of his life was defined by another pamphlet, “The Age of Reason.”
Published in installments starting in 1794, it was a fierce attack against organized religion. Paine believed in God and a divinely created universe but accepted no single faith. He scorned what he described as the Bible’s “paltry stories” and said Christianity was “too absurd for belief, too impossible to convince, and too inconsistent for practice.”
By the time of his death, in New York in 1809, he was estranged from friends and many of the surviving founders; only a handful of mourners attended his funeral. He has since been championed by everyone from labor leaders and communists to Thomas Edison, but presidents before Franklin Roosevelt in the 1930s rarely quoted him. Theodore Roosevelt referred to him as a “filthy little atheist.”
There are Paine landmarks around the country, including a monument and museum in New Rochelle, New York, and statue in Morristown, New Jersey. But other communities have resisted. In 1955, Mayor Walter H. Reynolds of Providence, Rhode Island, rejected a proposed Paine statue, saying “he was and remains so controversial a character.”
Harvey J. Kaye, author of “Thomas Paine and the Promise of America,” cites the election of Ronald Reagan as president in 1980 as a surprising turning point. Reagan’s victory was widely seen as a triumph for the modern conservative movement, but Reagan alarmed some Republicans and pleased Paine admirers during his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention when he quoted Paine’s famous call to action: “We have it in our power to begin the world over again.”
Reagan helped make Paine palatable to both parties, Kaye said. When Congress approved a memorial in 1992, supporters ranged from a liberal giant, Democratic Sen. Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts, to a right-wing hero, Republican Sen. Jesse Helms of North Carolina.
“Reagan opened the door,” Kaye said.
An immigrant who stoked the fire of revolution
Paine’s story is very much American. He was a self-educated immigrant from Britain who departed for the colonies with little money but with hopes for a better life.
He was born Thomas Pain in Thetford in 1737, some 90 miles outside of London (he added the “e” to his last name after arriving in America). Paine was on the move for much of his early life. He spent just a few years in school before leaving at age 13 to work as an apprentice for his father, a corset maker. He would change jobs often, from teaching at a private academy to working as a government excise officer to running a tobacco shop.
By the time he sailed to the New World in 1774, he was struggling with debt, had been married twice and had failed or made himself unwelcome in virtually every profession he entered. But Paine also had absorbed enough of London’s intellectual life to form radical ideas about government and religion and to meet Benjamin Franklin, who provided him a letter of introduction that helped him find work in Philadelphia as a contributor to The Pennsylvania Magazine.
The Revolutionary War began in April 1775 and pamphlets helped frame the arguments, much as social media posts do today. The Philadelphia-based statesman and physician Benjamin Rush was impressed enough with Paine to suggest that he put forth his own thoughts. Paine had wanted to call his pamphlet “Plain Truth,” but agreed to Rush’s idea: “Common Sense.”
Paine’s brief tract was credited to “an Englishman” and released on Jan. 10, 1776. Later expanded to 47 pages, it was a popular sensation. Historians differ over how many copies were sold, but “Common Sense” was widely shared, talked about and read aloud.
Paine’s urgent, accessible prose was credited for helping to shift public opinion from simply opposing British aggression to calling for a full break. His vision was radical, even compared to some of his fellow revolutionaries. In taking on the British and King George III, he did not just attack the actions of an individual king, but the very idea of hereditary rule and monarchy. He denounced both as “evil” and “exceedingly ridiculous.”
“Of more worth is one honest man to society and in the sight of God, than all the crowned ruffians that ever lived,” he stated.
A message that continues to resonate
Historian Eric Foner would write that Paine’s appeal lasted through “his impatience with the past, his critical stance toward existing institutions, his belief that men can shape their own destiny.” But “Common Sense” was despised by British loyalists and challenged by some American leaders.
John Adams would refer to Paine as a “star of disaster,” while Franklin worried about his “rude way of writing.” Meanwhile, George Washington valued “Common Sense” for its “sound doctrine” and ”unanswerable reasoning,” and Thomas Jefferson, soon to be the principal author of the Declaration of Independence, befriended Paine and later invited him to the White House when he was president.
Paine’s message continues to be invoked by those on both sides of the political divide.
In his 2025 year-end report on the federal judiciary, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts began by citing the anniversary of “Common Sense” and praising Paine for “shunning legalese” as he articulated that “government’s purpose is to serve the people.” Last year, passages from “Common Sense” appeared often during the nationwide “No Kings” rallies against Trump’s policies.
One demonstrator’s sign in Boston said, “No King! No Tyranny! It’s Common Sense.”
Copyright
© 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
Washington, D.C
DC native killed in multivehicle crash remembered for his love of photography – WTOP News
Aaron Marckell Williams, 26, was killed after being struck in a multivehicle crash following a high-speed chase in Northwest D.C. on Wednesday afternoon. A 20-year-old man was arrested and charged with first-degree murder.
While working Election Day in 2022, Sam Plo Kwia Collins Jr. drove alongside Aaron Marckell Williams to cover the evening results for the Washington Informer. As it became clear that Kenyan McDuffie would win his bid for an at-large seat on the D.C. Council, the duo rushed over to McDuffie’s victory party.
As soon as Collins Jr. parked his car, Williams “got to the front and took a very iconic photo” of McDuffie pointing at the crowd during his victory speech.
Over three years later, Collins Jr. saw the photo again on the Informer’s website and began thinking about his former colleague.
“Only to find out a couple of days later that he left us,” Collins Jr. told WTOP.
Williams, 26, was killed after being struck in a multivehicle crash following a high-speed chase in Northwest D.C. on Wednesday afternoon. A 20-year-old man was arrested and charged with first-degree murder.
To those who know him, Williams, a D.C. native, was known for his chill personality and love of photography. His Instagram page is filled with event coverage featuring hip-hop artist Pharrell Williams and former President Barack Obama.
The pair met after Williams returned to the District after graduating from the University of Miami.
His love of photography shined as they covered news events.
During downtime, Williams was very personable, Collins said, and willing to share about his background growing up in D.C. and attending a boarding school before going to Miami. While his laid-back approach may have confused some, he was not lazy, Collins said, calling his photos “quality work.”
“He just made it look very effortless, and that just spoke to his personality,” Collins said.
Williams recently chose to take a break from the Informer to focus on freelance work.
Washington Informer Managing Editor Micha Green told NBC Washington he was traveling multiple countries, including Ghana, to continue working as an “amazing visual storyteller.”
“We are heartbroken over the loss of Marckell Williams — a talented photographer, storyteller, and beautiful soul who was once part of the Washington Informer family,” the outlet wrote in a statement posted on X. “His passion for capturing people, culture, and truth will never be forgotten.”
The last time Collins recalls seeing his former coworker, Williams was taking photos at a go-go event on Marion Barry Avenue. Even though he was focused on his craft, Williams stopped for a moment to talk with his former reporting partner. The love shown at that moment, Collins said, spoke about the person Williams was.
“Being laid back in a city like this, where it gets more expensive and there’s just so much going on, that’s a feat in itself,” Collins said. “He had that spirit. He was just too good for us.”
LANDOVER, Md. – Bruno Mars is bringing The Romantic Tour to the Washington, D.C. region this spring!
The Grammy-winning star will stop at Northwest Stadium on Saturday, May 2, 2026.
The stadium’s website lets fans sign up for presale access now. Tickets go on sale Thursday, January 15 at 12 p.m.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 02: Bruno Mars performs onstage during the 67th Annual GRAMMY Awards at Crypto.com Arena on February 02, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)
Bruno Mars – The Romantic Tour 2026 DatesApril – October 2026
Apr 10, 2026 – Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas, NV
Apr 14, 2026 – State Farm Stadium, Glendale, AZ
Apr 18, 2026 – Globe Life Field, Arlington, TX
Apr 22, 2026 – NRG Stadium, Houston, TX
Apr 25, 2026 – Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field, Atlanta, GA
Apr 29, 2026 – Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, NC
May 02, 2026 – Northwest Stadium, Landover, MD
May 06, 2026 – Nissan Stadium, Nashville, TN
May 09, 2026 – Ford Field, Detroit, MI
May 13, 2026 – U.S. Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, MN
May 16, 2026 – Soldier Field Stadium, Chicago, IL
May 20, 2026 – Ohio Stadium, Columbus, OH
May 23, 2026 – Rogers Stadium, Toronto, ON
May 24, 2026 – Rogers Stadium, Toronto, ON
Jun 20, 2026 – Stade de France, Paris, FR
Jun 21, 2026 – Stade de France, Paris, FR
Jun 26, 2026 – Olympiastadion, Berlin, DE
Jul 04, 2026 – Johan Cruijff ArenA, Amsterdam, NL
Jul 05, 2026 – Johan Cruijff ArenA, Amsterdam, NL
Jul 10, 2026 – Riyadh Air Metropolitano, Madrid, ES
Jul 14, 2026 – Stadio San Siro, Milan, IT
Jul 18, 2026 – Wembley Stadium Connected by EE, London, UK
Jul 19, 2026 – Wembley Stadium Connected by EE, London, UK
Aug 21, 2026 – Metlife Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ
Aug 22, 2026 – Metlife Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ
Aug 29, 2026 – Acrisure Stadium, Pittsburgh, PA
Sep 01, 2026 – Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, PA
Sep 05, 2026 – Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, MA
Sep 09, 2026 – Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, IN
Sep 12, 2026 – Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, FL
Sep 16, 2026 – Caesars Superdome, New Orleans, LA
Sep 19, 2026 – Hard Rock Stadium, Miami, FL
Sep 23, 2026 – Alamodome, San Antonio, TX
Sep 26, 2026 – Falcon Stadium, United States Air Force Academy, CO
Oct 02, 2026 – SoFi Stadium, Los Angeles, CA
Oct 03, 2026 – SoFi Stadium, Los Angeles, CA
Oct 10, 2026 – Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara, CA
Oct 14, 2026 – BC Place, Vancouver, BC
More information on the tour can be found online.
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