Connect with us

Washington, D.C

DC officials brace for high-profile events for Congress vote, Trump inauguration

Published

on

DC officials brace for high-profile events for Congress vote, Trump inauguration


play

WASHINGTON – Authorities in the nation’s capital are bracing for a series of high-profile events starting Friday, implementing tighter security after the fatal vehicle attack in New Orleans this week.

The events include Congress reconvening on Friday, lawmakers counting Electoral College votes on Monday, the late President Jimmy Carter lying in state at the Capitol Tuesday through Thursday and President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20.

Advertisement

“We have already been ramping up security, as planned, ahead of a busy month at the U.S. Capitol,” the U.S. Capitol Police said in a statement Thursday.

The Metropolitan Police Department heightened its security posture across the city “out of an abundance of caution” after the New Orleans attack, although there is no known threat to the city, according to Paris Lewbel, the department’s deputy director of communications.

“While we do not discuss specifics regarding operations, tactics, or staffing, the community will notice an increased police presence throughout the city,” Lewbel said.

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser scheduled a news conference for 11 a.m. Friday to discuss capital security.

Advertisement

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security declared the counting of Electoral College votes on Monday as a “national security event,” based on a request from Bowser, after a riot during that event in 2021 led to charges against more than 1,500 people. The inauguration is also considered a national security event. City officials said in September that they had been planning for it for months.

The designation calls for significant resources in a coordinated security plan by federal, state and local officials.

Metropolitan Police Chief Pamela Smith said at a news conference with the mayor on Nov. 12 that the city hoped to have 4,000 police officers from other agencies to help provide security for the inauguration. She said city officials would meet with federal counterparts to share intelligence for the election certification on Monday and for the inauguration later this month.

In a Maryland suburb northwest of D.C., Montgomery County police said their department has a mutual aid agreement with U.S. Capitol Police and D.C. Metropolitan Police and “will provide assistance when asked.”

Advertisement

The FBI is investigating the New Orleans incident as “an act of terrorism” but officials said Thursday the driver, who was shot and killed by local police, apparently acted alone. Authorities have not found links between that attack and the explosion of a truck outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas on Wednesday.

Signs of tighter security for the upcoming events were apparent after the installation of chain-link fencing around the Capitol. Fencing has routinely been placed around the historic building following the riot on Jan. 6, 2021, which led to a temporary halt in Congress counting Electoral College votes. Security fencing is traditionally erected for the inauguration, with the Metropolitan Police Department taking the lead.

“While there is no known threat to the District of Columbia, out of an abundance of caution, MPD has heightened its security posture across the city in light of recent events,” Lewbel said. “As the nation’s capital, we maintain a heightened level of security at all times to ensure the safety of our residents, businesses, and visitors.”



Source link

Advertisement

Washington, D.C

Man in critical condition after water rescue in Southwest DC

Published

on

Man in critical condition after water rescue in Southwest DC


A man is in critical condition after falling into the Anacostia River in Southwestern Washington, D.C., Friday night.

What we know:

Advertisement

D.C. Fire and EMS reported the rescue effort shortly after 10 p.m. at James Creek Marina in Buzzard Point.

Crews believe a man fell from the dock into the water. 

By 10:30 p.m., crews were able to pull the man out of the water. 

Advertisement

Paramedics took him to the hospital in critical condition.

What we don’t know:

Advertisement

Officials did not identify the man who was rescued. No other information was immediately available.

The Source: Information in this story is from the D.C. Fire and EMS Department.

Crime and Public Safety
Advertisement



Source link

Continue Reading

Washington, D.C

DC’s baseball team faces potential DOJ probe after exec allegedly admitted to religious discrimination

Published

on

DC’s baseball team faces potential DOJ probe after exec allegedly admitted to religious discrimination


NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

FIRST ON FOX — Washington, D.C.’s professional baseball franchise could come under Justice Department scrutiny after a viral video showed a team executive appearing to admit to his religious discrimination against a Christian player.

Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., is urging Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon to investigate alleged religious discrimination against players for the Washington Nationals, according to a letter sent Thursday to and first obtained by Fox News Digital.

The letter comes after Project Veritas founder James O’Keefe published a secretly recorded video of Washington Nationals Director of Community Relations Sean Hudson saying the team does not include pitcher Trevor Williams in certain social media promotion.

Advertisement

He cited the player’s public criticism of another Major League Baseball franchise for hosting a drag group mocking Catholics.

Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., is urging the Department of Justice to investigate alleged religious discrimination within the Washington Nationals organization and across Major League Baseball. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

EXCLUSIVE: KENTUCKY BARISTA TAKES LEGAL ACTION AFTER TERMINATION, CLAIMS SHE WAS FIRED FOR SHARING HER FAITH

“According to the reporting by James O’Keefe, it appears the Washington Nationals are engaged in unlawful religious discrimination,” Boebert told Fox News Digital in a written statement. “I urge the DOJ to take immediate and decisive action.”

A spokesperson for the Justice Department said they received Boebert’s letter. 

Advertisement

“The Department is reviewing the matter and will evaluate all appropriate next steps. As always, we remain committed to enforcing federal law and protecting civil rights,” they told Fox News Digital. 

A spokesperson for the Washington Nationals did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

Hudson, in the clandestine recording, pointed to Williams’ public objections to the Los Angeles Dodgers honoring the Sisterhood of Perpetual Indulgence — a drag group that dresses as nuns — during the team’s 2023 “Pride Night.

The event also drew condemnation from multiple Catholic bishops, who described it as “blasphemous.”

Trevor Williams of the Washington Nationals sits in the dugout before a game against the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park in Seattle, Wash., on May 28, 2025. (Stephen Brashear/Getty Images)

Advertisement

Williams said he found the group’s anti-Catholic demonstration featuring vulgar caricatures of the crucifixion and sacred rituals to be “deeply offensive,” in an interview with Bishop Robert Barron last year. The professional baseball player said he made the decision with his wife to speak out even though it would put “a target on our back.”

“Baseball stadiums should be a place where everyone feels welcomed, like 100%,” Williams said in the interview. “We should all feel welcomed there. But that was clearly against one certain religion. If you don’t draw the line in the sand, who’s gonna do it?”  

According to Hudson, that public criticism of the drag group’s performance later affected Williams’ opportunities at the Nationals franchise. 

“Because of that we don’t use him on social [media],” Hudson told an undercover journalist in the video. “When they’re like ‘is a hot dog a sandwich’ and the players come up, we don’t ask him.”

CONGRESSMAN SAYS MLB IS OUSTING TREVOR BAUER DUE TO TRUMP SUPPORT, IN LETTER TO ROB MANFRED

Advertisement

Boebert said she is concerned that Hudson’s admission could mean the franchise violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination based on religion and other protected classes. 

“Americans of faith should not face professional repercussions for objecting to the mockery of their sacred traditions,” the Colorado Republican said in the letter. “MLB’s privileged legal position should not become a license for exclusionary practices.”

“Sister Unity” and “Sister Dominia” of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence were honored on Pride Night before the MLB game between the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on June 16, 2023. (Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire)

Hudson, in the video, described himself as “far-left leaning” and nonreligious. Meanwhile, he called Williams “super Catholic.”

The Washington Nationals executive also boasted about a Communist Party poster in his office and mused about pushing redistribution of wealth and other leftist agendas during baseball games at Nationals Park in Southeast Washington, D.C.

Advertisement

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

“What a cool opportunity for us [Nationals] to also, be a little bit of like, the voice of reason,” Hudson said. “And a lot of people will tell you when I come to a baseball game, I don’t want to think about that s–t.”

“If you’re a sports fan and we piss you off, where else are you gonna go,” he went on. “I don’t give a sh–t.”



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Washington, D.C

‘Gateway to our city’: $465M grant to renovate Union Station

Published

on

‘Gateway to our city’: 5M grant to renovate Union Station


U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced Thursday hundreds of millions of dollars to help with what he says are critical structural repairs and upgrades for D.C.’s Union Station.

“It was built in 1908, over a hundred years ago, and it was the largest train station in the world when it was built,” Duffy said. “And over the course of decades, it’s become run-down,” Duffy said.

A $465 million grant aims to ensure the overall experience for those coming and going remains up to par and on track at the transit hub. It will help fast-track repairs like roof upgrades and passenger concourses, Duffy said.

The project includes the Amtrak lounge and the ticket experience.

Advertisement

For some travelers, alternatives to fast food are a must.

Retail, parking and office spaces will be priorities of the project to maximize the station’s revenue, as will public safety.

Already, Columbus Fountain is flowing again after being broken and dry for almost two decades.

“Now when you come out of Union Station, the gateway to our city, you’ll be met with a fountain that is beautiful and a fountain that actually works,” Duffy said.

Advertisement



Source link

Continue Reading
Advertisement

Trending