Washington, D.C
Giant Pandas are returning to D.C.’s National Zoo
Giant Panda Tian Tian rests in its enclosure at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 7, 2023, on the final day of viewing before returning to China. All three of the zoo’s pandas left for China, bringing at least a temporary end to a decades-old connection between the cuddly animal and the U.S. capital.
Jim Watson / AFP via Getty Images
Giant pandas have been one of the biggest attractions at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo in Washington, D.C., ever since the first pair arrived in 1972 — a historic token of friendship from communist China.
Now, National Zoo officials say D.C. will get two new adolescent pandas by the end of the year. The last bears departed in November, bound for China on a FedEx cargo plane, with no agreement in place to secure a new pair.
“We’re beyond thrilled,” says Brandie Smith, director of the National Zoo. “The first time I walked through the panda house after the pandas had left, that was a really sad moment. But then we immediately turned our eyes toward the future.”
China has a monopoly on one of the cutest creatures in the animal kingdom — the native range of giant pandas is entirely within the country’s borders. Today, there are roughly 2,000 of the animals lumbering around the bamboo-filled mountains of south central China.
For decades, the Chinese government has gifted or loaned pandas to zoos around the world. It’s a practice that’s been called “panda diplomacy,” and it often coincides with trade deals or other diplomatic events. But as relations have soured in recent years between China and the U.S., China stopped renewing panda loans to U.S. zoos. Atlanta is currently the last zoo in the country to have giant pandas, and they are set to return to China.
Asked whether international relations were at play in the D.C. panda negotiations, Smith said she couldn’t comment. “That’s not really my area of expertise,” she says.
The San Diego Zoo is also set to get a new pair of pandas sometime soon, but no date has been announced.
The 2-year-old bears heading to D.C. are named Bao Li and Qing Bao. Both were born at the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda in Sichuan. Bao Li has D.C. roots, though: His mother, Bao Bao, was born at the National Zoo in 2013 and was a local celebrity before being sent to China in 2017. Bao Li’s grandparents, Tian Tian and Mei Xiang, lived at the National Zoo for 23 years before being returned to China last year.
Male giant panda Xiao Qi Ji walks around his enclosure at the Smithsonian National Zoo on Sept. 23, 2023 in Washington, D.C.
Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images
“We need that panda!”
Mariel Lally, one of the zoo’s panda keepers, traveled with the bears in the FedEx cargo plane last year on their flight back to China. While there, she happened to see Bao Li and immediately noted a resemblance with his grandfather, Tian Tian.
“We were just falling on the floor, we just couldn’t believe how adorable he was. We just kept saying, we need that panda, we need him,” Lally says. “We had no idea it would come to pass.”
At age 2, pandas are considered “sub-adults,” Lally says, comparable to the teenage years in a human lifespan.
“They’re going to be a little cub-like, still really playful, and want to spend a lot of time in the trees playing with toys,” Lally says.
The new panda loan comes with terms similar to previous agreements. The loan has a term of 10 years, though previous loans have often been extended. Any cubs born to the pair will belong to China and must be sent back upon turning 4 years old. The National Zoo will pay $1 million a year to the China Wildlife and Conservation Association in exchange for the pandas, funds that are intended to support research and conservation efforts.
After decades of international efforts to breed pandas and restore habitat, the animals are no longer considered endangered. Giant pandas are now listed as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Chinese environmental officials.
At the National Zoo, federal funding covers basic expenses like food and medicine for animals, but it doesn’t pay for the panda loan fee or cover the full cost of the panda program. The program has an annual budget of $2.8 million, including the fee. About three-quarters of that budget is funded by donations, zoo memberships and other sales.
About 2 million people visit the National Zoo annually, and for many, the giant pandas have been the first and favorite stop. Smith says there hasn’t been a noticeable decline in visitors since the last pandas departed, but it’s hard to tell because the zoo’s busy season is just now ramping up. And, she says, there are plenty of other animals to see.
“We know our visitors might come for the pandas, but they stay here for everything else,” Smith says.
While the panda habitat has been empty, the zoo has taken the opportunity to upgrade the building and outdoor space. Crews are currently at work building new fences, larger indoor and outdoor platforms, and ponds.
“We want to make sure whatever we put in is going to be sturdy, especially with two young mischievous pandas that are probably going to try to take the whole place apart,” Lally says.
Copyright 2024 NPR
WASHINGTON (7News) — Compass Coffee, the coffee chain founded in D.C. in the early 2010s, filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy on Tuesday in hopes of selling parts of the chain as it faces legal challenges from a cofounder, several landlords, and vendors.
The company, which has 166 employees and operates 25 cafes across Northern Virginia, D.C., and southern Maryland, said it plans to operate all stores as normal during the Bankruptcy process.
“Over the last decade, Compass has grown to 25 cafes across the DMV. Our original 7th Street cafe has never closed – not for a single day,” a portion of a statement from co-founder Michael Haft read. “Our spaces have been the setting for first dates that turned into marriages, interviews that led to dream jobs, and everyday moments shared over millions of cups of coffee. We have supported countless community causes, shipped coffee to all 50 states and to troops deployed overseas, and helped thousands of people navigate first jobs, in-between jobs, and next chapters.
The chain founded by Haft and Harrison Suarez said customer numbers have remained low since the COVID pandemic, and struggles remained despite also operating a roastery and distribution business. Documents showed the company began putting itself up for sale in 2021, and that the bankruptcy filing was made after reaching an agreement with a possible company.
Compass leadership has requested to end the leases on several properties, including its former headquarters and roastery on Okie Street, Northeast, which was closed in Dec. 2025. The company has seen previous legal disputes with Ivy City over the roastery location.
Suarez sued Haft and his father in 2025, claiming the pair lied about Suarez having an equal share in the company. Suarez, who met Haft in college and both served as Marines, said he was cut from the company in 2021.
Documents show the company has 100-200 creditors. EagleBank, the Small Business Administration, Square, and inKind have filed statements claiming a total of $1.7 million in liens on Compass Coffee.
Compass also owes roughly $5.2 million to over insider and outside investors on unsecured convertible notes, while about 100 others have claims totaling $4.8 million. Most of the $4.8 million comes from past due rent, unpaid purchase amounts for store acquisitions, and unpaid accounts to suppliers and other vendors, according to a statement filed by Haft.
Filing for Chapter 11 could allow Compass to pay back its lenders, both secured and unsecured, according to Haft in a legal filing.
Flu cases surging around DMV region
Flu cases are climbing sharply across the D.C. region, with new CDC data showing at least 11 million cases nationwide so far. Health officials say a new variant now accounts for roughly 90% of recent infections.
WASHINGTON – Flu cases are climbing sharply across the D.C. region, with new CDC data showing at least 11 million cases nationwide so far. Health officials say a new variant now accounts for roughly 90% of recent infections.
FOX 5’s Stephanie Ramirez says local health departments are urging residents not to wait if they start feeling sick.
READ MORE: Maryland health officials warn of flu surge as hospitalizations rise statewide
The dominant strain this season is H3N2 subclade K, which has been circulating since September. So far, the flu season has led to an estimated 120,000 hospitalizations and 5,000 deaths, with older adults hit especially hard.
Maryland is currently reporting high flu activity, according to state health department data.
READ MORE: Flu cases surging in northern Virginia, health officials say
In Arlington, emergency department–diagnosed flu visits jumped from 19 on Dec. 6 to 120 on Dec. 27 — an over five times increase, according to the Virginia Department of Health.
Fairfax County, a much larger jurisdiction, saw flu-related ER visits rise from 121 on Dec. 6 to 788 by Dec. 27, an over six-and-a-half-time increase.
Numerous roads in D.C. will be closed to traffic Monday evening for a fireworks show celebrating America’s 25th birthday.
Projectors have lit up all four sides of the Washington Monument nightly since 7 p.m. Wednesday for the “Illumination of America: Washington Monument Lighting.” The fireworks that lit up the National Mall on New Year’s Eve are making a return Monday night, which is the last night of the display.
The grand finale of the display comes with some parking restrictions and street closures.
Street and parking restrictions for Freedom 250 fireworks
D.C. police said Constitution Avenue from 14th Street to 17th Street NW will be an Emergency No Parking zone from roughly 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.
The following streets will be closed to traffic from approximately 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.:
- Westbound 395 – no traffic toward Maine Avenue/Independence Avenue, SW
- Independence Avenue from 15th Street to 23rd Street, SW
- Constitution Avenue from 7th Street to 12th Street, NW (westbound traffic will be restricted)
- Constitution Avenue from 12th Street to 23rd Street, NW
- Virginia Avenue from 20th Street to 18th Street, NW
- 19th Street from E Street to Constitution Avenue, NW
- 17th Street from Independence Avenue, SW to New York Avenue, NW
- 15th Street from Independence Avenue, SW to Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
- 14th Street from Independence Avenue, SW to Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
- Madison Drive from 7th Street to 14th Street, NW
Police said all street closures and listed times are subject to change.
“Freedom 250 is lighting up the Washington Monument as the world’s tallest birthday candle to kick off the nation’s 250th birthday year,” Keith Krach, CEO of Freedom 250, said ahead of the New Year’s Eve event.
Freedom 250 is the presidentially appointed committee planning the year-long celebration of the United States’ 250th birthday. It was created by the second Trump administration as part of the Department of the Interior, and is a separate organization from America250, which was created by Congress.
The event will “be looking at America’s past, present and what’s to come over the next 250 years,” Krach said.
“Primarily it will focus on the four pillars of Freedom 250, which is innovation; it’s also community and faith; it’s also on the beauty of our country as well,” Krach said. “And, you know, the other thing that’s great about that is that it’ll be something that will kind of be an animation and I think everybody’s going to enjoy it. So from adults to kids and everything.”
The event is free to the public, can be viewed from anywhere on the National Mall, and does not require tickets.
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