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IN PHOTOS: Giant pandas in Washington, D.C. through the years

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IN PHOTOS: Giant pandas in Washington, D.C. through the years


The end is near for arguably the best tourist attraction at the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington, D.C.

Three giant pandas that have been on loan from China — with two of the three having lived at the zoo for more than two decades — are set to return to their homeland.

Tian Tian, age 26; Mei Xiang, age 25; and Xiao Qi Ji, age 3, will travel by plane back to China in late November or early December, with the zoo saying they’ll be leaving by Dec. 7.

The pandas are currently in Washington, D.C. because of a loan agreement established between the zoo and the Chinese government.

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A 2000 agreement stipulated that Mei Xiang and Tian Tian would live at the zoo for 10 years in exchange for $10 million, according to the zoo’s website.

The arrangement was extended to 2015, 2020 and then again to 2023.

Xiao Qi Ji was born to Mei Xiang and Tian Tian on Aug. 21, 2020.

In late August, all three pandas celebrated their birthdays, the last time the zoo put on birthday celebrations for them before they depart.

Below are photos of the pandas through the years from Getty Images.

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WASHINGTON, DC – AUGUST 21: Male giant panda Xiao Qi Ji relaxes in his enclosure during his second birthday at the Smithsonian National Zoo on August 21, 2022 in Washington, DC. Xiao Qi Ji is the fourth surviving cub of pandas Mei Xiang and Tian Tian. This year the National Zoo is marking 50 years since the first giant pandas came to DC. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images) (2022 Getty Images)

WASHINGTON, DC – AUGUST 21: Male giant panda Xiao Qi Ji eats an ice cake for his second birthday at the Smithsonian National Zoo on August 21, 2022 in Washington, DC. Xiao Qi Ji is the fourth surviving cub of pandas Mei Xiang and Tian Tian. This year the National Zoo is marking 50 years since the first giant pandas came to DC. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images) (2022 Getty Images)

WASHINGTON, DC – JULY 22: Female giant panda Mei Xiang eats an ice cake for her 24th birthday at the Smithsonian National Zoo on July 22, 2022 in Washington, DC. This year the National Zoo is marking 50 years since the first the giant pandas came to DC. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images) (2022 Getty Images)

WASHINGTON, DC – MAY 20: 22-year-old female giant panda Mei Xiang eats bamboo at the Smithsonian National Zoo on May 20, 2021 in Washington, DC. The Smithsonian National Zoo will reopen to the public starting on Friday, May 21st after being closed since November 2020 to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images) (2021 Getty Images)

WASHINGTON, DC – AUGUST 22: Giant panda cub Bei Bei (L) plays with his mother Mei Xiang (R) at the David M. Rubenstein Family Giant Panda Habitat of the Smithsonian National Zoological Park August 22, 2016 in Washington, DC. The youngest giant panda cub turns one today. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images) (2016 Getty Images)

WASHINGTON, DC – SEPTEMBER 24: Tian Tian, the 275-pound male giant panda at the Smithsonian National Zoological Park, moves around in his outdoor enclosure the day after the death of a six-day-old panda cub at the zoo September 24, 2012 in Washington, DC. The preliminary necropsy of the 4-ounce female cub did not immediately reveal the cause of death but zoo Chief Veterinarian Dr. Suzan Murray said the initial exam made it appear the cub was not crushed by her mother. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) (2012 Getty Images)

WASHINGTON – AUGUST 30: Giant Panda cub Tai Shan cuddles with his mother, Mei Xiang, while they eat melon balls in the morning at the Giant Panda Habitat at the Smithsonian National Zoological Park August 30, 2006 in Washington, DC. Weighing more than 62 pounds, Tai Shan (who?s name means ?peaceful mountain? in Chinese) turned one-year-old on July 9, 2006 and has helped draw an estimated 1.2 million visitors to the habitat since his December 2005 debut. The new $10 million Fujifilm Giant Panda Habitat is scheduled to open Sept. 20, 2006 and will be a state-of-the-art research facility and add more than 12,000 square feet to the pandas’ outdoor exhibit. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) (2006 Getty Images)

WASHINGTON – DECEMBER 28: Balmy weather brought 7-year-old giant panda Mei Xiang outside to enjoy a “fruitcicle,” a combination of frozen apple juice and pieces of apple and pear at the Smithsonian National Zoological Park on December 28, 2005 in Washington, DC. With an expected high of 50-degrees, the unusually warm temperatures brought a large number of visitors to the zoo. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) (2005 Getty Images)

402955 05: Female panda Mei Xiang sleeps on a rock March 27, 2002 at the National Zoo in Washington, DC. Four-year-old male panda Tian Tian jumped the three-year-old female panda, which are both on a 10-year loan program from China, without warning and hit her when he was trying to mate with her on Sunday morning. The two pandas stayed apart on Wednesday. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images) (Getty Images)

383925 03: Tian Tian, left and Mei Xiang sleep on the rocks in front of their custom-made grotto January 4, 2000 at the National Zoo in Washington DC. Constructed of natural and imitation rock, the grotto resembles a shallow open cave within a natural rock outcropping. Naturally cold in the winter, this grotto will be cooled by built-in air conditioners in the summer. (Photo by Jessie Cohen/Smithsonian National Zoo/Newsmakers) (Getty Images)



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Washington, D.C

Families of D.C. plane crash victims urge Congress to do more on air traffic control reform

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Families of D.C. plane crash victims urge Congress to do more on air traffic control reform


Family members of the victims of American Airlines flight 5342 — which collided with an Army Black Hawk helicopter outside Washington, D.C., in January — are urging Congress to do more to address the nation’s aging air traffic control system.

As the Senate aims to vote on President Trump’s sweeping domestic policy bill ahead of the president’s July 4 deadline, some advocates — including relatives of people killed in the American Airlines crash — say the current funding in the mega-bill is just the beginning of what is needed to overhaul the antiquated airspace system. 

“We are very aware that [the funding] is a down payment only,” Amy Hunter, cousin to Peter Livingston, who died in the Jan. 29 crash alongside his wife and two daughters, told CBS News. A total of 67 people died in the collision over the Potomac River, including American Airlines passengers and crew as well as the Black Hawk crew members.

“We have been assured that they understand, and the administration understands, that it has to be followed up basically immediately with the completion of funding for this project,” Hunter said.

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As it stands, the Senate’s version of the legislation — known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act — dedicates $12.5 billion to modernizing the air traffic control system. A version passed by the House last month also allocated $12.5 billion to transition from copper wires to fiber optics, buy new radios and build new radar systems in air traffic control facilities nationwide. 

This funding is just a fraction of what experts say is needed to completely overhaul the antiquated national airspace system. A coalition of industry groups and airlines has said at least $31 billion is needed for the overhaul. 

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has been clear-eyed that completely overhauling the national airspace system will require more funding.

“So $12.5 billion is really important. That gives us a start to build this project, which is why I aggressively support the big beautiful Bill. But it’s not enough. Again, we need more money,” Duffy said in a May press conference.

The administration’s plans to completely rebuild the air traffic control system include replacing outdated communication technologies, installing new software systems and building six new air traffic control centers for the first time since the 1960s. 

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The White House has not provided a price tag for what the overhaul would cost, but said they hope to complete the project within four years. 

But for the families of AA5342 victims, more action is needed to address the nation’s air traffic control system, particularly in the crowded airspace around Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, where a National Transportation Safety Board review found there were over 15,214 close calls between 2011 and 2024. 

The advocates have called for an independent safety review of that airspace, which can be enacted by Congress or asked for by Duffy. 

Additionally, several family members of victims told CBS News the Army has not spoken with their family about the crash, which was the deadliest airline accident in the U.S. since November 2001. CBS News has reached out to the Army for comment, but has not received a response.

“We are grieving families and we are advocates, but we are Americans. We benefit from a strong prepared military and that’s what we want to make sure of,” Rachel Feres, another cousin of the Livingston family, said. 

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Families say they aren’t looking for blame and want to look forward, but they feel that they shouldn’t be the only advocates for making the nation’s skies safer.

“We know it’s a very long path. For clarity, we think that it shouldn’t be a requirement that the families are involved. We should be able to grieve in private,”  Hunter said. “That is not a reality of today.” 

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‘Not like him’: DC man with dementia missing 3 days during scorching heat wave

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‘Not like him’: DC man with dementia missing 3 days during scorching heat wave


A 73-year-old man with dementia has been missing for three days during this punishing heat wave, and a frantic search is underway.

For years, retired truck driver Frankie Jones Sr. fixed cars for neighbors in Southwest D.C., letting people pay him what they could for his work. Now, a missing person flyer is on every door of the Galveston Street SW apartment complex where Jones lives with his fiancée and family members who love and care for him.

Jones walked out the front door Tuesday at 4 p.m. and didn’t return.

He often went to the parking lot to tinker with the family cars — an ability he retains as he struggles with cognitive decline, said his daughter Julia Marsh.

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“We don’t know what direction he went in, so we’re just really trying to figure out if he’s in this area somewhere, in the woods somewhere,” she said. “Maybe he’s somewhere lost, don’t know how to find his way back.”

The family has searched everywhere they can think of, including nearby auto parts stores and car repair shops. Places they think Jones would be drawn to.

They worry about him being out there alone and likely confused in the scorching, potentially deadly heat.

“It’s been hot for the past few days, a hundred degrees, and we still don’t know where he is,” his daughter said. “This is not like him. It’s not like him to walk away and not return.”

Jones stands 5-feet-11-inches tall and weighs 160 pounds. He was last seen wearing a light blue shirt, blue jeans and black-and-white slides.

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Anyone who sees Jones should call the D.C. police Real Time Crime Center at (202) 727-9099. If he appears to be in danger, call 911.



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DC teen charged with murder for allegedly hitting man with car before robbing him

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DC teen charged with murder for allegedly hitting man with car before robbing him


A D.C. teen has been charged with first-degree murder after using his car to ram into a man, rob him and attempt to access his bank accounts from an ATM, according to U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.

Kyree Young, 17, followed the victim, Donnel Bracket Phillips, 55, from an ATM near the intersection of 12th Street and U Street NW on May 7 around 4:15 a.m.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE | Man killed in NW DC hit-and-run linked to two early morning robberies, police say

Young hit Phillips with his white Hyundai Santa Fe before robbing him, according to court documents. He then attempted to get access to Phillips’s financial accounts at the same ATM that Philips was using moments prior.

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When Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officers got to the scene, they found Phillips lying in the roadway. He was unconscious and not breathing.

SEE ALSO | Firefighters battle early morning blaze at DC ‘Chicatana’ restaurant

Phillips was rushed to the hospital but unfortunately died from his injuries.

Young’s vehicle was later found and detectives gathered enough evidence to identify him as the suspect. On Wednesday, Young appeared before Superior Court Magistrate Judge Robert J. Hildum, who found probable cause that Young committed first-degree murder while armed and ordered him to be held without bond as he waits for trial.

The case is being investigated by MPD and the Federal Bureau of Investigation Washington Field Division.

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U.S. Attorney Pirro also said they are investigating potential accomplices to Young.



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