D.C. bars treat presidential debates like Stanley Cup finals viewing parties, with happy hour specials flowing and sound from the TVs replacing the jukebox. At the same time, is it funny or sad that both Union Pub and Dirty Water have chosen a variation of “Here we go again” to advertise their Thursday night events?
Washington, D.C
Where to watch the first Biden-Trump presidential debate in D.C.
If you don’t want to watch in your living room — or can’t bear the thought of watching alone — these bars offer everything from drinking games to half-price drinks.
The restaurant/bar/bookstore is showing the debate at all eight of its locations. The programs vary slightly: The Busboys in Mount Vernon Triangle includes a post-debate discussion with former Ohio state senator Nina Turner, the co-chair of Bernie Sanders’s 2020 presidential campaign; the branch at 14th and V NW offers a discussion about the proposed ranked-choice voting ballot amendment in D.C.; and other restaurants feature open-mic poetry before the debate. Locations and times vary.
For $25, get unlimited Bud Light, Shock Top and Hoop Tea drafts; Yuengling bottles; Miller Lite cans; and rail drinks at the H Street NE sports bar from 7 p.m. until the end of the debate.
D.C.’s first LGBTQ-owned brewery offers happy hour pricing during the debate, including for its own Dissent Hazy IPA, rums from St. Michaels’s Lyon distilling and Mount Defiance’s Smoked Virginia Whiskey. Specials begin at 9 p.m.
The Red Derby — recently voted one of the top five dive bars in the D.C. area — offers two different experiences Thursday. Downstairs, the debate is streaming on the projection screen, while customers drink $3 PBRs and $3.50 shots of house tequila or whiskey, or snack on half-price grilled cheese. Upstairs on the roof deck, it’s business as usual, and blissfully politics-free. Specials run all night.
Shaw’s Tavern has made a name for itself as a place to go for D.C. political theater, opening early for congressional testimony and confirmation hearings. All tables are already reserved for the debate viewing party on Florida Avenue NW, but there will be bar stools and standing room available for walk-ins. Bottles of wine are half-price all night. Seating begins at 7:30 p.m.
Union Pub, located steps from Senate office buildings, boasts that it’s “busier during the State of the Union address than major sporting events.” On Thursday, it’s offering a debate drinking game; a “drink poll” that encourages customers to order red or blue vodka drinks to see which is more popular; and a plethora of drink specials including $4 house beers and $4 shots, discounted pints and pitchers of Yuengling and Pacifico, and $22 buckets of Bud Light. For groups, the bar is keeping its $340 “Guilty Pleasure Platter” that’s recommended for 12, with 34 wings, platters of totchos and mini corn dogs, a dozen sliders, 12 house beers, 12 “Orange Shots” and 12 mystery beers. Specials begin at 6 p.m.
Washington, D.C
Nurses at Washington D.C.’s largest hospital call on leadership to reverse planned cuts to maternal health
RNs at MedStar Washington Hospital Center say closure of postpartum unit will disproportionately harm marginalized and underserved communities
Union nurses at MedStar Washington Hospital Center (MWHC) in Washington, D.C. are demanding that management stop the planned closure of an entire postpartum unit, announced National Nurses Organizing Committee/National Nurses United (NNOC/NNU). The hospital notified the union on May 26, 2026 of its intention to eliminate 11 maternal health beds and displace eight nurses by July 26, 2026, leaving MWHC with one postpartum unit.
In a follow-up town hall with staff nurses, Chief Nursing Officer Ariam Yitbarek confirmed the closure. Other leaders have additionally informed staff that the hospital will strictly limit scheduled C-sections and inductions for patients from numerous D.C. maternal health organizations. The list of organizations includes many that primarily serve low-income patients, immigrants, and patients of color, all communities with significantly higher risks of maternal mortality. Additionally, staff were informed that Kaiser Permanente, which notably insures a large number of DC city employees and even many of MWHC’s own workers, will see a strict limit on scheduling inductions and C-sections for their patients as well.
“Closing postpartum unit 5F will gravely impact those most affected by health disparities,” said Stephanie Sims-Coates, RN in the neonatal intensive care unit. “Our low-income families and families of color will be most affected by this closure. Families trust the medical staff at MWHC and plan to come to us for their care. In a city where Black women make up 90 percent of pregnancy-related deaths despite being only half the population, the hospital’s decision to close this unit is a significant mistake.”
Community leaders and healthcare workers are joining the call for MedStar to put patients before profits and keep the unit open. This past weekend, nurses met with D.C. mayoral candidate and Ward 4 councilwoman Janeese Lewis George about the planned closure and the impact it would have on DC’s most vulnerable residents.
“Maternal mortality is a crisis for Washington, DC, and our healthcare system needs to address the crisis immediately, rather than exacerbate the challenges that birthing parents face,” said Councilwoman Janeese Lewis George. “Now is the time to invest in health care, rather than make cuts. I want to work with the hospital to identify solutions that work for patients and the provider.”
“In my time at Washington Hospital Center, I’ve seen the hospital tout its Safe Moms, Safe Babies program and host a community baby shower specifically designed to call attention to the maternal mortality crisis,” said Marcqueata “Tiya” Butler, RN in the Mother/Baby unit. “Their current plan to shut down 11 postpartum beds betrays the hospital’s stated commitments. They are aware of persistent inequities in access to care. We are calling on the hospital to consider the impacts on the community, safeguard the mothers and infants of DC and commit to addressing the maternal mortality rate.”
In 2024, MedStar Health, a registered non-profit, reported $9 billion in operating revenue.
NNOC/NNU represents more than 2,200 registered nurses at Washington Hospital Center.
National Nurses United is the largest and fastest-growing union and professional association of registered nurses in the United States with more than 225,000 members nationwide. NNU affiliates include California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee, DC Nurses Association, Michigan Nurses Association, Minnesota Nurses Association, and New York State Nurses Association.
The LINE DC is delighted to announce the appointment of Sherry Abedi as its new General Manager. In her new role she will oversee all aspects of the hotel, including operations, people and culture, sales and marketing, and guest experience strategy. Abedi will lead day-to-day hotel operations while driving programming, business development, and initiatives that strengthen the property’s connection to Washington D.C.’s cultural and creative communities.
WASHINGTON (7News) — Tuesday was the last day the D.C. Council could vote to enact an expanded curfew in time for summer.
7News learned it never even made it on the agenda for a discussion and went to council members to find out why.
For the next two months, it’ll be up to the mayor to declare a curfew until the permanent version kicks in. There is already a city curfew. The curfew that has been up for debate for more than a year is the expanded version of the curfew. The expanded version allows the Metropolitan Police Department to create zones where teens 17 and under cannot gather in groups of nine or more.
RELATED | DC curfews pushed large groups into local neighborhoods, some residents say
Mayor Muriel Bowser currently has her own curfew order in place, which ends Saturday. The mayor can continue issuing an order. Councilmembers against the expanded curfew said that’s why it doesn’t need to come from the council.
In a video posted two weeks ago, D.C Council public safety chair Brooke Pinto said she wanted her councilmembers to vote to fill the gap today. 7News asked her why she never presented it to the council.
“Unfortunately, in working with my colleagues over the last several weeks, we did not have the votes,” said Pinto. “We have to have enough votes to pass the law and make sure that we didn’t have a gap.”
Bowser, in a letter to council Tuesday, said councilmembers Trayon White, Robert White, Zachary Parker, Brianne Nadeau and Janese Lewis-George are “blocking the will of the public and majority of council.”
7News spoke to three of the members she called out about the mayor’s pushback.
“I reject the rhetoric and the political games that are being played, and I’m wanting for us to get to the bottom of how do we stop the teen takeovers and the delinquent behavior we’ve been seeing,” Parker said.
“I stand by my belief that a curfew policy is a failed policy, kind of smoke and mirrors, and what we really needed is investments in our young people, so I’m pretty firm on that,” Nadeau said.
“We have to choose our tools and the time we use those tools. I’ve supported the curfew in the past, but I think with the current surge of more federal troops that have been impending, we’re putting our youth in even more danger by extending that work. I know the executive has put in an emergency executive order that will fill the gap. I hope that comes alongside extended hours, I’ve funded at DPR, extended weekends, and opening more safe spaces for youth here in the city. And that’s the solution that we do agree on,” Lewis-George said.
The mayor has not confirmed if she’ll issue another order, but it is on the table.
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