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DDC Recognizes First Annual Ambassador Circle Award Winners | Washington DC

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Washington, DC – Destination DC (DDC), the official destination marketing organization for the nation’s capital, today announced its inaugural Ambassador Circle Award recipients. Honorees include some of the leading medical experts in the region, and one of the city’s leading venues.

 

The awards recognize distinguished leaders, innovators and researchers who position Washington, DC as a premier destination for global excellence and innovation. These ambassadors have helped to attract and shape prestigious international conferences, meetings and business events in the greater Washington, DC region with an impact of $51 million (includes forecast for meetings booked through 2029). The recipients were recognized during a luncheon at the Riggs Hotel in downtown Washington.

 

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“We know how important it is to compete for global market share and in doing so, we rely on the advocacy and intellectual capital of our Ambassador Circle members who champion the city as a destination for meetings and events,” said Elliott L. Ferguson, II, president and CEO, DDC. “By engaging the academic community, medical community, universities and research centers to attract investments in innovative and knowledge sectors, we’re able to sustain our city’s reputation for advocacy, excellence and global standing. These ambassadors help connect Destination DC to the networks for their organizations and associations. The result is more international conferences in the nation’s capital, significantly impacting the local economy.”

 

Founded in 2010, the Ambassador Circle program partners with local experts, top innovators, researchers and scholars in a variety of sectors (medical, biotech/pharma, technology, sustainability, education, transportation, financial and tech) to target international meetings. The network is a noteworthy group of professionals in the region who are experts in their respective fields and share a common goal of showcasing the city as a business hub for the international community.

 

“We are grateful to have a strong network of private and public partners who are championing DC as a great place to visit and do business,” said Nina Albert, Acting Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development. “Together, we will tell our story about why there’s Only One DC and ensure we continue to build a vibrant and diverse economic ecosystem here in the District.” 

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The 2024 awards and awardees:

Business Attraction Ambassador Award
Awarded in partnership with the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development Recognizes the contributions and support of an ambassador for the District’s business attraction, retention, and expansion activities. Serves as a champion for promoting DC as a place to do business.
•    JLL

 

Partner Award
Recognizes a DDC member business (or team of businesses) that has leveraged resources, reach and credibility to support international meetings sales and attract visitation to DC from around the world.
•    Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center

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Impact Award
Recognizes an ambassador leading a bid or program associated with a recent or upcoming conference that will have a positive economic and social impact on the city.
•    Andrew B. Wolff, MD | Orthopedic Surgeon | Washington Orthopedics & Sports Medicine, Chairman of the Annual Scientific Meeting for ISHA-The International Hip Preservation Society

Connector Award
Recognizes an individual in the community who eagerly helps DDC make connections through their existing networks. A champion of DDC’s work and a steadfast supporter of the Ambassador Circle program.
•    Cattleya Wongkongkatap, CMP, M.B.A. | Director, University Events | The George Washington University

Leadership Award
Recognizes an ambassador who has demonstrated outstanding guidance, strategic vision and impactful leadership in the organization of a conference.

•    Mitchell Cohen, MD, FACC, FHRS | Co-Director of the Heart Center and Chief of Pediatric Cardiology | Inova Children’s Hospital Clinical Professor of Pediatrics | University of Virginia School of Medicine Chair Scientific Committee, 8th World Congress of Pediatric Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery

Ambassador of the Year
Recognizes an ambassador who has excelled in chairing a major conference and passionately represented our destination, significantly enhancing its profile and appeal.
•    Gil Wernovsky, MD, FAAP, FACC | Cardiac Critical Care Physician and Pediatric Cardiologist | Children’s National Hospital, Professor of Pediatrics | George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Co-Chair, 8th World Congress of Pediatric Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery

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About Destination DC: Destination DC, the official destination marketing organization for the nation’s capital, is a private, non-profit membership organization committed to marketing the area as a premier global convention, tourism and special events destination with a special emphasis on the arts, cultural and historic communities.



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Widespread Verizon outage prompts emergency alerts in Washington, New York City

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Widespread Verizon outage prompts emergency alerts in Washington, New York City


Verizon said on Wednesday that its wireless service was suffering an outage impacting cellular data and voice services.

The nation’s largest wireless carrier said that its “engineers are engaged and are working to identify and solve the issue quickly.”

Verizon’s statement came after a swath of social media comments directed at Verizon, with users saying that their mobile devices were showing no bars of service or “SOS,” indicating a lack of connection.

Verizon, which has more than 146 million customers, appears to have started experiencing services issues around 12:00 p.m. ET, according to comments on social media site X.

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Two hours later, Verizon posted an update on social media, saying that its engineers were “continuing to address today’s service interruptions,” but did not say if a specific reason for the outage had been identified or when it could be resolved.

“We understand the impact this has on your day and remain committed to resolving this as quickly as possible,” the company said.

Despite those efforts, shortly after 4:00 p.m. ET, Verizon issued a third statement that contained little new information. The company said teams were “on the ground actively working to fix today’s service issue.”

Users had initially reported problems with Verizon’s competitors, T-Mobile and AT&T, as well. But both companies said they were not experiencing any service problems.

“T-Mobile’s network is keeping our customers connected, and we’ve confirmed that our network is operating normally and as expected,” a spokesperson told NBC News. “However, due to Verizon’s reported outage, our customers may not be able to reach someone with Verizon service at this time.”

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A spokeswoman for AT&T also said the company’s network was “operating normally.”

A Verizon store in New York City on Jan. 12, 2024.Angus Mordant / Bloomberg via Getty Images

In Washington, D.C., the District’s official emergency notification system sent out a message to residents saying that the Verizon outage was “nationwide.”

“If you have an emergency and can not connect using your Verizon Wireless device, please connect using a device from another carrier, a landline, or go to a police district or fire station to report the emergency,” the AlertDC system told recipients.

New York City’s Office of Emergency Management also said it was aware of the outage without mentioning Verizon by name. The city said it was “working closely with our partners” to review the outage and “assess any potential effects on city agencies & essential services.”



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Vance to meet Danish and Greenlandic officials in Washington on Wednesday

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Vance to meet Danish and Greenlandic officials in Washington on Wednesday


People walk along a street in downtown of Nuuk, Greenland, on Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026.

Evgeniy Maloletka/AP


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Evgeniy Maloletka/AP

NUUK, Greenland — Along the narrow, snow-covered main street in Greenland’s capital, international journalists and camera crews stop passersby every few meters (feet) asking them for their thoughts on a crisis which Denmark’s prime minister has warned could potentially trigger the end of NATO.

Greenland is at the center of a geopolitical storm as U.S. President Donald Trump is insisting he wants to own the island — and the residents of its capital Nuuk say it is not for sale. Trump said he wants to control Greenland at any cost and the White House has not ruled out taking the island by force.

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U.S. Vice President JD Vance will meet Denmark’s foreign minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen and his Greenlandic counterpart Vivian Motzfeldt in Washington on Wednesday to discuss the Arctic island, which is a semiautonomous territory of the United States’ NATO ally Denmark.

Tuuta Mikaelsen, a 22-year-old student, told The Associated Press in Nuuk that she hoped American officials would get the message to “back off.”

Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen told a news conference in the Danish capital Copenhagen on Tuesday that, “if we have to choose between the United States and Denmark here and now, we choose Denmark. We choose NATO. We choose the Kingdom of Denmark. We choose the EU.”

Greenland is strategically important because as climate change causes the ice to melt, it opens up the possibility of shorter trade routes to Asia. That also could make it easier to extract and transport untapped deposits of critical minerals which are needed for computers and phones.

Trump also said he wants the island to expand America’s security and has cited what he says is the threat from Russian and Chinese ships as a reason to control it.

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But both experts and Greenlanders question that claim.

“The only Chinese I see is when I go to the fast food market,” Lars Vintner, a heating engineer told AP. He said he frequently goes sailing and hunting and has never seen Russian or Chinese ships.

His friend, Hans Nørgaard, agreed, adding “what has come out of the mouth of Donald Trump about all these ships is just fantasy.”

Denmark has said the U.S. — which already has a military presence — can boost its bases on Greenland. For that reason, “security is just a cover,” Vintner said, suggesting Trump actually wants to own the island to make money from its untapped natural resources.

Nørgaard told AP he filed a police complaint in Nuuk against Trump’s “aggressive” behavior because, he said, American officials are threatening the people of Greenland and NATO. He suggested Trump was using the ships as a pretext to further American expansion.

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“Donald Trump would like to have Greenland, (Russian President Vladimir) Putin would like Ukraine and (Chinese President) Xi Jinping would like to have Taiwan,” Nørgaard said.

Mikaelsen, the student, said Greenlanders benefit from being part of Denmark which provides free health care, education and payments during study.

“I don’t want the U.S. to take that away from us,” she said.

Ahead of Wednesday’s meeting, Naaja Nathanielsen, Greenland’s minister for business and mineral resources said it’s “unfathomable” that the United States is discussing taking over a NATO ally and urged the Trump administration to listen to voices from the Arctic island’s people.



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HIGHLIGHT | Lawrence Dots a Pass to Washington for a 6-Yard TD

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HIGHLIGHT | Lawrence Dots a Pass to Washington for a 6-Yard TD


DE Dawuane Smoot, LB Foyesade Oluokun, TE Brenton Strange, S Eric Murray, and S Antonio Johnson  speak with the media after practice on Thursday ahead of the Wild Card Matchup vs. Bills.

0:00 – 2:28 – DE Dawuane Smoot

2:29 – 6:24 – LB Foyesade Oluokun

6:25 – 9:25 – TE Brenton Strange

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9:26 – 11:32 – S Eric Murray

11:33 – 13:46 – S Antonio Johnson



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