Stumpy, a hollow, misshapen cherry tree located on the south bank of the Tidal Basin in Washington, was cut down last Friday alongside dozens of other trees for a sea-wall-rebuilding effort led by the National Park Service.
Washington
Photos of Stumpy: Remembering the beloved, tenacious cherry tree
But Stumpy finally succumbed to a chain saw, and it will soon be mulched and spread across areas of the National Mall.
Stumpy reached celebrity status this spring when it appeared on CBS News’s “Sunday Morning” and “The Drew Barrymore Show.” In addition, Stumpy was visited by a delegation from the Embassy of Japan, two of the Washington Nationals’ Racing Presidents, and the assistant principal trumpet for the National Symphony Orchestra.
Stumpy was a crowd favorite at the Tidal Basin. A line or huddle would often form near the tree as people took turns taking photographs and selfies. The wait could take five to 10 minutes.
Fans of Stumpy desperately tried to save the tree and called for it to be replanted somewhere else, but the Park Service held firm with plans to remove it. “Stumpy would not survive the move,” Matthew Morrison, an arborist for the Park Service, said in an email.
Stumpy’s age was estimated to be 25 by the Park Service. A photo from 14 years ago shows Stumpy was a larger and healthier tree located in a row of large cherry trees along the south bank of the Tidal Basin. But flooding killed many of the trees and distressed others like Stumpy.
After the new sea wall is built, the Park Service will plant 455 trees, including 274 cherry trees. Clones of Stumpy created at the National Arboretum will also be planted.
Stumpy will be remembered as a survivor. It was the little tree that could, the underdog tree, and the perfect Charlie Brown Christmas tree. Stumpy will be a hard act to follow for future trees planted at the Tidal Basin.
Did you get a chance to visit Stumpy this spring during peak bloom, or past years? Please share any thoughts or memories.
Microsoft will ramp up its investment in the University of Washington.
Brad Smith, the company’s president, made the announcement at a press conference with University of Washington President Robert Jones on Tuesday.
That means hiring more UW graduates as interns at Microsoft, he said.
And he said all students, faculty, and researchers should have access to free, or at least deeply-discounted, AI.
“ Some of it is compute that Microsoft is donating, and some of it is pursuant to an agreement where, believe me, we give the University of Washington probably the best pricing that anybody’s gonna find anywhere,” Smith said. He assured the small group of reporters present that it would be “many millions of dollars of additional computational resources.”
The announcement today didn’t include any specific numbers.
But Smith said Microsoft has already invested $165 million in the UW over several decades.
He pointed to Jones’ vision to spur “radical collaborations with businesses and communities to advance positive change,” and eliminate “any artificial barriers between the university and the communities it serves.”
Microsoft’s goal is for AI to help UW researchers solve some of the world’s biggest problems without introducing new ones.
At Tuesday’s announcement, several research students were present to demonstrate how AI supports their work.
Amelia Keyser-Gibson is an environmental scientist at the UW. She’s using AI to analyze photographs of vines, to find which adapt best to climate change.
It’s a paradox: AI produces carbon emissions. At the same time, it’s also a new tool to help reduce them.
So how do those things square for Keyser-Gibson?
“ That’s a great question, and honestly, I don’t know the answer to that,” she said. “I’m highly aware that there’s a lot of environmental impact of using AI, but what I can say is that this has allowed us to make research innovations that wouldn’t have been possible otherwise.”
“If we had had to manually annotate every single image that would’ve been an undergrad doing that for hours,” Keyser-Gibson continued. “And we didn’t have the budget. We didn’t have the manpower to do that.”
“AI exists. If we don’t use it as researchers, we’re gonna fall behind.”
Microsoft reports on its own carbon emissions. But like most AI companies, it doesn’t reveal everything.
That’s one reason another UW student named Zhihan Zhang is using AI to estimate how much energy AI is using.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, who survived a gunshot wound to the head while patrolling with…
WASHINGTON (AP) — Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, who survived a gunshot wound to the head while patrolling with the National Guard in Washington last year, was presented the Purple Heart medal during Trump’s State of the Union address on Tuesday.
Trump honored Wolfe and his colleague, U.S. Army Spc. Sarah Beckstrom during his speech, before pausing so Gen. James Seward, head of the West Virginia National Guard, could pin the medal on Wolfe’s civilian suit.
“With God’s help, Andrew has battled back from the edge of death—and we’re talking about the edge—on his way to a miraculous recovery,” Trump said.
“Nice to see you,” he added, looking up at Wolfe in the gallery.
Trump recalled his mother’s determination that he would recover, even as others doubted it would be possible to survive his severe injuries. She buried her head in her son’s chest as the president spoke.
Wolfe and Beckstrom, members of the West Virginia National Guard, were shot in an ambush on Nov. 26 while deployed to Washington as part of Trump’s executive order to battle what he said was rampant crime. Beckstrom died on Thanksgiving Day.
Trump also spoke directly to Beckstrom’s parents in the gallery.
“Your daughter was a true American patriot and she will be greatly missed,” Trump told Evalea and Gary Beckstrom.
The tributes prompted several minutes of bipartisan applause.
Rahmanullah Lakanwal, who was wounded in the attack, has been charged in connection with the shooting. He has pleaded not guilty and remains in custody. Authorities say he drove across the country from his home in Washington state to execute the attack.
Lakanwal, 29, entered the United States in 2021 through Operation Allies Welcome, officials said. The Biden administration program evacuated and resettled tens of thousands of Afghans after the U.S. withdrawal from the country.
Trump, who halted asylum decisions in response to the shooting, said during his speech that the gunman “shouldn’t have been in our country.”
Copyright
© 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
Washington University issued an all-clear alert Tuesday morning after police completed a search of the Danforth campus.
The university said normal activity on campus could resume and there was no threat.
The university had issued reports of an armed person on the Danforth campus earlier in the morning. University officials asked students to shelter in place while police searched the area around Brookings Hall.
The first alert, issued at 9:18 a.m., read “WashU Alert: Armed person on Danforth Campus. Run, Hide, or Fight. If hiding, lock or barricade yourself in a room until further notice. If off campus, stay away. Updates at emergency.washu.edu.”
A second alert, issued minutes later, said police were on the scene near Brookings Hall and other buildings on the Danforth campus.
This story has been updated.
Sports1 minute ago
‘Things I need to work on.’ Dodgers’ Roki Sasaki struggles in first Cactus League start
World13 minutes ago
Ukraine in the EU – A question of when or if?
News43 minutes ago
How prison staffing shortages are driving away mental health staff : Consider This from NPR
West49 minutes ago
Man who crashed into Nevada substation found dead in car with arsenal in suspected terror incident: sheriff
Midwest55 minutes ago
Don Lemon criticizes churchgoers for not seeing him as a journalist as he tagged along with agitators
Florida1 year ago
Florida High School Football Rankings: Top 25 teams – Oct. 21
Connecticut2 years ago
Cleary's 21 help Le Moyne down Central Connecticut State 69-64 in OT
Oregon2 years ago
How old is Bo Nix? What to know about Oregon quarterback ahead of 2024 NFL Draft
Virginia2 years ago
99th annual Pony Swim held in Virginia
Indiana1 year ago
Indiana Members Credit Union announced as new anchor tenant at Bottleworks District
World13 minutes ago
Ukraine in the EU – A question of when or if?
News43 minutes ago
How prison staffing shortages are driving away mental health staff : Consider This from NPR
News10 hours ago
Video: Trump Heralds Economic Policies in Combative State of the Union Speech
Politics11 hours ago
Voters react as Trump calls Dems ‘crazy’ for not applauding ban on secret teen gender transitions
World12 hours ago
Why Indian PM Modi’s Israel visit matters for Pakistan’s security
-
Montana6 days ago2026 MHSA Montana Wrestling State Championship Brackets And Results – FloWrestling
-
Oklahoma1 week agoWildfires rage in Oklahoma as thousands urged to evacuate a small city
-
Louisiana3 days agoWildfire near Gum Swamp Road in Livingston Parish now under control; more than 200 acres burned
-
Technology5 days agoYouTube TV billing scam emails are hitting inboxes
-
Culture1 week agoTest Your Knowledge of the Authors and Events That Helped Shape the United States
-
Technology4 days agoStellantis is in a crisis of its own making
-
Politics5 days agoOpenAI didn’t contact police despite employees flagging mass shooter’s concerning chatbot interactions: REPORT
-
News5 days agoWorld reacts as US top court limits Trump’s tariff powers