Washington
'We're the hottest country in the world': Trump's parade rolls through DC
US President Donald Trump’s long dreamed-of military parade has rolled through the streets of downtown Washington.
It comes as demonstrators turn out in force across the country for the biggest protests since Mr Trump’s return to power.
The celebration of the US Army’s 250th anniversary coincided with Mr Trump’s 79th birthday.
Thousands of spectators lined Constitution Avenue near the National Mall to watch the parade.
Some held signs in protest, while others were blocked by police from the parade crowds.
Mr Trump looked on from an elevated viewing stand behind bulletproof glass.
He swore-in 250 army recruits before giving a short speech, where he praised US soldiers who have served.
“We’re the hottest country in the world right now,” he said.
He also issued a warning to “America’s enemies”, before exiting the podium to chants of “USA, USA” from the gathered crowds.
“If you threaten the American people, our soldiers are coming for you,” Mr Trump said.
“Your defeat will be certain. Your demise will be final, and your downfall will be total and complete.”
Military aircraft fly past the Washington Monument. (Reuters: Brian Snyder)
A child waves a US flag. (Reuters: Evelyn Hockstein)
Soldiers in historical military uniforms participate in the parade. (Reuters: Carlos Barria)
Soldiers drive a tank past the Lincoln Memorial. (Reuters: Brian Snyder)
Participants in vintage uniforms participated in the parade. (Reuters: Kevin Mohatt)
‘I don’t see a controversy’
The president was early in his first term of office when he raised his desire to hold a military-style parade.
It’s rare to see displays of military might like these in the US.
The last similar event was in 1991, when tanks and troops paraded through Washington to celebrate the end of the Gulf War
This parade traced the army’s history from its founding during the Revolutionary War through to modern day.
Nearly 7,000 troops and 150 vehicles, including tanks and armoured trucks, took part.
The celebrations will cost the US Army up to $US45 million ($69 million), US officials told Reuters.
This includes the parade itself as well as the cost of moving equipment and housing and feeding the troops.
Critics have called the parade a wasteful, authoritarian display of power, particularly in light of Mr Trump’s ambition to slash federal government spending.
However, Trump supporter Bryan Henrie told Reuters he did not see any problem with the parade.
“I don’t see a controversy. I will celebrate safety and stability any day over anarchy,” the 61-year-old said.
US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump watch the fireworks. (Reuters: Doug Mills)
Fireworks explode over the Thomas Jefferson Memorial. (Reuters: Elizabeth Frantz)
Traffic moves in front of the White House as fireworks illuminate the sky. (Reuters: Jonathan Ernst)
Thousands march in ‘No Kings’ protests
Earlier in the day, thousands marched in largely peaceful protests across Washington and other cities to protest Mr Trump’s policies.
Anti-Trump groups planned nearly 2,000 demonstrations across the country to coincide with the parade.
Many took place under the theme “No Kings”, arguing that no individual was above the law.
However, the protests planned for Minnesota were cancelled after a gunman assassinated a Democratic lawmaker and wounded another.
A man holds a sign while people gather for the military parade. (Reuters: Carlos Barria)
A demonstrator shouts during the No Kings protest at Austin, Texas. (Reuters: Joel Angel Juarez)
A Waymo vehicle burns in the middle of an intersection in LA. (AFP: David Pashaee)
Smoke fills the air as law enforcement officers in riot gear advance during protests in LA. (AFP: David Pashaee
Democratic Minnesota Governor Tim Walz claimed it was a “politically motivated assassination”.
In Los Angeles, protesters faced a large contingent of Marines guarding the Edward Roybal Federal Building downtown — the site of clashes between protesters and officers earlier this week.
The crowd yelled in unison, “Shame! Shame!” and “Marines, get out of LA!”
In Manhattan, protesters carried homemade signs playing off the “No Kings” theme, including one that read “No crown for a clown”.
Actors Susan Sarandon and Mark Ruffalo were among the tens of thousands of people who swarmed the New York City streets.
Mr Ruffalo wore a hat that read “immigrant”.
Trinity Rodman signs record deal with Washington Spirit
USWNT forward Trinity Rodman signed a three-year deal with the NWSL’s Washington Spirit. The deal makes Rodman the highest-paid female footballer in the world.
unbranded – Sport
Washington Spirit goalkeeper Aubrey Kingsbury has announced that she and her husband Matt are expecting a baby in July.
The couple made the announcement in a video on the Spirit’s social media channels, holding a baby goalkeeper jersey on the pitch at Audi Field.
Kingsbury becomes the most recent Spirit star to go on maternity leave, following defender Casey Krueger, midfielder Andi Sullivan and forward Ashley Hatch.
Sullivan gave birth to daughter Millie in July, while Hatch welcomed her son Leo in January.
Krueger announced she was pregnant with her second child in October.
Kingsbury has served as the Spirit’s starting goalkeeper since 2018, and has been named the NWSL Goalkeeper of the Year twice (2019 and 2021).
The 34-year-old has two caps with the U.S. women’s national team, and was named to the 2023 World Cup roster.
The club captain will leave a major void for the Spirit, who have finished as NWSL runner-up in back-to-back seasons.
Sandy MacIver and Kaylie Collins are expected to compete for the starting role while Kingsbury is on maternity leave.
The Spirit kick off their 2026 campaign on March 13 against the Portland Thorns.
YAKIMA, Wash. — Yakima could soon take a major step toward redesigning Sixth Avenue after the Washington State Public Works Board awarded the city a $985,600 loan.
The loan was approved for the design engineering phase of the Sixth Avenue project. The funding can also be used along Sixth Avenue for utility replacement and updated ADA use.
The Yakima City Council must decide whether to accept the award. If the council accepts it, the city’s engineering work will move forward with the design of Sixth Avenue.
The cost of installing trolley lines is excluded from the plan. The historic trolleys would need to raise the funds required to add trolley lines.
The award is scheduled to be discussed during next week’s City Council meeting.
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.
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