Category Archives: Washington, DC

Man accused of Nazi salute during US Capitol attack jailed for nearly five years

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Tyler Dykes, 26, who said at sentencing he is supporting Trump to be president, pleaded guilty to assault charges

A Marine who stormed the US Capitol and apparently flashed a Nazi salute in front of the building was sentenced on Friday to nearly five years in prison.

Tyler Bradley Dykes, of South Carolina, was an active-duty US marine when he grabbed a police riot shield from the hands of two police officers and used it to push his way through police lines during the attack by a mob of Donald Trump’s supporters on 6 January 2021.

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Bob’s Burgers actor Jay Johnston pleads guilty over role in Capitol attack

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Johnston, 54, faces up to five years in prison after pleading guilty to felony count of civil disorder from January 6 riot

Jay Johnston, an actor best known for his role on the animated comedy show Bob’s Burgers, has pleaded guilty to charges related to his role in the storming of the US Capitol in January 2021.

Johnston, 54, faces a maximum of five years in prison and pleaded guilty to a felony count of civil disorder. He was released on a $25,000 bond in June 2023 after an initial court appearance in California.

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Heatwave scorches US over weekend as midwest sees deadly flooding

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Washington DC, Baltimore and Philadelphia all saw record heat while one person died during flooding in South Dakota

Millions of Americans sweated through a scorching weekend as temperatures soared across the US – while residents were also rescued from floodwaters that forced evacuations across the midwest. One person died during flooding in South Dakota, the governor there said.

From the mid-Atlantic to Maine, across the Great Lakes region, and throughout the west to California, public officials cautioned residents about the dangers of excessive heat and humidity. Forecasters say the heatwave will continue early in the week in the south-east, portions of the south and the Plains, providing the biggest worry in affected areas.

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Ancient Mayan vase purchased by US woman for $4 returned to Mexico

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Anna Lee Dozier bought ceramic vessel at Maryland thrift store but it will now reside in Mexico City’s main museum

Mexico has regained a lost ancient Maya vase because of a US woman who bought the artefact for less than $5 at a thrift store.

Anne Lee Dozier recently received an expression of gratitude from the Mexican embassy in her home town of Washington DC for her role in reuniting the 1,200-to 1,800-year-old vase with its motherland.

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Newly released video shows Saudi man filming locations ahead of 9/11 attacks

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Footage was unsealed in court action by families of victims who claim Saudi government was complicit in event

A 25-year-old video has come to light of a man identified by the FBI as a Saudi intelligence agent filming locations in the center of Washington three months before Al-Qaida decided to carry out the 9/11 attacks.

The footage, shot in the summer of 1999 and in the possession of the FBI, was unsealed in a court action by families of the victims of 9/11, who claim that Saudi Arabia’s government was complicit in the event, which the country’s rulers deny. It was obtained by CBS and shown on the 60 Minutes program.

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US braces for ‘dangerous’ conditions as heatwave to hit midwest and north-east

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Meteorologists warn that heat will spread east through the week, with ‘heat dome’ expected to trap high temperatures

Millions of Americans are facing “dangerously hot conditions”, the National Weather Service said, with a heatwave set to hit the midwest and north-east US from Monday.

Michigan, Ohio and western Pennsylvania were all under heat warnings starting Monday, with alerts in place until Friday evening. Meteorologists warned that the heat will spread east through the week, with a “heat dome” expected to trap high temperatures across New York, Washington DC and Boston.

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Thousands gather at White House for pro-Palestinian protest

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Police use pepper spray as demonstrators unfurl red banner to symbolize Joe Biden’s response to Israel’s war on Gaza

Thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathered outside the White House on Saturday to protest Joe Biden’s response to Israel’s ongoing military strikes on Gaza.

Footage posted to social media showed police using pepper spray on protesters, who faced arrest at the mass demonstration.

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Tornado kills child and injures mother after tree slams into Michigan home

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Storms in US midwest and on east coast cause chaos as workers respond to reports of people trapped in collapsed structures

Tornadoes in the US midwest and on the east coast were causing chaos on Wednesday, killing a two-year-old boy and injuring his mother outside Detroit when a tree fell on their suburban home.

Meanwhile, in Maryland, emergency workers were responding to reports of collapsed structures with people trapped inside after another tornado there.

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Andy Kim wins Democratic primary in race for Bob Menendez’s Senate seat

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Congressman bids to replace Menendez, who plans to run as independent despite being charged with accepting bribes

Democratic congressman Andy Kim has won New Jersey’s Senate primary, putting him in strong position for the general election in the blue-leaning state, though the win comes a day after Democratic senator Bob Menendez filed to run as an independent amid his federal corruption trial.

Menendez, who has denied allegations that he accepted bribes to promote the interests of the Egyptian government, has chosen not to seek the Democratic Senate nomination. Kim’s win comes after a bruising battle that led New Jersey first lady Tammy Murphy to withdraw from the race in March.

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Marian Shields Robinson, mother of Michelle Obama, dies at 86

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Robinson, who moved to White House when Barack Obama won presidency, helped to care for granddaughters Malia and Sasha

Marian Shields Robinson, the mother of Michelle Obama who moved with the first family to the White House when son-in-law Barack Obama was elected president, has died. She was 86.

Robinson’s death was announced in an online tribute by Michelle Obama, and included details of the time she spent living in the White House, as an informal first grandmother to the Obama children.

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Federal authorities investigate near-collision of two planes at Virginia airport

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American Airlines plane forced to abort takeoff at Ronald Reagan Washington national airport as another flight cleared for landing

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating an incident at Ronald Reagan Washington national airport in which a plane was forced to brake to narrowly avoid a collision with another plane, the second near-collision at the airport in less than two months.

At around 10.20am on Wednesday, Boston-bound American Airlines flight 2134, carrying approximately 100 passengers and crew, was cleared for takeoff and began to accelerate.

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Man who crashed truck into White House barriers in 2023 pleads guilty

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Sai Varshith Kandula from Missouri, who was carrying a Nazi flag at time of arrest, said he hoped to overthrow the US government

A Missouri man pleaded guilty on Monday to crashing a rented truck into metal barriers surrounding the White House in May 2023, admitting that he had been “fueled by the ideology of Nazi Germany” and hoped to overthrow the US government.

Sai Varshith Kandula, 20, from Chesterfield, Missouri, and also a citizen of India, pleaded guilty to a single count of damaging federal property. He faces up to 10 years in prison when he is sentenced in August.

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Clarence Thomas: Washington is a ‘hideous place’ of ‘nastiness and lies’

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US supreme court justice gives one-hour talk at meeting of judges, attorneys and other court personnel of 11th circuit court of appeals

Clarence Thomas told attendees at a judicial conference Friday that he and his wife have faced “nastiness” and “lies” over the last several years and decried Washington DC as a “hideous place”.

The US supreme court justice spoke at a conference attended by judges, attorneys and other court personnel in the 11th circuit judicial conference, which hears federal cases from Alabama, Florida and Georgia. He made the comments pushing back on his critics in response to a question about working in a world that seems mean-spirited.

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Dozens reportedly arrested as police clear George Washington University encampment

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The school’s student paper reported arrests as hundreds of Washington DC police dismantled the impromptu tent village

Hundreds of Washington DC police, some deploying pepper spray, cleared a pro-Palestinian encampment at George Washington University early on Wednesday, in the latest clash between law enforcement and protesting students to sweep the US.

The GW Hatchet student paper reported that at least a dozen people had been arrested as the impromptu tent village was dismantled in University Yard. The Metropolitan police department said the arrests had been made for “assault of a police officer” and “unlawful entry”.

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Motorist dies after crashing into White House gate

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Authorities characterized the wreck as ‘only … a traffic crash’ rather than an intentional, politically motivated act

For the second time since January, a motorist crashed into the gates of the White House on Saturday.

The driver in Saturday’s case was pronounced dead at the scene after smashing a speeding car into an outer gate of the US president’s home and workplace. Authorities characterized the wreck as “only … a traffic crash” rather than an intentional or politically motivated act.

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Columbia University calls for inquiry into leadership as student protests sweep 40 campuses

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Professors at Emory University arrested as campuses follow Columbia’s lead in demanding ceasefire and divestment

At least 40 pro-Palestine protest camps have arisen across US campuses following Columbia University’s example earlier this month, as the New York school’s senate called for an investigation into its leadership, the New York Times reported.

While many remain provocative though peaceful, demanding a ceasefire in Gaza and divestment by their institutions from companies with ties to Israel, hundreds of students and outside protesters have been arrested, and there have been some fierce clashes with police.

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One dead and five injured in Washington DC shooting, police say

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Officers confirm man dead and five people, including a nine-year-old and 12-year-old, hospitalized as possibly two shooters at large

One person was killed and multiple people injured, including two children, in a shooting in Washington DC on Wednesday evening.

Police have issued a public alert for the car believed to be carrying the gunman that fled the scene.

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US and UK doctors in Washington to warn of IDF’s ‘appalling atrocities’ in Gaza

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Doctors who have returned from volunteering at besieged hospitals to tell officials aid is meaningless without a ceasefire

A delegation of American and British doctors is in Washington DC to tell the Biden administration the Israeli military is systematically destroying Gaza’s health infrastructure in order to drive Palestinians out of their homes.

The doctors, who have recently returned from volunteering at Gaza’s besieged hospitals, are expected to meet White House officials and senior members of Congress this week to warn that pledges of increased aid to Palestinians under bombardment are largely meaningless without an immediate ceasefire to allow safe distribution of food and the revival of healthcare services.

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RNC elects Trump’s daughter-in-law as co-chair, marking his expanding party influence – as it happened

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This live blog is now closed. For more on Lara Trump’s RNC appointment, you can read our full story:

Rightwing commentators have lambasted the Alabama senator who Republicans chose to deliver the rebuttal to Joe Biden’s State of the Union address.

Katie Britt delivered the Republican response from what appeared to be her kitchen.

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Joe Biden delivers feisty State of the Union address with vision for his second term

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The president needed to appeal to voters as he and Donald Trump are neck and neck in the presidential contest

Joe Biden confirmed a new US mission to deliver aid to Gaza and repeatedly took aim at Donald Trump in his State of the Union address on Thursday, offering a pointed preview of the general election in November.

Biden’s most significant announcement came toward the end of his roughly hour-long speech, when he confirmed that the US military would establish a “temporary pier in the Mediterranean on the coast of Gaza” capable of receiving large shipments of water, food and medicine. Biden pledged the mission will not involve deploying American troops on the ground and would facilitate a significant infusion of supplies into Gaza.

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