D.C. considers gun owners to have insurance
The D.C. Council is considering requiring gun owners to purchase liability insurance before they become licensed to own a gun. The bill would require that gun owners uphold at least a $250,000 policy, which would cover acts of neglect and intentional acts not undertaken in self-defense.
Although many states have considered similar legislation, none have passed the law. The Council will hold a meeting on Thursday to discuss the insurance requirement. The bill was introduced by Councilmember Mary Cheh.
Rock the Bells welcomes virtual Eazy E and Ol’ Dirty Bastard
Rock the Bells announced on Wednesday that Ol’ Dirty Bastard and Eazy E will take the stage during their 10 year anniversary festival. ODB will perform alongside former group Wu-Tang-Clan and Eazy E will accompany Bone Thugz-N-Harmony.
The artists will appear as virtual images, similar to that of the Tupac Shakur performance last year at Coachella, which inspired the revival of the ODB and Eazy E performances.
Rock the Bells has four shows scheduled to go on tour this fall [...]
Beyoncé speaks about Cuba trip
After Jay-z’s comments about the couple’s controversial anniversary trip to Cuba, Beyoncé has spoken up about the vacation that turned into political turmoil. Beyoncé described the trip as beautiful, where she met incredible children. “I visited some incredible entrepreneurs. And it was really educational for me. I learned so much about so many people and the country.”
Lately, Beyoncé’s daughter, Blue, has been receiving the majority of the spotlight, as she has been accompanying mom in Paris while mom performs [...]
Dr. Dre and Iovine donate over $70M for USC center
Hip-hop legend Dr. Dre, and music entrepreneur Jimmy Iovine have donated a combined $70 million to create a new institute at the University of Southern California.
The donation will be used to construct the Jimmy Iovine and Andre Young Academy for Arts, Technology and the Business of Innovation. The program will provide a 4-year undergraduate program for students interested in fields spanning from marketing to computer science to visual arts. The program will include one-on-one mentoring from professional faculty and [...]
Firefighters reassigned after Facebook post
Five D.C. firefighters have been placed on desk duty after making a Facebook post that criticized the D.C. police.
The post includes a picture taken by a firefighter of a D.C. police officer giving the firefighter a traffic ticket. Commentary on the picture included, “This is why we should be careful and take our time getting to incident scenes.”
Police officials believe the post was made in regard to a case in March where a police officer waited 20 minutes [...]
Obama campaigns for gun proposals in Minnesota
President Barack Obama is looking to rally support from the public and law enforcement community in order to ban assault weapons and install universal background checks for gun buyers.
Obama will pitch his proposals in Minnesota on Monday, where officials have been studying ways to reduce gun-related attacks for years. This will be the first time Obama has proposed his controversial gun campaign outside of Washington.
Obama revealed his gun proposal last month in response to the shooting in Newton [...]
2 new viruses could cause global outbreak
Two viruses have caught the attention of global health officials, a novel coronavirus in the Middle East and a new bird flu virus spreading in China. The coronavirus is related to SARS, and spread to France last week. Health officials believe the man infected obtained the virus from Dubai and gave it to his hospital roommate. Officials are now trying to track down all those who have gone to Dubai in the past year.
Since its discovery, the coronavirus has infected [...]
U.S. spy expelled from Russia
Russian television has aired footage provided by Russian secret services claiming that another American spy has been expelled from the country. On Tuesday, Russia ordered a U.S. diplomat to leave the country after allegedly being caught trying to recruit a Russian agent in Moscow.
The Russian footage identifies the man as Ryan Fogle, a third secretary of the U.S. Embassy, who works for the CIA. The footage only revealed a man identified as a Russian agent sitting in the dark and [...]
‘Sesame Street’ adds new Hispanic character
Twenty-six year-old Ismael Cruz will become the new addition to “Sesame Street” playing a character named Armando or “Mando” for short. Armando is from Brooklyn and loves social media and writing short stories.
The addition of Armando will expand the already extensive Hispanic cast on the show, which includes Maria and Luis, who joined the show in 1971 as human characters, and Rosita, the turquoise monster who joined the cast in 1993.
“Sesame Street” directors hope to reflect the population changes [...]
Man charged with murder of wife and stepdaughter
Ronnie Rainey, 59, killed his wife and stepdaughter on Monday and is now facing murder charges for their deaths. According to police, Rainey called police Monday morning and confessed to killing his family and said that he was about to kill himself.
Rainey faces two counts of first-degree murder for the deaths of his wife, Lisa Renee, 50, and his stepdaughter, Ariale Shelton, 27. Rainey also faces one count of attempted murder for shooting at his son.
National Cathedral wins preservation contest
On Monday, the Washington National Cathedral and George Washington’s Mount Vernon estate each won $100,000 grants. The cathedral and the estate competed with 24 other sites in order to in their prize.
The National Cathedral won votes from the public in the span of three weeks, earning nearly 1.4 million points in the Partners and Preservation program. The National Trust for Historic Preservation and American Express announced the winners and awarded over $1 million dollars to sites in the D.C., Virginia, [...]
Councilmember Tommy Wells launches mayoral bid
D.C. Councilmember Tommy Wells will formally announce his candidacy for mayor on Saturday. Wells will be the second candidate to enter the race, following Councilmember Muriel Bowser, who began her campaign in March.
Mayor Vincent Gray has not stated whether he will run for reelection, since his 2010 federal campaign is under federal investigation along with three of his campaign aides pleading guilty to felonies.
Wells is a 56-year-old Democrat who has served on the D.C. Council since 2007.