Allison Keyes – ²İİ®´«Ã½ ²İİ®´«Ã½ Washington's Top ²İİ®´«Ã½ Mon, 31 Oct 2016 02:25:45 +0000 en-US hourly 1 /wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Wtop²İİ®´«Ã½Logo_500x500-150x150.png Allison Keyes – ²İİ®´«Ã½ ²İİ®´«Ã½ 32 32 Scare care: A good scream can do you good /halloween-news/2016/10/scare-care-good-scream-can-good/ /halloween-news/2016/10/scare-care-good-scream-can-good/#respond Mon, 31 Oct 2016 02:25:45 +0000 http://wtop.com/?p=11088931 WASHINGTON — It’s that time of year when some people sit in front of the TV, ready to scream as they watch villain Michael Myers chase Laurie Strode in the classic slasher flick “Halloween” (). But why do people do that to themselves?

Experts say being scared — in a situation where a person can control it — can be good for you.

Jeffrey Goldstein, a psychology expert at Utrecht University in the Netherlands, , “You can be frightened in a movie or play that is designed that way, and that can be a good kind of scared.”

In other words, the film “” is that good kind of scare, but the sweeping the U.S. and the U.K. — not so much.

“This plays with the border of what is unpleasant and threatening and may be violent,” Goldstein said.

Still, scientists say that the pull of scary images — such as the shower scene from or the homemade claw-wielding villain Freddy Krueger stalking his hapless victims in “” — may have been instinctual. Studies have shown that if a person is shown a photo of a flower and a snake, the brain distinguishes the snake first. This was a good thing for our ancestors and our brains haven’t forgotten that lesson.

“Our nervous system gives us a big physical kick,” sociologist Margee Kerr, author of “Scream: Chilling Adventures in the Science of Fear,” . People get a rush of adrenaline and their brains are flooded with dopamine, the same chemical that suffuses your brain when you’re in love.

“Some people really like that natural high,” Kerr said.

Goldstein added that people who enjoy scary entertainment don’t do it alone. He’s observed audiences at horror films for years and has seen people scream and cry. But when the movie is over, the same people seem to be happy.

“Going as a group helps ground you in reality, and you can compare your reactions with others and show others that you are strong enough to take it,” Goldstein explained.

There’s also the fact that you are unlikely to run into a “real” Michael Myers. When the movie is over — even though the ones Myers are in never end in a good way — people can escape their fear and just go home.

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Va. mom dons costumes at kids’ bus stop for cutest reason /fairfax-county/2016/10/va-mom-dons-costumes-kids-bus-stop-cutest-reason/ /fairfax-county/2016/10/va-mom-dons-costumes-kids-bus-stop-cutest-reason/#respond Mon, 24 Oct 2016 09:13:06 +0000 http://wtop.com/?p=10982871 WASHINGTON —If you’re driving in Northern Virginia and see Spider-Man or Doc the Dwarf from “Snow White” at a bus stop — know that it’s a mom sending a message.

Julie Mudrick dresses up in a costume every school day in October to pick her kids up from the bus stop. Mudrick has dressed as everyone from Abraham Lincoln to the grandpa from the movie “Up.” The kids on the bus even sang the theme from Batman the day she showed up as the caped crusader, .

She also chronicles her creative costuming on .

The mother of five said she started all of this to show her shy son, who was a  third-grader when all this began, that it is OK to stand out and be different.

“He was just so worried about life, had to be perfect in everything, was worried about what other people thought of him, just really taking life seriously,”  Mudrick  said. “I just thought, ‘You’re only 8, and I don’t want you to live your life like that.'”

So one time, when she happened to be at the store with her kids, she picked up some funny glasses that make your eyes bigger and a clown nose — and wore them to her kids’ bus stop.

“My kids kind of came off the bus and rolled their eyes, and kind of laughed at mom because mom does stuff like that,” she said. “And then I just thought. You know what? I’m going to dress like this every day in October.  I just thought it’d be fun.”

Mudrick said her son is still relatively quiet, but he has fun. “He is not so worried about what other people think,” she said.

In fact, he told her that he plans to dress up with his mom when he enters middle school next year.

“For him to be able to say that–I thought that’s great,” Mudrick said.

Now she’s inspired other moms from Illinois to Texas to Arizona, who are using the hashtag #busstopcostumes. Mudrick says she’s going to keep it up in order to teach her kids and others that we are here to have joy.

A photo posted by J Mud (@busstopcostumes) on

A photo posted by J Mud (@busstopcostumes) on

A photo posted by J Mud (@busstopcostumes) on

A photo posted by J Mud (@busstopcostumes) on

²İİ®´«Ã½’s Liz Anderson contributed to this report.

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Exhibit offers glimpse of life through the eyes of refugees /dc/2016/10/exhibit-offers-glimpse-life-eyes-refugees/ /dc/2016/10/exhibit-offers-glimpse-life-eyes-refugees/#respond Sat, 01 Oct 2016 20:23:40 +0000 http://wtop.com/?p=10734351 WASHINGTON —  Tanya Brice wandered toward the back of a group touring the “Forced From Home” exhibition with tears in her eyes.

Brice said she’s aware of the humanitarian work done by the international aid group Doctors Without Borders and said she was horrified that there are people in the United States who want to keep some of the millions affected by the global refugee crises off of American soil.

“This is not a political pawn thing, this is a real thing,” said Brice, who’s from Columbia, South Carolina. “It is clear we have allowed humanity to be lost in the name of politics. This is a reminder that we need to fight for human rights.â€

The “this†Brice was referring to was the nearly 10,000 square-foot exhibition at the National Mall that takes visitors on a tour, led by actual aid workers, depicting what life is like for more than 65 million displaced people. That number includes refugees who fled persecution and war, people who were forced from their homes inside of their nations, and those seeking asylum in another country.

“Forced From Home” will be in D.C. through Oct. 9.

 

People who visit the exhibition on 14th Street, across from the Washington Monument, can go through the tour and consider the reasons people flee, how they manage medical issues, and the housing and legal challenges facing displaced people around the world.

Dr. Africa Stewart, an OB-GYN, recalled her introduction to Sudan in 2011. Almost immediately upon her arrival from the U.S., Stewart had to tell a family that the baby they were expecting would not survive. The pregnant mother, father and their children had walked for at least two days. They had been forced to leave the land where they had buried another child, knowing they would never be able to return.

“They were smiling,” said Stewart, with tears rolling down here face. “It never occurred to me that the ability to deliver a child and bury it in free soil would be joyful. … The war they had endured for 50 years was over and their … children could be free.”

The exhibition is meant to build awareness, not to make a political statement, according to John Lawrence, board of directors president for MSF, the abbreviation for the French name of the group, Medecins sans frontiers.

“We want people to see what we experience,” Lawrence said. “When you meet people on the move they become individuals with stories that deserve our compassion.”

Visitors begin the tour with a 360-degree video that brings them up close and personal with families and aid workers in refugee camps. They have a chance to choose what personal belongings they would take if they were forced to flee, visit medical tents and see what those displaced deal with there, as well as peruse conditions in refugee camps. They also have the chance to find ways to get involved.

Stewart said she is always we recruiting so that people can “use their gifts and talents to make things better for someone else.”

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A visit to the Smithsonian’s African American history museum /dc/2016/09/visit-smithsonians-african-american-history-museum/ Fri, 23 Sep 2016 09:32:07 +0000 http://wtop.com/?p=10571971 WASHINGTON — After nearly four years of construction and more than a century of various efforts, the National Museum of African American History and Culture opens on the National Mall on Saturday.

The opening ceremonies, including a formal dedication by President Barack Obama, begin at 9 a.m. The museum opens to the public at 1 p.m. Timed passes are required for entry to the museum, and they were snapped up weeks ago. As of Friday morning, the next available passes were for Nov. 15.

The festivities (all of which are free of charge) include the Freedom Sounds festival – three days of music on the Washington Monument grounds. Friday’s program runs from noon to 5 p.m.; Saturday’s shows are from 1 to 5 and from 6 to 9, the latter featuring The Roots, Public Enemy and Living Colour; Sunday’s music is on the same schedule, with the second concert featuring Experience Unlimited, Meshell Ndegeocello and Angelique Kidjo.

Harriet Tubman’s shawl on display at the National Museum of African American History and Culture. (²İİ®´«Ã½/Allison Keyes)

EDITOR’S NOTE: ²İİ®´«Ã½â€™s Allison Keyes attended a tour of the museum Sept. 14, and spoke with some of the curators and officials about the museum and its exhibits. All photos can be enlarged by clicking on them.

Among the artifacts collected and preserved by the museum are 39 belongings of abolitionist and Underground Railroad conductor Harriet Tubman, including her hymn book. If you open it gently, the pages fall open to her favorite songs, including “Swing Low Sweet Chariot,” which was performed at her funeral.

“We have her fork and knife,” says NMAAHC’s John Franklin. “We have her funeral program. We have the lace shawl that Queen Victoria gave her.”

The beautiful shawl and hymn book are on display together, in a glass case. People at the preview day stopped to stare, entranced by things that belonged to a woman who escaped slavery and helped hundreds of other enslaved people escape bondage. The museum also has images of Tubman that almost no one has seen.

It’s all part of the more than 3,000 on display in the 12 inaugural exhibitions, including Slavery and Freedom, where Tubman’s items can be seen. He says that much of the museum’s collection of 37,000 items was donated by families across the nation who gave up their own treasures, because they wanted their stories to be told.

 

Carla Hall
Carla Hall, the Chew co-host and Top Chef alum, poses for a photo inside the North Star Cafe at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington. The restaurant is a journey through the agricultural south, Creole coast, northern states and the Southwest. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

“I JUST GOT A LITTLE TEARY,” says celebrity chef Carla Hall.

She’s talking about the emotion she felt as she walked into the museum, where she is culinary ambassador for the facility’s Sweet Home Cafe. Hall says some of the items on the menu mirror the migration of African Americans, including from the South and the Creole coast.

“Shrimp and grits — grits [are] very important in the South — Brunswick stew,” Hall ticks off.

The menu also includes “Our Version” buttermilk fried chicken with black pepper cornmeal waffles, and a pan-fried Louisiana catfish po’boy with a smoked red pepper rémoulade and green bean pickles. There’s also a New York City oyster pan roast and “Son of a Gun Stew,” with braised short ribs, turnip, corn, potato, sun-dried tomato and barley.

“You have just as much of an exhibition in the cafe as you do in the museum,” Hall says.

She adds that there are tables where people can gather, reflect and discuss things, the way you would at the table at home. Hall says the dishes tell the story of the black people who have migrated through the nation.

 

railway car (Courtesy Smithsonian Institution)
The segregation-era Southern Railway Car
No. 1200 is at the African American History and Culture Museum. This 44-seat railway car was a segregated passenger car from 1940-1960. (Courtesy Smithsonian Institution)

THE SEGREGATED SOUTHERN RAILWAY passenger train car ran routes in Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia and Florida between 1940 and 1960.

“We want to make the whole concept of segregation and discrimination not abstract, but concrete and real,” says Spencer Crew, a curator at the museum. “We want to make people understand what that meant in … the lives of African-Americans in this country.”

That means understanding what “separate but equal†really meant for blacks.

“You were seen as different; you were seen as not the same level of importance as other individuals and it was something that was put in your face whenever you would travel, especially on a train,” Crew explained.

He said segregation dashed the hopes of blacks who thought they would be treated equally after the end of slavery.

“It meant a whole new set of challenges and struggles they faced in order to make the country really adhere to the idea that everyone is a citizen, and [that] everyone who is a citizen has certain rights that must be respected,” Crew said.

He added that the struggle continues today.

 

A former slave cabin on display in the National Museum of African American History and Culture. (²İİ®´«Ã½/Allison Keyes)
A former slave cabin on display in the National Museum of African American History and Culture. (²İİ®´«Ã½/Allison Keyes)

THE SLAVE CABIN used to be at the Point of Pines Plantation, on Edisto, SC. A team took it apart, piece by piece, and rebuilt it inside the museum.

“It was like seeing a person come back to life,” says Mary Elliott, a museum specialist. She stood inside of it before it was reassembled.

“Even without the siding, I could see the walls. I could feel the people; I could hear their voices. That was powerful,” Elliott said.

Curator Nancy Bercaw says the Slavery and Freedom exhibition, where you can see the cabin, focuses on the human story, not the story of blacks or whites alone.

“It’s obviously a shared experience. What would happen if you were put in this particular situation? What does it mean to wake up one morning and have your infant child taken away from you? That’s not something that’s just black or white,” Bercaw says, adding that when the exhibition was being put together, “what we thought about long and hard [about] was always to go for what was profoundly human.”

Bercaw says it’s a shared history, and she wants people who visit this gallery to feel the human cost.

 

Chuck Berry's 1973 Cadillac Eldorado is on display at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016, during a press preview. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Chuck Berry’s 1973 Cadillac Eldorado is on display at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016, during a press preview. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

CHUCK BERRY’S CADILLAC is also here. So is Michael Jackson’s fedora from his 1992 Victory Tour. But many other artifacts will make you think, or cry, instead of smile and sing. There are lunch-counter stools from Greensboro, North Carolina, where demonstrators held nonviolent sit-ins to desegregate a department store.

“It speaks to a young generation saying, ‘We no longer want things to go slowly; we want them to go faster,'” Crew said. “‘We’re going to stimulate that by sitting in and refusing to comply with the law to say the law is wrong and you need to change it.'”

He pointed out many things he thinks people should see inside the museum, including a Tiffany clock from the 19th century that once adorned the outside of a Nashville bank owned by black businessmen who couldn’t get loans elsewhere.

“I think it will surprise people to see the kind of steps the African-American community was willing to take and able to take to address their own needs and their own issues,” Crew said. But he notes these are just two of the more than 3,000 items on display in 12 exhibitions.

 

A view inside the National Museum of African American History and Culture as crews prepare the lobby for the museum's opening Sept. 24. (²İİ®´«Ã½/Allison Keyes)
A view inside the National Museum of African American History and Culture as crews prepare the lobby for the museum’s opening Sept. 24. (²İİ®´«Ã½/Allison Keyes)

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DC-wide celebration announced to welcome newest Smithsonian museum /dc/2016/09/dc-wide-celebration-announced-to-welcome-newest-smithsonian-museum/ /dc/2016/09/dc-wide-celebration-announced-to-welcome-newest-smithsonian-museum/#respond Wed, 07 Sep 2016 22:00:25 +0000 http://wtop.com/?p=10443956 WASHINGTON — D.C. will throw open its doors to the tens of thousands of visitors expected to attend the official opening of the Smithsonian’s newest museum with parties, festivals and much more planned.

More than 150,000 people are expected to attend the dedication ceremony for the National Museum of African American History and Culture on Sept. 24. But a welcoming committee has planned a citywide celebration.

“We’re welcoming the new kid to the block,” said Frank Smith, co-host of the D.C. Host Committee and founding director of the African American Civil War Memorial Museum.

Smith said the many events planned will draw the new museum’s crowds out into the city’s neighborhoods, like U Street, which was once known as “Black Broadway.”

“You can do a lot on the mall, but you can’t do Ben’s (Chili Bowl), you can’t do the Florida Avenue Grill, you can’t do Oohhs and Aahs,” Smith said.

He said the new museum will raise the profile of African American contributions to history, and there’s been a long wait for the institution.

“It’s taken us nearly 100 years to build this monument on the mall, and we are underrepresented in presentations on the mall,” Smith said. “We’re happy to have this new museum among our ranks because among other things, they will increase the amount of African American participation in our museum community in Washington, D.C.”

John Franklin, director of partnerships for the Museum of African American History and Culture, said opening day will be a huge deal.

“Consider this on the scale of a small inauguration,” Franklin said.

President Barack Obama will cut the ribbon on the National Mall. A musical prelude begins at 9 a.m., and the dedication ceremony begins at 10 a.m. Jumbotrons will be set up outside, and the public is invited to watch from the grounds of the Washington Monument nearby.

Already, more than 25 watch parties are scheduled at multiple sites in all 8 wards in D.C. The planned watch parties range from the African American Civil War Memorial Museum to the Church of Scientology to the Academy for Ideal Education.

A three-day festival is also planned that weekend on the Washington Monument grounds featuring performances by The Roots and Public Enemy plus storytelling, dance performances, food, workshops and more.

The African American Civil War Memorial Museum, on Vermont Avenue NW just off U Street, will offer free shuttles between the mall and the Civil War museum.

But the celebrations will begin even before opening day.

“We’ll have a foot-stompin’ celebration at Shiloh (Baptist Church),” Smith said. That event is set for 5 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 18.

That same day, a Black Love United & Vision Festival is planned at St. Elizabeth’s East Gateway D.C. Pavilion. On Sept. 22, an official welcome reception will be held at the African American Civil War Museum.

For those hoping to visit the museum that first weekend, have been released and quickly taken. Same-day passes will be available beginning Sept. 26.

Franklin also provided a sneak peak of what visitors will see once they have the chance to visit.

Items on display will include a bow tie and lace handkerchief belonging to abolitionist and legendary Underground Railroad conductor Harriet Tubman, the slave revolt leader Nat Turner and a training plane used by the Tuskegee Airmen.

More than half of the objects in the new collection were provided by individuals and families, Franklin said.

“People have given their treasures from around the country,” he said.

For a complete list of events, visit do .

Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser would host a reception.

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Extended hours, extra passes for new Smithsonian museum opening /dc/2016/09/extended-hours-extra-passes-new-smithsonian-museum-opening/ /dc/2016/09/extended-hours-extra-passes-new-smithsonian-museum-opening/#respond Mon, 05 Sep 2016 08:18:51 +0000 http://wtop.com/?p=10398716 WASHINGTON — The newest Smithsonian Museum is offering visitors another chance to get the hottest ticket in town.

Entry passes for the opening weekend of the National Museum of African American History and Culture vanished in less than 15 minutes after reservations opened online and by telephone.

Now, the museum is extending its hours and offering more than 80,000 additional timed entry passes.

“People will be able to go online or call and get passes,” said the museum’s Beverly Morgan-Welch. “So many want to visit,” she said. The museum will open on Sept. 24. President Barack Obama will lead the dedication ceremony and cut the opening ribbon. The museum will be open until 8 p.m. on opening day.

The schedule for opening weekend is:

  • Saturday, Sept. 24: 1 p.m to 8 p.m.
  • Sunday, Sept. 25: 7 a.m. to midnight

Extended hours after opening weekend are:

  • Monday-Friday, Sept. 26 to 30: 10 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
  • Saturday, Oct. 1: 10 a.m. to midnight
  • Sunday, Oct. 2: 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

On Tuesday, Sept. 6, at 9 a.m. people will be able to get timed entry passes for Sept. 24 to Oct. 2.

. There’s no limit on how long visitors may stay inside.

Same-day passes will be available beginning Sept. 26. These can be obtained in person at the museum starting at 9:15 a.m.

For more information on obtaining entry passes, go to the .

“We were concerned we would have these long lines of people waiting outside the museum,” Morgan-Welch said. “You have to get in line, go through a security screening, and the last thing you want is people who are disappointed and standing in line by the thousands.”

She said it will also allow the museum to control the flow of people through its five floors, 12 exhibitions and 3,000 objects on display.

Some may be overwhelmed with emotion, and the museum staff has been trained to handle that. Morgan-Welch said people have been waiting a long time for this museum to open.

“This museum has been so many years in the minds and hearts and dreams of people,” she said, “We know for at least 100 years from veterans of the Civil War.”

Large crowds are expected for the dedication ceremony and for “Freedom Sounds: A Community Celebration,” a free three-day music festival running from Sept. 23 to Sept. 25.

The public may watch the ceremony from the grounds of the Washington Monument, and on Jumbotrons around the site.

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Community remembers young Md. rapper who was shot, killed /prince-georges-county/2016/08/community-remembers-young-md-rapper-shot-killed/ /prince-georges-county/2016/08/community-remembers-young-md-rapper-shot-killed/#respond Sun, 28 Aug 2016 08:27:58 +0000 http://wtop.com/?p=10273766 WASHINGTON — The death of an 18-year-old rapper from Suitland, Maryland, continues to shock members of his community, especially those closest to him, as they held a vigil in his honor Saturday afternoon. Douglas Brooks, known as rapper “Swipey,” was shot and killed near his home in the early hours of Aug. 21.

“It just don’t seem real,” Brooks’ brother, Romilli Harris, said. “I be out there looking for him. It’s like I’m going crazy or something.”

As an up-and-coming rapper, Brooks had performed with Wale, one of the most well-known D.C. rappers. Brooks’ godfather, Paul Frazier, says his godson’s death is a major loss for the D.C. area, especially for the local music scene.

“Swipey’s one of the best in putting words together, an intelligent young man, and just really understanding music, and kids from down to [age] 8 to older guys at [age] 28 can listen to him and vibe to him,” he said.

Frazier thinks the young rapper may have been targeted because of his success, and said that “the youth can’t see one another progress.”

Prince George’s County police are investigating the shooting, but have not identified a suspect.

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Passes for new Smithsonian museum opening weekend gone in minutes /dc/2016/08/passes-new-smithsonian-museum-opening-weekend-gone-minutes/ /dc/2016/08/passes-new-smithsonian-museum-opening-weekend-gone-minutes/#respond Sun, 28 Aug 2016 01:12:02 +0000 http://wtop.com/?p=10270561 WASHINGTON — Free timed entry passes to the opening weekend for the Smithsonian’s quickly disappeared after they became available Saturday morning — leading some frustrated pass-seekers to vent on social media.

A limited amount of passes, allowing visitors hourly, 15-minute entry windows for the Sept. 24-25 opening weekend, became available online and by phone at 9 a.m., but the passes went like hotcakes. In fact, by 9:14 a.m., all the passes for Sept. 24 — when President Barack Obama is expected to headline a formal dedication ceremony — were gone.

“We’re very sorry for that,” said Beverly Morgan-Welch, the museum’s associate director for external affairs. “Between 9 and 9:15 a.m. we had more than 20 times the average number of visitors … and as we were updating the website, it may have caused some users to experience a slowness or an error in attempting to access the information … but tens of thousands were able to access the site.”

On Saturday, users complained to ²İİ®´«Ã½, and on the museum’s website and that they couldn’t find a link online to reserve passes.

Others, like Denise Bradley-Walker, railed on Facebook that she booked a flight to attend the opening only to find them “sold out.” “Major disappointment,” she wrote in a post on the museum’s Facebook page.

The museum has issued free timed passes to ease the rush of visitors. Each person can request up to six passes and can stay at the museum for as long as they like, once inside the museum. The passes are expected to be around for at least a year.

“We are committed to a 12-month pilot program to see how this works because we have to make sure everybody is safe and secure, and able to get into the museum easily,” Morgan-Welch said, and added that NMAAHC staff members were psyched at the level of demand.

“We’re thrilled, we’re delighted; we know we are loved and long-awaited,” she said. “The demand for entry to this museum is more than we could have anticipated.â€

Visitors to the museum have been warned to expect huge crowds and a thorough security screening. But Morgan-Welch said there were other considerations, like how long people will stay in a place that has many artifacts that may be overwhelming to see — such as the silk and lace shawl given to abolitionist and Underground Railroad conductor Harriet Tubman, and a slave cabin brought from South Carolina and rebuilt inside the museum.

“We’ve trained our visitors’ services staff — more than 250 of them — to help people who are going to be overwhelmed. … You can’t just say, ‘Move along.’ We are so concerned about the comfort and giving people the time to take this in,” Morgan-Welch said.

At the time this story was published, passes were though those reservations were going fast. Children and infants will also need passes in order to gain entry.

Morgan-Welch said that some of the free passes have shown up for sale online, but noted that such passes might not be honored because each ticket has an individual code.

“That’s why we only released them through October,†she said. “We didn’t want people abusing this system and trying to sell these free passes.”

Those unable to get a timed entry pass for the opening weekend need not despair.

At 9 a.m. Sept. 24, President Obama will headline a formal dedication ceremony for the museum, outdoors on the side of the building facing Madison Avenue. No tickets are required for this, but there is limited seating for those who aren’t invited guests. There will be Jumbotrons, and the event will be livestreamed on NMAAHC’s website.

Morgan-Welch said security will be available to help people with physical disabilities get as close as possible.

Also, from Sept. 23 through Sept. 25, the museum will host a Freedom Sounds Festival, which is free and open to the public. The event will include musical performances, appearances by notable individuals such as activist-poet Sonia Sanchez, storytelling, spoken word and a drum circle. There will be two tented stages offering local, national and international performers.

On Sept. 26, same-day passes — limited to four per visitor — will be available at the museum and distributed at 9:15 a.m. Timed passes for November and December will be released in September.

To request passes by phone, call 800-514-3849 or 919-653-0443 from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and noon to 8 p.m. Sunday. Passes are .

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Emergency law mandates defibrillators, CPR training /dc/2016/08/emergency-law-mandates-defibrillators-cpr-training/ /dc/2016/08/emergency-law-mandates-defibrillators-cpr-training/#respond Tue, 16 Aug 2016 12:45:05 +0000 http://wtop.com/?p=10073801 WASHINGTON — Ward 5 Councilman Kenyan McDuffie thinks defibrillators are an important tool for safety in the District.

Automated external defibrillators “help save lives,” McDuffie said, “and we should make sure they are available wherever people congregate in D.C.”

McDuffie is the force behind  setting up CPR training and emergency medical application training for employees in D.C. public and charter schools, in District Parks and Recreation Facilities and in all other District government buildings.

The legislation also requires that employees and students learn CPR and how to use an AED — and it requires that each school have at least one defibrillator on site.

“A victim’s chance of survival can double or triple if CPR is performed, ” McDuffie said. “Every student trained in CPR is a potential lifesaver.”

²İİ®´«Ã½ asked McDuffie about a recent incident at the Marriott Wardman Park, where a contractor doing work there on Aug. 6 suffered a heart attack. Two journalists at the scene of a convention gala rushed to perform CPR, but there was no AED on site. D.C. Fire and EMS says emergency crews arrived in about five minutes.

The hotel is not required to have a defibrillator under current D.C. code, and said in a statement that it requires “all Marriott branded hotels worldwide to implement an [AED] program where required by applicable law.” But the council member says perhaps that code should be changed.

“What it boils down to is about saving lives,” McDuffie said. “I think we need to explore access to AEDs where many residents congregate such as hotels … and in public places.”

He notes that other jurisdictions are moving to expand access to defibrillators and training people how to use them, and he thinks D.C. should be moving in that direction as well — with a caveat.

“It’s important to me to make sure stakeholders have a seat at the table, so whatever we can do can be implemented and can lead to lives being saved and won’t just be an onerous bill that won’t be able to be implemented,” McDuffie said.

Some of those stakeholders include hotel associations, hospitals and the District’s Department of Health.

“We want to help and save lives in the District of Columbia,” McDuffie said. “That’s the goal.”

 

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Meat from euthanized geese now on menu at DC homeless shelters /dc/2016/08/meat-euthanized-geese-now-menu-dc-homeless-shelters/ /dc/2016/08/meat-euthanized-geese-now-menu-dc-homeless-shelters/#respond Thu, 11 Aug 2016 00:11:42 +0000 http://wtop.com/?p=9975896 WASHINGTON — What’s bad for the goose may be good for the hungry.

The National Park Service and the D.C. Department of Energy and Environment have donated about 100 pounds of breast meat from captured and euthanized geese to a D.C. nonprofit that makes meals for homeless shelters and after-school programs, the two agencies announced Wednesday.

If you live near Anacostia Park, you may be familiar with the haunting honking of the Canada geese that once used the park as a migrating stop, but now stay in the District year round. In July, NPS started trying to restore the wetlands at the park, which are among the last remaining tidal wetlands in the D.C. area. But an “an overabundant resident goose population” that fed on wetland plants was hindering those efforts, the agencies said in a news release.

The two agencies moved to reduce the number of geese by what it calls “lethal control,” which includes capturing and euthanizing geese.

The breast meat from 365 geese was donated Wednesday to the D.C. Central Kitchen, which prepares meals for homeless shelters, rehabilitation clinics and after-school programs.

Maybe the chefs there will sear the goose breast meat, and serve it with poached pears as author Hank Shaw suggested . Shaw also noted that the neck of a big Canada goose can be stuffed with ground goose meat and spices, and roasted so that it can be made into sausages. Allrecipies.com also lists many , ranging from Canada goose in sweet chili sauce to wild goose breasts with orange glaze.

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2 journalists save hotel guest after heart attack; friend starts fundraiser /dc/2016/08/journalists-save-hotel-guest-heart-attack/ /dc/2016/08/journalists-save-hotel-guest-heart-attack/#respond Tue, 09 Aug 2016 01:30:20 +0000 http://wtop.com/?p=9925741 WASHINGTON — A man at the Marriott Wardman Park is thankful after two journalists rushed to his aid after he suffered a heart attack.

Steven DeLuca, 50, of Silver Spring, was just doing his job Saturday night at the hotel when things took a turn for the worst.

“We were standing there and he just fell back,” said his friend and co-worker, Aaron LaMere.

The men work as entertainment scenic artists. They were setting up for a conference at the hotel this week when DeLuca suddenly collapsed and had a heart attack. According to a statement from the hotel, he was working as an employee of a third-party vendor contracted by a group that was meeting at the hotel.

LaMere recalled, “He wasn’t really breathing … so that’s when we started shouting for people to call 911.”

Two journalists attending an event at the hotel Saturday night rushed to help DeLuca. They were there for the joint convention of the National Association of Black Journalists and National Association of Hispanic Journalists and were on their way to the ballroom.

Jacksonville CBS 47/Fox 30 Action ²İİ®´«Ã½ photojournalist Brandon Bryant and Marketplace reporter Kimberly Adams saw DeLuca go down, and performed CPR on him before medical personnel arrived. Emergency crews arrived in about 5 minutes, according to D.C. Fire and EMS.

Bryant is outraged that the hotel did not have a defibrillator. LaMere, who says he was AED certified in 2001, was also surprised.

“My only thought was … why don’t they have an AED in a hotel — this hotel — especially with the number of people in the hotel,” LaMere wondered.

“You’ve got to make sure that you have this machine in case of emergencies,” Bryant added. “There’s not one in here. I’m watching families with babies; I’ve seen little kids in this hotel.â€

Doctors at George Washington University Hospital plan to keep DeLuca through this week; they’re planning to implant a defibrillator in his body. The father of three is in ICU where doctors are trying to figure out why he had the heart attack.

In the mean time, , hoping to raise $10,000 to help the family defray expenses while DeLuca is laid up.

“We’re in a segment of the entertainment industry that is made up of freelance people, so if we don’t work, we don’t get paid,” LaMere said. “GoFundMe is a way for me to take additional stress off him and his family so they don’t have to worry about paying hospital expenses.”

Doctors say DeLuca will be hospitalized for up to six days and they told Bryant that he and the second journalist saved the victim’s life.

“It’s been a sigh of relief for me. I’ve been praying for him,” Bryant said. “I don’t want to be called a hero … I look at this man as my brother, and we should all be our brother’s keepers no matter what.”

The Marriott Wardman Park spokesman also said in the email statement Monday afternoon that a 911 call was immediately made.

Also, it clarified its defibrillators policy, writing that it “has a policy requiring all Marriott branded hotels, worldwide, to implement an automatic external defibrillator (‘AED’) program where required by applicable law. In the event of any medical emergency, our hotel employees are instructed to contact local emergency medical professionals to assist individuals who may require medical attention.”

LaMere says the incident was terrifying. “The thought running through my mind was how do I call his wife and tell her [that] her husband is dead,” he said. “It was definitely a lot of stress and a lot of emotion and a lot of things going on at once.”

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Prince George’s County families get ready for school /prince-georges-county/2016/08/prince-georges-county-families-get-ready-for-school/ /prince-georges-county/2016/08/prince-georges-county-families-get-ready-for-school/#respond Sat, 06 Aug 2016 21:14:08 +0000 http://wtop.com/?p=9902731 UPPER MARLBORO, Md. — Grinning parents with excited kids in tow swarmed the Show Place Arena in Upper Marlboro on Saturday, picking up everything they needed to get their students in classrooms when school starts on Aug. 23.

At the sixth annual Prince George’s County Back to School Fair, families could do everything from getting immunizations, to picking up free backpacks.

Anjeanette Randolph brought her daughters, Anjee, 18 and Anaya, 5.

“It’s a whole lot of help to us,” she said. “We need it.”

Anjee Randolph is graduating next year, and she’s excited for school to begin. “Because I’m going to see my teacher and my friends,” she said.

But her little sister, Anaya, is the opposite of that. She’s starting kindergarten. “I like the playground, but not the classroom,” Anaya said.

Outside of the crowded tables spread across the floor of the arena, Geraldine Alot was carrying boxes on her head, and her three kids were loaded down, as well.

“Back home in my country we always carry stuff on our heads,” Alot said. The Cameroon native said the family was expecting good things this year, and they got everything from markers and books to ponchos.

“We are looking forward to performing well because we’ve already got all of this stuff for school so we are ready to  go back,” Alot said.

Parents were able to get information on different schools, and learn about everything from registration requirements to how to get into a lottery for specialty program schools including French immersion and Talented and Gifted Center programs.

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Theft charges against a Montgomery Co. home health care worker /montgomery-county/2016/08/theft-charges-montgomery-co-home-health-care-worker/ /montgomery-county/2016/08/theft-charges-montgomery-co-home-health-care-worker/#respond Sat, 06 Aug 2016 10:24:52 +0000 http://wtop.com/?p=9897646 WASHINGTON — Montgomery County Police are asking the public for help in finding more possible victims of a home health care worker charged with theft.

They arrested Elizabeth Johnson, 37, of Cherry Hill Road in Beltsville, on Aug. 2. She was released after posting a $1,000 bond.

A press release said that police went to a home in the Norbeck area on March 21 after an 88-year-old woman recuperating from surgery reported several pieces of jewelry missing after Johnson was assigned to work at her home.

Police spoke to the company that employed Johnson and discovered that she had been fired after a different client reported missing jewelry after Johnson provided services in December 2015.

Johnson was charged with one count of theft but detectives are concerned that she may have committed other thefts while providing home health care services.

Police are asking anyone with information  to call 240-773-5531.

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FTC: Pricey pet food won’t help Fido live longer /consumer-news/2016/08/ftc-pricey-petfood-wont-help-fido-live-longer/ /consumer-news/2016/08/ftc-pricey-petfood-wont-help-fido-live-longer/#respond Fri, 05 Aug 2016 17:45:54 +0000 http://wtop.com/?p=9885391 WASHINGTON — A pet food maker has settled federal charges of false advertising for claiming that its Eukanuba food helped extend the life of dogs by almost a third.

Mars Petcare will face no fines. But the company is barred from claiming that Eukanuba or any of its other pet food products can extend a dog’s life, the Federal Trade Commission .

However future violations of the commission’s order could result in civil penalties of $40,000.

The commercials featured soothing music and happy-looking Labrador retrievers running across green fields. The dogs sported a bit of gray around their muzzles, but the company claimed that thanks to eating their food, the dogs are living longer than the 12-year average life span for their breed.

The ads pointed to a 17-year-old dog, a grinning black lab chasing a soccer ball, along with a graphic saying the dogs were living 30 percent longer than their typical life spans. All of this thanks to the dog food that ranges in price from $14.99 to $57.99.

But the commission says none of that is true — even though the ad cites a 10-year scientific study.

“Pet owners count on ads to be truthful and not to misrepresent health-related benefits. In this case, Mars Petcare simply didn’t have the evidence to back up the life claims it made about its Eukanuba dog food,” the commission’s Jessica Rich said in a statement.

In a brief statement, Mars Petcare described the settlement as an “amicable resolution with the FTC.” The company said the campaign ran in 2015.

In addition to Eukanuba, the Mars company, best known for its candy and gum products, also makes Iams, Pedigree and Whiskas pet foods.

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‘Born for This’ musical celebrates family and faith /entertainment/2016/07/born-celebration-family-faith/ /entertainment/2016/07/born-celebration-family-faith/#respond Wed, 27 Jul 2016 07:08:04 +0000 http://wtop.com/?p=9730481
April 15, 2026 | ²İİ®´«Ã½'s Allison Keyes previews 'Born For This' at Arena Stage (Teta Alim)

WASHINGTON — These days, the Kreeger Theater at Arena Stage is full of people laughing, clapping, crying and singing along to the musical It’s a melodic telling of the journey to fame for the six-time Grammy winner with his sister, CeCe.

The two African-American Detroit natives — and the two youngest members of the gospel singing Winans family dynasty — turned the music world on its head as their songs turned up in unexpected places.

“One of the things about me and my sister’s career: you heard us on pop radio, you heard us on jazz stations … it transcended,†BeBe Winans told ²İİ®´«Ã½ in an interview. “Wherever people were who loved music, that’s where you heard us. It’s inspiring whether you’ve been to church or not.â€

April 15, 2026 | ²İİ®´«Ã½'s Jason Fraley chats with BeBe Winans (Full Interview) (Jason Fraley)

BeBe Winans is grateful for their success, and credits Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker for putting the close siblings on their television show, “The Praise the Lord Club,” in the 1980s. BeBe and CeCe moved to North Carolina, and this coming-of-age production highlights the huge cultural changes the association brought to their lives.

“Jim and Tammy became our white parents,†BeBe Winans remembered. “But they took a risk in putting us on television because there was such segregation inside of the church. So they received threats because of what they did, but they took a risk and knew it was important because there is no separation when it comes to God’s love.â€

The parts of BeBe and CeCe are played by their nephew Juan Winans and niece Deborah Joy Winans. Deborah tells ²İİ®´«Ã½ that in doing this show, she learned a lot about her aunt and uncle’s lives.

“I started to realize the effect they had on music, on people … [and] I learned what it took for them to have that effect and all the things they went through in the 80s in North Carolina,†Deborah Joy said.

April 15, 2026 | (Jason Fraley)

“In the south, I dealt with racism, and I’m dealing with that same situation today,†BeBe Winans said. “But I learned I could overcome hatred with love, and I learned a lot about not allowing racism to separate me. There’s always a choice in every situation.â€

One of the challenges for Deborah Joy has been singing the part of her virtuoso, big-voiced aunt CeCe, who can blow an audience out of their seats with her powerful instrument.

“There’s a lot of singing. That was challenging for me because I didn’t sing much before, so this is really kind of honing that singing craft,†Deborah Joy Winans said and added, “And trying to learn the things she does I can do. A lot of things she does I can’t do. CeCe is CeCe for a reason!â€

There are some stand out moments in this popular show: Kristen Wyatt’s Tammy Faye Bakker’s character cracks the audience up, and Kiandra Richardson as a young Whitney Houston draws gasps from the audience for the eerie accuracy of her voice and mannerisms.

BeBe Winans says this production is exciting because he believes the audience sees their lives on stage as well.

“That’s what we wanted to accomplish. Everyone has a purpose behind being here on the planet earth,†he said.

Deborah Joy called “Born for This” a spiritual experience.

“It lets people walk away with a sense of purpose, picking up dreams they let go because they didn’t believe it could happen,†she said. “It gives you a sense of hope. You feel inspired to do something more.â€

“Born for This: The BeBe Winans Story,” runs through Aug. 28. Tickets are .

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