#library-of-congress-independence

#library-of-congress-independence

The frame, magnificently ornate and gilded, was intended for royalty and originally surrounded a portrait of British King George II that hung in the college's Nassau Hall.

Since taking office for a second time, the Trump administration has issued a number of executive orders on religion that raise new questions about religious freedom. On May 1, 2025, the administration established the Religious Liberty Commission. The commission will advise the White House on policies intended to protect the free exercise of religion and to prevent discrimination against people of faith by the federal government.

These displays and materials are among several hundred that managers have flagged at hundreds of national park locations since last summer in response to administration orders to scrub sites of 'partisan ideology,' descriptions that 'disparage' Americans, or materials that stray from a focus on the nation's 'beauty, abundance, or grandeur.'

The real Führer is always a judge. Out of Führerdom flows judgeship. One who wants to separate the two from each other or puts them in opposition to each other would have the judge be either the leader of the opposition or the tool of the opposition and is trying to unhinge the state with the help of the judiciary.

Playwright Rachel Bonds's new production narrates a woman's journey through school, romance, and the complexities of modern adulthood (Wed through April 19, $55+, Logan Circle).

As the United States prepares to celebrate its 250th birthday amid attacks on civil liberties and marginalized communities, museums and galleries in the nation's capital are opening exhibitions that question what it means to be an American.The National Gallery of Art presents 115 works in Dear America while other shows focus on individual artists such as Mary Cassatt and Nick Cave, all in the pursuit of exploring "Americanism" as a facet of education, expression, and aesthetics.

"The object of the Museum is to acquire power," announces a crusty old archaeologist in Penelope Fitzgerald's 1977 satire, The Golden Child. It isn't a goal he respects. He wants the museum where he's settled into semiretirement to genuinely devote itself to educating its visitors. Instead, he correctly charges, its curators act like a pack of Gollums, hoarding "the art and treasures of the earth" for their own self-aggrandizement and pleasure.

"A lot of these AI businesses are looking for readily available, structured databases of content," Robert Hahn, head of business affairs and licensing for The Guardian, told . "The Internet Archive's API would have been an obvious place to plug their own machines into and suck out the IP."

The Senate passed a federal funding bill package on Friday, but temporarily blocked any additional funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), triggering another government shutdown. But unlike the shutdown that began in October, which lasted a record 43 days, this one won't force the Smithsonian Institution or the National Gallery of Art to close-and it's expected to be resolved quickly.

When unmarked, masked federal agents grabbed an international student and forced her into an SUV on a public street in the spring of 2025, the United States entered into a new era of federal policing. At first, it was alarming - a move more commonly associated with authoritarian dictatorships than a democratically elected government with checks and balances. Now that this tactic, and others like it, have become routine, it is no longer enough to react in alarm.

This Sunday brings three capital-B Bowls: Super, Puppy and Benito. See below for our recommendations for where to spend your favorite one. Bad Bunny fans who want to get the halftime show started early have several dance party options Saturday night, and area bars (including Atlas Brew Works) are hosting events for the Winter Olympics from Opening Ceremonies onward. In addition to early Valentine's Day celebrations, this week has cozy crafting nights, another "Heated Rivalry" party and the kickoff of the D.C. Independent Film Festival.

"In the past few months, the real-estate developer turned politician has torn down the East Wing of the White House in order to build a flashy $400m ballroom, added his name to the façade of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (which he announced would for major renovations starting this summer), suggested painting the exterior of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building (EEOB) all white to "beautify" it, and pushed plans to build near the capital's historic centre."

By placing 80 percent of its U.S. assets under the control of non-Chinese investors, the joint venture aims to avoid an outright ban. The new investors include the technology company Oracle, the private equity company Silver Lake, and the Emirati investment firm MGX. ByteDance retains a stake of just under 20 percent and will license its algorithm to the new entity.

Discover the history of five Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) in the museum's recently opened "At the Vanguard" exhibit throughout the month. This week, there's a curator tour about American military history on Wednesday, and a Harlem Renaissance book talk with writer A'Lelia Bundles on Thursday (exhibit closes July 19 , free, events require registration, Smithsonian NMAAHC).

Crews dismantled plaques telling the stories of the nine enslaved people who lived in the President's House in Philadelphia, and were owned by George Washington.

This is one of the biggest holiday weekends of the year, as celebrations of Mardi Gras, Valentine's Day and Presidents' Day overlap and blur. (Sadly, no one organized our dream soiree with a brass band performing for singles dressed as Babe-raham Lincoln and other sexy presidents.) We have separate lists for the area's best Mardi Gras parties, Black History Month events, Lunar New Year celebrations,