ZFJ founder. Oxford comma enthusiast. Unfortunately specializes in the government beat. Computer science and economics undergraduate student at the University of Maryland, College Park.
WASHINGTON, Aug. 31 (ZFJ) — The Smithsonian National Museum of American History (NMAH) opened an exhibit of the restoration of the Revolutionary War-era gunboat Philadelphia on Friday, Aug. 22.
Viewing windows at “The Gunboat Philadelphia Preservation Project” exhibit allow visitors to observe the vessel’s underwater restoration in real time, conducted by a team of underwater archaeologists and maritime conservators from Texas A&M University’s Nautical Archaeology Program (under contract with the Smithsonian).
WASHINGTON, Aug. 28 (ZFJ) — President Donald Trump ordered all state National Guard forces as well as certain federal law enforcement agencies to create specialized public order units in an expansion of his declared D.C. crime emergency on Monday, Aug. 25.
“PUBLIC SAFETY AND ORDER” UNITS
In section 2(d)(i) of his executive order, Additional Measures to Address the Crime Emergency in the District of Columbia, Trump requires that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to “immediately create and begin training, manning, hiring, and equipping a specialized unit” within the D.
WASHINGTON, Aug. 28 (ZFJ) — National Guard soldiers patrolling D.C. as part of President Donald Trump’s federal intervention and declared crime emergency are now armed with rifles and pistols.
Media reports indicated that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth ordered that the guardsmen be armed in a directive announced by the Pentagon on Friday, Aug. 22. Prior to the order, the guardsmen were not armed, and the Pentagon declined to comment further on the topic.
WASHINGTON, Aug. 18 (ZFJ) — Mississippi, Tennessee, and Louisiana have pledged to send National Guard troops to D.C. for policing at the request of President Donald Trump.
Trump has declared a state of emergency due to crime in the nation’s capital and used it as the basis to federalize the district’s civilian Metropolitan Police Department and deploy guard soldiers and federal agents to the streets. An article by the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) says there are 810 D.
WASHINGTON, Aug. 16 (ZFJ) — West Virginia, South Carolina, and Ohio have pledged to send National Guard troops to Washington, D.C., for policing at the request of President Donald Trump.
Trump has declared a state of emergency due to crime in the nation’s capital and used it as the basis to federalize the district’s civilian Metropolitan Police Department and deploy National Guard soldiers and federal agents to the streets. Currently, 800 D.
WASHINGTON, Aug. 16 (ZFJ) — D.C. officials are suing federal authorities over their federalization of the district’s Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
Washington officials contend that the federal government is exceeding its authority under Section 740 of the Home Rule Act, which allows the president to take temporary control of the MPD under a state of emergency.
On Thursday, Aug. 14, MPD Chief Pamela A. Smith issued an executive order that directed police officers to share information about people not in their custody (such as during traffic stops) with immigration authorities.
WASHINGTON, Aug. 15 (ZFJ) — The White House has initiated a review of Smithsonian Institution museums to ensure content complies with President Donald Trump’s view of American history.
In a letter to Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III released Tuesday, Aug. 12, White House officials invoke the March presidential executive order Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History to perform a “comprehensive internal review” of museum materials.
“This initiative aims to ensure alignment with the President’s directive to celebrate American exceptionalism, remove divisive or partisan narratives, and restore confidence in our shared cultural institutions,” reads the letter.
WASHINGTON, Aug. 13 (ZFJ) — President Donald Trump federalized the capital’s Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), deployed 800 D.C. National Guard soldiers, and ordered federal agents to patrol the streets in response to his claims that crime in the city is out of control on Monday, Aug. 11.
The District of Columbia is primarily under federal control and has limited local governance under the Home Rule Act. Section 740 of this law allows for the president to federalize the MPD under a state of emergency.
TRENTON, N.J., Aug. 12 (ZFJ) — A state grand jury voted not to criminally charge Fort Lee Police Officer Tony Pickens, Jr., with the fatal shooting of Victoria G. Lee, 25, of Fort Lee, during a mental health crisis on July 28, 2024.
Per state law, the N.J. Attorney General’s Office (OAG) is required to investigate any deaths that occur during law enforcement encounters, so this case was investigated by OAG’s Office of Public Integrity and Accountability.
EDISON, N.J., July 24 (ZFJ) — Kushal Aluru, 20, a Rutgers student and J.P. Stevens High School alumnus, died on Tuesday, July 22, 2025.
Aluru was majoring in cell biology and neuroscience and minoring in chemistry at Rutgers University, New Brunswick. He had a stated interest in neurobiology and glial functions, conducting research in the lab of Professor Peng Jiang since 2023, and intended on pursuing a combined medical and doctorate degree program to become a physician and scientist.
