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On May 18, 1891, a lovely spring day, at 3 o’clock, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky arrived in Philadelphia without fanfare. There was to be a concert of his music that evening, the last he would conduct in the United States. The dervish tour had begun on April 26 in New York City, where he had been invited by Walter Damrosch, director of the New York Symphony for the grand opening of what was then called “Music Hall” (later to be formally designated as Carnegie Hall). That invitation was supported by no less a luminary than Andrew Carnegie himself. In New York,...

The groom and groom strolled down the aisle to the mellow strains of “Mr. Sandman.” Wearing her black robe with her signature white lace collar, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg presided over the marriage on Sunday afternoon of Michael Kahn, the longtime artistic director of the Shakespeare Theater Company in Washington, and Charles Mitchem, who works at an architecture firm in New York. The gilded setting was elegant: Anderson House in the Embassy Row neighborhood, the headquarters in Washington of the Society of the Cincinnati, a club for the descendants of the French and American soldiers who fought in the Revolutionary...

I’ve been a florist in Richmond, Wash., for more than 30 years. In that time, I’ve developed close relationships with many of my clients. One of my favorites was Rob Ingersoll. Ingersoll came in often and we’d talk. Like me, he had an artistic eye. I’d try to create really special arrangements for him. I knew he was gay, but it didn’t matter — I enjoyed his company and his creativity. Then he asked me to create the floral arrangements for his wedding. I love Rob, and I’d always been happy to design for his special days. But there’s something...

Ah, the beauty of our nation’s college campuses, the traditional hotbeds of free speech and open debate. I wonder what ever happened to those? Out in Washington State, some students at Western Washington University have come up with interesting new techniques in the field of debate. For example, one of their state senators, Doug Ericksen (R-Ferndale) was found by the upset underclassmen to be a heretical non-believer when it comes to the issue of global warming. Ericksen, as it turns out, is an alumnus of WWU, so rather than debating him on the hot topic, they have issued demands...

As Deuteronomy(repeating grace) Edges into view, You see my promises coming true for you, Blessed above others because you believe, A walking Testimony regardless of reprieve, A hand of kindness to others in need of you, You don't turn your back but always plow through, Sowing the seeds of Grace each and every day, You reveal through your life to others I AM the way, Not all will find you for who you really are, Christ like and endowed with My Kingdom and car, For My very Throne of Presence I share with you, For you are My Beloved through...

Twenty-seven senators want President Obama to block federal agencies and contractors from asking job applicants about prior criminal convictions. The senators, including 26 Democrats and presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), want Obama to take executive action to "ban the box," referring to a question on job applications that asks if an applicant has any convictions. "We ask you to require federal contractors and agencies to refrain from asking job applicants about prior convictions until later in the hiring process," they said in a letter to Obama on Monday. "This policy would eliminate unnecessary barriers to employment for all job...

A federal judge on Thursday threw out a lawsuit challenging parts of Washington state’s new law expanding background checks on gun transfers, saying gun-rights activists couldn’t challenge it because they aren’t being prosecuted for violating it. U.S. District Judge Benjamin Settle in Tacoma ruled that opponents of the law didn’t have standing to challenge the parts of Initiative 594 that required background checks for noncommercial gun transfers. To challenge the law, the plaintiffs must show they’ve been actually prosecuted or at immediate risk of being prosecuted, he said.

President Nicolás Maduro raised Venezuela's minimum wage Friday for the second time this year to help workers being battered by the world's highest inflation. Speaking at a May Day rally, the socialist leader said he is boosting the minimum wage and pensions for retirees by 30 percent, with two-thirds of the increase coming this month and the rest on July 1. He also said he would raise salaries for government employees and military personnel. The wage increase, while a welcome relief for many workers, fell short of expectations that the embattled Maduro might use Friday's celebrations to expand state control...

D.C. fire and emergency officials were working to shore up a portion of a parking garage that collapsed this morning at the Watergate complex on Virginia Avenue NW. D. C. fire spokesman Tim Wilson said it will take several hours to shore up the structure, a step necessary for emergency responders to be able to search the garage for anyone who may be trapped, WTOP reports. Three stories of the garage, which was under renovation, collapsed atop each other in a "pancake" effect.

The question mark’s in the headline because they haven’t commented yet on where the page went or why, but you can guess what happened if you read Jazz’s post yesterday. A GoFundMe page for a different Christian-owned business, Sweet Cakes by Melissa in Oregon, was yanked down by GFM because there are discrimination charges pending against the owner and it’s GFM’s policy not to raise money “in defense of formal charges of heinous crimes, including violent, hateful, or sexual acts.” Politely refusing to cater a gay wedding is, evidently, now a “heinous crime.” But that raised a question: If charity...

PORTLAND, Ore. — Tens of thousands of people along the U.S. Pacific Northwest coastline may not have enough time to evacuate low-lying areas before tsunami waves arrive, according to a new publication by researchers at the U.S. Geological Survey, University of Colorado Boulder, and California State University, Sacramento. “All coastal communities in the U.S. Pacific Northwest are vulnerable to varying degrees to tsunami hazards from a Cascadia subduction zone earthquake,” said Dr. Nathan Wood, lead author of the study and scientist with the USGS. “Having a better sense of how a community is specifically vulnerable provides officials with the ability...

In case anyone missed the two hour season premier last night. It says no login required so I'm guessing its available to people who aren't Xfinity subscribers.

Full title: Young married couple and their baby son killed after a chunk of CONCRETE falls off Washington state bridge and crushes their pickup truck...A mother, father and their eight-month old baby boy were killed on Monday when a concrete barrier fell onto their truck as they were driving under an overpass in Washington State. The tragic accident claimed the lives of Josh and Vanessa Ellis and baby Hudson, who were crushed when the 50-foot-long concrete slab slammed down on top of them, according to Bonney Lake Police. The barrier weighed 'tons' according to investigators and the damage to the...

n the not-too-distant future, drivers in Washington state could cross the Sinclair Inlet on a bridge made of two or three decommissioned aircraft carriers. ... No aircraft carrier is available for the project—not yet, at least. Currently, the backers of the project have their eyes on the USS Independence, which was commissioned in the 1960s and could go to the salvage yard later this year, and the USS Kitty Hawk, a carrier that sailed in the Vietnam War after its 1958 commission.

GRANTS PASS, Ore. (AP) - About 5,500 more people could survive a major tsunami hitting the Pacific Northwest if they just walk a little faster to higher ground after roads are knocked out, a new study shows. The report published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences looked at 73 communities along 700 miles of coastline in Oregon, Washington and Northern California. The area is considered most at risk from the next major earthquake and tsunami in the Cascadia Subduction Zone, where two plates of the Earth's crust come together miles off the coast. Emergency preparedness experts...

Roger Horowitz was out Friday, ripping down fliers he posted about his missing dog, Ollie — not because the dog has been found, but because he's afraid of being hit with the huge fine. Horowitz and his wife, Annemarie, had recently adopted Ollie, a rescue dog that had been shot in Georgia. "He'd been abused by his previous owner and actually shot with a shotgun," Horowitz said. "So he has about 23 pellets still in his back." On March 30, Horowitz was walking Ollie near Georgia Avenue and Euclid Street NW when the dog broke loose. "A car just backfired,...

A pair of activists in the state of Washington are promoting an anti-Israel curriculum that high school social studies teachers are considering adopting. Ed Mast and Linda Bevis, of the Palestine Solidarity Committee, have developed “The Palestine Teaching Trunk.” Bevis gave a presentation on it in October at the Washington State Council for the Social Studies annual meeting, Edward Alexander reported in The Weekly Standard on November 10, 2014. “In 1967, Israel seized control of the West Bank and Gaza from Egypt and Jordan,” the “Teaching Trunk curriculum reads. “Israel instituted a military occupation in Gaza and the West Bank—which...

When Amazon launched its Amazon Home Services this week, the stars of the new initiative were …Goats.Seattle goats, specifically, ready to trim back your pesky shrubbery. “We bring the goats and unload him,” said Tammy Dunakin, head goat wrangler and owner of Rent-A-Ruminant LLC. “The second they hit the ground, they’re eating. It’s incredible to watch. It’s kind of like watching marbles scatter when you drop them on the pavement. And the goats start eating everything in sight."And it sounds like ... Dunakin's goats do work for the city – you may have seen them munching on hills alongside Interstate...

We’ve all been there: You’re invited to a function, you think you’re just going to be a passive observer and then suddenly you thrust into the spotlight.One guy apparently had that uncomfortable experience with the commander in chief.President Barack Obama stopped by Hill Air Force Base in Utah last week to talk about the economy.His speech was closed to the public, but the presidential team sent some invites to the media and industry leaders.That’s where things went wrong.Image via imgur/TheBlaze The above picture, posted to Reddit on Tuesday, apparently shows an unprepared, mid-level employee trying his best to blend into...

U.S. Marshals picked up Song Wang in Siskiyou County, CA, close to the Oregon border...Police said Wang, 30, stabbed 37-year-old Kittaporn Saosawatsri to death inside her Seattle-area apartment on March 31...He then set fire to the sixth-floor unit...in downtown Bellevue to cover up the crime and fled the scene...