Rep. Joyce Beatty, the Democratic congresswoman and Kennedy Center board member who sued her fellow trustees over adding Trump’s name, is here. I asked her what it means to see the crowd gathered outside the arts venue today. Here’s what she told me @CityCast_DC:

I’m reporting from outside The Kennedy Center, where workers appear poised to remove Trump’s name just hours before the court-ordered deadline. I’ve talked to many spectators, including a man who worked at the center for 35 years. “The Executive Branch of our government has now killed the Kennedy Center. It is, in my opinion, dead,” he told me. “I’m hoping that this is one small step toward rebuilding. We built it once, and we can build it again.” Follow along here: dc.citycast.fm/news/trump-ke…

NOW: A judge denies the Trump admin’s request for a stay on the order to remove his name from The Kennedy Center. Here’s the scene outside the center now: @CityCast_DC

.@CityCast_DC's guide to the D.C. delegate race is here! Still trying to decide who you want to represent D.C. on Capitol Hill? Learn more about the candidates here: dc.citycast.fm/dc-politics/v…

Some interesting D.C. mayoral campaign news: Kenyan McDuffie will be hosting his election night party at The Park at 14th nightclub/iconic brunch spot. Janeese Lewis George will be at The Howard Theatre. @CityCast_DC

A Judas Priest concert at the old Capital Centre. Youthful debauchery in the parking lot. 40 years later, a sold out screening celebrates an unintentional cult film classic. 🤘🎸 My latest, for @CityCast_DC: dc.citycast.fm/news/heavy-me…

.@CityCast_DC's guide to the mayor's race is here! We asked candidates about housing, bike lanes, youth curfews and more! Read here: dc.citycast.fm/dc-politics/v…

If you're on the hunt for the best spots to watch the World Cup in D.C. (both for you and your wallet) @CityCast_DC has you covered: dc.citycast.fm/best/the-best…

Small tidbit, but I stopped by the Kennedy Center on my evening walk last night. The gift shop was closed, but still plenty of “The Trump Kennedy Center” swag left to purchase. Last week, a judge ordered the removal of Trump’s name from the building. @CityCast_DC

NEW: Brendan Banfield was found guilty earlier this year of plotting with the family’s au pair to stab his wife and shoot a stranger he’d planned to frame for murder. Now he's sentenced to life in prison. @EmmaUber7 has covered this from the beginning: dc.citycast.fm/news/brendan-…

Great story by @EmmaUber7 who covered this ghastly news from the beginning. But why is she hanging around @CityCast_DC when she could be putting the finishing touches on the screenplay of one of the creepiest DMV stories in years? dc.citycast.fm/news/brendan-…

BREAKING: Brendan Banfield has been sentenced to life in prison without parole in the 2023 murders of Christine Banfield and Joseph Ryan. We knew he would receive life because he was convicted of aggravated murder, but Judge Penney S. Azcarate's speech in handing down the sentence was like nothing I've ever heard: “In the 18 years I have been on the bench, I have seen hundreds of defendants appear before me and I have had the arduous task of sentencing these individuals. In the vast majority of these cases, people made mistakes, were struggling with substance use disorders or acting in anger – choosing violence in a moment that changed everything. They were not inherently bad people, but they made terrible decisions and suffered the consequences. Sentencing in those cases is difficult, it weighs on me often long after the hearing is over. Only two times prior to today have I encountered something different in my courtroom. Two individuals that carried no remorse, calculated and planned their violent crimes and left many victims and devastation in their path. As I listen to the evidence in this case and listen to your testimony, it is apparent that I am once again looking at that same kind of evil. The disregard of the life of your wife, someone you supposedly loved, is almost unfathomable. Scheming for months a master plan involving so many moving parts, including deception and manipulation, luring a completely innocent man into your deadly trap, continuing on after the murders without a care and not once – not once – thinking of the impact on Christine’s daughter: the unspoken tragic victim of your behavior. You did not just take her mother from her, you placed her in the middle of the horror you created. She is young now, but one day she will understand your true self and one day she will understand what you took from her, which is everything... To testify as you did shows the court that you still think that you are the smartest person in the room. One would hope that some day you would become tortured by what you have done to Christine, Joe, Christine’s daughter and their families – but nothing that I have seen suggests that you will. The level of cruelty, calculation and inhumanity in this case suggests something far deeper than anger or impulse. It reflects evil. Which is why I carry no burden and find no hesitation in sentencing you to life.”

There’s been lots of speculation about whether the new blue bottom of the Reflecting Pool will still… well… reflect. It seems like the answer is yes. @CityCast_DC

A federal judge has temporarily blocked NOTUS from rebranding as The Star on the eve of its launch. More on the lawsuit between The Washington Star and The Star: dc.citycast.fm/news/washingt…

NOW: A federal judge has blocked NOTUS from launching The Star website tomorrow. The judge partially granted a temporary restraining order in a trademark lawsuit brought by The Washington Star against NOTUS/The Star. But NOTUS does not have to remove any existing mentions of The Star from its website. Story to come @CityCast_DC

So excited!!

Dream team!! 🥳

We are thrilled to announce that @jackiepeiser is joining City Cast DC as business, development and transit reporter! 🥳 She joins reporters @alyssafowers @EmmaUber7 @Kaela_CS. More here — and follow along for more to come on our expanding newsroom! dc.citycast.fm/announcements…

D.C. CURFEW UPDATE: The D.C. Council will not vote on emergency youth curfew legislation tomorrow, despite calls from U.S. Attorney Pirro and Mayor Bowser. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson called it "inexcusable". In a news conference this morning, he said the council still doesn't have the votes. The council has passed a permanent version of the bill, but is one vote short of the supermajority needed to pass an emergency version that would take affect immediately. When asked about Pirro's public criticism of the council, he said it's not a council-wide issue and that she should focus on the 5 holdouts "instead of just casting this aspersion on the whole council." “I think that the Chipotle video that everybody saw, probably everybody around the world saw, is just embarrassing for the District.” @CityCast_DC

A federal judge has ordered the removal of Trump's name from the Kennedy Center building and all official branding, ruling that the board acted unlawfully by renaming the institution without an act of Congress. More for @CityCast_DC: dc.citycast.fm/news/kennedy-…