Qing Bao, one of the Smithsonian National Zoo's new Giant Pandas, eats an apple on Friday, Jan. 24, 2025. In November 2023, the National Zoo sent its three pandas — Tian Tian and Mei Xiang, who had lived there since 2000, and their cub Xiao Qi Ji — back to China, in advance of the expiration of their loan agreement and amidst rising tensions between the two countries.
A panda drought — that has been unbearable for some — is finally over.
Two Giant pandas are now available for public viewing in the nation's capital.
Bao Li and Qing Bao are out of quarantine and in the spotlight after a three month wait and 8,000 mile trip from China.
Tyrone Turner / WAMU
/
WAMU
Students from the Yu Ying Public Charter School visit the Smithsonian National Zoo's Giant Pandas after performing at the opening ceremony on Friday, Jan. 24, 2025.
Tyrone Turner / WAMU
/
WAMU
Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, second from right, claps to the sounds of Crush Funk Brass Band during the opening ceremony celebrating the Smithsonian National Zoo's new Giant Pandas on Friday, Jan. 24, 2025.
Tyrone Turner / WAMU
/
WAMU
Students from the Yu Ying Public Charter School visit the Smithsonian National Zoo's Giant Pandas after performing at the opening ceremony on Friday, Jan. 24, 2025.
They now stand — or clumsily climb or roll around — and are ready to make their public debut at the Smithsonian's National Zoo.
Their return, after China recalled earlier furry ambassadors, marks a reboot of Panda diplomacy.
Tyrone Turner / WAMU
/
WAMU
Bao Li, one of the Smithsonian National Zoo's Giant Pandas, chomps on bamboo on Friday, Jan. 24, 2025, in Washington D.C.
Tyrone Turner / WAMU
/
WAMU
Giant Panda supporters flood the Smithsonian's National Zoo to see the new pandas Bao Li and Qing Bao on Friday, Jan. 24, 2025, in Washington D.C.
Tyrone Turner / WAMU
/
WAMU
Giant Panda supporters flood the Smithsonian's National Zoo to see the new pandas Bao Li and Qing Bao on Friday, Jan. 24, 2025, in Washington D.C.
For those who can't come to D.C., the panoply of panda antics is on digital display via the the Giant Panda Cam.
People were bamboozled by the roly-poly big-eyed cuteness — such clips have drawn in millions of viewers.
Tyrone Turner / WAMU
/
WAMU
Scientists and volunteers observe panda behavior from inside the Smithsonian National Zoo's Panda House on Friday, Jan. 24, 2025, in Washington D.C.
Tyrone Turner / WAMU
/
WAMU
Giant Panda supporters flood the Smithsonian's National Zoo to see new pandas Bao Li and Qing Bao on Friday, Jan. 24, 2025, in Washington D.C.
Tyrone Turner / WAMU
/
WAMU
Giant panda Bao Li traverses a snowy enclosure on Friday, Jan. 24, 2025, at the Smithsonian's National Zoo. The pair arrived in Washington D.C. — aboard the fittingly nicknamed "Panda Express" — from China back in October. But, they could only occasionally be glimpsed until this week.
China has also loaned two other giant pandas to the U.S., both at the San Diego Zoo. As a gesture of goodwill, it seems panda appeal is pretty black and white.
Tourists hoping to get close to the Trevi Fountain had to pay 2 euros starting Monday as the city of Rome inaugurated a new fee structure to help raise money and control crowds.
Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton agreed to testify in a House investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, but the Republican leading the probe said an agreement had not yet been finalized.
It was ruled Dr. James Heaps was denied a fair trial because the judge did not share with his defense counsel a note by the court's foreman pointing out concerns that one juror lacked sufficient English to carry out their duties.
A federal judge on Monday blocked the end of protections that have allowed roughly 350,000 Haitians to live in the U.S., dealing President Donald Trump's immigration agenda another legal setback.
Candidate Laura Fernández won a resounding victory, promising to continue the aggressive reorienting of the Central American nation's politics started by her predecessor.
