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In March 2022, Congress passed a law mandating that, to commemorate the law enforcement officers who responded to the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, a plaque needed to be placed on the western front of the Capitol building listing each of the officers names. The law stipulated that this plaque should be up within a year. As of early 2026, though, the finished plaque was collecting dust in the depths of the Capitols basement next to a pile of tools and maintenance equipment. For the past three years, the plaques future has become caught up in a game of partisan cat and mouse. After leadership in the House shifted to Republicans in 2023, multiple Democrats claimed that House Speaker Mike Johnson purposefully stalled the plaques installation. Johnson failed to give the go-ahead for its installation to the Architects of the Capitol, the steward of the Capitol building that was charged by Congress with commissioning and mounting the plaque. These delays continued for so long that two of the officers involved in the attack, Harry Dunn and Daniel Hodges, sued the Architects of the Capitol last summer. Finally, on March 7, the plaque went upalbeit inside a hallway without public accessand it was all thanks to one clever design add-on: a tiny QR code. A commemorative plaque gets caught in design drama Before the plaque finally made its way to the Capitol, most Democrats who spoke on the matter were of the mind that Republican leaders were strategically delaying its display as much as possible. Oddly enough, Johnson tried to refute these claims by shifting the blame onto the plaques actual design. Back in May 2025, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said in a news conference that the reason for the delay was that Republicans, directed by their puppet master Donald Trump, have been told, Try to erase January 6 as if it has never happened. But in an interview with PBS on January 6, a spokesperson for Johnson said that the plaque could not go up because of logistics, claiming that they had not found a way to fit the 3,000 officers names onto the plaque. Presumably, Johnsons team was referring to the original language of the March 2022 law, which stated that the Architect of the Capitols plaque needed to list the names of all of the officers of the United States Capitol Police, the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia, and other Federal, State, and local law enforcement agencies and protective entities who responded to the violence that occurred at the United States Capitol. This constraint, they appeared to argue, made the project not implementable. Honor is a socialthat is, publicrecognition” But Johnsons hesitance to approve the plaques installation was ultimately overridden in early January, when Senators Jeff Merkley and Thom Tillis helmed a resolution ordering the plaques display, which was passed unanimously in the Senate. When the plaque finally did make it to the walls of the Capitol, the Architects of the Capitol addressed Johnsons design concerns with a simple fix: a tiny QR code, set in its own frame next to the plaque, that links to a list of all of the officers present on January 6. According to a report from The Washington Post, that list goes on for 45 pages. [Photo: Getty Images] The plaque itself is a fairly small bronze rectangle that includes an image of the Capitol building with the phrase, On behalf of a grateful Congress, this plaque honors the extraordinary individuals who bravely protected and defended this symbol of democracy on January 6, 2021. Their heroism will never be forgotten. Beneath it is a list of the law enforcement departments who lent their help during the attack. For the two officers who sued the Architects of the Capitol, this outcome is too little, too late. This is a fine stopgap, however they are not yet within full compliance of the law and the weight of a judicial ruling would help secure the memorial against future tampering, Hodges wrote on Twitter. Our lawsuit persists. On March 10, Hodges and Dunn filed a motion asking a judge to allow their lawsuit to proceed. The document argues that the plaque, which was hung inside a pair of Capitol doors, shouldve been affixed to the exterior of the building per the original law, and that its current location keeps it out of the public eye. Honor is a socialthat is, publicrecognition, the filing reads. Hidden from all visitors, the current location is no different than the basement the plaque was kept in for years.
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E-Commerce
An unprecedented, potentially record-breaking heat wave is expected to hit much of the American southwest, from California to Colorado, this weekand experts are concerned about how temperatures will affect the regions already-low snowpacks. Temperatures in the Los Angeles area will be 15 to 25 degrees above seasonal norms on Thursday, March 12, and Friday, March 13, according to the National Weather Service (NWS), reaching into the 90s along the coast and potentially above 100 degrees in some areas. Given the unprecedented length and magnitude of this extreme heat wave, heat stress will be increasing each day, especially in areas that aren’t used to the heat, like the coastal areas, forecasters wrote. Scorching temperatures will stretch through the southwest Tucson, Arizona, could see its earliest 100-plus degree day next week; the March monthly record high for Tucson is 99 degrees, according to the NWS. Parts of Colorado are forecast to reach into the 90s, which would break state records. Some parts of the southwest could see triple-digit temperatures, when they have never before experienced that this early in the year, climate scientist Daniel Swain said on a recent livestream. The heat wave is expected to last for the foreseeable future, he added, with a 10- to 14-day stretch of extraordinarily anomalous weather. It is quite likely that many cities and probably many states will set new all-time high March temperature records, as well as new records for the month of March cumulatively overall, Swain said. All the way from Colorado to California, I think were going to hit records everywhere in between. Heat wave threatens already-low snowpacks The extreme March heat wave comes on the heels of the warmest winter on record for the majority of the American west and Southern Plains. Thats based on 131 years of climate data. It was also an exceptionally dry winter across the West, which has left the region, including the Sierra Nevada, with below-average snowpacks. Many Western communities, including in California, depend on snowpacks as crucial natural reservoirs. They store water through the winter and release it over the spring and summer. The heat waves, though, threaten to melt the already-sparse snow, which means the reservoirs may not have enough water for residents and farms later in the year. The current snowpack is under 50% of its average throughout much of the American West, Swain said. Every single basin, with no exceptions in the Western U.S. . . . is below average. No “miracle March” this year Meteorologists and climate experts use the term “miracle March to describe the way the month can restock reservoirs, even after a winter without much water or snow. Cold, wet March conditions can turn a dry winter into a not-so-dry winter, Swain said. But this year, Swain noted, that is not going to happen. The record-breaking heat wave brings long-term concerns. Along with reducing the amount of water in reservoirs, it could set up dry soil conditions for the summer, which increases the risk of wildfires. The fact that these temperatures are coming so early in the year is also a concern for climate experts. Were about to experience the hottest March temperatures weve ever seen across a lot of the Western U.S., Swain said. This is going to be a heat wave that people aren’t going to be able to ignore because of when its happening.
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E-Commerce
Just days after settling with the Department of Justice (DOJ), ticketing company Live Nation is again under fire after internal messages between employees revealed bragging about taking advantage of ticket buyers. In message exchanges from 2022, two regional directors of ticketing for Live Nation amphitheaters, Ben Baker and Jeff Weinhold, boasted about the prices they were able to get away with charging customers for ancillary fees, including things like parking, lawn chair rentals, and VIP access, with Baker writing, I gouge them on ancil prices. In one exchange, Weinhold shared how he was able to charge $250 for VIP parking at a venue. These people are so stupid, Baker replied. I almost feel bad taking advantage of them. In another series of messages, Baker says he charges customers $50 to park in the grass and $60 for closer grass. Robbing them blind baby, he added. Thats how we do it. The DOJs antitrust trial against Live Nation and Ticketmaster began this month, with the government alleging that Live Nations control of Ticketmaster was monopolizing the ticketing industry and leading to unfair pricing for consumers. Last week, Live Nation filed a request for the judge to exclude six sets of Baker and Weinholds messages from the trial, arguing that they would unfairly bias the jury. The DOJ and attorneys general for the states suing Live Nation opposed the request, and several media organizations later petitioned for the documents to be unsealed. On Monday, the DOJ and Live Nation reached a surprise settlement, letting the company retain ownership of Ticketmasterbut despite a legal win for Live Nation, the Baker and Weinhold messages have dealt another blow to the brands reputation. In a statement to Fast Company, Live Nation condemned Weinhold and Bakers conduct, adding that its own executives were unaware of the exchange prior to the trial documents being unsealed. The Slack exchange from one junior staffer to a friend absolutely doesn’t reflect our values or how we operate, reads the statement. Because this was a private Slack message, leadership learned of this when the public did, and will be looking into the matter promptly. A spokesperson for Live Nation emphasized that Baker and Weinholds behavior was against company policy, and that their pricing exceeded limits put in place to protect ticket buyers. We are digging into it now that we are aware, the spokesperson added. This is not at all an acceptable way to behave or talk, and important to note that these are not executives.
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E-Commerce
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