Giant panda Mei Xiang at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo. (Courtesy Skip Brown, Smithsonian’s National Zoo) Hopes are high for Mei Xiang: The National Zoo’s giant panda had her second ultrasound Monday morning, and she’s still pregnant. Although the National Zoo said anything can still happen, Mei Xiang’s caregivers are fully confident she’s still pregnant and could possibly have a successful birth and a healthy cub within days. “It just feels particularly exciting, and almost monumental, this year because we have just been plowing through this pandemic culture and environment, and — finally — some really, really good news,” said Pamela Baker-Masson, a spokesperson for the zoo who shared the news with WTOP last week. Mei Xiang was artificially inseminated in March and has already had three cubs over the last several years. But the 22-year-old isn’t in the clear just yet: There’s still the chance of a miscarriage, or that Mei Xiang could reabsorb the fetus. But hopes are high, and fingers are crossed. You can catch Mei Xiang on the zoo’s panda cam.
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How DC prepares school buildings for students to return to class
This story is part of WTOP’s 2026 Back to School coverage.
At Boone Elementary School in Southeast D.C. on Friday afternoon, crews painted classrooms, fixed doors, upgraded the parking lot and cut the grass.
