Good morning, Washington. Looking outside the window this morning, it appears that we still have an economy, if only barely. The latest word on the disaster is that Monday's failed bail-out package may be voted on again today, this time by the Senate and with some tax cuts thrown in to make it more palatable to House Republicans. But the Senate won't just be considering the nation's collective financial fate; it'll be considering Metro's... [continue]

Good morning, Washington. You know, it's easy to get discouraged. Our nation's economy is unraveling, our presidential race has largely devolved into trivialities, and our city remains plagued with violence and poverty. But take heart! You still live in a city, country and universe where a headline like "MySpace Helps to Capture Monkey Thief" can exist. Alright, "headline" might be pushing it — it's just the text on the Metro page that teases the story.... [continue]

Good morning, Washington. Yesterday's news of a stolen firefighter uniform in Arlington obliges us to offer this reminder: it's never too early to start thinking about your Halloween costume. The 31st is a mere six weeks away! Of course, we'd also like to remind you that, if at all possible, it's best to refrain from assembling your costume by stealing from our emergency responders or otherwise breaking the law. "Firefighter" isn't a very creative... [continue]

Good morning, Washington. The polls are long since closed, and if you didn't read our coverage as it happened, feel free to do so now. You can also check out the official results, or the Post's coverage. Although... Irregularities in Primaries: ...you might not want to regard those numbers as completely final just yet. A number of irregularities have emerged, as CityDesk explains. One of the affected races is the Schwartz/Mara Republican primary matchup.... [continue]

Good morning, Washington. Catch any of last night's Republican Convention? If not, you missed some firebreathing by Fred Thompson and a fairly un-Zell-Millerlike performance by Joe Lieberman, but otherwise not too much of note. Tonight will bring a speech by Gov. Sarah Palin which, given the recent media storm surrounding her, should make for some pretty interesting viewing. In the meantime, if our credentialing woes have left you jonesing for locally-oriented convention liveblogging you... [continue]

Good morning, Washington. Did you catch Hillary's speech last night? If you didn't, spoiler alert!: she did not, in fact, encourage her imaginary armies of PUMA dead-enders to tear the Democratic Party to tiny, bloody shreds. During their post-speech analyses, cable news' legions of seemingly astonished commentators were able to hide their disappointment at this relatively unexciting development, but just barely. Bay Bridge Traffic About to Get Worse: The Post has bad news for... [continue]

Via WashCycle and Greater Greater Washington comes some discouraging news about MPD's priorities when it comes to bicyclists. Nat Wilson says he was biking in Georgetown when the driver of a commercial van decided he didn't like traveling behind slower traffic and not only ran Nat off the road but nearly struck another cyclist who happened to be riding nearby. The driver got stuck at the next light, though, and when Nat caught up... [continue]

Good morning, Washington. So, the Olympic closing ceremony — pretty terrible, right? Slate's Olympic Twitter feed did an able job belittling the proceedings, but missed my favorite part: when the cockney dancer-zombies tried to scale the grass-filled double decker bus to devour David Beckham. What did you folks think? School's In For Autumn: The District's kids will head back to class today, and the city's classrooms will mostly be ready for them, according to... [continue]

Good morning, Washington. Sad news: although the last word at the end of yesterday indicated that Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones was still fighting for life, the trauma of the aneurysm she suffered proved to be too much. The 58-year-old Democrat from Ohio passed away at 6:12 p.m. last night. BW Parkway Closed In Both Directions: Yikes. A fatal crash has shut down the thoroughfare near Powder Mill Road, according to WTOP. The accident seems... [continue]

Good morning, Washington. So, uh, how about that Michael Phelps? Pretty fast, right? If you somehow missed it, last night the Baltimore native picked up another gold medal, leading the U.S. men's 4x200m freestyle relay team to a record-setting victory. That makes eleven gold medals for Phelps — the most of anybody in history. Heads Roll Over Summer Jobs Program: Or one head, anyway. The Post covers the fallout from the massive budget overruns racked... [continue]

Good morning, Washington. Those of you keeping an eye on the vice presidential prospects of Tim Kaine can add another data point to your elaborately-constructed electoral theories: yesterday the Virginia Governor once again took to the national airwaves to discuss foreign policy and to dodge questions about being Sen. Obama's running mate. Arrests Made In Calvo Marijuana Raid; Calvo Appears Innocent: Yesterday we learned that the police raid of Berwyn Heights Mayor Cheye Calvo's... [continue]

Good morning, Washington. If you were intrigued by yesterday's widespread speculation that Va. Governor Tim Kaine might be Barack Obama's running mate, today's news is likely to pique your interest as well. Via Marc Ambinder, it seems that Kaine has suddenly canceled tonight's appearance at a Baltimore fundraiser. Telling hint, or total coincidence? We'll have to wait and see. Indictments In Feb. Street Racing Deaths: Back in February eight people were killed when Darren... [continue]

Good morning, Washington. It sounds like yesterday's power outage lasted a bit longer than many people anticipated, stretching until the early hours of this morning. Here's hoping you weren't one of those stuck tossing and turning in an A/C- and fan-less bedroom. At least the heat was beginning to break at the time: today should mark our escape from a lengthy string of 90+ degree days. Rhee's Budget Plan May Have Unintended Consequences: The... [continue]

Good morning, Washington. We imagine you were probably up late last night, frantically refreshing your browser to check on the latest chapter of the Post's totally-non-ghoulish Chandra Levy series. In case you somehow missed it, though, today's installment — part four of twelve! — puts the Levys in Washington and a U.S. congressman under suspicion. Tomorrow: facing an implacable federal marshal, a desperate Gary Condit leaps from a hydroelectric dam's drainage system and into... [continue]

Good morning, Washington. Anybody make it to the Washington Kastles game last night? Sadly, it seems to have ended in defeat, with the Serena Williams-led Kastles losing to the (presumably) hated Boston Lobsters. Curse those Lobsters — not only for casting a shadow on a new D.C. team's opening night, but also for having an indisputably more awesome name than "Kastles". By now Washingtonians are used to rooting for teams named after abstract concepts... [continue]

Good morning, Washington, and welcome to what might be a historic day for the District: the Supreme Court may issue a ruling on the D.C. gun ban. We'll doubtless have more to say if the ruling comes down, so for now: on to the news! D.C. Sues CareFirst: WTOP reports that the District is suing the area's largest health insurance provider, CareFirst. The company is formally a nonprofit, but according to the lawsuit it's... [continue]

Good morning, Washington, and welcome to what looks to be a beautiful Wednesday. The Capital Weather Gang says that we might get a few afternoon showers, but otherwise things look like they'll be gorgeous from now through the weekend. D.C. Jury System Deemed Okay: The Post reports that the D.C. Superior Court has issued a ruling in a case brought by the city's Public Defender Service. Pointing out that during a period when 60... [continue]

Good morning, Washington, and congratulations on surviving last night's storm. Around here the rain came pounding down at a forty-five degree angle, hail buffeted the roof and lighting boomed from seemingly across the street. It was pretty great — although we certainly understand if the thousands of you who lost power or were otherwise inconvenienced feel differently. One thing we can hopefully all agree on: the cooler weather ushered in by the storm is... [continue]

Image posted to DCist Photos by Flickr user tophermathewsGood morning, Washington. If you're still mentally recovering from the nasty Memorial Day traffic, a word of advice: stay very far away from the Wilson Bridge this weekend. Southbound I-95 will be down to one lane as the bridge's new second span is put into commission and workers pave and mark the ramps and roads connected to it. D.C. Ambulance Service Found Wanting: The Post had... [continue]

The first time I saw Nick Thorburn perform he was wearing a pink tuxedo, and with good reason: although his group, the Unicorns, sang songs about things like death, ghosts and nautical catastrophe, they did so with the youthful exuberance of mischievous teenagers headed to prom. Thorburn and his bandmates took to the stage, then the rafters, then the outstretched hands of an audience full of newly-minted fans. The Unicorns blew up, burned out and... [continue]