• 778 points is really bad, right? [Wall Street Journal]
• “Will the evidence of a meltdown be sufficient cover for politicians to do what they have to do? Or will the meltdown be sufficiently melt-y to make government intervention futile by that point?”[Daniel Drezner]
• “In many ways, a defeated bail-out attempt is probably worse for confidence than if no bail-out had ever been proposed. Markets must now assume there is no political will in America to take decisive action, at least for the next four months. That also makes similar action harder to take in other countries. If America is unwilling to swallow the cost of fixing this problem, why should we, opponents of bail-outs will argue in other countries.” [Free exchange]
• The D.C. Jail is on lockdown — the DOC says it’s routine, but some prisoners reportedly say otherwise. [City Desk]
• Community banks in the D.C. area stand to benefit from the sale of Wachovia to Citigroup. [Washington Business Journal]
• Juan Solano, the owner of popular Wheaton chicken eatery El Pollo Rico, was sentenced to 15 months in prison for money laundering and plotting to harbor illegal immigrants. [AP via WTOP]
• Thousands of defense jobs originally destined for Fort Belvoir will be moved to an office complex to be built off Seminary Road in Alexandria. [WaPo]

Photo by intemporelle