>> Both the White House Christmas Tree and the Capitol Christmas Tree arrived in Washington today. >> D.C. fire officials are warning people not to overload electrical circuits in their homes this holiday season in the wake of a fatal garage fire over the weekend. [WTOP] >> Vice President Dick Cheney experienced an irregular heartbeat Monday and will be heading to George Washington University Hospital to have it checked out -- in case you......

The rush to get out of D.C. to family Thanksgiving celebrations has already begun, but if you're still reading DCist, you're probably still at work and planning on leaving within the next 72 hours. Whether opening up that military airspace will really make a difference at Washington area airports remains to be seen, but WMATA has announced a special Thanksgiving weekend schedule that could stand to help out many of you trying to take public......

The Washington Business Journal reported yesterday that the Washington Convention Center will be officially renamed to honor D.C.'s first elected mayor, Walter E. Washington. Apparently the D.C. Council approved the name change last year, though we can't recall having heard about it at the time. The idea is a fine one though, and Washington is certainly worthy of having his legacy honored. So what's the problem? As of Nov. 5, the building will officially become......

The new record for the longest amount of consecutive days without measurable rainfall at Washington National Airport is scheduled to end later today, as showers and possibly a pretty heavy thunderstorm are predicted for this afternoon. But CapitalWeather.com says this rain event won't be enough to make a dent in the area's drought, as the rain will be short-lived and the amounts modest for the most part. Still, it's been a while since you had......

It's finally over; summer's soon to be actually gone. As we slumber this evening, the season that wouldn't end will at last lift its hot, wet blanket from our area, and autumn will descend with her cool nights and humidity-free days. Summer hung on like a trooper, though, lasting nearly three weeks past the autumnal equinox, and presenting us with--as our friends at CapitalWeather.com noted--three straight days of 90 degree temperature. This has happened only......

Now this is a "Wow" photo. Flickr user chapulin colorado woke up at some ridiculous hour to take this early morning shot of a plane taking off from Washington National Airport. The dramatic 8 second exposure from Gravelly Point Park leaves us only with the light trails as they arch up into the air. EXIF.......

Here's a story we missed from earlier this week: Via the Boston Globe, D.C. taxicab driver Ermiyas A. Asfaw was arraigned on Monday in Boston on charges of joking that he was a member of Al Qaeda and that he planned to "blow things up" at Logan International Airport. Asfaw was checking in for a flight on AirTran on Saturday night when an agent asked him why he had stickers on his luggage from Dubai.......

Seattlest watches as a S.L.U.T. is born and Seattle Flickr users go nuts over a local art installation. A restaurant critic demands a Diner's Bill of Rights over a gnat next to her drink, and, in lieu of a Portlandist, Seattlest debates with itself over the identity of the Northwest's crown jewel. Seattlest also joins the guys from Fantagraphics for an ill-fated gun party in the woods. LAist saw national headlines soar this week with......

Today tens of thousands of District children return to school, leaving behind the late-morning starts, extended curfews and breaks at the public swimming pool that summer afforded them. And though the year will proceed as it usually does, they will be part of a school system that has seen drastic changes over the last few months. Now under mayoral control and led by new chancellor Michelle Rhee, the District's public schools have entered a new......

Some details are now available regarding the alleged scuffle involving Rep. Bob Filner (D-Calif.), who represents San Diego, at Dulles Airport on Sunday night. It seems that Filner got a little frustrated while trying to find his bag in a United Airlines baggage claim office, and according to a Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority police statement, then "attempted to enter an area authorized for airline employees only," and "pushed aside the employee's outstretched arm and refused......

>> "Michael Vick agreed Monday to plead guilty to federal dogfighting conspiracy charges, a deal that leaves the Atlanta Falcons quarterback facing up to 18 months in prison and puts his NFL career in jeopardy." [AP via WTOP] >> Rep. Robert Filner (D-Calif.) was charged with assault and battery following an incident at Dulles International Airport Sunday night. [WJLA] >> Taxi GPS doesn't eliminate fare zone confusion. [Free Ride] >> "Four years after a......

If you're heading to any Yellow line destinations this weekend, including National Airport, you should make alternate plans. Metro is shutting down the Yellow line rail bridge over the Potomac River this weekend to do track maintenance and conduct an annual bridge inspection. The closure begins tonight at 10 p.m. and lasts through Sunday at midnight. Directions from WMATA: When a Yellow Line train arrives at the King Street Metrorail station, passengers must transfer to......

In case you missed the news yesterday, the Washington Post has devoted an extraordinary amount of front page column inches to the record breaking temperatures D.C. saw yesterday. At 12:05 p.m. on Wednesday, the temperature hit 102 degrees at Reagan National Airport, according to the National Weather Service, breaking the previous all time high record for Aug. 8, of 101 degrees, set in 1930. The oppressive heat also had a number of other newsworthy......

>> The Red Line has resumed normal service after a suspicious package closed the Dupont Circle, Woodley Park, and Cleveland Park stations for several hours. >> Temperatures hit 102 at Reagan National Airport at 1 p.m., breaking a nearly 80-year-old record by one degree. [WaPo] >> The Adams Morgan Safeway closed briefly Sunday evening due to a bomb scare. [City Desk] >> Damage from the Capitol Lounge/Trover Shop fire is estimated at about $100,000......

>> "The Smithsonian Institution today replaced Gary M. Beer as chief executive of the museum complex's embattled business unit after an inspector general's report found that he had abused his institution-issued credit card and billed $95,000 in expenditures that were unauthorized or lacked evidence of a business purpose." [WaPo] >> Video of Marion Barry getting measured for his wax statue at the new Madame Tussauds wax museum. [Reliable Source] >> Some Orange Red line......

Hey look, someone who writes for Gawker doesn't know where to go out in D.C., and thinks that everyone who lives here works for the government and never changes out of their work clothes! How adorable.Yesterday, I was trying to get home from Miami, but the weather had other plans, and the plane I was on got diverted to Washington, D.C. To Dulles Airport, to be exact, which is way farther outside of the city......

Welcome back to work, Washington. This week promises not only to feel longer than normal thanks to its coming on the heels of a holiday, but also hot enough that you might want to consider setting up an ad-hoc shower in your office, as there's little chance you'll get there without breaking into a sweat first. The Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments has issued a Code Orange alert because of the heat wave, and......

Welcome back to work, Washington. We know many of our regular readers are off celebrating Independence Day already, taking vacation time for a few days to make this upcoming middle-of-the-week holiday less of an inconvenience. For those of you still at your desks, we salute your dedication to the American work ethic. For those of you who'll be heading to the airport some time this week, we were going to beg to be stuffed in......

>> The young women killed in last night's Beltway accident have been identified, and two of them graduated from high school only hours before. [AP and WTOP] >> A Judge ruled that rapper 50 Cent cannot be compelled to testify in the civil case against NBA star Allen Iverson stemming from a 2005 scuffle at Eyebar. [WaPo] >> A woman was humiliated by a TSA employee for trying to take her son's tap water-filled......

Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner are in town today, thanks to Affleck having agreed to be the commencement speaker at Falls Church High School. The WaPo explains that the actor agreed to lend an unusual amount of starpower to the high school graduation ceremony thanks to his friendship with Falls Church senior Joe Kindregan. Kindregan and Affleck met when the actor was filming 1998's Forces of Nature at Dulles Airport. Kindregan has ataxia-telangiectasia, a rare......

The main air traffic control tower at Washington Dulles International Airport was evacuated just after 10 a.m. this morning after fumes from a nearby construction site made some people working in the tower feel ill. The WaPo reports that two controllers and one supervisor were transported to a hospital, but their shifts were quickly filled by back-up staff and the evacuation caused no significant delays -- an average of just about 27 minutes for delays......

>> University of Maryland students continue to protest on-campus housing cutbacks. Today the school's Board of Regents met, with residents of a growing tent city looking on. [The Diamondback] >> One of the best variations on D.C.'s endless tourist season is the junior high field trip. Metroblogging DC has some tips for students and residents. >> The National, who confirmed to DCist last year that they don't hate our city, will join Arcade Fire......

Good morning, Washington. We've been hearing some excellent reports from the frontlines of the celebrations in Georgetown last night, after the Hoyas came back from a 10 point deficit to beat the Tar Heels 96-84. Thousands of students filled M Street in their exuberance, chanting "Hoya Saxa" at the top of their lungs. A smaller group apparently ran all the way to the White House, where the Secret Service asked them to keep it down.......

Former Editor-in-Chief Ryan Avent writes a weekly column about neighborhood and development issues. It's easy to focus on the problems and pathologies at the margins of a rapidly growing city. The pains of congestion and growth are frequently more dramatic in the far flung counties, where populations increase annually by astounding percentages and where infrastructure is least developed. At some point, though, you have to realize that one of the best ways to fix the......

Yesterday's snow storm didn't add up to much as expected, but some of the melted snow on the ground froze overnight, causing a number of suburban school districts to alter their schedules today. Lucky bastards. In the end, only 1.3 inches of snow fell at Reagan National Airport, and with sunny days today and tomorrow with highs in 40s, most of that will likely disappear in short order. Better luck next year, snowpocalypse. Jail Time......

Good morning to you, D.C. It may be raining, but temperatures will hover somewhere between the upper 50s and the lower 60s today, if you can believe that, so no need for a heavy coat. The rain will be gone by tomorrow, in plenty of time for all of us to safely head over to Mayor Adrian Fenty's Inaugural Ball. DCist will be there, and not just for a chance to snap some hilarious photos......

Welcome back, Washington. You're probably still busy with Holiday merriment, but we're here working hard for you. Err... rather, we'll be posting today between yelling at football games and re-heating the Christmas roast beast. Also worth noting is the beginning of Kwanzaa and observance of Boxing Day. While Kwanzaa is mainly an American week of celebration, we have special envy of Boxing Day, a holiday virtually everywhere else in the English-speaking world. It's a whole......

Here's bettin' that most of us will be hopping on a plane in the coming weeks to go visit friends and family over the holiday season. With increasing security lines, liquid fiascoes and general holiday logjams, the trip probably isn't one that anybody is looking forward to. But which airport will get us to our destination fastest? There can only be one... and it turns out the best and fastest place to begin your travels......

We're not sure if Indian Summer is an entirely PC term, but when mall Santas start appearing the same week it's predicted to skirt 70 degrees, we're left with two conclusions. Either we were really nice to puppies and orphans in a past life or global warming isn't so bad. Now for the rest of the news. Fenty Already In The Hole: Incoming Mayor Adrian Fenty hasn't even been sworn in yet and he's facing......

D.C. residents have enough trouble getting people outside the city to take our pleas for fair legislative representation seriously. But the struggle may be more difficult than we ever feared. It seems we've been going about this whole campaign all wrong. We've been appealing to the rest of the country's sense of fairness when we should have been trying to convince them that we're not just a figment of their high school civics teachers' collective......