>> A fire forced students to evacuate a dorm at Catholic University. [NBC4] >> "NEWSFLASH: The Nazis killed millions of people. This gay rights organization raises money for AIDS research, breast cancer and the arts, among countless other charities." [Blade Blog] >> "Wizards players are donating $20,000 to a woman whose former boyfriend doused her with gasoline and set her on fire." [AP via WTOP] >> A D.C. man in his 50s was hit......

>> The District's next sales tax holiday starts Friday, Nov. 23 and lasts until the following Friday, December 2. [WJLA] >> Mayor Fenty and Schools Chancellor Rhee announced today that every D.C. classroom will have a working desktop computer by February under a $4 million technology initiative. [WaPo] >> Maryland voters will get to decide in a special November 2008 referendum on whether to allow the state to install up to 15,000 slot machines......

Written by DCist Contributer Josh Kramer The Eagle – American University: >>AU students lamented losing their Hollywood Video this week, which is holding a giant closing sale and selling all of its movies. It's unclear what will become of the space, conveniently located next to the AU shuttle bus stop and the Tenleytown-AU Metro station. >>Sgt. Zachary Tellier, a 1998 AU graduate, was killed by enemy fire while fighting in Afghanistan on the 29th of......

>> Ben's Chili Bowl is set to expand. [Examiner] >> Tickets to see David Beckham play with the L.A. Galaxy versus D.C. United go on sale Monday. [SoccerInsider] >> Deputy Mayor for Education Victor Reinoso was robbed of his briefcase, cellphone and wallet at gunpoint last night in Takoma. Reinoso was uninjured and his briefcase was later recovered, but he had a hard time gaining access to the Wilson Building this morning without ID.......

FRIDAY: >> It may be that we've simply gotten so, so, so many press releases about The Horrors show tonight at the Rock and Roll Hotel, and we've been beaten into submission to mention it. Give the punky-garage rock revivalists a chance for $12 at 8:30 p.m., and let us know if they're worth all the fuss. Seattle's Schoolyard Heroes open, plus locals Scanner Freaks. >> One of the most anticipated new hip hop albums......

The sprawling anthology—wherein we follow a large number of characters as their lives overlap but rarely intersect directly—has been a constant presence at the movies for years. Although the genre was once an exclusive territory to which Robert Altman seemed to own the only set of keys, since the mid-90s, Quentin Tarantino, P.T. Anderson, and Alejandro González Iñárritu have all followed this loose pattern to big success—the producers of 2004’s Crash even got a Best......

Today, Washington is still dealing with the aftermath of losing so many area residents at Virginia Tech and trying to grasp the scope of Monday's events. Even those not connected to the school have been moved to prayer and shows of support. In situations like these, many of us feel powerless, yet some gain strength by joining others to reflect and remember. Yesterday students at UVa, Georgetown, Galluadet, Howard, UMd, Catholic University, American, UDC, GW......

Last week's Classical Music Agenda omitted an excellent concert opportunity that just came to my attention, annual concerts of Schubert's music called Schubert, Schubert, and Schubert. The final installment is this evening (March 18, 8 p.m.), at Georgetown University's Gaston Hall (37th and O St. NW), when the Auryn String Quartet will play Schubert's Quartetsatz, D. 703, and the "Death and the Maiden" quartet, D. 810. Pianist Kyoko Hashimoto will also play the four Schubert......

Start singing the blues D.C., just don't do it in front of a panel of judges hostile to you and a nation with their fingers literally on the button of your career. Last night Catholic University student Antonella Barba was dismissed from American Idol in a cut that chose the final 12 contestants. While the judges were shocked when voters gave Jason "Sundance" Head the boot, they seemed content to let Barba go. Much of......

Though we can't all claim to be following this season of American Idol ourselves, the show's ratings tell us that at least a few of you probably are. So what do we care? Well, one of our own has made it to the top 24 this season, the show's fifth. Antonella Barba isn't a D.C. native -- she's originally from Point Pleasant, NJ, but she's been calling this city home for the past few years.......

Kicking off Friday with a one-hundred and seventy-five person audience at George Mason University, the fourth annual DC Improv's Funniest College tourney has officially started. Whatever their US News and World Report rankings, the eight D.C.-area universities participating have the chance to out-smart each other in the subject of Laughter. Spanning over the next eight weeks, the competition allows individual students (grad and undergrad) to perform stand-up against fellow classmates inner-collegiately and against rivaling schools.......

>> Now fellas, we know circumcision is a serious issue, and everyone is pleased to learn that the procedure could protect millions from contracting HIV, but our inner ten-year-old also delighted in the Post's coverage today. Speaking about the foreskin research on behalf of the World Health Organization was none other than Kevin De Cock. Seriously. We're happy to see he has taken the problem firmly in hand and cut through social issues surrounding the......

FRIDAY: >> The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception offers its annual Christmas Concert for Charity tonight. The Basilica's professional choir (featuring our very own DCist Charles!) will perform, followed by the choirs and orchestra of Catholic University. Admission is free, with a free-will donation to benefit the Spanish Catholic Center, a haven for immigrants to the Washington, D.C., area since 1967. The center provides services at locations in Mount Pleasant and......

Rugby fans, rejoice! This Sunday, the Embassy of New Zealand presents the Tenth Annual Ambassador's Shield Match at Trinity College. When it comes to rugby, the Kiwis represent: the New Zealand All-Blacks, currently the top-ranked team in the world, is the game's most legendary team. Maria Vastola, the Manager of the Mid-Atlantic Rugby Football Union (MARFU) Women's Select Side, tells us point blank that the Shield Match is "highest quality rugby you will get in......

Over at Georgetown's daily twice-weekly newspaper The Hoya, we learn that a part-time chaplain in the Office of Protestant Ministry has resigned after a ban against a handful of Protestant Evangelical student groups went into effect on the Catholic University's campus. The chaplain, Reverend Derrick Harkins, said his decision stemmed largely from the additional work he was assigned resulting from the ban, which he said was more than he agreed to take on before he......

If Washington seems a little more chatty today, it might be that the results of yesterday's primaries are finally starting to sink in. In the day's biggest race, Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.), lost to novice Ned Lamont, while Rep. Cynthia McKinney again lost her seat in a runoff election in Georgia. We're of varying opinions on the Lieberman loss, but we can say this much -- please Cynthia, don't go. Pull a Tom DeLay......

Today at the Fringe, ethnicity is explored through dance, a pair of cabaret acts make their debut, and some drenched French whores finally get their star-crossed production off the ground. But first, it looks like we spoke too soon about ticket availability for the One-Man Star Wars Trilogy--an alert DCist tipster dispensed the bad news last night--sold out straight up and down. A pity, because Charles Ross is headed to Edinburgh after the Capital Fringe......

LAist has so much fun this week! They go to E3, where they overhear the timeless remark "Man, this is where nerdy girls get laid." Is that a promise? They also give us this week's best CDs and make us realize that LA is the best place to use Zillow. Ah, Houstonist. They're biking to work, that is, if they can figure out how to get there. That's right, Mapquest says "Houston had the......

You'd have to be living under a rock to have missed the furor over allegations that several Duke lacrosse players raped an exotic dancer they'd hired to perform at a team party. The story has developed local connections, as well, as we've learned that suspect Colin Finnerty will face assault charges for a separate incident here in Washington, and David Evans, originally from Bethesda, recently became the third individual indicted in the case. Questions echoing......

Over the last few weeks we've been highlighting some of the proposals coming into the Solving D.C. Problems website, an initiative launched by the D.C. Appleseed Center for Law and Justice earlier this month to encourage residents to identify local problems and propose solutions. Today we focus on two ways to make the District a more entertaining city. The first proposes that the city invest in its own climbing wall: The city owns the historic......

It's already been a busy year for development in the corridor of land that stretches from Bryant Street north along North Capitol to Catholic University. DCist has kept a close eye on the debate between residents of the nearby neighborhoods (of Park View, Petworth, and Brookland) and the Armed Forces Retirement Home, which intends to open portions of its massive campus to commercial and residential development. Green space has been a part of that discussion,......

NBC 4 reports that five robberies took place around Catholic University between this past Thursday and Sunday. All of the victims were Catholic students, and at least one of the robberies involved a gun. NBC 4's report states that at this point, no suspects have been apprehended. I was actually going past the campus last night as the station was filming this segment. If you follow the link to NBC 4's website, you'll notice part......

Two weeks ago, we took a look at the developing discussion over the fate of proposed development on the campus of the Armed Forces Retirement Home (which we'll refer to as the Home, or AFRH). The post prompted a long discussion and a stream of emails, so today we revisit the subject. The campus site currently consists of about 270 acres, most of which is open space (though closed to the public) but which does......

Ah, what better sign could we have that summer is here than the arrival of the summer music festivals? Over at Ionarts, this DCist is keeping track of opera festivals around the world this summer. While we don't have an actual summer opera festival in Washington -- which could be a great idea, like the Metropolitan Opera's Met in the Park in New York -- we have a number of small opera companies that perform......

Catholic University has reversed a highly publicized decision made last summer to prevent students from organizing a campus chapter of the NAACP. At the time, university leaders ended a meeting with NAACP President Kweisi Mfume on June 19 in a stalemate citing the NAACP's perceived "support for abortion rights," and arguing another student organization wasn't needed on campus. The reversal was made after an Oct. 5 meeting where Catholic U. students accepted some restrictions -......

If you're running out of options for Northwest D.C., why not give Northeast a try? This weekend, Northeast offers the eighth annual Brookland Festival. The festival will feature live music, pub and grub specials, and a dance performance by Dance Place. Historic Brookland is one of the more fascinating neighborhoods of D.C. Home to The Catholic University of America, the neighborhood is also known as "Little Vatican" due to the high cluster of Catholic institutions......

Don't have plans Thursday and Friday? The District needs your help. D.C. is holding a two-day mass casualty drill to test how well emergency responders react. During the exercise, first responders and key personnel from the District’s Emergency Management Agency, Departments of Health and Fire and Emergency Medical Services, Metropolitan Police Department, and various hospitals will test their emergency response equipment. Test messages will be communicated on emergency personnel devices such as scanners, pagers, and......

If you are a Red Line commuter who is planning to stay in the District this coming Labor Day weekend, watch out: construction at the future New York Avenue-Florida Avenue-Gallaudet University metrorail station, aka NewYoFla, will shut down the Red Line between Union Station and Fort Totten. If you are Silver Spring or College Park commuter, WMATA adivses you to use the Green Line (via Fort Totten) to access the center city at Gallery Place-Chinatown.......