Virginia Governor Tim Kaine (D) today ended a two-week moratorium on lethal injections after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the execution method did not violate constitutional protections against cruel and unusual punishment. In early April Kaine announced that he was suspending all executions pending the court's decision, provoking criticism from Republicans in what is the second most death penalty-loving state in the union. But with the court's decision, announced earlier today, Kaine put executions......

Today the Post is reporting some big, if symbolic news -- Virginia Governor Tim Kaine (D) decided yesterday to impose a moratorium on executions until the U.S. Supreme Court can issue a ruling on a case challenging the constitutionality of lethal injections. Kaine's announcement directly stayed two upcoming executions. Predictably, Republicans in Virginia have criticized Kaine's move as a step towards a permanent moratorium, something that would be unthinkable in the a state that has......

Good Morning, D.C. It sure is getting hot in here, and for once, we don't just mean the weather. The Post reports this morning that the Voting Rights Bill is making some progress in the Senate. Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.), a co-sponsor of the bill, announced that the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, which he chairs, will vote on the legislation Wednesday. And in a meeting with Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton and Mayor Fenty,......

Two weeks into the D.C. smoking ban, and we've got news, both good and bad, to report. Smoking Bans are Fleeting: This month's issue of The Atlantic brings us news that will be music to the ears of the District's disgruntled smokers. According to the magazine, smoking bans have a long and rich history -- and are usually overturned. Whether Pope Urban VIII's proclamation of a worldwide smoking ban in 1624 or Adolf Hitler's German......

Once again, everyone but the U.S. government might finally realize that the denial of voting rights for District residents is an affront to democracy and human rights. We've received word that Timothy Cooper, Executive Director of Worldrights, a human rights advocacy organization, testified on Monday before the United Nations' Human Rights Committee in Geneva. Cooper's grief? The lack of voting rights for District residents. In reference to the persistent injustice we constantly harp on, Cooper......

Part of DCist's continuing coverage of Deluge '06. When you headed out in your car yesterday, you probably felt a bit like Noah boarding the ark. You checked your two headlights, two windshield wipers, two pairs of shoes, and, if you were Rush Limbaugh, two Viagra. As the rain takes a breather, let's learn about two D.C. cases involving flood victims that, together, will be necessary for anyone considering suing the city when the......

As if a rainy Monday wasn't enough, we get a partly cloudy Tuesday, too. It's May, the "April showers" should be wrapped up, already. How about viewing May flowers behind a backdrop of blue sky, not slate gray? A little cheery history for all you Muppet fans out there: on May 9th, 1955, University of Maryland alum Jim Henson's first show, Sam and Friends, debuted on WRC-TV here in Washington. Sam and Friends laid the......

It looks like it's going to be that kind of gray day where pulling a Ferris Bueller seems to be a far more viable option than getting up and going to work. In an attempt to fool us into thinking spring is on its way, the temperature was around 71 degrees last night. Today, the high will be around 61, with some drizzle. Further fueling our dreams of spring, WTOP is relaying where to find......

It’s Tuesday. No, it doesn’t have the mid-week "hump” status of Wednesday, nor does it have the festive vibe of a Friday, but it’s Tuesday, and we love it all the same. With a study claiming that pervasive American melancholy is a myth and today shaping up to be a mostly sunny day with a high of 47 degrees, things aren’t so bad. D.C. Won’t Cover Cost Overruns: With the cap on public spending......

On Sundays, DCist publishes opinion pieces about life in D.C. The views expressed below are solely those of the author. I have lived on Capitol Hill since 1992, and the only thing that I do not like about living in this city is my so-called voting rights. I wish that the government would take them back. The lines of the federal district were drawn in 1791, but the people who lived here continued to vote......

Of. course. And on the very day that we don't ride the bus. Yesterday some lucky commuters received undated bus transfers when Metrobus ran out of their standard transfers due to an equipment problem at the company that prints them. The passes can theoretically be used over and over again, so expect a black market in these "emergency transfers" to emerge on craigslist.org in approximately 5 seconds. Warner Grants Clemency to Death Row Inmate: Virginia......

Good morning, Washington. This house is the entry by the University of Maryland in the Department of Energy's Solar Decathlon, the student competition we told you about last week. The houses are viewable on the National Mall until October 16th. Today will be cloudy with a 30 percent chance of rain and highs in the 60s. How'd You Like $100,000? The latest chapter in the story of the city's hot real estate market is a......

Happy Monday, D.C.! We hope you enjoyed your holidays. If you're back at a half-empty office like DCist is, keep checking back for periodic updates - we're still on a slower-than-normal publishing schedule, but we'll have a few posts throughout the day. Thousands Killed in Southeast Asia: The big nonlocal news story is that a huge earthquake caused tidal waves throughout southeast Asia this Sunday, killing more than 20,000. The hardest hit countries were Indonesia,......

More Water Woes: Perchlorate doesn't sound like something you want in your drinking water. But the Post brings us an alert saying that the chemical "known to disrupt the thyroid gland and linked to hormonal dysfunction, developmental delays and infertility" has been found in groundwater near the Dalecarlia Reservoir in Upper Northwest. The Northwest Current newspaper has been all over the issue of World War I-era chemical armaments in the Spring Valley neighborhood and first......

The U.S. Supreme Court opened its new term today, promising to cover some interesting ground that includes arguments on the death penalty for minors, medicinal marijuana, interstate wine shipments, and retaliation for reporting discrimination under Title IX. Today's docket offers an unusual two-hour session, which the Post notes as "a possible revolution in the federal criminal justice system." The court turns its attention toward ironing out the delicacies of its end-of-term Blakely v. Washington......