Up until last year, the D.C. Council's weekly breakfast meetings were closed to the press and the public. The meetings, which then council Chair Linda Cropp claimed were merely social in nature, were thought of by local reporters as the place where city politicos hammered out sensitive deals -- and did so away from the prying eyes of the District's residents. Even though that has now changed, we've never really gotten much of a sense......

Because of the Thanksgiving holiday, our picks here at DCist look a little slim this week. Fear not, the authors will return to our city next week with more books they think you should buy as holiday gifts. In the meantime, enjoy and be thankful for your pie. MONDAY: Mr. The Greatest Generation, Tom Brokaw, is back to give us another "epic portrait" of a defining era in U.S. history, this time the 1960s in......

At this week's concerts, the National Symphony Orchestra premiered the new harp concerto that it commissioned from Mark Adamo. Adamo dedicated Four Angels to conductor Leonard Slatkin, who helped make the commission happen, and the NSO's principal harpist, Dotian Levalier, for whom the solo part was created. On Friday night at the Kennedy Center, Slatkin led the NSO through a sensitive reading of this rather traditional but hauntingly lovely score. The first movement is named......

Memorial Day has come and gone, and we are now officially in the summer hiatus of the Classical Music Agenda. Here are some highlights for this week: in a week or two, this feature will take a well-deserved rest until Labor Day, when the classical concert schedule returns to full power. TOPS THIS WEEK: >> On Wednesday night, the excellent NPR radio program From the Top will be recorded in front of a live audience......

Shanghaiist probably knows a little more about China than the Chicago Sun-Times. Giving them the benefit of the doubt on that one. The city does to have a music scene. Don't even front like they don't. They also have Dorito bananas and white guys shopping for wives. What they don't have is any more tolerance for jaywalkers. Bostonist sees Boston and Somerville each whip out their art and face off. A plagiarized novel is the......

An unknown DCist reader posted this photo, taken inside the Hirshhorn Museum, to DCist photos. Today there'll be a few clouds early and sun and highs in the mid 80s later. Looking for something to do tonight? Check out the free screening of Summer Stock at the National Building Museum. Bike Trail Specifics Disputed: The Metropolitan Branch Trail, a planned bike path connecting a new trail in the District with the already existent Capital......

A plane bound for Washington's Dulles International Airport out of London was diverted to Bangor, Maine, when a name popped up on a U.S. watch list: Yusuf Islam. The person in question is the man who used to go by the name Cat Stevens, the famed singer, who converted to Islam years ago. According to the AP, via WJLA, Mr. Islam will be put on the first available flight out of the country today because......