It's been a banner week for D.C. autonomy—one Republican wants to ban all abortions in D.C. after 20 weeks, and now another wants to exempt all military personnel from the city's gun laws. more ›

Seeing and hearing jets fly over the District is nothing new for Washington residents. That said, you'd be excused from checking out the headline on this AP item -- "Military training flights soaring over region" -- and simply moving along. But then you'd miss this little nugget of information! more ›

Yonathan Melaku, a 22-year-old reservist who was taken into custody after engaging in suspicious activity at Arlington National Cemetery last Friday, will be charged in connection with five shootings at military sites around Virginia last fall. more ›

Victory is ours! DCist has finally hammered down precisely what was creating noises that sounded like pile driving around the District early this morning: a World War II Anti-Tank Gun. Yes, you read that correctly. more ›

Authorities in Virginia are still totally stumped about who recently spent three weeks shooting at military buildings around the Northern Virginia area, including the Pentagon. (So far, all we really know is that the shooter or shooters have "a familiarity with the Northern Virginia area" and "may have experienced a significant personal crisis within the past several months," which narrows it down to somewhere around a million people.) To help out, the Department of Justice is chipping in a reward of up to $20,000 for information leading to a conviction in the case. To date, authorities -- which include operatives from the FBI, Fairfax County Police, Pentagon Force Protection Agency and Prince William County Police -- are investigating five shootings, which they say are linked. more ›

Prince William County police say that shots were fired at a Coast Guard recruitment facility in Woodbridge overnight. No injuries have been reported based on the information available at this moment. Law enforcement officials are currently on the scene to try and figure out whether this incident is at all related to the series of connected shootings at military-affiliated facilities over the past few weeks. This incident, if police do find a connection, would be somewhat of a break from the pattern of those recent shootings -- those had focused on Marine targets, including a Marine recruitment center and two separate shootings at National Museum of the Marine Corps. Of course, shots were also fired on the Pentagon, so police aren't ruling anything out at this point. more ›

Prince William County police are saying that yet more shots were fired upon the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Triangle overnight, the second time that an unknown person or people have fired on the building and the fourth such incident of gunshots aimed at Virginia military-related buildings over the last twelve days. No injuries were reported and the gunfire occurred after the Museum was closed. The first shooting at the Museum occurred on October 17; since then (and before this news), gunshots had hit the side of the Pentagon (October 19) and a Marine recruiting center in Chantilly (October 26). All three of those incidents have been linked to the same weapon. Investigators are on the scene of the Museum this morning to see if they can get any clues as to whether this shooting is linked as well. more ›

The Messenger starts with loss, as Staff Sergeant Will Montgomery (Ben Foster) has one last bittersweet meeting with his girlfriend, who met another man while he was off to war. It's a gentle way of ushering the audience into a movie that is all about loss on a larger scale. For soon after his return from the war, with injuries that nearly took away an eye and his ability to walk, Montgomery is assigned to the Army's Casualty Notification service, bringing news of the deaths of soldiers in the field to their families back home. more ›

We had to read through this article from Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail three times before we decided it wasn't necessarily an elaborate prank. According to reporter Paul Koring, it seems that during a two-day military conference set to convene at the Embassy of Canada in Washington Sept. 23-24, Canadian officials plan to stage a mock Afghan village in the courtyard of the embassy, in which they will set off a series of fake explosions. The pyrotechnical spectacle is apparently intended as a demonstration of Canadian military might, and especially their troops' activities in Afghanistan. The paper reports that American military officials, U.S. Congressmen and Afghan experts are expected to attend the conference. Here's what they'll be treated to:

The mock village, complete with a small souk and peopled by nearly a dozen Afghan actors, will be created in the courtyard of the Canadian embassy, halfway between the Capitol and the White House. A handful of Canadian soldiers and, Col. Martin hopes, U.S. Marines will arrive to "see the village leader" just as the IED blows up, "critically injuring" at least one Afghan, who will get immediate first aid from a Canadian medic. more ›

Since 1990, Burma’s rightful Prime Minister – and only hope for democracy – has been a political prisoner under a military dictatorship built on a foundation of violence and intimidation. Thus, struggle is nothing new for the Burmese people as civil unrest has become analogous to the country for nearly half a century. For this, one can’t help but hope for better fortune for the people of Burma, be it in their native land or right here in D.C., like the success of a small, unassuming restaurant simply called Burma. Whether owner John Tinpe realizes it or not, the decision to christen his 2nd floor establishment after the country’s unofficial title is a strong testimony to his people’s continuous fight for democracy (Burma was officially renamed Myanmar in 1989 but pro-democracy advocates refuse to acknowledge the change). more ›

>> The Yes! Organic Market in Brookland was robbed just after All Hands on Deck ended over the weekend. [Free Ride] >> Don't be alarmed if you see and hear a lot of military flights at odd hours today and tonight. [WTOP] >> Progress on the O Street Market development. [Fifth and Oh] >> "What's next? The Lucky Lemur? The Gray Chinchilla?" [metrocurean] Photo by soleil1016... more ›

If you're down on the National Mall this weekend and see, oh, 12,000 flags stuck in the ground, don't be alarmed. The Federal Government hasn't started an experimental flag farm, nor is the display an effort of the area's squirrels to show their patriotism. The flags have been planted to represent the 12,000 members of the United States military who have been discharged under the practice of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." The policy, which governs... more ›

>> One of the funniest comedic performers out there today, Amy Sedaris is at the Historic Sixth and I Synagogue tonight to promote her recent book, I Like You, at 8 p.m. Advance tickets are no longer available, but a few seats can apparently still be had at the door for $25 -- a small price to pay to be entertained by the woman who brought us the wonder that is Jerri Blank. >>... more ›

Sean Fine and Andrea Nix Fine are two filmmakers who call D.C. home. They've made a name for themselves as writers, producers, and directors of documentary films, often for National Geographic and television, but their latest project has raised their profile far beyond the recognition of their previous work. War/Dance, for which the pair take joint directorial credit, has earned the couple a mantle's worth of awards this year, including the documentary directing prize at... more ›

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... more ›

Before the curtain of the second performance of Washington National Opera's new production of Mozart's Don Giovanni on Monday night, conductor Plácido Domingo made an announcement. Happily, it was not to announce a cast change, but to draw the audience's attention to the fact that it was the 220th anniversary of the opera's first performance in Prague (October 29, 1787). This production is not likely to rank high on anyone's list of noteworthy versions of... more ›

>> The ticketing level of Dulles airport was briefly evacuated this afternoon due to a suspicious package. The area has already been given an all-clear, but flight delays are expected to continue throughout tonight. [NBC4] >> Police arrested dozens of anti-war protesters on Captiol Hill this morning, making your morning commute craptastic. [WaPo] >> The U.S. Air Force and the Maryland wing of the Civil Air Patrol are conducting training drills over Washington through Wednesday,... more ›

"The trouble with radicals,” goes a quote widely attributed to early 20th century economist Thomas Nixon Carver, “is that they only read radical literature, and the trouble with conservatives is that they don’t read anything.” That both sides of the political spectrum have proven that to be a lie will be apparent tomorrow tonight at the Trover Shop on Capitol Hill, which is hosting The Hill’s Sixth Annual Political Book Fair. Participating authors include current... more ›

MONDAY: Atlantic Monthly correspondent Robert D. Kaplan will be at Politics and Prose to discuss his latest book, Hog Pilots, Blue Water Grunts. According to Kaplan, journalists are too quick to report on the negative aspects of the military. Commence with bickering over the Iraq war ... now. 7 p.m. TUESDAY: Blogger Diane Vadino will be at Olsson's in Dupont Circle to read from her first novel, Smart Girls Like Me. 7 p.m. She'll also... more ›

>> Looking to practice your Spanish comprehension? The Permanent Mission of Guatemala to the OAS is hosting an interesting free movie screening tonight at the Art Museum of the Americas -- but be warned, the film does not have English subtitles. Donde Acaban Los Caminos is based on the autobiographical novel by Mario Monteforte Toledo, about a young man who arrives in San Pedro La Laguna during the military dictatorship in the first decades of... more ›

Written by DCist Contributor Fredo Alvarez In a 60-39 cloture vote, the U.S. Senate barely passed the Matthew Shepard Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2007 (S 1105) today as an amendment to the FY 2008 Defense Authorization Bill (HR 1585). The measure would expand protection against hate crimes to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community, and would enable the Federal government to provide assistance in the investigation or prosecution of... more ›

Although 192 protesters were arrested Saturday during the March to End the War and competing counter-protest by the Gathering of Eagles, by most measures turnout was low. The Post's Marc Fisher notes in his column that the small numbers of people who marched over the weekend is more a measure of a lack of enthusiasm for protesting in this country, rather than a lack of strong feelings against the war -- just visit any popular... more ›

Via PreservationNation, the National Trust for Historic Preservation has started a campaign to save the original Tomb of the Unknowns, or Tomb of the Unknown Soldier as it's commonly called, at Arlington National Cemetery. Who would want to mess with the tomb? According to the National Trust, it's the folks who run Arlington National Cemetery themselves, as well as Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.) -- perhaps one of the senate's most famous military veterans and fathers... more ›

Months after a fire gutted the interior of Eastern Market's South Hall and almost destroyed the District landmark, vendors will be back in business tomorrow in a temporary structure built across the street. The structure, which looks like a big white tent, cost $1.5 million and will be used while $25 million in repairs are completed on the South Hall, a process that could take up to two years. We're happy to see things slowly... more ›

Last month we got a letter from reader Christine, who related the follwing story and asked us to look into it. I recently moved to Fairfax, VA to live with my parents until my marriage next month to a marine who is stationed at 8th and I Marine Barracks in SE. After their Friday evening parade, many of the guys like to grab a beer or two. This Friday, myself, my fiancee, and five others... more ›

Good Monday morning to you, Washington. We can officially declare that the dog days of August have arrived today, now that the House has finally, finally adjourned for their summer break. News junkies will want to note that before heading home they passed a modified version of the defense budget, which will increase spending for defense health care and military housing, among a list of other expenditures. Of course what Washingtonians really care about is... more ›

"Listen, not a year goes by, not a year, that I don't hear about some escalator accident involving some bastard kid which could have easily been avoided had some parent — I don't care which one — but some parent conditioned him to fear and respect that escalator." —Brodie, Mallrats I was conditioned perhaps a little too heavily to fear and respect the escalator. While I had no trouble riding up, getting on from the... more ›

Was Ben Franklin a playa, and Thomas Jefferson a great lover? Was the route to independence from Britain wrought with as much inner political wrangling as any of today’s Congressional machinations? Should our national bird really have been the turkey? 1776, Keegan Theater's take on one of America’s most clever and underrated musicals, attempts to answer these questions through vividly imagined depictions of our founding fathers, and smart, lyrical songs; you have to love a... more ›

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... more ›