A man was shot and killed by a police officer Saturday afternoon during a struggle over a gun. Units responded to a disturbance call in the 900 block of Andean Goose Way in Upper Marlboro at approximately 3:30 p.m. yesterday. The mother of the man told officers that her son was acting erratically and had a shotgun inside the house. Her son had a history of mental illness. Officers determined that the man should be evaluated at a hospital because he was a danger to himself and others. However the man resisted going to the hospital and assaulted an officer. While struggling for the officer's gun, another officer shot the man fatally. more ›

Morning Washington. Did you remember to change your clocks an hour forward? If not, do that now. And while you might have lost an hour of sleep, bask in the glory of a sunset tonight at 7:15. more ›

Two women and one man were killed over night, while two other men were shot - all in separate incidents. The three killed were all in SE D.C.: an adult female was shot and killed at approximately 11 p.m. on the 3000 block of Nelson Place SE; an adult female was shot and killed on the 4700 block of B Street SE at approximately 3 a.m.; and an adult male was stabbed to death on the 3100 block of Buena Vista Terrace SE at approximately 3 a.m. more ›

Good morning, D.C. Welcome to your first weekend of March. Today is shaping up to be the winner of the weekend with highs in the 60s, while tomorrow looks like rain. So go out and enjoy the nice weather while you can. more ›

Last night, two were shot in separate incidents in different parts of the city. A man was shot at 1st and P Streets NW at 3 a.m. in an apparent robbery attempt. The victim is in stable condition at an area hospital and has described the suspect as a black male, 6 feet, 1 inch tall, wearing a brown jacket. Across the city, a teenager, approximately 15-years-old, was shot in the 3500 block of Stanton Road SE. The shooting occurred at approximately 6:45 p.m. Friday night. The victim is in serious condition, and as of now the police are unsure of any motive in the shooting. more ›

There was another shooting in Prince George's County last night. Two were shot in Capitol Heights, right on the District line at Southern Avenue and Marlboro Pike. The victims were taken to the hospital, but police haven't released any information about their conditions. There isn't any further information about the victims or the circumstance of the shooting. We will update this story as more information becomes available. more ›

The Washington Post's Michael Birnbaum posts an update noting that the Prince George's County school board has approved the area's strictest ban against students using cell phones during school hours. No texting, no twittering, and no phone calls will be allowed on school property "from the first bell of the morning to the last bell of the day." more ›

Congratulations, District: You can probably read this post! According to a nationwide survey conducted by Central Connecticut State University, the District weighs in as the second-most literate city in the entire nation. Washington, D.C., comes in second after Seattle, Washington, the city that perennially takes the top slot. There are some surprises on the list, including massive gains for Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, which rose to the 4th place spot after hovering near the bottom of the top 10 for the last few years. Literacy in tony Portland, Oregon, isn't nearly so strong as you might expect of a city whose quality of living standard ranks among the highest in the entire world. (Note that Mercer ranks quality of life in D.C. just below that of Portland but several rankings above that of Seattle.) more ›

The man who fired a flare gun at a PG County emergency room last night has been arrested, the Post's Crime Scene blog reports. The man, who went to the hospital just after 7 p.m. last night, was arrested Monday morning at a local gas station, police said. He engaged staff members in an argument and proceeded to shoot a flare gun up in the air. No one was hurt in the incident and police declined to identify the man, though his wife told officers he had a history of mental instability. more ›

Good morning, District. As the world turns its attention to Copenhagen for UN climate talks that seek to shape the global debate about planetary climate change, District residents have a few opportunities to affect change at a local level. For some in this media-rich town, that charge is read as a challenge to generate the most counter-intuitive angle possible on climate change. Our own disgraced climatologist George Will wins that game, with a lede to his column in yesterday's Washington Post that asserts that the one-time carbon cost associated with jet flights to Copenhagen outweighs the monumental and lasting change that delegates there could affect. more ›

A Prince George's County police officer shot and seriously wounded a man in Southeast D.C. today after following the man into the District, the Post is reporting. The victim, who has not been identified, was a suspect in the killing of two people in Anne Arundel County earlier this morning, according to police. The police-involved shooting took place at Minnesota Avenue and Ridge Road SE. more ›

Remember when that 75-foot-wide river that washed Bethesda away after that water main break? That wasn't Juanita Miller's fault. But almost everything else is. more ›

WTOP is reporting a large explosion at a shopping center in Prince George's County. Six people, most of them firefighters, were seriously injured in the blast. The firefighters had been there in response to a call for a natural gas leak at the Penn Mar shopping center in Forestville, Md. See also the AP, and WTOP provides the aerial photo. Looks like the mall was basically leveled at one end. Luckily, the building was evacuated shortly before the explosion. more ›

Despite the fact that epidemiologists have said that the swine flu isn't a drastically worse bug than the conventional flu, and notwithstanding the fact that conditions in near Maryland are not like the conditions in areas of Mexico where swine flu has claimed lives, a fifth school in Prince George's County will close on the threat of swine flu, reports ABC7. Six-hundred students plus faculty and staff will enjoy up to two weeks' recess from all academic and extracurricular activities. Swine flu has not yet been diagnosed at any PG County school. Nevertheless, Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley isn't taking any chances. Declaring a statewide public health emergency, Gov. O'Malley is closing any school where a probable case of swine flu is detected. Fortunately, the flu season is rapidly coming to a close—but then again, so is the spring semester. more ›

The Washington Post went to the trouble of putting up an online poll of its readers this morning over whether they agree with a recent Prince George's County decision to ban the sale of single cigars. The County, you see, has decided to outlaw single cigar sales because teens are buying them in order to use the cigar paper to roll big-ass blunts. Blunts, spliffs, fatties and other jumbo-sized marijuana joints may be big in pop culture, but the notion that making it slightly more difficult to roll them (you can still buy 5-packs of the same cigars) will reduce the ability of anyone to get high is beyond laughable. What will PG County ban next? Apples? Empty soda cans? Light bulbs? more ›

Good morning, Washington. With a new year less than 24 hours away and an improbable playoff berth for the Redskins suddenly a reality, we frankly expect you to have been skipping in to your offices today, in a total and joyous rapture. Even if you've had to work straight through the holidays this year, we will tolerate no whining on this, or really any other matter, on this particular New Year's Eve. There will be only good cheer and winning humor today. Got that, D.C.? That is all. more ›

Good morning, Washington. We hope you had a pleasant and restful evening despite the howling wind and bitter cold. Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee had a bit of a rough night last night herself, as she was greeted by throngs of angry Ward 5 parents at the first community meeting that allowed her to present the school closures plan to the public. Ward 5 D.C. Council member Harry Thomas Jr. had set up the separate meeting... more ›

Happy Day-After-Thanksgiving, D.C. Normally we like to get you your headlines in the a.m., so we hope you'll forgive us for rounding up the news later in the day today -- we needed to spend the morning rolling our much fatter selves out of bed and calling our doctors for a new Lipitor prescription. What do you mean, it isn't necessarily a good idea to put gravy on pumpkin pie? Breaking News: People are Shopping!:... more ›

Good morning, Washington. It looks like California's still on fire, and likely to remain so. Most versions of the aforelinked AP story include the phrase "firefighters all but concede defeat," and the Post is calling the resulting evacuation the largest in modern history. It all sounds pretty grim. Good luck, West Coast. Yet More Stadium Parking Controversy: The Post reports on the latest in a seemingly neverending series of deliberations over parking at the... more ›

Good morning, Washington. Here at DCist, we pride ourselves on providing a forum for law-abiding citizens to discuss issues facing our city, like development and crime, in as open and honest a manner as possible. We may give you our opinions from time to time as a way to get the ball rolling (OK, all the time), but we're always open to hearing from those of you who disagree. Except for right now. Anyone... more ›

Good morning, Washington. As you make your way into work on this fine morning, a note to fans of Canadian super group Stars: "Your Ex-Lover Is Dead"? Good song. "Set Yourself on Fire"? Good song. Setting your ex-lover on fire? Apparently not cool. Attack of the Dubyas: Washington Post Radio (WTWP) is shifting to a "personality driven talk format." And whose personalities (I hear you cry) will be driven into us courtesy of the once-anodyne... more ›

Good morning, Washington. Just one day after officials did their best to reassure metro area drivers that our bridges are safe to travel on, the Washington Post has pored over U.S. Department of Transportation statistics that show that a dozen bridges in the District, hundreds more in Maryland, and nearly 1,200 in Virginia are listed as "structurally deficient," -- the same rating as the bridge that collapsed in Minneapolis Wednesday. Still, DDOT says that... more ›

Well, it's August, D.C. Temperatures will be peaking, news will be slowing, and the non-workaholics among us will be fleeing the city for less sweltering vacation spots. We're not saying you ought to panic, exactly, but there are definite signs that Summer '07 may not be endless after all. Better get going on all that relaxing you had planned. PG County Cop Indicted For Murder: Seven months ago two Marlo employees made a delivery... more ›

Ahhhh, the real start of summer: The consistently warmer temperatures ... the first night you venture wearing skimpy clothes out ... the year's first Code Orange Bad Air Quality Day. However you prefer measuring the start of the season, the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments is predicting our first Code Orange air quality day today, meaning ozone levels are predicted to be extremely high and the air quality very poor. The Northern Virginia Transportation Commission... more ›

Good morning, D.C. It was an eventful weekend across the District, with big to-do's tying up traffic in every direction. We hope you didn't spend too much time stuck in it. While we're genuinely thrilled to hear that Oprah Winfrey's commencement speech at Howard University was a big hit and was reported on all over the world, we're pretty disappointed to have it be Monday morning and still have zero reports from any of our... more ›

>> Ward 1 council member Jim Graham hopes the residents of Ward 5 won't mind if he moves some strip clubs displaced by the new Nationals stadium into their neighborhood. Here's a tip to make sure there's no local resistance: Ward 5 residents get in for free! [Examiner] >> Don't miss Tamara Jones and Roxanne Roberts' merciless ribbing of President Bush for almost accidentally suggesting Queen Elizabeth II was over 200 years old. The... more ›

Good morning, Washington. We hope you had as pleasant a weekend as we had, running around in that gorgeous warm sunlight and forgetting you ever complained about the weather in this city in the first place. Not even the threat of rain later this week, nor the mess of traffic on Saturday night that resulted from what was reportedly the least fun White House Correspondents' Dinner ever, could ruin our overall improved moods. Seasonal affective... more ›

The nation is still transfixed on the latest coming out of Blacksburg, especially the startling images and words that have come out of the package Cho Seung-Hui apparently sent to NBC News between his two shooting sprees. It's also of course talking about the day's two biggest stories coming out of Washington: The Supreme Court's decision to uphold the so-called partial-birth abortion ban, and the start of Congressional testimony by embattled Attorney General Alberto... more ›

Good morning, Washington. Today is the day of the Voting Rights March. If you can, gather at Freedom Plaza at 2:30 p.m. to march to the capitol with your friends from DCist and other Washingtonians. Or, just meet us for the rally planned at 4 p.m. at the Capitol Reflecting Pool. Either way, we hope you make it out for at least one hour to show your support for District voting rights. Don't let this... more ›

Good morning, Washington. We really wish we had some good news to share in regards to the local weather forecast, but it's starting to seem as though the more often we refresh the weather page, the worse the predictions actually get. So new rule this morning. We'll only talk about kittens and lollipops and pretty pretty ribbons until we get at least two days in a row with sunshine. Our strategy is clear: annoy the... more ›