White House photo by Paul Morse The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Northeast Washington was full of big name mourners this morning for the funeral of former White House Press Secretary and conservative commentator Tony Snow, who died from colon cancer last weekend at the age of 53. The Politico's Mike Allen was there, and described the ceremony as "a tearful, somber, sobering day." The Associated Press quotes President......

Just in case you missed yesterday's best bit of video on the internet, check out President Bush offering his assessment of Pope Benedict XVI's speech outside the White House (via the Hill's Blog Briefing Room).......

Pope Benedict XVI took to his popemobile after meeting with President Bush at the White House this morning. The pontiff, who is celebrating his 81st birthday today, rode west beginning around noon on Pennsylvania Ave. through Washington Circle before heading north on Rock Creek Parkway before exiting at Massachusetts Ave. to arrive at the Vatican embassy. A large, enthusiastic crowd of about 10,000 gathered to cheer on the Pope as he rode by, rather swiftly......

President Bush and first lady Laura Bush greet Pope Benedict XVI as he arrives at Andrews Air Force Base, Md. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) Pope Benedict XVI arrived at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland at about 4:11 p.m. for his first papal visit to the United States. President Bush greeted the pontiff on a red carpet on the tarmac in front of thousands of people who gathered to catch a glimpse of the Catholic......

AP Photo/Ron Edmonds Behold the male version of the White House Easter bunny, pictured here with President Bush this morning at the annual Easter Egg Roll on the South Lawn. Can you imagine being a 5 year-old kid and having that thing coming at you? Free Ride has a photo of the female bunny, which it accurately describes as "hallucinogenic-looking." Granted, virtually all giant plush costumes could make any child cry, and we all know......

Eels singer/songwriter Mark Oliver Everett (aka. E) is extending an olive branch, of sorts, to President Bush, who according to Everett has blasted the band's music in the past as "a bad example for the kids of America." In a letter to the president dated March 10, Everett invites the president and first lady to come to the band's March 29 show at the Sixth & I Historic Synagogue, adding, "if you come to the......

As has been mentioned in comments earlier this morning, the Nationals invited President Bush to throw out the ceremonial first pitch at the team's season opener against the Atlanta Braves at Nationals Park on March 30. Being a huge baseball fan and having nothing better to do lately, the president naturally accepted. There is some precedent for this. Bush also threw the first pitch on April 14, 2005, when the Nationals played their first game......

When in the closing days of 2006 we looked back on the year in D.C. voting rights, we optimistically hoped that 2007 would finally be the year that saw some movement on enfranchising the District's residents. Movement, yes; resolution, not so much. So as we wind down 2007, we're again left hoping that maybe the coming year will be the one. The primary mover in the D.C. voting rights movement in 2007 was legislation......

Christmas Eve falls on a Monday this year, so President Bush has ordered the federal government to close on Dec. 24., giving most federal employees an extra long weekend for the holiday. Many feds may be left out of the sweet deal, though: Bush's executive order states that department heads may order some employees to report to work on Dec. 24 "for reasons of national security or defense or other public need." Plus pretty much......

Maybe we're cheeseballs, but we love the Annual Turkey Ceremony, the moment when the president "pardons" a lucky turkey (plus an alternate) who then becomes the official National Thanksgiving Turkey and gets to spend the rest of its days on some farm at Disneyworld or something like that. Sure, it's capricious and cutesy, but who cares! Turkeys are funny looking, and presidents posing with turkeys are even funnier. This year will mark the 60th anniversary......

The folks over at Dulles Metro extension are breaking out the construction tools … and the credit cards. $900 million of the $2.83 billion price tag of the initial 11.6-mile leg is in that Transportation Department spending bill tied up in Congress and under threat of veto by President Bush. But with or without the money, officials plan to start work, reports The Examiner. Is it just us, or does this violate everything you ever......

The Red Sox has permeated nearly every facet of Bostonist's lives. When they're not live-blogging the games, waxing poetic about the games, thanking Curt Schilling for his splendid work, or telling Dane Cook to watch his hair, they're watching certain presidential candidates hop on the Red Sox bandwagon (sorry, Gothamist). The Sox are so branded on the local brain that people are using the Series to spice up their sex lives. Speaking of spice, Bostonist......

Good morning, Washington. Flickr user zenfrisbee went down to the West Lawn yesterday to catch the festivities surrounding the Dalai Lama's visit and acceptance of a Congressional Gold Medal. China, naturally, had "solemnly demanded" the cancellation of the event, which saw President Bush appear with the Dalai Lama in public -- something no sitting U.S. president has done before. Bush dismissed China's concerns over the event, saying he didn't think it would severely damage relations......

>> The Nationals might go ahead and pay to change the name of the Navy Yard metro stop themselves. [WTOP] >> Foxhall Road is closed to through traffic from Reservoir Road to Nebraska Avenue until Thursday, October 25, 2007 due to construction. [DDOT] >> Police make arrest in ten year old murder case. [WaPo] >> President Bush called the Dalai Lama a “universal symbol of peace and tolerance” during his ceremony to receive a......

The last time the Dalai Lama was in Washington, not even spiritual enlightenment could help him figure out why District residents still lacked voting rights. And now that he's coming back, maybe he'll have a little word with President Bush and Congressional Republicans about it. Tibet's exiled spiritual leader will be in town next week to accept a Congressional Gold Medal. The medal, which accompanies a resolution passed last year that recognizes him as "a......

Good morning, Washington. We always thought it might be sort of fun to suggest something totally off the wall about President Bush, like that he might, oh, hate your children and want them to die sick and alone. Now that he's gone ahead and confirmed it, it's hard to know where to go from here. Is there anything worse than sick and dying children? How about, President Bush is in league with the devil? While......

When it comes to who the D.C. Republican Party should side with in the 2008 presidential contest, the choice is obvious -- Mike Huckabee. Sure, the former governor of Arkansas doesn't have much of a chance of winning, but he's been consistent in his support of D.C. voting rights. In yesterday's All-American Presidential Forum on PBS, hosted by Tavis Smiley, it was Huckabee who backed voting rights for the District's 600,000 residents. In response to......

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......

New Hampshire Looks to Smack Down Senators: After the U.S. Senate failed to overcome a filibuster on legislation that would grant the District a voting seat in the House of Representatives, voting rights activists swore they would have their revenge. On the top of their list are Republican senators John McCain (Ariz.), Gordon Smith (Ore.), and Thad Cochran (Miss.), not to mention the lone Democrat to vote against the bill, Max Baucus (Mont.). But one......

Good morning, Washington, and welcome to Friday. There's nothing like a nationally televised address about troop levels to put you in a mood for a sound night's sleep heading into the weekend, isn't there? Certainly we would never have tossed and turned contemplating the "sinister ingenuity" that allows President Bush to escalate a war and then de-escalate it a year later without ever having a plan to successfully end it, and yet be able......

>> President Bush is set to announce plans to reduce the American troop presence in Iraq by around 30,000 by next summer -- which is the same, pre-surge level it was about nine months ago. [AP via WTOP] >> D.C. firefighters put out a fire in the parking garage at Union Station this morning. [AP via WTOP] >> The 2007 American League of Lobbyists Hoops for Hope Charity Game is tonight at GW's Smith Center,......

>> Little children don't like President Bush. [YouTube, embedding sadly turned off] >> Director Ridley Scott set off a bomb at Eastern Market yesterday, but Russell Crowe and Leonardo DiCaprio were not there, so stop asking us about it. [Reliable Source] >> A U.S. Park Police officer reportedly shot and wounded a driver on the Baltimore-Washington Parkway near Riverdale this afternoon. [WaPo] >> The FBI has launched a new Web site, BankBandits.com, in an......

As the housing market continues its downward spiral, D.C. officials are getting on board to recognize there may be some kind of problem going on. WTOP reports that the Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking has signed a contract with the D.C.-based Center for Responsible Lending, which will begin an investigation into subprime mortgage lending in the city. The point of the investigation seems to be mostly getting a head count of people with......

Sen. John Warner (R-Va.) made national news last week when he asked President Bush to start bringing the troops home in time for Christmas. But of more importance locally has been the continued speculation as to whether Warner would run for another term in 2008, and if not, who would replace him. By way of FreeRide, we find out today that yesterday the Post's Sunday Fix briefly noted that Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.) has been......

Today tens of thousands of District children return to school, leaving behind the late-morning starts, extended curfews and breaks at the public swimming pool that summer afforded them. And though the year will proceed as it usually does, they will be part of a school system that has seen drastic changes over the last few months. Now under mayoral control and led by new chancellor Michelle Rhee, the District's public schools have entered a new......

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......

>> Nearly three-fifths of the District of Columbia's public schools have failed basic federal standards in reading, math and other core areas. [Examiner] >> A chain reaction of collisions Thursday night on I-95 near a Delaware toll plaza killed an Arlington woman and injured 18 people. [WaPo] >> A federal judge has refused to dismiss a racketeering indictment against Deborah Jeane Palfrey, the so-called "D.C. Madam", who argued that she is a victim of......

>> Jenna Bush is engaged to be married to her longtime boyfriend, Henry Hager. No word on whether their wedding will be held at the White House. [AP] >> Shaw isn't really the second bloggiest neighborhood in the country, but Washington is the fourth bloggiest city. [Free Ride] >> Donald Rumsfeld resigned as secretary of defense one day before last fall's elections, even though President Bush did not announce the move until the day......

Good morning, Washington. After such a long, hot week, that was some beautiful weekend, wasn't it? And apparently, the beauty of the weekend is spilling out on to Monday morning: Karl Rove, President Bush's controversial deputy chief of staff and senior political adviser, will resign at the end of August. After he packs up his Palisades home and heads back to the Texas Hill Country, Rove will reportedly leave politics and plans to write......

Following the tragic collapse of the I-35W bridge outside of Minneapolis last week, just about every major news outlet in every media market scurried to scrutinize the safety of its own local bridges. As with most areas of the country, the results for the metro-Washington area were not encouraging. The Washington Post found that well over a thousand area bridges were structural shadows of their former selves; 15 bridges in the District, 1200 in......