The White House has been fully decked out for the holidays since Thanksgiving, and DCist had an opportunity to take a look. more ›

Good morning, Washington. Today is my last day as your weekend editor. I have a new full-time job, and unfortunately I won’t have time for this awesome gig. I imagine you’ve always known what I only recently learned -- that this group of readers is made up of some of the brightest people in and around the District. more ›

Looking towards 2012, President Obama might have a tougher time attracting the support in D.C. that he did four years ago -- mostly because his campaign seems to have lopped off Ward 8 altogether. more ›

Around 9:00 pm Friday night, shots were fired near the White House, and a loaded AK-47 assault rifle was recovered from an abandoned car near the scene. Constitution Avenue was shut down between 15th and 17th Streets as police investigated the incident. Authorities do not believe the White House was the target. more ›

On Wednesday, President Barack Obama will make another pitch for his American Jobs Act by focusing on a local infrastructure project that could benefit under the plan: the Key Bridge. more ›

Good morning, Washington. The D.C. Snow Team did a dry run Friday to give plow drivers a chance to “practice their skills.” It’s unclear yet to what extent they’ll have to use them, but there’s no harm in fine tuning their operation for this rare October storm. From my perch in Northeast I see only puddles, but meteorologists throughout the region tell us that snow has already begun falling in some spots north and west of D.C. more ›

Good morning, Washington. Nearly two months after Hurricane Irene postponed the celebration, the nation’s first black president will serve as the keynote speaker for today’s official dedication of the Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial. There’s no rain in sight. more ›

A Saturday afternoon rally for D.C. voting rights at the White House was capped off by the arrest of 12 people, bringing to 73 the number of residents and advocates that have been arrested since April. more ›

Well, well, well -- the tables certainly appear to have turned in D.C.'s favor this winter. First, we got to rub it in the faces of New York politicians who mocked our response to overwhelming snow. Now, it's time to dip into the sweet schadenfreude yet again, as Chicago suffers through the latest big storm to hit the United States this winter. more ›

For the second time in his term, President Obama attended Sunday MLK Jr. holiday weekend services at the Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church in Northwest, often called the national cathedral of black Methodist churches. According to the Washington Post, despite that the Metropolitan AME church currently meets in the Madison hotel's ballroom while extensive renovations are taking place, extra efforts were put into preparing the sanctuary for the President's visit. Unlike last year, when Obama addressed the congregation from the pulpit, the President and Michelle took it easy this go around, solemnly taking in Rev. Ronald E. Braxton's words of encouragement to the President, remembrance to the victims of the Arizona shooting, and a chorus of Happy Birthday to Michelle Obama, who turns 47 tomorrow. A long tradition, we hope to see the President continue to visit the Metropolitan A.M.E. church annually, as well as wait to see what's in store for when the MLK memorial is completed this August. more ›

Sometimes, even the President of the United States must heed the call of the bat signal, regardless if it means missing out on watching his favorite pastime. After some scouring and speculation over tonight's special VIP at the Wizards-Heat game, TBD sports writer Samuel Chamberlain calls it safe to report that the probable President Obama has canceled his appearance. Earlier today, Secret Service had been seen lurking around the Verizon Center, as well as additional security measures for both attendees and players. Ted Leonsis later confirmed that his special guest had canceled and will reschedule for another date. Wonder what could be going on today in national news that's more important than watching Gilbert in what could be one of his last games as a Wizard? Perhaps signing something about asking and telling. more ›

Be extra kind to the federal worker in your life today, because they just found out that they might not be getting a bump in salary anytime soon. President Barack Obama announced plans this morning to enact a pay-freeze on all civilian federal workers (aside from military personnel) over the next two years. According to the Washington Post, the freeze would not affect step increases or bonuses. The D.C. region houses more than 600,000 workers who will be subject to the freeze, which will reportedly save the government about $30 billion over the next five-plus years. Congress still needs to approve the President's proposal before it can move forward. more ›

WTOP News reports that Mayor-apparent Vincent Gray is interested in starting a dialogue with President Barack Obama regarding the status of the District of Columbia. Obama, who retains his Illinois voter registration and continues to pay Illinois taxes, has previous indicated support for Congressional representation for the District. It's unknown at this point what action the President could take to help speed things along, but if he were kind enough to switch his residency to the District, at least we'd see a small boost in tax receipts. more ›

Vince Gray had a busy weekend. First, he told area bloggers that, if elected, he'd be bumping up attempts to achieve self-determination in D.C. What better way to follow-up on that campaign promise than getting the chance to talk about it with President Barack Obama? more ›

Big space news this week -- so big you could actually hear about it in mainstream media, a rare-ish thing indeed. President Obama delivered a (sort of) game-changing speech at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Thursday. After the budget release a few months ago and the announcement that the Constellation program would be canceled, the space industry was left asking, "well, what now?" Obama's speech was meant to answer that question. The new plan is to vaguely resurrect Constellation, with the Orion spacecraft -- originally designed to launch atop the Ares 1 rocket and carry 4-6 astronauts into deep space -- now redesigned to be docked with the International Space Station and act as a rescue vehicle. Additionally, the plan includes design of a new heavy-launch vehicle, replacing Ares V, by 2015, sending astronauts to an asteroid by 2025, and to Mars by 2030. Lastly, the President committed to increase NASA's budget by $6 billion over the next five years, with $40 million to help the tens of thousands of workers who will be laid off as the shuttle program ends. more ›

According to CNN's politicalticker blog, President Obama will meet this week with Officer James Crowley and Henry Louis Gates, Jr. over a beer to discuss the false home invasion arrest fiasco in Boston from last week. The beers chosen by each man? Budweiser for Obama, Blue Moon for Crowley, and undetermined for Gates (Gates may not even drink beer, as it turns out). Maybe Bud is Obama’s beer of choice, but being the president, it's probably safe to say that he had to pick 1) an American beer and 2) something most people have tried. Remember what happened when he told Iowa voters what arugula cost at the store? Right. more ›

President Obama is starting bilateral talks with China here in Washington today, which means residents can expect to be inconvenienced in one way or another for the next two days by the roughly 150 Chinese dignitaries currently in town. Expect additional motorcades and intermittent, temporary road closures in the vicinity of the Ronald Reagan Building and the White House. DDOT says minor delays due to closures should be expected on both inbound and outbound 14th Street between Pennsylvania and Constitution Avenues until at least 6 p.m. Drivers intending to head southbound out of the city on 14th Street this evening are advised to use the 9th Street tunnel instead, while those heading into the city should use 12th Street or 7th Street. more ›

On Tuesday, the Post's D.C. Wire blog reported that Ward 1 D.C. Council member Jim Graham's proposal to name the recently renovated park at 14th and Girard Streets NW "Barack Hussein Obama Park," wasn't allowed under D.C. law, which prohibits the city from naming things after people who are still alive. Not so, according to Graham. He wrote in an email to constituents today:

While the Washington Post accurately quoted law, it did not accurately state the legal situation. For years, the Council has been naming "public spaces" after living persons. The Council in the last year "renamed" roadways to honor Kathy Hughes and Chuck Brown. One of my first acts as a Councilmember in 1999 was to successfully sponsor a bill naming the alley next to Ben's Chili Bowl "Ben Ali Way" to honor the restaurant's founders. All these folks are happily still with us! There are other examples. more ›

The recently renovated community park at 14th and Girard Streets NW now has a potential name: Ward 1 D.C. Council member Jim Graham introduced a resolution today to rename the park "Barack Hussein Obama Park," D.C. Wire reports. If the resolution is passed, the park, which features a basketball court, year-round chess tables and an interactive water jet play fountain in the summer, would be the very first official anything to be named after President Obama in the District of Columbia. more ›

Coup in Honduras? Check. Michael Jackson? Check. Health care reform? Check. The D.C. license plate? Wait; this again? more ›

A White House spokesperson has issued a statement repudiating a report from Time magazine published online today that said President Obama had decided to make the Evergreen Chapel at Camp David his primary place of worship, in order to facilitate more privacy. "The President and First Family continue to look for a church home. They have enjoyed worshipping at Camp David and several other congregations over the months, and will choose a church at the time that is best for their family," is the word from Deputy White House Press Secretary Jennifer Psaki (via the Christian Science Monitor). more ›

The Post's Reliable Source reported yesterday that WTOP Political Analyst and longtime voting rights agitator Mark Plotkin cornered Obama advisor David Axelrod at the Radio and Television Correspondents' Association dinner last Friday and pressed for the president to put the "Taxation Without Representation" tags on the presidential limousine. Axelrod didn't seem to think much of the personal appeal, telling Plotkin, "That's your thing." Plotkin also found RNC Chair Michael Steele and followed up on the former Maryland Lt. Governor's promise to put the protest plates on his car. more ›

The White House released this statement from President Obama late last night: "Michelle and I were saddened by the terrible accident in Northeast Washington D.C. today. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families and friends affected by this tragedy. I want to thank the brave first responders who arrived immediately to save lives. My staff has been in touch with Mayor Fenty's office and will continue to monitor the situation." more ›

President Obama has a way with words. Unlike the somewhat elementary formulations of his predecessor, Obama has tackled a number of complex issues -- torture and Guantanamo Bay, relations with the Muslim world -- in recent speeches. He is keenly aware of the power his words hold, and he doesn't act like the American people are children lacking the capacity to understand and digest tough issues. It's time he stepped up and used his oratory for the sake of District voting rights. more ›

Comedienne Wanda Sykes returned to Washington this weekend to deliver the ever-fraught White House Correspondents Dinner host's comedy routine. Sykes grew up in the D.C. area, and famously worked as a procurement officer for the National Security Agency before launching her stand-up career. more ›

Hot hot Arlington burger joint Ray's Hell Burger got even hotter today after President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden stopped in for lunch around 12:30 p.m. more ›

If you haven't spied it on newsstands yet, Washingtonian magazine's newest issue features a black cover with a rather grainy image of a shirtless President Obama superimposed over it. It looks really, really crappy from a design perspective, and the photo is recycled from last year, but it'll probably sell out anyway just for the novelty factor, which is no doubt what the magazine's editors had in mind. more ›