Presented with little need for commentary, here is, perhaps, the oddest tweet you will see from a D.C. reporter all day, courtesy of Washington Times crime beat writer Andrea Noble. more ›

Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli turned on nearly all his boilerplate bromides in accepting the "Defender of the Constitution" Award today at the Conservative Political Action Conference. He touched on most of his signature issues, but not the rats. Rats. more ›

Last week, D.C. and Virginia officials gathered to talk about a vital cross-border issue: rats. No, really. more ›

Virginia Attorney General Ken "The Cooch" Cuccinelli isn't one to back down, and his contention that a D.C. law regulating the capture and disposal of critters and vermin has led the city to dispose of its rats in the commonwealth has provoked a Maryland legislator into proposing a law that would forbid the practice. more ›

Thanks to Ken Cuccinelli and Rush Limbaugh, there are a lot of people out there who seem to be convinced that D.C. is smuggling its rats into Virginia. more ›

Virginia Attorney General Ken "The Cooch" Cuccinelli has uncovered a devious plan by District officials to ship the city's rats to the commonwealth. Or has he? more ›

There have long been concerns over health and sanitation at the Occupy D.C. encampment at McPherson Square, but how bad are things really? Pretty awful, according to a D.C. health official. more ›

UPDATE: Original reports had indicated that mice and rats were covered under the Wildlife Protection Act, but that is not the case. The Washington Post reports that "rats and mice are exempt from the life-saving protections, meaning homeowners could still trap and kill them." Several other animals, including raccoons, squirrels, possums and pigeons are still covered under the legislation. more ›

Inside Edition's "Rat Patrol" returned to the District this week, taking aim, perhaps predictably, at the various D.C. fast food joints recently frequented by the Obamas. The television program confirmed that two of the eateries featured in the upcoming episode were Five Guys restaurants, including the Dupont Circle location where Michelle Obama took members of her staff for lunch back in February. Indeed, the Five Guys located at 1645 Connecticut Ave NW is shuttered this morning, with a sign on the door explaining that the fast food restaurant is "closed until further notice." more ›

In 2006 it was Glover Park, and before that, Dupont Circle, but NBC4 reports that the D.C. Department of Health has officially declared Tenleytown to be the rat hotspot of this year. more ›

Mark down an initial battle victory to the owners in the long and strained D.C. doggy wars. The Examiner reports on a change in the regulations governing the establishment of off-leash dog parks in the District that should make it easier to create fenced-in spaces for dogs to play. Dog owners in the city have long complained about a dearth of spaces where they could legally let dogs off their leashes to get exercise. Among... more ›

Written by DCist Contributer Josh Kramer The Eagle – American University: >>AU students lamented losing their Hollywood Video this week, which is holding a giant closing sale and selling all of its movies. It's unclear what will become of the space, conveniently located next to the AU shuttle bus stop and the Tenleytown-AU Metro station. >>Sgt. Zachary Tellier, a 1998 AU graduate, was killed by enemy fire while fighting in Afghanistan on the 29th of... more ›

>> Still unable to identify the oily substance that was found on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial earlier this month, the U.S. Park Police today said that it was in fact vandalism that put it there. Clean-up is expected to be slow in an effort to avoid permanent damage to the memorial. [WaPo] >> Senate Minority Leader McConnell: "My opposition to this bill rests instead on a single all-important fact: it is clearly and unambiguously... more ›

The Washington Post has their ear to the ground, listening for the news that D.C. really wants to hear: the next wave of super duper anti-rat technology. Or not, they add, but Joseph Dussich, inventor of the Repel-X trash bag, thinks he's found the key to Pied Piper the city's rats right out of town, or at least away from alley dumpsters. His trash bags use the aroma of eucalyptus and a few secret ingredients... more ›

After word got around Sunday night that several Metro stations had been temporarily closed due to dozens of dead birds appearing around them, Metro officials spent the day yesterday trying to figure out how to explain away the fact that the mistake their contractor had made was not that they had poisoned the birds -- merely that they had poisoned the birds at the wrong time of day, and didn't have a chance to clean... more ›

We were alerted yesterday by Jon at the DC Traveler that the mighty Titan Arum has begun blooming at the US Botanic Garden. He was, no doubt, tipped off by the oh-so-lovely smell of rotting corpse wafting through his window, which the flower uses to attract meat-loving (at least, meat-stench-loving) bugs to pollinate it. The giant, odorous plant seems to be falling into habit, blooming every two years since 2003 -- before that it hadn't... more ›

>> D.C.'s Rat Czar puts the city's war on rodents in perspective. Gerard Brown, program manager of the DOH's Rodent and Vector Control Division, tells the Examiner, "Rats are genius. They are going to be here after we leave." Is Stephen Hawking available for a little vermin abatement brainstorming? [Washington Examiner] >> Check out these simple steps to making politics funny. We'll see if President Bush can pull it off at tomorrow's White House... more ›

There's a little-known war brewing between workers who maintain the utility tunnels beneath the Capitol building and the office of the Architect of the Capitol, the agency responsible for their safety. Last night NBC News investigated dangerous working conditions for the 10 men, known as "tunnel rats" who spend their days in the underground system. Three of the men have been diagnosed with asbestos-related lung diseases, which another four suffering from other lung problems. Several reports, dating back almost a decade, detail the crumbling infrastructure and dangerous levels of airborne asbestos throughout the tunnels more ›

Last week we checked out that hotbed of hard news, Inside Edition, as they visited our fair city and shined the bright light of truth on the District's rat problem. Today the Examiner reports from the front lines of the war on rodents and concludes that we're losing. From all four quadrants the perennial urban menaces -- sometimes the size of small dogs -- are scurrying about, causing various levels of disgust and panic. How... more ›

Run for your lives, Washington. Rats have taken over our fair city, and there is no hope of escaping their evil, rat-like ways. We shall flee to the suburbs and their clean, plastic, rat-free lifestyle. But wait! Inside Edition, long-time bastion of quality broadcast news, is here to save us. Thank God for Inside Edition's Rat Patrol. Let me start out by saying that Inside Edition is possibly the greatest news show on television. Not... more ›

Post 'em if you got 'em, Washington. According to WJLA, today is the smack-dab middle of cherry blossom season. We hope you got your photos already. With rain in the morning, a cold snap beginning in the afternoon and winds that are likely to pull off blossoms, this year's best days for walking around the Tidal Basin seem to already be over. Rats. D.C. Council Provisionally Mandates HPV Vaccine: The debate over the Gardasil... more ›

Austinist gets arty with an interactive guide to SXSW, loved some local art galleries and a new art exhibit and lamented the possible loss of "Friday Night Lights" production to New Mexico. Bostonist was happy they finally found an Anna Nicole Smith connection to their fair city and that an Apple Store was opening up. They were less happy that new rules have been established limiting underage shows and that their Governor is spending... more ›

We get it. You have strong feelings on the smoking ban. The little number next to the "Smoking Ban May Get Tougher..." link at the top of the page can attest to that. Overheard has resolved not to take a public position either way on the issue. We are uniters, not dividers. But we will say this: people carrying conversations that were taking place at a semi-private table in a noisy bar out into the... more ›

In the comments for our post about the fire at the Columbia Heights Metro station, another CH problem caught our eye - mail. Apparently some Columbia Heightsters (or Height-ites?) have been having issues with their snail mail. more ›

When the posters for the Washington Ballet's production of The Nutcracker hit the streets, accented with cartoon caricatures of George Washington, it was hard not to be skeptical. Would the Capitol dome become a prominent set piece? Would little children running around be designed to symbolize Congress? The possibilities were endless. But the skepticism is unwarranted: Choreographer Septime Webre's production, featuring everything from 19th century carousels to 20th century cherry blossoms, is wonderfully done -... more ›

FRIDAY: >> George Washington University's surprisingly excellent improv/sketch comedy troupe, Recess, will hold their monthly midnight show tonight in the Ballroom Center . They assure fans that dress-up clothes are not necessary, "but you must have showered in the last 72 hours." For just three bucks, let the campus legacy-holders make you laugh, and likely piss you off. They're willing to take that risk. (Erin Zimmer) >> There's a little band called The Ambitions playing... more ›

So suddenly it's chilly? Yesterday we were all sweaty messes, but today, with highs predicted to stay in the 60s, we're wearing sweaters. All this temperature-related confusion has led us to look longingly at the Southwest Airlines web site, since the airline finally began service from Dulles this morning. Cheap flights to Vegas are looking pretty sweet. And while we're of course very sad to be reminded of the demise of our hometown airline, we take some comfort knowing that the airline that replaced it actually trains its flight attendants be snarky. Who needs an assigned seat when you've got that much sass on your hands? more ›

Pigeons may be the rats of the sky, but don't they look kind of lovely here? Unlike Baby, Flickr user Oravel smartly puts them in the corner, using the lines of the fountain to get your eyes around the photo. The strange pea-green water makes it all the more interesting. more ›

Everyone is all about George Pelecanos these days. We interviewed him, he was on the Kojo Nnamdi Show, and he's appeared in various area bookstores to pimp his new crime thriller, The Night Gardener. If Pelecanos is known for anything, it's the local references he liberally infuses his writings with. Criminals and the police that chase them live and work in the seediest parts of the region, giving readers a glimpse into the underworld of... more ›

Sometimes you need to clean yourself up, get serious, and move in with daddie for a few months before you head to Latin America for a new gig. The District bids Jenna Bush adios. D.C.-based television shows have an elderly audience and DCist has some suggestions to fix that. They're also throwing Butterstick the panda bear a birthday bash. Yeah, we may have a few issues with our World Cup broadcasters here, but this guy... more ›