Every blogger in America is scrambling to pull together some kind of background information on Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who presumptive Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain named as his running mate this morning. The hits are generally these: She's been governor for a little under two years; she used to be a sports reporter and later mayor of Wasilla City; she took second place in the 1984 Miss Alaska contest; she's super pro-life. She's......

Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine refused to answer any direct questions this morning about whether the Obama campaign has told him they are considering choosing him as running mate. Kaine, who has been named as one of Obama's top three or four choices for VP over the last week, appeared on the "Hands Across the Potomac" show hosted by WTOP's Mark Segraves, alongside Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley and D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty. It's "flattering to be......

CNN is reporting that the Eisenhower Executive Office Building is on fire. From the looks of it firefighters have already gotten the worst of the flames, which began as an electrical problem on the 3rd floor, under control, but a small amount of smoke is still coming out of the building. No injuries have been reported. MORE, 10:09 a.m.: The fire reportedly began in an electrical closet adjacent to the Vice President's ceremonial office......

Good morning, Washington. It's news of the weird day today on DCist, as the Post tells the bizarre story of two 2nd-year engineering students from U-Va. who have been charged with the kidnapping of a man in Tysons Corner and demanding $500,000 in ransom. Both the two kidnappers and the victim are Chinese nationals who had been living with host families in Virginia while attending college. Police arrested Guanyu Lu and Baichuan Shu, both 19,......

>> Both the White House Christmas Tree and the Capitol Christmas Tree arrived in Washington today. >> D.C. fire officials are warning people not to overload electrical circuits in their homes this holiday season in the wake of a fatal garage fire over the weekend. [WTOP] >> Vice President Dick Cheney experienced an irregular heartbeat Monday and will be heading to George Washington University Hospital to have it checked out -- in case you......

Good morning, Washington. Recent increases in gun-related crime in the city seems to be today's main topic of news, just as the Supreme Court may announce today whether it intends to take another look at D.C.'s handgun ban. D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty has scheduled a press conference this morning to address the District's position on its gun safety law, but in the meantime the Washington Post is questioning the law's effectiveness and just last......

Written by DCist Contributor Sarah Stonesifer The Diamondback – University of Maryland: >> Hartwick Towers, an off-campus apartment building, was the scene of a fire on Friday, Oct. 12. The fire has come under scrutiny by both students and city officials, as the building is not equipped with sprinklers and fire alarms did not function during the fire. Students were left on their own to find alternative housing until they were let back into their......

Morning, Washington. We hope you were out enjoying the fantastic weather, especially since the environment has been front and center in the news this weekend. As you must have heard, our former Vice President turned Global Warming Guru had to shove over the Oscar on his mantle to make space for half of a Nobel Peace Prize. Maybe after the news you were inspired to go check out the 20 amazing houses built on the......

Just like with the late-night votes in the D.C. Council on whether or not to finance the construction of a new stadium a few years back, we all hoped to wake up this morning and find out that the Senate had voted again and decided that voting rights for the District was a go. No such luck. We did, however, pick up a new champion for the cause. Sen. John Warner (R-Va.) was the only......

No matter how you feel about a city known for its hippie culture or holier-than-thou aging baby boomers, you sort of have to love Takoma Park, Md. Commonly referred to as "The People's Republic of Takoma Park" or "The Berkeley of the East", the commuter suburb right on the border of the District is not only charmingly beautiful, but the people who live there wear their political proclivities on their collective sleeves so seriously they......

>> D.C. is the fifth most overpriced real estate market in the country. [Examiner] >> Four teenage girls were arrested today after Frederick police said they found 33 pounds of marijuana in their car. [NBC4] >> A police chase led a fleeing driver in a white Cadillac to drive on the wrong side of I-295. [WTOP] >> The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, the union representing 10,000 Amtrak workers, has reached a tentative agreement on......

>> "A federal appeals court ruled today that I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Vice President Cheney's former chief of staff, must report to prison shortly to begin serving his 30-month sentence for lying to federal investigators about his role in leaking a CIA officer's identity." [WaPo] UPDATE: Man, we honestly thought that first comment was a joke for a minute! Bush has commuted Libby's prison sentence. >> Please Add L2 to NextBus, K? Thx [The......

>> Vice President Dick Cheney is claiming that, for the purposes of securing classified information, his office is not part of the executive branch. Exactly which branch are you in then, Mr. Vice President? [Raw Story] >> Are you ready for another severe thunderstorm alert? The National Weather Service just issued one from now until 10 p.m. >> There's a book launch party tonight for Murray Waas' The United States vs. I. Lewis Libby. Somehow......

I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby was sentenced to 30 months in prison today and fined $250,000 for lying to investigators about his role in leaking the identity of undercover CIA officer Valerie Plame. The former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney was convicted of two counts of perjury, one count of making false statements to FBI agents, and one count of obstructing justice three months ago. U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton said he......

Brenda L. Belton, who was fired last year from her job as director of the Office of Charter School Oversight amid allegations of embezzlement and fraud, has indicated she will plead guilty to five counts, including theft from a program receiving public funds, conversion of public money, bankruptcy fraud, and federal and local tax evasion. Belton stands accused of wrongfully paying herself more than $418,000, and wrongfully obligating the government in seven separate contracts worth......

>> Music junkies raised in an era of candy-coated pop or Seattle-based indie should check out a screening of The Day The Country Died: A History of Anarcho-Punk 1980-1984 at the Black Cat tonight. The flick features rare performances caught on tape before the era of ubiquitous personal video recorders, along with interviews from artists and activists. $5, 9 p.m. >> DC Rap invades the Velvet Lounge with another edition of Hell is for......

>> Students at George Washington Middle School in Alexandria have been locked inside the school since around 2:30 p.m. today, after some students said they may have seen another student with a BB gun, school officials said. [WaPo] >> If you use the Wilson Bridge to get home, it's time to think about alternate routes. Two southbound lanes of the Beltway are closed after a sinkhole opened around noon. Crews working on the Virginia side......

>> Aramark, the ballpark concessionaire at RFK and other stadiums, is eliminating trans fat from its menu, and adding a number of "healthy" options such as veggie hot dogs, pasta salad and fruit cups. In related news, Baseball has been officially declared the least fun sport in America. [Baltimore Business Journal] >> Reigning MLS Defender of the Year and D.C. United backline stalwart Bobby Boswell is holding a launch party for his blog tonight......

A trial that has captivated Washington has come to an end. From CNN: Former White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby has been found guilty on four of five counts in his perjury and obstruction of justice trial. Libby, 56, faces a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison and a fine of $1 million. The five-count indictment against the former aide to Vice President Dick Cheney alleges perjury, obstruction of justice and making false......

>>The Dow Jones Industrial Average saw its biggest one-day drop in five years today, coming on the heels of today's other big news about an attempt on Vice President Cheney's life by a Taliban suicide in Afghanistan. The sell-off began in Asia overnight and continued across Europe, when two exchanges in Shanghai that track the Chinese stock markets both fell nearly 9 percent -- that largest drop in a decade. [WaPo] >> As if......

>> D.C. Board of Education Vice President Carolyn Graham enjoys making cartoon dress-up dolls on the Internet while at work. But really guys, who doesn't? [Yeas and Nays] >> The bloggers at Free Darko join Deadspin in talking about our very own Agent Zero. "More bottomless riddle than one-note lightweight," indeed. [Deadspin] >> After being profiled in the illustrious New York Times, the Capital Club decides it's not so illustrious after all. [Wonkette] >> Mayor-to-be......

We've been looking forward to the launch of Patrick Gavin and Jeff DuFour's new daily Beltway column, "Yeas and Nays", for a few weeks now, largely so we could finally be sure just what sorts of topics the two would be covering under the somewhat inscrutable decscription of "people, power and politics." C'mon guys, that could be about anything from the current brouhaha at The New Republic to what kind of toilet paper Vice President......

Is it too early to be thinking about the fall TV season? Well, the FOX network says no and we agree. So what if it's not even Labor Day yet? FOX officially kicks off their new season tonight with the season premiere of Prison Break at 8 p.m., and the series premiere of the new, D.C.-based show Vanished at 9 p.m. And, we gotta say, it’s not a moment to soon. Vanished revolves around the......

Is the theatre world crying out for five plays centering around Vice President Dick Cheney? It's certainly a topic that hasn't yet been done to death artistically. But in You Don't Know Dick, a group of short plays being workshopped for the Capital Fringe Festival, the debate is less over whether the topic is valid and more on whether these works have anything new to say. Some certainly are worth the minimal time investment they......

Saturday at the Fringe brings audience goers political polemics, aerial artistry, deconstruction chic and a tour of some D.C. neighborhoods. When you have to navigate, don't forget to use our special Fringetastic new Google Map. The best way to get to the show on time! Theatrical Performances: Frozty the Abominable Snowman, Landless Theatre There must have been some magic in that old silk hat they found! For when they placed it on his head, he......

Neal Katyal is a professor at Georgetown University Law Center. He's been a visiting professor at both Harvard Law School and Yale Law School. Last year, the former law clerk to Justice Stephen Breyer was named one of the National Law Journal's top 40 lawyers under the age of 40. He was co-counsel to Vice President Al Gore during the 2000 election fiasco in Florida. For most people, that'd be enough. But not for Katyal.......

Every now and then the finely tuned machines that are seasoned politicians sputter and choke. Be it Vice President Dick Cheney's warning to Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) to "fuck off" or Rep. Cynthia McKinney's recent dressing down of an aide while still wearing a clip-on microphone, even those trained in the art of diplomacy and tact occasionally allow their true feelings to be heard. Today was D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams' turn. Towards the end of......

The Examiner has an interesting story today on leadership roles in the event of a Washington emergency situation. Apparently, if the city comes under a major terrorist attack, charge of ths situation is not to be taken by the President, or the Vice President, or Karl Rove, or Alexander Haig. As it so happens, Mayor Williams is supposed to be in charge. Sort of. He's in charge, but he doesn't have the authority to call......

While he may spend much of his time clogging up traffic with his expensive motorcades to and from work, Vice President Dick Cheney really does seem to have a soft spot for the District. The Post is reporting that Cheney and wife Lynne have donated $2.7 million to the George Washington University Medical Center and $1.3 million to Capital Partners for Education, a Georgetown-based organization that helps parents pay for private schooling for their children.......

Yesterday was the perfect day for playing a little hooky -- beautiful springtime weather and the Nationals' home opener would tempt anyone, including us. Some of those who gave in to those temptations weren't too good about hiding them, especially to the media or their employers. As written in a Post article on the Nats' 7-1 loss to the New York Mets: "This is our team," declared Lynette Jackson, 50, of D.C., who called......