No, when rising in the wee hours of the morning to we didn’t suffer a sudden wave of nostalgia for bad perms, The Bangles and “Mr. Belvedere”. We were confronted by all four networks confirming that temps are hitting eighty degrees today. Awesome. This mild weather was welcome news for the hundreds of Georgetown students who camped out in line to get their hands on one of the 1,000 tickets made available around 9:00 a.m. After getting worked up into a White House storming frenzy on Sunday, students now have to figure out how to travel the 600 miles to Hotlanta.

Is Our Children Learning?: Perhaps in another blitz by D.C. School Superintendent Clifford Janey to fend off obsolescence under Mayor Fenty’s takeover plan, the school system is raising academic standards and toughening graduation requirements. The school board hopes that requiring high school students to take four years of math, science, social studies and English will give their diplomas more meaning and emphasize core skills. Elementary and middle school students will also face a new crackdown on social promotion. While Fenty endorsed the new policies he cautiously noted more reform is needed to improve classroom learning.

New Details About Gun Found with Webb Aide: As we noted yesterday, Phillip Thompson, a top aide for Sen. Jim Webb, was arrested carrying a loaded pistol into the Russel Senate Office Building. Sources now confirm that the pistol belongs to Webb, who gave the gun to Thompson when he dropped the senator off at the airport. The story left us scratching our heads about the legalities of congressmen carrying loaded weapons in the District, where such a practice is illegal — at least for now. Apparently, senators can bring a registered gun onto congressional property as long as its unloaded and “securely wrapped”, whatever that means. Webb and Thompson will appear in a D.C. court today to explain the matter to a judge.

Briefly Noted: Maryland police searching for mother after her four kids found murdered… Brentwood DMV closed after losing phone, internet service… Maryland Senate passes smoking ban; Virginia could follow suit.

This Day in DCist: In 2005 we chronicled Paul Wolfowitz’s forbidden love for an Arab feminist. Not surprisingly, the couple parted ways last week. Twelve months ago we were getting a tad paranoid about Chinese panda conspiracies.

Photo by Flickr user celula.

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