Good morning, Washington. It really is freezing outside, people are dropping like flies from this terrible cold going around town, and over in Iowa, we hear there’s some kind of a fake election going on that’s going to dominate the news cycle all day. It could all be enough to get us down, but yet, we carry on … until we read this story about an 11-year-old boy in Burke, VA who has been arrested on charges of breaking and entering and sexual assault. Eleven years old! Kid hasn’t even gone through puberty yet. WTF?

Second Prisoner Escape in Two Months Ends in Fatal Shooting: The escape Wednesday of Kelvin Poke from Laurel Regional Hospital was the second in less than two months from the facility. Poke was eventually shot and killed by Prince George’s County police while they pursued him. The Examiner says hospital employees are shaken up by this latest escape, and the AP reports that an investigation will be launched into prisoner handling outside prison walls by the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services.

Needle Exchange to get $650,000: It’s less than the $1 million Mayor Fenty initially pledged, but yesterday District officials announced the investment of $650,000 into needle exchange programs now that a federal ban on such spending has been lifted by Congress. The only pre-existing needle exchange group in the District, PreventionWorks!, will receive a $300,000 grant that is included in that figure.

Briefly Noted: The National Aquarium in D.C is having rent trouble … Two treated for hypothermia after pond rescue … Metro names a new Chief Safety Officer.

This Day in DCist: In 2007 we tried to cook and eat Eamonn’s fish and chips at home, and in 2005 we were looking at that year’s drop in homicides in the District.

Photo by jamietre