Good morning, D.C. The protesting truckers are back today, which means you can expect heavy honking and screwy traffic near the White House and the Capitol. More than 400 professional truck drivers and trucking employees from across the country are expected to drive into the city this morning in a big convoy to urge Congress and President Bush to act on legislation that would lower gas prices. Normally we’d say the truckers are wasting their time, but hey, the U.S. government is basically just printing extra money and handing it out these days, so maybe they really can come up with some creative way to finance lower gas prices while they’re at it. How about some national 25 percent off coupons?

Big Manhole Fire: Did anybody see this? NBC4 reported that a big pillar of fire and smoke shot up from out of a manhole at 4th Street and Virginia Avenue SW yesterday at about 3 p.m. The tall flame, the result of some faulty cables causing an underground transformer to catch fire, according to Pepco, cut off electricity to several nearby buildings. No one was injured, though several people reportedly got stuck inside elevators when the power went out, and the flame continued to burn and produce a thick cloud of smoke for some time.

Briefly Noted: D.C. man sentenced to 33 years for diner murder … D.C. Council bill takes aim at lead-based paint … Three Maryland residents receive MacArthur genius grants … 19-year-old shooting victim dies in hospital … Joe Biden is back in Virginia again today.

Photo by Aardvark_For_Freedom