Photo by cstein96

Good morning, Washington. Among this morning’s leading stories on the local broadcast outlets was coverage of last night’s Mark Twain Prize ceremonies at the Kennedy Center, a fine enough subject for any television news program. And considering it was Bill Cosby, a legendary comedian with ties to D.C., who was being honored, it makes all the more sense for local stations to have sent their cameras down to the show. But tell me if you see the same thing wrong with one of these headlines that I did this morning. WTTG/FOX5 went with the straightforward, “Bill Cosby Honored with Twain Award,” a fine choice. WJLA/ABC7 also went with simple: “Cosby Receives Award at the Kennedy Center.” But then there’s this WUSA9 offering: “Comedian Sinbad Speaks In DC For Bill Cosby Award.” Yes, on a night when the Cos is being honored and the likes of Jerry Seinfeld and Chris Rock are there, channel 9 goes with … Sinbad. A bold editorial decision if we’ve ever seen one.

Nickles Flip-Flops on Parks Contracts: D.C. Attorney General Peter Nickles had a few days to think about his original assertion that the recreation contracts funneled through the D.C. Housing Authority in order to avoid D.C. Council oversight were indeed illegal, and has changed his mind – shocker! – in a way that protects Mayor Adrian Fenty. The Post’s Nikita Stewart writes that, in another total non-surprise, the “apparent reversal enraged council members already angered by what they see as the Fenty administration’s continued disregard for the council’s role in legislating and overseeing city agencies. Council members also criticized Nickles’s judgment as the city’s top legal official.”

Triple Shooting in Southeast: Three men were shot, one fatally, at about 10:10 p.m. last night near the intersection 23rd Street and Savannah Terrace SE, the Post reports. The other two men are expected to survive.

Briefly Noted: Loudoun man shoots two, then himself … Montgomery school board votes to raise age for compulsory attendance … D.C. crime lab closer to reality … Police searching for missing Bethesda teen.

This Day in DCist: In 2008, Sen. Ted Stevens was found guilty, and in 2006, we were getting ready for the District’s smoking ban.