Photo by JOkazaki

On a sad day after the killing of 13 people at Ft. Hood in Texas, the Post is delving into the local ties of suspected shooter Maj. Nidal M. Hasan. He was born in Arlington, graduated from Virginia Tech, prayed at a mosque in Silver Spring and spent the better part of his professional career caring for trauma victims at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center. He apparently went on the shooting rampage in response to his upcoming deployment to Iraq; he had expressed opposition to both the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Rhee Gets Engaged: It looks like D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee is engaged to her covert West coast boyfriend, Sacramento mayor and former NBA star Kevin Johnson, reports the Post’s Reliable Source. (For Johnson it’s a slam dunk, for Rhee an A+. Hey-o!) No date has been set for the wedding, and neither seems to be ready to give up their day jobs just yet.

Graham Faces Second Challenger: The Examiner is reporting that Council member Jim Graham (D-Ward 1), already facing questions over his role in the developing taxicab corruption scandal, may now be facing two people in next year’s fight for his seat. ANC Commissioner Bryan Weaver announced that he was forming an exploratory committee earlier this week, and now former Board of Education member Jeff Smith has similarly thrown his hat into the ring.

Lanier Becomes Literary Inspiration: D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier may have served as the inspiration for two characters in a recently released fictional crime thriller, writes WTOP. David Baldacci’s latest book, “True Blue,” features a fictional D.C. Police Chief Beth Perry, who owns a blind dog. Lanier owns five. The similarities also extend to Perry’s sister Mason. While writing the book, Baldacci rode along with D.C. police and interviewed Lanier, likely prompting ideas that became his characters.

O’Malley’s Popularity Drops: Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley is losing support amongst voters, reports the Examiner, but he’d still beat former Republican Gov. Bob Ehrlich in a head-to-head contest.

Briefly Noted: Same-sex marriage debate may have prompted Georgetown assaults … Did you hear about that tea party by the Capitol? Yeah, it’s really a “tea party” when you’re there to see your representatives … Metro to fight wage increases … MoCo fixes traffic light glitch.

This Day in DCist: On this day in 2008, we wondered where Sasha and Malia would go to school and how the new Senate would vote on D.C. voting rights. In 2007, the D.C. DMV announced plans to install SmarTrip chips in driver’s licenses. By 2008. Yeah, like that ever happened.