Photo by Matt.Dunn

Good morning, Washington. By the time you read this, this morning’s fog advisory will have been lifted, but not before the eerie overnight weather pattern caused a few problems at National Airport. WUSA9 says fog forced some flights to be diverted from landing at the airport Sunday night, which in turn created scheduling issues for the first flights out this morning, since those planes were not where they were supposed to be. And if you look at some some of the most recent updates from the D.C. Fire/EMS Twitter feed, you’ll notice that there were an unusual number of false alarm calls last night for reports of what turned out to be just regular old fireplace smoke, or even laundry room steam. Stands to reason last night’s misty conditions could have played a roll in that confusion as well.

Senate Passes D.C. Budget: The U.S. Senate went ahead and passed that big appropriations package on Sunday, which is big news for us, since it did indeed include D.C.’s now rider-free budget. The Washington Post’s James Hohmann and Tim Craig take a look at what Eleanor Holmes Norton is calling “the biggest win for home rule in decades”: the end of federal funding restrictions on medical marijuana, abortion and needle exchange programs. President Obama now just needs to sign the bill into law. As for that looming medical marijuana question, David Catania (I-At Large) reiterates to the Post that it’ll still be a ways off.

Council Considering No Loitering Zones Near Schools: The D.C. Council appears to have plenty of votes to pass a bill that would enable the establishment of temporary no-loitering zones withing 1,000 feet of any public or charter school, as Michael Neibauer reports in the Examiner. The proposal attempts to get around any constitutional issues by limiting the enforcement of the zones to between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m., and requiring police to have a reasonable belief that loiterers pose a threat to students. Peter Nickles quote: “I think it’s halfhearted, ineffective and has legal problems.”

Briefly Noted: Police vehicle strikes, injures man during pursuit in Northeast, officer driving may have briefly left the scene … D.C. deputy fire chief also works in Florida … 13-way kidney transplant at Georgetown University Hospital a success … Turnaround seen for D.C. area retailers … H Street NE getting more cops.

This Year in DCist: In 2007, we pondered what an eastern entrance to the Rosslyn Metro station might look like, and in 2006, we surveyed holiday-themed cocktails.