Photo by ElliotVaughnRichter

Good morning, Washington. Well, it looks like Scott Brown has won the special election in Massachusetts, knocking the Democrats’ majority in the Senate down to 59 seats. Exactly what this means for health care reform and President Obama’s larger legislative agenda will no doubt be worked out over the coming weeks and months. What’s already certain is that a lot of people in this city are about to start freaking out.

Council Blinks on Contract Confrontation: It looks like the city council is backing down from its confrontation with Mayor Fenty over contracts that his administration awarded without council oversight. The Post reports that the council has extended its deadline for submission of contracts by a week amid concerns by contractors that they wouldn’t be paid. The administration is insisting that it receive assurances that the contracts will be approved before it agrees to submit them to the council; the council says it can’t make any promises before it sees the contracts.

More on Appomattox Shootings: A suspect in last night’s shooting spree in central Virginia has been arrested, according to the Post. It appears that a domestic dispute spiraled out of control — by the time Christopher Speight surrendered, eight people were dead and a helicopter has been downed (the latter apparently without injury).

Briefly Noted: O’Malley proposes $1b in cuts… United Medical Center responds to accusations that an emergency room patient was turned away this weekend due to lack of supplies… Fairfax team has rescued 15 people in Haiti… Family recovering after close call with carbon monoxide poisoning… NARAL raises questions about who will be receiving funds from fees connected to Virginia’s new “Choose Life” license plates… Aftershock hits Haiti… Details emerge about Arlington taser victim…

This Day In DCist: One year ago it was the inauguration! There are plenty of posts to choose from, like this one about the Bush family leaving D.C.