Photo by ekelly80.

Good morning, Washington. Well, it’s already beginning, this Thanksgiving travel insanity. More than a million people from the D.C. region are traveling this week, 95 percent of them hitting the road. This morning, Dr. Gridlock revisits the bane of every northbound Washingtonian’s existence, Delaware’s Newark toll plaza, which is, you guessed it, undergoing construction during the holiday weekend — just as it seemingly has been every other freaking day of the year for the last twenty or so years. “This week may be the worst in its infamous history as a major East Coast bottleneck,” Robert Thomson says of the plaza. “The Delaware Department of Transportation says the severe backups are likely to begin Tuesday morning and continue through next Monday evening. … Even if you have E-ZPass, you aren’t going to gain too much advantage at the most congested times. You will be crawling along with everyone else for miles before you reach the point where the lanes open up for the toll plaza and you can reach the booths dedicated to E-ZPass users.” Oh, fun. The saddest thing is that there isn’t any refuge — all the viable detours are already well known and sure to be jammed with Thanksgiving revelers.

Fire Destroys Vietnam Veterans Memorial POW/MIA Kiosk: A propane tank fire which ignited around 11 p.m. last night caused the destruction of the Vietnam POW/MIA kiosk located near the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. The Memorial Wall itself was untouched by the flames. One man was in the booth at the time of the fire, which appears to have been accidental and the result of a malfunctioning space heater. The kiosk, which is used to sell and trade war memorabilia, had stood for 30 years and was manned by Vietnam veterans on a 24-hour basis.

Gray Gets Thrifty: Not only does Vince Gray have to resolve a $187.8 million budget shortfall — but according to the Examiner, the soon-to-be Mayor wants to cut an additional $50 million on top of that, despite the fact that the District’s fund balance (basically, the city’s savings account) is dwindling. Meanwhile, the Post says that Gray’s budget speech (in which he said he wouldn’t increase taxes until the Council had “scrubbed” the budget) means he might propose higher taxes. Social service advocates are already loudly petitioning the Mayor-elect to not cut the city’s safety net. Here’s wishing that Blue Ribbon Commission good luck — this is going to get very messy, very quickly.

Now This Is Terrifying: A D.C. woman woke up this morning to find a strange, naked man in her bedroom. Police are investigating the incident, which took place at a home on the 2400 block of Ontario Street NW, but they didn’t find any evidence of forced entry or any other clues as to the identity of the suspect.

Briefly Noted: The “Bienvenue a Shaw, Slum Historique” building at the corner of 9th Street and Rhode Island Avenue NW has reportedly been sold…23-year-old Maryland man sentenced to 30 months in jail for selling guns and drugs at Bethesda Metro station…Maryland teenager going for eight straight wins at the Apollo…Drunk driver plows into five parked cars on Southern Avenue SE before crashing…Authorities still investigating whether a dead body found after fire was extinguished at 3602 16th Street yesterday died due to the fire or other causes.

This Day in DCist: Last year, some poll results led us to the following conclusion: “…without a credible challenger – and none has yet stepped forward – Fenty would cruise to a second term. Well, if that capable challenger ends up being D.C. Council Chair Vincent Gray, Fenty may have to start looking for a new job.”