Photo by pablo.raw.

Good morning, Washington. Well, the Great American Field Goal Kicking Exhibition of 2011 was an upsetting one for the Washington Redskins, as they fell to the hated Dallas Cowboys, 18-16. While typing the words “Cowboys win” is always painful, the most disappointing thing for us Internet-folk about the game is probably the lack of images of Tony Romo crying. Now what are we going to gif, huh?

Yay…For Now: Yesterday afternoon, the Senate passed a measure that should prevent the federal government from shutting down at the end of the week. Of course, I’m going to go ahead and prepare myself to write about this all over again in mid-November, when the government is scheduled to, yet again, debate the budget and leave the District wondering if we’ll have the money to pay our garbage collectors.

Monumental Damage: Shortly after releasing some dramatic video showing the interior of the Washington Monument during last month’s earthquake, the National Park Service revealed that the landmark suffered more damage than originally thought. Weather permitting, engineers are expected to repel rappel down the side of the Monument today to check again for cracks and other damages. So far, the NPS has spent about $200,000 to try and assess the damage to the Monument, which will remain closed to the public indefinitely.

Grandma Trial Gets Started: The Carmela Dela Rosa murder trial began with a bang yesterday, as the prosecution made claims that Dela Rosa dropped her two-year-old granddaughter off an elevated walkway at Tysons Corner Center last November because she was “she was a spiteful woman” who hated the child’s father. Prosecutors also claimed that Dela Rosa was upset that the child was born out of wedlock. Dela Rosa entered a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity; her defense attorney argued that she suffered from a “major depressive disorder.”

Briefly Noted: Christopher Barry to be sentenced on felony drug charges today…Bus accident at Minnesota Avenue and Nash Street SE injures several…Young people don’t want to work in Tysons….Jair Lynch invests in 600 block of H Street NE property…10-year-old girl sexually assaulted in Oxon Hill…The real question: will Axl show?

This Day in DCist: Last year, President Obama hit D.C. schools hard, and we examined where the District’s guns were coming from.