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>> Six Metro officials traveled to Japan earlier this year at a cost of over $29,000 to inspect mock-ups of new rail cars being designed for use by the agency, reports the Examiner. Metro is paying $886 million for 428 of the new 7000 series rail cars, and Metro officials said it was important for the team to get a look at the car’s design before it’s put into production.

>> After a debate on Capitol Hill that left its future in doubt, 300 new D.C. students have been granted vouchers to attend private schools, writes WAMU. The students, part of the 1,800 that will benefit this year from the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program, will get between $8,000 and $12,000 towards private school tuition. The program has been in effect in 2004, but recently came under fire when President Obama threatened to cut its funding. It was restored by Congress, despite complaints from some that it takes needed money away from public schools.

>> Way to make us all feel way dumber, dude. A Maryland high school students got a perfect score of 36 on his ACT test, reports the Post. All told, that’s pretty rare. Of the more than 1.6 million students that took the test in 2011, only 704 can claim the achievement.

Briefly Noted: Man shot and killed in Park View … Construction near Wilson Bridge wraps up … Maryland prosecutors get eight first-degree murder convictions for killing of 15-year-old … Murder-suicides spike in region … One dead, another injured in D.C. car crash … D.C. gets new Department of Health director … Maryland students march in support of Dream Act.

This Day in DCist: On this day in 2011, the D.C. Taxicab Commission stated that recording its meeting was OK and more Capital Bikeshare riders meant more people without helmets. In 2010, TBD prepared to launch and we found one of the few affordable places to live in D.C.