Today will be partly sunny with a 50% chance of rain from scattered showers towards the afternoon, and highs in the lower 60s. This photo was posted on Flickr by Jennifer Snyder Developer Undeterred by NIMBY Lawmaker: Despite the threats by a Virginia lawmaker to attempt to block a development near the Vienna Metro, today the company said his proposal to force WMATA to withhold a key parcel of land “dented the car and made…

Nationals Mascot Announced: In a surprising move, the Washington Nationals presented the team’s new mascot to reporters this morning. The choice? A giant walking bow tie. Meant to memorialize the efforts of D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams in bringing baseball back to the District after a three-decade absence, the “Nat Cravate,” as the mascot is to be known, will spin every time a National hits a home run and will loosen slightly during the seventh-inning stretch….

Today will be partly cloudy with a chance of snow showers and temperatures in the 40s. Two Men Hit by Train: An Amtrack train hit two men in Rockville, killing one and seriously wounding the other. Although police ruled three deaths in the same area to be suicides, police said there’s no evidence yesterday’s accident was. EPA To Pay for Mercury Cleanup: The EPA’s Superfund program is picking up the tab for the $150,000 the…

Today will be mostly cloudy with highs around 50 with rain likely this morning. The photo is from photographer Elliott Teel’s photoblog “D.C. In B&W” NoVa Gang Slices Again: The Northern Virginia street gang Mara Salvatrucha is in the news again, this time for slicing three fingers off the hand of a man at the Lee Highway Multiplex Cinemas in Merrifield. Millions of dollars in funding for anti-gang programs have flowed to authorities in…

Could al Qaeda operatives be trying to tap the resources of Central American gangs in the Washington area? The W.Times says there is evidence indicating that is the case. Adnan G. El Shukrijumah, an al Qaeda operative wanted by U.S. authorities, was spotted in Honduras in July meeting with high-ranking members of the violent Mara Salvatrucha gang, which has ties to the Washington area. More than 3,000 Mara Salvatrucha gang members are thought to be…

It’s been a busy day for crime and justice news. A quick roundup … The Post notes that a charter bus was stolen from South Capitol Street, but was found later in Prince George’s County. Also three Colorado teenagers have been arrested on drug, weapons and illegal possession of fireworks charges when they drove their recreational vehicle into a restricted traffic zone near the White House. When security officials stopped the vehicle at 17th and…

Gang leaders in Los Angeles are complaining that their subsidiaries in the Washington area are not getting serious about criminal enterprise. The Post has explored the expanding suburban gang underworld in a series that started Sunday and it says on the gang front, things could get a lot worse, especially with the Salvadoran gang known as Mara Salvatruchas. From the Post: Although police in Northern Virginia have been seeing more drugs during arrests of local…