Sex-Slave Trafficking Ring Broken Up: We’d always heard rumors that certain massage parlors in the District offered, ummmm, “happy endings” and other such services. Apparently, the rumors were true. Federal officials yesterday arrested 31 people along the east coast involved in a sex-slave trafficking ring that forced Korean women to work as prostitutes in massage parlors and spas, some of which were located in the District. Four men were arrested in the District following raids…

Chalk it up to some interesting cropping by the Washington Times photo staff, but a picture published today by the paper of Maryland Governor Robert Ehrlich makes him look frighteningly like Big Brother from George Orwell’s classic, 1984. Kinda freaky, isn’t it?…

Good morning, D.C. Check out this lovely shot of the Capitol by Grundlepuck. The statue looks sad, or at least concerned — perhaps it’s contemplating the fate of Rep. Bob Ney, the self-proclaimed “Mayor of Capitol Hill.” According to the Post, Ney’s just been further implicated in the Abramoff scandal. Duncan Drops Out Of Race: The Democratic field in the race for the Maryland governorship. Montgomery County Executive Doug Duncan has withdrawn from the race,…

And we thought calling gay folks “sexual deviants” was so yester-decade in these parts. Apparently not. There is controversy and commotion in Metro’s Board of Directors, where Maryland member Robert Smith called gay people “sexual deviants” on a cable access show last week, reports the Washington Blade. Council-member Jim Graham (D-Ward 1), who is gay and serves on Metro’s board, has demanded that Smith resign. After a June 15 meeting where Graham raised the issue…

Good morning, D.C. In addition to scattered showers and thunderstorms, today brings news that the Circulator bus line is nearing its millionth passenger. Not too shabby — although the city’s busiest buslines put up those kinds of numbers every month and a half (probably less, given the age of the linked numbers). But officials say that Circulator ridership has been increasing steadily; assuming the service survives the looming Tourmobile legal apocalypse, its planned route around…

Millions of dollars of security improvements just don’t seem to be enough — Metro is asking that riders be their “eyes and ears” in protecting the transit system against terrorist attack, writes the Examiner. To that end, Metro’s System Safety and Risk Protection Department and Transit Police have announced a series of Emergency Management Outreach events, the first taking place tomorrow from 7:30 – 9:30 a.m. at Union Station. We feel we’ve done our part…

Six months on, and we’re still not calling him Tai Shan. He’s Butterstick, and he basked in even more attention than usual yesterday as he turned six months old. A hefty 27 pounds and boasting a newly-blackened nose, Butterstick has been all the rage in the District as of late — those who haven’t yet seen him in the flesh have opted instead for the voyeuristic Panda Cam, watching and awwing his every move. While…

A snippet of news from Maryland today is the stuff that dream Morning Roundup’s are made up. Funny and off-kilter, but real. It seems that some Maryland residents are a little peeved at what has come to be known as the state’s “flush tax,” writes WTOP. In order to raise money to upgrade the state’s sewage treatment plants to protect the vulnerable Chesapeake Bay from pollutants, Maryland Governor Robert Ehrlich this year endorsed a new…

Somewhere Joe Camel and the Marlboro Man are rolling in their graves. Yesterday afternoon the Committee on Health of the D.C. City Council endorsed legislation that would make all District bars and restaurants smoke-free by January 2007, according to WJLA. The bill, written by Council-member David Catania (I-At Large) offers exemptions for outdoor areas, cigar bars, hotel rooms, retail tobacco outlets, research projects on the effects of smoking, and businesses that can demonstrate economic…

Once a butterstick, now a “solid little Tonka truck,” the baby panda that has transfixed attention on the District’s National Zoo and provided much-needed fodder for slow news days is six-weeks old today, almost half-way to the 100 days at which it is officially named. Zoo vets examined the cub yesterday for 14 minutes, reports the Post, weighing it in at four pounds and noting that teeth and open eyes are the next developments…