| Ex-Arlington Cemetery official mostly mum at hearing |
| Invoking his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, former Arlington National Cemetery deputy superintendent Thurman Higginbotham refused Thursday to answer U.S. senators' questions about his role in approving millions of dollars' worth of botched contracts at the nation's most venerated...
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| District jobs program budget at issue |
| The job Daren Long had Thursday morning was clear enough. With a brush and bucket in hand, the 15-year-old wearing a paint-splotched T-shirt spruced up the black iron fence at Walter C. Pierce Community Park near Adams Morgan as part of the District's summer jobs program.
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| LOTTERIES |
Mid-Day Lucky Numbers: 2-3-6 Mid-Day D.C. 4: 6-3-9-4
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| Teacher firings will test Gray |
| Deal with it, folks: Mayoral candidate Vincent C. Gray isn't going to say what he's going to do about D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee if he's elected.
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| House subcommittee approves bill promoting D.C. budget autonomy |
| House Democrats are pushing this year to give the District full control over how it budgets and spends city revenue, severely limiting opportunities for Congress to intervene in local decisions such as support for same-sex marriage , needle-exchange programs and medical marijuana .
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| Incalculable losses among storm's victims |
| There will be no trial for the killer. No colored ribbons to pin on lapels. No impassioned rallies or speeches. No laws to write or bills to pass in response to a brief, brutal storm Sunday afternoon that took the lives of four good people.
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| Gun rights advocates challenge Maryland's restrictions on handgun carry permits |
The gun rights advocates who successfully challenged the District's gun laws have moved their campaign to Maryland, filing a federal lawsuit claiming that the state's weapons restrictions violate the Second Amendment.
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| Local Digest |
| Corey Stewart, chairman of the Prince William Board of County Supervisors, pushed legislation Thursday that would outline how Virginia can crack down on illegal immigration yet avoid the pitfalls Arizona has faced with its controversial immigration law.
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| For TV, Malvo boosts sniper rampage's victim count |
| Convicted sniper Lee Boyd Malvo, in a telephone interview with actor William Shatner, now says he and John Allen Muhammad shot 42 people during their rampage in 2002, a claim that those who investigated the case say is ridiculous.
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| Young writer finds an outlet in College Park |
| Seven Washington Post reporters fanned out to coffeehouses across the region Wednesday to find stories that tell us something important about life at this time, in this place. The result was seven stories of love and passion, of people striving to be something more or learning to be at peace with...
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| Two Pr. George's sheriff's officials accused in theft from union |
A grand jury charged two Prince George's County sheriff's officials Thursday with conspiring to steal more than $20,000 from the deputies' union when they were officers for the organization.
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| Tree-toppled power line falls on Metro tracks, trapping riders, causing delays |
| A live power line fell on Metro tracks on the Red Line on Thursday, confining passengers inside a train in Silver Spring and causing delays during the evening rush as the week's second thunderstorm drenched the Washington region.
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| Ex-teacher pleads guilty to sex abuse |
| Former Manassas teacher Kevin Ricks pleaded guilty to one sex abuse charge in a Prince William County courtroom Thursday morning, resulting in the first conviction linked to a series of abuses stretching back more than three decades.
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| Obama defends education policies in speech to National Urban League |
| President Obama pushed back Thursday against critics of his policy of forcing staff shake-ups and other major interventions at struggling schools, telling a civil rights organization that "something needs to be done differently" when schools fail year after year.
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| Fairfax principal apologizes for yearbook ad, stops selling weight-loss products |
An advertisement that Principal Nardos King placed in the Mount Vernon High School yearbook, for weight-loss products she sold in her free time, surprised and upset many parents this summer, and prompted an apology.
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| Study: Global warming not to blame for snowmageddon |
| Memories of the record-breaking cold and snowstorms of last winter, including Snowpocalypse, Snowmaggedon and Snoverkill, have probably faded, as eventually will be true of memories of the record-breaking heat this summer. Unless, that is, the extreme winter and summer weather prove to be just a ...
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| Police standoff drags on at Manassas hotel |
| An armed man who barricaded himself in a Manassas hotel room Wednesday evening remains surrounded by authorities Thursday morning, Manassas City police said.
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| Ruling on Arizona immigration law heightens tensions |
| In Arizona on Wednesday, police chiefs shifted plans, activists recalibrated and public tensions were generally elevated, rather than calmed, after a federal judge blocked key parts of the state's controversial immigration law from taking effect.
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| Lotto numbers for July 28, 2010 |
Mid-Day Lucky Numbers: 3-3-2 Mid-Day D.C. 4: 7-4-4-0
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| Power restored to home of Md. woman with breathing problems |
| The lights are back on for Iylene Becker, a 50-year-old Silver Spring woman who breathes at night through an oxygen concentrator system and ran into problems when Sunday's thunderstorm cut power to her home.
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| What was for FDR's eyes only is now for yours |
| The letter is marked "personal and private" and is addressed to President Franklin D. Roosevelt's secretary, Grace Tully, who was with the ailing chief executive in Warm Springs, Ga., that Thursday in 1945.
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| Metro simply has to get serious about safety |
| The Metro transit system now has a detailed blueprint, thanks to the federal government, for how to strengthen its focus on safety and prevent fatal crashes like last year's Red Line accident.
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| Va. activist can post officials' Social Security numbers on site, court rules |
Betty "B.J." Ostergren wanted to persuade Virginia to take sensitive personal data off state Web sites. To make her point, she created her own site and then posted public records that included the Social Security numbers of government officials.
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| Terror group founder pleads guilty |
| A founding member of a separatist group in the Philippines that is linked to al-Qaeda pleaded guilty Wednesday in federal court in Washington to taking hostage four U.S. citizens among a group of 16 people kidnapped in December 1995, the Justice Department said.
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| washingtonpost.com |
| A report by the Center for American Progress says confidence in the federal government is at an all-time low. What can federal workers do to improve the view of government in the eyes of the American public?
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| Potomac teen pleads guilty in slaying of car salesman last year |
| A Potomac teenager pleaded guilty to first-degree murder Wednesday as details emerged about how she lured a 57-year-old car salesman down a darkened path, where her boyfriend hit him in the head with a shovel.
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| Man fatally shot in Fort Washington area |
A man was shot and killed Wednesday at the end of a quiet cul-de-sac in the Fort Washington area, and law enforcement officers were searching for a suspect thought to be at least an acquaintance of the victim.
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| Va. AG Ken Cuccinelli to donate funds given by Bobby Thompson to veterans groups |
| RICHMOND -- Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli II (R) announced Wednesday that he will give away $55,500 in campaign funds to veterans charities across the state, bowing to months of pressure from Democrats and others .
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| Jewish group, Md. reach deal on future claims of Torah rescuer |
| A Jewish nonprofit group whose leader was accused of fabricating dramatic stories about rescued Torahs has reached a deal with Maryland investigators forbidding it from publicizing such stories about sacred scrolls unless it can prove them.
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| Victim of D.C. area storm, a local environmentalist, 'lived what he believed' |
| Seven families who tend the Watkins Pond Community Garden in Rockville gathered Sunday for a picnic and double celebration: to mark their second summer harvest and to thank Carl Henn, the local environmental activist credited with creating their beloved garden.
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| Boy, 14, charged with murder, rape in teacher's death at Md. detention center |
A boy who was 13 in February when he allegedly beat a teacher to death in a state juvenile detention facility in Prince George's County was charged Wednesday with first-degree murder and first-degree attempted rape.
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| Va. teacher Kevin Ricks charged in federal court with child-porn possession |
| Former Manassas teacher Kevin Ricks was charged in federal court Wednesday on child pornography counts in what officials said was an effort to ensure he stays in jail after a plea hearing Thursday on state charges.
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| Fairfax may stomp out smoking at bus shelters |
| Fairfax County officials are pushing to ban smoking at all public bus shelters, eight months after Virginia's restaurant-and-bar smoking ban went into effect.
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| Pepco chief: Storm response was flawed |
| Pepco region president Thomas H. Graham said Wednesday morning that the number of customers without power had dipped below 31,000 and damaged substations were operating again.
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| Boy, 14, charged with teacher's rape, murder |
A boy who was 13 when he allegedly beat a teacher to death in a state juvenile detention facility in Prince George's County in February was formally charged Wednesday with first-degree murder and first-degree rape.
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| Sunday's storm claims fourth victim |
| Sunday's violent thunderstorm has claimed its fourth fatality.
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| Local Digest |
| Fairfax County officials moved Tuesday to ban smoking at all public bus shelters, eight months after Virginia's restaurant-and-bar smoking ban went into effect.
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| NTSB blames '09 Metro crash on track circuit failures, negligent safety attitude |
| Chronic track circuit failures and a negligent attitude toward safety made a catastrophic accident such as last year's fatal Red Line crash inevitable, the National Transportation Safety Board determined in its final report on the incident Tuesday, warning that the conditions that led to the cras...
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| Man indicted in 2 Pr. George's killings; ATF, police raids led to break in case |
Police barely knew that Jason Thomas Scott existed before the bodies of two of his alleged victims turned up in a burning car in Prince George's County last year. The suspected serial killer was living quietly with his parents and sister in a modest suburban colonial in Largo, and public records...
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| LOTTERIES |
| Mid-Day Lucky Numbers: 4-7-6 Mid-Day D.C. 4: 6-7-8-9
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| It's your chance to stump The Post. Send in trivia questions that only a true Washingtonian would know the answers to for a 2 p.m. chat. Go to PostLocal.com .
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| D.C. area power outages after storm frustrate people with medical needs |
| When the lights flickered in Adele Becker's Silver Spring home Sunday, she didn't think much of it at first.
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| Arlington Cemetery problems were documented in 2005 but never fixed |
Arlington National Cemetery officials knew more than five years ago that many burials did not match Arlington's maps and paper records, according to documents released Tuesday by a Senate subcommittee investigating millions of dollars in botched contracts overseen by the Army.
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| District patients shouldn't expect legal sale of marijuana until early 2011 |
| District leaders say it will be months before the city begins allowing the sale of medical marijuana, even though the law authorizing up to eight dispensaries took effect Tuesday after the Democratic-controlled Congress declined to intervene.
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| Md. mother of 2 killed in D.C. storm was happily committed to community, family |
| Michelle Humanick was ever-present in her College Park neighborhood. Stopping to chat while walking her golden retriever, Rocky BalBubba. Playing with her daughter in the snow. Hosting political events, countless play dates, family-friendly movie nights and a regular poker party with her husband.
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| Online federal benefits calculators |
| -- Federal retirement: http://www.opm.gov/retire/tools/calculators/ballpark/menu.asp
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| washingtonpost.com |
A report by the Center for American Progress says confidence in the federal government is at an all-time low. What can federal workers do to improve the view of government in the eyes of the American public?
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| Census data reveal broad differences among states in rates of uninsured |
| New census data released Tuesday confirm a huge spread in the rate of uninsured from state to state and the big difference in impact that can be expected as a result of the health-care overhaul recently passed by Congress.
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| Census data reveal health insurance gaps |
| The table below shows 2007 health insurance coverage status for people under 65, at all income levels, for a select number of states and the District
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| Two people arrested in slaying of Fairfax man in California |
| A man and woman have been arrested in Oakland, Calif., in the slaying of a Fairfax County man who had flown to California for a job interview, Oakland police said Tuesday.
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| A timeline of break-ins, assaults leading to the charges |
December 23-25, 2007: A home in the 1700 block of Albert Drive in Mitchellville is burglarized. Jason Thomas Scott is charged after police say they connected him to the crime through a stolen handgun.
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| Montgomery's Purple Line plan includes more access to Georgetown Branch trail |
| A state proposal to build a 16-mile Purple Line is now officially part of Montgomery County's master plan.
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| Fairfax man is charged with raping girl he allegedly met on MySpace |
| A Fairfax County man has been arrested and charged with picking up a 17-year-old girl he met on MySpace, taking her to a townhouse in Annandale, and then stabbing and raping her, Fairfax police said Tuesday.
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| Council members object to deal to give Montgomery workers more time off |
| Several Montgomery County Council members expressed frustration Tuesday over agreements that will give county employees extra time off, but they declined to take action to challenge the arrangements.
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| Fairfax supervisors annoyed but agree to increase funds for needy students |
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors agreed Tuesday to commit an extra $1.3 million to public schools for their neediest students -- but not without grumbling over whether the School Board and the superintendent had manipulated the budget and public emotion to secure the funds.
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| Reports find technical divide among foreign- and U.S.-born Latinos |
| Young Latinos born in the United States are far more likely to use text messages, social networking sites and other digital methods to communicate with their friends than their foreign-born parents or peers, according to two reports released Wednesday by the Pew Hispanic Center.
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| NTSB determines likely cause of Red Line crash |
| 4:35 p.m. Update: Metro Interim General Manager Richard Sarles released a statement after the crash.
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| Alleged 'serial killer' indicted in Md. killings |
| A 27-year-old Largo man was indicted Tuesday in connection with the slayings of a mother and her 20-year-old daughter whose bodies were found in a burning car in Prince George's County last year, authorities said.
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| States setting pace on school change; Obama agenda stalled in Congress |
While states are moving fast to overhaul public schools, President Obama's education agenda is hitting a wall in Congress.
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| Keeping food safe when the power goes out |
| When people lost power during last winter's Snowmageddon (which, according to this, was forecast last JULY) they could salvage some of the food in their fridges and freezers by sticking it in a trash bag and burying it in a snowbank.
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| An inside view of Sunday's severe weather |
| The severe thunderstorms that tore through the Washington metro area on Sunday afternoon were fueled by a combination of historically hot and oppressively humid weather, and ignited by a cold front sliding east-southeastward. They were not the strongest thunderstorms ever to affect the region - a...
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| CO2 incident after storm sends couple to hospital |
| Two people in Montgomery County experienced possible medical problems Monday afternoon as an indirect effect of the storm.
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| Third storm-related death reported in Md. |
The Maryland Natural Resources Police (NRP) are investigating the death of a 63-year-old Annapolis man who was knocked from his jet ski during Sunday's fierce thunderstorm.
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| Wed. post-storm roundup: Outages down |
| The number of power outages across the Washington region declined sharply overnight. Pepco's tally dropped from about 75,000 Tuesday night to about 28,000 early Wednesday, with roughly 36,000 in Montgomery County, 5,300 in Prince George's County and 2,400 in the District. Dominion Power and BG&E ...
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| Heat wave ends in Washington area; high temperature fails to climb out of the 80s |
| Washington's longest string of 90-degree days this year ended Monday, when the high temperature at the region's three airports failed to climb out of the 80s.
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| Staff writers Michael Alison Chandler, Christian Davenport, Aaron Davis, J. Freedom du Lac, Annie Gowen, Susan Kinzie, Michael Laris, Stephanie Lee, Phillip Lucas, Michael S. Rosenwald and Nikita Stewart contributed to this report.
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| Six-year-old Eric Lawson of Maryland youngest of 3 storm victims in D.C. area |
Eric Lawson spent Sunday afternoon at the Claude Moore Recreation Center in Sterling, clambering happily up and down the rock climbing wall. When the 6-year-old and his family emerged about 3 p.m. for a short walk home, the sky was just turning gray.
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| Online federal benefits calculators |
| -- Federal retirement: http://www.opm.gov/retire/tools/calculators/ballpark/menu.asp
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| Electricity lost, the power of community keeps Rock Creek Woods residents going |
| Blame the storm: On Sunday night, Pati Young was offering refuge. By Monday night, she was seeking it.
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| Fairfax County man pleads guilty in son's death; Man shot in Silver Spring |
| A Fairfax County man pleaded guilty Monday to involuntary manslaughter for fatally shaking his 9-month-old last year.
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| LOTTERIES |
Mid-Day Lucky Numbers: 3-3-8 Mid-Day D.C. 4: 6-9-3-9
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| In giving 117 years of comp time, Montgomery official hopes to heal budget wounds |
| To salve the wounds left by an unusually tight budget, Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett has agreed to give county employees the equivalent of more than 100 years off.
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| U.S. citizen on no-fly list discusses being stranded in Egypt and talks with FBI |
| Yahye Wehelie, 26, born and raised in Fairfax County, was supposed to have been home this spring, telling friends and family about his 18-month stay in Yemen: the technology classes, his quest for a Muslim bride, the wedding and reception that featured a DJ playing music by Michael Jackson and Ce...
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| National Transportation Safety Board report on Metro crash may reach nationwide |
| The announcement by the National Transportation Safety Board on Tuesday on the likely cause of the June 2009 Metro crash might have major safety and financial implications for transit systems nationwide.
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| Tips on determining if food is safe during power outage |
When people lost power during last winter's Snowmageddon, they could salvage some of the food in their fridges and freezers by sticking it in a trash bag and burying it in a snowbank.
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| That repulsive unflushed toilet? Better to swim in it than in the Chesapeake Bay |
| It turns out my kids have basically been swimming in toilet water this summer.
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| Fairfax man slain in California leaves behind 'perfect family,' wife says |
| On the day that Jinghong Kang was shot to death on a dark street in Oakland, Calif., after handing over $17, six students from China arrived at his home in Fairfax County, where they had planned to stay while studying the Bible at Kang's church in Dunn Loring.
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| When storms zap power, digital nomads know where to get their work done |
| You work from home and there's no power. You work from an office and there's no power. You are a worker without a work station.
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| Orange devotes a familiar focus to D.C. Council chairman's race |
At a retail conference in Las Vegas a decade ago, Vincent Bernard Orange Sr. helped plant the seeds with Home Depot representatives that eventually led to the transformation of the District's car impoundment lot, which for years was an eyesore for the Northeast Washington communities he represent...
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| Power outages expected to linger days after Washington area storm |
| Tens of thousands of people in the Washington region are likely to be without power for days, officials said Monday, as Pepco struggles to repair the damage from a ferocious storm Sunday that claimed three lives, produced hurricane-force winds and crippled neighborhoods.
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| 20 years of problems at Arlington Cemetery |
| From the graves of Supreme Court justices to a section for freed slaves, Arlington National Cemetery seems to have been egalitarian in its mistakes.
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| Boy Scouts march to celebrate 100 years of service |
| Cyclists, tourists and the occasional jogger stood out in the sea of Boy Scout troops wearing tan shirts, green shorts and thick green-and-red socks -- some rolled hastily down to their ankles. Spectators lined the sizzling sidewalks along Constitution Avenue in clusters wherever they could find...
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| LOTTERIES |
Mid-Day Lucky Numbers: 1-2-8 Mid-Day D.C. 4: 0-1-0-2
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| Brown makes his play to be D.C. Council's captain |
| In pickup basketball games at a gym on Capitol Hill, Kwame Rashaan Brown plays point guard, controlling the ball and making sure that it gets to the right players at the right time to score.
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| JAY MATHEWS |
| The weekly Jay Mathews education column is on break for a few weeks. But it'll be back next month when school starts.
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| Freedom of photography: Police, security often clamp down despite public right |
| A few weeks ago, on his way to work, Matt Urick stopped to snap a few pictures of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's headquarters. He thought the building was ugly but might make for an interesting photo. The uniformed officer who ran up to him didn't agree. He told Urick he w...
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| After Africa, some Baraka School alumni soar while others struggle |
Nearly eight years ago, its last class of students left the streets of Baltimore for an education in Africa that was meant to change the course of their lives. Yet the uneven legacy of the Baraka School continues to unfold.
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| Md. voters will have a wealth of choices on ballot for Senate race |
| Most people are familiar with what it takes to make a real run for president: months of work, hordes of volunteers, and dozens of trips to Iowa and New Hampshire. But what about running for the U.S. Senate from Maryland?
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| Stabbing victim had staved off pressure to join gangs, officers say |
| With no school scheduled the next day, and no clue he was about to be kidnapped and killed, Dennys Guzman-Saenz walked from his home in Langley Park to a nearby bus stop. It was just after 7 p.m. The baby-faced teen, having just turned 15, was on his way to visit a friend.
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| Fast-moving storm batters D.C. area; 2 deaths, mass power outages reported |
| One of the most violent and destructive thunderstorms in years ripped across the Washington region Sunday, knocking out power to hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses, starting fires, damaging houses, and causing at least two deaths.
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| Local residents report that animals felt D.C. quake seconds before they did |
The earthquake that recently struck the Washington area was minor, but it offered new information on a matter that has aroused curiosity since ancient times.
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| Kevin Ricks' career as teacher, tutor shows pattern of abuse that goes back decades |
| Kevin Ricks was a gregarious, well-traveled English teacher at Osbourn High School, a Walt Whitman devotee who was so popular that a photo of him in class was chosen to fill the opening page of the yearbook. A writer and photographer himself, Ricks would walk the halls of the Manassas school with...
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| Despite states' efforts, measures to protect students from predators sometimes fail |
| For nearly three decades, Kevin Ricks exploited gaps in a system that is supposed to keep sexual predators out of the classroom. He landed teaching jobs at one school after another -- public and private, urban and rural, domestic and foreign -- despite mounting evidence of his troubling personal...
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| Terror suspect took his desire to belong to the extreme |
| Long before 20-year-old Zachary Adam Chesser embraced the cause of jihad, he was passionate about the heavy metal music of Marilyn Manson, the anime culture of Japan and the kinetic energy of American break dancing.
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| Event connects Gold Star Families, kin of those who died in military service |
An indescribable pain consumes two Maryland mothers as they approach the anniversaries of their entrance into a network of families they hoped never to join: those with children killed in war.
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| LOTTERIES |
| Mid-Day Lucky Numbers: 4-2-4 Mid-Day D.C. 4: 9-8-3-2
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| Democrats are betting that ending tax cuts for the rich will play in their favor |
| President Obama and Democratic leaders in Congress are setting the stage for a high-stakes battle over taxes in the final weeks before the November congressional elections, betting that their plan to eliminate tax breaks for the wealthy will resonate with voters who have lost houses and jobs to w...
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| Turtle needed no roadside assistance |
| ARLINGTON, Arlington Mill Dr., 2600 block, July 6. A woman found a turtle by a road near her home and took it to the Animal Welfare League shelter.
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| Holocaust museum program named for slain guard raises teens' consciousness |
When Wendy Holland heard that a security guard was gunned down at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum last June, she didn't think much of it. She saw the clip on the evening news and went back to life as a 17-year-old in Prince George's County: advanced classes, sports practices, hanging out with ...
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| Are fish merely followers? |
| My husband and I took our daughters to the National Aquarium in Baltimore and did the walk-down-the-ramp thing, where you go from the top of the tank to the bottom, down four or five stories. The fish were all -- I mean ALL -- swimming in a clockwise direction. When we got to the lower depths, wh...
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| Robert Ehrlich mines Maryland's aggravations for votes in governor's race |
| A MARC commuter train breaks down, stranding hundreds of passengers in the heat for more than two hours without water. Former governor Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. later invites the media to look on as he commiserates with an exasperated rider, pledges more attention to maintenance and launches "Commuters...
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| Fenty, Gray fire up the rhetoric; supporters turn up the volume |
| Mayor Adrian M. Fenty and his chief rival, D.C. Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray, clashed Saturday at a Ward 7 candidates' forum that grew so raucous the moderator stopped the debate to quiet the roaring crowd.
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