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This part happens all the time: A construction crew putting up an office building in the heart of congested Tysons Corner in McLean, Va., hit a fiber-optic cable no one knew was there. This part doesn't: Within moments, three black SUVs drove up, half a dozen men in suits jumped out, and one said, "You just hit our line." Whose line, you may ask? The guys in suits didn't say, recalled Aaron Georgelas, whose company, the Georgelas Group, was developing the Greensboro Corporate Center.

Congress is poised to do away with one of former President George W. Bush's signature initiatives in education: the taxpayer-funded vouchers that enable students from low-income families in the District of Columbia to attend private schools. About 1,700 children in kindergarten through 12th grade receive the $7,500 annual scholarships. Four times as many apply.

Tens of thousands of gays, lesbians and supporters marched through the nation's capital Sunday in a festive, forceful call for equality, culminating in a boisterous rally at the Capitol. The National Equality March took place one day after President Obama made sweeping pledges to the gay community, including a vow to end the military policy of "don't ask, don't tell" -- which bans gays and lesbians from serving openly in the armed forces. Obama gave no timetable for repealing the policy.

After helping deliver the District of Columbia's first baby of 2009, Dr. Kashif Irfan boarded a flight to Orlando, Fla., with his wife, three children and other relatives to participate in a weekend retreat on the peaceful practice of Islam. But instead of taking off as scheduled, Irfan and his family were suddenly ordered off the plane, detained in the airport and refused passage by the airline after they were cleared by the FBI.

The striking writers behind Jon Stewart's fake news show and Stephen Colbert's fake talk show came here to explain to real lawmakers Wednesday a strike that has crippled creative television and threatens to wreck the Oscars. But knowing it can be difficult to get a lawmaker's attention when not in a Learjet or on the links, the brains behind two of Comedy Central's most-watched shows couched the issues in terms Washington could understand: a mock debate.

For more than 30 years, the District of Columbia has had the nation's strictest gun-control law -- a ban on having handguns at home for self-defense. On Tuesday, the Supreme Court will hear a challenge to that law from those who say it violates the 2nd Amendment's right to keep and bear arms. Few would cite D.C.'s gun ban as proof that gun control leads to crime control, as Washington continues to have one of the nation's highest rates of violent crime.

As more than 70 lawyers, paralegals, courtroom personnel and journalists waited to take off from Baltimore-Washington International Airport on a flight here this month, two crucial figures in the Office of Military Commissions crawled through rush-hour traffic looking for a U-Haul rental drop-off. Army Sgt.

The centerpiece for the Martin Luther King Jr. memorial on the National Mall has drawn criticism from a federal arts panel, which says the proposed statue looks "confrontational" and resembles the head of a socialist state more than a civil rights leader. Models of the 28-foot-tall statue depict King emerging from a chunk of granite, his arms folded in front of his chest, his legs firmly rooted, an intense gaze on his face. But the U.S.

If you're coming to Washington for the inauguration, pack some sturdy shoes, a heavy coat, a powerful pair of binoculars, a cartload of patience -- and your platinum credit card. President-elect Barack Obama will not take the oath of office until next month, but already he's boosting the economy in the capital region. With record crowds expected to pack the National Mall on Jan.

The nation's capital bade a stately farewell Tuesday to Gerald R. Ford, the 38th president, at a funeral where he was lauded by the current president as "a good and decent man" whose affability cloaked a firm resolve. President Bush escorted Ford's widow, Betty, down the long center aisle of Washington National Cathedral to the front row, where she sat with her sons and daughter, her face etched in grief.