Washington News (BETA)

Whether he was wolfing down a "Hell Burger," savoring some frozen custard or watching the Wizards beat the Chicago Bulls, almost all of the president's visits to local haunts have had one thing in common: They haven't been in Maryland.

Unemployment in the District, Maryland and Virginia rose slightly in June, according to government data released today, largely because of job losses in the higher education and administrative services and high school students entering a tough job market.

Jan. 16: The Obamas and friends have an early birthday dinner for Michelle at Equinox on Connecticut Avenue NW.

While the president and first lady have the option of around-the-clock room service, they, like many busy couples, enjoy getting out of the (White) house now and then for a meal. Taking their well-documented tastes into consideration, here are a handful of restaurants they should consider:

Three people, including a 12-year-old girl and an off-duty U.S. Capitol Police officer, were shot last night during a gunfight outside an apartment complex in the Lanham area, authorities said.

RICHMOND | Chris Saxman, a fast-rising Republican delegate from Staunton, abruptly announced Friday that he is dropping his re-election bid. The 43-year-old lawmaker said he had decided duirng the past couple of weeks to devote himself to two nonprofit, bipartisan ventures he will announce shortly. He is the second incumbent in recent weeks to abandon plans for another term this fall, with ...

RICHMOND | Former Gov. L. Douglas Wilder shared his front-row perspective on history Friday during a conference marking the demise of state-sanctioned school segregation in Virginia. He told of rubbing shoulders with civil rights giants, such as Thurgood Marshall and Oliver W. Hill, and how the era inspired not only his pioneering political career but a whole generation of young black men and ...

CHARLOTTESVILLE (AP) | A Charlottesville man who requested the death penalty for killing an 11-year-old boy during a robbery changed his mind and instead will spend life behind bars. Waverly "Eddie" Whitlock, 28, had said he would plead guilty only if he were guaranteed the death penalty for killing Aziz Damar Booth and shooting the boy's stepfather, Rueben Lewis III. After a competency hearing ...

RICHMOND | Republican House of Delegates candidates edged Democrats in fundraising in June and enjoy a substantial advantage in cash on hand entering the fall election stretch run. Republicans took in nearly $1.56 million from May 28 through June 30, compared to $1.42 million for Democratic House candidates. The figures come from campaign finance reports filed Wednesday with the State Board of ...

MARYLAND RIVERDALE 2 children rescued from apartment fire Two young children rescued from a Riverdale fire Friday evening were in extremely critical condition Friday night. Prince George's County fire department spokesman Mark Brady said firefighters rescued the boys, who are 4 or 5 years old, after units responded at about 5:15 p.m. Friday to a fire at Oakridge Apartments in the 5400 block of ...

A former North Branch Correctional Institution inmate said he was assaulted, left naked and was refused basic equipment, including toiletries and a mattress, during a short stay at the Cresaptown area prison in March 2008.

Above photo: From left, VanNewkirk brothers of Frostburg Erik, 7, Philip, 10, and Johathan, 7, eye a treasure map at City Place in Frostburg on Wednesday. The buccaneers were participating in the Pirates Ahoy program sponsored by the Children’s Literature Centre at Frostburg State University and Frostburg First.

After several tries to even get a seat in the World Series of Poker, Oakland resident Darvin Moon finished day seven of the tournament as the chip leader, according to pokerati.com.

Customers of Oldtown Community Systems began losing cable on Friday after the company received a pole rental bill from Allegheny Power.

It has taken longer than anticipated, but Rob Markwood, developer of Cumberland Chase, said the proposed 750-unit housing complex south of Cresaptown on the former Barton farm will happen and it will happen with class.

It is about evaluation now, not wins. Even the Nationals front office acknowledges that unpleasant fact. »Attendance at Nationals Park on Friday night against the Cubs was 27,581.

Norm Coleman, of Chevy Chase -- the first athlete profiled on The Examiner's Personal Best page when it started last July -- is still going strong with swimming, biking and running. Oh, and hiking 16,000-foot mountains.

Julius Fleischman's daily workout schedule rivals that of fit twentysomethings. The hour-long routine that includes hundreds of push-ups, squats, arm extensions and a half-hour on an exercise bike is nothing to scoff at. Especially because he's 87.

NEW YORK — CIT Group Inc.'s shares doubled Friday as the commercial lender held talks with several large banks about securing emergency financing in hopes of avoiding a bankruptcy filing.

NEW YORK — Investors are betting that a resurgent rally will continue. Stocks ended little changed Friday but held onto an enormous rally for the week. Investors are looking to another flood of corporate earnings reports next week to provide more signs that the economy is healing.

The mom accused of killing her daughters refused defense attorneys' recommendation to plead insanity.

Need a quick look at D.C.-area news? The Night Note is your one-stop shop. Read it. Use it. Love it.

An off-duty police officer want to call for help, but his angry roommate started shooting. Three people were injured, including a 12-year-old girl.

A man suffered cuts to his face and was robbed by another man in Walter Pierce Community Park around 3:30 p.m. Friday, police said.

NBC's Craig Melvin tries to stand up to pressure -- namely, the pressure of 117-mph wind -- in the University of Maryland's wind tunnel, which turns 60 this year.

MIDDLETOWN -- For most of the nearly 300 years that western Frederick County has been settled, the farmland along Marker Road west of Middletown has been kept intact

A federal judge ruled Friday that the wrongful-death case against Frederick County, its sheriff's office and one of its deputies for the use of a Taser is going to trial

The New York Police Department contemplates retirement for horses in its Mounted Unit when they hit 20 years old

A Frederick man sent to jail in 2006 for setting vehicles ablaze near a firehouse where firefighters slept is serving another 18-month term behind bars

MYERSVILLE -- Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot hiked down an overgrown path Friday to get to the site of new town parkland the state is helping to buy

The idea was to hire a comedien at the Treasury Department's Bureau of Public Debt.  Now the federal agency finds itself the butt of jokes.

It seemed people were ready for a fight this week. The most Googled search term is Brock Lesner and UFC 100. That's the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

A doula is a certified companion to help with a mom's emotional and nutritional needs before, during, and after the child-birth. 

Chief of Security Alan Orlob was staying on the 23rd floor of the Ritz-Carlton during the explosion. He spoke with 9 NEWS NOW from Jakarta.

Treasury Department's Bureau of Public Debt had been looking to hire someone to teach humor workshops to managers.

Pack your patience if you're riding Metro this weekend because you could be doing some waiting. The Washington-area's transit system issued a warning to riders on Friday for the upcoming weekend.

A nanny who has worked for several D.C. area families behind bars.  Investigators say 22-year-old Aza Hmjic is facing child pornography charges after a Hyattsville mom who hired her discovered she had been allegedly showing porn to her children. 

A D.C. teenager accused in the beating death of a Maryland man has pleaded guilty to a lesser charge, and it could mean no real jail time.  A grand jury indicted 18-year old Robert Hannah on a simple assault charge in the September 2008 death of 37-year old Tony Hunter.

Prince George's County police have obtained attempted murder charges against a man they say was involved in a gunfight with an off-duty U.S. Capitol Police officer.  Twenty-four-old Badara Samb was apprehended at the scene of the shooting Thursday evening. He is in serious condition at a hospital.

Who is Catherine Crabill? You've probably never heard her name, but by the time you've finished reading this story, she's guaranteed to get you thinking.  Whether you agree with her or not, what she said about President Obama and his party that are now posted on YouTube have a lot of people talking.

June’s unemployment numbers increased in D.C., Maryland and Virginia.

Bipartisan lobbying firm Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck saw a surge of activity in the second quarter, posting a 33 percent increase in federal lobbying revenue during the first half of the year to $9.18 million, the company reported Friday.

The Montgomery County Planning Board approved the Gaithersburg West and White Flint master plans and its newest growth policy Thursday night in a series of moves that will drastically affect the county’s future growth.

A Bethesda-based alternative power company will receive a little more than $275,000 in federal stimulus funds to help study how to incorporate more wind power into the electrical grid.

The Gaithersburg Marriott Washingtonian Center’s new general manager is Michele Pajot, who replaced Matt Felix at the 284-room hotel.

Exactly one month after she watched her home at the intersection of Beartown and Mentzer Gap roads being torn down Donna Rook was handed the keys to her brand new home Thursday. Rook’s home was torn down June 16 and then rebuilt from the ground up by Chambersburg Project Inc., a nonprofit that holds a once-a-year Christian youth work camp dedicated to providing home renovations and repairs for ...

Amy Sue Sites, a Waynesboro notary who faces numerous counts of theft by failure to make required dispositions of funds, has waived her right to a preliminary hearing. Sites, who was accused in February of stealing money from customers that was intended for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, waived the hearing in Franklin County District Court on Tuesday. Her mandatory arraignment is ...

The governing board of Pennsylvania’s 14 state-owned universities Thursday approved a 3.7 percent increase in tuition, while Penn State and Pitt turned up on the heat on Gov. Ed Rendell to restore millions of federal stimulus dollars so they can hold down tuition increases.

It was a good day in Oakes, a one-stoplight town in southeastern North Dakota: Oakes’ third-largest employer, a JLG Industries plant, is not closing after all. The plant was scheduled to close on Sept. 24, but a recent military contract totaling more than $1 billion has brought work back to the 61-employee plant. The contract to build off-road trucks for the U.S. Army also sparked the recall of ...

“I’m so sick and tired of Gettysburg ghosts. I wanted Franklin County to get the attention for once,” said Athena Varounis, a retired FBI agent, who recently published her first book, “Franklin County Ghosts.”