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NFL Redskins' Kettani to celebrate promotion to Navy lieutenant Washington Redskins fullback Eric Kettani , a 2009 Navy graduate, will celebrate his promotion from lieutenant junior grade to lieutenant Monday at Redskins Park in Ashburn, Va. Kettani has asked head coach Mike Shanahan and assistant head coach/running backs coach Bobby Turner to do the honor of pinning insignia denoting his new officer rank on his uniform before...

We're No. 6! That's according to new data from the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development, which on Tuesday released results of a survey measuring quality of life in 36 industrialized nations. For the last three years, the Paris-based outfit has weighed 11 criteria, including housing, income, jobs, environment, safety and work-life balance. For the third year in a row, Australia was the big winner, thanks in large part to an economy that managed to avoid the global recession of the last decade.

Relievers usually don't throw regular side sessions because they're on call daily, but Patton said he wanted to start after struggling with command of his fastball. In the eighth inning of Thursday night's win over the Washington Nationals, Nate McLouth broke his bat and hit a pop fly into shallow right field that fell between second baseman Danny Espinosa and right fielder Roger Bernadina . McLouth rounded first base and sprinted to second without hesitation, reaching safely for a one-out double.

With temperatures in the 90s, what better time to visit an air-conditioned museum? Bank of America cardholders are entitled to free admission this weekend, June 1 and 2,  at the American Visionary Art Museum.  The bank, in fact, will pick up the admission tab at the Federal Hill museum for the first “full” weekend of every month this year. To get the freebie, present your Bank of America or Merrill Lynch credit or debit card along with a photo ID. Only cardholders are entitled to free admission, not guests.

Editor: In the last few weeks we have seen the shifting sands of the White House Benghazi response to the facts of the loss of Ambassador Stevens and three other loyal American's at the hands of Islamic Jihadists. Then came the IRS probe into conservative Tea Party groups and other political adversaries of the Obama reelection campaign. Then came the Department of Justice's invasive efforts to ferret out Associated Press reporters and other news organizations for the sources of Pentagon and White House information leaks.

Every election has its consequences. In the 2008 presidential election, the country got the Obamacare health plan that is still not supported by a clear majority of Americans. In the presidential election of 2012, with an unemployment rate at 7.9 percent, the country rejected a proven private job creator and re-elected President Obama, who never created a private job in his life. Now The Sun's opinion pages that were in virtual lock step supporting President Obama's reelection bid are all of a sudden having an epiphany, a revelation if you will, about the lack of jobs in our country for STEM (science, technology, engineering and math)

Four Baltimore-area football players were nominated to play in the 2014 U.S. Army All-American Bowl, the annual showcase to be played between 90 of the nation's top senior prospects on Jan. 4 at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. The list of 400 nominees, released Tuesday, includes Dunbar quarterback William Crest and Annapolis Area Christian receiver Demetrius Johnson. Gilman had two representatives on the list: linebacker Melvin Keihn and defensive back Troy Vincent. The dual-threat Crest, a four-star recruit according to Rivals.com who committed to West Virginia in April, led Dunbar to a Class 1A state title last fall.

As officials at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs look internally for solutions to a claims backlog that is drawing increasing fire from Capitol Hill, they are also reaching for outside help from some of the nation's best-known veterans groups. Under pressure to speed the review of nearly 600,000 long-outstanding claims for veteran benefits, the VA has announced that it is teaming up with the American Legion and Disabled American Veterans to help ensure that new applications are complete and error-free so they can be processed more quickly.

Dressed in the traditional garb of a Civil War Union soldier, Vince Vaise led the two dozen marchers through Mount Auburn, Baltimore's oldest African-American cemetery. Sword drawn, and a stoic look upon his face, Vaise and his followers snaked through the overgrown grass Sunday before stopping at a small white gravestone, which he later explained belonged to Peter Purviance, the city's first freed slave to join the Union army. On this eve of Memorial Day, Vaise and the small group spent the afternoon honoring African-American veterans from the Civil War, World War I, World War II, Korea and Vietnam.

Michael Douglas as the glittery Las Vegas pianist, Liberace, and Matt Damon as his young lover -- only HBO could have brought "Behind the Candelabra" to TV with this much style and care. Douglas, an Oscar winner, is something to behold in this role. Damon is rock solid. Steven Soderbergh directs, and the supporting cast is a jaw dropper by made-for-TV standards. Above is a a podcast preview I did with WYPR-FM (88.1) in Baltimore. Enjoy this holiday treat from HBO. I did. "Behind the Candelabra" premieres at 9 p.m. Sunday (May 26)