Washington

How do you plan for a transportation tsunami? Where do you park 10,000 charter buses? How do you accommodate a possible 1 1/2 million would-be riders on a subway system with a capacity of about 1 million? How do you explain to people who are used to driving everywhere that their cars aren't welcome in downtown Washington? What happens on the roads, at the airports and aboard the trains when millions of visitors flood the capital region to witness history at the Jan. 20 inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th president of the United States?

WASHINGTON -- Michael S. Bloomberg already has his name plastered on the walls of the Johns Hopkins University, on the highly successful financial-information company that earned him billions and on the mayor's office in New York City. Now, it seems increasingly clear, he wouldn't mind putting it on the Oval Office at the White House, too. The Republican mayor took a significant step yesterday toward a potential independent candidacy for president by announcing that he was quitting his party and becoming an independent.

LOS ANGELES -- Isaiah Washington, who was written out as a major character on ABC's Grey's Anatomy after publicly using a homophobic slur, has been written into NBC's promising new fall show Bionic Woman, network executives said yesterday at the annual summer television press tour. The controversial actor, who has been attacking his former network as racist for firing him, will appear in five of the new show's first six episodes. In spite of Washington's obvious baggage, Ben Silverman, co-chairman of NBC Entertainment and Universal Media Studios, said he was elated to land the actor, who became the butt of national jokes this year when he entered a Malibu, Calif.

WASHINGTON -- The House of Representatives voted yesterday to require railroads to inform local authorities of the hazardous materials they carry through tunnels and to give them information about entrances and exits in case of emergency. Part of the Federal Railroad Safety Improvement Act of 2007, the requirements were written by Rep. Elijah E. Cummings in response to a 2001 fire caused by the derailment of a train carrying flammable liquid through a Baltimore tunnel. "The Howard Street Tunnel fire was a catastrophic eye-opener to the need for a safety overhaul of our nation's railway systems, particularly where tunnels and bridges are concerned," said the Baltimore Democrat, a member of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

WASHINGTON -- Everything about the atmosphere at RFK Stadium for last night's series opener between the Orioles and Washington Nationals spoke to just another game over the course of a long baseball season. There was no evidence of a neighborhood rivalry, no big-game environment, no prolonged excitement for the first eight innings. It was what you'd expect when Game 42 of the season brought together two clubs that entered last night in last place in their respective divisions. Orioles@Nationals Tonight, 7:05, MASN, 105.7 FM Starters: Jeremy Guthrie (2-1, 3.34)

The ride from the Harford County jail in Bel Air to the nearest hospital took all of six minutes. That was enough time for Terrence Kasses Washington - a man accused of bank robbery and car theft who had escaped from jail twice before, and whose escapades were re-enacted on America's Most Wanted. By the time the sedan reached Upper Chesapeake Medical Center in the pre-dawn hours yesterday, Washington had slipped out of his leg irons, handcuffs and belly chain. When the two armed officers in the front seat opened the back door, Washington fled into the darkness, triggering a widespread search that continued last night.

Mary Joanne Gludt, former chief of the disabilities litigation branch of the Social Security Administration, died July 19 of Alzheimer's disease at Genesis Elder Care Spa Creek Center in Annapolis. The former longtime Columbia resident was 70. Miss Gludt was born in Red Wing, Minn., and raised in Lake City, Minn. She earned a bachelor's degree in political science from Macalester College in St. Paul, Minn., in 1959. She moved to Washington and worked on the staff of Sen. Eugene McCarthy from 1959 to 1964, when she took a job in the U.S. Embassy in Austria and later in the State Department in Washington.

Harford County Detention Center inmate Terrence Kasses Washington went into the back seat of a Crown Victoria with arms and legs bound in chains. He came out of the car running. He has been arrested again and again on charges that include bank robbery and car theft, and his slippery ways - he's confounded jailers in Louisiana, Arkansas and Maryland - have made him something of a regular on America's Most Wanted. More than a week after his latest escape, Terrence Washington has left a trail of stolen trucks from Bel Air to Alabama.

HOLLYWOOD -- Despite a recent apology from Grey's Anatomy star Isaiah Washington for making homophobic slurs, pressure continues to build upon ABC and the top-rated show's creator, Shonda Rhimes, to oust Washington from the ensemble cast. Even in the wake of a lengthy mea culpa issued Thursday by Washington's publicist, television critics and some gay media Web sites were calling upon the network to fire the actor for using the word "faggot" in reference to co-star T.R. Knight, most recently at Monday's Golden Globe Awards.

Harold Adler, a semiretired architect, died Tuesday of leukemia at his Pikesville home. He was 77. Mr. Adler was born in Baltimore and raised on Cottage Avenue and Auchentoroly Terrace. He was a 1946 graduate of City College. He earned a bachelor's degree in American studies from the University of Pennsylvania in 1951 and a bachelor's degree in architecture from Catholic University of America in Washington in 1958. A former Bolton Hill resident, Mr. Adler began his career in Washington in 1958 working for the architectural firm of Keys, Lethbridge & Condon.

WNBA OT loss ends Mystics' season; Fever advances to face Shock The Washington Mystics were eliminated from the WNBA playoffs on Saturday night with an 81-74 overtime loss to the host Indiana Fever in Game 2 of the best-of-three Eastern Conference semifinals. Crystal Langhorne (Maryland) scored 11 of her 15 points in the second half. Lindsey Harding and Alana Beard scored 10 each for Washington, but Beard shot a 10-foot airball from the left side as the fourth quarter expired. "Indiana got some very easy baskets in the paint in the fourth quarter, and that helped them to gain the momentum," Washington's Monique Currie said.

The makeover of the Ravens' secondary continued with vigor in the offseason, two years after the unit had become a sinkhole for a proud defense. With clockwork precision, the Ravens signed cornerbacks Domonique Foxworth and Chris Carr in March, then drafted Lardarius Webb in April with the expectation that he could make the transition from college safety to NFL corner. Combine those changes with roster turnover from 2008 and the Ravens' secondary has gone from a blinking yellow light to a four-way stop sign.

WASHINGTON - - Ernice Beasley answered the phone at her Northwest Washington home Monday afternoon to the terrified screams of her 14-year-old daughter. "Mommy, I'm dying! Mommy, the train just crashed!" Lanice Beasley shouted as she lay covered with debris, unable to feel her legs. Lanice, who is being treated for her injuries in the intensive care unit of a Washington hospital, was among the more than 70 passengers injured in Monday afternoon's Metro train crash in Washington that killed nine people - the transit system's deadliest accident in its 33-year history.

WASHINGTON - An elderly Maryland man with a long history of ties to neo-Nazi organizations walked into the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum on Wednesday and opened fire, killing a security guard, law enforcement officials said. The shooter was shot in the face by museum security and was in critical condition Wednesday night at a Washington hospital, according to The Washington Post. An FBI official said the shooter had been identified as James W. von Brunn, who was described by the Anti-Defamation League and other followers of hate groups as a longtime white supremacist and anti-Semite.

Ravens Wide receiver Washington officially a part of team The Ravens officially added Kelley Washington on Monday, signing the veteran free-agent wide receiver to a one-year contract on the first day of the team's passing camp. During his six-year career, Washington has recorded 73 catches for 896 yards (a 12.3-yards-per-catch average) and nine touchdowns for the Cincinnati Bengals and New England Patriots. Washington, who is 6 feet 3, 215 pounds, improves the team's size at wide receiver.

MIKE HANDLEY, 66 Washington-based narrator and announcer Mike Handley, who spent more than 30 years in Washington as a narrator and public service announcer for federal agencies and corporate clients, died April 10 at his home in Citrus Heights, Calif. An autopsy will determine the cause of death, but foul play is not suspected. Mr. Handley, who was born in Norfolk, Va., and graduated from East Carolina University, came to Washington in the 1960s. He spent three years as an announcer at the old WGAY-AM radio.

Washington Wizards star Gilbert Arenas signaled through various sources Monday that a return to the court is possible this weekend against the Detroit Pistons. The three-time All-Star, who hasn't played all season as he recovers from knee surgery, first sent a text message to Comcast SportsNet saying: "I'm playing Saturday against Detroit" and that he would subsequently play only in home games except for an April 8 trip to Cleveland. After the team's morning shoot-around, Arenas was asked by a Washington Post reporter whether the news were true.

The defense did everything for the Carolina Hurricanes last night, from scoring to shutting down the Washington Capitals' potent offense. Cam Ward made 31 saves, and Rod Brind'Amour and defensemen Joni Pitkanen, Anton Babchuk and Joe Corvo scored goals in Carolina's 4-1 victory over Washington in Raleigh, N.C. Carolina extended its home winning streak to eight games, the Hurricanes' longest home streak since their Stanley Cup championship season in...

On March 7, 2009, OTIS WASHINGTON. Friends may visit the FAMILY OWNED MARCH FUNERAL HOME WEST, INC., 4300 Wabash Avenue, on Wednesday after 8:30 AM, where the family will receive friends on Thursday at 6 PM. Funeral services will follow at 6:30 PM.

WASHINGTON -Alexander Semin scored one of Washington's three power-play goals last night and assisted on both of the others, including Mike Green's go-ahead goal, and the Capitals held on for a 4-3 victory over the Atlanta Thrashers. Green's 23rd goal - most among NHL defensemen - came off passes from Nicklas Backstrom and Semin and broke a 2-all tie 12:25 into the second period. It came on a man-advantage, as did Washington's first two goals, which came 53 seconds apart in the first period.