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Washington, D.C.

D.C. Nonprofit Accused Of Using HIV/AIDS Grant Money For Strip Joint

Jillian Rayfield | August 31, 2011, 4:24PM

A nonprofit in Washington, D.C. is being sued for allegedly using HIV/AIDS grant money to spruce up a warehouse that eventually became Stadium Club, a combination steakhouse and strip club.

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Topics: Cornell Jones , Miracle Hands, Stadium Club, Washington, D.C.

Sherrod Suit Accuses Breitbart Of 'False And Defamatory Statements'

Eric Lach | February 14, 2011, 1:40PM

Shirley Sherrod and Andrew Breitbart

TPM has obtained the complaint filed by Shirley Sherrod in D.C. Superior Court against Andrew Breitbart. The suit alleges that Sherrod was forced to resign last year after the defendants "ignited a media firestorm by publishing false and defamatory statements."

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Topics: Andrew Breitbart, D.C. Superior Court, Pigford settlement, Shirley Sherrod, Washington, D.C.

Awais Younis

The Facebook Messages The Alleged D.C. Metro Threatener Sent To Friend

Ryan J. Reilly | February 1, 2011, 11:00AM

Awais Younis, the 26-year-old Virginia man who federal authorities say threatened to set off bombs on the D.C. Metro system, sent threatening messages to a female acquaintance of his who was living in the New Orleans area at the time. The woman informed the FBI of the threats, and an agent reportedly took photos of the messages on what appears to be an iPhone.

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Topics: Awais Younis, D.C. Metro system, Domestic Terrorist, FBI, Islamic Terrorism, Washington, D.C.

Gay Marriage

Supreme Court Rejects Gay Marriage Challenge In D.C.

Rachel Slajda | January 18, 2011, 11:03AM

The Supreme Court today rejected, without comment, a challenge to the legalization of same-sex marriage in Washington, D.C.

The rejection means the law will stand.

Bishop Harry Jackson, a pastor from Maryland, wanted the high court to hear his case against the D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics. The board refused to put a marriage initiative on the ballot, arguing that such a move would amount to discrimination.

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Topics: Gay Marriage, Gay Rights, Supreme Court, Washington, D.C.

John Ensign

In Interview About Giffords, Ensign Recounts 1996 Shooting At Reid's Office

Rachel Slajda | January 15, 2011, 9:29AM

Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) and Sen. John Ensign (R-NV)

In a local TV interview that touched on the Tucson shootings, Sen. John Ensign (R-NV) recounted threats that have been made to his office -- specifically, one incident in which a man shot himself outside of Sen. Harry Reid's (D-NV) Las Vegas office in 1996.

"Sen. Reid and I actually had a stalker or whatever you want to call him," Ensign told Fox 5. "He left very blood-curdling -- almost threats -- on our phones. He ended up shooting himself in front of both of our offices."

Here's what happened, according to contemporary news reports: In 1995, when Ensign was a congressman, a man named Michael McCusker starting calling Ensign's office. He wanted help, he said, getting back $23,000 he lost in a Mexican land scam. When Ensign's staff found they couldn't help him, McCusker continued calling the office. He eventually came in and handed staffers a note that said "Justice or Death" and claimed he had a gun.

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Topics: Gabrielle Giffords, Harry Reid, John Ensign, Threats to Congress, Tucson Shootings, Washington, D.C.

Sundullah "Sunny" Ghilzai

Feds Say Va. Man Threatened Metro System On Facebook

Ryan J. Reilly | December 14, 2010, 10:43AM

The Washington DC Metro.

A 26-year-old Virginia man is being held in federal custody after he allegedly threatened to set off bombs on the D.C. Metro system. The FBI was alerted to the threats, allegedly sent on Facebook's instant messaging system, by an informant before any plot was developed.

Awais Younis, who also goes by the names Sundullah "Sunny" Ghilzai and Mohhanme Khan, was arrested on Dec. 7. According to federal authorities, he described how to build a pipe bomb and said he'd place bombs on the third and fifth cars of Metro trains since those trains had the highest number of commuters on them.

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Topics: D.C. Metro system, Facebook, Radicalization, Sundullah "Sunny" Ghilzai, Washington, D.C.

Eric Massa

Report: Massa Lived With Five Staffers In Small D.C. Rowhouse

Justin Elliott | March 10, 2010, 10:35AM

Former Rep. Eric Massa (D-NY)

In what appears to have been a highly unorthodox living situation for a member of Congress, former Rep. Eric Massa shared a small Washington townhouse with five of his staff members, a local New York newspaper reported last year.

As the revelations about Massa's relationship with his staff continue to stream in, this detail from a "day in the life" profile in the Oct. 9, 2009, Hornell Evening Tribune is sure to raise eyebrows: