TODAY'S HIGHLIGHTS
NATION
For Marine’s family, a painful lapse in protocol
Marine Lance Cpl. Benjamin W. Schmidt’s death in Afghanistan exposed lapses in the Marines’ procedures for letting families know of friendly-fire investigations.
( by Greg Jaffe , The Washington Post)
Arms dealer Viktor Bout convicted
The verdict closed the door on a five-year-old sting operation led by the Drug Enforcement Administration and spanning three continents.
( by Colum Lynch , The Washington Post)
Joint Chiefs warn of proposed cuts
The Joint Chiefs of Staff told Congress that all four services will have to shrink their forces to meet the planned 10-year cut of up to $465 billion in defense spending.
( by Walter Pincus , The Washington Post)
Georgia plot said to be inspired by novel
Numerous groups have imagined carrying out a deadly terrorist attack using the highly lethal extract of the castor bean known as ricin. None has succeeded.
( by Jason Ukman and Joby Warrick , The Washington Post)
Pledging help for Afghanistan
South and Central Asian government officials, meeting in Istanbul this week, said they recognized that Afghanistan’s problems affect them all and must be addressed through cooperative efforts.
( by Karen DeYoung , The Washington Post)
METRO
Alexandria and Arlington animal watch
Cases handled recently by the Animal Welfare leagues of Alexandria and Arlington County.
(, The Washington Post)
Things to do in Arlington and Alexandria
Concerts, theater, exhibits, farmers markets and other events for Nov. 3-10, 2011.
(, The Washington Post)
Crime listings for Arlington, Alexandria
Incidents reported by police Oct. 19-26.
(, The Washington Post)
Healthy things to do in Arlington and Alexandria
Tai chi practices, walks, flu shot clinics and more, Nov. 3-10, 2011.
(, The Washington Post)
Spiritual things to do in Arlington and Alexandria
Events Nov. 5-10 include bazaars, readings and a school open house for prospective students.
(, The Washington Post)
POLITICS
Romney’s evolving positions: Sincere change, or sheer politics?
Working with liberal groups as governor, he promised to be agent of change in the Republican Party.
( by Peter Wallsten and Juliet Eilperin , The Washington Post)
Former HUD official details fraud
At a hearing before House subcommittees,a former HUD inspector general said the agency needs to do more to prevent fraud and waste in its affordable housing construction program.
( by Debbie Cenziper , The Washington Post)
Political barometer in Fairfax
The county’s fiercest election battle this year is unfolding in Braddock District.
( by Fredrick Kunkle , The Washington Post)
Herman Cain denies new harassment allegations, blames Perry camp
Candidate pushes back as reports say a third former employee claimed sexually aggressive behavior.
( by Karen Tumulty and Krissah Thompson , The Washington Post)
Justices hesitant to create more barriers to witness testimony
The Supreme Court seemed reluctant to place additional hurdles on introducing some witness testimony at criminal trials.
( by Robert Barnes , The Washington Post)
STYLE
She’s homesick and he won’t budge
Husband promised her they’d stay in the Midwest, far from her family, for only five years. It’s been 20, she’s homesick and he’s not cooperating.
(, The Washington Post)
‘It’s Academic’ host Mac McGarry retires
Local quizmaster, who hosted the teen academic challenge for 50 seasons, has decided at age 85 to pass the podium to WTOP news anchor Hillary Howard.
( by Monica Hesse , The Washington Post)
At Georgetown, it’s Jay-Z 101
Simply being a fan of the rap star won’t be enough to get a passing grade in the sociology course.
( by Chris Richards , The Washington Post)
Meeting India’s new envoy to U.S.
Nirupama Rao, India’s new ambassador to the United States, assumes the role as India is increasing its presence both in Washington and on the world stage.
( by Emily Wax , The Washington Post)
‘Wardrobe malfunction’ fine axed again
A federal appeals court again tossed out the fine that the FCC gave CBS stations after Janet Jackson’s “wardrobe malfunction.”
(, The Washington Post)
SPORTS
Stallions win region field hockey title
FIELD HOCKEY | South County surges to a 4-1 victory over nemesis Westfield, the most lopsided Northern Region final result since 2003, to nab its second region title in three years.
( by Preston Williams , The Washington Post)
Md. field hockey roundup: B-CC advances
Lizzi Orr scores twice to lift inexperienced Bethesda-Chevy Chase past Churchill in the 4A West regional final.
( by Greg Schimmel , The Washington Post)
Maryland athletics faces mounting deficits
The Maryland athletic department is facing a $4.7 million deficit for this fiscal year, a deficit that is projected to grow to $17.6 million in June 2017.
( by Liz Clarke , The Washington Post)
Navy football seniors look to end skid in final home game
Navy’s seniors hope to win their final home game against Troy on Saturday and spark the Midshipmen to one more surprising finish.
( by Gene Wang , The Washington Post)
Ovechkin goes back to work
Alex Ovechkin says ‘it’s just a little bit frustrating’ that he was benched briefly, but he’s in his usual spot — front and center — at practice.
( by Katie Carrera , The Washington Post)
WORLD
Arms dealer Viktor Bout convicted
The verdict closed the door on a five-year-old sting operation led by the Drug Enforcement Administration and spanning three continents.
( by Colum Lynch , The Washington Post)
Assange loses extradition appeal
Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks who had been fighting extradition to Sweden on sexual misconduct charges, lost his appeal on Wednesday.
(, The Washington Post)
Pledging help for Afghanistan
South and Central Asian government officials, meeting in Istanbul this week, said they recognized that Afghanistan’s problems affect them all and must be addressed through cooperative efforts.
( by Karen DeYoung , The Washington Post)
Greece giving voice to euro-skepticism
Referendum on bailout plan shows unease with efforts to tie European economies tightly together.
( by Michael Birnbaum , The Washington Post)
U.N. chief urges Libya to secure weapons
Libyan authorities and diplomats worry that extremists and insurgent groups loyal to Gaddafi could acquire the unsecured weapons.
( by Alice Fordham , The Washington Post)
LIVE DISCUSSIONS
Ask Boswell
Sports Columnist Tom Boswell will take your questions about baseball, the Redskins, the Wizards and more.
(, vForum)
ComPost Live with Alexandra Petri
The Compost, written by Alexandra Petri, offers a lighter take on the news and political in(s)anity of the day.
(, vForum)
Opinion Focus with Eugene Robinson
Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson discusses his recent columns and the latest news in a live Q&A.
(, vForum)
Debt Ceiling drama: Why Jonathan Capehart thinks your voice needs to be heard
In his Post-Partisan blog post today, Opinion writer Jonathan Capehart said that "Folks should be marching on the Capitol" in protest of the way the debt issue is being handled. Do you agree?
(, vForum)
Chatological Humor: Monthly with Moron
Gene Weingarten takes polls and chats about his recent columns.
(, vForum)
TECHNOLOGY
Apple’s iTV may transform home entertainment
Joshua Topolsky hopes that Steve Jobs’s last project will free TV watchers like him from cable-company monopolies.
(, The Washington Post)
New Gmail draws mixed reactions
The new layout, which was rolled out Monday, is reminiscent of Google+ design.
( by Hayley Tsukayama , The Washington Post)
‘Grand Theft Auto V’ trailer released
Rockstar Games revealed that GTA fans will head to California yet again
( by Hayley Tsukayama , The Washington Post)
Closer look at Samsung’s request for Apple to hand over source code
As you may have heard, Samsung asked an Australian judge yesterday for an order requiring Apple to hand over source code and mobile telco agreements relating to the iPhone 4s.
( by Matt Macari , The Washington Post)
Gmail app pulled from Apple’s App Store
The same day the app was released, Google pulled it back because it contained a bug that “broke notifications.”
( by Hayley Tsukayama , The Washington Post)
EDITORIAL
Ode to Tourmobile
(, The Washington Post)
Mass transit is the way to go
(, The Washington Post)
Insurers have to be competitive
(, The Washington Post)
Keeping America first in space
(, The Washington Post)
Tales from the melting pot
(, The Washington Post)
BUSINESS
Greece’s lenders halt aid until after bailout vote
In what they described as a “difficult” meeting with Prime Minister George Papandreou, European leaders and IMF officials laid down a firm line.
( by Howard Schneider , The Washington Post)
Report shows many firms with negative tax rates
A report says many of America’s biggest companies paid no federal taxes — or even made money through credits and refunds — by using an array of loopholes and tax breaks in the past three years.
( by Jia Lynn Yang , The Washington Post)
Appeals court faults FCC in ‘wardrobe malfunction’ fine
A federal appeals court Wednesday ruled against the Federal Communications Commission, saying the agency improperly fined CBS for Janet Jackson’s 2004 “wardrobe malfunction.”
( by Cecilia Kang , The Washington Post)
Apple’s iTV may transform home entertainment
Joshua Topolsky hopes that Steve Jobs’s last project will free TV watchers like him from cable-company monopolies.
(, The Washington Post)
In Congress, a push to help ‘supercommittee’
A group of 40 House Republicans joined 60 Democrats in a rare bipartisan effort to urge the supercommittee to look at revenue and entitlements.
( by Rosalind S. Helderman and Lori Montgomery , The Washington Post)
