The following stories have been hand-selected by the Assignment Desk at News4:
REDSKINS TAKE FIRST PRESEASON GAME
The Redskins' first-team offense still hasn't scored a touchdown this preseason, but the squad showed some improvement against the vaunted Pittsburgh Steelers defense Saturday night at FedEx Field. The backups and rookies continued to show promise (and were able to put the pigskin in the end zone) and the Skins held on for a 17-13 win on a rainy night in Landover. The Skins opened the game with a 15-play, 62-yard drive that ended with a field goal. That's the good news. The bad news was that Jason Campbell finished the drive by completing just one pass, and the offense almost went three-and-out after Campbell failed to complete his first three attempts. A fake punt led to a large gain by Rock Cartwright, which kept the drive alive and let the Redskins work on establishing the running game against the stout Steelers D. That part of the offense worked, as the Redskins' offensive line took control.
(NBCWASHINGTON.COM)
WAITING FOR BUDGET CUTS ANNOUNCEMENT
As Gov. Martin O'Malley prepares to announce $470 million in budget cuts this week, he has rejected proposals to severely slash funding for the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore and the Baltimore City Department of Social Services. The Democratic governor and former Baltimore mayor has been weighing recommendations for closing a projected shortfall in the fiscal year that began last month. In recent days, he and administration officials have been poring over options for line-item reductions to balance the $13 billion state operating budget. The cuts will affect state agencies and state employees, who are expected to be furloughed, and about $250 million of the cutbacks will be made in aid to local governments. The specific budget cuts will be released early this week, and the three-member Board of Public Works that includes O'Malley, Treasurer Nancy K. Kopp and Comptroller Peter Franchot plan to vote on the package of cuts on Wednesday.(BALTIMORE SUN)
CLUNKER TIME IS RUNNING OUT
The federal government is planning to turn off the engine on its cash for clunkers program on Aug. 24, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. Car shoppers will have until 8 p.m. that day to trade in cars under the program. “This program has been a lifeline to the automobile industry, jump-starting a major sector of the economy and putting people back to work,” said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “At the same time, we’ve been able to take old, polluting cars off the road and help consumers purchase fuel-efficient vehicles.” The Car Allowance Rebate System, or CARS program, has recorded more than 457,000 dealer transactions worth $1.9 billion in rebates as of Aug. 20.
(WASHINGTON BUSINESS JOURNAL)
MD AND VA IN TOP TEN FOR NEW CITIZENS
Maryland and Virginia are among the nation's top 10 states with newly naturalized U.S. citizens. According to a report by the Department of Homeland Security, nearly 30,000 people became citizens last year in Virginia, which ranked seventh in the top 10. Maryland landed in 10th place, with 23,000 naturalized citizens. Almost 4 percent of all residents who became citizens last year lived in the Washington area, the report said. The region ranked fifth among metropolitan areas with the most foreign nationals who became citizens. Nationally, naturalizations grew from about 660,000 in 2007 to more than 1 million in 2008, a 58 percent increase. The report says that in 2008, California had the most naturalizations with 300,000. Wyoming had the least, with 245. A naturalized citizen is someone born in a foreign country, who takes a series of steps to earn citizenship, as opposed to a natural citizen, who is born in the U.S.
(WTOP)
PHELPS IN A BOOT AND SHAQ IN A SPEEDO?
Shaquille O'Neal admits he cannot beat Michael Phelps in the pool, but the NBA icon says his race against Phelps is, "about the challenge." The two will race each other in the pool at Loyola College Sunday taping a segment for O'Neal's new reality TV show "Shaq vs," where O'Neal challenges another athlete in their own sport. "When ever you're ready, let's go that's all I can say," Phelps told O'Neal at a news conference Saturday. O'Neal replied that he admires Phelps and welcomes the challenge which will include a "head to head" race, and a relay, where Shaq will be partnered with a number of Olympic swimmers, while Phelps will swim alone. O'Neal said there is a wager at stake. "If I beat him, he's got to look in the camera and say 'Shaq you would have made a great swimmer,' " O'Neal said. "If I lose I have to wear pink ruffles and a pink thing and I have to do synchronized swimming. I can handle that. it's a fair bet."
(WBAL.COM)
DC RESTAURANT WEEK KICKS OFF
DC restaurant week is upon us once again. For the cost conscious epicurean; this is like Christmas, Easter and Cinco De Mayo all wrapped into one. Some of DC's best restaurants offer three course fixed priced lunches and dinners for $20.09 and $35.09, respectively. Bear in mind, this price doesn't include beverages, tax or tip.
(EXAMINER.COM)
