The following stories have been hand-selected by the Assignment Desk at News4:
MIDDLETOWN FAMILY TRAGEDY
Something awful happened inside the yellow house on Washington Street, as the creaky wooden porch made clear all weekend.
It was wrapped with tarps while police worked inside Saturday, sifting through a crime scene more horrid than anything they could recall. Two little boys in pajamas were dead in one bedroom, while their mother and 2-year-old sister lay dead in another. All had apparently been killed by the children's father, 34-year-old Christopher A. Wood, who had been killed by a shotgun blast, apparently self-inflicted. (Baltimore Sun)
MEASLES OUTBREAK?
It appears the measles outbreak doesn't just affect Montgomery County, where four cases have been reported. District of Columbia health officials sent an e-mailed advisory Friday, saying a resident has a confirmed case of measles. In the statement, the health department said, "The patient was treated and released from a local hospital and is no longer considered contagious." (wtop.com)
GAY FRIENDLY PROM
Oh, my God, oh my God, hurry up!” No, these weren’t the words of Jack Bauer trying to dismantle a bomb on the hit show “24.” Lil’ John’s “Aww, Skeet Skeet” was on the airwaves at Saturday’s Shatter the Silence 2009 gay-friendly prom, and one particular girl was demanding her friend finish her punch so they could run back to the dance floor. Enthusiasm like that was widespread as more than 30 high school students from all over northern Virginia boogied the night away at Prince William County’s first official gay-friendly teenage dance at Bull Run Unitarian Universalist Church in Old Town Manassas. (Insidenova.com)
RITZ CAMERAL LOSES JET
If you didn't snap a picture of the Ritz Camera jet parked at Leesburg Executive Airport, then it's too late. The jet -- a casualty of the recession -- is gone. Facing a difficult financial stretch that is forcing it to close more than 300 stores nationwide, including three in Loudoun, Ritz Camera Centers Inc. this month parted ways with its corporate jet and pulled out as a major tenant at the airport owned by the Town of Leesburg. (Loudoun Times)
FREE LOCAL DIGITAL TV
"American Idol" and "30 Rock" could soon air over cell phones in the District under a pilot program to bring free mobile digital television to consumers, some of the nation's biggest broadcasters today announced. Local affiliate stations for CBS, NBC, PBS, Ion and Fox will begin late summer to broadcast their programs on mobile devices, including laptops and car entertainment systems, said officials at the National Association of Broadcasters in Las Vegas. (Washington Post)
CHEAP DRINKS
A tentative "gentleman's agreement" between downtown bars may have been broken this month as 50-cent rails and $1 pitchers have been reintroduced by two local bars. (Diamondback)
Local
Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia local news, events and information
ZIG ZAG LINES
Behind the wheel, you want the least amount of distraction possible. So why is a local transportation agency painting crooked lines on the road on purpose? The Virginia Department of Transportation says it's part of a safety campaign to get drivers to slow down in a high pedestrian and bicycle area. The 500 feet of zig-zagging lines are painted on the ground on Belmont Ridge Road, where it intersects with the Washington and Old Dominion trail in Loudoun County. (wtop.com)
