WASHINGTON – The nation’s capital is known for its abundance of hot air, a place where more than a few politicos have blown their stacks. But even local residents were shocked this week when manhole covers around the city’s most exclusive neighborhood literally popped their lids. The resulting mayhem knocked …

The Talking Points memo is designed to get even more people mad at me, if that’s possible. So let’s get right to it. Your humble correspondent caught it from both sides after last night’s broadcast. The SUV owners are throwing tomatoes at me because I believe those gas-guzzling vehicles are …

NEW YORK – Paper, plastic or Vuitton? This season’s hottest bags are reusable grocery “shopping” bags that carry designer labels and price tags that run upwards of $895. Stella McCartney and Hermes are among the designers offering reusable totes with the trip to market in mind. Yet, it is the …

Now some fresh pickings from the Political Grapevine: Earmark Reform Despite promises to reform the earmark system — in which lawmakers request funds for specific projects back home — House Democrats have come up with a way to make the process more secretive than it is now. Instead of putting …

So Stanley O’Neal is likely out at Merrill Lynch. And Alex Rodriguez is likely gone from the New York Yankees. Different fields. Different paychecks. But familiar story. Those who no doubt thought they were the team, given a heave-ho from the team. Teams they dominated. Teams they wowed. Until they …

The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded Friday morning and I’d like to congratulate Irena Sendler. Sendler was a former history teacher who rescued 2,500 children during the Holocaust and was a top contender for the wondrous prize. It was in the early 1940s that Sendler, a Catholic social worker, had …

Warren Beatty | ‘Law & Order’ | Juan-Carlos Cruz | Odds ‘n’ Ends Warren Beatty Returning to the Big Screen as Nixon? Warren Beatty, whose last film appearance was in the very misguided and expensive “Town & Country,” is seriously thinking about making a comeback as Richard Nixon. The scuttlebutt …

‘American Beauty’ Redux | Celeb Auction | David Hasselhoff Looks Good Leo, Kate in ‘American Beauty’ Redux Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, who made history and chemistry together in “Titanic,” are coming back to the silver screen. The pair, sources say, have signed on for Winslet’s husband Sam Mendes’ film …

On Wednesday, a key copyright trial began in San Jose, as Kaleidescape Systems and the DVD Content Control Association went to court in a case expected to test the concept of “fair use”. Kaleidescape manufactures the Kaleidescape System, essentially a DVD jukebox, connected via Ethernet to a separate player box. …

They call it agoraphobia. The fear of going out in public places. The thought so petrifying, so near heart-stopping that you all but board yourself up in your home. And you never leave. Ever. Many, many years ago when I wrote for an Indiana newspaper, I profiled a series of …