UPDATE: Local new outlets have the story that Poke was captured just before 4 p.m. in Prince George's County and is in police custody, while CNN.com says he was shot dead during a shoot-out with police. UPDATE: Indeed, everyone is now reporting that Poke was shot by police during his capture and pronounced dead at the hospital. *** Police across the D.C. and Baltimore region are searching for Kelvin Poke, pictured right, a 45-year-old......

For dance lovers looking to get into the holiday spirit, The Nutcracker is a must at this time of year. Thankfully, the Washington D.C. area has numerous performances of the beloved ballet from which to choose. While there’s over a dozen performances ranging in size from huge ballet troupes to small dance studios, here's a few that stand out among the rest. American Ballet Theater: Few companies can compete with the size and talents of......

DCist's highly subjective and hardly comprehensive guide to the most interesting movies playing around town in the coming week. Foreign: 2007 Washington Jewish Film Festival The Washington D.C. Jewish Community Center’s annual film festival has become one of the largest and longest running of the local festivals. This year’s program encompasses over 40 films, from 11 countries. Nearly half of the selections are films from Israel, in recognition of the nation’s 60th year. The event......

MONDAY: Makes Me Wanna Holler and What's Going On author Nathan McCall will be at the Olsson's in Penn Quarter to read from his new novel, Them. It might sound more like science-fiction than a Marvin Gaye song, but it's about the complex relationship that develops between two neighbors in downtown Atlanta. 7 p.m. Robert Kuttner, founder and editor of the American Prospect, will be at Politics and Prose to discuss his new book, The......

>> Right there is the Laura Sessions Stepp Credo: Laura doesn't "get it" so the "social culture" is broken. [DCeiver] >> Don't miss the ABC News coverage of the 5-year anniversary of the D.C.-area sniper shooting spree. What do you think of Lee Boyd Malvo's apology? [ABC News] >> Oh c'mon, don't you get it? Kids can say they're going to "The Library" and not be lying! It's totally hilarious. [Free Ride] >> Regarding......

MONDAY: The Beauty Myth author Naomi Wolf will be at the Arlington County Public Library in Shirlington to read from her new book, The End of America: A Letter of Warning to a Young Patriot, in which Wolf outlines how events of the last six years parallel steps taken in the early years of the 20th century's worst dictatorships such as Germany, Russia, China, and Chile. 5 p.m., free. TUESDAY: Erudite actor Alan Alda will......

We like our animal photos with a gallon of 'cute' and just a dash of 'omg ew.' Flickr user static-photo's perfectly timed capture of this cow's enormous schnozz as it tries to snack on his camera up in Frederick, Md. fits the bill. The wee beady eyes just peeking out from behind make the photo. Now someone go get a napkin already. EXIF. Get your cameras ready, folks, because it's time for another DCist......

As far as I know, I am the only DCist Food and Drink staffer who does not have Restaurant Week reservations. It wasn't because I forgot or because I signed up too late to score a reservation to my preferred destinations. Unlike Adam, I am not a big fan of Restaurant Week, and it was a conscious decision to skip out on what might be considered prime time dining for a cheapskate like me. First......

>> Having drawn comparisons to Neutral Milk Hotel since recording their debut album in D.C. last summer, Donny Hue and the Colors, featuring members of the Carlsonics, Nethers, Washington Social Club and Meredith Bragg and the Terminals, will play for free at the Kennedy Center's Millennium Stage at 6 p.m. If you can't make it there in time, the performance will also be broadcast live on the web. >> Check out our review of......

MONDAY: Oliver August will be at Politics and Prose to discuss his latest book Inside the Red Mansion, which chronicles the hunt for China's most-wanted fugitive, Lai Changxing. For more information, check out this short film on the making of the book. 7 p.m. TUESDAY: Writer Dominic Cicere will be holding a book release party at Galaxy Hut for Near Wild Heaven, which contains a collection of poems, a short story and a screenplay on......

No matter how you feel about a city known for its hippie culture or holier-than-thou aging baby boomers, you sort of have to love Takoma Park, Md. Commonly referred to as "The People's Republic of Takoma Park" or "The Berkeley of the East", the commuter suburb right on the border of the District is not only charmingly beautiful, but the people who live there wear their political proclivities on their collective sleeves so seriously they......

Written by DCist Contributor Charles Gray As a boxer, Washington D.C. native Tony "The Tiger" Thompson suffers from a number of unpardonable sins. First, he fights left handed. In an effort avoid the "southpaw jinx," most boxers decide not to fight lefties. Second, the adjectives most often used to describe Thompson's fighting style are "awkward" and "defensive." The old boxing adage is that styles make fights -- the public is hardly clamoring for an awkward......

We told you about the sad news earlier this week that Warehouse will be shuttering its music venue, as well as the bar and cafe, come July 30, when the entire place will close for a month for vacation. Now the Warehouse has let us know it is looking for potential investors and advisers who can help draft not-for-profit status paperwork -- depending on which route they end up taking. If you can help them......

It's the first day of summer, which means it's about to get real slow in the art world. Take advantage of the gallery shows before they break for the season, then move on to the air conditioned goodness of the museums come the heat of August. >> Project 4 breathes life into a razed electrical switch room in Ireland that had been abandoned 25 years earlier in Building. A group of Belfast and Brooklyn artists......

Editorial published today in the New York Times, and posted here without comment: Democratizing the Nation's Capital Just in time for next month’s rockets’ red glare, a measure to give the residents of Washington D.C. their long-denied right to a full vote in the House of Representatives is making headway in the Senate. The legislation, already passed by the House, is gaining unexpected support from Senate Republicans finally struck by the injustice of the meeting......

With notorious heat and humidity, Washington D.C. has never been the most pleasant place in the summer. Worst of all is getting stuck in some god-forsaken space that is crowded, poorly ventilated, and lacking in air conditioning. Bad news for all you Red Liners out there. These are just the conditions you should expect for the next few days in the Dupont and Farragut North stations. According to the Post, a broken pipe under Connecticut......

MONDAY: French journalist Sylvain Cypel will speak about his book Walled, a look at relations between Jews and Palestinians in Israel and the barriers — both cultural and physical — between the two groups. Politics and Prose, 7 p.m. D.C.-area Star Wars geeks will want to check out Olsson's Arlington/Courthouse, where science-fiction author Karen Traviss will be talking about her new novel Legacy of the Force: Sacrifice. We love Han, Chewie and the gang as......

By DCist Contributor Mehan Jayasuriya It's about an hour before The Pipettes are set to take the stage at the Black Cat and by rights, the band should be exhausted. This is the second gig on their first major North American tour and having flown in from their hometown of Brighton, England only a few days prior, you'd think that the band would be succumbing to the effects of trans-Atlantic jetlag. Unlike the dozing......

Over the course of a year, Washington D.C. plays host to any number of events. Key industry conferences, cultural offerings from the four corners of the globe, and marching axe-grinders willing to protest just about anything. But this year, only one group will make this promise: "Nearly every quadrant of the city will feel the impact of Digestive Disease Week." MmmmmMMMMMmmM, yyEEAH! Are you prepared to FEEL IT, Washington? Because a quartet of medical societies......

In Deborah Jeane Palfrey's continuing campaign to get the media to stop focusing on the titillating details of her escort business and instead investigate the myriad injustices being brought upon her by the government, she's decided to release a page from her 46 lbs. of phone records. In an announcement today Palfrey, aka Miz Julia, aka Pamela Martin, said she's decided to sell records from her 13-year-long run providing "legal" sexual services to the men......

In Dante Alighieri's epic poem The Divine Comedy, the poet emerges from Hell with his guide, Virgil, and experiences something akin to a sailor seeing land for the first time in months.We climbed up, he first and I second, so far that through a round opening I saw some of the beautiful things that Heaven bears; and thence we issued forth to see again the stars. It's one of the most powerful moments in the......

On Sunday, the Post ran a story detailing the Washington, DC Convention and Tourism Corporation's announcement that they will spend $150,000 beginning this year to research and develop a new catch phrase for the city. We told you a bit about these plans, including the Tourism Corporation's effort to gather your opinions on the District through their Share Your DC survey, back in January. If you still haven't completed the survey, go ahead and take......

FRIDAY: >> DCist Exposed opening reception, OBVS. 6:30 - 9:30 p.m., at Warehouse. >> If you're looking for more hip art happenings afterward, head over to the Hirshhorn After Hours party, which goes until midnight. It's a celebration of the opening of Virgil Marti and Pae White's new site-specific installation in the Hirshhorn lobby, which is the latest in the museum's Directions series. Ian Svenonius is spinning and it looks like there'll be a number......

I was taken aback by an email I received this morning, alerting me to a newly-created hoax website that offers T-shirts, coffee mugs, and buttons inscribed with a simple Metro logo and the phrase "Metrobus Kills." This is not funny, and I will not post a link to the site. However, it puts a very fine point on a problem that has been simmering for a dangerously long time. This past Saturday, Metrobus claimed......

This week's announcement by D.C. Council Representative Jim Graham that he would seek emergency legislation banning minors from bars and nightclubs has met with some fierce debate. In fact, it's being debated as we speak. But beyond the impact on places of business, much of the fallout will come down on the city's cultural community: musicians, theatre companies and artists who often use these establishments for concerts, benefits, plays, and shows of all kinds.......

Don’t let the threat of Polonium poisoning crush your dreams of becoming a spy or the inevitable prison sentence keep you from robbing a bank. We understand your desire to solve ancient religious conspiracies shrouded in mystery and international intrigue, but perhaps you don’t want to get your hands dirty. Joshua Czarda, the brains behind Ravenchase Adventures, has a solution. He and his crack team of writers and actors want you to step inside a......

She started out as an art student in Boston. Then she became the founder/curator of the world’s first traveling gem sweater museum. Now, on the strength of her “lady raps,” Leslie Hall of Leslie and The Lys is rising through the ranks of Internet stardom. Maybe it’s the gravity defying hair, Sally Jesse Rafael glasses, or the now famous gold pants. Whatever the cause, Hall fans are some of the strongest, carrying her off MySpace......

Washington D.C. lost one of its favorite adopted sons over the weekend as Arnold "Red" Auerbach passed away at the age of 89. Best known as the patriarch of the Boston Celtics, Auerbach had close ties to D.C., the city he called home for much of his life. Auerbach attended George Washington University from 1937-1940, starring on the basketball team as the team's top scorer. In 1946, after stints in the Navy and as......

Perhaps lost amid the swell of activity related to this week's DAM!fest is tomorow night's performance by The National at the Black Cat. The National rose to prominence in 2005 behind their fourth album Alligator, which Uncut Magazine called "Their first masterpiece." Bloggers fawned, mainstream media followed suit and soon The National were on the tips of indie rock loving tongues all over the country. Except, perhaps, in Washington D.C. Despite the band being......

Good morning, Washington, and our apologies to the residents of Montgomery County — we hate to be the bearers of bad news. But it looks like speed cameras will be coming to your fair municipality. The general assembly has overridden Governor Ehrlich's second veto, putting the wheels in motion for a statewide program. Montgomery County will be the lucky recipient of the first pilot cameras. Gallaudet Still A Mess: Protests; counter-protests; defiant non-resignations. And now......