In about a month, Safeway’s National Capital Barbecue Battle will celebrate its 20th anniversary. With a relatively modest 43 teams — and those tucked among the kiddie activities and corporate-sponsored events — the battle, which closes down several blocks along Pennsylvania Avenue on June 23 and 24, is more a small-town festival than a competition. But it draws big numbers (around 110,00 last year, organizers say) and some top competitors. Read full article > >

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Smoke Signals: Are you ready to ‘Battle’?

Britons seemed to have turned against their national leaders in mayoral and local council votes that are seen as a midterm judgment on Britain’s coalition government.

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Early Results Show Opposition Gains in British Vote

David H. Koch, the executive vice president of Koch Industries and a prominent supporter of conservative causes, has donated $35 million to the National Museum of Natural History. The gift, which was announced by the Smithsonian Institution Thursday, will go to a new dinosaur hall, which has been high on the list of needed renovations at the museum. The Koch gift is the largest single donation to the Natural History museum and the fifth largest in Smithsonian history. Read full article > >

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David Koch donates $35 million to National Museum of Natural History for dinosaur hall

Piotr Gajewski led the National Philharmonic in three tried-and-true (some say “worn-out”) symphonic staples on Saturday at Strathmore. But a fresh look at them won’t hurt. Felix Mendelssohn’s music, which occupied the evening’s first half, included his Hebrides Overture (“Fingal’s Cave”), Op. 26, and his Violin Concerto in E Minor, Op. 64, with diva violinist Sarah Chang. Read full article > >

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National Philharmonic offers a trio of crowd-pleasers at Strathmore

The United States has just lost a key ally in the fight against al-Qaeda terrorists: the residents of Virginia, and state employees in particular. Virginia’s legislature recently passed a bill that forbids state employees, including police and members of the National Guard, from participating in the investigation, surveillance, detention or arrest of any suspected member of al-Qaeda or its affiliates, if that suspect is a U.S. citizen. Read full article > >

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Virginia detainee law is dangerously unconstitutional

French President Nicolas Sarkozy rules out doing any election deal with the far-right National Front but says its voters should not be demonised.

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Sarkozy rules out far right deal

The USDA said it remains confident in the health of the national herd and the safety of beef and dairy products.

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Mad cow case confirmed in California

The gap between male and female life expectancy is closing and men could catch up by 2030, according to an adviser for the Office for National Statistics.

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Men set to live as long as women

Something happened in the Senate on Thursday. Something surprising. Something encouraging. Something almost…functional. You might remember that, in August 2011, Congress almost defaulted on the national debt. Eventually, the two parties reached a deal — the Budget Control Act — that would, among other things, cut more than $900 billion from the discretionary side of the budget over the next 10 years. This wasn’t exactly a shining moment in the history of the United States Congress — “and that, kids, is how the government decided not to create an unnecessary financial crisis in the middle of a fragile recovery” — but at least we could move forward. Or so we thought. Read full article > >

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Wonkbook: McConnell to House: Don’t shut down the government

In reaching the Virginia AAA baseball championship last season, South County hit 56 home runs, a staggering total for a high school team that played 29 games. The Lorton team — and just about every other team in the country — likely will launch far fewer balls over the fence this season, now that the National Federation of State High School Associations has mandated use of bats with less pop than the old ones , a switch that some hitters liken to basketball players trying to shoot a ball through a narrower hoop. Read full article > >

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High school baseball players, teams adjust to new ‘BBCOR’ bats with less pop

After 70 years, two papers on the theory of code breaking by mathematician Alan Turing are released to the National Archives.

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GCHQ releases WWII Turing papers

UK unemployment has fallen by 35,000 to 2.65 million, the first fall since last spring, according to the Office for National Statistics.

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UK unemployment falls by 35,000

Wayne LaPierre, the executive vice president of the National Rifle Association, criticized the news media’s focus on the fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin.

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N.R.A. Criticizes Trayvon Martin Media Coverage

As he works to energize the conservative base ahead of the general election, Mitt Romney came to the annual gathering of the National Rifle Association seeking support from a powerful group that has not always embraced him.

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The Caucus: Romney Warns Gun Lobby of a Second Obama Term

Grand National meeting opens with Liverpool Day

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In pictures: Liverpool Day at races