In the beginning God created the heavens and the Earth, including a form of igneous rock called granite, a mass composed mostly of silica and aluminum that makes up a large part of the continental crust, and comes in all the colors of the rainbow and signifies majesty and serenity. On the kajillionth day, or thereabouts, we mined that granite and we made countertops. Read full article > >

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Granite: Why every homeowner wants a piece of the rock

Newt Gingrich used ethics issues to make political gains from the beginning of his career, but in the end ethics issues helped topple him from power in the House.

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The Long Run: The Long Run: Gingrich Stuck to Caustic Path in Ethics Battles

Before you can ask whether President Obama has done a good job, you need to ask — and answer — another question: Compared to what? Take Andrew Sullivan’s essay on Obama’s record, which is getting a lot of attention. Sullivan writes that “the job collapse bottomed out at the beginning of 2010, as the stimulus took effect. Since then, the U.S. has added 2.4 million jobs.” Is that a good record? A bad one? It’s impossible to say until you’ve defined what you’re comparing it to. Read full article > >

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Has Obama done a good job? Well, compared to what?

In the beginning, the Anacostia was with the people, and the people were with the Anacostia. The people were the Nacotchtank Indians. They or their ancestors lived alongside the waterway for 10,000 years. By the early 17th century, there were perhaps 500 Nacotchtanks across the Anacostia watershed. They farmed squash, corn, sunflowers. They did not have horses or the wheel. They moved on the river and its dozen or so tributaries — clear and abundant with shad, pike, bass and oysters — on small canoes. Read full article > >

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Anacostia River: From then till now

Billy Hunter is the biggest wishbone in pro sports right now. When the NBA union chief walks into a boardroom at a Manhattan hotel Thursday , with only the beginning of the season in the balance, Commissioner David Stern will be tugging on one lapel. NBA players, who will soon start missing paychecks because of their economic stalemate with team owners, will be tugging at the other. Read full article > >

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NBA lockout: Union chief Billy Hunter knows how to fight fairly

The Energy Department, under fire over its management of a program that offers loan guarantees to clean-technology companies, has been finalizing additional multimillion-dollar loan guarantees in the program at a rate of more than one a week since the beginning of August. It now has just two weeks left to commit the program’s remaining $9.3 billion. Read full article > >

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During Solyndra probe, Energy Dept. has to move billions in loans

The loss placed the Mets 11 1/2 games behind the Atlanta Braves in the National League wild-card race, creating a feeling that it’s the beginning of the end for this season.

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Diamondbacks 4, Mets 3: Mets Lose to Diamondbacks as Hopes for Late Run Dim

JERSEY CITY, N.J. — Since the beginning — which was all of seven weeks ago — Jon Huntsman Jr.’s campaign has promised something completely different. The campaign has offered video tidbits of a mystery man, a father of seven, a lover of rock music and a diplomat on a dirt bike who is no ordinary politician. The operation launched a sleek, clean Web site that looks nothing like those of other candidates. Then the big reveal: Huntsman took the stage at Liberty State Park Tuesday and sought to deliver a careful message, one that included a different take from his Republican rivals on President Obama. Read full article > >

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Huntsman joins GOP race

A self-proclaimed biblical soothsayer in Oakland, Calif., has gathered his followers in anticipation of the beginning of the end of the world.

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At Apocalypse Central, Preparing for What Happens, or Doesn’t

Years from now, I believe, we will look back and say the elimination of Osama bin Laden changed everything. To borrow Churchill’s assessment of the Nazi defeat at El Alamein, “Now, this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.” Attempted terrorist attacks in the name of fundamentalist Islam will surely continue. Most will be amateurish failures, such as the alleged plot disclosed Thursday in which two homegrown would-be jihadists — now in the custody of New York City police — ineffectually aspired to blow up a synagogue . Tragically, we are bound to see attacks by genuine terrorists as well. Some may succeed. Read full article > >

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Now that he’s dead, let’s end bin Laden’s grip on us

The Washington Ballet announced Thursday that it has hired Peter M. Branch, the former head of Georgetown Day School, as its chief administrator. Branch, 68, will take over from Washington Ballet Executive Director Russell Allen, who plans to leave in the next few weeks. His three-year contract ends June 30. Not including interim officials, Branch will be the ballet’s fifth top administrator since Artistic Director Septime Webre arrived in 1999. Branch said he found out Wednesday night that he had been named the ballet’s new executive director, though he had been in discussions about the position since the beginning of the year. Branch and his wife, Paula Carreiro, who is head of the Beauvoir School, are donors to the ballet. Read full article > >

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Washington Ballet names new executive, Peter M. Branch, to succeed Russell Allen

Walter Breuning, the world’s oldest man, died Thursday at the age of 114. Breuning lived in Minnesota at the beginning of the century, in a house with no electricity or running water. At 16, after his parents split, he went to work for the Great…

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World’s Oldest Man Dies

The number of initial public offerings (IPOs) fell in Europe at the beginning of this year, a report says.

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Company share issues fall sharply

All 29 million workers in the UK could be in for a financial shock at the beginning of next month.

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Consumers warned about tax shock

Measures must be taken at the beginning of a building project to increase the likelihood that the structure will remain functional for generations.

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At War: An Aid Worker Writes | Sustainability