A news program showed Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg using his helicopter over the weekend at a helipad where trips on Saturday and Sunday are prohibited.

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Bloomberg Violates Weekend Helicopter Ban, and Will Stop

Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta said Monday that he regretted that his frequent flights home to California on a military jet have cost taxpayers more than $800,000 since July. He gave no indication, however, that he would end the weekend commutes. Read full article > >

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Panetta said he regretted cost to taxpayers for trips home to California

The US soldier accused of killing 16 Afghans at the weekend had been unhappy to be sent to serve in Afghanistan, a Seattle lawyer says.

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Afghan accused ‘loath to serve’

Jeremy Lin said he has moved on after ESPN punished two employees over the weekend for use of an ethnic slur about the New York Knicks ’ Asian-American player. “I don’t think it was on purpose or whatever, but they have apologized and so from my end I don’t care anymore,” Lin said in a TV interview after his 28-point, 14-assist performance in the Knicks’ 104- 97 victory over Dallas on Sunday. “[You] have to learn to forgive and I don’t even think that was intentional. Or hopefully not.” Read full article > >

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Jeremy Lin says ESPN’s offensive references were unintentional

Mark Steven Kirk, who won President Obama’s Senate seat in 2010, was admitted to a Chicago-area hospital over the weekend after suffering a stroke.

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The Caucus: Illinois Senator Kirk Hospitalized Following Stroke

NFL playoff teams made an on-the-field case over the weekend for the ongoing need to play something resembling sturdy defense to advance in the postseason, even in this pass-happy age of offensive pyrotechnics. Read full article > >

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NFL playoffs 2012: Defenses make their case as some of the high-powered offenses go home

Over the weekend, I wrote about Canadian policy experiments that could reduce alcohol consumption by setting a minimum price for beer, wine and liquor. Wonkblog reader and Cornell University economist Brad Rickard passed along new research he’s done on the economics of alcohol consumption, which suggests another, albeit counter-intuitive, approach that may curb negative impacts of excessive alcohol consumption: make wine cheaper and more available. Read full article > >

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The case for cheaper wine, in one chart

One of the UK’s busiest motorway junctions is shut for the weekend so engineers can dismantle an old viaduct.

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Bridge work shuts M1 interchange

Are you a last-minute holiday shopper wondering what to get that political junkie in your family? Boy have you come to the right place. Over the weekend, we asked Fixistas for their favorite political books of 2011 . We got lots of great suggestions on the blog as well as via Twitter and Facebook. We did our best to provide as full a list as possible below. Remember that these are suggestions from readers; we don’t endorse any particular viewpoint represented in these books) Lots of you nominated books that didn’t come out in 2011 so that’s why you don’t see them on the list. Read full article > >

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The Fix’s best political books of 2011

Every week we gather a list of the best events for the weekend . Check out some highlights, including a holiday bar crawl, a Repeal Day celebration and a performance by rising rap group G-Side. Grab that thrift store sweater you brought for tacky holiday sweater parties of Christmas past and head to Dupont Circle for the Christmas Crawl . The 13 participating bars offer drink specials and the night ends with a Best Dressed contest at McFadden’s . Read full article > >

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Plan your weekend: The Christmas Crawl, G-Side

Every week we gather a list of the best events for the weekend . Check out some highlights, including a night of bar crawlers in Santa costumes, lights on the bay in Annapolis and a concert by a Scandinavian electro-pop singer who could be the next big thing. Rising star Oh Land has the combination of looks and sound that could put her in a venue much bigger than the Black Cat next time she comes to town. Catch her Friday. Read full article > >

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Plan your weekend: Santa Stumble, Oh Land

LOS ANGELES — The latest “Twilight” movie has plenty of daylight left with a second-straight win at the weekend box office. “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 1” took in $42 million domestically over the three-day weekend and $62.3 million in the five-day Thanksgiving boom time from Wednesday to Sunday. That raised its domestic total to $221.3 million, while the Summit Entertainment release added $71.5 million overseas to lift the international total to $268 million and the worldwide take to $489.3 million. Read full article > >

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‘Twilight’ keeps shining with $42M second weekend; ‘Muppets’ connect with $29.5M debut

In such works as “Running Man,” on display at Gallery A near Dupont Circle, former Washington artist David Suter depicts the metaphoric desire to escape. But there was nothing symbolic about Suter’s release on Monday, when he and gallery owner Victor Gaetan were freed after spending the weekend under police supervision at a hotel in Zajecar, Serbia. Read full article > >

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Serbian authorities detain D.C. artist, gallery owner, seize dozens of artworks

The 2012 endorsement battle is starting to heat up, with former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney sprinting to an early advantage . Over the weekend, Romney landed the backing of two of the top GOP elected officials in New Hampshire: Sen. Kelly Ayotte and Rep. Charlie Bass . But while these types of endorsements (known as “state-specific” on The Fix’s handy-dandy Endorsement Hierarchy ) can help a candidate, they are rarely more than a single-day story. Read full article > >

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The big six 2012 endorsements

LOS ANGELES — The gods of ancient Greece have extended their rule to the weekend box office with a No. 1 debut for the action tale “Immortals.” The story of Greek hero Theseus took in $32 million domestically, while Adam Sandler’s comedy “Jack and Jill” opened at No. 2 with $26 million, according to studio estimates Sunday. Read full article > >

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‘Immortals’ reigns with $32M opening weekend; Sandler’s ‘Jack and Jill’ takes second with $26M