the washington post

The applause echoed through the rafters and the sound of stomping feet rumbled across the aluminum bleachers as members of the Washington Capitals stepped onto the ice Sunday morning. As the players warmed up, the rows of fans who packed the seats and lined up three-deep behind the glass began a familiar serenade: "C-A-P-S! Caps! Caps! Caps!"

In "The Third Bullet," Stephen Hunter's fictitious super-sniper finds middle ground between conspiracy and lone gunman theories.

Army Staff Sgt. Jennifer Hunt, a Gaithersburg reservist, is one of four servicewomen suing Defense Secretary Leon Panetta to end the long-standing policy that excludes women from serving in direct combat.

Senate committee switch could spring wind bill

Matt Bracken rounds up the latest Maryland Terps recruiting news.

Lost in the smoky haze of 1960s history is the Laurel Pop Festival held in July 1969, which was attended by 15,000 fans and offered an incredible lineup of some of the biggest pop performers of the year.

Maryland's move to Big Ten lacks dignity, class

Jonah Goldberg says accusations that the GOP is motivated by racism are absurd

Current and retired federal employees who have been on the offense against the Defense of Marriage Act can't taste victory yet, but its scent is growing stronger now that the Supreme Court has decided to review the law.

Matt Bracken rounds up the latest Maryland Terps recruiting news.

The popular Washington restaurateur was found dead in his home on Monday.

It's the end of the world as we know and New Zealand feels fine. Yup, it's official the Mayan Apocalypse has snubbed Oceanian and the rest of the world will likely make it through Dec. 21 in one piece.

Jonah Goldberg says the heat of tragedy is the wrong time for major policy decisions

While many average users of Instagram are taking a wait-and-see approach after widespread complaints about its new privacy policy, a few Baltimore photographers are already pulling the plug on the popular photo-sharing service.

House Republicans in Annapolis requested last week that Gov. Martin O'Malley reimburse state taxpayers for nearly $100,000 in travel costs incurred by the state police for protecting him on out-of-state trips — a public debate sparked by a routine records request by The Baltimore Sun.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, has split the critics, creating a gulf as vast as the one separating Bilbo Baggins and Gollum. Such criticism could be expected from a movie that kicks off a trilogy -- yet is drawn from a novel that ran all of about 330 pages.

Cal Thomas says the West could learn from a thriving Asian nation's work ethic

Maryland's highest court will decide on how to fill a seat in the House of Delegates after Tiffany Alston was convicted of misconduct in office.

Nov. 21, 2012, was a sad day indeed. As many were looking forward to sharing Thanksgiving dinner with friends and family; Hostess Brands, the makers of Twinkies, Wonder Bread, Ding Dongs and many other culinary delights high in the food pyramid, announced it was closing its 85-year old business.

Baltimore Sun reporters Jeff Barker and Don Markus and editor Matt Bracken weigh in on the three biggest topics of the past week in Maryland sports.

Matt Bracken rounds up the latest Maryland Terps basketball and football recruiting news.

With business school plan, Morgan confronts past racism in the most positive way: by building

Royals! Rookies! And really really bad breakups! Today's online trends have it all. First up, royal wife Kate Middleton is again under the media microscope -- fortunately for her she has all her clothes on this time.

After spending Saturday night listening to and writing about a Baltimore blogger who webcast and tweeted his through a five-hour standoff with a police S.W.A.T. unit, I promised myself at least 24 hours to try and coherently think through the meaning of the event.

From #SaveBigBird and #womeninbinders, to #Lauerfail and #DrunkDianeSawyer, it seems like we are awash in stories with hashtags these days -- stories about the 140-character wonders of Twitter and their impact on media and politics.

History will show that electing Obama president was a mistake

With Laurin Mincy sidelined for the season, Maryland Terps women's basketball team needs newcomers to step up against Connecticut

Knights jump out to 16-0 lead, boost winning streak to 22 straight contests

Pumas battle to defeat Cougars in defensive struggle for state championship

Baltimore Sun reporters Jeff Barker and Don Markus and editor Matt Bracken weigh in on the three biggest topics of the past week in Maryland sports.

Doyle McManus says the Spielberg movie has become a political Rorschach test in Washington

Joseph B. Kelly, the dean of Maryland turf writers and nationally known thoroughbred historian, died Monday of cancer.

Maryland will host the fifth annual Drink Local Wine Conference the weekend of April 12-14, 2013 in Baltimore.

Long before there was a Patuxent Greens Golf Course or Stewart Towers high rise building, a mammoth oval race track occupied that area of land off Route 197, near Route 198. Horse racing at Laurel Park racetrack had been ongoing since 1911, but in 1924 an idea was pitched to the public to construct the Baltimore-Washington Speedway, a new wooden track for auto racing.

The state of the African-American family is desperate; President Obama must speak truth to a community in peril.

Lawrence Guyot, a civil rights leader who survived jailhouse beatings in the Deep South in the 1960s and went on to encourage generations to get involved, has died. He was 73.

This holiday season may be the greatest ever for book adaptations, and this week, we have a visual stunner, "Life of Pi," Ang Lee's take on the best-selling Yann Martel novel.

Dr. Moreland Perkins, a philosophy professor who had taught at the University of Maryland, College Park and was also former mayor of Riverdale Park, died Nov. 7 of pneumonia at St. Joseph Medical Center.

The Bowie State University student charged with fatally slashing her randomly assigned roommate in their shared suite last year was acquitted Thursday of every charge against her, as jurors apparently believed she was acting to protect herself in a sprawling melee.

Jules Witcover laments that propagandistic punditry has largely replaced sober discussion of the nation's affairs

Breaking Dawn Part 2 the cinematic climax of Stephenie Meyer's best-selling series -- is sure to delight loyal fans, but critics aren't so kind.

You don¿t get that very often in football or hockey or the NBA. But you get vitriol pretty much every year when the BBWAA season-ending awards are announced. And, to me, that speaks to the passion of the baseball fan.

Jonah Goldberg says rumors of the death of conservatism are greatly exaggerated

Vernon Loeb, the Washington Post editor who worked with Paula Broadwell on the bio of David Petraeus, says he was blind-sided by the affair that ended Petraeus' stint as CIA director.

Dr. Bertram Wyatt-Brown, an acclaimed and influential professor of American history who wrote widely on Southern history and culture and whose book on honor in the antebellum South was a 1983 Pulitzer Prize finalist, died Monday of pulmonary fibrosis at Roland Park Place. He was 80.

"All In" is the title of the David Petraeus biography, and no book is more aptly titled. His caree is now in a shambles because he made a big, disasterous bet -- having an affair with author Paula Broadwell -- and it led to his resignation as CIA director.

The Maryland General Assembly's counsel says Del. Tiffany Alston's conviction for paying a law firm employee with state money permanently removes her from her term.