VIA THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER:

The Washington area is still at high risk for drops in housing prices by the end of next year, despite a recent uptick in home sales and prices, according to a new report.

There is a 77 percent chance that local home prices will be lower in the fourth quarter of 2011 than in the fourth quarter of 2009, according to the second-quarter 2010 Risk Index published by PMI, a mortgage insurance company.

Though the figure declined from an 89 percent chance from the third quarter of 2009, the report still classified the area’s risk of price declines as “high.”

The area’s unemployment rate and affordability ranked relatively well, but prices — which declined 15 percent year-over-year from the fourth quarter — really hurt Washington’s score, said PMI spokesman Joel Luebkeman.

Updated data from the first quarter, though, showed price stabilization, Luebkeman said.

“If all other factors remain the same … you would expect the risk score for the D.C. area to show additional improvement,” he said.

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VIA CBS NEWS:

Today marks the federally-recognized National Day of Prayer, an annual tradition that dates back to 1952.

Will it be the last?

Last month, a U.S. District Judge in Wisconsin ruled that the government-sanctioned event, established by Congress and marked with a proclamation from the president, is unconstitutional.

“It goes beyond mere ‘acknowledgment’ of religion because its sole purpose is to encourage all citizens to engage in prayer, an inherently religious exercise that serves no secular function in this context,” wrote Judge Barbara Crabb, who said the event violates the First Amendment’s establishment clause banning the creation of a “law respecting an establishment of religion” in the Constitution.

Crabb’s decision resulted from a lawsuit filed by a group of atheists and agnostics called the Freedom From Religion Foundation, who complained that the government did not have the right to tell them to pray.

But it did not stop the Obama administration from issuing a National Day of Prayer proclamation this year, just as it had last year; in it, President Obama calls on citizens to “pray, or otherwise give thanks.”

“Throughout our history, whether in times of great joy and thanksgiving, or in times of great challenge and uncertainty, Americans have turned to prayer,” said Mr. Obama. “In prayer, we have expressed gratitude and humility, sought guidance and forgiveness, and received inspiration and assistance, both in good times and in bad.”

The ruling declaring the day unconstitutional sparked outrage from lawmakers, who said it went against America’s religious tradition and urged the Obama Justice Department to appeal. Said House Judiciary Committee ranking Republican Lamar Smith: “What’s next? Declaring the federal holiday for Christmas unconstitutional?”

The Justice Department did decide to appeal, and Crabb said it was fine for the National Day of Prayer to go forward until appeals are exhausted, which is why it is being recognized today despite the ruling.

Opponents of the day say they do not object to private days of prayer – and, indeed, thousands of private events are taking place nationwide today – but they say the government should not be involved; the Obama administration counters that it simply acknowledges the role of religion in American life.

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VIA THE WASHINGTON POST:

Officials at the National Zoo announced their latest addition: a scimitar-horned oryx born April 9 at their conservation center in Front Royal, Va.

“Because most of the species we work with are critically endangered or extinct in the wild, each offspring born here is a real treasure and a testament to our scientific efforts,” said Steve Monfort, director of the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute. “Each newborn represents hope that their species will survive.”

This is the first time in more than a decade that there has been an oryx birth at the Front Royal campus. Oryx are extinct in the wild, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The oryx, a female, weighed 20 pounds at birth.

The birth is good news for the zoo’s effort to breed the animals. Last October, two oryx — a 16-year-old female at the Rock Creek campus and a 17-year-old male at the Conservation and Research Center in Front Royal, died after undergoing health exams.

Adult oryx are known for their curved horns that can be up to several feet long, but newborns have small horn buds from which the horns will grow. The mother of the calf is 3-year-old Jena and her father is 13-year-old Dr. Bob. With the calf’s recent birth, there are now 16 scimitar-horned oryx at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute and one at the zoo in Washington.

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VIA THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER:

A collection of student, labor and community activists rallied for immigration reform near the White House Saturday in the wake of a controversial immigration enforcement law passed in Arizona.

Immigrant advocates have used May 1 to lobby for reform for the past several years. This year, community, student and labor leaders were calling on President Barack Obama to halt deportations until comprehensive immigration reform was passed. Protests in dozens of cities across the country had been planned.

One group of students marched 1,500 miles from Florida to D.C. to attend the rally. Another group marched from New York. One group at the rally in Lafayette Square, across from the White House, engaged in a chant of “Education, not deportation!”

Activists were also out to protest a recently-passed immigration enforcement law in Arizona.

“People say because we are a different color…they say we are different,” said Maria Vazquez of Gaithersburg, who was wearing a yellow shirt donned by many at the rally that said “We are all Arizona.”

The state’s law originally authorized police to check the residency status of a person if they had “reasonable suspicion” that they were in the country illegally. To mollify concerns about racial profiling, it was amended to state that police had to be investigating another crime if they wanted to check someone’s immigration status.

Still, at the Lafayette gathering, Arazelia Hernandez, from Kansas City, toted a sign that said “Does this outfit make me look illegal?,” which she said was in response to Arizona’s law.

“Arizona proves that nativists are forcefully taking over the political space created by a vacuum of presidential and congressional leadership,” said Gustavo Torres from CASA de Maryland, an immigrant advocacy group. “The time for aggressive action is now.”

Read more here

Eyes of Faith Ministries is hosting their Spring Praise Jam on Saturday, May 22nd, 2010 from 5p-10p.

The church is located at 2225 Pinefield Station in Waldorf, MD 20602.

The program will feature live bands, music, food and lots of fellowship.

For more information call 301-792-0742.

New Life Community Church is hosting a Free Childhood Obesity Awareness Health Fair on Saturday, May 22nd from 11a-3p.

The church is located at 13711 Annapolis Rd in Bowie, MD.

The event will feature free health screening, live music and food. For more information, call Rob & Nicole Howze at 240-461-8474.

VIA THE WASHINGTON POST:

Gov. Robert F. McDonnell and Northrop Grumman will announce Tuesday that the defense giant has selected Virginia over Maryland for its corporate headquarters, the Virginia Politics blog is reporting.

According to two sources familiar with the deal, the company is still considering sites in Fairfax and Arlington counties for its headquarters, but has ruled out Rockville.

Executives at Northrop Grumman wouldn’t confirm Monday where they plan to move but said they expect to announce their decision by the end the week.

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VIA THE GAZETTE:

Missing Bowie State University student Katrice Hall of Lanham and her cousin, Shawnta Hall have been located unharmed, according to an e-mail sent to the campus community Friday afternoon. Bowie State campus police did not have the address of the cousin.

Katrice’s mother, whose name has not been released, reported the cousins missing to Prince George’s County police April 11 and to Bowie State police April 13.

Katrice Hall, 23, and Shawnta Hall, 22, were located Friday at a condominium in Silver Spring, according Bowie State police.

The mother and family members found the car that the students had driven away from a family gathering the previous Saturday at the condominium and waited until the cousins returned to the condominium Friday afternoon, said Bowie State Police Chief Ernest Waiters.

The two women were last seen April 10 at the family gathering in Silver Spring.

Hall’s mother came to the Bowie State campus April 14 to distribute posters with a photo of the cousins taken at the family gathering in hopes students could help locate them. On Friday Waiters sent an e-mail alert to students and staff of the campus.

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