Some people pursue so-called "ideals of beauty" -- but at what price? Commentator Martine Gaetan recalls the struggle she had coming face-to-face with her self-image and accepting what she saw in the mirror.

Council members in Montgomery County are getting involved in a little-recognized but very contentious debate: how the sites for new school buildings are chosen. Now, the council is trying to determine what authority it has over the site selection process.

The National Zoo says it has ended the round-the-clock pregnancy watch for giant panda Mei Xiang. It turns out she was not pregnant after all, according to the Associated Press.

The Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries is offering a new smartphone application that will help fishermen identify their catch or locate nearby boat ramps or recreation areas.??

D.C. celebrated Bastille Day in style with a number of parties, races, and festivities across the city in honor of the French holiday.

D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray used the festivities at yesterday's Palisades Parade in Northwest D.C. to call attention to the District's fight for "full independence."

Local horseback riders say they're at odds with the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission after the utility blocked access to a trail used by riders for decades.