Atlantis Returns to Earth; Dulles Rail Station Goes Above Ground: Morning Links

Just a reminder this morning, Washingtonians: There's an excessive heat warning from noon to 8 PM today. But it feels pretty hot already, doesn't it?

Atlantis Returned to Earth: The last mission for the historic space shuttle Atlantis ended this morning at 5:58 AM, when the shuttle rolled to a stop at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the New York Times reports. The flight had no weather or technical issues, and the crew awoke to Kate Smith's rendition of "God Bless America."

Dulles Rail Station Going Above Ground: The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority move the proposed Dulles Airport station above ground. Though MWAA initially wanted to build the station below ground, the body chose to go with US Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood's cost-saving above-ground plan. 

H Street Trolly Won't Connect to Union Station: Lydia DePillis reported yesterday that the proposed H Street, Northeast, streetcar line, which is designed to connect the developing neighborhood to the rest of the transit system, likely won't connect directly to Union Station. Amtrak says it wants to keep space for building a high-speed rail line.

Crime Down on Metro: Dr. Gridlock reports at the Washington Post that robberies on the Metro are down more than 30 percent from last year. Other serious crimes are down by more than a third compared with the same period last year. Still, this week Metro has reported more break-ins of parked vehicles at its parking facilities.

Same-Sex Couples Increase in Virginia, Census Data Shows: The number of same-sex partner households has increased over 2000 in Virginia, Zinie Chen Sampson reports at the Washington Times. Male same-sex partner households in the state increased by 40 percent and the number of female same-sex partners rose by 60 percent. The change is likely attributable to a greater willingness by same-sex couples to disclose their sexual orientation.  The Washington Post looks at the data and finds that traditional, nuclear families are a higher percentage in Virginia than they are in other parts of the country; 27 percent compared with 19 percent. The Post attributes this to the large influx of Hispanic and Asian immigrants, who are more likely to live in a nuclear family situation.

DC Police May Host Gun Shop: DC Police may become hosts to the District's only gun shop. The US Supreme Court overturned the city's gun ban in 2008, but the city's only gun dealer has shut down due to a lost lease. Since residents must legally transfer their ownership of guns bought out-of-state, residents have sued DC, saying the lack of gun registrar and shop violates the law. Now the city is considering emergency legislation that would allow a gun dealer to set up shop in the Metropolitan Police headquarters, NBC4 reports.

Briefly Noted: The shooting of a transgender woman that occurred last evening in Northeast DC is being investigated as a hate crime. . . . Capital City Brewing Company closed its Postal Square location last weekend. . . . A Baltimore city police officer was arrested Tuesday for dealing heroin.

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