>> See more Knock Out photos in our slideshow here 

What: Knock Out Abuse Against Women 16th anniversary fundraiser.

Where: Ritz-Carlton, Washington, DC.

When: Thursday, November 5.

Ticket price: $500.

Attire: Cocktail or “groovy ’60s attire.” Lots of women got into the spirit with sequined minidresses, psychedelic prints, headbands, and touches of tie-dye. More than one sported afro wigs, and several wore perfect bouffants that would have made Jackie O. jealous.

Who: The sold-out gala hosted more than 750 Washington women. The more notable names in the crowd included Channel 9’s Andrea Roane, who played emcee for the evening; Knock Out founders Cheryl Masri and Jill Sorensen; actress and domestic-abuse survivor Robin Givens; socialite blogger Pamela Sorensen; and two of Bravo’s Real Housewives of DC, Mary Amons and Lynda Erkiletian. Among the handful of lucky men in attendance were fashionisto and founder of Evolution Look modeling Paul Wharton and hair guru Erwin Gomez. Hunk-of-beef Clinton Portis was scheduled to attend, but word around the party was that the Redskins star got sick and had to cancel.

Big week in Congress: Pelosi releases a healthcare bill for all to read, resulting in the usual grumbles about how long it is. To which we reply, would you rather have a bill one could scrawl on the back of a Big Mac wrapper? Luckily our representatives, brilliant, biting humorists that they are, are able to see the funny side.

In other news, Pete Hoekstra is on Huckabee, Joe Wilson is making friends in Europe (don’t tell him they’re all socialists over there), Cynthia Lummis is hanging out with someone named “Hoppy” and Bob Latta is abusing the caps lock key. And happily, many representatives gathered outside the Capitol Building at the end of the week to protest the healthcare bill, resulting in yet more bad jokes for the weekend.

It might have been Halloween, but there were few costumes and not much candy up on the Hill. Apart from John Shimkus, who’s been inexplicably playing the part of a preacher all week.

More than 150 Redskins fans gathered at Union Jack’s British Pub in Ballston on Tuesday night to meet two of the team’s most beloved icons—and one of its most beleaguered players. For $98, fans at ESPN 980’s “A Night of Quarterbacks” could down Sam Adams beer, nibble on meatballs and drunken chicken, and put questions to the evening’s guests of honor: Sonny Jurgensen, Joe Theismann, and Jason Campbell.

As fans lined up to pose with the three quarterbacks, Rick “Doc” Walker, tight end for the Redskins 1988 Super Bowl championship team, stood by the bar, biting an unlit cigar. Asked how much of the season’s woes can be put on the management, he replied, “Players win or lose games. This team hasn’t proven to be skillful enough to get the job done.”

Doc placed his stogie in the ashtray and looked us in the eye when asked about the fan fracas at Fed Ex Field, where stadium security have confiscated critical signs directed at the team’s owner, Dan Snyder, or its top executive, Vinny Cerrato. “I don’t like anything that is restrictive,” he said. “But as a player, if a fan says something that crosses the line, I’d like to kick his ass, so I understand why [management is] doing it. The sign of a good fan base is how you react to the bad times. Once you only start cheering for wins, you become a Cowboys fan.”

Having taken a beating for trying to set up evening salons where reporters could mingle with corporate types who’d pay big money for the privilege, the Washington Post now is attempting a more benign way to raise revenue: wine tastings—with reporters as guests.
    
This week’s event is scheduled for Thursday from 6 to 8:30 PM at the Post’s downtown DC headquarters.
    
The failed salon plan would have brought reporters together with politicians and businessmen for “off-the-record” chats, sponsored by corporations for as much as $25,000 a pop. This time the main event is the tasting of the wine; reporters are invited as an added attraction for the event, which is open to TastePost members.

When W. Mark Felt, the onetime number two at the FBI, unmasked himself as Deep Throat in May 2005, a few close observers weren’t surprised. They had suspected that Felt was Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein’s fabled Watergate source: In 1974, just two months after All the President’s Men disclosed Deep Throat’s existence, Washingtonian editor Jack Limpert fingered Felt as the likeliest Deep Throat.

What remains a Watergate mystery is how the Nixon White House learned in October 1972 that Felt was the Washington Post’s source. Decades later, it’s apparent that the White House had a secret source of its own inside the Post, a person who might be dubbed Richard Nixon’s Deep Throat.

Nixon realized early on that someone in the FBI was leaking to the Post. In a conversation captured on the President’s voice-activated tape recorder on October 19, 1972, four months after the break-in, White House chief of staff H.R. “Bob” Haldeman told Nixon that the culprit had been identified. “It’s pretty high up,” Haldeman said. “Mark Felt.” After a flash of anger, Nixon asked Haldeman how he’d found out.

Jason Samenow launched Capital Weather Gang, a blog about Washington weather, in 2003. Back then, he was the only contributor. “I immediately recognized a blog’s potential to facilitate a two-way dialogue between readers and forecasters,” says Samenow. “I also liked the dynamic nature of blog content given the dynamic nature of weather.”

In 2004, Samenow enlisted weather techie Jamie Jones, who converted the site into a group blog and helped add contributors. Last year, the Washington Post picked up Capital Weather Gang to host on its own site. Entries run the gamut from daily weather forecasts (obviously) to weekly commentary on climate-change issues. Says Samenow: “We try to write accurate, informative, and entertaining posts for the Washington-weather consumer.”

Today the site has more than a dozen contributors, almost all of whom have other full-time jobs. We sat down with Samenow, Jones, and lead meteorologist Dan Stillman to get their bests and worsts on Washington weather. Read on for their predictions about everything from government snow days to Thanksgiving Day weather—and find out what they’ve promised to do if they’re wrong.

 >> To see more photos from the event, head to our photo slideshow

What: A night filled with more than 25 food-sampling tables, silent auction items, and a fast-paced live-auction finale.

Where: The Ritz-Carlton hotel ballroom in downtown DC.

When: November 2, 6:30 to 10.

Why: To benefit March of Dimes, a nonprofit organization committed to preventing premature birth, birth defects, and infant mortality.

Ticket prices: $200 per person, $2,000 per table.

Who: The evening was a who’s who of the local restaurant scene. PS 7’s mixologist Gina Chersevani, chef Travis Timberlake of Art and Soul, and Restaurant Eve bar wizard Todd Thrasher manned their food stations while ABC 7’s Leon Harris, former Top Chef finalist Carla Hall, and Hell’s Kitchen winner Rock Harper hosted the auction ceremonies. Redskins defensive end Andre Carter was called out from his seat by the audience, and Citronelle and Central’s Michel Richard was rumored to be milling about, though we never saw him.