Photo by Flickr user tzk333

Merry eve of Christmas Eve, Washington! If you're still scrambling to put your holidays together, find a gift, pick a restaurant to dine at, or anything else holiday-related, make sure to check out our guide to all things holiday.

Plus, we have lots of last-minute gifts for the foodie in your life.  

If you have to use River Road today, avoid, avoid, avoid—a huge water main break has stranded some drivers , leading to dramatic rescues, and the road is completely flooded.

Want to punk speed cameras—at the expense of somebody else? WTOP explains how folks are doing it. 

Big news from the Post—Jim Brady, executive editor of washingtonpost.com, is stepping down. FishbowlDC has the internal memo.

Prince of Petworth has a sneak peek at the new spot from Ben's Chili Bowl.  

In this chilly weather, DCist has a good reminder about a hypothermia hotline. If you encounter a homeless person trying to brave the cold and sleep outside, you can call 1-800-535-7252 and a van will come pick them up and transport them to a shelter. 

The Presidential Inaugural Committee today announced the honorary cochairs for the inauguration. Expected picks include former presidents George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and Jimmy Carter, but a few first-timers cropped up on the list, too.

Among those given the title—and a coveted front-row seat at the swearing-in—is DC mayor Adrian Fenty, who’s been publicly endorsing Obama since July 2007. Craig Robinson, Michelle Obama’s brother, made the list, probably becoming the first basketball coach ever to be given the honor. And Barack Obama’s half-sister, Dr. Maya Soetoro-Ng, will also be attending.

Here are the other honorary cochairs for the 2009 Presidential Inauguration:
• Senator Dick Durbin
• Senator Dick Lugar
• Senator Claire McCaskill
• Representative Tammy Baldwin
• Representative Artur Davis
• Representative Ray LaHood
• Representative Linda Sánchez
• General Colin Powell
• Hunter and Kathleen Biden, Vice President-elect Joe Biden’s son and daughter-in-law.

>>All Washingtonian.com Inauguration 2009 coverage 

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Photo courtesy of DCist 

Run, don’t walk, to this Web page—Metro’s Barack Obama commemorative farecards are officially on sale.

There are three options. For $10, you can purchase a rechargeable SmarTrip card with Obama’s face and “January 20, 2009, Inauguration Day” printed on the front; this card has no fare preloaded. Twenty dollars will get you the same plastic SmarTrip card with $10 in Metro fare preloaded. SmarTrip cards can be used on trains and buses.

A one-day paper pass is also available for $10. Printed with a black-and-white image of the President-elect, the pass gives you unlimited subway travel starting at 9:30 AM. You can use the pass any day of the week, including Inauguration Day, but it expires at midnight Sunday through Thursday and at 3 AM Friday and Saturday.

By comparison, a regularly priced SmarTrip card costs $30 and comes with $25 in Metro fare preloaded. A one-day rail pass costs $7.80.

>> All Washingtonian.com inauguration coverage 

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Since 1971, Michael Hausfeld has been one of Washington’s most feared “big case” lawyers. He takes aim at oil and tobacco companies, handgun manufacturers, and especially Swiss banks and American corporations that he believes allowed the Holocaust to occur.

Operating out of plush quarters in the old Greyhound bus station on DC’s New York Avenue, Hausfeld had built one of Washington’s premier firms, Cohen Milstein Hausfeld & Toll. Among his partners was Joe Sellers, onetime head of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law; Sellers has largely made his name from sex-and gender-discrimination suits against Boeing and Wal-Mart.

Was a clash of egos not inevitable?

The inauguration rumor mills are in full-swing today. The New York Post is reporting that Oprah Winfrey is home hunting in Washington. Why? She "wants to be as close to Barack Obama as possible."

The talk-show queen is said to have inquired about a nine-bedroom, $50 million mansion. Celebrity blogger Perez Hilton speculates that it's the Evermay Estate, which we blogged about in September when it went on the market. If Hilton's right, Oprah would be moving into an 1801 federal-style mansion with as many bathrooms as bedrooms—plenty of room for Oprah's bestie Gayle King to stop in for a visit.

Sean Combs, a.k.a. Diddy, a.k.a. Puff Daddy, is launching a men’s cologne in honor of Barack Obama. Named I Am King, the fragrance is part of what Combs says is the redefinition of the successful black male brought about by Obama’s election. To find out what people think of it, we took the fragrance to Obama’s new residence and asked people walking by the White House to smell it.

How much will the inauguration cost the city of Washington? No official guesses yet, but DC representative Eleanor Holmes Norton has requested an additional $15 million from Congress—that's on top of the $15 million already allocated for the event. 

Pastor Rick Warren defended his invitation to pray at Barack Obama's inauguration. Many people are up in arms about the matter due to Warren's outspoken opposition to gay marriage.  

This blogger snapped photos of the construction happening outside of the White House for the inauguration.  

Add Rihanna to the growing list of celebs coming to town for the inauguration. She'll be performing at the Recording Industry Association of America's inaugural ball. Click here for lots more events happening during inauguration.

>> All Washingtonian.com inauguration coverage 

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