For walkers, this week was bad luck
While crossing the street, two were struck
Sure, fate is capricious
But why not delicious?
Heck yes, I'd get hit by this truck

It sure seems that Metro's bemoaning
The change that had riders all groaning
With kiosks outmoded
Make fares auto-loaded
Not yet, though, 'cause Catoe's postponing

I'm sad to see Cephas depart
For with him, that man takes my heart
He's clearly an ass
But lovably crass
In my book, bad taste is an art

When casting your vote in the booth
Just think of Graham's bowtie (so couth!)
Whatever you ponder
Don't let your mind wander
To thoughts of cabs, bribes, or that youth

As poet, I feel obligated
To highlight things classic (or dated?)
And yet, here's my screed:
Screw biking in tweed
That whole thing seemed way overrated...

"If this is an issue dealing with the safety of the system, I'm not going to restrict the repairs to nighttime. I'm going to get it as soon as I can get it done. And we will look at ways to do that, but that will impact the service on the Red Line," he said.

"Now that we're getting into heavy revamp of the system, it will be impacting services for the next several years," Mr. Catoe said. To lessen disruptions to the system, Metro will rethink how it schedules maintenance. Suggestions include doing large repairs on holidays or specific days of the week like Tuesdays and Thursdays.

In a wide-ranging interview with the paper, Catoe also suggested that problems with a 30-year-old computer system that is being investigated as the possible cause of the crash could impact other transit systems across the country.

"With this, depending again what they ultimately find, could be much larger. It's an issue, depending upon what they find, not just for [the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority]. We're not the only one with this type of system. Most rail operations around the country have a similar system to this," said Mr. Catoe, who insisted he was speculating and distanced himself from the NTSB investigation.

"If they find, let's say, that there's a defect in the part, then you have to look at all the parts around the country because there's only two manufacturers of those parts," he said.

• Yesterday afternoon, City Desk posted the latest WaPo article about the Metro crash, which basically announced that circuits on four of the five lines have failed to detect the presence of trains.  The 6 pm newscasts featured commentary from a variety of concerned commuters and so to quell their concerns, Metro GM John Catoe and Councilman Jim Graham held a press conference announcing that the Post got the story wrong.  The system is safe, says Catoe, and the article is a gross misstatement of facts.  Watch WUSA's interview with Catoe - he could be a dreidel with the way he's spinning this new information.

Swine flu, social networks, and the Secret Service after the jump.  Plus, a new alternative to saving the Nats!

• Swine flu isn't going anywhere soon.  Yet another group of local students from the District and Maryland are quarantined in Beijing after testing positive for H1N1.  Although it sucks that their trip is on hiatus, at least they have access to their Facebook accounts.
• Speaking of social networks, Facebook and Twitter are now too accessible to the general public, so Congress had to make its own. 3121, named after the extension of the Capitol Hill switchboard, will premiere in September and hopes to make communication among staffers more efficient.  Really, it's just a more localized version of any other site, so that you can stalk the hottie in Rep. Whatever's office and make awkward eye contact with your new "friends."
• President Obama granted Dick Cheney's request for a six-month extension of his Secret Service protection.  Apparently he has been concerned with his security and privacy in recent years, and plans on asking for another extension when this one expires.  Because when the federal government is hemorrhaging money, cashing in on a former Vice President's security detail is really an investment in the future.
• And finally, the Nationals might seem like a better team if they had better media coverage.  And who better to help them with their image than Ari Fleisher of Ari Fleisher Sports Communications!  Yep, Bush 2's first press secretary has launched a business to train athletes and teams on how to deal with the media.  He's currently busy promoting the Olympics but maybe he can help our fledgling batters in the future.

But enough about rule-makers.  All the rule-breakers, in DC and beyond, are after the jump.

• As countless politicians have proven, adultery is not an excuse to give up your elected office.  John Ensign agrees, regardless of his parents' $96,000 payoff of his mistress - he plans to seek reelection when his term runs out in 2012.  Could he still be holding out for the White House?  Only time will tell.

• The judge hearing the Banita Jacks case was treated to an earful during the second day of listening to her eight-hour police interrogation.  During the recording, Jacks admitted that she believed her three daughters were possessed by demons but would rise from the dead when the demons left their bodies.  She also contends that all four of her daughters died in their sleep, as a result of the demons, a fact that is inconsistent with the evidence gathered at the crime scene.

• A House panel investigating the Red Line crash heard testimony yesterday, with the majority of witnesses asking for money to fix the flawed transit system.  John Catoe, Metro's General Manager detailed the precautions he has taken since the crash but admits he still does not know what to do about the malfunctioning circuit between Takoma and Fort Totten that presumably caused the collision.

• Violent crimes are being reported with more frequency, in what are thought to be safe areas of the city.  The Borderstan blog reports an armed assault and a robbery in the 1400 blocks of Corcoran and S Streets NW, respectively, in addition to the armed robbery and several burglaries that occurred in the first week of July.  Meanwhile, in Georgetown, a young woman was sexually assaulted in her home, less than two blocks from the main gates of the university.  Neighbors and students are concerned, not only for their safety, but because very few people have been informed about the attack.

So keep your eyes and ears open, City Desk readers.  Rules and laws are for following, not breaking.

Fenty is expected to make remarks on the red line crash this morning at 8:00 a.m. We'll be live-blogging the press conference here.

8:01 a.m. Mayor Adrian Fenty, Fire Chief Dennis Rubin, Councilmember Jim Graham step up.

8:02 a.m. Fenty says he wants the country to know that his first efforts are with the families and friends of the victims. 76 people were taken off of the train to the hospital. Yesterday, six were confirmed dead. This morning, the number of confirmed dead is seven. Not nine as previously reported.

8:03 a.m. Fenty says it's the deadliest crash in the history of WMATA. Two critically injured held stable in the hospital last night. One injured person was updated out of critical last night. Fenty says he'll begin making next-of-kin notifications today.

8:04 a.m. Heavy equipment came in today to begin cutting through the train. Fenty says that after the machinery comes in they'll have an updated number of confirmed dead. He hopes it doesn't rise from the current number, 7.

8:05 a.m. Fenty brings forward Fire Chief Rubin.

8:06 a.m. Rubin says at 5:30 a.m. a crane was able to come in to lift up some of the debris to help "thoroughly check every single space." Firefighters worked through the night. Brought in dogs to look for survivors underneath the train and in the wooded area near the tracks.

8:07 a.m. Rescue is on hold for now while the trains are moved off the train. There have been two minor firefighter injuries, Rubin says.

8:08 a.m. Police Chief Cathy Lanier gives an update on next-of-kin updates. She says that they will likely be able to be made later today.

8:09 a.m. WMATA chief John Catoe gives his condolences to the families of the driver and the passengers. "We will find out what happened here, what caused this, and put all the resources necessary to make sure this doesn't happen again." Says his heart goes out to the families of the dead and injured. Says he's heard comments from around the world about the crash.

8:10 a.m. Data recovery: NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board) rep Debbie Hersman says they are making sure they document each step of that so they know the exact condition of the accident scene going forward. Investigators say there were nine data recorders on the train that was struck. The striking train, which hit the standing train, does not have the same level of recorders on it, so they are not expecting to get any data off of that. There are 9 NTSB investigators working on the scene.

8:12 a.m. WMATA operates in "ATO" or "automatic" mode during rush hour---the time of the crash. Hersman says one team will be looking at the drivers' records as well as cell phone and texting records to get more info about what they were doing at the time of the scene. There will also be an equipment investigation to see if there was any breakage. There's also a team looking at the condition of the track for any broken circuits or defects after the trains are moved. Another team will be working to interview survivors about what happened during the crash and how effective WMATA worked post-crash.

8:13 a.m. Hersman begins taking questions.

First question: Expound on the crashworthiness of the train cars. [Mike Debonis is on the crashworthiness question here].

Hersman says that the entire last car on the train was compromised in the crash. She says only that there have been recommendations made about survivability on the trains made to the feds and to WMATA.

Catoe adds in that any crash would compromise part of the car.

Second question: Even if the train was on automatic, shouldn't there have been some way for the driver to see the train ahead and manually stop it?

Hersman says that they'll do an investigation of the speeds of the trains and perform a sight-distance test to see whether it would have even been possible for the train's driver to see the train in front in time to step.

Third question: What is the best-case scenario of getting any recorded information off the 1000-series cars (the older car that hit the train ahead)?

Hersman says they don't expect to get any information from off that car.

Fourth question: [I missed this one, anyone catch it?]

Fifth question: Basically, if these 1000 series cars have poor crashworthiness and no recording devices, why are they in use?

Hersman says there have been recommendations made that the 1000-series cars are phased out. She says that there have also been recommendations for adding recording devices to those cars before they're phased out. But she cautions against assuming the cause of this crash.

Fenty says that they will reconvene at 5 p.m. for what he expects to be the final city-led press conference on the crash.

Photo by Darrow Montgomery