Overall crime in the District rose 3 percent in 2012, with a significant rise in sexual assaults, even as the city recorded the lowest number of slayings in 50 years, Mayor Vincent C. Gray (D) and Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier said Thursday.

Attending the 57th inaugural parade this afternoon? You'll see 60 groups -- at least one from every state, selected from more than 2,800 applicants -- riding floats, marching, dancing and playing instruments along the parade route. 

Having worked at Goodwill for three years, Maria Rivera knows to set aside items that might be of value when sorting through stacks of donations. But she didn’t know a painting she plucked from a pile could be worth about $12,000.