10 highlights of the week

Remember that airline commercial that asks Want to get away? forthose embarrassing moments in life. In the internet age, there is nogetting away when somebody comes up with a truly dumb, ridiculous orjust plain bad idea.

Caught at the border

1| Radical imam tried to enter U.S.

The details: Said Jaziri was caught sneaking into the U.S. fromMexico. Jaziri, a radical Islamic cleric who once issued a deathsentence for the Danish cartoonist who drew pictures of the prophetMuhammad, paid $5,000 to be smuggled in a cars trunk.

At least you have a check

2| Governor calls for shared sacrifice

The details: A police officer complained to Gov. Chris Christie,R-N.J., during a town hall about his 2 percent raise. Christiesreply: Youre getting a paycheck. And there are 9 percent of thepeople in the state of New Jersey who are not.

Glimmer of hope

3| Obama blinks on Obamacare

The details: President Obama signaled on Friday that he was atleast open to tweaking Obamacare, giving Republicans an opening asthey begin stripping out its most onerous provisions and preparingfor a future set of replacement reforms.

Cancer breakthrough

4| Rogue gene exposed

The details: Scientists at the University of East Anglia havediscovered that by blocking a gene called WWP2, they can stop thespread of many late-stage cancers. This could lead to new treatmentsin the near future.

Real cuts

5| Paul wants $500b in cuts this year

The details: Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., proposed $500 billion in cutsfrom the fiscal 2011 budget, providing serious options for cuttingspending that go far beyond the toothless spending freeze thatPresident Obama suggested in his State of the Union address.

Not acceptable

6| Charter school rejection reversed

The details: Marylands State Board of Education gave MontgomeryCounty Public Schools 90 days to revisit a decision to reject twocharter school applications, saying the school system exhibited biasagainst charters and failed to follow its own evaluation procedures.

Biting back

7| HOT lane suit blowback

The details: Arlington officials are being punished by a Fairfaxlegislator for trying to block construction of high-occupancy tolllanes on Interstate 95. Del. Tim Hugo says if Arlington can affordto spend $1 million on a lawsuit, it doesnt need more revenue from ahotel tax.

Parker app

8| Help finding a parking space

The details: Starting next month, Metro will test the popularParker app, which shows available parking spaces, time allowancesand prices. After sensors are installed, the $1.99 app will beavailable for download.

Home price growth

9| Area recovers quicker than most

The details: Home prices in the Washington area rose 3.5 percentfrom November 2009 to November 2010, in contrast to dropping pricesin much of the rest of the country. Home prices here are alsoexpected to remain well ahead of the national average.

Zigzags

10| Paint slows down drivers

The details: A yearlong study found that painting zigzags nearW&OD Trail crossings in Loudoun County slowed drivers down. Thiswas the first time this cheap innovation has been used in the UnitedStates, and researchers are recommending it be used nationwide.