Dr. H. Allen Dobbs, chief medical officer for the National Disaster Medical System at the Department of Health and Human Services, is a finalist for the Career Achievement Medal. He spoke about his work on Capital Insider.

Hoffman is the senior producer of the new HBO documentary "The Weight of The Nation" which debuts later this month.

In our second half hour, former Maryland transportation secretary David Winstead talked about plans for a rapid bus transit system in Maryland.

WATCH today’s interviews here: 

Thursday at 10am: Reaction to the sentencing of former DC Councilman Harry Thomas Jr.

Tuesday at 10am: Guardian Angels leader John Ayala

Horrific, yes, but also something I had to see for myself. Not by going to McPherson Square myself, mind you, but by sending photographer Joshua Yospyn. His charge: to photograph rats, which, if indeed they are exploding, shouldn't be very difficult to do. And yet, rats are rats — they sneak, they hide, they skitter.

Yospyn prevailed.

"There are rats at McPherson Square," he wrote in an email to me. "I saw one this afternoon (wasn't fast enough to get it) and several late evening today. They are hard as hell to photograph and I look like I'm going the bathroom on someone's tent while I huddle on the ground, waiting to flash them, in various crevices." 

Yospyn said he "might need a minder" if he does this again, but fear not, Joshua. We won't ask you to do this again, unless of course the rats do begin exploding, literally. Seeing such a spectacle has shot to #1 on my bucket list. Until then, this video — which is not nearly as graphic as you'd imagine, or hope — will have to do:

The documentary called "25 to Life" details how William Brawner had unprotected sex with countless women, all while knowing he was HIV positive.

"I suppressed my HIV status so much that I minimized it and because I couldn't express it, it didn't exist," Brawner said.

The documentary, produced by Yvonne Shirley and directed by Mike Brown,  follows Brawner and his decision years later to tell former girlfriends and sexual partners with whom he had unprotected sex, that he has AIDS.

Watch "25 to Life" trailer

Brown attended Howard as an undergrad and had been roommates with Brawner. He was as shocked as anyone to learn his friend had AIDS.

"Emotions were raging," Brown said. "People were angry, scared, confused."

In 1981, then 18-month-old Brawner received a blood transfusion after a severe burn injury. The blood was tainted and Brawner contracted HIV.

"As a family we agreed this would be kept amongst ourselves," Brawner said.

Two decades later at Howard Univ., Brawner was considered a heartthrob.

"I was always looking for my next conquest," he said. "That's how I expressed my manhood, my bravado."

In 2006, he decided to go public.

"I feel terrible and want to apologize for that," he said.

After being featured in a story in Essence Magazine, Brawner's name became notorious on Howard's campus.

"It kind of hits close to home because it was here, it's still here," said Howard senior Meleh Spikes.

The film follows Brawner as he starts a new life and a family, and also as he tries to track down past sexual partners.

So far, none of them have identified themselves as HIV positive.

"In our country, young black Americans are disproportionately affected by this disease and we feel this film is unique in that it really targets that audience," said Shirley.

In the end, the filmmakers hope to raise awareness and provoke discussion about stigma in the black community and beyond.

"It is happening elsewhere, not just my alma matter," Brown said.

For more information, check out 25tolifefilmsite.com.

“Disclosure is one of the scariest things in your entire life,” said Jill Greene, who lives in D.C. and is HIV-positive.

Greene found out she was infected in 1981, when she was 23 years old, after having unprotected sex with a male friend.

“It was a one-time encounter, but I later found out that individual was not only bisexual but had also succumbed to Aids,” she said. She discovered the infection after attempting to donate blood.

At the time, many Americans thought of aids as a gay disease. That a heterosexual black woman like Greene could contract it “was just unheard of,” she said.

The Howard university conference featured medical experts and activists, including the 2010 Miss American, Virginia native Caressa Cameron. Cameron moderated a panel and got tested, hoping to encourage other young people to check their HIV status.

“You go to the dentist once a year. You go to your primary-care physician for all of these things that have to do with our overall health, but for some reason we don't take our reproductive health as seriously as we should,” Cameron said.

Greene, who was honorably discharged from the Army, is now working as an advocate with the National Association of People with Aids.

“Each day that I stand up and talk about it and tell my story and share with people it helps plant a seed to know that this is what I can do to make a difference,” said fellow HIV activist Paul Gordon.

Over the years, she's shared her status with close family members and friends. She believes talking openly about the disease will help prevent its spread.

“We have to ask ourselves, here it is 30 years later. Why is this epidemic still raging?” she wondered. Dealing with the disease through medication like the ones she takes is also important, she said.

In a city where at least three percent of residents are HIV-positive, D.C. and health organizations sponsored free HIV screenings on Thursday’s World Aids Day.

Watch Monday’s interviews here:

The Action in community through service food panty, short ACTS, was forced to close last week. With need up and the economy down, Prince William County's largest food bank didn’t receive enough donations.

The closing “had a lot of impact. My cupboards are bare. So we need this place,” Michael Deloatch said. Deloatch filled his trunk with groceries for his family outside the pantry Tuesday.

He's among some 4,000 people who rely on the facility for food.

After the pantry issued a call for help and word spread about its troubles, donations poured in, including $120,000 and 30,000 pounds of food.

“At one point, within two days we got 12,000 pounds of food and in a regular time period like that (we would get) maybe 500 pounds, a thousand at the most,” said Rebekah McGee.

“I’ll tell ya -- phenomenal... it's like a lot of things... when disasters happen the community comes together and Prince William county has really come together on this one,” said ACTS board member Mike Wilson.

The pantry had been scheduled to stay closed until Nov. 1 but the donations allowed them to re-open a week early.

"It's important because the economy is bad and you know -- there's just no money. I'm a single mom, you know -- it's hard,” said Joann Barlow of Dumfries.

Customers of the food pantry said they appreciate the help of volunteers and donors.

“These people here help everybody a lot and we need more of that,” Deloatch said.

FANCY BITS

You have one week to try to score an invite to the grand-opening party of Tory Burch’s store at Tyson’s Galleria. (Playbook)

Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia at the annual Shakespeare Theatre Harman Center for the Arts Gala last Monday. (The Hill)

MTV’s college-themed sister station MTVu debuts its docu-series on Gallaudet University, Quiet Campus, on Oct. 24. No talking. (WaPo)

Harrison Ford’s in town, and he’s talking about airplanes. (Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association Online)

L2Lounge—blocking socialites on Twitter?! (Twitter, obvi)

Chelsea Clinton credited the Shakespeare Theatre Company’s productions with helping her have a “somewhat normal upbringing” during her dad’s days in the White House. Poor Chels. (Examiner)

The brothers Voltaggio, of Top Chef fame, filled Harry Grove Stadium on Tuesday during their cookbook launch party. Of his curiously named L.A.-based restaurant (ink.) and cookbook (VOLT ink), Michael Voltaggio explained, “Anything in ink is permanent.” (Gazette)

Grammy Award–winning jazz musician and person I don’t really know Esperanza Spalding has donated some dress to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. (Examiner)

A nice mash-up of Wednesday night’s Karaoke in the Capital at Rock & Roll Hotel. Violins at the 50-second mark, Nicki Minaj's “Super Bass” at 1:40. WITH back-up dancers. (YouTube)

UPCOMING FANCY EVENTS

Thursday
• Equal Justice Works 25th Anniversary Dinner, hosted by David Gregory. J.W. Marriott, D.C.
• Public Citizen’s 40th Anniversary Gala with Bill Moyers. Omni Shoreham Hotel, D.C.

Friday
• Pink Rocks the Runway fashion show featuring Christian Siriano. Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, D.C.
• NOW at Night cocktail fundraiser at the Corcoran

Saturday
• Miss Sinergy 2012, Embassy of France.
• INOVA Health Systems Gala, featuring Kool & The Gang. Ritz Carlton-Tyson’s, McLean
• Arts for Autism Gala, featuring “more than 50 well-known models and other individuals.” Clarendon Ballroom, Arlington
• Joan Hisaoka “Make a Difference” Gala, hosted by Wolf Blitzer. Mandarin Oriental Hotel, D.C.
• LAF 10th Anniversary Gala, Workhouse Arts Center in Lorton, Va.

Local women who are battling breast cancer were treated to a day of bliss. They each received a wig, headscarf, and $500 worth of free makeup.

One of them was Lisa Whitaker, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2006. After surgery, chemotherapy and radiation treatments, she went into remission.

“I just had my 5-year-anniversary in May and I went to my doctor for my checkup and they found a tumor in my other breast,” she said.

Battling the disease for the second time she says there's less fear but she still feels run-down.

Dan Snyder's wife Tanya, a breast cancer survivor herself, was on hand to help, as were some players.

“They're in the middle of the trenches of losing their hair and fighting breast cancer and we want them to have a special day and be pampered,” Tanya Snyder said.

Their visit also included a private tour of the team clubhouse with tight end Chris Cooley and safety Reed Doughty who both wear pink gear on gamedays.

“The guys in particular say ‘hey I want the pink cleats, a pink mouthpiece’ to show their support for breast cancer awareness,” Doughty said.

Brenda Silvia-Torma of the American Cancer Society says the show of support makes a difference. “For their mental health as well as their physical health, it just lifts their spirit. It just makes them know there are so many caring people out there in the world,” she said.

Whitaker said the day made her feel more upbeat. “It's great to be here and not thinking about it,” she said. “I'm going to feel much better about myself. I'll be able to go out in public, and not... I'll feel pretty again.”

The researchers investigated over four years 16 cases of men whose penises ruptured to the point of requiring surgery. The study, published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine, showed that half of the men were injured during intercourse with someone other than their wives. Essentially, the cause of fracturing is "stressful situations," and cheating can qualify. It's also possible that the location had something to do with it: Three patients were in a bed, but the rest were in cars, elevators, and at work.

Take the advice of the research institution that brought you the longest-flying human-powered helicopter and can turn thoughts into movement: Keep it in your pants.

[NBC Washington]

An estimated 10,000 District residents don’t know they are infected with the HI-virus, which means they may unwittingly pass the virus on to others. Health experts say these individuals are responsible for more than 70 percent of new infections.

“Someone I was dating told me they were (HIV)negative. And at the time, I was negative. We decided hey we're dating we're seeing only each other, what's the need for condoms,” said Rodney McCoy.

McCoy was diagnosed with HIV on January 29, 2002.

“I became sick with what I thought was the flu and something said go get tested. I didn't think I was infected but I went anyway and as it turned out I was positive,” he recalls.

The National Association of People with Aids founded the national gay men's HIV/Aids awareness day.

“That will actually save lives because they'll accept services, know their HIV status, and we'll reduce the spread of HIV,” said the association’s Frank Oldham, Jr.

D.C. health officials used the event to launch a new campaign that will encourage HIV testing, treatment and condom use among drug users, heterosexual black women and gay men.”

“There are pilots for this program that have been successful in New York and San Francisco that bring in as many 25 percent positive of those who are tested, so it's a highly successful program that we're also hoping will work in D.C.,” said Dr. Gregory Pappas of the D.C. Department of Health.

The program uses social pressure, encouragement, even coupons and incentives to motivate individuals to get tested.

"We're finally saying enough of the stigma that it's time for us to act," McCoy said. Nearly 10 years after he was diagnosed, he now works as an advocate in the black community among men who have sex with men. He hopes telling his story will help others come forward.

"We say we've been there, with risky behaviors. we're gay and bisexual men. you don't have to be afraid to say who you are and what your needs are," he said.

Employees have been sent the following memo:

DO NOT flush toilets or use any domestic water. Due to a mechanical failure, there is high air pressure in the domestic water system that resulted in damage to toilets. The engineering staff is working to correct the issue. There has been damage to flushed toilets that has resulted in injuries. We will announce when the issue is resolved.

This kind of accident can do permanent psychological damage, on par with finding a rat in your toilet bowl.

[WCP]

“You know I didn't really fight it, I just left,” Swenson said.

He moved in with his grandmother and later with friends. Eventually, he ran out of options, “so I used to stay where they blinds at on the top floor,” he said.

Swenson found shelter in an abandoned building just off Mississippi Avenue Southeast. He survived eating fast food but going hungry many nights. He used public bathrooms to wash.

“I didn't have no running water, there was no electricity, yeah, there was no light, nothing,” he said.

Committed to getting a diploma, he enrolled himself at Ballou stay senior high, an alternative school for at-risk youth.

“I didn't really want to tell nobody because I didn't want nobody to have pity on me,” he said about keeping his homelessness secret.

Swenson points at the building where he used to sleep. (Photo: Mike Conneen)

Off and on for more than a year, Swenson says he was living here on the streets of Southeast Washington. During that time, he says nobody knew he was homeless, no teachers, classmates, family members or friends. Finally, he ran out of money and sought help from a counselor at his school.

“Kadeem always had a pleasant smile, always, never seemed as though anything was ever wrong. No one would ever know what he was going through,” said Annette Boxley-Drew, an administrator at Ballou.

Boxley-Drew remembers how shocked she was when she heard the student’s secret.

“I think I stayed in my office for about two hours crying,” she said. “After I finished crying I said ‘what can I do to help this young man?’”

She and others helped get temporary housing through a group that empowers transgender youth.

“These are just young people that just want the chance to survive, to make it,” the group’s Brian Watson said.

Swenson later graduated from Ballou and interned with the D.C. government. Now 19, he's taking liberal arts classes at the community college of D.C.

He dreams of hosting a travel show like Anthony Bourdain. With scholarships and a student loan, he's living in an apartment building in Van Ness. His room even overlooks an outdoor pool.

“I'm very happy but I mean I don't think about me I think about the people who aren't as lucky as me who can't get the help,” he said.

Advocates for gay homeless youth say success stories like Swenson’s are rare.

“The first thing they're introduced to is drugs, then they find themselves caught up in prostitution, then they're beaten, all kinds of things, it's just astonishing,” said Earline Budd of Transgender Health Empowerment about the dangers facing homeless youth. “I mean we hear some real horrific stories in terms of young people who come here who are LGBT.”

Swenson has a support network. Boxley-Drew has taken him under her wing, referring to herself as his godmother.

“It's a relationship that's like a mother and son seriously. I can almost feel if something is not right and if he's troubled by something,” she said.

Swenson’s biological parents have only seen him once, he said, at his high school graduation. He remains hopeful that someday, they'll reconnect.

“I love them both very much and I don't have anything against them,” he said.

Swenson says he's proud of himself and would not have done it any other way.

“Why be unhappy? Life is too short. Why be around people who can't accept you anyway?” he said.

Well, ladies aged 12 and up, feel guilt no more: you are supposed to be eating at least some white bread. It’s one of the easiest ways to get your daily dosage of folic acid, which health agencies say is a must for all women of child-bearing age. The vitamin is crucial to the development of a baby’s spine during pregnancy—so crucial, that a mother’s deficiency of folic acid before pregnancy can lead to devastating neural tube defects in babies. Resulting conditions like spina bifida and anencephaly (a condition in which the brain is not properly formed or partially missing) are so serious that the FDA mandated folic acid fortification in all enriched grains in 1998.

It happens that 95 percent of all white flour produced in the U.S. is enriched, says Judi Adams, president of both the Grain Foods Foundation and the Wheat Foods Council. That means that almost any white bread available on your grocery shelf will contribute to the 400 micrograms of folic acid women should be getting every day. Adams says it’s not enough to start taking folic acid, or folate, as it is also called, when you’re pregnant—a baby’s spinal cord is formed during the first three weeks of pregnancy, before most women even know they’re expecting. Because half of all pregnancies in the U.S. are unplanned, health agencies recommend a good dosage of folic acid for any female of child-bearing age.

The mandate has reduced neural tube birth defects by one third since going into effect. (Canada, which implemented a similar law, has seen a 50 percent reduction.) Adams points out that it’s not just babies who have been saved by the fortification of white flour—an estimated $4.7 billion in direct medical costs has been saved.

Whole grains remain an important source of nutrition, but they have less than half the folic acid that white flour has. Currently, the FDA does not permit the fortification of whole grains, despite petitioning by the American Bakers Association to reverse course. The FDA allows fortification of whole-grain cereals, for some reason, but not bread. Adams says she suspects the FDA is concerned about overfortification, particularly for populations like children and the elderly, who don’t need folic acid the way women of child-bearing age do.

“Whole grains are wonderful, but they’re not the whole story,” says Adams. She recommends servings of both whole grains and enriched grains, plus leafy green vegetables, beans, and legumes, all of which provide folic acid. So eat that white bread with a clear conscience, woman of child-bearing age, because it’s good for you and any future babies’ spinal cords. Plus it just tastes better with certain sandwiches: “Peanut butter and jelly,” says Adams, “and sometimes turkey.”

[WTOP]

According to a Quinnipiac poll, residents approve of the law by a 55-22 margin, with 20 percent undecided. The approval spans partisan lines, as Democrats are in support, too, by a 47-34 margin. But is there a catch? Of course there is. The AP reports:

However, only one-fourth of those surveyed had read or heard of the new regulations. Pollsters included a lengthy explanation as part of a 91-word question. Among respondents who already knew about the issue, 51 percent supported the change and 41 percent did not.

And yet, 50 percent of those polled said abortion should be legal, versus 41 percent who want it outlawed. Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, put it best: "Opponents apparently have been unable to convince the electorate that this is an unwarranted backdoor way to stop abortions."

Make no mistake; that's exactly what this is. But many Virginians adore McDonnell — his approval rating in the same poll hit a new high of 61 percent — and seem willing to trust him on anything. It's starting to get a little creepy.

The kids were separated into three groups: One watched the Nickelodeon show, another watched the slower-paced PBS show Caillou, and a third didn't watch TV. Those that watched SpongeBob performed worse on mental functioning tests, and when left unsupervised in a room with snacks, they ate the food two minutes earlier, on average, than kids in the other groups.

Nickelodeon disputes these findings, as do others, but I've watched too much SpongeBob to understand their arguments.

[AP]

E. coli 0157:H7 is the strain most associated with food-borne illness—the pathogen caused a major outbreak in 1994 that sickened hundreds, killed four children, and was subsequently banned. More recently, scientists have identified six additional, lesser-known forms of E. coli that have been making people sick. Not among these six strains is the highly virulent strain that sickened thousands and killed dozens of people who ate contaminated sprouts this summer. That strain escaped banishment because it has not been detected as a cause of illness in the U.S.

The USDA has been considering an expansion of its E. coli ban for at least four years, according to the Times. Starting in March, beef ranging from hamburger meat to tenderized steaks will be tested for these six strains. Products that test positive cannot be sold raw but must be heated to 160 degrees, which kills the bacteria, and sold as cooked products.

But over the weekend, the company issued another recall for another round of products after an August 24th sample tested positive for Salmonella. The recalled items include:

Fresh Ground Turkey Chubs
• 16 oz. (1 lb.) chubs of Fresh HEB Ground Turkey 85/15 with Use or Freeze by Dates of 09/12/2011, 09/13/2011, 09/19/2011 and 09/20/2011
• 16 oz. (1 lb.) chubs of Honeysuckle White 85/15 Fresh Ground Turkey with Use or Freeze by Dates of 09/19/2011, 09/20/2011 and 09/21/2011

Fresh Ground Turkey Trays
• 19.2 oz. (1.2 lb.) trays of Honeysuckle White 85/15 Ground Turkey with Use or Freeze by Dates of 09/10/2011 and 09/12/2011
• 48.0 oz. (3 lb.) trays of Kroger Ground Turkey Fresh 85/15 with Use or Freeze by Dates of 09/17/2011, 09/18/2011 and 09/19/2011
• 48.0 oz. (3 lbs.) trays of Honeysuckle White 85/15 Ground Turkey Family Pack with Use or Freeze by Dates of 09/11/2011, 09/12/2011, 09/13/2011, 09/15/2011, 09/17/2011 and 09/18/2011
• 16 oz. (1 lb.) trays of Honeysuckle White 85/15 Ground Turkey with a Use or Freeze by Date of 09/11/2011

Fresh Ground Turkey Patties
• 16.0 oz. (1 lb.) trays of Honeysuckle White Ground Turkey Patties with a Use or Freeze by Date of 09/18/2011
• 16 oz. (1 lb.) trays of Kroger Ground Seasoned Turkey Patties Fresh 85/15 with a Use or Freeze by Date of 09/17/2011

According to a USDA release, the strain of Salmonella detected is identical to the one responsible for Cargill’s August 3 recall. No illnesses have yet been reported. Cargill requests that customers return the affected products to their point of purchase.