Lawmakers' committee assignments and industry investments overlap
In both houses of Congress, a host of other committee chairmen and ranking members have reported that they have millions invested in business sectors that their panels oversee, according to a Post analysis of financial disclosure records through 2008, committee assignments and lawmaker investments by industry.

The disclosure reports covering 2009 will be made public in the coming days. But because lawmakers still use a pen-and-paper method of reporting, it will be months before the information is entered into a database by the Center for Responsive Politics and then made available for analysis by The Post.

While many lawmakers have no investments in sectors under their oversight, some congressional committees had notably high concentrations of such holdings, The Post's analysis shows.

Interactive graphic: Congressional stock holdings
Related story: Disclosure rules for Congress are permissive, confusing

Study: Well most likely spilling more than 1 million gallons of oil a day The Washington Post
The Deepwater Horizon well has most likely spewed 25,000 to 30,000 barrels of oil a day, more than previously estimated, according to a group of scientists appointed by the federal government to study video of the dark geyser at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico.

The new estimate suggests that, if the flow has been more or less consistent since the April 20 blowout, approximately 1.3 million to 1.5 million barrels, or 53.6 million to 64.3 million gallons, of oil have emerged from the well. That is roughly five to six times the amount spilled in Alaskan waters in 1989 by the Exxon Valdez.

The new figures, obtained Thursday by The Washington Post and soon to be officially announced by the U.S. Geological Survey, indicate that early estimates of the flow rate by the federal government and oil giant BP were not even close to the mark.

Related: Estimate of spilled oil goes up, and BP stock price goes down
Video: U.S. Coast Guard: 630,000 gallons of oil captured a day

Article: At least $500 million has been spent since 9/11 on renovating Guantanamo Bay
The spending is part of at least $500 million that has transformed what was once a sun-beaten and forgotten Caribbean base into one of the most secure military and prison installations in the world. That does not include construction bonuses, which typically run into the millions.
Among other odd legacies from war-on-terror spending since 2001 for the troops at Guantanamo Bay: an abandoned volleyball court for $249,000, an unused go-kart track for $296,000 and $3.5 million for 27 playgrounds that are often vacant.

Live Q&A;: Post writers Scott Higham and Peter Finn will be online Monday, June 7 at 1 p.m. ET to discuss their story about the investigation into the expenses and take your questions.
Photo gallery: Renovation projects
Interactive map: Tour of Guantanamo Bay
Photo gallery: 'The least worst place'

U.S. 'secret war' expands globally as Special Operations forces take larger role The Washington Post
Beneath its commitment to soft-spoken diplomacy and beyond the combat zones of Afghanistan and Iraq, the Obama administration has significantly expanded a largely secret U.S. war against al-Qaeda and other radical groups, according to senior military and administration officials.

Special Operations forces have grown both in number and budget, and are deployed in 75 countries, compared with about 60 at the beginning of last year. In addition to units that have spent years in the Philippines and Colombia, teams are operating in Yemen and elsewhere in the Middle East, Africa and Central Asia.

The March 30 drive-by shootings that claimed the lives of at least three -- a fourth remains unconscious -- in Southeast D.C. can be traced back to a gathering at which a man lost track of a bracelet. The confusion over the whereabouts of that bracelet, Post reporting and court filings shows, led to more mayhem, some of it deadly, in the following nine days:

Interactive graphic: Timeline of the shooting of nine people in Southeast Washington

Part one: Prelude to a tragedy
On the wrist of Sanquan "Bootsy" Carter, the bracelet looked like what it was: a band of cheap yellow metal, 1 5/8 inches wide, encrusted with scores of sparkly glass studs.

Part two: Deadly retaliation
Sixth and Chesapeake streets SE was Orlando Carter's little realm, where police said his peculiar charisma and entrepreneurial zeal made him a natural leader of the crack and marijuana trades.

Update: D.C. police target the retaliation killings that make up majority of murder rate

Under Cheney's Influence, Wyoming's Oil Ties Flooded MMS ProPublica, WyoFile
Wyofile and ProPublica look at the long-running link between the Minerals Management Service and the oil industry in the former vice president's home state.

In 2009, Wyoming was the largest single recipient of MMS royalties -- $957.2 million -- and former GOP lawmakers from Wyoming directed the agency throughout the Bush administration, according to Wyofile. The Minerals Management Service has been under scrutiny since 2008 for its close ties with the oil industry.

Most Guantanamo detainees low-level fighters, task force report says The Washington Post
About 10 percent of the 240 detainees held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, when President Obama took office were "leaders, operatives and facilitators involved in plots against the United States," but the majority were low-level fighters, according to a previously undisclosed government report. About 5 percent of the detainees could not be categorized at all.

New records show some lobbyists are top fundraisers for political candidates The Washington Post
Nearly 160 registered lobbyists have raised at least $9 million for political parties and federal candidates over the past year, according to a Washington Post analysis of records filed under new Federal Election Commission requirements.

The records provide a clear public view into one of the most influential subcultures in Washington: lobbyists who moonlight by bundling campaign contributions for candidates and their political parties.