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HOH’s One-Minute Recess: Rich Get Richer

Aug. 25, 12:13 p.m.

Some guys have all the luck. Rep. Jared Polis won a cool $3,125 at the Bellagio in Las Vegas, which we’re sure made a lovely (yet imperceptible) addition to his multimillion-dollar fortune.

HOH’s One-Minute Recess: Lieberman V. Baldwin, Part 2

Aug. 24, 12 p.m.

Actor Alec Baldwin might cut a blustery figure, but he doesn’t scare Sen. Joe Lieberman. The “30 Rock” star recently said in a Playboy interview that he would love to challenge Lieberman, and the Connecticut Independent shot back on Sunday.

HOH’s One-Minute Recess: What Happens in the Jefferson Stays in the Jefferson

Aug. 21, 12:30 p.m.

There are plenty of luxury amenities in the newly renovated Jefferson Hotel, but a promise of discretion might be the top draw for high-profile people looking for a bit of privacy.

HOH’s One-Minute Recess: Weighty Matters

Aug. 20, 12 p.m.

Rep. Tom Perriello is facing tough crowds as he holds town hall meetings on health care in his district, but the Virginia Democrat admits he’s also confronting another difficult task: dropping some pesky extra pounds.

HOH’s One-Minute Recess: No News Is Big News

Aug. 19, 11:46 a.m.

How’s this for a man-bites-dog story: a town-hall meeting about health care that was rational, reasonable and ... productive.

HOH’s One-Minute Recess: Polis and Colbert’s Beer Summit

Aug. 18, 11:36 a.m.

Rep. Jared Polis has done the near-impossible: The Colorado Democrat performed comic jujitsu on funnyman Stephen Colbert’s show Monday night, managing to get in a few jabs at the host, even as he engaged in the potentially cringe-inducing exercise of beer-bonging a Coors Light.

HOH’s One-Minute Recess: Spin to the Right

Aug. 17, 12:38 p.m.

Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay certainly has a fat Rolodex, including a few folks who could help him with his new gig as a contestant on “Dancing With the Stars.”

HOH’s One-Minute Recess: Dome-ance

Aug. 14, 11:50 a.m.

August is a time not only for recess and rowdy town halls but also for a little romance. Harrison Frist, the oldest son of former Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) and an associate at the Carlyle Group, proposed to his girlfriend, Ashley Huff, an aide to Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), at the top of the Capitol Dome on Aug. 6.

HOH’s One-Minute Recess: Remembering a Shining Light

Aug. 13, 10:31 a.m.

No doubt in the coming days there will be plenty of high-profile tributes to Eunice Kennedy Shriver, sister of President John F. Kennedy and founder of the Special Olympics.

HOH’s One-Minute Recess: Can You Hear Me Now?

Aug. 12, 11:57 a.m.

Does Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee need a lesson in cell phone etiquette? The Texas Democrat appeared to be taking a phone call on her cell in the middle of a town-hall meeting in Houston earlier this week.

HOH's One-Minute Recess: On Tap

Aug. 11, 11:49 a.m.

Few things are more refreshing on a hot summer day than a cold beer, so it’s rather fitting that D.C. Beer Week arrives just as the temperatures outside spike.

HOH’s One-Minute Recess: Stretch It Out

Aug. 10, 11:27 a.m.

Hang up that pencil skirt and slap on some yoga pants because Past Tense Studio is offering up a special deal just for the stressed-out Hill staffer.

HOH’s One-Minute Recess: Sign Him Up

Aug. 7, 12:30 p.m.

A federal court threw the book at ex-Rep. William Jefferson, but he’s acting more like a celebrity than a contrite convict.

HOH’s One-Minute Recess: Idle Hour

Aug. 6, 12:29 p.m.

With Twitter on the blink Thursday morning and August recess under way, HOH brings you a few ways to waste time ... er, gather your thoughts.

Heard on the Hill: Boys of Summer

Aug. 6, 12 a.m.

Congressional softball isn’t just for light-beer-swilling junior staffers. A few Senators having been suiting up to hit the diamonds, too.

HOH’s One-Minute Recess: Clean Copy

Aug. 5, 12:44 p.m.

We’ll leave the literary musings to the experts, but HOH can tell you this about Sen. Barbara Boxer’s second novel, “Blind Trust”: There’s no sex.

Heard on the Hill: Signature Style

Aug. 5, 12 a.m.

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz has found a silver (or rather, pink) lining to wearing a cast while she recovers from a fractured leg.

HOH’s One-Minute Recess: Party Favors

Aug. 4, 12 p.m.

It’s his party, but there’s cake for everyone. President Barack Obama is celebrating his birthday Tuesday, and merchants are (surprise, surprise) capitalizing on the event with promotional tie-ins.

Heard on the Hill: The Sexiest Coupon Ever

Aug. 4, 12 a.m.

Dennis Hof, the proprietor of Nevada’s famed Moonlight BunnyRanch brothel, thinks Sen. John Ensign’s highly publicized affair was completely unnecessary.

HOH’s One-Minute Recess: The Wages of Sin

Aug. 3, 12 p.m.

Sen. John Ensign’s affair with a former staffer could hinder the development of a Kansas casino.

Heard on the Hill: The New Fist Bump

Aug. 3, 12 a.m.

Just as they are with their words, politicians usually are conservative in their nonverbal gestures. They might wave, give a thumbs up or slap an occasional high-five when they’re feeling particularly jaunty.

HOH’s One-Minute Recess: Burr’s Cheeky Campaign

July 31, 12:29 p.m.

Sen. Richard Burr is guilty of the written equivalent of a tush-grab, according to one home-state columnist.

HOH’s One-Minute Recess: Hop to It

July 30, 12 p.m.

The guest list for Thursday night’s “beer summit” at the White House is pretty exclusive, but you can mimic the experience — at least when it comes to the brew.

Heard on the Hill: Law, Order and Public Finance

July 30, 12 a.m.

Don’t expect “Law & Order” actor Sam Waterston to follow his former co-star Fred Thompson into the world of politics: His political ambitions don’t rise beyond playing district attorney Jack McCoy on TV.

HOH’s One-Minute Recess: An Explosive Development

July 29, 12:22 p.m.

A political adviser to adult film star Stormy Daniels, who is expected to run in 2010 for the seat occupied by Sen. David Vitter (R-La.), discovered on Monday that someone blew up his car in New Orleans.

Heard on the Hill: Barefoot in the Swamp

July 29, 12 a.m.

As Washington becomes more fashion-forward, plenty of once hard-and-fast fashion rules are going by the wayside (no more mandatory boxy suits for the ladies — whew!).

HOH’s One-Minute Recess: Bye Bye Bunning

July 28, 12:03 p.m.

The will-he or won’t-he drama of whether now-retiring Sen. Jim Bunning would seek re-election kept Senate observers captivated for months, but the Kentucky Republican didn’t seem to attract too much attention HOH-wise during his two terms on Capitol Hill.

Heard on the Hill: Wild and Wonderful

July 28, 12 a.m.

Maybe it was the warm weather — or the knowledge that the vote on health care reform legislation had been pushed back until after the August recess — that led a handful of 20-something staffers from Sen. Max Baucus’ office to let loose during a whitewater rafting trip to Harpers Ferry, W.Va. on Sunday.

HOH’s One-Minute Recess: True Confessions

July 27, 12:03 p.m.

Rep. John Boccieri’s dark secret is out: The Ohio Democrat, who grew up in the baseball cradle of Youngstown, doesn’t root for the Cleveland Indians. Instead, he’s a (gasp) Boston Red Sox fan.

Heard on the Hill: Nevermind the ...

July 27, 12 a.m.

Sen. John McCain let loose with a raunchy (and British) expression on the Senate floor Thursday.

HOH’s One-Minute Recess: B Double-E, Double-R-U-N

July 24, 12:49 p.m.

Heath and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius might have uncovered the secret to getting those balky Congressional negotiators to come around on health care reform: a beer run!

HOH’s One-Minute Recess: Dodging a Drive-By

July 23, 12 p.m.

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee has dodged a bullet. According to the Associated Press, six people were shot Wednesday night at a “family block party” that the Texas Democrat attended.

Heard on the Hill: Mini-Meek

July 23, 12 a.m.

Time will tell if Rep. Kendrick Meek is successful in his bid for a Senate seat, but it appears he’s already grooming his replacement in the House.

HOH’s One-Minute Recess: Hot Diggity Dog

July 22, 11:23 a.m.

For hungry Capitol Hill staffers who frequent Congressional receptions in search of free food, Wednesday is their Super Bowl: The American Meat Institute hosts its annual Hot Dog Lunch in the courtyard of the Rayburn House Office Building.

Heard on the Hill: Snubbing the Speaker

July 22, 12 a.m.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi got dissed by astronaut Neil Armstrong after a ceremony at which the California Democrat honored the moonwalking hero and his historic Apollo 11 flight.

HOH’s One-Minute Recess: Mr. Mom Jeans?

July 21, 12:39 p.m.

For all the hoopla over how hip President Barack Obama is (remember the GQ spread?), he’s just a dad in mom jeans.

Heard on the Hill: Card Check

July 21, 12 a.m.

We’re pretty sure Rep. Walt Minnick couldn’t pass for a 20-year-old, but his waitress at an airport bar wasn’t taking any chances.

HOH’s One-Minute Recess: From the Style File

July 20, 12:15 p.m.

Who says Capitol Hill denizens have no style? Why, even the castoffs of some staffers are fabulous designer goods.

Heard on the Hill: A Sex Surcharge?

July 20, 12 a.m.

And here we thought paying for sex was a no-no, especially for scandal-wary Members of Congress. But Rep. Steve Buyer thinks people who engage in the act (specifically, the kind that takes place sans protection) should have to pony up.

HOH’s One-Minute Recess: Lady About Town

July 17, 12:06 p.m.

First lady Michelle Obama dined with a few friends at Penn Quarter restaurant Oyamel Cocina Mexicana on Thursday night, our friends over at Roll Call’s Hot Plate column tell us.

HOH’s One-Minute Recess: It’s a Bird ...

July 16, 12 p.m.

Sky-diving former President George H.W. Bush is such a trendsetter. Now Rep. Nick Rahall is getting in on the aerial act and is planning to jump with the U.S. Army Parachute Team, the Golden Knights.

Heard on the Hill: It’s a Live One

July 16, 12 a.m.

The curse of the live mike strikes again: While presiding over the House, Rep. John Tierney (D-Mass.) was caught expressing frustration that clearly wasn’t meant to be heard by his colleagues, let alone those C-SPAN viewers watching the floor.

HOH’s One-Minute Recess: Fourth and Goal

July 15, 12:31 p.m.

With only a few weeks left until college football season kicks off, Sen. Orrin Hatch isn’t letting up on his fight against the sport’s controversial system of picking which teams play for the national championship.

Heard on the Hill: Doctor of Love

July 15, 12 a.m.

It can be tough to find that special someone.
Especially if your idea of a good time involves abolishing income taxes, limiting the federal government and calling for a return to the gold standard.

HOH’s One-Minute Recess: Gather the (Naughty) Clues

July 14, 12:09 p.m.

Attention, bored office worker: It’s up to you to head up the investigation to find wayward South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford.

Heard on the Hill: And No Autographs, Either

July 14, 12 a.m.

Sen. Al Franken is determined to shed his celebrity image, but Capitol Hill reporters have noticed that his efforts to keep a low profile wind up looking rather Hollywood-esque.

HOH’s One-Minute Recess: The Price Is Right

July 13, 12:10 p.m.

It’s a recessionista’s dream: a week of free eating on Capitol Hill. And it isn’t just your standard cheese cubes on toothpicks — the week’s complimentary menu includes fried turkey, deep-fried bull testicles and veggie dogs served by models clad in lettuce leaves.

Heard on the Hill: Frank Says Kirk’s Got ‘Senate Envy’

July 13, 12 a.m.

As the rest of Capitol Hill was playing the “will he or won’t he” game over whether Rep. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) would run for the Senate, one of his colleagues called him out for having Senate envy.

HOH’s One-Minute Recess: Prayer Warriors

July 10, 12:37 p.m.

Rep. Peter King made a lot of people angry when he called Michael Jackson a “pervert,” but now the New York Republican has some of his opponents praying for him.

HOH’s One-Minute Recess: Pelosi Strikes Down Jacko Bill

July 9, 12:38 p.m.

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee said Thursday that she’s working on what to do next after Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) announced earlier in the day that the Texas Democrat’s controversial bill honoring pop icon Michael Jackson would not be sent to the House floor.