Good morning. Showers this morning, then clearing and a high around 67. More wind gusts are possible. The low temperature overnight will be around 45. The cherry trees at the Tidal Basin are in the puffy white stage, the last stop before peak bloom.
Here’s a DMV March Madness update from my coworker Jacob Raim:
This weekend was the opening weekend of the NCAA tournament on both the men’s and women’s side with a bunch of DMV-area teams in action. On the men’s side, American University made their fourth ever NCAA tournament but bowed out before the weekend, losing to Mount St. Mary’s of Frederick in a first four play-in game. The Mount’s life in the tournament was short lived, losing by 44 to Duke. The Maryland Terrapins saw success, earning a spot in the Sweet 16 with wins over Grand Canyon University and Colorado State, the latter via an unbelievable buzzer beater by Derik Queen. They’ll meet top seeded Florida on Friday. Other area teams in action included Liberty, Norfolk State, and VCU, all losing in the first round. On the women’s side, Maryland and Norfolk State faced off in the first round, with Maryland winning convincingly. They’ll face Alabama tonight in the second round. Richmond smashed Georgia Tech in the first round but fell to top-seeded UCLA in the second. William & Mary (won their first ever NCAA Tournament game in the play-in round), George Mason, and Liberty all dropped their first round games.
Thanks, Jacob! Baseball season is nearly here: The Nationals will play Baltimore this afternoon in an exhibition game at Nationals Park. Opening Day is Thursday. The Wizards host Toronto this evening. You can find me on Bluesky, I’m @abeaujon.87 on Signal, and there’s a link to my email address at the bottom of this post.
I can’t stop listening to:
The Mills Brothers, “Lazy River.” Frida Kahlo reportedly loved the Mills Brothers, so their version of this Hoagy Carmichael standard will be on my mind tonight as I attend a soirée to celebrate a buzzy new Kahlo exhibition that will open at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond next month. The rest of my week promises to be less swanky but a lot of fun: I plan to see the Hard Quartet on Tuesday at 9:30 and Tsunami at Black Cat on Thursday. I saw Scream play last night in Kingston, New York, and there were lots of sweet shoutouts to DC.
Here’s some administration news you might have blocked out:
DC budget update: Congress returns to work this week. The House’s GOP leadership announced its floor schedule Friday, and it did not include the Senate’s proposed fix to DC’s budget. That could change by next week, depending on whether President Trump weighs in. (Punchbowl News)
Congress is back: Republicans “face a brutal reality check: Their legislative agenda is going nowhere fast.” (Politico) Despite calls to do so from some frustrated Democrats, Chuck Schumer said he won’t step down as their leader in the Senate. (AP)
Trump and the courts: Trump issued a memorandum Friday that threatened “to use government power to punish any law firms that, in his view, unfairly challenge his administration.” (NYT) His campaign has many big law firms “scrambling to stay out of the crosshairs.” (WSJ) The administration also tried to remove US District Judge Beryl A. Howell from a case brought by Perkins Coie over his executive order aimed at that firm. (NYT)
Musk stuff: Attorney General Pam Bondi warned US Representative Jasmine Crockett to “tread very carefully” after she criticized top Trump donor and DOGE project leader Elon Musk. (Politico) Jeremy Clarkson called Musk an idiot. (Politico) An Arlington resident says someone scratched a swastika onto the hood of his Tesla. (ARLnow)
• The Kennedy Center could be renamed the “Roy Cohn Pavilion of Big Strong Men who Love ‘Cats,’” and other roasts of Trump from Sunday, when Conan O’Brien received the center’s Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. (Washington Post)
• The administration said it would send a delegation to Greenland this week that includes Usha Vance, a move Greenland Prime Minister Mute B. Egede called “highly aggressive.” (NYT)
• The White House is looking for corporate sponsorships for this year’s Easter Egg Roll, yet another unusual move. (CNN)
• Trump yanked security clearances for Kamala Harris, Joe Biden, and Hillary Clinton. (NYT) He also complained about a portrait of him in Colorado. (The Hill)
• Mia Love, the first Black Republican woman to serve in Congress, died Sunday. She was 49 and had a form of brain cancer. (Washington Post)
• Jessica Aber, the former US Attorney for Virginia’s Eastern District, died this weekend in Alexandria. She was 43. (Washington Post)
• Kitty Dukakis died at 88. (NYT)
• Tiger Woods announced he is dating Vanessa Trump, the President’s former daughter-in-law. (AP) Vanessa Trump’s daughter Kai Trump is “part of the GOP’s next era online.” (Washington Post)
Recently on Washingtonian dot com:
• Restaurant openings this spring that our food critics are looking forward to.
• How to eat your way through Ellicott City’s Korean establishments.
• Five new things to look for at Nationals Park this year.
• Where to get brunch near the cherry blossoms.
Local news links:
• A Venezuelan couple in Maryland were arrested again on Friday by federal immigration agents even though a federal judge “ordered their release last week.” (Washington Post)
• Tavish Forsythe, a contract employee at the Kennedy Center, was fired after he posted “35-minute-long naked protest video.” (NBC4 Washington)
• Francis Layrle, who ran La Piquette, has died. (Tom Sietsema)
• Former DC Attorney General Karl Racine “is facing calls to step down as the federal monitor of Cleveland’s police force following an early morning incident at a casino” in Cleveland. (WCP)
• Cotey Wynn and Antwan Shelton were charged with the 2023 killing of Blake Bozeman. Wynn worked as a “violence interrupter with the Cure the Streets program.” (NBC4 Washington)
• Virginia Governor Glen Youngkin got booed in Richmond. (Brad Kutner)
Did you miss our 100 Very Best Restaurants List? It’s here.
Forward.
Andrew Beaujon joined Washingtonian in late 2014. He was previously with the Poynter Institute, TBD.com, and Washington City Paper. He lives in Del Ray.
