Good morning. Sunny and a little gusty today with highs near 60 and overnight lows around 32. The Capitals are at Florida. You can find me on Bluesky, I’m @kmcorliss.19 on Signal, and there’s a link to my email address below.
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A great book on my nightstand:
“Monsters: A Fan’s Dilemma” by Claire Dederer. Here, Dederer blends personal essay with feminist theory to answer a question that unfortunately feels more pressing every day: Is it possible to separate art you enjoy from an artist who you believe has done terrible things? If you’ve ever had complicated feelings about loving a Roman Polanski movie or a Michael Jackson song, this is a worthwhile read.
Here’s some administration news you might have blocked out:
Curtains on the shutshow: A government funding bill passed 222-209 in the House of Representatives yesterday and President Trump signed it last night, ending the record 43-day shutdown. “So I just want to tell the American people, you should not forget this,” Trump said, blaming Democrats for the shutdown. “When we come up to midterms and other things, don’t forget what they’ve done to our country.” (AP) House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries says Democrats will continue advocating to extend expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies, saying, “House Democrats are in this fight until we win this fight.” Heard that one before. (CBS) “[T]he fight over the ACA subsidies is unlikely to be over. Enrollers in the plans received notices of premium increases in November because of the tax credits’ expiration … With government funding expiring again at the end of January, Democrats could use the opportunity to again demand the subsidies be extended.” (The Guardian) “It’s a little like the federal workforce is going to return to their house after a hurricane and there’s another storm on the horizon.” (CNN) Virginia Senator Tim Kaine writes in an op-ed explaining his vote for the resolution, “I understand the earnest criticism from those who say that extending the shutdown … would have forced Republicans to offer more concessions to Democrats on critical issues such as health care. But I was at the negotiating table, and I believe the chances of that were near zero.” (NYT) A closer look at what’s in the shutdown deal, including additional security for congresspeople and Supreme Court justices, more money for military construction, and a ban on unregulated hemp products. (PBS)
Picking up the pieces: Flights at a number of major airports won’t be reduced further, as the Department of Transportation planned should the shutdown have continued. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said cuts will hold steady at 6% for now as officials make safety assessments. (AP) Most states should be able to issue full SNAP benefits within three days. In places like Texas and Illinois, where SNAP recipients got partial benefits, remittance could take up to a week. (The Hill) Some food banks reported as much as an 1,800% increase in visitors during the shutdown, noting higher need than what they saw during the pandemic. (ABC) Speaker of the House Mike Johnson finally had to swear in Democratic representative Adelita Grijalva, who won her seat nearly two months ago, in order to move the shutdown resolution forward. (CNN) Grijalva also happens to be the final signature needed on a discharge petition to force a vote on a bipartisan bill calling for the release of the Epstein files. (The Hill) Speaking of…
Epstein, Epstein, Epstein: Democrats on the House Oversight Committee have released emails sent by disgraced, deceased financier Jeffrey Epstein to his co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell and author Michael Wolff, which mention Trump by name—including a remark that Trump “knew about the girls” and spent hours at Epstein’s house with one unnamed victim. (CNN) “Committee Republicans swiftly identified the unnamed victim mentioned in two of the emails as Virginia Giuffre, who died by suicide in April and had said that she had not witnessed Mr. Trump participating in the sexual abuse of minors at Mr. Epstein’s home.” (NYT) Epstein cast himself as a Trump oracle of sorts, claiming in June 2018 emails that he had conversations with Vladimir Putin‘s administration which helped them gain some “insight” into Trump during his first term. (Politico) In another email, he described himself as “the one able to take him down.” (NYT) Trump reportedly tried to pressure Republican representatives Lauren Boebert and Nancy Mace to yank their signatures from that discharge petition. (Axios) “Even if the resolution were to pass the Republican-led House, it would almost certainly be dead on arrival in the Senate, and Mr. Trump would surely veto it. But a vote on the matter could be a political disaster for him and many Republicans, who have been torn between their loyalty to Mr. Trump and the clamoring by their constituents for more transparency about Mr. Epstein.” (NYT) White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that Trump has no plans to pardon Maxwell, which the president has previously noted that he is “allowed” to do. (Axios)
Trump’s war on Chicago: A federal judge has ordered the release of hundreds who were arrested during immigration raids in Chicago. (Chicago Tribune) Thirteen people, who he has determined were arrested in violation of the law, will be released immediately. (Axios) More than 600 detainees without criminal records must be let go on $1,500 bond by November 21. (CNN) Federal agents used tear gas during protests on the Far South Side last month, even after area police officers told them they had no gas masks. (Chicago Sun-Times)
Administration perambulation: Trump sent a letter asking Israeli President Isaac Herzog to pardon Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on corruption charges, calling the case against him “a political, unjustified prosecution.” (Axios) The Department of Housing and Urban Development plans to claw back billions of dollars in housing grants. (NYT) The White House told reporters that the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ October jobs report and inflation data will likely never see the light of day, given the shutdown’s impact on the agency’s productivity. (Politico) A penny for your thoughts: An obituary to the one-cent coin, which died yesterday in Philadelphia. (NYT)
Hidden Eats, by Ike Allen:
For years, I wondered if Banana Leaf, a lovely traditional Sri Lankan restaurant improbably sited on upper Connecticut Avenue in the early 2010s, had been just an apparition. This year, it has rematerialized in Manassas, and I’ve already made the drive. Owner Danushka Jayawardena serves well-prepared classics from the teardrop-shaped island, like fish curries, string hoppers, and kotthu, spiced up with coconut sambol. The best single dish might be the lamprais, a mound of steaming rice topped with cashew coconut curry, sweet sauteed eggplant moju, onion sambol, boiled egg, fried slices of ash plantain, and a fish cutlet, all wrapped in a banana leaf secured with toothpicks. (9686 Liberia Ave.)
Recently on Washingtonian dot com:
• The Inn at Little Washington is down to two Michelin stars; before this year’s dining guide, it was the only restaurant in the DC area to boast three.
• A new report reveals that it remains unsafe to swim or fish in Potomac River. Flashback: Lorde splashed around in there anyway back in 2022.
• Tom Goldstein, a DC lawyer and star poker player, is now fighting charges of federal financial crimes.
Local news links:
• Montgomery County Council member Kristin Mink was apparently accosted by ICE agents in Adelphi earlier this week as she recorded an arrest outside a school. (WTOP)
• Local concert giant I.M.P. has recognized the union formed last month by its staff at DC venues, which include the 9:30 Club, The Anthem, The Atlantis, and Lincoln Theatre. The company has not yet made any formal commitments to meet the union’s demands, which include higher wages and a more open line of communication between employees and management. (Deadline) Members of Fugazi and Rage Against the Machine are among the artists backing the workers’ unionization efforts. (Washingtonian)
• Some behind-the-scenes insight into DC Mayor Muriel Bowser‘s Trump administration appeasement strategy. (Washington Post)
• Trump allies would like to do away with Dulles Airport’s “people movers,” particularly after one crashed on Monday. (Axios)
• A child was hospitalized after overdosing on “some sort of edible” at a middle school in Southeast. (WJLA)
• George Santos and Anna Delvey were among the guests at a Veterans Day party in DC. (Washington Post)
Thursday’s event picks:
• Cookbook author Alison Roman chats about her latest work, Something From Nothing, with Hanna Rosin at Sixth & I.
• Michelin-starred chefs flaunt their chops at the Four Seasons DC during the annual Wine and Dine showcase, a benefit for MedStar Health cancer research.
• Acclaimed Estonian clown Julia Masli opens her improv show Ho Ho Ho Ha Ha Ha Ha at the Woolly Mammoth Theatre.
