Good morning. Mostly sunny with a high around 82 until this afternoon, when showers and maybe even a storm are possible. Scattered showers overnight with a low near 54.
Sports this weekend: The Washington Spirit host the KC Current tonight at Audi Field. The Nationals visit the White Sox today, Saturday, and Sunday. The DC Defenders visit the Birmingham Stallions tonight. D.C. United hosts Orlando City Saturday. Old Glory DC hosts the CA Legion at George Mason Stadium on Sunday.
You can find me on Bluesky, I’m @abeaujon.87 on Signal, and there’s a link to my email address below. This roundup is available as a morning email newsletter. Sign up here.
I can’t stop listening to:
Laura Jane Grace, “Baby, Baby.” Grace, who founded the punk group Against Me!, plays the Black Cat tonight on Night 1 of Liberation Weekend II, a festival that benefits the groups Gender Liberation Movement and No More Dysphoria.
Take Washingtonian Today with you! I keep ridiculously long playlists on Apple Music and on Spotify of this year’s music recommendations. Here are 2025’s songs (Apple, Spotify), too.
Here’s some administration news you might have blocked out:
War news: Israel and Lebanon will extend their ceasefire for another three weeks, President Trump announced yesterday. (AP) The USS George H.W. Bush arrived in the Middle East yesterday, adding a third carrier to the US’s capabilities in waters near Iran. (Washington Post) Trump insisted he had “all the time in the World” to negotiate a peace deal with Iran, but “Iran is betting it can hold out longer because it has years of experience absorbing economic punishment.” (NBC News) “The result is round after round of taunts, threats and maritime incidents” but neither side has great choices. (NYT) And the war is increasingly unpopular: 58 percent of Americans now disapprove of Trump’s job performance, the highest percentage since his supporters rioted at the US Capitol at the end of his first term. (NYT)
Playing defense: Federal authorities arrested Gannon Ken Van Dyke, a US Army special operations soldier who they say made more than $400,000 betting that Nicolás Maduro would be removed as Venezuela’s leader on the prediction market Polymarket. Asked about the indictment, Trump mused about Pete Rose and said, “the whole world, unfortunately, has become somewhat of a casino.” (Trump’s son Donald Trump Jr. is an investor in Polymarket.) (ABC News) The US has used so much matériel in Trump’s war on Iran that “some administration officials increasingly assess that America couldn’t fully execute contingency plans to defend Taiwan from a Chinese invasion if it occurred in the near term.” (WSJ) Trump fired Navy Secretary John Phelan in part because he “struggled to come up with a plan” to deliver a new class of battleships Trump wanted—ships that would take years to design, much less build. (NYT) Here’s a tick-tock of Phelan’s attempts to hold on to his job. (WSJ) The US is looking into ways to punish allies for their lack of support for Trump’s war, including “reassessing” Britain’s claim to the Falkland Islands and suspending Spain from NATO. (Reuters) The Pentagon fired Stars and Stripes’ ombudsman, Jacqueline Smith, who criticized the administration’s efforts to remake the military newspaper. (Washington Post)
A hole thing: India’s government criticized Trump for sharing without comment a transcript of a “Savage Nation” podcast in which host Michael Savage called China and India “hellhole” countries. (Reuters) Trump’s posting could be related to his apparent agitation with the Supreme Court, which appears likely to put the kibosh on an executive order he issued about birthright citizenship. (NYT)
In the weed: The administration moved toward rescheduling marijuana on the Controlled Substance Act. Pot is currently scheduled alongside heroin, LSD, and methaqualone. (Marijuana Moment) The administration rescheduled medical marijuana products that the FDA has approved, and Todd Blanche, the acting attorney general, said the feds would fully reschedule cannabis soon. (Washington Post) Local angle: The surprise move “has left many Marylanders with more questions than answers.” (Maryland Matters)
Administration perambulation: The Justice Department’s Inspector General is looking into the agency’s release of files regarding the deceased, disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. (CNN) The administration is moving to denaturalize hundreds of US citizens, which sure looks like a prelude to a dramatic rise in use of the once-rare sanction. (NYT) Despite administration officials’ claims, only one person has so far been approved for the “gold card” visa Trump came up with. (AP) Trump plans to invite Russian President Vladimir Putin to a G20 summit in Miami next month. (Washington Post) Some conservatives are dismayed by Trump’s planned bailout of Spirit Airlines. (NOTUS) In remarks yesterday, Trump claimed Spirit had been considering a merger with People Express—a budget airline that vanished in the mid-’80s. (David Shepardson/X) Trump’s plan to punish Indiana lawmakers who didn’t back redistricting doesn’t appear to be panning out. (Politico) An aide’s search for evidence to back Trump’s belief that he didn’t lose the 2020 election to Joe Biden has so far come to naught. (Reuters) The White House has enthusiastically embraced the Justice Department’s new legal theory that the Presidential Records Act is unconstitutional. (Washington Post) Former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem still lives in government housing on Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling. (WSJ) Trump wants to renovate the Reflecting Pool now. (NYT) The President and Health Secretary RFK Jr. continued to promote their new form of math, one that isn’t actually math. (AP)
One snazzy open house this weekend:
This three-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bathroom condo at the Wharf features a private elevator, wall-to-wall floor-ceiling windows—and two parking spots. It’s listed at $3,495,000, and you can see it and our other picks for great open houses this weekend.
Recently on Washingtonian dot com:
• Morena, chef Paolo Dungca‘s new weekend-only “Filipino-ish” rice bowl pop-up, opens Saturday.
• Metro’s board approved a plan to automate the Red Line—something that won’t happen until 2032 at the earliest.
• Our May issue is on stands now. Take a peek.
• Be a good neighbor this spring. Here are seven ways to help out.
Local news links:
• The Washington Commanders selected Ohio State linebacker Sonny Styles in last night’s NFL Draft. The team hopes Styles could become quarterback Jayden Daniels‘ counterpart on defense. (Athletic)
• A Metrobus caught on fire in the Ninth Street tunnel last night. There were no passengers aboard, and the driver is okay. (WUSA9)
• US Attorney for DC Jeanine Pirro supported the DC’s request that the District of Columbia Court of Appeals rehear a case about the District’s ban on high-capacity gun magazines, an unusual alliance fueled by the arrest that fueled the case. (NYT)
• Here we go again: US Representative Rich McCormick of Georgia proposed restoring Arlington and Alexandria to DC. (AP)
• Zion Peters resigned from the Capital Pride Alliance Board of Directors. He’s the second trans member of the board to resign since February. (Washington Blade)
• The Loudoun County Sheriffs Office said it arrested a 19-year-old substitute teacher who it said made violent threats against John Champe High School in Aldie. (InsideNoVa)
• Two reopenings: The Tidal Basin seawall restoration is finished (WTOP), and the National Mall’s carousel will reopen today. (WTOP)
• Tall, prolific, and Swiss reporter Martin Austermuhle will leave DC news site the 51st for an as-yet-to-be-named new gig. (51st)
• Alexandria will raise parking meter fees but won’t require paid parking on Sundays. (ALXnow)
• Karl Green, who graduated from Arlington’s Wakefield High School, has made his Broadway debut. Wakefield has also given the world Patch Adams, Dave Bautista, and—I’m sure Arlington school officials wish this weren’t the case—the guy who writes this newsletter. (Arlington Magazine)
Weekend event picks:
Friday: The DC Chocolate Festival opens at the Embassy of France.
Saturday: Robby Hoffman performs two sold-out shows at the 9:30.
Sunday: Raye plays the Anthem.
See more picks from Briana Thomas, who writes our Things to Do newsletter.
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.
