Good morning. Sunny and hot today with patchy smoke from wildfires and a high around 98 that could feel as hot as 103. More smoke and a low around 76 overnight. The Mystics host the Portland Fire at CareFirst Arena this evening.
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I can’t stop listening to:
Night Hawk, “Intuition.” This folky local indie group takes its name from the Edward Hopper painting (and sound nothing like the longtime DMV band the Nighthawks); they’ll play the US Botanic Garden tonight.
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:
The war: The US struck targets near Tehran and in northern Iran early Thursday. Yesterday, American forces fired on and disabled a cargo ship the US said “ignored multiple warnings” about its blockade of Iranian ports. Iran launched attacks against neighboring countries. (AP) President Trump again threatened to hit civilian infrastructure in Iran, which called control of the Strait of Hormuz a “red line” and said it would strike “all remaining infrastructure” in the region if he did. (Reuters) Trump is inclined toward more military action in Iran. (WSJ) The US’s recent strikes are aimed at softening the ground for “more complex operations” ahead. (Reuters)
And more: Trade in the strait is now effectively at a “standstill” again. (WSJ) Diesel prices rose. (NYT) Gas prices followed. (AAA) Iran released Dena Karari, an Iranian-American whom it had prevented from leaving the country since December 2024. (NYT) A lawsuit filed in DC yesterday claims that US immigration officials gave Iran access to records about Iranians who sought asylum in the US. The administration denied it had done so. (NYT) Meanwhile: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the Pentagon would test American troops for low testosterone and administer voluntary hormone treatments to those found lacking. (NYT)
Veep talking: Some in the Israeli government hope to “keep the war going on indefinitely,” Vice President JD Vance told Joe Rogan in an interview released yesterday. (New York Post) Vance also said the Trump administration “absolutely screwed up the comms of the Epstein files” and blamed former Attorney General Pam Bondi for overstating “what we had and what we didn’t have.” (Politico) Members of Vance’s security deal are reportedly muttering about assignments they consider inappropriate, such as a canceled plan to fly his son to a golf lesson in a military helicopter. (MS Now)
Blanche not? Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche had a not entirely smooth hearing yesterday in the Senate yesterday as he seeks confirmation to hold his job permanently. He sought to assure senators he wouldn’t roll over for Trump, an assertion he may have undercut by saying “I am his lawyer,” then correcting himself to say “I was his lawyer.” He’ll return for another round of questions today. (Washington Post) Senator John Cornyn of Texas, whom Trump successfully worked to unseat, will be a crucial vote. He says he’s still making up his mind. (NYT) Cornyn and other GOP senators “showed that their loyalty to the president isn’t what it used to be” yesterday. (Politico) In a separate hearing, Jay Clayton, Trump’s pick to be the next director of national intelligence, refused to say whether Joe Biden won the 2020 election. (CNBC)
Speech, speech: Trump plans to claim Chinese meddling in US elections in a speech tonight. (CBS News) Some Republicans are “scared shitless” of what he may say. (Politico) Networks are struggling to decide whether to air the speech, which will likely contain Trump’s lies about the 2020 election—but not airing it could mean running afoul of the administration’s activist FCC. (Axios)
Administration perambulation: Trump criticized his own administration for pausing vehicle stops after a week in which ICE agents killed two people. ICE then reversed course on reversing course. (Washington Post) Some administration officials may have to turn over their phones as the White House investigates who leaked information about the potential security deficits of the luxury airplane Qatar gave the President. (CNN) Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the US will produce a $1 gold-colored coin with Trump’s face on it. (Washington Post) What happened to the “American flag blue” coating on the Reflecting Pool? That thing is gray now. (AP) National Park Service staff say a new museum under the Lincoln Memorial is endangering rare documents on display there, including a copy of the Emancipation Proclamation. (City Cast DC)
Hidden Eats, by Ike Allen:
When Xue Ling and her mother Hua Wang closed Northwest Chinese Food—a fixture on Washingtonian‘s 100 Very Best Restaurants list—in March, they left a real void in College Park. But I was glad to find out that Li Chun, Ling’s cute tea shop and cafe around the corner, offers a pretty extensive Chinese menu too. Bings (savory pancake wraps) are the specialty here, but one noodle dish stood out in particular: Shanxi triple noodle, a layer of chewy knife-cut noodles topped with discrete portions of braised pork, scrambled egg and tomato, and tender potatoes in black bean sauce. Mixed together, the combo formed something comforting and revelatory. Maybe I was just missing Northwest Chinese Food. Stay tuned—Ling tells me there’s news on that front coming soon.
Take Hidden Eats with you! Our very popular new map will show you which Hidden Eats—the out-of-the-way mom-and-pop eateries Ike highlights in this newsletter and in our print magazine—are near you.
Recently on Washingtonian dot com:
Our Best of Washington package is here, including:
⭐️ Food and drink: The best restaurants, brunch spots, and happy hours.
⭐️ Things to do: Our favorite playgrounds, run clubs, and places to learn something new.
⭐️ Where to shop: Our top places for gifts, vintage goods, and DIY crafts.
• The new Union Market dance club Tigres de la Noche has a no-phones policy. Its owner says patrons can focus more on music as a result.
• Curious what the DC Council’s passage of a ticket-resale bill means for consumers? Here’s an explainer.
Local news links:
• National Guard troops will mill about in DC through the rest of Trump’s term. (NBC4 Washington)
• Fairfax police say County Supervisor Andres Jimenez was doing 104 in a 70 miles-per-hour zone when they gave him a speeding ticket in May. (WTOP)
• Stephen Chadwick Howell of Arlington got 18 years yesterday for sexually exploiting minors. When FBI agents arrived to arrest him last May, he grabbed knives from his kitchen, barricaded himself in his bedroom, and peed on his laptop to try to shield its contents. (ARLnow)
• Former MoCo elementary school teacher Sarah Katherine Magid got 12 years for selling fentanyl that left a man dead. (WUSA9)
• The suspect in the Cherrydale carjacking was arrested in DC, where the vehicle in question had flipped over while police pursued it. (ARLnow)
• The Capitals will face Pittsburgh in their home opener on October 7. (WTOP)
• Rugby players in Alexandria will head to Dundee, Scotland, for matches next month. (Alexandria Times)
• George Conway‘s fifth-place finish in a New York congressional primary cost him $2 million. (NOTUS)
Thursday’s event picks:
• Kelly McHugh leads an in-depth look at the exhibit “Water’s Edge: The Art of Truman Lowe” at the National Museum of the American Indian.
• Sigrid Nunez discusses her new short story collection with Lily Meyer at Politics and Prose.
• Enjoy some bluegrass and learn about printmaking at the National Postal Museum.
See more picks for this week and weekend 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.
