Good morning. Hot, humid, and sunny today with a high around 92 that could feel as hot as 103. Rain chances from late afternoon onward, with storms possible before midnight and a low near 75. The Nats wrap up an away series against the Phillies this evening.
🌎 How well do you know the District? Play our new geography game and test your local knowledge. 📫 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:
Julia Minkin, “Not Ready.” The Chicago singer/songwriter plays Pie Shop tonight with Sophie Coran and Grace A. Keller of DC’s Hotel Sewing Kit, who’ll perform a solo set.
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: Iran told other states in the Persian Gulf region that it would attack their energy infrastructure if the US carried out strikes that President Trump threatened. Saudi leader Mohammed bin Salman then urged Trump to hold off, which he did. (Reuters) Iran’s deal with Oman to reopen the Strait of Hormuz is close to being finished; it would “give Tehran oversight of ships entering the Persian Gulf but wouldn’t let it levy tolls or service fees.” Iran said the accord “wouldn’t necessarily open the waterway unless the U.S. met unspecified conditions.” (WSJ) Two sources say Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth tussled at Camp David over the US military’s dwindling stock of weapons. Hegseth reportedly “blamed his deputy, Stephen Feinberg, for the shortages.” (Washington Post)
It’s 2020 somewhere: The Department of Health and Human Services provided a panel headed by US Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin with a copy of Anthony Fauci‘s iPhone. A Senate committee headed by Fauci critic Rand Paul of Kentucky will vote today on whether to hold the former public health official in contempt over his recent appearance before it. (WSJ) Republican attorneys general in Florida, West Virginia, and Louisiana said they were investigating whether Fauci made money off the Covid pandemic via “grants, book deals and board positions.” (NBC News) Why is this all happening now? Fauci has become a bogeyman on the right, and there is an election approaching. (Washington Post)
Blanche dressing: US Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania says he will oppose Trump’s nomination of Todd Blanche to become attorney general. (Hill) Blanche met with GOP senators Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, who are crucial to his hopes of getting confirmed. (ABC News) The Senate hopes to vamoose for a five-week break today. It has a lot of work left to do. (Politico)
Court bouillon: Trump’s re-filed defamation lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal went before a federal judge in Florida yesterday who “seemed particularly skeptical that Trump was financially harmed” by the Journal’s publication of a salacious letter from Trump to the deceased, disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. Trump claims the missive is fake. (Guardian) Trump’s lawyers fought a court order in a different case he filed against another news outlet: They want to limit how much information the BBC can get about his business finances. (Politico)
Administration perambulation: Trump keeps phoning Federal Reserve chair Kevin Warsh. Presidents have typically shunned such familiarity in recent decades “to avoid the perception the president is influencing rate decisions.” (WSJ) The FDA approved a new flu vaccine that uses mRNA technology despite frequent criticisms of the tech by Health Secretary and vaccine denier RFK Jr. (CBS News) The US has detained more than “50 parents and spouses of active-duty service members” amid Trump’s immigration crackdown. (AP) The administration ended TPS status for Haitian people in the US yesterday. (Washington Post) Trump’s deportations will cost taxpayers more than $2,000 apiece, according to a new report. (Axios) FBI Director Kash Patel announced law-enforcement partnerships with China and Russia, countries traditionally seen as US rivals. (Reuters)
Hidden Eats, by Ike Allen:
MiyaJi & Rumali Rolls, an airy Pakistani spot in a Gaithersburg strip mall, has a deceptively, almost overwhelmingly long menu. When in doubt, stick to any dish that includes one of the housemade breads. The eponymous rumali rolls are one good choice: grilled proteins like seekh kebab or paneer tikka rolled up in the handkerchief-thin, lightly charred wheat bread called rumali roti. On weekends, consider Lahori halwa paratha: a rib-sticking sweet-and-savory breakfast of curried potatoes, chickpeas, and a sweet, saffron-dyed semolina pudding, scooped up with triangles of fresh flaky flatbread.
Take Hidden Eats with you! Our astonishingly 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 nearby.
Recently on Washingtonian dot com:
• It’s official: A ban on foie gras will appear on DC’s ballot this fall. Some chefs say they’ll find a way to serve it no matter what happens.
• A man. A goat. Some questions. A primer on rising local social media star Kyrie Givens and his ungulate friend, Lil Bob.
• A guide to where you can watch next week’s Perseid meteor shower.
Local news links:
• The Commanders will sign Gaithersburg native Stefon Diggs. (AP) The move should improve their offense. (ESPN)
• Could the Eastern Shore secede from Maryland? One delegate has floated the name (and flag) of a new state, “Mardelva.” (WBOC)
• The National Gallery of Art studied whether vibrations from the planned IndyCar race in DC could damage its collection, but won’t say what the study showed. Nearby Smithsonian Institution museums looked at the same question and decided their stuff would be fine. (Washington Post)
• Jellyfish are all up in everyone’s business in Ocean City this summer. Authorities advise swimmers to cover up. (WTOP)
• More goat news: Arlington animal-control officials seized goats from a man who claims to have brought them across the US so he can sing “Imagine” on the Capitol steps. (ARLnow)
• Another possibly rabid beaver attacked a man in Maryland’s Cunningham Falls State Park yesterday, biting a fisherman. Officials closed another portion of the park in the wake of the incident. (DC News Now)
Thursday’s event picks:
• This month’s Phillips After 5 event is a jazz soirée.
• North Cap Band plays Admo Vibe this evening.
• Create some “doodleramics” with Shaylin Wallace at the Museum of Contemporary Art Arlington.
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.
