Good morning. Mostly sunny with a high around 88 today. A low near 71 overnight. The Nationals visit the Texas Rangers this evening.
🌎 How well do you know the District? Play our new geography game and test your local knowledge. 📫 Thanks for reading. I’ll be away for the rest of this week, and Ike Allen will look after Washingtonian Today while I’m gone. 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:
River Shook, “Country Angel.” Some swell country-rock from the former frontperson of Sarah Shook & the Disarmers. River Shook plays Songbyrd tonight with Olivia Ellen Lloyd.
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: A ship leaving the Strait of Hormuz was struck by a projectile early this morning. No one was hurt. (AP) President Trump threatened to “bomb the shit out of” Oman, a US ally, if it “gets in the way” of a US-Iran peace deal. Oman and Iran have been working toward an agreement to reopen the strait, which Iran has effectively closed since Trump launched this war nearly six months ago. (WSJ) An Iranian official said the country intends to “escalate tensions” in the waterway now that the administration’s 60-day ceasefire agreement, which was already in tatters, has expired. (Reuters) Russia, which has provided Iran with signals intelligence since the war began, is shipping matériel to Iran as well. (NBC News)
No nukes: The President contradicted Vice President JD Vance and repeated his assertion that he intends to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. (ABC News) Trump had similar plans for North Korea in his first term. Then he struck up what he called a “great relationship” with its leader, Kim Jong-un, who has yet to disarm. (NYT) His widely unanticipated order to scale back US military exercises with South Korea has made the US ally jittery. (AP) Here’s a look at how US-South Korea relations have changed since Trump returned to power. (Reuters)
Printer problems: Trump and other officials rushed to defend the President after US Senator Jon Ossoff of Georgia lampooned his relationship with his aide Natalie Harp, known to colleagues as his “human printer.” Ossoff is seen as a potential Democratic candidate in 2028, but the heavy pushback is also an indication that “the first lady doesn’t like these types of things,” according to an “administration official.” (Semafor) Who is Harp? A quick primer on the former One America News anchor. (NBC News) Ossoff’s “careful message control and ability to go viral” have helped raise his profile among national Dems. (Politico)
Administration perambulation: The US Supreme Court declined, for a second time, to hear Trump’s challenge of a $5 million judgment he was ordered to pay by a New York jury that found he had sexually assaulted the writer E. Jean Carroll. The President still hopes to overturn a much larger defamation settlement he owes Carroll. (NYT) ICE has offered to help state and local police personnel pay for liability insurance in a bid to increase cooperation with Trump’s immigration crackdown. (AP) The administration wants to restore gun rights for felons—a group that includes Trump. (WSJ) The Iran war has eroded Trump’s popularity, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll. His approval now stands at 33 percent, tying the lowest point in his previous term. (Reuters) Trump again voted by mail, this time in today’s primary elections in Florida. He has railed against mail-in voting. (Politico) Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who is said to be considering a 2028 presidential bid, traveled to Iowa in his “personal capacity.” (Washington Post)
Crack some crabs before summer ends, by Daniella Byck:
Labor Day, the unofficial end of summer, is just on the horizon—have you cracked crabs yet? I’m a Maryland girl, so I feel obliged to remind you of the Old Bay-scented tradition. Cantler’s Riverside Inn is an Annapolis staple tucked away along Mill Creek, around a 50-minute drive from DC. Hang on the docks while you wait for a picnic table, and then tuck in for a feast of steamers coated with J.O. crab seasoning. Crabs are the main draw, though you can also dive into peel-n-eat shrimp and other seafaring dishes.
Recently on Washingtonian dot com:
• The much-missed 2016 pop-up Alfie’s will reopen as a standalone northern Thai restaurant next week.
• Steven Eskew‘s company has transported heights-averse motorists across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge for more than a decade. He looks back on some memorable crossings.
• Jellyfish are heading en masse to Ocean City. Here’s what to do if you meet one.
• Also, as if you didn’t have enough to worry about, you should look out for rabid beavers, too.
• The National Gallery Nights series returns next month. Here’s the lineup.
Local news links:
• The FBI’s planned move to Prince George’s County is back on after a federal judge ruled the administration cannot simply overturn the relocation. (Washington Post)
• US Attorney for DC Jeanine Pirro “is going to unusual lengths” to keep Melissa Farris—who live-streamed herself pouring a substance into the World War II memorial’s fountain and spray-painted a cryptic message on it—in jail while she awaits trial. Farris told authorities she was homeless when she turned herself in Friday, and her videos “contain rambling grievances against the federal government.” (Politico)
• Police in Fairfax say a woman was found stabbed to death near the entrances of trails in Great Falls yesterday morning. (FFXNow)
• US Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts bought a new $5 million home in Chevy Chase. (City Cast DC)
• RIP former local DJ and colorful music personality Barry Richards, who has died at 83. (NBC4 Washington)
Tuesday’s event picks:
• My Chemical Romance play Nationals Park.
• It’s Mahjong Night at MLK Library.
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.
