Good morning. Showers and patchy fog today with a high temperature of just 63. Cool and damp conditions will persist overnight, with a low near 56. The Mystics host the Connecticut Sun at CareFirst Arena this evening. The Nats are at the Tigers again.
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I can’t stop listening to:
Mike Campbell & the Dirty Knobs, “Mission of Mercy.” The Heartbreakers guitarist returns to the Warner Theatre 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:
Quiet quitting: President Trump held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new helipad at the White House yesterday. But a boycott by the White House press pool that followed his abrupt ban on several news outlets meant the President spent the event “almost literally shouting into the wind.” (NYT) The judge who will hear the banned outlets’ complaint ordered the Department of Justice to reply to the action today and scheduled a video conference for tomorrow. (CNBC) The White House launched a YouTube stream called “Trump TV” yesterday, though it may not quite fill the void of current coverage—it debuted with a video of a speech the President gave on July 3. (Time)
The war: Support for Trump’s stagnant war against Iran is fraying among Republicans, who fear the conflict’s effects on November’s midterm elections. US Representative Ashley Hinson of Iowa, the GOP’s nominee for Senate, said, “the war needs to be brought to a successful and immediate end.” (NBC News) Mike Rogers, a Republican seeking a Senate seat in Michigan, said, “The war with Iran needs to end, and end quickly.” (Politico) The defections coincided with a new Reuters/Ipsos poll that found Trump’s approval rating had dropped to 32 percent. (Reuters) GOP lawmakers are pressing Trump to do something about soaring diesel fuel prices. (FT) Trump announced the US was “working on a massive Deal” to buy potash from Belarus rather than from Canada, with which he has launched a trade war. But that’s unlikely to move the needle for American farmers, who are facing shortages of fertilizer supplies because of the Iran war. (Reuters) Meanwhile: The administration floated the idea of the US investing $5 billion into a fund that would help allies in the Gulf rebuild their energy infrastructure—”the latest attempt to mitigate consequences from the Iran war.” (WSJ)
An ICE storm in fall: Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, the DoorDash driver shot by ICE agents in Austin Sunday, said during a press conference yesterday that the feds shot him in the back. (Texas Tribune) He said he was trying to move his car out of traffic after immigration agents rammed his vehicle twice. (NYT) Related: ICE is “erasing immigrants with final deportation orders from a searchable online database.” (Washington Post)
Administration perambulation: Trump appears to have passed a pleasant visit with New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani in New York yesterday. (Washington Post) He’ll address the UN General Assembly today. (Hopefully he’ll have better luck with escalators this year.) (NBC News) Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte reportedly examined mortgage records for Attorney General Todd Blanche amid a disagreement between the two men over the use of such records to pursue Trump’s perceived enemies in court. (WSJ) CIA Director John Ratcliffe met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at an Irish airport yesterday. Ratcliffe visited Russian intelligence officials in Moscow last month. (Reuters) Some East Coast airports were beset by flight delays and cancellations yesterday after an FAA system failed and a backup proved inoperable because a NJ Transit construction crew had inadvertently severed a cable. (NYT)
A fall festival day trip, by Daniella Byck:
Capital Weather just declared we have reached the end of summer conditions, marking the beginning of crisp and cooler days. To celebrate the new season, spend some time at a fall festival. Cox Farms in Centreville, Virginia, just kicked off its daily fest, which features hay rides, a corn maze, rope swings, a foam replica of Stonehenge, and slides of all varieties. Animal-loving kids can also enjoy milking demos and a chance to feed the goats. Of course, fall isn’t complete without the appropriate cuisine, so stop by food stations for cider doughnuts, cider slushies, and caramel apples. Tickets are $15-$30, depending on the date, and the festival runs through November 8. Cox Farms’s terrifying nighttime attraction Fields of Fear opens on September 25, though you’ll need a separate ticket to experience the jump scares.
Recently on Washingtonian dot com:
• Looks like that planned Waterside Drive closure has been delayed.
Local news links:
• An AI tool for air traffic control went into service at DC-area airports yesterday. (Washington Post)
• A late freeze this past April is wreaking havoc on Virginia winemaking. (Axios D.C.)
• The District’s Historic Preservation Office is on board with a proposed renovation of the Hotel Harrington. (UrbanTurf)
• Montgomery County Council member Will Jawando plans to return to work today. He had a heart attack earlier this month. (WUSA9)
• Police in Frederick say 87-year-old man shot and killed his roommate, then drove to church to confess. (Fox 5)
• The Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office says a Spotsylvania man threatened to bomb the ADAMS Center, one of the US’s biggest mosques. (FFXNow)
• Arlington police say they tased a man who threatened an officer with a broken bottle in Clarendon this weekend. (ARLnow)
• The Westfield Wheaton and Westfield Montgomery malls won’t allow unaccompanied teens after 3 PM. (BethesdaToday)
• A UK quantum computing company plans to open an office in Arlington—but how can we be certain? (ARLnow)
Tuesday’s event picks:
• A new production of “Measure for Measure” directed by Psalmayene 24 opens at Folger Theatre.
• Welcome fall with Marcus Samuelsson with “Sunset Sips” at Sly Rooftop Bar.
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.
