Good morning. Mostly cloudy with a high around 75 today. A low near 59 overnight.
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I can’t stop listening to:
Sex Pistols, “Bodies.” The three original members on the Pistols’ current tour are accompanied by former Gallows singer Frank Carter, who possesses that indefinable charisma great frontmen require—though the audience sings along so heartily it’s a good question whether the punk icons even need a singer at this point. They’ll play a sold-out show at 9:30 tonight; Bad Nerves will open.
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: Unnamed US officials told journalists that President Trump was open to offering Iran relief from economic sanctions in exchange for “concrete Iranian steps” toward ending its nuclear program. (Axios) (CNN) Trump denied the report and said he “offered them NOTHING.” (Reuters) Mediators are hammering out a proposal that could reopen the Strait of Hormuz and end the US blockade of Iranian ports. (AP) Home of the Brave and VoteVets published a video and a website that catalog Trump’s promises that the war, which began in February, wouldn’t last long. (AboutTwoWeeks.com)
FB-ai-yi-yi: ShinyHunters, the group of hackers who accessed personal information of FBI personnel, said they wouldn’t publish or sell the data they acquired. But ShinyHunters also says it sent the cache to some media organizations, and a cybersecurity researcher has a copy. (404 Media) The bureau, which told employees last week it was observing “cybersecurity awareness month,” acknowledged the hack and said urged employees to take some precautions. (NYT) Meanwhile: FBI co-director Andrew Bailey announced he would step down. He reportedly clashed with Director Kash Patel. (CBS News) Bailey and Patel “often went long stretches without speaking to each other.” (NYT)
The ICE storm: The ICE agent who shot and killed Lorenzo Salgado Araujo has been identified as Gregory Feathers by an “official familiar with the investigation.” Other evidence, including a form mistakenly released by a US Attorney’s office, appears to confirm that Feathers was involved. (Texas Tribune) The NFL asked the Department of Homeland Security to take down a video that likened its efforts to stop a reported caravan of immigrants to former Eagles safety Brian Dawkins‘s play on the field. (AP)
Administration perambulation: Kurt Olsen will exit Trump’s “grand conspiracy” investigation in Florida. Olsen’s fellow loyalist Joseph diGenova bailed earlier this month. (Washington Post) White House officials are stymieing Health Secretary RFK Jr.‘s plans to change the US food supply. (WSJ) Vice President JD Vance and Mike Tyson will appear at a MAHA summit in DC today. (Politico) So will Russell Brand. (Dan Diamond/X) So will Sweetgreen’s co-founder and CEO. (Jessica Sidman/X) Administration officials “rescinded a Biden-era policy that extended the federal ban on sex discrimination in schools to also protect L.G.B.T.Q. people.” (NYT) Auto industry analysts say Trump’s recent spatchcocking of fuel efficiency standards won’t translate to cheaper cars for consumers. (Washington Post) A federal judge in DC tossed an administration rule that tied FEMA funds to changes Trump wants to see in election laws. (CNBC) The Department of Justice spent more than $1 million on security for Lindsey Halligan, who was briefly a federal prosecutor before a judge booted her from the job. (Washington Sun) Former White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt is shopping a book. (Page Six) QAnon adherents believe a strange AI-generated video posted by Dan Scavino, in which the Trump aide and Eric Trump are seen “drunkenly carousing on a luggage cart with two glamorous women,” is a message to them. In the video, Scavino’s party parades through “an imagined White House hallway spraying champagne everywhere before the well-lubricated gang runs into a jovial Trump.” (Bulwark)
Wright next door, by Daniella Byck:
You don’t need to travel to Fallingwater to see Frank Lloyd Wright’s Usonian designs. (Though architecture lovers should spend a night in one of his houses in Polymath Park, a three-hour drive away in Pennsylvania.) Alexandria is home to Wright’s Pope-Leighey House, an L-shaped abode with his signature cantilevered ceilings and natural elements. The mid-century interior can only be accessed on hourly guided tours from 10 AM to 3 PM. Woodlawn, a former plantation home turned free labor colony, shares the property and is also open to visitors. Tours are $15 for entry into one home and $25 to see both.
Recently on Washingtonian dot com:
• “Who are they going to shoot?” US Representative Don Beyer asks about Trump’s plans for snipers to be stationed in his Triumphal Arch. “People visiting graves in the cemetery?”
• The weather is cooling. Here are some of Ann Limpert‘s favorite comfort dishes around town.
• It’s Dan About Town time! Here’s our party photographer Dan Swartz’s monthly roundup of photos from galas, benefits, and other swanky dos.
Local news links:
• Trayon White‘s bribery trial ended in a mistrial after a jury couldn’t agree on a verdict. US Attorney for DC Jeanine Pirro said she would retry the DC Council member. Asked by a reporter what the money he received was if not a bribe, White replied, “Let’s stick to the topic, man.” (Washington Sun)
• A judge in Virginia released Justin Michael Wolfe from prison as part of a plea deal. Wolfe was convicted of murder-for-hire in 2002, but the prosecutors’ case attracted much criticism over the ensuing decades. (Washington Post)
• The Kennedy Center laid off almost two dozen employees in its box office Friday. Their union plans to fight the cuts. (City Cast DC)
• Lime says it’s helping DC police crack down on young people using its scooters as getaway vehicles. (Washington Sun)
• Someone messed up a soccer field in La Plata. (DC News Now)
Tuesday’s event pick:
• “Dirty Dancing: The Musical” opens at the National Theatre.
See more picks for the 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.
