Good morning. Sunny with a high around 81 today. A low near 64 overnight. The Capitals visit Carolina this evening.
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I can’t stop listening to
Tricky, “I’m Yours.” The trip-hop legend plays Lincoln 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
In search of
Federal agents raided the DC home of US Representative Ilhan Omar of Minnesota yesterday. Department of Homeland Security officials have said they’re looking into immigration documents from the Somali American lawmaker, who came to the US as a child. The search appears to violate a longstanding Department of Justice policy of not taking such steps within 60 days of an election. (NYT) President Trump, who has long criticized Omar, called for her deportation, and retailed conspiracy theories about her, “told reporters Monday afternoon he had nothing to do with the raid.” He also called Omar “totally crooked.” (Washington Sun) Omar said the raid was “an attempt to target political enemies and weaponize federal law enforcement.” (Politico)
Ukraine
Trump’s surprise decision to suspend sanctions on Russian diesel fuel followed a call Friday to offer belated birthday wishes to Russian President Vladimir Putin. (Atlantic) Trump increasingly blames Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for the energy crisis prompted by the war Trump launched against Iran in February, and the “future of U.S. support for Ukraine again appears to be hanging in the balance.” (NYT) Asked about his claim that the countries had agreed to an “energy ceasefire” over the weekend, a deal Ukraine was unaware of and that Russia reportedly violated immediately, Trump said, “They agreed because I said they agree.” (Washington Examiner) European officials announced sanctions yesterday on more than a thousand businesses and people they said supported Putin’s war on Ukraine. (DW) Trump’s new deal looks less like an attempt to help Americans reeling from high diesel prices and more like “an abrupt, Hail Mary attempt to force Ukraine to surrender and to save the Russian economy.” (Atlantic)
Execution
Catholics should not serve on a firing squad for the public execution Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth plans for Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan, Archbishop Timothy Broglio said Monday. (Politico) House Speaker Mike Johnson said he was concerned video of Hasan’s execution could be “a recruiting tool for future terrorists.” (CBS News)
Administration perambulation
The new White House press secretary Katie Zacharia will hold her first briefing this morning. Zacharia’s pursuit of the job included monitoring Trump’s schedule and making “sure she was on-air when she assumed he might be watching.” (Playbook) The White House continued to air taxpayer-funded ads that praise Trump over the weekend despite a judge’s order that blocked them. (Washington Post) The USDA scuttled a plan to respond to avian flu in part because Secretary Brooke Rollins was concerned that it might conflict with the anti-vax views of Health Secretary RFK Jr. (Politico) A sixth person died in Pennsylvania’s measles outbreak. (Washington Post) Trump said it would be “exciting” to meet with Kim Jong Un during his planned trip to Asia next month. (Bloomberg) Trump yesterday posted a quote, supposedly by Denzel Washington, that said the actor “never met anyone braver, smarter, or who cares more about America” than the President. Washington’s representatives said the quote was fictional. (Washington Post)
Perfect Saturdays, by Daniella Byck
The DC area is predicted to reach peak foliage around October 20, so it’s a good time to plan a colorful fall hike. In fact, we’ve got a list of destinations for your leaf-peeping endeavors. For a moderately easy trek close to home, the 1.8-mile Birch Bluff Trail in Prince William Forest Park is a leafy path that runs along the South Fork of Quantico Creek at some points. (You can potentially see traces of beaver visitors along the shore.) During the height of autumn, the path turns into a vibrant painting with yellow and orange trees.
Recently on Washingtonian dot com
• There’s water in the Reflecting Pool again, as the strange saga of the landmark continues.
• Our neighborhood guide to Bethesda is here, with suggestions for shopping, dining, and things to do.
• Haunted houses and trails around the region.
Local news links
Pique for the trees
A federal judge tore into the government yesterday over the removal of trees from East Potomac Park over the weekend. US District Judge Ana C. Reyes said she was “thoroughly unamused” by the skimpy notice the government provided—at 4:55 on the Friday before a long weekend. (Washington Post) Reyes blocked further removals until today and required 72 hours’ notice of any felling plans. (Washington Sun) Kevin Griess, who supervises the area for the National Park Service, told the court the removal “had nothing to do, to the best of his knowledge, with Trump’s desire to revamp the public golf course to a national-level attraction.” (Politico) Our reporter Finn Hartnett visited the site yesterday. (Washingtonian)
Other local news
• The University of Maryland suspended its entire club tennis team “after some of its members emailed ‘racist imagery’ to other university tennis clubs” before a tournament this weekend. (NBC4 Washington)
• Three people overdosed at the Wheaton Metro Station yesterday, and one of them died. (DC News Now)
• Police reports describe a wild weekend in Arlington. (ARLnow)
• Police in Montgomery County are looking for two people they say broke into the historic Bethesda Meeting House last month. (BethesdaToday)
• Three restaurants in Takoma Park were burglarized last night, cops say. (MoCoShow)
• James Madison University will leave the Sun Belt Conference and join the American Conference. (DC News Now)
Things to Do
• Kelela, the Ethiopian American alternative R&B vocalist who grew up in Gaithersburg, plays the Fillmore Silver Spring tonight.
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.
