Good morning. Sunny with a high around 70 today. A low near 48 overnight.
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I can’t stop listening to
Jenna Davis, “The Summer I Turned Petty.” The country singer (and voice of M3GAN) plays Union Stage tonight with Ava Liv Mabry.
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
This again
The Justice Department tried yet again to prosecute James Comey, charging the former FBI director and Trump critic with leaking to the New York Times in 2016. President Trump claimed yesterday that he knew nothing about the case but called Comey a “dirty cop.” (AP) The feds didn’t seek a grand jury indictment for this third prosecution; the “criminal information” they filed in federal court in DC yesterday is based on their allegations, which DOJ investigated without managing to indict Comey from 2017 to 2020. They’ll have to get an indictment from a grand jury if they want to keep the case alive. (Washington Post) Comey’s lawyers argue the legal move is an end run around the statute of limitations and should get tossed. (NBC News) “It would almost be funny if it weren’t such an appalling abuse,” Comey said in a video statement. (James Comey/Substack) Meanwhile: A judge in New York ruled that DOJ fired Comey’s daughter Maurene Comey illegally last July and said she’s eligible for back pay—which “could open a path for other fired government workers” under Trump. (NYT)
Midterms mélange
We’re one week from Election Day 2026. Trump visited Mississippi yesterday, where former President Obama‘s remark that “he’s got the White House looking like Saddam Hussein opened a Cheesecake Factory” bothered him so little that he spoke about it at length. (NYT) Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent pointedly ate at a Cheesecake Factory near the White House, where presumably he refrained from spitting in his food. (CNBC) Trump plans to campaign in Texas today alongside Johnny Manziel, Colt McCoy, and Danny Amendola. (Axios) A federal appeals court declined to order California to set aside tens of thousands of ballots the administration claims may have been filed by non-citizens. (WSJ) DOJ asked Washington state to set aside 400 ballots it likewise argues may belong to non-citizens. (NBC News) Trump floated the idea of $1 million rewards for people who report voter fraud. (Washington Sun) Audi honcho Gernot Döllner is in hot water after appearing at a rally with Trump in Georgia. (Reuters)
Administration perambulation
Some Democrats in the US House of Representatives called for a special counsel to look into Trump’s connections to the deceased, disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. (NYT) Jennifer Shuford will exit her job as the CDC’s deputy director; she’s had that gig only since April and departs amid “renewed questions about the Trump administration’s approach to vaccine policy.” (Washington Post) Donald Trump Jr. accompanied Russian oligarch Umar Kremlev on a hunting trip in Mongolia. Kremlev paid for Trump Jr.’s wedding earlier this year, but the President’s son reportedly repaid him after details came out. (FT) The feds charged an Illinois man with mailing letters that contained a white substance to members of Congress from his area. (NBC News) The Pentagon encouraged Congress to okay the administration’s attempt to rename the Defense Department. (Hill)
Perfect Saturdays, by Daniella Byck
My muse for all things adventurous in the DC area is my mom, who often took me and my siblings on fun, athletic day trips that ended with us snoozing in the backseat. One of the escapades we still love to this day is the Adventure Park at Sandy Spring, a massive aerial park in Montgomery County. The high-flying course features bridges, obstacles, platforms, and 35 zip lines that wind through a forest. Different trail options are available so you can take a self-guided journey at the challenge level of your choice. Step into a harness and then explore the leafy landscape, which is particularly scenic this time of year. Tickets are $69 for adults, $59 for kids ages seven to 11, and $22 for six year olds. Spots must be reserved in advance.
Recently on Washingtonian dot com
• Allan Lichtman got it wrong in 2024 when he predicted a victory for Kamala Harris. But the “the prophet of presidential elections” still thinks the future can be knowable.
• Renée Fleming is perhaps the region’s most famous musician. Still, the soprano can visit Merrifield Garden Center without bother.
• Lace up your skates: The ice rink at the National Gallery of Art’s Sculpture Garden will reopen on November 23.
• A short history of Howard University’s Homecoming celebrations.
Local news links
Trump’s DC projects
US District Judge Ana Reyes extended her ban on major work at East Potomac Park, where the National Park Service claims to be doing routine maintenance separate from Trump’s announcements that they’re refurbishing a golf course to his specifications. “Rarely, if ever, has the United States Department of Justice urged a federal court not to believe the sitting president,” Reyes wrote. (NYT) Several of Trump’s DC projects are at an inflection point as the midterms approach. (Axios D.C.) A 3-D model shows how the arch he hopes to build near Arlington Cemetery would bathe the graveyard in shadows. (Washington Post)
Other local news
• Bob Woodward expresses dismay about Jeff Bezos‘s stewardship of the Washington Post in his new book. (NYT)
• The man accused of damaging Quantico’s Iwo Jima statue believed he had been instructed to do so by the rapper DaBaby, cops in Prince William County said. (NBC News)
• A man in the DC Jail was killed by another who used a “makeshift weapon,” authorities said. It’s the fourth death of someone in the custody of DC’s corrections department this year. (Washington Sun)
• Prince William County police say a man from Woodbridge “pulled out a machete and swung it” at another person during a road-rage incident. (Fox 5)
• Cops in Manassas Park arrested an art teacher “after a loaded firearm was found in the parking lot of Manassas Park Middle School.” (Washington Sun)
• Atlanta’s Solomon Brothers Jewelers bought Mervis Diamond Importers. Ronnie Mervis will still do the chain’s radio ads. (WBJ)
• Ramon Griffin of Thurgood Marshall Academy is DC’s 2027 Teacher of the Year. (DC News Now)
• Someone lifted a truck full of kayaks near the Clara Barton Parkway. Irate kayakers found posts online where a man wrote “Starting a kayak rental business let me know” and shared photos of the watercraft. They contacted the aspiring business owner and persuaded him to return the boats. Now the Park Police are involved. (Bethesda Today)
• Say good-bye to right turns on red in Old Town Alexandria. (Alexandria Brief)
• A still-anonymous couple in Montgomery County picked up their lottery winnings while wearing Halloween masks. (DC News Now)
• Is the Pentagon City Costco the sixth-worst location in the US? Yes, the parking deck can be a bit…exhilarating. Yes, it’s busy. But sixth-worst? It’s not the breeze-in, breeze-out situation I encountered recently in Orange County, but in this newsletter writer’s opinion the ability to load up on Kirkland pesto covers a multitude of sins. (Northern Virginia Magazine)
Things to Do
• The 17th Street High Heel Race returns to Dupont.
• Rush plays Capital One Arena.
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.
