Good morning. Sunny with a high around 34 that will feel colder thanks to more of that darn wind. Clear and cold overnight, with a low near 23. The Capitals host San Jose tonight. The Capital City Go-Go host Raptors 905. You can find me on Bluesky, I’m @abeaujon.87 on Signal, and there’s a link to my email address below.
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I can’t stop listening to:
Berra, “For Not You.” The DC indie rocker plays Songbyrd tonight with Sea Lion Caves, Tyler Davis, and KissMyBa$$.
Take Washingtonian Today with you! I made a playlist on Spotify and on Apple Music of last year’s music recommendations. I’ll make one for 2026 soon.
Here’s some administration news you might have blocked out:
More government violence: A federal immigration agent shot a man in Minneapolis last night, one week after an ICE agent shot and killed Renee Good. The administration says the man it shot “began to resist and violently assault” an officer after a targeted traffic stop. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey called the situation “not sustainable.” (NYT) Feds say the man they shot wielded a “shovel and broom handle.” (AP) Protests followed the shooting. (Minneapolis Star-Tribune) ICE now claims that Jonathan Ross, the agent who killed Good and walked away from the scene of the incident, suffered “internal bleeding” from the attack. For what it’s worth, bruises are a form of internal bleeding. (CBS News) In Santa Ana, California, a Department of Homeland Security agent shot a 21-year-old protester at point blank rage in the face with a nonlethal round, blinding him. (TNR)
The ICE storm: ICE “sent many new recruits into field offices without proper training” after its AI-powered software erroneously identified people who used the word “officer” in their résumés as cops. Fabulous technology; can’t wait to see how it makes more of my digital tools worse today. (NBC News) Leaked documents outline ICE’s secret programs to “spy on immigrants and Americans alike.” (Ken Klippenstein) A federal judge in California “appeared skeptical” of the government’s request to dox the people behind an Instagram account that warns Pennsylvanians about immigration raids. (Politico) President Trump‘s war on blue cities is increasingly unpopular: More than half of Americans polled say ICE is making urban areas less safe. (CNN) In Congress, which must fund the entire government by the end of the month or risk another shutdown, the question of funding DHS is getting thornier. US Representative Ritchie Torres of New York introduced a bill that would require agents to wear QR codes that would show people who somehow got them to hold still while they waited for the little yellow web address box to appear their names. (Axios) Some House Republicans want immigration agents to wear body cameras. (Politico) Democrats continue to battle one another over how to address the situation—an effort to impeach DHS Secretary Kristi Noem keeps gaining support, to the chagrin of those who believe the party should focus on affordability. (Axios)
Meanwhile: The administration will stop processing visas for people from 75 countries while the State Department refines attempts to determine whether they might require public benefits. (Fox News) The ban won’t affect people traveling to the US on tourist visas, for, say, this year’s World Cup. (AP)
We’re going to war with Denmark? Denmark, Sweden, Germany, Canada, and the Netherlands have bolstered military defenses of Greenland as Trump increasingly threatens to take control of the territory. (Politico) Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen met with US Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio here yesterday, and says the administration was not moved by the position that Greenland does not belong to the US. (NYT) The island’s economy is heavily subsidized and “powered largely by sales of shrimp.” (WSJ)
Where’s Bezos? Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos has “remained conspicuously silent” since the FBI searched the Alexandria home of Post reporter Hannah Natanson Wednesday. The Post’s editorial board, which Bezos refashioned into a largely pro-administration mouthpiece, took until Wednesday night to condemn the raid. The paper’s billionaire owner, however, seems to have nothing to say about the matter. (Status) Natanson covers the federal workforce, and Post Executive Editor Matt Murray says she’s not a target of the investigation, which centers on a government contractor the feds suspect of leaking classified info. (NYT) “It is exceptionally rare for law enforcement officials to conduct searches at reporters’ homes.” (Washington Post)
Administration perambulation: Vance broke a 50-50 tie in the Senate yesterday to block a resolution that would have required the administration to seek congressional approval for military action in Venezuela. (NYT) The administration says it just sold $500 million worth of Venezuelan oil. (Semafor) The US Department of Health and Human Services did a U-turn on its plan to cut $2 billion of funding to mental health programs after furious bipartisan lobbying. (NYT) More lawmakers say they’ve gotten inquiries from US Attorney for DC Jeanine Pirro, the former Fox News star whose office is now investigating Trump’s perceived enemy and Fed Chair Jerome Powell and US Senator Elissa Slotkin of Michigan. (NYT) A federal court in California declined to block the state’s new legislative map, which heavily favors Democrats. (LAT) The US Senate will leave town without a deal on extending Covid-era Obamacare subsidies. (Punchbowl News) House Republicans are upset that their leadership has scheduled votes that they keep losing. (Politico) US Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins suggested that Americans concerned about high grocery prices make do with a piece of chicken, a piece of broccoli, and a corn tortilla for dinner. They can have “one other thing,” too, Rollins said, and still keep the price of the meal below $3. (The Independent)
Hidden Eats, by Ike Allen:
Chili Wok, a friendly strip mall spot in Vienna (with another location in Alexandria) opened about one year ago, and was packed when I visited for takeout on Christmas Day. The kitchen has a way with veggies: “Refreshing Woodear Mushroom” (a sort of salad made from the chewy fungus, hummed with garlic, cilantro, and black vinegar) and dry-fried cauliflower (little florets of the delicate sprouting Chinese variety aggressively stir-fried with chiles, green onions, and numbing spices). Chili Wok’s rendition of the classic Chongqing dish Lazi chicken is great, but vegetarians can get just as much satisfaction from that cauliflower.
Recently on Washingtonian dot com:
• Items owned by Jimmy Carter and Rosalynn Carter—including the armchairs from a viral photo—are being auctioned off.
• Perhaps you’ll be able to see the Spy Museum’s new exhibit about camouflage?
• This wedding evoked a a colorful New England garden party—with an Egyptian twist.
• A chic, laid-back wedding at the National Arboretum.
Local news links:
• Outgoing Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin gave his final State of the Commonwealth address last night. (Virginia Mercury)
• Kevin Chavous will run for DC Council. (Kevin B. Chavous/X)
• The Nationals will leave MASN and broadcast most of their games on a new streaming platform in partnership with Major League Baseball. (Washington Post)
• The Washington Post will close its Springfield printing plant and move print operations to a smaller facility in Sterling. (WBJ)
• Juliana Peres Magalhães testified for a second day in the trial of Brendan Banfield, the Herndon-area man prosecutors say conspired with the Brazilian au pair to murder his wife and another man. (Washington Post)
• The cascading vacancies caused by Virginia Senator Adam Ebbin‘s resignation to join Abigail Spanberger‘s administration could continue: Alexandria council member Kirk McPike plans to seek the House of Delegates seat of Elizabeth Bennett-Parker, the Democrat who won a “firehouse primary” to run for Ebbin’s seat Tuesday. If this continues, I may be the only Alexandria resident not running for something by the end of the month. (ALXnow)
• The Fauquier County sheriff’s office says it arrested someone who planned to smuggle drugs in a Bible to a person already in jail on unrelated charges. (WUSA9)
• Dykwon Perry Davis got ten years for abducting assaulting a woman at the Potomac Yard Metro station in February 2024. Prosecutors had sought more than double that sentence. (ALXnow)
• DC rapper Taliban Glizzy, aka Trevor Wright, got 18 years for robbing jewelry stores on the East Coast. (DC News Now)
• Hawk N Dove says it will reopen at the end of the month after a water-heater issue. (PoPville)
• A GoFundMe for flooded Alexandria record shop Crooked Beat brought in more than $5K. (ALXnow)
Thursday’s event picks:
• Martin Lawrence performs tonight and tomorrow at the Theater at MGM National Harbor.
• Don Was and the Pan-Detroit Ensemble perform the Dead’s “Blues for Allah” at the Atlantis.
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.
