Good morning. Astronomical spring arrives this morning. It will feel actually spring-like today, with breezes and a high around 70. Showers likely tonight, with a low near 50. You can find me on Bluesky, I’m @abeaujon.87 on Signal, and there’s a link to my email address below.
Sports this weekend: The Caps host the Devils tonight and Colorado on Sunday. The Washington Spirit visit Racing Louisville Saturday. The Wizards host Oklahoma City on Saturday. D.C. United visit Atlanta United Saturday.
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I can’t stop listening to:
Tunnel, “Ampersand.” Here’s some LA shoegaze with a DC pedigree (remind me sometime to unspool my theory that LA and DC are essentially the same place): Tunnel’s Natasha Janfaza went to school here, and the Messthetics’ Brendan Canty and Joe Lally join her on this tune. Canty will play drums with Tunnel tonight at Comet Ping Pong, where Big Girl and Massie will perform as well.
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:
War news: Today marks Nowruz, the Persian new year. Israel struck Tehran overnight, and the UN Security Council held a meeting where Gulf states “stressed the need for Iran to halt attacks on them.” (AP) QatarEnergy CEO Saad al-Kaabi said Iranian attacks on Qatar will cause it to lose nearly a fifth of its liquid natural gas capacity for years. (Reuters) Saudi officials worry that oil could hit $180 next month. (WSJ) Kuwait said Iran hit one of its oil refineries again. (AP) The US began stepped-up operations aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz. (WSJ) Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the US may lift sanctions on Iranian oil that’s already at sea. (Axios) A broader US attack on Iran’s Kharg Island looms. Here are four scenarios of what could happen. (Politico) The national average price for a gallon of gas in the US rose to $3.91. (AAA) Iran reportedly hit a US fighter jet, which landed safely. Its pilot is in stable condition. (Stars and Stripes) Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said family members of US service members urged him to “not stop until the job is done” when they met this week. Charles Simmons, the father of an Air Force sergeant killed in the crash of a refueling plane, said he “didn’t say anything along those lines.” (NBC News) Almost two-thirds of Americans expect President Trump to send ground troops to Iran. Only 7 percent support the idea. (Reuters)
Trump’s other wars: The Department of Justice took another shot at James Comey and subpoenaed him in a “grand conspiracy” case federal prosecutors in Florida hope to bring. (Axios) Its previous Trump-ordered prosecution of Comey collapsed last year. (NPR) Trump and his allies have claimed investigations into Russian influence on the 2016 election were part of “an effort to damage Trump’s first term.” (NBC News) Trump suggested yesterday that an investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell should continue. (Politico) Two former FBI agents who were fired because they worked on an investigation into Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 election sued DOJ leaders, saying “political retribution” guided their decision. (NYT)
Homeland insecurity: The Department of Homeland Security remains shut down. Border czar Tom Homan met with lawmakers yesterday in an attempt to break the impasse. (NBC News) Acting Deputy TSA Administrator Adam Stahl said yesterday that airport security lines are likely to get worse as unpaid screeners call out sick. (The Hill) A US Citizenship and Immigration Services officer testified that more than 100 people had been wrongfully deported. (TPM) Trump has come to believe that “some of his administration’s deportation policies have gone too far, and voters don’t like the term ‘mass deportation.'” (WSJ) The JFK Library Foundation announced this week that it will present a “Profile in Courage” award to the people of Minneapolis and St. Paul for their resistance to a deadly ICE crackdown in Minnesota. (CBS News) ICE officers have begun to extract DNA from protesters they detain, possibly to create a database. (NPR) Nashville journalist Estefany Rodríguez was released from DHS detention yesterday. (Nashville Banner)
Administration perambulation: A commission made up of Trump appointees okayed a commemorative gold coin featuring his likeness. It will probably be very big, because “the president likes big things,” one commissioner said. (AP) The Commission of Fine Arts pushed back on an administration plan to build a large screening center under the White House. (NYT) Former Trump press secretary and current Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders was asked to leave a Little Rock restaurant called the Croissanterie. (KTHV) Flashback: You may remember the last time something like this happened to Sanders. (Washington Post) Trump made a Pearl Harbor joke while meeting with Japan’s PM. Sanae Takaichi “appeared to take a deep breath” after the President’s bon mot. (NYT) The FCC approved a merger between broadcasting giants Tegna and Nexstar, meaning one company will “reach more than half of American households.” (Politico) A federal judge in Oregon found that Health Secretary RFK Jr. “overstepped his legal authority when he declared last December that providers of gender-transition medical treatments for minors ‘do not meet professionally recognized standards.'” (NYT) GOP attempts to excommunicate Joe Kent, who resigned this week over his qualms about Trump’s war in Iran, expose a widening rift in the MAGA coalition. (Politico)
Recently on Washingtonian dot com:
• A Pennsylvania congressman’s dream of a DC without traffic cameras moved closer to reality this week.
• Polymarket’s pop-up bar opens today on K Street, Northwest. The former owners of the star-crossed politics bar Political Pattie’s posted that they “walked so y’all could run.”
• A look at the DC Environmental Film Festival, which kicks off today.
• This weekend’s best open houses.
• Don’t miss these spring festivals.
• This winter wedding at Meridian House had a “warm and cozy” theme—complete with a hot chocolate station.
• Our April issue is on stands now. Take a peek at what’s inside.
Local news links:
• The Pentagon plans to keep National Guard troops milling about in DC until the end of Trump’s term. (ABC News)
• Cops in DC announced three juvenile curfew zones will go into effect tonight after a large gathering in Navy Yard last weekend turned deadly. (WUSA9)
• Police in Fairfax released body-cam footage of the February shooting of Chhatra Thapa, who killed his wife and daughter last month. (Washington Post)
• Police in Prince George’s County say former Baltimore Ravens player Terrance West assaulted contractors working on a house in Upper Marlboro. (Fox 5)
• VCU beat UNC in a thrilling game yesterday. (ESPN) Howard lost to Michigan. (NBC4 Washington)
• Meet some of the area’s concert photographers. (WCP)
• Hank Dietle’s Tavern in Rockville is raising money to replace its dance floor, which patrons have plumb wore out. (WTOP)
• Fauquier County is no longer part of Northern Virginia, the Virginia Tourism Corporation says. It’s now part of something called Virginia Piedmont. (Northern Virginia Magazine)
• Is the snowcrete…finally gone? (DC News Now)
Weekend event picks:
Friday: Ari Lennox returns home for a much-anticipated show at Throw Social DC.
Saturday: The National Cherry Blossom Festival opens.
Sunday: “Miró and the United States” opens this weekend at the Phillips Collection.
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.
