Good morning. Sunny and hot today with a high around 93. A low near 71 overnight.
Sports this weekend: The Nationals visit Arizona Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Loudoun United FC host the Richmond Kickers at Segra Field Saturday. The Mystics visit the Atlanta Dream Saturday.
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:
The Beach Boys, “I Just Wasn’t Made for These Times.” Before Sunday afternoon’s show at Wolf Trap, DC Public Library’s music librarian Karen I. B. McCool, Corcoran School of the Arts & Design director (and GW professor of music) Lauren Onkey, and Toby Mountain of the mastering firm Northeastern Digital will discuss the Beach Boys’ 1966 masterpiece “Pet Sounds.”
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: Hezbollah rejected a ceasefire deal between Israel and the Lebanese government that would end fighting there, imperiling a deal to end President Trump‘s war with Iran. (Reuters) Israel struck targets in Southern Lebanon, and Hezbollah fired drones at northern Israel. (AP) The International Atomic Energy Agency said it hasn’t been able to inspect Iran’s nuclear facilities. (AP) The stalemate in talks to end the war is beginning to worry investors. (Reuters)
The name above the title: The Kennedy Center instructed staff yesterday to remove references to Trump from email signatures and official documents to comply with a court order. The arts complex’s leadership didn’t respond to questions about whether or when Trump’s name would come off the front of the building. (Washington Post) The President’s name is still on the website this morning. (Kennedy Center) Meanwhile: Trump proposed building a walkway from the Lincoln Memorial to the Potomac, claiming an unspecified “they” hopes to name it “the Trump Promenade.” (Politico)
Hill news: The Senate finally passed a measure to fund ICE and Border Patrol operations late last night. GOP leadership managed to defeat Democratic attempts to codify the end of Trump’s $1.8 billion slush fund for people who felt they’d been the victims of government “weaponization.” The bill also did not include the $1 billion Trump wanted for security for his ballroom. (Politico) Leadership’s plan to reauthorize FISA Section 702 has stumbled over Trump’s appointment of Bill Pulte to be acting director of national intelligence. (Punchbowl News) Trump said yesterday that he wouldn’t nominate Pulte to the job permanently. (CBS News) The House approved aid to Ukraine, bucking Trump. (NYT)
Administration perambulation: Donors to Trump’s ballroom project “have won new or expanded federal contracts worth more than $50 billion during the past six months.” (Washington Post) John Bolton plans to plead guilty to one count of mishandling classified documents. His prosecution centered around the process of writing a book that was critical of Trump, his former boss. (AP) Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche “faces a potentially rocky path through the Senate.” (Politico) The Defense Department “dramatically reduced” the number of faiths it recognizes. Druids and pagans are among those left out. (Military.com) DOD is also likely to cancel a plan to send missiles to Germany, “part of a wider American retrenchment from the NATO alliance.” (Politico) George Santos reportedly threatened NPR reporter Bobby Allyn after Allyn reported that the former congressman was being investigated for self-dealing bets on Kalshi. (NPR) Citing the fact that he had “thought deeply” about the question, Will Scharf, the Trump-installed National Capital Planning Commission chairman, said he didn’t believe DC’s building-height limits should apply to Trump’s planned arch near Arlington Cemetery. (Washington Post) Arizona’s AG plans a new indictment of more than a dozen of Trump’s allies, including Rudy Giuliani and Mark Meadows, in a case about attempts to overturn Trump’s 2020 loss to Joe Biden. (Politico) About one in 16 of the January 6 rioters Trump pardoned has been arrested or charged with crimes since 2021. (Lawfare)
Recently on Washingtonian dot com:
• An early look at Michael Schlow‘s much-missed restaurant the Riggsby, which reopened this week in Dupont Circle.
• Carla Hall tells us about “Please Underestimate Me,” her new one-woman show at Olney Theatre Center.
• Rosa’s Diner, which seeks to infuse the traditional diner experience with Latin American flavors, just opened on K Street, Northwest, downtown.
• Pride is here, and so are the events to celebrate it. Here are some you won’t want to miss.
• El Techo has returned to Shaw as Techo Palma. Here’s a look.
Local news links:
• The Reflecting Pool is filling with water. (WTOP)
• DC’s 311 app is not working well (or at all, in many cases). (The 51st)
• The White House hopes to reopen a coal-fired power plant in Maryland. (Maryland Matters)
• Brendan Banfield will be sentenced today. He’s expected to get life for the murder of his wife and a stranger he lured to their Herndon home with help from the family’s au pair. (WTOP)
• Kayla Richardson, now identified as the woman who was shot in her driveway in Upper Marlboro on Tuesday, has died. The suspect in the shooting was found dead this week. (NBC4 Washington)
• A woman who says she slipped on mashed potatoes at a now-closed Outback Steakhouse in Sterling has sued the chain for $1.5 million. (DC News Now)
• Louis Vuitton has sued Maryland Live! Casino over promotional items that it says replaced the company’s distinctive “LV” logo with the word “Live!” (ABC 7)
• Karen Attiah testified yesterday in an arbitration case about her firing from the Washington Post. (WTOP)
• A fascinating look at “free car music,” DC’s underground rap scene. (Pitchfork)
• Alexandria may turn a parking island into a pocket park. In this newsletter writer’s opinion, it’s the perfect location for a park dedicated to famous Alexandrian Dermot Mulroney. (ALXnow)
Weekend event picks:
Friday: The Spirit of Independence Festival continues at the National Archives building.
Saturday: The new exhibition “American Icon: The US Flag in Art” opens at the National Gallery of Art.
Sunday: The Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, DC, pays tribute to soul divas at Lincoln Theatre.
See lots more picks for the 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.
