Good morning and welcome to the 43rd day of January. Only 19 days left in the month. Rainy, gusty and some fog with a high of 53 today and a low of 41 tonight. The Wizards are at Minnesota Saturday, and the Caps host Winnipeg here that same evening. You can find me on Bluesky, I’m @abeaujon.87 on Signal, and there’s a link to my email address at the bottom of this post.
I can’t stop listening to:
Willow Avalon, “Baby Blue.” Honestly, I could have picked almost any song off “Southern Belle Raisin’ Hell,” her very good new album. Avalon strides a line between Americana and mainstream country, and I really enjoy her rowdy, raunchy lyrics and raspy voice, which features a tactical warble and sometimes sounds as if First Aid Kit were actually from the US. She plays the Atlantis tonight.
Air disaster latest:
• Some of the lives lost. (Washington Post) (Axios) What the recovery effort looks like. (Axios D.C.)
• The ice-skating community in Virginia is bereft. (WUSA)
• An initial FAA report says the air traffic control tower at National Airport was understaffed and had been for years. (NYT) The National Transportation Safety Board’s investigation will likely take a year, but the crash “followed years of alarms about the nation’s hallowed air-safety system.” (Politico) The airport “has been a source of concern in recent years about crowded airspace in the area.” (NPR)
• President Trump blamed his predecessors and diversity programs for the crash and, when asked whether he would visit the site of the crash, asked, “Want me to go swimming?” (Washington Post) During his first term, he extended one of the programs he blamed. (Washington Post)
• Trump named Chris Rocheleau as acting FAA administrator Thursday. (Axios) The agency’s previous leader, Michael Whitaker, had clashed with Elon Musk and stepped down on January 20. (The Verge)
Here’s some other administration news you might have blocked out:
• Trump promised tariffs for products from Canada and Mexico will come this weekend. He didn’t say whether oil would be among them. (AP)
• Paramount is exploring a settlement with Trump, which “would be an extraordinary concession by a major U.S. media company to a sitting president, especially in a case in which there is no evidence that the network got facts wrong or damaged the plaintiff’s reputation.” (NYT)
• Doug Burgum got confirmed as interior secretary. (Politico)
• The FCC plans to investigate how NPR and PBS handle underwriting. (NYT) NPR’s CEO says it is “confident any review of our programming and underwriting practices will confirm NPR’s adherence to these rules.” (NPR)
• Sam Bankman-Fried‘s parents are looking for a pardon for their son. (Bloomberg)
One great open house this weekend
This condo at the nexus of Dupont Circle and Adams Morgan (the Greater Lauriol Plaza area?) has two bedrooms, 1.5 baths, a fireplace, and dedicated parking. Asking price is $522,500, plus a $425 monthly condo fee. You can read about it, and see all of Kate Corliss‘s picks for open houses this weekend, here.
Recently on Washingtonian dot com:
• A look inside the Goddard Space Flight Center, where the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is being readied for launch.
• Here’s Briana Thomas‘s and Pat Padua‘s guide to the can’t-miss cultural events coming to the area in February.
Weekend event picks, by Briana Thomas:
• The Washington Auto Show begins. (Friday through February 9, $15+)
• The Chinese Lunar New Year Parade will strut through Chinatown. (Sunday)
• Get Black History Month off to a great start at the Kennedy Center with the annual MLK tribute concert Living the Dream … Singing the Dream. (Sunday, $28+)
See more of Thomas’s picks here.
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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.
