Good morning. Scattered showers with thunderstorms possible after 1 PM and a high around 76 today. A low around 57 overnight. The Washington Capitals begin round two of the Stanley Cup playoffs tonight; they’ll host Carolina. Here’s our guide to food and drink near the arena. Meanwhile, the Nationals will host Cleveland tonight, and D.C. United will host Charleston in a U.S. Open Cup match.
You can find me on Bluesky, I’m @abeaujon.87 on Signal, and there’s a link to my email address below. This roundup is now available as a morning email newsletter. Sign up here.
I can’t stop listening to:
Florist, “Have Heaven.” Say, this is nice! Florist play the Black Cat tonight with Allegra Krieger.
Here’s some administration news you might have blocked out:
Reality bites: The White House said Monday that “no final decisions on foreign film tariffs have been made” after President Trump declared Sunday night that he would impose tariffs on films produced outside the US in an effort to save Hollywood. (The Hollywood Reporter) Tariffs would be difficult, to say the least, to impose on films, which are distributed digitally. (LAT) Trump’s announcement “baffled” many filmmakers, but domestic production has taken a big hit—even with travel costs, making movies overseas can be “infinitely cheaper.” (CNN) It’s possible that Trump’s announcement was prompted by a meeting with Jon Voight and his manager over the weekend in which they called for tax incentives and other measures, including “tariffs in certain limited circumstances.” California Governor Gavin Newsom proposed a $7.5 billion federal tax credit for filmmakers. (NYT)
The chatting class: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth “used Signal more extensively for official Pentagon business than previously disclosed.” Hegseth used Signal chats for everyday business, which required recipients to “step away from their desks to find a location in the Pentagon that received phone service, which is spotty in the building.” (WSJ) TeleMessage, which makes the version of Signal that Mike Waltz appears to have used, suspended service yesterday after a reported hack. (NBC News) In other Pentagon news, Hegseth also announced a “‘minimum’ 20 percent cut to the number of four-star generals and admirals.” (Washington Post)
Austerity ensues: Trump’s tariffs have caused slowdowns at US ports that consumers will soon feel in the form of higher prices. The White House’s answer is to be patient, a message that carries political risk. (Politico) “I can’t imagine what it sounds like to most Americans to have billionaires tell them they have to cut back on their living standards for some undefinable and unreachable goal.” (Washington Post) Mattel said it would raise prices on toys. (WSJ) Ford suspended its 2025 financial guidance, saying it expected a $2.5 billion hit. (CNBC)
The immigration situation: The administration announced a plan to pay people not in the US legally $1,000 to leave. (AP) A federal appeals court in Boston declined to allow the administration to “revoke the temporary legal status of hundreds of thousands of Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans living in the United States.” (Reuters) A declassified memo “confirms that U.S. intelligence agencies rejected a key claim President Trump put forth to justify invoking a wartime statute to summarily deport Venezuelans to a prison in El Salvador.” (NYT) GlobalX Air, which the administration has hired for deportation flights, got hacked. (404 Media) Similarly to its actions in the case of Kilmar Abrego García, the administration has resisted returning from El Salvador Daniel Lozano-Camargo, who was “covered by a 2024 legal settlement that barred immigration authorities from deporting him while his request for asylum was pending.” (Politico)
Administration perambulation: Trump has abandoned his plan to rename Veterans Day. (Military.com) Education Secretary Linda McMahon told Harvard it wouldn’t be eligible for future federal grants, citing what she called the school’s “disastrous mismanagement.” (NYT) Trump claimed he didn’t have anything to do with the photo of himself as the pope that the White House reshared from his account, saying critics “can’t take a joke” and claiming that “The Catholics loved it.” (NYT) Eighteen states sued over the administration’s halt to wind-power projects. (NYT) Flashback: Trump’s antipathy toward wind has its origins in a dispute over turbines near a Scottish golf course he owns (Fast Company) Meanwhile: A militia group has made threats against weather radar systems operated by the National Weather Service that it considers to be weapons. (CNN)
How to get into the Jazz in the Garden lottery, by Daniella Byck
Jazz in the Garden, Washington’s favorite sangria-soaked summer tradition, is just around the corner. The concert series in the National Gallery of Art’s Sculpture Garden kicks off on May 23, but if you want to snag tickets for the first show of the year, mark May 12 on your calendar. Luckily, you don’t need to fight for your life like it’s the Eras Tour 2.0: Tickets are allotted in a lottery system. Registration for the first concert (featuring the Lao Tizer Band) opens Monday at 10 AM and closes May 16 at 12 PM. May the odds be ever in your favor.
Recently on Washingtonian dot com:
• DC Mayor Muriel Bowser wants to overturn Initiative 82, the DC law that phases out the tipped minimum wage. DC Council Chairman Phil Mendelson says there’s not currently enough support in the legislative body to do so.
• Arguments for and against the Park Service’s proposal to eliminate the reversible lanes on Rock Creek Parkway.
• Try these spots in DC’s “Mini Mexico” corridor in Columbia Heights.
• Travel deals for Washingtonian readers.
• Brendan Slocumb‘s first novel was a surprise success. He tells us about his new one.
Local news links:
• Mike Johnson says the House will eventually work to fix the billion-dollar hole it blew in the District’s budget. (Politico)
• Johnson and Bowser were at an event yesterday where Trump, NFL boss Roger Goodell, and Commanders owner Josh Harris announced the 2027 NFL draft would be held in DC. Bowser said the draft would inspire “Americans from all 50 states [to] come to their nation’s capital and enjoy our beautiful city and museums,” which…already happens a bit. (Washington Post) Harris told Trump he’s the “ultimate Commander.” (JPAFootball)
• The Washington Post won a Pulitzer Prize for its coverage of Trump’s shooting last June at a rally. Ann Telnaes, who resigned from the Post after owner Jeff Bezos announced plans to refashion its opinion coverage, also won a prize. (Washington Post) The Baltimore Banner also won a prize for an investigative series it produced with the New York Times (The Pulitzer Prizes) The Merrill College of Journalism was a finalist. (Merrill College of Journalism)
Air travel corner: A Park Service helicopter searching for victims of a crash caused three flights into National Airport to alter their landing plans Sunday. (Washington Post) The Army has suspended the type of training mission that caused two planes to abort landings at National last week. (WUSA9). Authorities say a Dulles employee tried to smuggle cash and drugs. (WTOP)
• Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin says he’ll cut $900 billion from the commonwealth’s budget due to changes wrought by the administration’s spending cuts and tariffs. (AP)
• A three-and-a-half-year renovation is coming to the Theodore Roosevelt Bridge. (WTOP)
• Trump boosted the nomination of interim US Attorney Ed Martin, saying he was key to Health Secretary RFK Jr.’s “MAHA” efforts. (Amanda Moore)
• A bird flew into Pete Doocy‘s head. (USA Today)
Tuesday’s event pick:
• Kids can create amphibian-inspired artwork and build amphibian homes at the Natural History museum.
See more picks from Briana Thomas, who writes our Things to Do newsletter.
Know someone we should consider for our Tech Titans feature this year? Nominate them here. Did you miss our 100 Very Best Restaurants List? It’s here. The deadline for our Cutest Dog Contest has been extended until May 9.
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.
