Good morning. Mostly sunny with a high around 77. A low around 60 overnight. The Nationals will host the Cleveland Guardians this afternoon, and the Mystics will play a pre-season game against the Atlanta Dream today. The Capitals lost to Carolina last night and will try to regain their footing tomorrow, and D.C. United beat the Charleston Battery to advance in the U.S. Open Cup. 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:
Bob Mould, “Here We Go Crazy.” If I’m not mistaken, the title track from the rock legend and erstwhile Washington City Paper advice columnist‘s splendid new album feels a little…hopeful? Does that feeling still apply in 2025? Mould plays the Black Cat tonight.
Here’s some administration news you might have blocked out:
Line of duties: Imports from China are down by 50 percent at the Port of Los Angeles, and consumers will start to see shortages soon. (CNN) US exports are down, too. (CNBC) After promising many “deals” on tariff regimens, President Trump now says, “We don’t have to sign deals.” (NYT) Trump boasted about the “24-karat gold” touches in the Oval Office during a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, during which no deals emerged. (Rolling Stone)
2 Signal 2 Gate: Security experts say that TeleMessage, the version of Signal used by administration officials, is not secure. (Washington Post) US Senator Ron Wyden called TeleMessage a “shoddy Signal knockoff” in a letter demanding an investigation. (404 Media) Signal users have no way of knowing if they’re interacting with someone using TeleMessage’s version of the app, which sends plain text, decrypted chat logs to an archive server that’s reportedly not secure. (Micah Lee) Related: Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard “used the same easily cracked password for different online accounts over a period of years.” (Wired)
Ed on arrival: US Senator Thom Tillis said he wouldn’t support Trump’s nomination of Ed Martin to be the US Attorney for DC, which will doom Martin’s nomination if Tillis’s fellow members of the Senate Judiciary Committee vote along party lines. (AP) Why did Trump bizarrely try to tie Martin’s nomination to Health Secretary RFK Jr.‘s “MAHA” movement? The Kennedy scion may have inspired Martin’s letters to medical journals. (Mother Jones)
Sports blink: Trump put Andrew Giuliani in charge of the White House’s World Cup task force. (New York Post) Vice President JD Vance joked about deporting World Cup visitors who overstay their visas. (HuffPost)
Keep an eye on those wily walruses: Trump has ordered US intelligence agencies to increase their surveillance of Greenland. (WSJ)
Immigration update: Another federal judge blocked the administration from using the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 from their district. (Politico) The administration plans to deport some immigrants to Libya. (NYT)
Administration perambulation: Kari Lake says Voice of America will carry OAN’s reporting. (NPR) The Education Department ended a grant to children’s programming. (NYT) Urged on by Trump, the US Postal Service’s board is likely to name FedEx board member David Steiner to be postmaster general. A postal workers’ union rep alleged the imminent appointment was part of a “privatization-by-proxy” plan. (Washington Post) The EPA “plans to eliminate Energy Star, the popular energy efficiency certification for dishwashers, refrigerators, dryers and other home appliances.” (NYT) The FAA “halted the work of an outside panel of experts scrutinizing its management of air traffic control.” (Washington Post) The US Supreme Court said the administration could enforce its ban on transgender people serving in the US military. (NYT) Congressional leaders asked the White House to restore a website that tracks spending. (NYT) George W. Bush won’t attend a White House event that honors his mother. (Washington Post) Another fighter jet fell off the USS Harry S. Truman. (CNN) Trump wants to rename the Persian Gulf. (AP)
The real story of a famous DC punk moment, by Kate Corliss
There are few corners of the world better suited to the oral history genre than rock music: The characters are scrappy, the floors are sticky, and nobody is afraid to tell it like it is. For J. Hunter Bennett, a lawyer based in the DC area and a seasoned local punk fan, the storytelling format also offered an opportunity to clear up some misinformation. During the pandemic, a grainy video of Fugazi guitarist Guy Picciotto pulling himself up through a basketball net during a Philadelphia gymnasium show went viral online—more than 30 years after the fact. Since then, the image of Picciotto dangling upside-down from the hoop has acquired a sort of iconic status, wracking up thousands of social media likes as well as a stream of inspired T-shirts, art prints, and Christmas ornaments on Etsy. Enter the posers: “Way more people claim to have been there than could possibly have fit in that gym,” Bennett, who really was front and center on that fateful day in 1988, tells Washingtonian.
And, as he recalls, the performance felt like a “disaster.” The band—which hadn’t even released its first album yet—played well, but the sound sucked, the power went out, and to this day, he “cannot adequately convey how sweltering it was inside that gymnasium.” Bennett’s zine, “Upside Down Punks,” is written from the vantage point of Mickey Lynch—the earnest teenage punk who put the dreadful, legendary show together all those years ago. Does the behind-the-scenes intel spoil some of the romanticism, now that Fugazi is a household name? Honestly, no. The sweaty version is even better. Check “Upside Down Punks” out here.
Recently on Washingtonian dot com:
• Millie’s, Pupatella, Chef Geoff’s, Chang Chang, and Ghostburger were among the DC restaurants targeted by ICE agents in immigration raids yesterday.
• It’s Hot List o’clock: The Occidental, My Little Chamomile, and Himalayan Wild Yak Arlington are among the restaurants our critics are excited about this month.
• A new compilation album features local artists and will raise money for gender-affirming care at Whitman-Walker.
• The Met Gala looks of celebs from DC, Maryland, and Virginia.
Local news links:
Is that a REACH? Kennedy Center board members were asked to contribute $100,000 to the arts complex. Trump will attend a planned event for donors that will feature a showing of “Les Misérables.” Trump’s allies hope any settlement with CBS will go to the Kennedy Center. (The Atlantic) GOP members of the House proposed a massive increase in federal funding for the center. (NYT)
We’ve got enough metaphorical earthquakes to deal with, thanks: A 3.0 earthquake occurred near Farmville yesterday and was felt as far north as Arlington. (WTOP)
• A federal judge said Georgetown University researcher Badar Khan Suri should have his trial heard in Virginia. (Washington Post)
• Tourism to DC was up last year, but a slowdown in international visits is on the way. (WBJ)
• The Smithsonian National Museum of African Art postponed an exhibit of work by LGBTQ artists originally planned for WorldPride, citing funding problems. (Washington Post)
• Sovereignty won’t run at Preakness. (WTOP)
• Nearly 100 tenants who rented from Adolphe Edwards will receive a refund for rent paid between January 2018 and April 2023, DC Attorney General Brian Schwalb announced. (WUSA9)
• Gerry Connolly will endorse his former COS, James R. Walkinshaw, to replace him in Congress. (Washington Post)
• Police arrested a man they say brandished a machete in an Arlington apartment building. (ARLnow)
• Those air horns you’re hearing mean work is proceeding on the Potomac River Tunnel. (PoPville)
• Next Thursday is Bike to Work Day. (The Georgetown Metropolitan)
• An Arlington candidate claims he’s placed tracking devices in his campaign signs. (ARLnow)
• Basil the one-eyed opossum has died. (NBC4 Washington)
Wednesday’s event picks:
• Coco Jones plays Echostage.
• Isabel Allende discusses her latest novel with Jill Biden at Sixth and I.
• Capital Harvest Market opens for the spring season.
See more picks for this week and weekend 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.
