Good morning. There’s no new pope yet. Sunny with a high around 80 and a chance of showers this afternoon. Rain is likely overnight, with a low around 56. The Caps will attempt to hold off Carolina at 7 PM tonight. The Nats have a day off. 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:
Bad Moves, “Outta My Head.” DC’s best band will break up soon, but you still have a couple of chances to see their raucous live shows. One is tonight at Songbyrd with the Paranoid Style and Truth or Dare. This song lives up to its title: Even though I can’t quote its most memorable chorus lyrics in a family morning roundup, I sing it for days every time I hear it, cherishing a different grudge each time.
Here’s some administration news you might have blocked out:
More of a surgeon generalist: President Trump intends to nominate the wellness influencer Casey Means to be the next US surgeon general. (WSJ) Means “rose to prominence last year after she and her brother, Calley Means, a White House health adviser and former food industry lobbyist, appeared on Tucker Carlson’s show.” (NYT) Trump put Means forward after yanking the nomination of Janette Nesheiwat, a former Fox News contributor and the sister-in-law of Mike Waltz, for that post. (NBC News) Nesheiwat had faced questions about her résumé, but her ouster followed criticism from Laura Loomer. (NYT) Loomer doesn’t appear to support Means’s nomination, either. (Laura Loomer) Loomer claims Trump has hired her four times, but his staff keeps thwarting his wishes. (Media Matters) Now there’s a headline: “Trump picks conspiracy theorist ‘wellness influencer’ Casey Means with no medical license to replace Fox contributor as Surgeon General.” (The Independent)
In other health news: Health Secretary RFK Jr. plans “to use medical data and records from people on Medicaid and Medicare to help study autism although experts say it’s unlikely to help reveal the condition’s root causes.” (AP)
A “big, highly respected country”: Trump will announce a trade agreement with the United Kingdom today. (Politico) “British officials have also been eyeing a trade agreement with the United States since Brexit, as a way to offset weaker relations with Europe.” (NYT) There “is a notable difference in how the UK and the US have been describing this arrangement.” (BBC News) China says the administration requested a trade meeting. (CNBC) In tariff negotiations, “U.S. embassies and the State Department have pushed nations to clear hurdles for U.S. satellite companies, often mentioning Starlink by name.” (Washington Post) Toyota changed its financial guidance and “predicted a $1.3 billion hit from President Trump’s tariffs in April and May alone.” (NYT)
Owning the Libya: A federal judge warned the administration against deporting immigrants to Libya, saying that doing so would violate a previous order. (NYT) “Asked about the reports of a deportation flight to Libya, President Donald Trump said he did not know about it.” (Washington Post) “Libya’s two rival governments on Wednesday said they had not agreed to accept migrants from the U.S.” (WSJ) Britain’s previous government attempted to deport migrants to Rwanda—another country Trump officials have floated as a destination for immigrants—and spent nearly a billion dollars and ended up sending four people there, all of whom went voluntarily. (NYT)
Department of Ed: The Wall Street Journal editorial board came out against Ed Martin‘s nomination to be US Attorney for DC, saying Republicans who oppose Martin “might attract President Trump’s short-term anger, but they’re doing him a long-term favor.” (WSJ) Trump “offered lukewarm support” for Martin Wednesday. (Politico) A review of Martin’s history in public life shows that “the same headlong style that fed controversies over his 15 weeks as interim U.S. attorney has over the years both fueled his rise through conservative politics and burned him repeatedly, costing him jobs, tens of thousands of dollars in fines and court contempt citations.” (Washington Post) Martin’s office “is trying to jail a guy for trespassing on federal property”—longtime DC activist Adam Eidinger—”in order to mount an illegal protest — a nonviolent version of what the president pardoned 1,500 people for doing.” (Politico Magazine)
Administration perambulation: Documents filed in an NIH-related lawsuit “appear to contradict” the administration’s claims that it’s complying with a court order “stopping it from cutting funding related to gender identity and the provision of gender-affirming care.” (ProPublica) The White House plans to release audio from former President Biden‘s interview with Robert Hur. (Politico) Every grant-making director at the NEA has left the agency. (Washington Post) The National Archives released more files about RFK‘s assassination. (NYT) Melania Trump has “spent fewer than 14 days at the White House since her husband was inaugurated 108 days ago.” (NYT)
Hidden Eats, by Ike Allen
“Don’t hesitate to ask anything :)” reads a sign near the entrance to Caspian Crust, a two-month old Turkish-Azerbaijani cafe on the northern fringe of Georgetown. It’s true that asking for help here can be rewarding. Baklava is an obviously good choice, but though you might not recognize su böreği by sight, the savory cheese pastry—with a boiled-noodle texture somewhere between spanakopita and lasagna—is an equally great bet. It doesn’t take a Turkish food expert to point to the sakallı poğaça (meaning something like “bearded bread”), appealing little house-baked buns with cream cheese and a thick stubble of minced dill and parsley protruding from the sides. Speaking of beards: these little snacks reminded me of James Beard’s famous onion sandwiches. They’re totally Turkish, but also look like they’d fit in at a WASPy afternoon tea. (1826 Wisconsin Ave., NW)
Recently on Washingtonian dot com:
• Our list of the 500 most influential people in town.
• Dating in DC: Where to start, where to go, what bartenders know about your chances by looking at you.
• New York’s Café Fiorello will open its second-ever location here.
• DC may get a Watergate museum.
• Area universities are already teaching classes about the Trump administration.
• The DC area’s best gay and lesbian bars.
Local news links:
• As many as a dozen cast members of “Les Misérables” plan to boycott when Trump attends the show at the Kennedy Center. (CNN)
• In response to reports of raids by ICE, parents at DC’s Mundo Verde charter school “set up shop at the picnic tables outside with a tablecloth, power strip and snacks” to keep watch. (The Handbasket)
Wild story: Authorities solved the 1997 murder of Leslie Preer in part by a ruse where they arranged for a suspect to take a swig of a bottle of water at Dulles. Eugene Gligor pleaded guilty yesterday. (Washington Post)
• Virginia’s AG plans to investigate Loudoun County Public Schools over a locker-room incident. (Virginia Mercury)
• “Police, medical and military helicopters have continued to fly in close proximity to Reagan National Airport” since January’s horrific collision nearby. (Washington Post)
• A teenager in Spotsylvania County was killed while performing a TikTok prank. (Washington Post)
• A peripatetic DC chef is going viral with cooking demos filmed on city sidewalks. (WTOP)
• Goodwin Living plans two new senior living towers in Alexandria. (WBJ)
• Someone’s stealing compost buckets in DC. (WTOP)
• Selena Gomez‘s fiancé, Benny Blanco, is from Reston. (Northern Virginia)
Thursday’s event picks:
• Bust out your disco ball earrings for a retro prom edition of National Gallery Nights.
• Choke has its world premiere at Gala Hispanic Theatre.
• The Cybele Nonet performs swing and jazz at the Embassy of France.
Bonus pick from me: New York Times cultural critic Amanda Hess will discuss her new book “Second Life” at Solid State Books tonight. I was lucky to work with Hess at Washington City Paper and look forward to reading her thoughts on parenthood in the digital age.
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.
