Good morning. A heat dome is our area’s latest unwelcome visitor. Very hot and humid today, with a nominal high of 101 that could feel like 110 with the heat index. An extreme heat warning will be in effect from 11 AM till 9 PM. Temperatures will drop only to around 80 overnight. The Nationals are at the Padres this evening. 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 available as an email newsletter that will hit your inbox bright and early every weekday morning. Sign up here.
I can’t stop listening to:
Buscabulla, “El Camino.” This Puerto Rico-Brooklyn duo has a talent for splashy collaborations with artists like Bad Bunny and Helado Negro, but tonight at Songbyrd you can hear why those pairings are only part of Buscabulla’s story.
Take Washingtonian Today with you! I’ve made a playlist on Spotify and on Apple Music of my daily music recommendations this year.
Here’s some administration news you might have blocked out:
Trump at war: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth insisted the US’s strikes against Iran this weekend were “not about regime change.” (Axios) Vice President JD Vance said, “We don’t want to achieve regime change.” (ABC News) Not long after that, their boss, President Trump, posted extensively about regime change. (Politico) Inside Trump’s decision to bomb. (NYT) Another look at how he “got to ‘yes.'” (Washington Post) Intelligence assessments that said Iran wasn’t close to building a weapon hadn’t changed. (Rolling Stone) Despite Trump’s claim that Iran’s nuclear capabilities had been “completely and totally obliterated,” it’s not clear what effect Saturday’s bombings had on the program. (NYT) Here’s what satellite images tell us. (Wired) Iran reportedly told Trump it would “activate sleeper-cell terror inside the United States if it were attacked.” (NBC News) The DC police say there are “no known threats” here, but that they’re increasing their presence at religious sites. (X)
Plans on ICE: A magistrate judge ordered Kilmar Abrego García‘s release from detention. (ABC News) The Maryland resident “is not expected to go free because U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement will likely take him into custody and possibly try to deport him.” (AP)
Administration perambulation: Trump’s team has launched an effort to unseat maverick GOP Congressman Thomas Massie, who said the administration’s bombing of Iran was illegal. (Axios) Trump’s tax bill calls for the Postal Service to sell its new EVs. (Washington Post) What did Elon Musk‘s DOGE project actually accomplish? (The New Yorker) Trump began to rip up the Rose Garden last week. (Town & Country) Members of Congress got a free copy of the Onion’s print edition today. The headline of its lede-all: “Now More Than Ever, Our Nation Needs Your Cowardice.” (The Handbasket)
Two minutes with Jonathan Van Ness, by Sylvie McNamara:
Netflix’s “Queer Eye” began to call for DC “heroes” this past March, which means some extra local attention from the cast. This coming Sunday, the show’s Jonathan Van Ness will give a live hair masterclass at the Dupont Circle Hotel. We caught up with him in Ohio, where he was performing a comedy set. Here’s an abridged version of our conversation:
Why DC for the new season of “Queer Eye”?
I think it’s visually such an amazing place. There’s really no better place to explore the polarization of our political climate. I think that’s part of why Netflix came to the decision to have us go there.
Can you win over the new administration one makeover at a time?
I think [this season] is really about exploring the people that are in Washington, DC. People in DC have had such an intense few years, so I’m excited to meet them and see what they’re going through.
Where can fans meet you while you’re here?
In addition to being a comedian and a hairdresser, I’m also a founder of JVN hair. We’re really excited to partner with the Dupont Circle Hotel. I’m going to do live demos. I can’t wait to meet people and get into their hair in DC.
You can read Sylvie’s full, nine-minute interview with Van Ness later this morning.
Recently on Washingtonian dot com:
• New York’s Xi’an Famous Foods established a DMV beachhead in Alexandria. The Anthony Bourdain-endorsed shop is doing bonkers business from a ghost kitchen.
• The buzzy pickleball athleisure company Moorlow is based in DC.
• This wedding reception at the Spy Museum required a little tradework from guests.
Local news links:
• Someone drove a Jeep onto the National Mall yesterday. The US Park Police said they arrested the driver. (Washington Post)
• Check with Amtrak before you board a train northward this morning. (WUSA9)
• Emily Sommer, who police (and apparently Emily Sommer) say spit on former interim US Attorney for DC Ed Martin, “faces two additional assault charges for allegedly kicking and spitting on two U.S. marshals as they tried to take her into custody.” (NBC4 Washington)
• Virginia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger “has a more than 2-to-1 fundraising advantage over her GOP opponent in November,” Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears. (AP) Arlington’s Young Democrats are getting involved in a race in Blacksburg. (ARLnow)
• Metro is adding more service to Red and Silver lines and released a new system map. (WTOP)
• A Virginia man “pleaded guilty on Wednesday to pursuing and ultimately shooting two Latino men because of his ‘anger at illegal immigration.'” (WRIC)
• A small plane crashed in Spotsylvania County Friday. No one was killed. (WTOP)
• Hundreds of Voice of America workers received layoff notices Friday. (NYT)
• DC AG Brian Schwalb wants to recover funds from a nonprofit whose former CEO “is accused of diverting $57,302.48 in grant funds from the charity to her personal checking account.” (WTOP)
• “You’re asking me to let him smoke marijuana because he’s rapper, even though he hasn’t done the substance abuse treatment that was ordered?” (NBC4 Washington)
• The Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments lifted the area’s drought watch. (ARLnow)
• Colbert I. King will leave the Washington Post. (Washington Post)
• A grill exploded in Silver Spring. (WUSA9)
• RIP FedEx founder and former Washington Commanders part-owner Fred Smith. (NYT)
We’re now taking suggestions for this year’s “Most Powerful Women” list. You can nominate someone here. Know someone we should consider for our Tech Titans feature this year? Put their name forward here. Did you miss our 100 Very Best Restaurants List? It’s here.
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.
