Good morning. Hot and humid yet again, with a high of 95 that will feel as high as 106. Rain is possible this afternoon. Precipitation is likely overnight, with a low around 72. The Mystics are at the Las Vegas Aces tonight. Wydad AC will play Al Ain FC at Audi Field this afternoon in a FIFA Club World Cup match. The Washington Freedom, the area’s Major League Cricket team, will take on the Los Angeles Knight Riders this evening in Dallas. 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 a morning email newsletter. Sign up here.
I can’t stop listening to:
Peter and Gordon, “The Magic Story of the Park Keeper and His Fairy Godmother.” This stab at psychedelia by the folky British duo known for “A World Without Love” is pretty nice. Peter Asher, who went on to have a fascinating career in pop music, plays the Birchmere tonight.
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:
Sharpiegate, the 2025 reboot: President Trump furiously defended his contention that Iran’s nuclear facilities had been “completely and totally obliterated,” slamming CNN and the New York Times for reporting on an initial intelligence assessment that said otherwise. (AP) CIA director John Ratcliffe said the strikes “severely damaged” Iran’s capabilities, and other agencies were assessing the damage, but “No information that has become public from those assessments has supported Mr. Trump’s description of the level of destruction from the U.S. attack.” (NYT) Trump’s “messaging campaign has become a whole-of-government priority.” (Axios) Secretary of State Marco Rubio was among the administration officials who made a case for the President’s characterization of what happened. (NYT) The administration “plans to limit classified intelligence sharing with Congress after leaks to the press of an early assessment undermined President Donald Trump’s claim.” (Washington Post) “This isn’t about national security—it’s about Trump’s insecurity,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said. (Axios)
Needles and spins: Health Secretary RFK Jr. said the US would withdraw from Gavi, a “global alliance that works to expand access to vaccines for children in some of the world’s poorest countries.” Kennedy, who was an anti-vaccine activist before he got his current job, claimed the group ignored “vaccine safety.” (Washington Post) The CDC will hire Lyn Redwood, the former president of Children’s Health Defense, an anti-vaccine group Kennedy founded. (CBS News)
Lake news: Kari Lake, the senior adviser to the agency that runs Voice of America, told Congress the broadcaster was “incompetent, corrupt, biased, and a threat to America’s national security and standing in the world.” She said “reform was not possible” at the outlet. (Washington Post) She argued that a “firewall” that prevents government interference with VOA’s content “makes it impossible for agency management to prevent biased, anti-American or rogue reporting.” (AP)
Administration perambulation: Federal Reserve chair Jay Powell has 11 months left in the job, but Trump is considering naming his replacement early because he’s frustrated that the Fed hasn’t cut interest rates. (WSJ) The administration’s cuts at the IRS “could reintroduce many of the service gaps and processing delays that were largely absent this past tax-filing season,” a report says. (Washington Post) Emil Bove, a Trump defense lawyer the President nominated to a circuit court judgeship in Pennsylvania, appeared before Congress and said “I am not anybody’s henchman.” (NYT) Asked about a report on his management style, which “concluded he should be demoted,” Bove said, “I’m not perfect.” (Politico) Border czar Tom Homan said he and his wife had to live separately due to his work schedule and threats he receives. (The Hill) A portrait of Usha Vance‘s life in Washington now. (NYT)
Hidden Eats, by Ike Allen
Beef: it’s what’s for dinner at Birndo, a lounge-y, polished Ethiopian restaurant hidden at the rear of a strip mall near Bailey’s Crossroads. A kind of Ethiopian steakhouse where servers sport custom-made baseball jerseys, Birndo specializes in tibs, kitfo, dulet, and a number of other East African beef dishes that range from raw to burnished and crunchy. Recently, I paired the derek tibs (fajita-like morsels of crispy beef) with gomen besiga (slow-cooked collards enriched with chunks of salty simmered beef and seasoned with an addictive spice blend). A server tumbled all of it onto a big round of imported injera made from 100% teff flour and brought out a ladleful of spicy awaze mixed with intense mustard for dipping. (5820 Seminary Road, Falls Church.)
Recently on Washingtonian dot com:
• Side Chick, a new fried chicken carryout spot from the owners of Ellie Bird and Rooster & Owl, will start serving soon in Falls Church.
• Celebrate July 4 around the region.
• Share your story about how pickleball has changed your life, and you could win a game on the Mall.
• It’s entirely possible that you could tame your frizzy hair in this heat.
Local news links:
• HUD will boot the National Science Foundation from its Alexandria HQ, a “major downsize” for the housing agency and apparently an existential event for the foundation, whose employees forced a change of venue for a press conference about the move after they “surrounded the original briefing room in protest.” (WBJ) The change could help Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin “and his Republican allies portray Trump’s actions as an economic boon to Virginia in advance of the swing state’s race for governor this year and the 2026 congressional races.” (Washington Post)
• The administration sued every federal judge in Maryland “over an order that pauses any deportations under legal challenge in the state for 48 hours.” (Washington Post) “Among the judges named in the lawsuit is Paula Xinis, who has called the administration’s deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia to El Salvador illegal.” (AP)
• Could any local DC politicians mount a Zohran Mamdani-style campaign? (Axios D.C.)
• For the second time this month, 88-year-old DC Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton told a reporter she would run again next year before her office walked back her claim. (Axios)
• The US Army says Trump’s military parade “caused minimal damage to city roads.” (Washington Post)
• The Washington Post announced a plan to allow sources to annotate stories about them. (NYT)
• A panel of judges reinstated Arlington’s “missing middle” policy, which eliminated single-family-only zoning. (Washington Post)
• Trayon White has attended only two candidate forums in his bid to retake his old seat on the DC Council. (The Washington Informer)
• The Library of Congress has Stephen Sondheim‘s papers. (AP)
• A 17-year-old was charged as an adult in the alleged murder of Donnel Phillips. Police say the teen ran Phillips over in May as part of a robbery attempt. (NBC4 Washington)
• Another person with measles passed through Dulles. (WUSA9)
Thursday’s event picks:
• The NSO will take a stroll through Dolly Parton’s greatest hits at the Kennedy Center.
• Shop at Cleveland Park’s Night Market.
• Think about all the ways the Marquis de Lafayette affects your life when the New York Baroque Dance Company and Music of the Regiment perform a piece Francis Johnson wrote in his honor at Hillwood.
See more picks from Briana Thomas, who writes our Things to Do newsletter.
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.
