Good morning. I hope our readers had a relaxing, potato salad-filled Fourth of July. Today’s weather will be very Monday-after-a-holiday-weekend: Rainy with a chance of thunderstorms in the afternoon, with highs near 90. May visions of Labor Day dance through your head and keep you strong. You can find me on Bluesky, I’m @kmcorliss.19 on Signal, and there’s a link to my email address below.
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A great book on my nightstand:
“Bliss Montage” by Ling Ma. Ma is best known for her debut 2018 novel “Severance“—which is fair, because it kind of predicted the pandemic. But this short story collection, released in 2022, is another great entry point into her work. Each plotline is extraordinarily bizarre: A woman lives on a compound with her husband and 100 of her ex-boyfriends. Another woman has sex with a yeti. Yet another woman, who is pregnant and living in DC as a dystopian America reels from the loss of its status as a global superpower, uses the bathroom one day to find her fetus reaching a hand out from her body and waving at her. All the while, Ma maintains a matter-of-fact tone, whisking the stories out of their own absurdity and into a place of thoughtful reflection on the human condition. It’s still weird as hell, though, and that’s why I love it.
Here’s some administration news you might have blocked out:
Texas flood latest: As floods devastated central Texas on Friday morning, one local National Weather Service office in San Angelo was short multiple critical employees—including a senior hydrologist, staff forecaster, and meteorologist in charge. The office’s warning coordination meteorologist stepped down on April 30, having accepted the Trump administration’s early retirement package for federal workers. (NYT) Local officials say they weren’t able to push severe weather guidance to people living along the Llano River sooner because they did not realize how heavy the rainfall would be. (Politico) Last year, the state legislature failed to pass a bill that would have beefed up its disaster response. (Texas Tribune) One extreme-weather expert says the floods are “exactly what the future is going to hold” as the climate crisis intensifies, and advises local governments to be prepared for “more, bigger, extreme events.” (Axios) Trump said he’ll visit Kerr County “probably on Friday.” (The Hill) On the subject of whether he’ll send federal aid to the disaster area, he said his administration will “take care of it.” (Scripps News) He also told reporters that he won’t investigate whether NWS cuts contributed to the scale of the tragedy, because he knows “they did not.” (Axios) World Central Kitchen is on the ground, feeding residents and first responders. (X)
It’s my party that I’ll buy if I want to: As he promised last week, Elon Musk announced he’ll form a new “America Party” now that Congress has passed Trump’s megabill. (AP) Tesla shares promptly fell 7 percent in premarket trading. (CNBC) “I think it’s ridiculous to start a third party,” Trump told reporters Sunday. “So he can have fun with it, but I think it’s ridiculous.” (The Hill) The president mustered up a little more razzle-dazzle on Truth Social, where he wrote, “I am saddened to watch Elon Musk go completely ‘off the rails,’ essentially becoming a TRAIN WRECK over the past five weeks.” (Politico)
Let’s make a deal: The 90-day pause on tariffs announced in April expires tomorrow. (NYT) Trump said he’ll start sending letters to our trade partners today, informing them of the impending tariff rates on their exports to the US. “It could be 12, maybe 15 [letters],” he told reporters. (The Guardian) Countries that have not negotiated a trade agreement with the administration will see these tariffs take effect on August 1, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said yesterday. (CNBC)
Administration perambulation: The Justice Department and FBI have determined that Jeffrey Epstein kept no “client list” and did indeed die by suicide. (Axios) Mosquitoes and storms are more likely to harm detainees at the “Alligator Alcatraz” detention camp in Florida than actual alligators, experts say. (Washington Post) In Boston today, a federal judge will hear arguments about the legality of the administration’s effort to deport foreign-born academics who express support for Palestine. (Politico) The White House will host a UFC fight next year. (NBC News) In an email blasted out to Americans on Thursday, the Social Security Administration praised Trump’s domestic policy package for removing federal income taxes on retiree benefits—but the bill doesn’t really do that. (NYT)
The best thing I ate this weekend, by Ann Limpert:
Sit near the kitchen pass at Local Provisions, and you’ll see one dish come out over and over: the lamb burger. It’s not a sure thing that what’s popular at a restaurant equates to what’s actually the best thing on the menu, but in this case, take the cue. The patty, made of lamb from Pennsylvania’s Elysian Fields farm and seared on a charcoal grill, is wonderfully smoky and juicy. And the accessories are just as impressive: housemade sourdough focaccia instead of a bun, rich labne, fresh dill, long hot peppers, and roasted tomatoes. 46286 Cranston St., Sterling.
Recently on Washingtonian dot com:
• This DC couple built a sustainable home on a budget in Capitol Hill. (Don’t feel too bad about yourself—they’re both architects.)
• Shaw bar The Passenger will reopen in the fall as a cafe-bistro-tavern under new ownership.
• Our reporter let her inner child run free at the National Building Museum’s new parkour installation.
Local news links:
• There’s no crying in baseball: The Nats fired longtime manager Dave Martinez and GM Mike Rizzo yesterday. “While we are appreciative of their past successes, the on-field performance has not been where we or our fans expect it to be,” the team’s managing principal owner Mark Lerner said in a statement. (Washington Post)
• Mayor Muriel Bowser and the Commanders wanted the DC Council to approve their RFK stadium plan by July 15, but that deadline won’t be met, according to Council Chair Phil Mendelson. The Commanders are afraid that the stadium won’t get built by 2030, as the mayor’s plan promises. (Axios)
• Singer-songwriter Ben Folds speaks on his decision to leave his post as an NSO artistic advisor at the Kennedy Center: “There wasn’t a bone in my body that wanted to.” (Washington Post)
• DC police arrested more than 20 people for disorderly conduct over the weekend, including 16 juveniles in Navy Yard. Fifteen of these arrests were related to illegal fireworks. (NBC Washington)
• Authorities in Prince George’s County on Thursday announced the arrest of two men who allegedly scammed residents out of more than $700,000. (Washington Post)
• Demolition on the remnants of the Key Bridge in Baltimore is set to begin today. (WBAL)
• Next time you feel the urge to wear shorts and stand barefoot in the tall grass, remember to check yourself for ticks—they’re all over the place. (WJLA)
• Footage shows disorder at Northwest Stadium as Beyoncé concertgoers tried to leave after her show. (Washingtonian Problems) “Leaving that stadium is the worst,” one commenter writes. “I just got home from the Kendrick Lamar concert.”
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.
