Good morning. Expect scattered showers throughout the day, with a chance of thunderstorms and heavy rainfall in the afternoon. Unpleasant highs near 93, with a heat index pushing 100. The Washington Mystics will host the Chicago Sky later this morning. The Nationals will play the Cardinals in St. Louis tonight, and the Washington Freedom will face off against the Texas Super Kings. 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:
“High Fidelity” by Nick Hornby. Sprinkling this in today for readers who are missing Andrew’s daily song recommendations—I can’t really speak with authority on music, but I can suggest books about record store owners who have toxic tendencies in their interpersonal relationships. In general, I’m a big fan of novels with annoying protagonists; this one really scratches that itch. If you’ve only ever come across its various screen adaptations, I urge you to pick up the source material. You’ll be rewarded with some breezy, albeit aggressively British, summer reading.
Here’s some administration news you might have blocked out:
LAtest: ICE agents in Los Angeles conducted a rather ostentatious sweep of MacArthur Park yesterday morning. “They came with horses and armored vehicles, carrying rifles and in tactical gear in the middle of what is the heart of immigrant Los Angeles.” (LA Times) About 90 members of the California National Guard were at the park to “protect immigration officers,” according to defense officials. (AP) Internal Army documents say the bizarre display was supposed to be a “show of presence,” a coordinated effort between ICE and the National Guard to crack down on the distribution of fake IDs at the park. “The news media is describing the operation as an ominous crackdown, but National Guard sources tell me that it was a botched laughingstock.” (Ken Klippenstein) “Frankly, it is outrageous and un-American that we have federal armed vehicles in our parks when nothing is going on in the parks,” said LA Mayor Karen Bass. (CBS)
Duty calls: Trump signed an executive order yesterday, officially pushing the start date on his “reciprocal” tariffs back to August 1. (Reuters) He also informed more than a dozen US trade partners—including Japan, South Korea, and Thailand—that they have until this date to broker new trade deals, or else their products will be slapped with tariffs of at least 25 percent. He’s expected to threaten more nations with more tariffs throughout the next week. (NYT) The president says this August 1 trade negotiation deadline is “firm, but not 100 percent firm.” (The Hill)
Administration perambulation: When asked whether his administration’s downsizing of the federal government could have played a role in the Texas flooding disaster, which has killed at least 100 people so far, Trump replied: “What a situation that all is.” (NYT) A group of six major medical organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, has filed suit against the Department of Health and Human Services and Secretary RFK Jr. over what they describe as his “unlawful, unilateral vaccine changes.” (ABC) Former national security adviser Mike Waltz will appear before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee next week for his confirmation hearing to become the administration’s ambassador to the United Nations; he will most certainly be pressed on Signalgate, which is the whole reason he’s in the market for a new job. (Axios) Trump has reversed course on the Pentagon’s decision to halt weapons shipments to Ukraine. (Washington Post) Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the White House yesterday, and he brought along a little something: a letter nominating Trump for a Nobel Peace Prize. (CNN) The Department of Veterans Affairs announced they’ll cut a total of 30,000 employees by the end of September, but only through attrition; the agency’s original plan was to reduce its staff by 80,000. (Government Executive) The IRS will now allow churches to endorse political candidates. (NYT) Elon Musk has been “in touch” with 2020 presidential candidate Andrew Yang (remember him?) about the futility of the two-party system. (Politico)
Recently on Washingtonian dot com:
• A Q&A with Muriel Bowser, looking back on her last 10 years as DC’s mayor.
• The husband-and-wife team behind Navy Yard’s Shilling Canning Co. has opened an Amish fried chicken pop-up in Union Market.
Local news links:
• FBI agent Eduardo Valdivia, who was acquitted of attempted murder in 2022 after he shot an unarmed panhandler on the Metro, is now on trial again for allegedly raping three women in an off-hours tattoo parlor he ran under a fake name. (Washington Post)
• Trump said he’ll do what he can to support the Commanders in their quest to get the proposed RFK stadium completed by 2030. “The federal government ultimately controls it,” he told reporters. (WJLA)
• The U Street location of Ben’s Chili Bowl will close next Monday for renovations, to reopen in November. It’s the first time in 60 years that the restaurant’s historic building will see major repairs. (NBC Washington)
• The Nationals have named bench coach Miguel Cairo as interim manager, following the firing of their longtime management team. (ESPN)
• DC hospital Cedar Hill Regional Medical Center GW Health, which opened in April, is getting hit hard by nationwide nurse shortages. (Washington Post)
• Opening statements are due today in a manslaughter trial related to the Sterling house explosion that killed firefighter Trevor Brown last year. A Southern States Cooperative employee who came to repair the homeowner’s faulty propane tank is accused of telling her to let it leak. (WTOP)
• A three-year-old girl was killed by a stray bullet in Southeast yesterday. (Washington Post)
Tuesday’s event picks:
• Catch Harry Potter and the Cursed Child live at National Theatre.
• Paint landscapes with artist Samantha Van Heest at the Georgetown Neighborhood Library.
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.
