Good morning. Today’s weather won’t be excellent—cloudy with highs around 85, followed by showers and thunderstorms in the evening—but it will hopefully be better than yesterday’s. That rain was truly biblical. The Nats are in St. Louis again tonight, and the Mystics are up against the Las Vegas Aces. 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:
“Postcards From the Edge” by Carrie Fisher. Fisher’s first semi-autobiographical novel follows a young Hollywood actress as she attempts to manage drug addiction, bipolar disorder, and the additional pressure of having a famous mother. If you think all nepo babies are untalented, this book will prove you wrong: The writing is sharp, hilarious, and so self-aware that it’s contagious—it’s impossible not to see yourself in Fisher’s characters. In fact, Fisher has said she often felt more like an author than an actress, which makes me feel better about the fact that I’ve never seen a Star Wars movie. Plus, reading the book gives you an excuse to watch the 1990 movie adaptation, which stars the dazzling Meryl Streep.
Here’s some administration news you might have blocked out:
No taxation without retaliation: Trump threatened Brazil with a staggering 50 percent tariff yesterday, accusing the nation’s president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of leading a “witch hunt” against former president and Trump ally Jair Bolsonaro—who is facing trial amid accusations that he tried to stage a coup against Lula’s administration. (CNN) Lula announced that Brazil will respond to any jacked-up tariff rates with reciprocity. “Brazil is a sovereign country with independent institutions that will not accept being lectured by anyone,” he wrote. (CNBC)
Hey, how long has that car been behind me? “I think they’re crooked as hell and maybe they have to pay a price for that,” Trump said of former CIA director John Brennan and former FBI director James Comey—both of whom are being probed by the Justice Department over allegations that they made false statements to Congress during their investigation of Russian collusion in the 2016 election. (Axios) Comey was reportedly trailed by Secret Service in May while he drove home to the DC area from North Carolina, where he posted an Instagram photo of a seashell formation he found that spelled out “86 47.” (NYT) Brennan said during an MSNBC appearance yesterday that he has not been contacted by the Justice Department or the CIA about the investigation, calling the situation “a very sad and tragic example of the continued politicization of the intelligence community.” (NBC News)
Texas flood latest: FEMA’s response to floods in Texas was reportedly delayed by a new rule that requires Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to sign off on any agency contract or grant over $100,000. Noem didn’t approve the deployment of Urban Search and Rescue teams until Monday, more than three days after the flooding started. (CNN) Yesterday, Noem called for FEMA to be dismantled and reformed: “It has been slow to respond at the federal level. It’s even been slower to get the resources to Americans in crisis, and that is why this entire agency needs to be eliminated as it exists today.” (Reuters)
Administration perambulation: Republic Airways CEO Bryan Bedford was confirmed to lead the Federal Aviation Administration. (Politico) Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy will step up as the interim head of NASA, more than a month after Trump withdrew the nomination of Elon Musk‘s friend Jared Isaacman. (NYT) More than 2,000 senior-level NASA staff will leave the agency as a result of the administration’s push to slim down the federal workforce. (Politico) Joe Biden‘s White House physician Dr. Kevin O’Connor refused to answer questions about the former president’s mental acuity after being subpoenaed by congressional Republicans, who are investigating whether Biden covered up cognitive decline that made him unfit for office. (NYT) The federal government has extended its hiring freeze for three more months. (WTOP) There have been more measles cases nationally in 2025 than in any year since 2000, when the US eradicated the disease. (NYT) After the July 2024 assassination attempt on Trump, the Secret Service suspended six personnel without pay. (CBS) Trump gushed over Liberian President Joseph Boakai‘s command of the English language during a meeting yesterday, asking him, “Where did you learn to speak so beautifully?” English is Liberia’s official language. (NBC)
Hidden Eats, by Ike Allen:
It can be hard to know which specialized Korean food stall to visit in Annandale’s K Market International food court, so try the one with the most enthused name: Yes! Buckwheat. The owners here are fixated on their under-appreciated namesake grain; their noodles and dumplings are all a deep chestnut-brown. The memil soba is essentially identical to a Japanese dish—cold soba noodles dipped in broth—but with Korean twists: the broth is spicy, and so cold it actually contains shards of shaved ice, plus the whole ensemble comes with kimchi. In deulkae memil mandu guk, on the other hand, thick buckwheat noodles and ample dumplings are served in a hot anchovy broth filled out with powdered perilla seeds. (4239 John Marr Dr., Annandale)
Recently on Washingtonian dot com:
• A new pho counter in Bloomingdale blow-torches bone marrow in front of diners.
• Lotuses and water lilies are starting to bloom at Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens.
• A list of local spots to watch the Love Island USA season finale on Sunday.
Local news links:
• The DC Council has passed an amended version of the Rebalancing Expectations for Neighbors, Tenants and Landlords (RENTAL) Act, to the dismay of Mayor Muriel Bowser. (WJLA)
• In a letter to Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, families affected by the January DC air disaster accused the military branch of “persistently refusing to accept responsibility” for the incident and demonstrating a “willingness to circumvent official processes and resist oversight when deflecting scrutiny.” (Washington Post)
• Here’s what Trump can do to sway the Commanders’ stadium deal. (Axios)
• A group of 17 Black firefighters has filed suit against DC Fire and EMS over the department’s facial hair ban, arguing that the restriction is discriminatory on the basis of religion and disability. (WTOP)
• Composer and pianist Jason Moran has stepped down from his post as the Kennedy Center’s artistic director for jazz. (WAMU)
• Freddie, the K9 beagle who was kicked by a Dulles passenger two weeks ago, is headed back to work. (CBS)
Thursday’s event picks:
• Chefs representing more than 30 embassies will compete in the annual Embassy Chef Challenge at the Mellon Auditorium.
• Watch Grease on the southeast lawn of the Library of Congress’ Thomas Jefferson Building. Chills, multiplying.
• Sesame Street the Musical—starring the fabulous Elmo and Cookie Monster—will debut at the Kennedy Center.
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.
