Good morning. Hot and humid again, with showers and storms possible in the afternoon and a high around 91. Rain chances continue tonight, with a low around 73. The Nationals begin a four-game homestand today against the Major League Baseball team of Philadelphia, a large city north of DC. 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:
Hotline TNT, “Where U Been?” Here’s another “Rick’s Pick” from Virginia music maven and erstwhile Washingtonian John Rickman, who writes in: “Singer-songwriter Will Anderson brings his feel-good shoegaze group to the Atlantis in support of the band’s new album, ‘Raspberry Moon,’ on Third Man Records.” If it’s good enough for JR, it’s good enough for me!
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:
Cops out: DC police and ICE agents established a checkpoint on 14th Street, Northwest, between V and W streets Wednesday evening, pulling over cars and arresting at least one person. Most of the federal cops wore masks and wouldn’t answer questions about what they were doing. Our reporter saw many passers-by, some walking dogs, others leaving dinner, commenting sarcastically or shouting insults. The New York Times reports that protesters gathered there, chanting, “Go home fascists.”
The hero they didn’t need: Feds charged Sean Dunn with assault after, they said, he threw a submarine sandwich at an officer Monday night. (NYT)
The dilemma: DC Mayor Muriel Bowser took a conciliatory approach to President Trump in his second term. In return, she got a kick in the teeth, Mike Schaffer writes. But Bowser and other DC officials still think the quiet approach is the best bad option available for a city with no representation in Congress: “There are people who think we can act like California,” Councilmember Christina Henderson said. “We can’t.” (Politico) “In Bowser, the president has found an unlikely partner — a Democrat who had repeatedly clashed with progressives on crime, denouncing the ‘defund the police’ movement that flourished in 2020 and stalling a criminal justice bill that Republicans in Congress later repealed.” (Semafor) Eleanor Holmes Norton has kept a low profile as well. (Politico)
What’s your occupation: Trump said he’d ask Congress to extend his takeover of DC’s police force for more than a month. (Axios) If lawmakers don’t move quickly enough, he said he’d declare a national emergency. (Politico)
Music from the elders: Kiss, George Strait, and Gloria Gaynor will receive Kennedy Center Honors, Trump announced yesterday, as will the actors Sylvester Stallone and Michael Crawford. The President intends to host the awards ceremony. (Washington Post) “At Wednesday’s press conference, Trump said that he said no to ‘a couple of wokesters’ proposed by the board, though he also said that the honorees weren’t chosen based on their politics.” (NPR)
Administration perambulation: E.J. Antoni, Trump’s nominee to lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics after he fired the its head following a dunning jobs report, joined the crowd outside the Capitol on January 6, 2021, though the White House says he was a “bystander.” (NBC News) The DC Circuit said Trump could withhold foreign aid, denying standing to groups that had challenged his freeze of funds. (NYT) Melania Trump‘s lawyer Alejandro Brito threatened Hunter Biden with legal action after Biden said that disgraced, deceased financier Jeffrey Epstein “introduced Melania to Trump. The connections are, like, so wide and deep.” (Fox News) The White House is pushing hard for Trump to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. (The Hill) Kari Lake swore in a court declaration that she is CEO of the US Agency for Global Media, which oversees Voice of America, despite there being “no public evidence that Trump has ever named Lake to the job.” (NPR)
Hidden Eats, by Ike Allen
The Honduran baleada—beans, queso duro, and crema on a doubled-over flour tortilla—is a bare-bones breakfast, an even more humble cousin of the pupusa. But as any fan of the simple SoCal-style bean-and-cheese burrito knows, this can be a mighty combination. Baleadas have been available under the radar in the DMV for a while now, on the menus of food trucks near work sites and out-of-the-way Central American eateries. At Skye Antojitos Hondureños, right on busy University Avenue in Wheaton, they get top billing. Try one with chicken, avocado, or scrambled eggs. Or get the “sencilla,” or “simple.” Refried red beans and tangy Honduran cheese tucked into a warm, substantial flour tortilla leaves nothing to be desired. (2322 University Boulevard West, Wheaton.)
Recently on Washingtonian dot com:
• In a town where money usually wins, Craig Holman has spent decades fighting for better government anyway.
• We spoke to community leaders in some of DC’s neighborhoods with high crime about Trump’s crackdown.
• Photos of federal police patrolling Georgetown and the Wharf.
• National Gallery Nights will return this fall. Here’s how you can try to score tickets.
Local news links:
• Three sheriff’s deputies were shot in Gretna, Virginia, which is south of Roanoke, while executing warrants. The person who allegedly shot the officers is in custody and they’re okay, officials say. (AP)
• Montgomery County officials are concerned the county could be affected by Trump’s crackdown on homelessness in neighboring DC. (WTOP)
• The man who jumped to his death from an Alexandria high rise last week had been indicted for defrauding women he met via dating apps. (ALXnow) A now-dismissed indictment says Shawn Steven Harris told the women he worked for government agencies and asked for their credit cards for “government-related purchases.” (WTOP)
• The Washington Post opinion section continues to roil under new management: Columnist Karen Attiah appears to be “not long for this world” at the paper, and staff and readers have complained about op-eds by Jeanine Pirro and Jay Bhattacharya. (Status)
• Loudoun County’s school board won’t comply with a federal demand that it change policies regarding transgender students. (WTOP)
• King’s Dominion season-ticket holders are miffed that the park (where, full disclosure, I spent several happy summers airbrushing T-shirts) wants them to pay more for a Halloween attraction. (WTVR)
• The New York Yankees drafted Alexandria’s Ryan Osinski. (Alexandria Times)
Thursday’s event picks:
• Latin dance festival DCBX returns today through August 18 at the Westin DC Downtown.
• Charmaine Lee brings her improvised melodies to Rhizome DC.
• Tour Common Good City Farm and taste tomato dishes for a good cause.
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. 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.
