Good morning. Could it be—another really excellent day? Sunny with low humidity and a high around 81 today. A low of 62 overnight. You can find me on Bluesky, I’m @abeaujon.87 on Signal, and there’s a link to my email address below. Programming notes: I will be out Friday, so Kate Corliss will handle your Washingtonian Today needs tomorrow. We’ll both be off for the holiday Monday and back with you Tuesday morning. This roundup is available as a morning email newsletter. Sign up here.
I can’t stop listening to:
Deceased, “Elly’s Dementia.” These Arlingtonians will celebrate 40 (!) years of being a band at Union Stage Friday alongside No/Más, Abominog, and Desolus.
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:
What the health: The Trump administration fired CDC Director Susan Monarez last night after she refused Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.‘s instructions that she resign. Monarez, who is not a medical doctor, was confirmed by the US Senate in late July. Four top CDC officials followed Monarez out the door, and “Some cited an increasingly tense environment within the administration that had become intolerable.” (NYT) One of those who resigned, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases Director Demetre Daskalakis, wrote in a parting post that he had “never experienced such radical non-transparency, nor have I seen such unskilled manipulation of data to achieve a political end rather than the good of the American people.” (Axios) Monarez “declined to commit to support changing coronavirus vaccine policy without consulting her advisers,” leading Kennedy to accuse her of not supporting Trump’s agenda. (Washington Post) Meanwhile: The FDA approved Covid vaccines for the fall but limited them to “for adults 65 and older as well as for kids and adults with at least one medical condition that puts them at risk of severe illness.” (NBC News) “This would mark the first fall/winter season that Covid shots were not widely recommended to most people and children, pitting federal health officials in the Trump administration against several national medical groups that oppose the restrictions.” (NYT)
DC takeover: DC Mayor Muriel Bowser attempted to finesse a difficult situation at a press conference yesterday, saying Trump’s takeover of the DC police and deployment of federal law enforcement officers in the District had caused the number of carjackings to plummet. At the same time, she criticized ICE agents for their heavy-handed presence and the deployment of National Guard troops. (HuffPost) Bowser also “opened the door for a protracted federal presence in the nation’s capital” by saying, “We will be prepared to take advantage of additional federal officers to focus on the beautification, to support the federal task force.” (Courthouse News Service) “The people of DC deserve better than what the mayor said today,” Free DC co-founder Nee Nee Taylor wrote in a statement that the organization sent me.
Meanwhile, in the District: Parents in Mount Pleasant confronted officers Wednesday morning when ICE agents joined DC police in an operation while kids were walking to school. “Can you tell me why you couldn’t do this at 10:30 or 9:30, and why you had to terrorize the children in our neighborhood?” one asked officers, to no response. (AP) The militarized streets and Trump’s “declaration that young people are a threat to public safety has put Black parents on edge, prompting many of them to enforce stricter rules about going out and wade back into tough conversations about racial profiling and policing.” (NYT) Prosecutors have failed to get a grand jury to indict Sean Dunn, aka “Sandwich Guy.” (NYT) Judges and juries are recoiling from the administration’s attempts at maximal charges for people caught up in feds’ sweeps. (Washington Post) Trump’s deployment of Guard troops in DC is broadly unpopular with voters. (Quinnipiac)
Meanwhile, in the states: Democratic mayors in other US cities huddled on their messaging about Trump’s DC takeover and his threats against other cities, hoping to avoid a rhetorical trap that the President has boasted of setting. (NYT) ICE wants to use Naval Station Great Lakes, just north of Chicago, as “a launchpad for federal law enforcement activity against undocumented immigration.” (Washington Post) Illinois Governor JB Pritzker toured Chicago with cameras in tow, declaring there was no emergency in the Windy City. (AP) Trump says he’s preparing a comprehensive crime bill with Congressional Republicans. Congressional Republicans say they don’t know anything about the President’s plans. (Politico)
Administration perambulation: The Department of Homeland Security has forbidden “states and volunteer groups that receive government funds from helping undocumented immigrants” in situations like natural disasters. (Washington Post) Danish media has reported that a trio of Americans with ties to Trump appear to have been working on an influence campaign in Greenland, which Trump hopes to buy. US envoy Mark Stroh was summoned to the Danish foreign ministry. (CNN) Federal investigations into John Bolton‘s handling of classified material date back to the Biden administration. Emails obtained by an adversarial country’s intelligence service, which the US is somehow aware of, appear to show that Bolton forwarded classified documents to people on an insecure system while he was working on a book. (NYT) Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard fired a top CIA Russia expert as part of a purge of 37 experts whose security clearances she stripped and announced by way of a post on X. (Washington Post) Many National Parks have been “significantly strained and understaffed because of steep cuts mandated by the Trump administration.” (NYT) The Department of Transportation will take over retail and physical plant operations of DC’s Union Station from Amtrak, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said. He also canceled plans to build a bigger train hall. (Washington Post) Federal agents arrested people fighting a wildfire in the state of Washington. (Seattle Times) The Air Force will provide Capitol rioter Ashli Babbitt with full military honors at a funeral. (The Hill) Trump threatened George Soros with RICO charges. (Axios)
Hidden Eats, by Ike Allen:
A lot of businesses and neighborhood spaces in the DMV that primarily cater to immigrants feel noticeably emptier these days. No exception is Bestway, a Salvadoran supermarket in Hyattsville, which had a wary, melancholy vibe one afternoon last week when I visited Tortas Hula Hula, a San Salvador-style sandwich bar hidden just by the butcher counter. But the restaurant’s staff were undeterred, warmly and patiently explaining the difference between the bizarrely named sloppy-joe-esque “pan mataniños” and the torta Hula Hula, an elaborate griddled ham sandwich named after the neon-lit park in San Salvador where they were invented by street vendors. The latter, slathered with avocado piled with crunchy curtido, made me grateful to live in a city with access to all the zany creativity of Central American street food. (3511 Hamilton Street, Hyattsville.)
Recently on Washingtonian dot com:
• Make yourself a cup of tea and dive into our guide to indie bookstores in the area.
• While you’ve got books on the mind, here are 11 book sales this fall you won’t want to miss.
• Terrific gluten-free food options around the area.
Local news links:
• Federal authorities say they’ve busted a major drug-trafficking ring that they say brought PCP and fentanyl into the region. (WTOP)
• DC’s tourism authority is struggling to convince tourists and visitors that the District is safe amid Trump’s crackdown. (WTOP)
• Honorée Fanonne Jeffers canceled a planned appearance at next month’s National Book Festival, saying that “as an African American, I’m just afraid to be in that city.” (PoPville)
• RIP Rick Snider, the longtime Commanders reporter who passed away Tuesday. (The MoCo Show) Snider wrote for the Washington Times and many other outlets over his four-decade-plus career. (Washington Times) He even wrote for Washingtonian, working up a list of the region’s greatest living athletes in 2019. (Washingtonian)
• A baby red panda was born at the National Zoo’s Front Royal facility in June. It’s pretty cute. (Washington Post)
Thursday’s event picks:
• Sing along to “La La Land” at the last summer movie night at the Wharf.
• Do yoga at Alexandria’s Carlyle House and enjoy mocktails afterward.
See more picks from Briana Thomas, who writes our Things to Do newsletter.
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.
