Good morning. Partly sunny with a high near 80 today, and a low around 56 tonight. The Capitals won their first playoff game thanks to an overtime goal by Alex Ovechkin last night, and the Nationals host the Orioles this evening. You can find me on Bluesky, I’m @abeaujon.87 on Signal, and there’s a link to my email address below.
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I can’t stop listening to:
Swervedriver, “Duel.” This English band’s beefy guitars made them stand out among their peers in the ’90s shoegaze scene, and they’re best experienced at full volume. Swervedriver will play the Black Cat tonight with Frankie Rose.
Here’s some administration news you might have blocked out:
Playing defense: President Trump defended his beleaguered Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth at the White House Easter Egg Roll yesterday, calling reports of dysfunction at the Pentagon a “waste of time.” (Playbook) The White House said the “entire Pentagon” was acting against Hegseth, an “extraordinary claim” that “reflects the depth of suspicion that has taken root inside the Pentagon.” (Axios) NPR reported that the White House is quietly looking for a way to replace Hegseth. (NPR) A CNN piece counters that firing Hegseth would be tantamount to Trump admitting his hire was a mistake, so it’s unlikely to happen. (CNN) US Representative Don Bacon called Hegseth’s sharing of sensitive military information with his wife and others in a Signal chat “totally unacceptable.” (Politico) “[I]n recent weeks, the veneer of a more disciplined White House has begun to crack.” (NYT)
Bag-revation: Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem lost her bag—which contained $3,000 in cash, her DHS ID, and her passport—to a thief in a DC restaurant on Easter. (CNN) The restaurant was Capital Burger. (Jessica Sidman) Context: The burger joint, which offers “Luxe Burgers & Spiked Shakes,” is an offshoot of the Capital Grille, a GOP hangout. (Washingtonian)
Bottom dollar: The US dollar fell to a three-year low yesterday, prompted by Trump’s tariffs and his repeated attacks on Fed Chair Jerome Powell. (CNBC) Stocks, too: “The S&P 500’s performance since Inauguration Day is now the worst for any president up to this point in data going back to 1928, according to Bespoke Investment Group.” (WSJ) The Journal’s editorial board: “Mr. Trump thinks he can bully everyone into submission, but he can’t bully Adam Smith, who deals in reality.” (WSJ)
A Cambridge too far? Harvard sued the administration, “a major escalation of the ongoing fight between higher education and President Trump, who has vowed to ‘reclaim’ elite universities. (NYT) “Harvard will be represented by Robert K. Hur ’95 and William A. Burck, both lawyers with deep ties to President Donald Trump.” (The Harvard Crimson)
Immigration: Trump argued that providing trials to immigrants it wishes to deport is “not possible.” (The Hill) DHS wouldn’t allow Mahmoud Khalil, a legal permanent resident whom the administration has arrested and hopes to deport, to attend the birth of his son. (NYT) ICE has detained Kseniia Pertova, a Russian-born scientist, for two months. She developed ways to read images from “groundbreaking microscope at Harvard Medical School could lead to breakthroughs in cancer detection and research into longevity,” and her absence could put “crucial scientific advancements at risk.” (NBC News)
Administration perambulation: Michael Caputo, the GOP operative hired to assist interim US Attorney for DC Ed Martin, “has made multiple posts online continuing a long-running bit in which he muses about ‘antifa’ coming to his home to threaten him, and instead being eaten by wild animals.” (TPM) The ACLU sued for access to records from Elon Musk‘s DOGE project. (Wired) Musk’s “Five Things” emails are slipping away. (Washington Post) Trump may offer a medal that congratulates women on having “six or more children.” (Mother Jones) Meet Lindsey Halligan, the lawyer Trump has tasked with investigating the Smithsonian. (Washington Post)
How to do yoga in a museum, by Daniella Byck
Beth Wolfe’s Yoga and Sound experience at the National Building Museum. Photograph by Jim Norton.
Bring your yoga mat to museums around the DC area for a meditative session in a cool space. The National Building Museum hosts a $30 yoga class in the massive Great Hall, accompanied by a “sound experience” that may include a gong or chimes. At the Museum of Contemporary Art Arlington, you can practice downward dog on Saturday mornings in the Tiffany Gallery, where stained glass windows bring beautiful light into the room. Tickets are between $10, $15, or $20, depending on the donation of your choice. For an outdoor option surrounded by art, the Kreeger has a yoga session in the Sculpture Garden for $20.
Recently on Washingtonian dot com:
• GAIA Supperclub aims to bring elements of the nightlife experience in Dubai and Ibiza to Vermont Avenue.
• Ed Martin’s unusual interview with the Washington Informer, annotated.
• Attention Caps fans: Here are our recommendations for dining and drinking near Capital One Arena.
• A doctor gave us some tips for how to avoid measles.
Local news links:
• “I just want my husband back”: An interview with Jennifer Vasquez Sura, the wife of wrongly deported Maryland man Kilmar Abrego García. (Washington Post)
• DC Mayor Muriel Bowser said the city is planning deep budget cuts now that Congress appears uninterested in fixing the hole it blew in the District’s budget. (WUSA9)
• Bowser also talked about a deal to bring the Washington Commanders back to the District, calling sports “a big, big bright spot in our economy.” (NBC4 Washington) Phil Mendelson, the chair of the DC Council, says a deal could cost taxpayers more than $1 billion. (WBJ)
• The mayor also unveiled plans for a mixed-use development at the Deanwood Metro Station. (WTOP)
• DC-area retailers are scrambling to adjust to the Trump administration’s threats to the local economy. (ModernRetail)
• Police found the body of 62-year-old Donella Bryan in a Dumpster in Northeast DC this past weekend. Her death has been ruled a homicide. (WUSA9)
• Virginia saw the nation’s biggest jump in the number of abortions performed last year. (Axios Richmond)
• Worthwhile Canadian Initiative: Tim Hortons plans to expand into Maryland. (WBJ)
• Maryland will lose its last Radio Shack. (NBC4 Washington)
• Hoda Kotb visited a senior living community in Alexandria. (Alexandria Living)
• Aidan Maese-Czeropski, the “Senate Twink,” has moved to Australia and hopes to open a pigeon sanctuary one day. (People) FLASHBACK: “Horny on the Hill: Staffers React to the Sex Tape.” (Washingtonian)
Tuesday’s event picks:
• Machine Head and In Flames play the Fillmore Silver Spring.
• Learn about sustainable gardening as you tour the US Botanic Garden.
• Make your own beer can planter at Dacha Beer Garden.
See more picks from Briana Thomas, who writes our Things to Do newsletter.
Did you miss our 100 Very Best Restaurants List? It’s here. Enter our Cutest Dog Contest here.
