Photo illustration by Emma Spainhoward with photograph by Getty Images. Good morning. Even more wind, some sun, and a high around 56 today. A low around 34 tonight. Bar Charley, All Souls, and the Green Zone are among the first-date bars that moved to the second round of our bracket. Vote now for wh o will go to the final four on Friday. The Wizards are at Philadelphia this evening. Alex Ovechkin scored in last night’s Caps loss to Winnipeg, and he’s now six goals away from The Record. You can find me on Bluesky, I’m @abeaujon.87 on Signal, and if you absolutely must send me an email, there’s a link at the bottom of this post. I can’t stop listening to: Mary J. Blige, “No More Drama.” Blige’s “For My Fans” tour, which also features Ne-Yo and Mario, touches down at Capital One Arena tonight. Here’s some administration news you might have blocked out: Signalgate update: National Security Adviser Mike Waltz sort of took responsibility for inviting Atlantic Editor Jeff Goldberg to a Signal group where Trump officials discussed war plans. He called Goldberg “scum” and said he’d called Elon Musk to ask about technical solutions to the problem of Trump officials using a non-government group chat to talk about a bombing campaign. (Politico) Steve Witkoff, who was in the chat, was in Moscow while the messages were flying. (CBS News) Waltz’s boss, President Trump, was upset that Waltz had Goldberg’s number at all, but Waltz appears to have survived the embarrassing episode for now. (Politico) Here’s an annotation of the chat log. (NYT) The watchdog group American Oversight sued Trump officials on the chat, who also included Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, saying they “violated their duty to uphold laws around the preservation of official communications.” (HuffPost) • Trump issued an executive order yesterday that calls for people who wish to vote to show proof of US citizenship. Expect court challenges, as the President is not typically included in states’ election plans. (NYT) • The DOGE staffer known as Big Balls “once provided support to a cybercrime gang that bragged about trafficking in stolen data and cyberstalking an FBI agent.” (Reuters) • Trump signed another EO, this one targeting another law firm. (Reuters) • Lee Dudek, the Social Security Administration’s interim administrator, admitted he ended a program that allowed Maine parents to seek a Social Security card for newborns at the hospital because he was “ticked” at the state’s governor after she tussled with Trump. (NYT) • The Department of Health and Human Services hired vaccine skeptic David Geier to analyze long-ago-discredited “links” between vaccines and autism. (Washington Post) • US District Judge Royce C. Lamberth issued a temporary block to the administration’s termination of funding for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. (Politico) House Speaker Mike Johnson “floated the possibility of Congress eliminating some federal courts.” (NBC News) The heads of NPR and PBS will visit Capitol Hill today, where some Republicans hope to eliminate their federal funding. (NPR) • Trump said he was mulling compensation for January 6 rioters. (Politico) • Vice President JD Vance will join his wife, Usha, on a controversial trip to Greenland, which the President hopes to buy one day. (NYT) What happens when a Trump appointee visits Anacostia Interim US attorney Ed Martin visited the the Anacostia Coordinating Council in Ward 8, the section of DC with the highest rates of violent crime, to explain and answer questions about his new MAGA approach to criminal justice. The Trump appointee, a former Stop the Steal activist from Missouri, faced a skeptical crowd of community leaders from Southeast DC who had just finished honoring three Black women leaders for Women’s History Month. Clearly a back-slapping person by nature, Martin began his appearance with a somewhat conciliatory tone, telling the crowd “you’re the experts on what’s happening in the community,” and name-dropping the Frederick Douglass National Historic Site as commemorating “one of the great historic folks.” But he struggled to keep it relatable. By a few minutes in, he brought up what he clearly thought was a slam dunk: “When USAID sent hundreds of millions of dollars to central Africa, didn’t you ask, ‘why didn’t you send it to 7D?” [the Seventh police district], he asked. Cora Masters Barry, Marion Barry’s widow, replied with a dressing-down. “You need to learn your politics,” she said. “You need to learn geography, and world affairs.” Barry pointed out that Martin, in his focus on crime, ignored the fact that DC had already made progress “You haven’t talked about the chief of police, who’s doing a great job of bringing crime down. Be careful how you talk to us,” she added. The crowd applauded. —Ike Allen How to see cherry blossoms—without the crowds Cherry blossoms in Stanton Park. Photograph courtesy of Washington.org. Peak bloom is imminent, and if you’re trying to avoid crowds at the Tidal Basin, consider other destinations for your cherry blossoms. For flowers by the water, National Harbor has around 200 pink Okame trees, which often bloom before the Yoshinos at the Tidal Basin. Large gardens also offer ample trees and space, including the National Arboretum, Brookside Gardens in Wheaton, and Meadowlark Botanical Gardens in Vienna. My personal favorite spot is Stanton Park in Capitol Hill, which looks like a fluffy cloud or anime scene when the blossoms open. Bring a book or picnic and set up in the grassy areas for a perfect spring day. —Daniella Byck Recently on Washingtonian dot com: • Should schools ban laptops, too? • The theme of this wedding at the Wharf was “DC glam meets garden party.” Local news links: • A person with measles who was visiting the District from Minnesota “rode on an Amtrak train on March 19, walked through the concourse at Union Station and went to an urgent care in Adams Morgan a few days later”—all while contagious. (Washington Post) • Baltimore’s Key Bridge collapsed a year ago today. (AP) • The GSA released an updated list of federal properties for sale, which now includes eight properties rather than the 443 it initially posted, then deleted. (Bisnow) Here’s the list, which includes one property in Maryland and none in the District. (GSA) • House Republicans may be considering forcing the District of Columbia to change its name to the District of America??? Just to be clear, we’re not named for Colombia. (Martin Austermuhle) • Alexandria police say they don’t believe there’s anything suspicious about the death of Jessica Aber. (WUSA9) • “A man who tried to intervene in a dispute” in Rosslyn “was chased by a drunk, knife-wielding suspect last week, according to Arlington County police.” (ARLnow) Wednesday’s event picks: • Louis Michot and Leyla McCalla seront à la Library of Congress, mes amis vaillants! • Georgetown University professor Maurice Jackson reads from his book Rhythms of Resistance and Resilience at Politics and Prose at the Wharf. • Raise a glass to Women’s History Month at the Watergate Hotel’s Women Whisky Wednesday tasting. 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.The post Cora Masters Barry Dressed Down Ed Martin, a Tourist Brought Measles to DC, and House GOP Floats Idea of Changing the City’s Name to “District of America” first appeared on Washingtonian. ...read more read less