Good morning. Cloudy this morning, then clear with gusty winds this afternoon and a high around 44. An unremarkable day! A low near 24 overnight. The Wizards host Boston tonight. 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: Mark O’Connor and Maggie O’Connor, “The Holly and the Ivy.” The O’Connors will bring their “An Appalachian Christmas” show to the Barns at Wolf Trap tonight. 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: Pete wave: A Pentagon inspector general’s report about Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth‘s use of Signal is due out today. It will say the info Hegseth put in a group chat that inadvertently included Atlantic EIC Jeffrey Goldberg “could have put the mission, U.S. personnel, and national security at risk had it fallen into the wrong hands” (The Atlantic) Pentagon spox Sean Parnell called the report a “TOTAL exoneration.” (WSJ) Admiral Frank M. Bradley, who oversaw the Hegseth-ordered strike on a boat in the Caribbean that’s caused an uproar, and General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will visit Capitol Hill today to take questions from lawmakers. (NYT) Info about a follow-on strike on the boat’s survivors wasn’t disclosed to members of Congress during a classified briefing in September. (AP) Bradley will say they saw the survivors amid packages of narcotics, which is interesting because Hegseth claimed yesterday it was impossible to see in the aftermath of the first strike. (WSJ) Hegseth asked Admiral Alvin Holsey, who had expressed reservations about the boat strikes, to step down. (WSJ) US Representative Shri Thanedar of Michigan introduced articles of impeachment against Hegseth, an effort that’s very likely futile. (Axios) The New York Times sued the Pentagon over its new restrictions on reporters in the building, which has left it with an in-house press corps packed with right-wing influencers and Trump loyalists. (NYT) Howdy, pardoner: President Trump pardoned US Representative Henry Cuellar of Texas, a Democrat who faced charges of money laundering and bribery. (Texas Tribune) He didn’t tell House Speaker Mike Johnson about it first. (Axios) He also pardoned Tim Leiweke, a real estate developer his own DOJ indicted earlier this year. (CNN) Trump’s recent pardon of former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernández has trained a spotlight on that country’s politics. Trump’s onetime 2020 campaign manager Brad Parscale worked for current presidential candidate Nasry Asfura. (NYT) Administration perambulation: Trump renamed the US Institute of Peace building, easily one of DC’s most ridiculous buildings, after himself. He’s expected to receive a “peace prize” from comically corrupt soccer organization FIFA at the nearby Kennedy Center this weekend. (Washington Post) He weakened Biden-era fuel efficiency standards for cars. (NYT) He also “asserted executive privilege to prevent courtroom adversaries from accessing evidence in a long-running lawsuit that accuses him of stoking violence at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.” (Politico) FBI brass are “pressuring the bureau’s domestic terrorism agents to open a seditious conspiracy investigation into six Democratic lawmakers who advised military service members to defy unlawful orders.” (Bloomberg Law) Democrats released some pretty weird photos of disgraced, deceased financier and former Trump pal Jeffrey Epstein‘s private island. (NYT) Federal immigration officers in Florida yanked a US citizen out of her car. (Miami Herald) EPA employees who were dismissed after they signed an open letter will challenge their firings before the Merit Systems Protection Board. (Federal News Network) The House Judiciary Committee subpoenaed Jack Smith. (Politico) Hidden Eats, by Ike Allen: Photo by Ike Allen. The whimsical train theme at Mumbai Central—with booths paneled to look like railcars and menu headings like “biriyani terminal”—makes the new Falls Church Indian place popular with families. It could chug along on just the familiar, ably prepared subcontinental fare that makes up much of the menu, but there are some bites here worth traveling for. Focus on small plates like kamal kakdi chaat (crispy shreds of lotus root dressed with yogurt and chutneys), Amritsari fish fillets fried in chickpea flour, and ajwain paneer tikka (smoky, charred cubes of paneer fragrant with an herby carom seed marinade). (Idylwood Plaza, 7505 Leesburg Pike, Suite 125A, Falls Church.) Recently on Washingtonian dot com: • The festive season is upon us. In our Ultimate Guide to Happier Holidays, you’ll find: Holiday tips from radio host Chilli Amar, professional decorator Nadine Araji, and mall Santa Mike Graham. A trip to Jeff’s Christmas Light Show Spectacular in Maryland and what it’s like to live on a street known for its over-the-top Christmas displays. A guide to all the holiday lighting ceremonies and a guide to light displays in the area. Outdoor skating rinks and a debate over real versus fake trees. Holiday markets you can visit and ugly Christmas sweaters with a local twist. Holiday shows and films. Restaurants that will prepare festive treats for you, holiday teas, and the story behind Ivy and Coney’s Hanukkah bar. Advice from a therapist if you’re not feeling into it this year, and how to deal with Christmas burnout. Things to do on Christmas Day around the area. • What’s it like to have Sally Quinn judge your holiday hosting skills? One of our writers decided to throw a dinner party and find out. • Taylor Swift remains untoppled from DC’s Spotify Wrappeds this year. • Ski resorts open this weekend. Here’s a guide. Local news links: • A federal judge in DC said federal immigration agents may not arrest people without warrants. (Axios) • Republicans in the House thwarted a bill that would name a post office after Chuck Brown. (Washington Post) • The NWSL vetoed the Washington Spirit’s multimillion-dollar offer to keep Trinity Rodman. (The Athletic) • A man was fatally shot while ordering in a food court in the MGM National Harbor Hotel and Casino. Police are searching for a suspect. (WTOP) • A Safeway and an apartment building in Wheaton with more than 1,000 residents were condemned after flooding from a water leak. (WJLA) • Trash is piling up in Alexandria’s Cameron Station neighborhood, residents say, after the community’s contract with a private hauler ended. (DC News Now) • That was indeed some Hollywood production filming on 14th Street, Northwest, last night. (WUSA9) • RIP James L. Wright Jr., a longtime Washington Informer staff writer and local journalist who died at age 62. (Washington Informer)The post Trump Names Fugly DC Building After Himself, Spirit’s Trinity Rodman Deal in Danger, and Signalgate Report Is Incoming first appeared on Washingtonian. ...read more read less