Good morning. Brrrr, it’s another cold one, with mostly sunny conditions but a high just around 36. Rain chances overnight with a low near 30. 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 news letter. Sign up here. I can’t stop listening to: Musiq Soulchild, “Halfcrazy.” The neo-soul star plays the second of two shows at the Birchmere 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: Video games: President Trump yesterday pretended he hadn’t said, on camera, that he had no problem with releasing video of an increasingly controversial military strike he ordered on a boat in the Caribbean, yelling at yet another female reporter when she asked about his about-face. (Washington Post) Congress appears to have tired of the will-they-or-won’t-they act, preparing to dock Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth‘s travel budget unless the administration releases videos of the 22 lethal strikes so far. (Politico) Eighty-seven people have been killed in the attacks. (NYT) Math is hard: The White House announced a bailout for farmers hurt by rising costs and Trump’s trade war, claiming it would be funded by tariff revenue, which it will not. (Politico) The package is “roughly the value of total U.S. soybean exports to China in 2024,” which, ahem. (AP) Trump claimed the payments were a “bridge” until tariff revenue surges in and in his telling may replace income tax revenues; so far they have brought in about 9 percent of the amount taxes do each year. (NYT) Court bouillon: It was another big day for the White House in courtrooms across the country. The US Supreme Court appears likely to dramatically expand Trump’s power to fire government workers. (Law Dork) Also in DC, federal Judge James Boasberg said it would be “premature” to open criminal prosecution of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem as his investigation into whether the administration ignored his order this past March to halt a deportation flight ramps up. (Politico) He’s scheduled an appearance by DOJ whistleblower Erez Reuveni, who has said former administration official Emil Bove said “DOJ would need to consider telling the courts ‘f— you.’” (Washington Post) In New Jersey, Trump’s former personal lawyer Alina Habba resigned as acting US Attorney as her attempts to stay in office finally ran out of gas. (Washington Post) In Massachusetts, US District Judge Patti Saris doinked a Trump executive order that forbade wind-energy projects, noting that it was illegal. (AP) The developers of an app that alerts users to the presence of ICE officers sued the administration, claiming it pressured Apple to zap the app from its store. (NYT) Former FBI agents who say FBI Director Kash Patel fired them for kneeling during a 2020 protest sued. (Politico) Paramount theater: Paramount CEO David Ellison promised Trump he’d bring huge changes to Trump’s bête noir CNN if his group were allowed to purchase Warner Bros., a deal that went to Netflix instead. So Ellison launched a hostile takeover bid. (WSJ) Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner is among the groups helping to fund Paramount’s bid. (NYT) That’s raising eyebrows—in relatively short supply in this story—among ethics experts, since Trump said he’d get involved in the deal. (Reuters) The two sides plan to spend big on K Street. (Politico) Administration perambulation: Honduras issued an arrest warrant for its former president Juan Orlando Hernández, the convicted drug trafficker Trump recently pardoned. (NYT) A new report says Florida used CIA “enhanced interrogation” techniques—that was an all-time euphemism, wasn’t it?—at its “Alligator Alcatraz” prison. (Forever Wars) As info increasingly paints January 6 pipe bomb suspect Brian Cole Jr.  as a Trump supporter who believed the President’s lies about losing the 2020 election to Joe Biden, far-right conspiracies have blossomed. (The Bulwark) Staffing shortages caused by Trump’s cuts to the National Weather Service could cause big problems during severe winter weather. (WTOP) Police in South Carolina say US Representative Nancy Mace created “a spectacle” during a confrontation with TSA agents at an airport there in October. (Washington Post) The losers were all of us when Health Secretary RFK Jr. and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy held a pull-up contest for some reason at National Airport. (C-SPAN) DHS shared more vile deportation memes, this time with a holiday theme. (Axios) CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz urged federal workers to eat less during the holidays. (Wired) Go snow tubing at the ballpark, by Daniella Byck: Photo by Daniella Byck. Last week I ventured to Winter Wonderfest, a seasonal carnival at Nationals Park. The event replaces Enchant, the light display that took over the stadium for four years. It was fairly quiet when I arrived on a Thursday evening, and the crowd seemed to be mainly families and people in leather pants taking selfies. Faux snow floated around the field, and the night was cold enough that we quickly found the fire pits—and spiked cider—in the après-ski-themed area. (I originally mistook this for the batting cage speakeasy, which would be one of the more hidden bars in DC if not for the sign they put up—because people literally couldn’t find it.) While there are a few activities to check out, the pièce de résistance is certainly the six-lane tubing run. People of all ages were sliding down the hill, from two tiny tubers with blinking light necklaces to a man inexplicably wearing shorts in December. I was chuffed to find the run, which isn’t long but does have a bit of incline, actually provided some thrill. A staff member prodded my tube over the ridge, sending me careening down the hill in a spiral. For a brief moment, I felt like a bundled-up kid on a snow day, launching down the sledding hill at the local middle school, and it’s a nice alternative to hauling out to a ski resort if you’ve got small children with short attention spans. Recently on Washingtonian dot com: • ICE raids. The shutdown. A lot fewer cheeky cocktails. The second Trump administration has ushered in a slump for local restaurants. • Three purchases that, for under $100 altogether, helped our reporter establish boundaries with her phone. • Jefferson Airplane guitarist Jorma Kaukonen told us about his DC roots. • Photos from the red carpet at Sunday’s Trumpy Kennedy Center Honors. Local news links: • Lots of people have opinions about who DC’s next police chief should be. (WTOP) Homicides dropped by 27 percent during Pamela Smith‘s relatively short tenure in the job. (WUSA9) • Some booking agents said the Kennedy Center has stiffed their artists since Trump took it over. (The Hollywood Reporter) • Next November’s ballot in DC could include an initiative that would raise the minimum wage to $25. (Washington Post) • Congressional Republicans, who at one point were very concerned about conditions at the DC Jail, could overwhelm the facility if they prevail in eliminating cash bail. (Washington Post) • Nothing gold can stay, by which I mean that the Friendship Heights Cheesecake Factory will close next month. (PoPville) Tuesday’s event picks: • “In Clay,” a new musical about the life of French potter Marie-Berthe Cazin, makes its US debut at Signature Theatre. • The Beths play the first of two sold-out shows at the 9:30 Club. • Make a paper wreath at Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library. See more picks from Briana Thomas, who writes our Things to Do newsletter.The post The Trade War Is Going So Well That Farmers Need a Bailout, Booking Agents Say Kennedy Center Stiffed Performers, and It’s Cold Today first appeared on Washingtonian. ...read more read less