Good morning. Sunny with a high around 32 today. A low near 19 overnight. The Wizards visit Detroit tonight. The Caps host Nashville, their last game before the NHL takes a break for the Winter Olympics. They’ll be back in action on February 25. You can find me on Bluesky, I’m @abeaujon.87 on S ignal, 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: Carter Faith, “Betty.” The up-and-coming country singer plays a sold-out show with Emma Ogier at Pearl Street Warehouse tonight. Take Washingtonian Today with you! I made a playlist on Spotify and on Apple Music of last year’s music recommendations. I’ll make one soon for 2026. Here’s some administration news you might have blocked out: The ICE storm: The administration will pull about a quarter of its immigration officers from Minnesota, border czar Tom Homan said yesterday. But thousands will remain. (AP) President Trump said the backlash from federal officers’ fatal shooting of Alex Pretti had taught him “that maybe we could use a little bit of a softer touch. But you still have to be tough.” (NBC News) A large majority of Americans polled say the administration “has not given an honest account” of Pretti’s death. (Quinnipiac) Reeling Minnesota: The administration fired Julie Le, the prosecutor who “expressed exasperation with the crippling case load” in her office due to the administration’s Minnesota operation. (NYT) The transcript of Le’s extraordinary response to a judge shows that she also told said that her family isn’t white and is “at risk as any other people that might get picked up.” (Law Dork) Meanwhile: Trump ally Steve Bannon declared, “We’re going to have ICE surround the polls come November.” (Politico) Democrats in Congress outlined what reforms they’ll seek in a showdown over funding the Department of Homeland Security. (AP) Dems’ position that immigration officers must remove their masks has already softened. (HuffPost) Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger ended the commonwealth’s participation with an ICE program. But many local sheriff departments still maintain relationships with the agency. (Bolts) The administration painted its splashy midnight raid on a Chicago apartment building as an effort to root out members of a Venezuelan gang. So why didn’t in mention that impetus in official documents? (ProPublica) Administration perambulation: The Senate is unlikely to strike a deal about extending Obamacare subsidies, which means people will have to swallow the big jump in costs of many plans or go without. (WSJ) A team working for Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard investigated voting machines in Puerto Rico last year—yet another instance of the administration’s pursuit of Trump’s bogus claims of widespread voter fraud. (Reuters) The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is investigating Nike “for diversity efforts that it said amounted to discrimination against white workers.” (NYT) The CIA abruptly removed its World Factbook from the internet. (Simon Willison’s Weblog) Without explaining why it doinked the resource, the agency said, “we hope you will stay curious about the world and find ways to explore it.” (CIA) Former USAID workers suing over their agency’s demolition got a big win in court: Elon Musk and State Department officials must sit for depositions, a judge ruled. (Axios) A federal judge in New York didn’t seem to buy the administration’s arguments that Trump’s hush-money case should have gone through federal, not state court. (NBC News) The FBI couldn’t get into Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson‘s iPhone because it was in Lockdown Mode. (404 Media) Here’s how to turn that on. (Apple) Hidden Eats, by Ike Allen Photo by Ike Allen. Punjab, sometimes called the “granary of India,” is known for its roti, paratha, naan, and kulcha— fluffy tandoor-baked flatbreads slathered with butter or stuffed with potatoes. The Sterling strip mall eatery 323 Dhaba Express, a suburban branch of a rural West Virginia Indian roadhouse that serves mainly Sikh truck drivers, is serious about its breads. Amritsari kulcha, a gnarled, stretchy flatbread stuffed with potatoes, comes beside a tray of condiments: salted butter, sliced onions, chickpea curry, green chiles, lotus root pickle, and raita. Makki di roti (corn roti) with sarson da saag (mustard greens), a classic wintertime pairing in Punjab, is a nice choice here, too. (20800 Pidgeon Hill Drive, Sterling, Virginia.) Recently on Washingtonian dot com: • A historian who studies first ladies talks about what the “Melania” documentary shows us about how she views the role. • “This is a book about power”: Local author (and “Survivor” veteran) Stephen Fishbach discusses his first novel, which is about people on a reality show that sounds familiar. • We’ve got suggestions for romantic getaways that are an easy drive from DC. Local news links: Bloodbath at the Post: The Washington Post took a meat ax to its newsroom yesterday, eliminating 300 jobs. It will zap its sports section, gut its international coverage, and dramatically reduce its local staff. Lots of people in other departments lost their jobs, too. (NYT) Owner Jeff Bezos is still committed to the paper, Executive Editor Matt Murray said. He’s got an interesting way of showing it! (CNN) Now-former sports staffers say they never received ideas from the top about how to reinvent their section. (The Ringer) About a dozen people will be left in local, down from around 40. (NPR) You can contribute to a fund for laid-off employees. (GoFundMe) • Rahmanullah Lakanwal, who authorities say shot two National Guard members in DC the day before Thanksgiving, pleaded not guilty yesterday. Prosecutors said they intend to seek the death penalty but must pursue additional charges. (ABC News) • Cori Clingman got sentenced to 15 years for causing the crash that killed Khyree Jackson and two other men in July 2024. (WUSA9) • Kevin Sanders, a former groomer at Your Dog’s Best Friends in Alexandria, was found guilty of abusing dogs and causing the death of one. (The Alexandria Brief) • Falling ice is the next @#$@# thing you have to worry about. (NBC4 Washington) Thursday’s event picks: • Phillips After 5 hosts a Valentine’s Fete. • “John Doe” opens at the Keegan Theatre. • The lottery for next week’s National Gallery Nights opener closes at noon today. See more picks for today and this week from Briana Thomas, who writes our Things to Do newsletter.The post Bloodbath at the Washington Post, Obamacare Subsidies Likely Over, and It’s Time to Worry About Falling Ice first appeared on Washingtonian. ...read more read less