Good morning. It’s foggy this morning, with showers possible before 11, then cloudy with a high around 64 and scattered showers possible after 4 PM. Rain likely overnight, with a low near 46. The Wizards host Utah tonight. You can find me on Bluesky, I’m @abeaujon.87 on Signal, and there’s a l ink to my email address below. This roundup is available as a morning email newsletter. Sign up here. I can’t stop listening to: The Wonder Years, “Cigarettes Saints.” The pop-punk lifers play the Fillmore Silver Spring tonight with Knuckle Punk and Equipment.  Take Washingtonian Today with you! I keep ridiculously long playlists on Apple Music and on Spotify of this year’s music recommendations. Here are 2025’s songs (Apple, Spotify), too. Tell *us* where to go: Typically, we’re the ones giving readers travel recommendations. But this year, we’re asking you to share your opinions, too. Nominate your favorite place to stay in our travel survey, and you could win a $100 gift card—and your picks may end up in our May issue. Here’s some administration news you might have blocked out: War news: The US sank an Iranian warship off Sri Lanka’s coast. Thirty-two of the 180 people on board were rescued, and the torpedo strike in international waters dramatically widened the war’s geographical footprint. (AP) NATO defenses shot down a missile that Turkey said Iran had fired at it. Iran denied it had done so. (NYT) Tehran has fired hundreds of missiles, but its underground “missile cities” are rich targets for US and Israeli bombers. (WSJ) An Iranian drone strike on a liquified natural gas facility in Qatar could trigger an energy crisis in Europe and Asia. (Washington Post) The Pentagon identified two more US Army Reserve soldiers killed in a drone attack in Kuwait Sunday. (AP) More than 1,000 Iranian civilians have been killed so far, a human rights group says. (WSJ) Pro-US Kurdish forces in Iraq could enter Iran soon, though the White House says those reports are not true. (NYT) Spain repeated that it wouldn’t cooperate with President Trump‘s war on Iran after a White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt claimed otherwise. (AP) The AI tool Claude is crucial to a system built by Palantir that the US is using to identify targets, a situation that may grow awkward as the Pentagon feuds with Anthropic, Claude’s maker. (Washington Post) Thousands of travelers remain stranded in the Middle East. (NYT) Meanwhile, at home: Republicans in the US Senate defeated a measure that would sought to reassert Congress’s relevance in the war. The House will take up similar legislation today. (Politico) Despite their dismay at being cut out of the decision-making process, some Democrats in Congress are likely to vote for more money for the Pentagon if asked. (Politico) The White House is worried about the war’s effect on gas prices. (Politico) Noem alone? Trump has begun to poll Republicans on Congress about whether he should fire Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem following two days of hearings on the Hill. Trump was reportedly upset that Noem said he’d signed off on an ad campaign featuring Noem that US Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana, a Republican, suggested was designed to build Noem’s personal brand. (Punchbowl News) Noem avoided questions from lawmakers about whether she was engaged in a sexual relationship with her top lieutenant, Corey Lewandowski. (New York Post) Noem also told senators Lewandowski has no role in approving contracts. DHS records show otherwise. (ProPublica) ICE is moving toward closing a troubled detention camp in Texas near Fort Bliss. (Washington Post) Meanwhile, at the Department of Justice: DOJ abandoned attempts to prosecute former President Biden and his aides over their use of an “autopen” to sign pardons,  the latest example of the department failing to make a case based on one of Trump’s obsessions. (NYT) The Republican-led House Oversight Committee voted to subpoena US Attorney General Pam Bondi to testify about her department’s handling of investigations into the deceased, disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein and the subsequent release of investigation records. (Washington Post) Timothy Parsons, a staffer at the US Attorney’s Office in DC, was arrested and charged with possession child sex-abuse material. (CBS News) Hill corner: US Senator Steve Daines made a surprise announcement Wednesday night that he wouldn’t run again, and Trump endorsed Kurt Alme to succeed the Montana Republican. Daines’ announcement, minutes before the filing deadline for candidates to enter the race, appears coordinated to anoint Alme, something that hasn’t been terribly popular in Congress lately. (NBC News) US Representative Tony Gonzales of Texas admitted to an affair with an aide who later killed herself. (Politico) Such relationships are forbidden by House rules, and an investigation into Gonzales is proceeding. (Politico) Trump is likely to endorse John Cornyn in Texas’ Senate race, a potentially fatal blow to the hopes of MAGA favorite Ken Paxton. (Atlantic) Administration perambulation: Melissa Robey, one of Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer‘s top aides, was placed on leave amid a widening investigation into the department. Chavez-DeRemer’s husband has been banned from the building for allegedly making advances on staffers, a member of her security detail was placed on leave amid allegations he was having an affair with Chavez-DeRemer, and two of her chiefs of staff have been forced out as well. (NYT) A federal judge in New York ordered the US to refund the $130 billion it collected under Trump’s tariff scheme, which the Supreme Court recently thwarted. (WSJ) US forces are on the ground in Ecuador, too. (Politico) Yet another pardoned January 6 rioter has found himself in hot water. (CBS News) Health Secretary RFK Jr. took on Dunkin’ yesterday, potentially risking the secession of Massachusetts from the United States. (Washington Post) Hidden Eats, by Ike Allen: Photo by Ike Allen. As part of my slow, Sisyphean mission to try every Ethiopian veggie combo in the DMV, I checked out Selam Garden in downtown Silver Spring the other night. This place confusingly shares a space with the longtime Indian-Nepali restaurant Ghar-E-Kabab— new Ethiopian management opened it last summer but kept the South Asian menu and signage in place. We’re in the midst of Great Lent, during which many Ethiopian Orthodox christians abstain from meat and dairy, so my veggie combo had even more variety than usual. Along with the classic assortment of stewed lentils, cabbage, collards, and potatoes, I especially liked the more unusual shimbra asa, chickpea fritters meant to emulate fish (the name literally means “chickpea fish”) that were stewed in an onion-y sauce. It was all served over imported injera made from 100% teff flour, and reminded me that there are probably more worthy Ethiopian restaurants in the DC area than I will ever get to visit. (944 Wayne Ave., Silver Spring) Recently on Washingtonian dot com: • Speed cameras in DC used to be a matter of local debate. But now national politicians have gotten involved. • Years-long plans for a visitor education center at the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial are finally on the verge of becoming reality. Local news links: • DC’s chief financial officer, Glenn Lee, says DC residents should file taxes as planned despite congressional meddling. (NBC4 Washington) • A redistricting referendum in Virginia appears likely to move ahead after the commonwealth’s supreme court OK’d it. (AP) • The National Park Service will announce its peak bloom prediction today. Cherry blossom season nears! (ABC7) • The National Children’s Museum will have to leave the Reagan building in downtown DC because the FBI needs more space to move in its employees. (WBJ) • DOJ plans to appeal a court ruling that prevents the government from accessing devices it took from Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson. (Washington Post) • Two Arlington police officers were hurt while chasing teenagers. (ARLnow) • An officer in Greenbelt completed a Door Dash delivery after stopping a driver who said she didn’t have a license. (WUSA9) • Two people in Old Town Alexandria were attacked by a raccoon or possibly raccoons. (ALXnow) Thursday’s event picks: • This month’s Phillips After 5 pays tribute to Carl Craig and techno. • Get metal at the National Museum of Women in the Arts’ Aluminate the Night event. See more picks for this week and weekend from Briana Thomas, who writes our Things to Do newsletter.The post Senate OKs Trump’s War in Iran, Kristi Noem Dodges Questions About Relationship With Top Aide, and We’re About to Get a Peak Bloom Prediction first appeared on Washingtonian. ...read more read less