Good morning. Rainy, windy, and cooler today as March continues to bat us around like a cat toy. The high of 62 will occur this morning, then temperatures will drop to about 48. Rain continues overnight—and there could be snow flurries—with a low near 33. You can find me indoors today, shaking m y head ruefully like James Spader watching people make poor decisions around his pool in an ’80s film. I’m on Bluesky, I’m @abeaujon.87 on Signal, and there’s a link to my email address below. Sports this weekend: The Wizards visit Golden State Friday and Portland Sunday. The DC Defenders begin their season with an away game versus the St. Louis Battlehawks Saturday. The Nationals—who hammered the Cubs in Opening Day action yesterday—will continue their visit to the Cubs Saturday and Sunday. The Washington Spirit visit Denver Summit FC Saturday. The Capitals visit Vegas Saturday. This roundup is available as a morning email newsletter. Sign up here. I can’t stop listening to: Eydie Gormé Trió Los Panchos, “Cuatro Vidas.” I love this classic bolero. Have you heard Adrian Quesada and Mireya Ramos‘s recent take on it? Anyway, the modern incarnation of the legendary Los Panchos plays the Howard Theatre tonight.  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. Here’s some administration news you might have blocked out: War news: A brutal day in the markets preceded President Trump‘s decision to once again push the deadline he imposed on Iran via social media last weekend. (AP) Trump said talks with Iran are going well. (Axios) Yeah, about those. Iran still says it’s not negotiating with the US. (AP) Meanwhile, the Pentagon is mulling whether to send 10,000 ground troops to the region, likely near the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has all but closed since Trump began this war almost a month ago. (WSJ) Iran is looking at closing a second chokepoint for oil transport, the Bab el-Mandeb strait in the Red Sea, via Yemen’s Iran-supported Houthi rebels. (Politico) And it’s not just the flow of oil at risk: The war has threatened the world’s supply of fertilizer. (AP) Where things stand: Neither the US nor Israel has entirely stopped Iran’s ability to fire missiles. (WSJ) Trump’s shifting goals for the war remain largely unfulfilled. Israel has moved so heavily into southern Lebanon that the Associated Press decided to call the operation an invasion. The US has lost billions of dollars’ worth of materiel and the administration seeks $200 billion to continue to prosecute the war. And in Congress, Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, a Republican, is working to force a vote on the war. (NYT) End to DHS shutdown near: The Senate voted overnight to fund the Department of Homeland Security—but not ICE or Border Patrol operations. The House will take up the measure today. (Politico) The funding should end the chaos at US airports but doesn’t address reforms Democrats sought to immigration enforcement after the deaths of two US citizens in Minnesota. Republicans hope to bypass those via reconciliation. (WSJ) Trump said yesterday he would issue an executive order to pay TSA agents. (NYT) Signature achievement: Trump’s signature will begin to appear on US currency this summer, ending the 165-year tradition of notes bearing only the signatures of treasury secretaries. (Reuters) It’s the “latest example of the president emblazoning national institutions with his personal brand.” (NYT) Administration perambulation: Speaking of things that Trump has slapped his name on, the Kennedy Center began layoffs yesterday ahead of its planned closure this summer. (Washington Post) A federal judge in California temporarily blocked the Pentagon from labeling Anthropic a “supply chain risk,” calling the Defense Department’s actions amid a feud with the AI company “classic illegal First Amendment retaliation.” (Politico) The Department of Justice began investigations of admission practices at three medical schools. (NOTUS) The Education Department will move out of its DC headquarters, and the Department of Energy will move in. (Politico) Health Secretary RFK Jr.‘s attempts to reshape US vaccine policy have “collided with political and legal realities” and have led to whispers that he may soon leave his job. A top aide says he’s not going anywhere. (NYT) A federal court in Texas dismissed Elon Musk‘s lawsuit against advertisers who pulled money from X. (WSJ) Trump plans to remodel the White House’s Treaty Room. (NYT) Trump delivered a long, “winding tale” about his favorite permanent markers during a cabinet meeting yesterday. (AP) One snazzy open house this weekend: Photo courtesy of Amy Embrey, KW Metro Center. This expansive six-bedroom, eight-bathroom estate in Potomac was designed by John Leslie Neufeld and features a stately walnut library as well as a golf simulator room, a gazebo, and—why not?—a disco room. It’s listed at $3,799,000, and you can see it Saturday. It’s the only place with a disco room in our roundup of the weekend’s best open houses, but the others are quite nice, too. Recently on Washingtonian dot com: • Peak bloom, peak bloom, peak bloom: Here’s what you need to know to enjoy those cherry blossoms. • How about some cherry blossom-themed shopping? Here’s a guide. • April is upon us. Here’s our culture guide for the month, with lots of ideas of exhibitions to see, music to take in, and festivals to enjoy. • Another “No Kings” march is scheduled for Saturday. Local news links: • Metrorail turns 50 today. Here’s our look back at five decades of the system. • The Nationals placed baseballs on the graves of six people at Arlington National Cemetery this week. (ARLnow) • Quadruple amputee and champion cornhole player Dayton Webber will be extradited from Virginia to Maryland to face murder charges. (ABC7) • Oscar Diaz Romero of El Salvador was found guilty in the 1997 murder of two people at an Adams Morgan restaurant. (WUSA9) • Alexandria City Public Schools Superintendent Melanie Kay-Wyatt resigned. (Alexandria Brief) • Thomas Wootton High School will move from Rockville to Gaithersburg under a plan approved by the Montgomery County Board of Education last night. (NBC4 Washington) • Some horse owners in Middleburg worry that the US Army’s planned purchase of the Middleburg Training Center for training of the caisson horses at Arlington Cemetery will have a negative effect on Virginia’s thoroughbred industry. (NBC4 Washington) • The prospect of a Buc-ee’s in Stafford County moved closer to reality. (Northern Virginia Magazine) Weekend event picks: Friday: The exhibition “Shirley Gorelick: Figuring It Out” opens at the National Museum of Women in the Arts. Saturday: The excellent DC band Light Beams will rock the party at Rhizome. Sunday: It’s Sakura Sunday at National Harbor—browse a Japanese pop-up market, enjoy treats, and more. See more picks for the weekend from Briana Thomas, who writes our Things to Do newsletter.The post Trump’s Signature Will Soon Be in Your Wallet, DHS Shutdown Close to End, Kennedy Center Layoffs Begin first appeared on Washingtonian. ...read more read less