Good morning. Sunny with a high around 89 today. A low near 70 overnight. The Philadelphia Flyers’ victory over the Carolina Hurricanes last night officially eliminated the Washington Capitals from playoffs contention, so tonight’s visit to Columbus will be the Caps’ last game of the season as well as—perhaps—Alex Ovechkin‘s final appearance with the team. The Nationals are at Pittsburgh. 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: Natalia Lafourcade, “La Bruja.” The great Mexican singer performs solo at Strathmore 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: Spam of God: President Trump yesterday deleted a post he made Sunday night. It featured an AI-generated image of Trump as a Christ-like figure in robes, with divine light behind him and an orb of light in his left hand as he heals a sick person while heavenly beings and people and eagles on earth gather to give him praise. It was a bit much even for some allies of the President, many of whom excused him last year when he posted a different AI-generated image that imagined Trump as the pope. Some of his supporters online began to bandy about the idea that Trump may be the Antichrist. (Wired) Asked why he deleted the post, Trump said, “I did post it, and I thought it was me as a doctor and had to do with Red Cross.” (NBC News) “I make people better,” he explained as he received two bags of McDonalds food being delivered to the White House as part of a staged promotion of his no-tax-on-tips policy. (NYT) Related: Trump’s recent behavior has some former allies questioning his mental health. (NYT) Meanwhile, the war: The war Trump started with Iran almost seven weeks ago festers in the Persian gulf. Saudi Arabia wants the US to drop its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and restart peace negotiations. (WSJ) Talks about doing just that could begin today. (AP) Despite promising the war would end Iran’s ability to develop a nuclear weapon “for the long term,” the US sought a 20-year pause in that quest during the failed negotiations led by Vice President JD Vance. Iran proposed a five-year suspension—the same terms it offered before the war. (NYT) Secretary of State Marco Rubio will host talks between Israel and Lebanon in DC today about ending the conflict there, which Trump and Israel say is exempt from the two-week ceasefire with Iran. (Axios) Over on the Hill: Trump’s antics overshadowed a monumental day at the US Capitol, where two embattled US representatives resigned. Eric Swalwell of California apologized for “mistakes in judgment I’ve made in my past” and said he’d fight a “false allegation” that he sexually assaulted a former staffer. (Politico) And Tony Gonzales of Texas, who is “being investigated by the House Ethics Committee for having an affair with a staff member who later set herself on fire and died,”  said he would “file” for retirement. Both men faced likely votes to expel them from Congress. (Washington Post) Swalwell had “developed a reputation for unsavory and sometimes unwanted behavior toward women” and was the subject of a whisper network among politics types. (Politico) Administration perambulation: The administration agreed that the Pride flag could fly above New York’s Stonewall National Monument to settle a lawsuit brought by nonprofits who argued that its policy that allows Confederate flags to fly in some places applied to the rainbow banner as well. The National Park Service quietly removed Pride flags from the monument in February. (NYT) A federal judge in Miami tossed Trump’s $10 billion defamation suit against the Wall Street Journal, which reported on a page in a “birthday book” for the since deceased, disgraced financier Jefferey Epstein in which Trump—who denies doing so—drew an image of a naked woman with his signature “below her waist, mimicking pubic hair.” (WSJ) A Minnesota county attorney said he’s investigating the warrantless January arrest by ICE of US citizen ChongLy “Scott” Thao, who was dragged out into the snow in his underwear. (AP) Troy Edgar, a former top aide to Kristi Noem at the Department of Homeland Security, will return to the agency, which is now led by Markwayne Mullin. (Politico) Prices for fertilizer and helium have skyrocketed because of the war with Iran, putting pressure on farmers and manufacturers. (Politico) US Senator Jerry Moran of Kansas, who chairs the subcommittee that oversees NASA, opposes the administration’s proposed cuts to the agency. (SpaceNews) A report from the Partnership for Public Service estimates that Trump’s cuts to the federal government have “cost the U.S. economy more than $165.6 billion” so far. (Government Executive) Trump may appoint ophthalmologist and frequent Fox News guest Houman Hemmati as the US’s chief vaccine regulator. (Washington Post) US Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina does not want to talk about the photo of himself holding a bubble wand. (TMZ/X) The Best Thing I Ate Last Week, by Jessica Sidman: Photo by Jessica Sidman. Amparo Fondita is an excellent destination for modern Mexican food in Dupont Circle. But recently, chef Christian Irabién started a burrito pop-up for weekday lunch called El Gabacho. These aren’t overstuffed Chipotle-style burritos; they’re rather long and relatively skinny—although still very filling. Housemade tortillas are stuffed with proteins like tomatillo-sewed pork shoulder or guajillo-braised flank steak, but I was quite smitten with the chile relleno burrito ($13), which was absolutely oozing with chihuahua cheese. (The classic chile relleno on the dinner menu is also one of the best in town.) While you can eat your burrito at the restaurant, you still have to order online, and the lunch operation seems mostly geared toward takeout and delivery. Stop by before the pop-up, which is closed on Mondays, ends on August 14. Recently on Washingtonian dot com: • Take a photographic voyage down Maryland’s “Highway to Heaven”—a stretch of road that’s a striking microcosm of faiths from around the world. • Chef Masaaki “Uchi” Uchino‘s sushi counter Kiyomi—home to a $40 omakase lunch deal—will open a standalone space in DC today. • Albi and La’ Shukran chef Michael Rafidi will open Bizzeria, a Levantine-inspired pizzeria, in Georgetown this fall. • Felix Eller and Aram Matagi won a “Heated Rivalry” lookalike contest in DC earlier this month. They’re now an item. • Congress is kind of freaking out now that TMZ has opened a DC bureau. • A report from Capital One Arena during what may have been Ovechkin’s last home game. Local news links: Bare-bottomed burglar behind bars? Police in Fairfax County say 21-year-old Sedrick Walker is the person who has burglarized houses in Centreville while nude. (FFX Now) Neighbors cheered as Walker was arrested. (WTOP) In addition to charges of burglary, Walker faces charges of indecent exposure. (NBC4 Washington) • Quadruple amputee and professional cornhole player Dayton Webber was indicted in Charles County on murder charges for the March killing of a passenger in his Tesla. Webber says he shot Bradrick Wells in self defense. (WTOP) • Maryland Governor Wes Mooore‘s hopes to gerrymander the state ahead of this year’s midterms appear to have evaporated. (AP) • Former Mike Pence aide turned Trump critic Olivia Troye will run for Congress in Virginia as a Democrat if voters in the commonwealth approve a new Congressional map. (Washington Post) • Arlington’s Azzi Fudd was selected by the Dallas Wings in yesterday’s WNBA draft. (ARLnow) • DC spent almost $900,000 to design firetrucks that the DC Council has voted against buying. (NBC4 Washington) • Officials at Joint Base Andrews say they’re investigating the leak of 22,000 gallons of jet fuel into Piscataway Creek this spring. (Maryland Matters) • Police in Arlington are searching for a man linked to an attempted sausage theft. (ARLnow) Tuesday’s event picks: • It’s the 161st anniversary of Abraham Lincoln‘s assassination. You can tour the house where he died this evening and reflect on the event. • The historian John Garrison Marks discusses George Washington’s “complex relationship with slavery” at a Tudor House lecture. See more picks from Briana Thomas, who writes our Things to Do newsletter.The post Bare-Bottomed Burglar Behind Bars? Also: Trump Explains He Was Trying to Depict Himself as a Doctor, Not as Jesus first appeared on Washingtonian. ...read more read less