Good morning. Sunny with a high around 86 today. A low near 63 overnight. The Nationals host Minnesota this evening. Here’s a rundown of Cinco de Mayo specials around town. 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 ava ilable as a morning email newsletter. Sign up here. I can’t stop listening to: Searows, “End of the World.” The Oregon indie-folk artist plays 9:30 tonight with Jordan Patterson.   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: Strait shooting: Tensions escalated in the Strait of Hormuz yesterday as a ceasefire between the US and Iran appeared increasingly brittle. The US says it sank six small boats from Iran. The United Arab Emirates said Iran fired drones and missiles at it, and a South Korean ship came under fire as the US attempted to reopen shipping lanes in the Strait of Hormuz. (AP) Two officials said a pair of US Navy destroyers made it through the strait despite fire from Iran. (CBS News) President Trump said Iran would be “blown off the face of the earth” if it attacked US ships. (CNBC) He also described the situation as a “mini war,” despite earlier claims that the conflict was over. (WSJ) Shipping companies largely declined Trump’s offer to “guide” vessels through the waterway. Four ships made it through the strait yesterday. (NYT) Meanwhile: US intelligence “assessments of Tehran’s nuclear program remain broadly unchanged” since before the war. (Reuters) Amid soaring costs for consumers, Trump boasted that the US economy was “roaring” at a White House event yesterday. (NYT) The average national price for a gallon of gas rose to $4.483, up from $3.165 a year ago. (AAA) US forces killed two more people in a strike on a boat the Pentagon said was trafficking drugs. (AP) Scary event near the Washington Monument: The US Secret Service said an officer exchanged fire with an armed person at the intersection of 15th Street and Independence Avenue, Northwest, yesterday afternoon. The gunfight took place not long after Vice President JD Vance‘s motorcade passed by. (Washington Post) A 15-year-old bystander was hit by gunfire during the incident and suffered a wound that isn’t life-threatening. Secret Service officials declined to say whether he was hit by fire from the gunman or from officers. (NYT)  Officers approached the man, who they say ran away and showed a firearm. (NBC News) Supreme Court news: The high court temporarily paused a lower court’s ruling that would have made it illegal for people to get mifepristone through the mail. Officials from dozens of states also asked the Supreme Court to stay the appeals court’s ruling. (Washington Post) The court also “agreed to immediately transmit to the lower courts its opinion striking down Louisiana’s congressional map, rather than wait 32 days, as would have been routine.” (NYT) D’oh! J: The Justice Department demanded the names of 2020 election workers in Georgia as it continues to pursue Trump’s claims of electoral fraud in the election he lost to Joe Biden that year. (NYT) A DOJ attorney “profusely apologized” to a federal judge for a press release issued by the Department of Homeland Security titled “Activist Biden Judge Releases Violent Criminal Illegal Alien Wanted for Murder.” The attorney, Kevin Bolan, knew about an international warrant for someone ICE had detained but hadn’t told the judge about it. (Politico) Federal prosecutors in DC declined yesterday to appeal a judge’s ruling that quashed subpoenas in their ill-fated investigation of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, “the latest sign of surrender from U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro in the politically thorny probe of the independent central bank.” (Washington Post) Administration perambulation: The Department of Education is investigating Smith College for admitting trans women, something the women’s school has done since 2015. (AP) Trump wants bison off federal lands. (NYT) As wildfire season approaches, the US Forest Service has done significantly less work to clear out the underbrush that can fuel big conflagrations than it did in previous years. (NPR) Since 2004, the feds have paid more than $300,000 to settle sexual harassment cases against members of Congress. (Politico) DHS will shutter “an office responsible for investigating misconduct and abuse in the immigration detention system.” (HuffPost) White House attorneys are advising staffers on “how to best prepare for congressional oversight as staff begin to brace for the likelihood of significant Democratic victories” this fall. (Washington Post) Trump “is privately raising concerns with a Senate-approved housing bill that his White House previously supported.” (Politico) The FTC settled with Media Matters for America, which had charged the agency with targeting it because it reported on the proliferation of extremist content on Elon Musk‘s X. In a press release, Media Matters described the agreement as a “complete and total victory” that “offers a roadmap for other newsgathering and nonprofit organizations facing, or at risk of, government retaliation.” (MMFA) A US Secret Service officer was arrested and charged with indecent exposure in Miami. (CNBC) A Perfect Saturday in Frederick, by Daniella Byck: Photograph by Walter Bibikow via Getty Images. I recently found myself in Frederick after a hike to Cunningham Falls, and it was a welcome reminder that the downtown area is a lovely day trip destination. Take a stroll past brick buildings, popping into antique shops such as mid-century modern Vintage MC and the massive Emporium Antiques. While there’s a number of craft breweries and distilleries along the main drags, you can also sample beer from breweries around the state at Maryland Craft Beer Festival on Saturday, May 9. Tickets are still available for the event at Carroll Creek Linear Park, featuring free-flowing beer and live music. For more things to do in Frederick (including dining options), visit our Perfect Saturdays page this Thursday. Recently on Washingtonian dot com: • The food kiosks around the Mall are about to get a big upgrade. • Where to eat, what to do, and where to stay in Annapolis and on the Eastern Shore this summer. • We went on a shopping expedition around town and found bonkers high prices for everyday items—but also some bargains. • Photos from Friday’s reopening of Ben’s Chili Bowl on U Street, Northwest. Local news links: • Federal attorneys said a DC golf course Trump plans to remake remained open yesterday despite reports to the contrary over the weekend. A US district judge warned the government not to “act first and ask forgiveness later.” (Washington Post) Debris that the administration has dumped at the park “has tested positive for lead, chromium and other toxic metals.” (NYT) • Two assistant police chiefs are among the high-ranking DC police officials who face discipline or even termination as a scandal about crime statistics grows. (Washington Post) • The Washington Post won the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service for its coverage of  federal government employees under Trump and Musk’s DOGE project. (Washington Post) A second judge in Virginia blocked the government from accessing electronic devices it seized from Post reporter Hannah Natanson, whose work formed much of the prize-winning series. (Washington Post) • A federal magistrate judge criticized the treatment Cole Allen, who is accused of a shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, has received in the DC Jail. (Politico) • A stagehands’ union at the Kennedy Center sued over the arts complex’s planned closure, saying it didn’t bargain over layoffs first as required by contract. (Washington Post) • Chris Donatelli, a developer whose bets on transit-adjacent residential projects in the U Street and Georgia Avenue corridors helped transform downtown DC, died at 58. Donatelli had “in recent years struggled with personal and financial crises.” (WBJ) • The US House Judiciary Committee has sent letters to Arlington agencies questioning “local policies that restrict contact with immigration enforcement.” (ARLnow) • The trial of Jaime Macedo, who is accused of killing Kentucky teacher Maxwell Emerson at Catholic University in 2023, ended in a mistrial. (DC News Now) • A cyclist was injured over the weekend when a deer collided with her on the WOD Trail. (ARLnow) • Go-go star and actor Anwan “Big G” Glover founded a nonprofit called Hugs Not Slugs that “seeks to help teenagers overcome the impacts of growing up in communities where gun violence is frequent.” He spoke last week at a DC school where three students have been killed recently. (Washington Post) • George Washington’s Mount Vernon will offer a $10 round-trip shuttle service from King Street Metro on weekends this month and next. (ALXnow) • Burtonsville sportsman Hien Tram was recognized as a master angler by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. (Montgomery Community Media) Tuesday’s event picks: • Vadym Kholodenko plays Beethoven, Liszt, and Ukrainian composer Borys Lyatoshinsky at Sixth and I. • Toronto punks the Flatliners play Pearl Street Warehouse with A Wilhelm Scream and Signals Midwest. See more picks for this week from Briana Thomas, who writes our Things to Do newsletter.The post Gunfight Near the Washington Monument, Judge Warns Administration Not to Get Cute With DC Golf Course, and Trump Says US Is Now in “Mini War” With Iran first appeared on Washingtonian. ...read more read less