Good morning. Mostly sunny with a high around 82 today. A low near 64 overnight. Our August “Cheap Eats” issue is on stands now. Take a peek at what’s inside. The deadline to vote in our Top Lawyers survey is approaching! Attorneys, you may make your nominations here. How well do you know th e District? Play our new geography game and test your local knowledge.  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: Cory Hanson, “Bird on a Swing.” Some rather nice country-rock from the Wand frontman. Hanson plays DC9 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: The war: The Iran-backed Houthi rebels attacked ships carrying Saudi oil in the Red Sea early Thursday. The US struck targets in western Iran overnight. (AP) President Trump yesterday threatened retaliatory strikes on bridges and power plants in Iran if it attacked any more ships in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran subsequently described its “defense doctrine” as “eye for an eye.” (Politico) The US is sending more forces to the region. (WSJ) The US’s five-month-long air campaign against Iran hasn’t shifted Tehran’s position. (Politico) The US deployed a B-1 bomber in the region this week. (Axios) Successful Iranian strikes on CIA facilities throughout the war so far may indicate the country is getting intelligence help from Russia. (Reuters) Our troops: Trump claimed fallen US soldiers supported the war he started in February when he attended the dignified transfer of their bodies at Dover Air Force Base yesterday. (NYT) In a post on his social media site, the President compared the number of deaths in the war so far favorably to other conflicts including the US’s wars in Vietnam, Korea, and Afghanistan. (ABC) In Congress: Six Democrats joined Republicans in the House to pass the annual National Defense Authorization Act. (Politico) House Speaker Mike Johnson used an “arcane procedural tactic” to attach portions of a voting restrictions bill Trump favors to that and other legislation, but “These moves are largely symbolic.” (NYT) Administration perambulation: Urged on by Sebastian Gorka, the administration may take military action in Mali. (Washington Post) Trump signed off on an agreement that will allow Saudi Arabia to create a civilian nuclear program. (WSJ) The US Secret Service said threats against its protectees soared in the last year. (Axios) Benjamin Del Real Jr., a tourist who was wounded in a shootout between the Secret Service and a gunman near the White House in May, sued the Secret Service, alleging its agents had struck him. (NOTUS) Hidden Eats, by Ike Allen: Photo by Ike Allen. When I wandered into the little Prince George’s County carryout called The Essence by John ’n’ Nair, there was immediately a good sign: a customer ahead of me started offering bites of her veggie pakoras to everyone else waiting in the shop: “You all have to try these.” The fritters had a firm crunch, sweetness from browned onion, crispy curry leaves, and the vague threat of chili heat. Looking at the menu, I was surprised to recognize a few traditional dishes from Kerala, in southern India, on offer. Clusters of minced garlic, chiles, and curry leaves cling to the surface of “Indian pepper” wings. Malabar porotta stays impossibly flaky and crisp in the kind of insulated BBQ pouch Chinese places use for ribs. You can even try some of India’s rare traditional beef dishes here, like a huge portion of deeply burnished beef ularthiyathu for $13.99. This is sophisticated southern Indian regional cooking, sold cheap from a humble takeout window several miles from the next Indian restaurant. (6338 Marlboro Pike, District Heights) Take Hidden Eats with you! Our smash-hit new map will show you which Hidden Eats—the out-of-the-way mom-and-pop eateries Ike highlights in this newsletter and in our print magazine—are nearby. Recently on Washingtonian dot com: • We tagged along with Maria Giannopoulos, aka Greek Maria on TikTok, while she interviewed people in hopes of guessing their political party. • Eataly is finally, actually, definitely coming to Washington area. • Some of the strangest moments from Congress’s questioning of Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History Director Anthea M. Hartig. Local news links: Budget fuss: The House Oversight committee passed a bill that would prevent the DC Council from raising or lowering taxes without congressional approval. (NOTUS) Chairman James Comer said the bill was a preemptive response to the likely election of Janeese Lewis George, a democratic socialist, as the District’s next mayor. The legislation “faces long odds in the Senate.” (Axios D.C.) Comer announced that DoorDash, which earlier this year fought a 20-cent fee on deliveries, supported the legislation, leading statehood advocates to call for a boycott of the delivery platform. (City Cast DC) Democrats provided a “pathetically thin defense” of DC and Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton “stumbled through a written statement,” Marc Fisher writes about the hearing. (City Cast DC) • Accused hair-touching Metro creep Bryan Betancur will spend more time in jail awaiting trial after his lawyers said they needed to examine videos from his X account. (WUSA9) • DC’s murder rate has declined at a pace steeper than in other US cities, according to a new report from the nonpartisan Council on Criminal Justice. (WTOP) • A property dispute between neighbors in Culpeper, Virginia, escalated into a shockingly violent fight, police say. Two people, both in their 70s, now face attempted-murder charges. (WUSA) • A suspect in the 2020 killing of Andre Cox Jr. was arrested in DC this week. (NBC4 Washington) • Police in Fairfax say a special-ed teacher at Cooper Middle School in McLean assaulted a student. (FFXNow) • A truck crashed into a house in Sterling yesterday. (Fox 5) • The Charles County Sheriff’s Office arrested two men it said had stolen more than a hundred memorial vases from a cemetery. (WTOP) Thursday’s event picks: • The District Fringe Festival continues, with theater performances until Sunday. • It’s “Treat Week” at Union Station. See more picks for the weekend ahead from Briana Thomas, who writes our Things to Do newsletter.The post Will DC Residents Delete DoorDash? Plus: Tourist Sues Secret Service, and Virginia Property Dispute Turns Violent. first appeared on Washingtonian. ...read more read less