Good morning. Mostly sunny today with a high around 73. A low near 57 overnight. Sports this weekend: The Washington Nationals host the Mets today, Saturday, and Sunday—their last game of the season. The Washington Capitals host Boston for a preseason game at Capital One Arena this evening. Loudou n United FC visit Sporting JAX Friday. The Washington Spirit host Angel City FC at Audi Field Saturday. D.C. United visit Vancouver Whitecaps FC Saturday. The Washington Commanders’ home opener is Sunday; Marcus Mariota will lead the team when they host Seattle at Northwest Stadium. How well do you know the 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: Sawyer Hill, “Bad Lovers.” The low-voiced Arkansas native’s new album, “Everybody’s Home, Nobody’s Happy,” is one of my favorite 2026 LPs so far. He’ll play the Atlantis Sunday night with Never Ending Fall. A bonus show pick for this weekend: Glitterer, Posición Unida, and Somebody’s Daughter will play the Sylvan Theater Saturday—the first time that local punk rock has graced the Mall since Fugazi played that venue in 1995.   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: Iran proposed a seven-day pathway to ending the war President Trump started in February. Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s foreign minister, said its proposal closely echoed the memorandum of understanding that paused the conflict earlier this year and said a deal was possible before the US’s midterm elections in November. (NYT) Both countries have incentives to find a deal before November 3; Gulf leaders in New York “sought clarity on Washington’s endgame beyond the midterms” in a meeting with Trump in New York. (Reuters) At home: Republicans in the US Senate narrowly defeated another resolution that sought to limit Trump’s war powers. Four GOP lawmakers voted with Democrats and one Democrat—John Fetterman of Pennsylvania—voted with Republicans. (WSJ) The war’s economic effects continue to dog Republicans before the elections. Energy Secretary Chris Wright pitched a voluntary reduction in diesel fuel exports to energy executives yesterday in a bid to get prices down. (Politico) Mortgage rates crossed 7 percent this week. (NYT) The average price of a gallon of gas in the US rose again, too. (AAA) Press ban latest: Journalists from CNN, Politico, and MS Now went back to work in the White House yesterday following a weird delay between a judge’s order not long after midnight on Thursday and the reactivation of their passes by lunchtime. There’s still no TV pool coverage as networks wait for the White House to confirm that CNN is back in the pool. (NYT) The Secret Service confiscated a Politico reporter’s pass Thursday morning and returned it later in the day. (Politico) Chinese democracy: Trump hosted Chinese President Xi Jinping for a summit and state dinner yesterday. The meeting didn’t yield much. (NYT) Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Mark Zuckerberg were among the attendees at the swanky meal later. (Washington Post) Guests munched on sea bass. (NPR) Administration perambulation: US taxpayers footed the bill for an ad that celebrated Trump. It ran on Fox News and Newsmax. (AP) The Department of Homeland Security claimed that almost 16,000 people were registered to vote illegally in Nevada. It later narrowed that number down to 185. The state says all of those folks are US citizens. (NYT) The Pentagon is investigating how a bunch of F-35 parts got into Chinese hands. (CBS News) Heidi Overton, Trump’s nominee to lead the FDA, faced questions from senators yesterday and skirted questions about whether Trump was wrong in describing the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine as “quite lethal.” (Washington Post) The Department of Justice will drop dozens of desegregation cases against school systems. (CBS News) Trump is working on plans for a campaign rally in Alabama next month—”a somewhat confounding decision” in a deep-red state. (Politico) Recently on Washingtonian dot com: • Our October issue is on stands now. Inside is our list of the region’s 300 Most Powerful Women, which includes Janeese Lewis George, Jodie McLean, and Myechia Minter-Jordan, whose QA answers you can read right now. You’ll also want to make some time for our QA with Trump’s close aide Natalie Harp, who wrote that in her opinion, “Washington, D.C., does not work at the speed of ‘TRUMP!'” • Bruce Springsteen, Foo Fighters, and Public Enemy at Merriweather; the NSO at Strathmore; Rush at Capital One Arena: Our culture guide to October is here. • Bramble Rye, a “modern coastal” restaurant with a dog-friendly patio, just opened in Bloomingdale. Local news links: • Democrats in the US Senate plan to put the screws to Trump’s efforts to remake DC in his image. (Axios) • DC Mayor Muriel Bowser submitted the final draft of the plan for the RFK campus, where the Commanders will build a new stadium. Here’s what’s in it. (City Cast DC) • The feds arrested the leaders of an Alexandria software company that they say is secretly owned by Russian nationals. (ALXnow) • Hair-touching Metro creep and Trump-pardoned January 6 rioter Bryan Betancur, representing himself in court, asked an Arlington judge to drop the county’s case against him. The judge declined to do so. (WUSA9) • Remember the Navy Yard Chipotle brawl? Three teens who were involved in it took plea deals yesterday—they’ll have to write apology letters (no AI, the judge cautioned) and observe an 8 PM curfew for a year. (WUSA9) • Are these the most powerful bathrooms in DC? (Washington Sun) • We’re getting new Lime bikes. (City Cast DC) • Arlington officials thwarted an attempt by Big Tony’s Pizzeria Dive Bar to augment Clarendon’s entertainment offerings with karaoke nights. (ARLnow) • Do you love data centers? You could probably use a friend! Good thing there’s a party in DC this weekend just for you. (Axios D.C.) Things to Do: Friday: Dave Chappelle performs at DAR to benefit DC’s Duke Ellington School of the Arts. Saturday: The Fiesta DC festival kicks off in Mount Pleasant. Sunday: Get yourself to a festival already! The All Things Go Festival, the American Black Film Festival, the Smithsonian Craft2Wear Show, the Alexandria Art Festival, the Wheaton Arts Parade and Festival, and the Takoma Park Folk Festival are all on today. See lots more picks for the weekend from Briana Thomas, who writes our Things to Do newsletter.The post Could Senate Dems Halt Trump’s DC Makeover? Plus: Feds Say Alexandria Company Is Secretly Controlled by Russians, and Chipotle Brawl Teens Take Plea Deals. first appeared on Washingtonian. ...read more read less