Good morning. Sunny with a high around 75 today. A low near 45 overnight.

Sports this weekend: The Wizards host Charlotte tonight in an NBA Cup matchup. D.C. United visits Columbus on Saturday. The Caps host Minnesota on Sunday afternoon. The Washington Spirit hosts the Chicago Stars on Sunday evening. The Commanders host the Eagles on Sunday night.

How well do you know the District? Play our 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

Misfits, “Where Eagles Dare.” Pay tribute to the original horror punks Saturday at Pie Shop.

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

Admiral Brad Cooper briefed President Trump about military options in Iran yesterday, a rare in-person event and possible signal that the US is moving toward major combat operations there following Tuesday’s midterm elections. (WSJ) Qatari mediators visited Tehran this morning to try to reach a peace deal beforehand. (Reuters) A tanker in the Strait of Hormuz caught on fire this morning, and Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said yesterday that three ships hit mines in the waterway. (AP) Related: Army Lieutenant General Brett Sylvia reportedly “admitted to leaking classified information about Ukraine and Iran to two reporters from separate outlets”—once at an Arlington Silver Diner. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth fired Sylvia, a top war planner. (Axios) Sylvia’s ouster is the result of Hegseth’s “broad and extraordinary campaign to use polygraph tests to find and punish leakers.” (NYT)

Midterms mélange

The Justice Department issued subpoenas to local election officials in California, intensifying its pressure campaign against the Golden State despite losses in court. (NYT) Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy, a Republican, suggested the state may not certify election results in its US Senate race if Democratic nominee Mary Peltola wins. (Axios) Ohio GOP gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy pulled a brutal attack ad against his Democratic opponent. The spot brought criticism from fellow Republicans—but not Trump—and an internal poll reportedly showed it cost Ramaswamy support from voters. (Washington Sun) The President canceled planned rallies in Iowa and Kansas, which the White House insisted was not a result of Republicans distancing themselves from Trump amid widespread economic concerns and his record unpopularity in recent polls. (MS Now) Pope Leo plans to vote by mail, from the Vatican. (Chicago Sun-Times)

Administration perambulation

Trump “erupted last week” after reading about the deal his former lawyer Alina Habba Mildon struck with the family of a Venezuelan billionaire he pardoned. Trump reportedly believes Mildon should donate the millions she’s set to receive to his presidential library “or another Trump-related entity.” (NYT) A group of Trump advisers helped Flávio Bolsonaro flee Brazil in an elaborate manner after he lost the country’s presidential race. (WSJ) Tom Burke said his group Vietnam Veterans of America has taken no position on Trump’s planned Triumphal Arch near Arlington Cemetery and that a recent White House legal filing that portrayed the group as supporting the project “went further than I anticipated or intended.” (Washington Post) Carlton Davis, a top aide to US Attorney General for DC Jeanine Pirro, admitted to what he called a “fuck up” in the office’s prosecution of former FBI officials Nikki Floris and Bradley Benavides over alleged testimony before Congress—a congressional staffer a filing said was present for Floris’ testimony was not in fact there, and Davis asked the staffer to help him find someone who might have been. (NBC News) Adam Radogna, one of the “Front Row Joes” who attend multiple Trump rallies, “was indicted by a grand jury for possessing dozens of images containing child sexual abuse material.” (Daily Beast) The national debt “reached 100% of gross domestic product” for the fiscal year that just ended. (WSJ)

Recently on Washingtonian dot com

• Some last-minute very DC costume ideas: How to dress as the peeling Reflecting Pool, rabid Maryland beavers, or Katie Zacharia (remember her?).

• Watch parties and food and drink deals for next Tuesday’s election.

• We polled local real estate agents about the state of the local market.

• Alicia Keys’s musical “Hell’s Kitchen,” Brandie Smith at Politics and Prose, and Stevie Wonder at Capital One Arena: Our culture guide for November is here.

• The best open houses this weekend.

• Photos from our Most Powerful Women reception.

Local news links

• Another flyover for Trump’s benefit—this one for a Halloween party—freaked out a bunch of people in DC. (This article is artfully constructed to avoid a different type of DC freakout—the plane is of course known as Air Force One only when the President is aboard, and there’s no need for you to email anyone to make sure they are aware of this point;...

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