Good morning. This is The Washington Sun Metro Newsletter for Oct. 28, 2026. You can get it in your inbox every day by signing up here — it’s free!
In today’s newsletter: Robert White’s eligibility issues, the battle over foie gras and a Mystic abroad.
Capital Weather’s Daily Digit — 8/10. We’ve been spoiled by a string of nearly perfect days. Today is still quite nice, just more clouds in the mix. Read the full forecast.
THE LATEST
Trending
Can he delegate? D.C. Council member Robert White, the Democratic nominee to be the District’s nonvoting congressional delegate, is racing against the clock.
A 1970 D.C. law mandates that a delegate cannot hold any other paid public office at the time of their election. The obscure provision puts White’s eligibility into question just days before voters decide on a race that was all but set to be a shoo-in, The Washington Sun’s Michael Brice-Saddler reports.
White told The Sun that his team is working “through a few options” to resolve the issue, while pushing back on claims that his campaign was caught off guard.
“This isn’t new to me,” White said. “We’ve had a legal theory on this for quite some time.”
What changed? The D.C. attorney general recently gave White a reading on the matter that he did not agree with or expect.
Now, he must either resign from the council before Tuesday and forfeit his final months in the role — which includes serving as housing committee chair at a fraught moment — or persuade his colleagues to consider changing the law by then with an emergency action. His team is waiting on additional clarity before sharing a final plan.
What is clear: “I’m not going to jeopardize going into Congress,” he told The Sun.
DUCK DIVE
This is a question D.C. residents won’t be able to duck: Should the city ban the sale of foie gras?
It’s not a hypothetical, but rather the heart of Initiative 86, which seeks to ban the production and sale of foods that result from the force-feeding of fowl — largely foie gras, the French delicacy that comes from the fattened livers of ducks and geese.
Residents and restaurateurs alike are divided on whether foie gras should be banned, The Sun’s Martin Austermuhle reports. Celebrity chef and humanitarian José Andrés is opposed; he thinks the city and world have bigger fish to fry.
“I don’t really like foie gras, but I do think restaurants should have the right to serve it,” Geoff Tracy of Chef Geoff’s told Martin.
But some voters do see how foie gras is made — essentially by force-feeding ducks and geese until their livers expand — as a problem. “I voted for it because it seems inhumane to me and unfair to the ducks,” said David Abramson, a Ward 1 voter who cast his ballot on Monday in Columbia Heights.
There is also a broader political question that some are asking: Have D.C.’s ballot initiatives gone too far? “I have an issue with national issues being dumped on D.C. residents, and I think this may be one such issue,” said Mayor Muriel Bowser, referring to the fact that a Colorado-based animal rights group has funneled hundreds of thousands of dollars into getting the initiative on the November ballot.
It’s now up to you, D.C. voters.
FROM THE DISTRICT
A federal judge has extended a ban on removing trees from East Potomac Golf Links, issuing a scathing 70-page opinion late Monday against President Donald Trump’s overhaul of the historic public course — with some more references to “The Lorax,” The Sun’s Gavin J. Quinton reports.
A few hours after the opinion was published, Trump took to Truth Social to air his grievances with U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes’ decision and reiterate his claim that the golf course will close Nov. 15 for its redevelopment. On Tuesday, Reyes ordered the Trump administration’s lawyers to respond to Trump’s post, which contradicts comments that Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward made in a hearing earlier this month that there were no plans to close the course that day. The government has until 3 p.m. today to submit its response.
Shady stuff: A digital 3D model created by The Washington Post shows that Trump’s proposed 250-foot triumphal arch would cast a shadow over presidential memorials, war monuments and thousands of graves in Arlington National Cemetery, The Sun’s Kendall Staton reports.
Police say a suspect in the killings of two children rapped about their shooting and was part of a group chat that celebrated the deaths, City Cast D.C. reports.
FROM VIRGINIA
Instead of data centers, Amazon will build more than 1,500 units of housing on George Washington University’s Ashburn campus, The Washington Business Journal reports. The tech company, which purchased the campus for $427 million earlier this year, axed the data center plan last week.
A sweet deal: An orthodontist in Reston is buying kids’ extra Halloween candy for a good cause, WTOP reports. Tisseront Orthodontics will give kids $1 for every pound of candy they bring in and match that figure in a donation to Children’s National Hospital. Tisseront’s staff then sends the candy to U.S. troops overseas.
FROM MARYLAND
Prince George’s County will officially be home to the nation’s second Sphere after county council members gave unanimous final approval on Tuesday to the plan for a $1.4 billion entertainment venue, Kendall reports.
PLAN YOUR WEEKEND
For the seasonal: Dupont Circle Fall Festival, Pumpkin Patch and Bluegrass Jamboree, Saturday.
For ’80s enthusiasts: Eighties Mayhem Halloween Dance Party at the Black Cat, Saturday.
For the dead: Día de los Muertos celebration at The Wharf, Sunday.
For more info on this weekend’s events, read our weekly culture calendar here.
SPORTS
Lauren Betts isn’t looking for a break. Two weeks after her college season ended in April, she was drafted by the Mystics. Training camp started a few days later. Then, she played all 46 games of her rookie campaign. Two days after that season ended, she flew to Europe to spend the offseason playing for Turkish powerhouse Fenerbahçe. The Sun’s Emma Baccellieri reports that she is tired, sure — but she hopes the extra reps will help her develop as a player.
“I feel like I would be doing a disservice to myself if I didn’t just continue to grow,” she said.
Time is money: After parting ways with longtime coach Mike Locksley last week, the Maryland football program is getting creative in its attempts to fill SECU Stadium. The Diamondback reports that the school will be raffling off one semester of free tuition at Saturday’s home game against Illinois. The catch? Students have to stay until the fourth quarter to be eligible.
What to Watch Today
NBA: Wizards at Cavaliers, 7 p.m. (Monumental)
NHL: Capitals vs. Flyers, 7:30 p.m. (TNT)
MLS: D.C. United at Toronto, 7:30 p.m. (Apple TV)
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This newsletter was produced by Michael Errigo, Nikie Johnson and Andrew Burton.
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