President Trump officially took control of the Kennedy Center yesterday, ousting its head and installing MAGA loyalists.

Why it matters: It's the first time a president will be chairman of the arts center.

The big picture: Trump had a tense relationship with the KenCen during his first term. Last week, he removed rivals and former President Joe Biden's appointees on its board — 18 people in all — to lay the ground for his takeover.

• The new board voted to replace outgoing chairman David Rubenstein with Trump.

Kennedy Center president Deborah Rutter was also fired yesterday, the Washington Post reports, citing sources inside a virtual board meeting with Trump.

• Rutter shed tears afterward: "I hope I'm not saying goodbye as a friend and colleague to all of you, but I am leaving now," she told staff at the Reach complex, per the Post.

"And I just want us to keep these ideals that we wear in our lanyard central to the work that we do. And they are from J.F.K. and his family. ... So let's remember: courage, justice, freedom, service and gratitude," Rutter said.

• Rutter had planned to step down at the end of the year, after serving since 2014.
• Opera singer Renée Fleming resigned as an artistic adviser, "out of respect" to Rutter and Rubenstein, per the Post. Ben Folds quit as the artistic director of the National Symphony Orchestra on Wednesday "given developments at the Kennedy Center," he said in a statement.
• Amid the drama, the Kennedy Center's website strained to load.

Context: During his first term, Trump skipped the Kennedy Center Honors ceremony after some honorees declined to meet him, per NPR. He was the first president to skip all four years.

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New York mega-restaurateur Danny Meyer has signed a lease for the former Foxtrot Market space in Dupont Circle, his Union Square Hospitality Group confirms with Axios, where they'll open a branch of popular all-day cafe and bakery, Daily Provisions.

Why it matters: One of D.C.'s busiest corners is claimed by one of the biggest names in the hospitality biz.

Catch up quick: The Shake Shack founder, whose portfolio runs from casual haunts to Michelin-starred restaurants, briefly expanded to D.C. in 2020 with an Italian seafood spot in Navy Yard that shuttered in the pandemic.

• Last year, Foxtrot Market abruptly closed all of its locations. The Connecticut Avenue space, Foxtrot's busiest D.C. location, has sat empty since.

Zoom in: This may be the first Daily Provisions location outside of Manhattan, where Union Square Hospitality Group operates seven.

• The cafe-bakeries run morning through night, and are popular for French cruellers, breakfast and lunch sandwiches, salads or a comforting roast chicken and wine come evening.
• There's also takeout and quick-grab "provisions" like sauces and coffee.

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The number of enrolled first-year Black medical students has increased in D.C., new data shows.

Why it matters: Having doctors who resemble the patients they're serving can improve health outcomes and enable patients to feel more comfortable voicing health concerns, multiple studies suggest.

The big picture: This comes as enrollment of first-year Black and Hispanic medical students nationwide has fallen sharply after the Supreme Court struck down affirmative action in higher education, Axios' Maya Goldman writes.

By the numbers: In D.C., 29.8% of med school matriculants for the current academic year identified as Black, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), which has collected data on this topic since 1978.

• Last year, it was 23.5%.

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🚁 The FAA wants to permanently ban helicopters from the airspace around Reagan National Airport, the Wall Street Journal reports. Helicopter traffic was temporarily curtailed in the crash zone. (WSJ)

❌ Montgomery County approved a ban on plastic bags and doubled the price of paper bags to 10 cents this week. It takes effect next January, though public opinion is divided on the policy. (Washington Post)

Ⓜ️ Metro is getting easier to use for people with visual impairments: The navigation app Waymap expanded into D.C. yesterday to be available on all rail stations and bus routes and stops, per a news release.

🏠 A Bethesda mansion once owned by former Washington Wizards player Bradley Beal is back on the market for $11 million. Beal sold the home — which has an indoor basketball court — for $9.2 million in 2023. (WTOP)

🏛️ See who's hiring around D.C.

1. Government Relations Director at American Public Power Association.
2. Information Specialist at Girls Inc.
3. Vice President, Federal Government Affairs at Tremont Strategies Group.
4. Senior Officer (Protocol, Events and Advocacy) at the Embassy of Canada in the United States.
5. Director of Health Care at Arnold Ventures.

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Arlington's National Landing has seen a slew of new restaurants and storefronts open recently, with more in the works.

The big picture: The neighborhood — which hatched in 2018 after it was announced as the site of Amazon's HQ2 — is barreling along, despite delayed construction work on HQ2's second phase, Pen Place, and sweeping layoffs across at Amazon over the last few years.

Here are some new and upcoming spots at National Landing, per a spokesperson:

🌮 Taqueria Xochi: Another location with birria and street tacos — plus margs — from José Andrés Group alums Teresa Padilla and Geraldine Mendoza (check out their other spots on U Street and at The Square).

☕ Kaldi's Social House: The newcomer to the existing Clarendon and Silver Spring locations. Start your day with coffee, smoothies and breakfast bowls, or swing by later for dinner dishes like rigatoni with braised pork and a cocktail list.

🥐 Mae's Market: Choose your own adventure: The menu includes breakfast sammies and quiches, chicken Caesar wraps and BLTs, and soups and salads — plus coffee, wine and beer. And don't forget the baked goods!

• It's a sister spot to the Old Town original from the crew behind Del Ray's Bagel Uprising and the former Stomping Grounds.

Coming soon and more