It's Wednesday, y'all!

🌧️ Today's weather: Light rain likely, with a high of 64 and a low of 54.

🎂 Happy birthday to our members Michael Brown, Megan Price, Melissa Stahl and Jean Stoner!

🚗 Join Axios Live in D.C. on Thursday, Oct. 1 at 7:30am for a conversation on the policies, investments and technologies shaping the future of transportation in America.

• The talk includes Northern Virginia Transportation Authority CEO Monica Backmon, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety president Cathy Chase and Nuro co-founder and co-CEO Dave Ferguson. RSVP here.

Today's newsletter is 1,036 words — a 4-minute read.

Waymo's foes are assembling in D.C.

Why it matters: Labor unions, civil rights groups and even churches are ramping up pressure on the D.C. Council to reject a bill legalizing robotaxis.

The big picture: Expect a lobbying duel between big tech and a growing coalition worried about what robotaxis would mean for workers.

• On Oct. 6, activists tell Axios they'll rally outside the Wilson Building, where D.C. Council member Charles Allen is advancing a robotaxi bill that he authored.
• The National Urban League, which publishes an annual "State of Black America" report, has come out against Allen's bill, its president Marc Morial tells Axios.
• "Now is not the time for Washington, D.C., to move forward with a widespread deployment of autonomous vehicles that could undermine the livelihoods of working-class Washingtonians," Morial says.
• Religious leaders are getting in, too. Jesus "would be opposed to technology that was opposed to people," Rev. A. Michael Charles Durant of the Tenth Street Baptist Church recently told the Washington Post.

Meanwhile, the local SEIU union — which helped put Janeese Lewis George on the path to become D.C.'s next mayor — debuted an ad buy urging lawmakers to "Vote NO on Waymo."

Zoom out: Waymo has been lobbying for Allen's bill to move forward for over a year, at one point asking residents to write lawmakers in support.

• Allen's proposal would cap robotaxi operators at 200 vehicles, levy a "vehicle miles traveled" fee on companies, and hold off commercial service until 2028.

The other side: Waymo recently leased a third address in D.C. for its robotaxi rollout, which remains limited currently to human-assisted testing vehicles.

• It argues it'll spend "tens of millions of dollars" on service centers and create hundreds of D.C. jobs if it can begin service.

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President Trump will welcome China President Xi Jinping at Joint Base Andrews today, beginning a three-day summit.

Why it matters: Amid talk about AI risks and rare earths, some D.C. think-tankers expect Xi's visit to Washington to bring more pomp than diplomatic breakthroughs.

• Plus: Keep an eye out for downtown road closures (unannounced as of now) and demonstrations (one man tried to scale a downtown lamppost already).

State of play: Trump rushed along White House work just in time, like completing the new helipad on the South Lawn.

• Nearby, bits of the driveway were also redone this week, the Washington Post reported. And construction shrouds and scaffolding are coming down on the North Portico, where Trump fashioned repairs to its Ionic columns.

What's ahead: Tomorrow morning, a welcome ceremony will feature a Presidential Salute (big cannon booms) and end with a flyover (becoming more common in D.C.).

• Deets about Thursday's State Dinner are expected soon. Business leaders from both countries are to join.
• To conclude the trip, Trump will take Xi to the National Archives on Friday.

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📉 Montgomery County Public Schools is considering consolidating or closing some campuses because its student population is declining for the first time in over four decades. Some parents say living costs and immigration enforcement are drivers. (NBC4)

✈️ Wheels up: Dulles will add a nonstop flight to Guadalajara, Mexico next month via the low-cost air company Volaris. (WBJ)

🕒 Two Montgomery County malls — Westfield Wheaton and Westfield Montgomery — will have a 3pm curfew for kids 18-under without adult supervision starting next week. This comes after youth have committed violent crimes at the malls. (Fox 5)

If salmon poke and roasted chicken-and-rice sound tasty, bring your pup to Bloomingdale's newest restaurant — where the gourmet treatment extends below the table.

Why it matters: Newcomer Bramble & Rye is catering to humans and dogs alike with wood-fired coastal cooking, brunch and a pup-friendly patio.

Dig in: Chef Jeremiah Brooks and husband Anthony Brooks, who live blocks away, took over the former Etabli space at 84 T St. NW.

• The kitchen revolves around "Penny," a bright Marra Forni wood-fired oven, with a menu heavy on seafood, vegetables and house-made breads and charcuterie.

Backstory: Jeremiah is a 25-year industry vet, and the couple previously ran a restaurant in Delaware, which closed in 2024.

• "We licked our wounds and were like, 'We're never doing this again,'" Anthony says. Then the Etabli opportunity arose in their own neighborhood. "I can't believe we're doing this again," he says.

Chef recommends: Must-trys include focaccia with ricotta (both homemade), octopus carpaccio, Creole shrimp scampi — a riff on shrimp n' grits — and wood-fired brisket with charred leek chimichurri.

The intrigue: It's the only D.C. restaurant with a bully stick dessert.

• Dogs get their own "Paw-Tio" menu, including pumpkin-peanut butter treats and a salmon "puppy poke" bowl with a soy-like beef reduction.
• Dessert? A banana-and-berry popsicle (mmm) with a pizzle handle (we'll leave that to the dogs).

What's next: Brunch debuts this Sunday from 10am-2pm, followed by afternoon happy hour.

We officially know what D.C.'s favorite dog is.

Why it matters: You'll likely run into one at the District's many dog parks (or Bramble & Rye).

State of play: Labs are D.C.'s most popular breed, per a new Rover report.

• That makes us something of an anomaly among the other cities featured, where Goldendoodles reign supreme.

Yes, but: The dog that's seeing the biggest year-over-year spike in D.C. ownership? The pomsky — aka a Husky/Pomeranian mashup.

The intrigue: D.C. also comes in as number six on the list of top 10 U.S. cities for dog walking, based on Redfin walkability data.

🐶 Anna is planning to take Soto out for puppy poke.

🍜 Cuneyt is feeling like it's pho season.

🥹 Mimi is looking at Google pictures of baby Pomskies.

Today's newsletter was edited by Alexa Mencia Orozco.