More detailed renderings now available for Trump's proposed arch:
www.cfa.gov/system/files...

"'Pay no attention to the man in the corner’ is a little difficult to me when the man in the corner who is tweeting is the president," Chutkan says.

The East Wing demolition is now making it difficult for the government to argue in the Arch lawsuit that no injunction is needed because construction isn't imminent.

Judge Chutkan just doesn’t believe it, when the president himself has said he wants the arch by July 4th.

Column | Trump is the biggest threat to D.C.’s architectural splendor since War of 1812 President Trump’s garish, piecemeal changes to Washington’s urban design and architecture are poised to destroy symbolism upheld for centuries.

Catching up on this thorough and thoughtful @philipkennicott.bsky.social piece on Trump's designs on the capital, until now a city of simple symmetry and unfussy architecture:
www.washingtonpost.com/style/2026/0...

Ballroom commission changed documents at White House’s request Records show a staffer asked the commission to soften language about its own authority over the president’s project — and it complied.

Great WaPo story here ahead of the meeting about how the White House got NCPC to water down a description of its own authority over the project: www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

The National Capital Planning Commission is scheduled to vote today to approve the president's ballroom.

As of March, this is where the project stood.

By this afternoon, it will jump to the "final" step. (NCPC is no longer showing this tracker on their website tho.)

NCPC has posted an addendum to the ballroom plans incorporating the removed stairs as the president showed Sunday night.

No new renderings, detailed plans, dimensions, landscape. Just the images Trump showed. www.ncpc.gov/files/projec...

NCPC says they're still voting on the ballroom on Thursday, despite this ruling. Unclear tho, what plans they're voting on -- the ones they saw earlier this month, or the changed ones the president revealed on Air Force One on Sunday.

Federal judge rules construction must stop on the president's ballroom until Congress authorizes it: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

We’re reading @birdyword.bsky.social fascinating “The Land Trap” for the next Reading The City book club at Solid State in DC, on April 1.

If you’re one of those people who is *always* trying to talk about Henry George, this month's book is for you!

The Bay Area Considers the Unthinkable: Life Without BART

Good @heatherknightsf.bsky.social and Soumya Karlamangla story about the dire situation for BART in SF: www.nytimes.com/2026/03/10/u...

Great @jonathanmahler.bsky.social story on the new politics of housing in the Mamdani era:

www.nytimes.com/2026/03/06/m...

The Upshot is hiring a data graphics/multimedia editor. Come work with us and make weird things that help people understand the world!
job-boards.greenhouse.io/thenewyorkti...

Trump’s East Wing Ballroom Plan: See the Design See how much his East Wing ballroom design will upend the White House symmetry.

You can explore the full model here: www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

The administration is also planning to alter the elliptical driveway south of the White House to fit its plans.

This 3D model by the NYT of the proposed East Wing ballroom really makes clear how out of scale it is with the rest of the complex...

Trump Has Been Sued 198 Times for Withholding Funding. It Hasn’t Stopped Him. (Gift Article) Immigration demands for highway dollars, D.E.I. rules for homeless grants: how Trump has tried to wield spending to get his way.

We've been tracking nearly 200 lawsuits against the Trump administration over its attempts to leverage federal funding to impose the president's agenda.

The most startling pattern: The administration seems entirely undeterred when it loses in court.
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

27 Million Fewer Car Trips: Life After a Year of Congestion Pricing How life has changed in the New York area, according to data on traffic, transit and the responses of 600 readers.

A reminder that one year in, congestion pricing has clearly been a successful policy: www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Congestion Pricing Wins in Court After Lengthy Battle With Trump

A federal judge finally ruled today that the Trump administration acted illegally in trying to shut down New York's congestion pricing program, via @stefanoschen.bsky.social + Winnie Hu www.nytimes.com/2026/03/03/n...

Great @natecohn.bsky.social piece on what "affordability" really means to people in this moment, drawing on our most recent polling: www.nytimes.com/2026/01/28/u...

"The second Trump coalition has unraveled."

via @natecohn.bsky.social
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/22/u...

DOGE Employees Shared Social Security Data, Court Filing Shows

Many months later, the Social Security Administration acknowledged in court that DOGE employees at the agency shared sensitive data in violation of security policies last spring, just as critics and privacy advocates feared at the time: www.nytimes.com/2026/01/20/u...

Latest NYT analysis of video footage from the Renee Good shooting capture Ross firing the 2nd and 3rd shots at her after his body is visibly clear of the path of her vehicle.
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/15/v...

Long before construction jobs became dominated by immigrant workers, the appeal of those jobs for American workers began to collapse. Only *then* did immigrants start to fill them.

From a *great* story by @rondakaysen.bsky.social + Rob Gebeloff: www.nytimes.com/2026/01/14/u...

Fed Changes Course and Takes On Trump’s Political Fight

“He’s tended to turn the other cheek, and he’s reached a moment where he can’t.”

www.nytimes.com/2026/01/12/b...

220,000 Fewer Workers: How Trump’s Cuts Affected Every Federal Agency (Gift Article) New data offers the first clear view of the impact of the buyouts and firings.

A long-awaited update of federal employment data shows crippling staff reductions in some federal agencies and offices:
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Video: Videos Contradict Trump Administration Account of ICE Shooting in Minneapolis An analysis of footage from three camera angles show that the vehicle appears to be turning away from a federal officer as he opened fire.

The Times' Visual Investigations team is the best at trying to find clarity when clarity is hard to come by.

Their view on the Minneapolis shooting yesterday: www.nytimes.com/video/us/100...

Thank you!

On balance, though, the MTA and Gov. Hochul have to be happy with the results of congestion pricing so far. They toll even raised more than they expected in its first year, about $550 million.

Some people described a real sadness at forgoing car trips they felt they couldn’t replace with transit.