
Hill Country raised the bar for barbecue in D.C. Now it's closing.
Back in 2017, when Donald Trump was months into his first term at the White House, I made a rather Trumpian boast about Hill Country Barbecue Market in Washington, which I had just named the best smokehouse in the District.
Hill Country's brisket, I had typed on my phone after polishing off a slice or two, 'is as good or better than Franklin's,' the celebrated Austin smokehouse led by Aaron Franklin, the first pitmaster to win a James Beard Award in a chef category.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
31 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Newsom says Los Angeles rioters will be prosecuted, slams Trump for 'traumatizing our communities'
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, on Tuesday said anti-ICE protesters who engage in violence will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law while also criticizing President Donald Trump for a "brazen abuse of power" in sending troops to respond to demonstrations. Newsom said during a news address that 220 people have already been arrested in connection with the Los Angeles riots and that officials are reviewing footage to build additional cases. The governor also thanked individuals who protested peacefully during demonstrations against deportations and ICE raids on migrant workers at local businesses. Peaceful assembly is not what Trump wanted, the governor said, accusing the president of choosing "escalation," "more force" and "theatrics over public safety." Newsom Files Emergency Motion To 'Immediately Block' Trump's Use Of Military To Stop La Riots Newsom and the president have taken jabs at each other in recent days over the Trump administration's move to deploy thousands of National Guard troops and hundreds of active-duty Marines to Los Angeles, with the governor saying it threatens state sovereignty, wastes resources and worsens the situation, while Trump argues that the move was necessary to quell any violence. Read On The Fox News App "These are the men and women trained for foreign combat, not domestic law enforcement," Newsom said Tuesday. "We honor their service. We honor their bravery. But we do not want our streets militarized by our own armed forces. Not in LA, not in California, not anywhere. We're seeing unmarked cars, unmarked cars in school parking lots, kids afraid of attending their own graduation." "Trump is pulling a military dragnet all across Los Angeles, well beyond his stated intent to just go after violent and serious criminals," he continued. "His agents are arresting dishwashers, gardeners, day laborers and seamstresses. That's just weakness. Weakness masquerading as strength. Donald Trump's government isn't protecting our communities. They're traumatizing our communities. And that seems to be the entire point." Newsom had sent a letter on Sunday urging the administration to rescind its deployment of National Guard troops and return them to his command. The state has also filed a lawsuit against the administration over the federal deployment. Hegseth Defends National Guard La Deployments, Says Ice Agents Must Be Protected "Just yesterday, we filed a legal challenge to Donald Trump's reckless deployment of American troops to a major American city," the governor said Tuesday. "Today, we sought an emergency court order to stop the use of the American military to engage in law enforcement activities across Los Angeles." The governor said if some people could be snatched off the streets without a warrant based only on suspicion or skin color, then nobody is safe. "Trump and his loyalists, they thrive on division because it allows them to take more power and exert even more control," he said. "And by the way, Trump, he's not opposed to lawlessness and violence as long as it serves him. What more evidence do we need than January 6th?" Newsom also cited border czar Tom Homan's threat to arrest him for alleged immigration interference, an idea Trump later endorsed, saying Newsom's "primary crime was running for governor because he's done such a bad job." "He's calling for a sitting governor to be arrested for no other reason than, in his own words, for getting elected," Newsom said of Trump. The governor had previously dared Homan to make good on his threat, saying "arrest me" and "come and get me, tough guy." But Homan eventually backed down, admitting that Newsom had not done anything to warrant his arrest. Newsom concluded his remarks on Tuesday by warning that Trump's actions he says threaten state sovereignty and democracy are not exclusive to California. "When Donald Trump sought blanket authority to commandeer the National Guard, he made that order apply to every state in this nation," Newsom said. "This is about all of us. This is about you. California may be first, but it clearly will not end here. Other states are next. Democracy is next. Democracy is under assault before our eyes. This moment we have feared has arrived. He's taking a wrecking ball, a wrecking ball to our Founding Fathers' historic project." "If you exercise your First Amendment rights, please, please do it peacefully," he continued. "I know many of you are feeling deep anxiety, stress and fear, but I want you to know that you are the antidote to that fear and that anxiety. What Donald Trump wants most is your fealty, your silence to be complicit in this moment. Do not give in to him."Original article source: Newsom says Los Angeles rioters will be prosecuted, slams Trump for 'traumatizing our communities'
Yahoo
34 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump Tariffs Can Stay in Effect Longer, Appeals Court Says
(Bloomberg) -- Donald Trump can continue to enforce his global tariffs for now, a federal appeals court held in a win for the president on one of his signature economic policies. Trump's Military Parade Has Washington Bracing for Tanks and Weaponry NY Long Island Rail Service Resumes After Grand Central Fire NYC Mayoral Candidates All Agree on Building More Housing. But Where? Senator Calls for Closing Troubled ICE Detention Facility in New Mexico California Pitches Emergency Loans for LA, Local Transit Systems The order Tuesday by the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit extends an earlier, short-term reprieve for the administration as it presses a challenge to a lower court ruling last month that blocked the tariffs. The Justice Department had argued that US officials' concerns about ongoing trade negotiations outweighed the economic harm claimed by the small businesses that sued. The Washington-based court put the case on an expedited track, citing the 'issues of exceptional importance' at stake, and scheduled arguments for July 31. The court didn't offer a detailed reason for siding with the administration at this stage, indicating in the order that the government had met its burden for showing that keeping the lower court's injunction on hold was 'warranted.' No judge noted a dissent. The ruling comes as negotiators for the US and China reached a preliminary agreement to de-escalate trade tensions. Representatives of the world's two largest economies announced the accord in the second day of talks in London over exports of key tech and industrial goods. Trump has portrayed tariffs as critical to leveling the playing field for American businesses and workers amid chronic trade deficits. Trade Court The Trump administration asked the appeals court to step in after the US Court of International Trade last month ruled that Trump had misused an emergency law to implement the tariffs. Unless the challengers request swift intervention by the US Supreme Court, the levies will stay in place for at least another month, if not longer, as the rest of the legal fight plays out before the Washington-based appellate court. Whoever loses the next round of the case before the Federal Circuit could then ask the high court justices to weigh in. Tuesday's order comes a month before Trump's own 90-day pause on most of his sweeping 'reciprocal' tariffs is set to expire. On July 9, US tariff rates are set to increase drastically for many nations, absent trade deals or a further extension. Goods from the European Union, for instance, are facing a 50% levy. Companies led by New York wine importer V.O.S. Selections Inc. claimed that letting the tariffs go into effect would lead to much higher costs and lower sales, with some of them likely to end up in bankruptcy. The administration argued that blocking the tariffs would disrupt US diplomacy and intrude upon the president's power to conduct foreign affairs. A dozen Democratic-led states also sued the administration over the tariffs. Is Trump's Use of Emergency Law for Tariffs Legal?: QuickTake Jeffrey Schwab, senior counsel and director of litigation at the Liberty Justice Center, which represents the private plaintiffs, said in a statement that they were disappointed but glad the Federal Circuit set a fast schedule and would have the full court hear the fight over Trump's use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. 'It's important to note that every court to rule on the merits so far has found these tariffs unlawful, and we have faith that this court will likewise see what is plain as day: that IEEPA does not allow the president to impose whatever tax he wants whenever he wants,' Schwab said. A White House spokesperson and a representative of the Oregon attorney general's office, which led the state coalition that sued, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. 'Liberation Day' Tariffs covered by the trade court ruling include Trump's global 10% levy, his April 2 'Liberation Day' tariffs and measures targeting China, Canada and Mexico over fentanyl trafficking. The president claimed authority to impose those tariffs under the 1977 emergency economic powers law. A three-judge panel of the trade court ruled last month that law didn't give the president unbridled tariff power. The court also took issue with Trump's claims of 'emergencies' over trade deficits and drug-trafficking. In their decision, the judges said government lawyers actually undercut that position by arguing that tariffs were needed as negotiating tools. 'The government's 'pressure' argument effectively concedes that the direct effect of the country-specific tariffs is simply to burden the countries they target,' wrote the panel, which includes judges appointed by Trump, Barack Obama and Ronald Reagan. Trump's tariffs on steel, aluminum and automobiles were imposed under a different law, so were not affected by the trade court ruling. Administration officials have often publicly downplayed the impact of the May 28 decision by claiming that most of its tariffs can be imposed by other means. Global markets have fluctuated wildly since Trump announced the so-called reciprocal levies in a sweeping executive order on April 2. Since then, trillions of dollars in market value have been shed and regained amid weeks of delays, reversals and announcements about potential trade deals, particularly with China. The case is V.O.S. Selections v. Trump, 25-1812, US Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit. (Updated with additional context in the fourth paragraph and comment from a plaintiffs' lawyer starting in the ninth paragraph.) New Grads Join Worst Entry-Level Job Market in Years The Spying Scandal Rocking the World of HR Software American Mid: Hampton Inn's Good-Enough Formula for World Domination Cavs Owner Dan Gilbert Wants to Donate His Billions—and Walk Again The SEC Pinned Its Hack on a Few Hapless Day Traders. The Full Story Is Far More Troubling ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
36 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump backs Idaho Gov. Little for reelection — before he's said he'll run
Idaho Gov. Brad Little received President Donald Trump's endorsement Tuesday for another term, nearly a year ahead of the Republican primary — and before the two-term incumbent governor has even announced a bid for reelection. 'Brad Little is the strong and highly popular Governor of Idaho,' Trump posted on Truth Social, the president's social media platform. 'Brad Little has my Complete and Total Endorsement for Re-Election — HE WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN!' It is unclear whether Little, 71, an Emmett sheep and cattle rancher, will seek a third term, or which candidates may consider challenging him in the May 2026 primary. Idaho's 33rd governor thanked Trump on the social media platform X, without stating whether he will run for reelection. 'It is an honor to have the support of President @realDonaldTrump,' the post read. 'Idaho will continue leading the fight to Make America Great Again!' Little's campaign did not immediately respond to a request from the Idaho Statesman on Tuesday evening. This year, Little has taken several trips to Washington, D.C., including to visit with Trump. In January, before Trump was sworn in as president, Idaho's governor also traveled to Mar-a-Lago, Trump's private resort in South Florida. Trump, the 45th and 47th U.S. president, remains popular in Idaho, a deep red state. In 2024, he earned nearly 70% of the votes in the presidential election — up from about 64% in 2020 and about 59% in 2016. Nationally, Trump's favorability rating has declined with Americans since he took office, according to recent polling. Little first won election to become Idaho's lead executive in 2018. The sitting lieutenant governor ran in a crowded GOP field and defeated his closest challenger — Raúl Labrador, now Idaho's attorney general — by about 5% points. He sailed to victory over his Democratic rival in the general election that fall. When Little sought a second term in 2022, Trump — out of office after losing the 2020 election to Democratic President Joe Biden — endorsed the governor's main challenger in the Republican primary, Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin. 'I am giving Janice McGeachin my Complete and Total Endorsement to be the next Governor of Idaho,' Trump said at the time, a near carbon copy of the endorsement he issued Tuesday for Little, right down to the arbitrary capitalization. 'She will make a fantastic Governor, and will never let you down!' Little easily overcame Trump's backing of his rival and beat McGeachin in the primary by nearly 60,000 votes. Six months later in the general election, Little easily earned a second term with nearly 61% of the vote, with his nearest contender winning about 20% of votes. A former four-term state senator, Little was appointed lieutenant governor in 2009 by then-Gov. Butch Otter, a fellow Republican. Little then won two terms as the second-in-command executive role before running to replace his predecessor. In Idaho's 2026 gubernatorial race, only Democrat Terri Pickens, of Boise, has announced her intention to run. She previously ran unsuccessfully for lieutenant governor in 2022. 'We need Idaho Gov. Brad Little to tell the Trump Regime to stay out of Idaho and stay away from the Idaho National Guard,' Pickens said in a statement released earlier Tuesday. 'Gov. Little, we need you to find your courage and stand up for our freedom.'