Good morning! These freezing chilly nights would possibly lastly repay with a snow day this weekend. The Nationwide Climate Service advised the Seattle Occasions that the forecast is wanting “more and more attention-grabbing” beginning on Friday, but it surely’s nonetheless a tossup. “Between 4 am Saturday and 4 am Sunday, there’s a 27 % likelihood Seattle might see no less than 1 inch of snow, and a 15 % likelihood town might see 2 inches of snow,” the Occasions reported. For right this moment, we’re plenty of the identical: lows just under freezing, highs within the 40s. Benefit from the solar whereas we’ve obtained it!
Trump Retains His Phrase: Trump signed a brand new batch of govt orders yesterday, together with one that would ban brazenly trans individuals from serving within the army. The orders have been just like final week’s, which eradicated range, fairness, and inclusion packages within the federal authorities, however this latest order approved the Protection Division to bar transgender troopers, arguing that figuring out as a gender aside from the one assigned at beginning might undermine “the bodily and psychological well-being mandatory for army service,” NYT reported.
The language of the order pulls immediately from the playbook of the spiritual proper: “Expressing a false ‘gender id’ divergent from a person’s intercourse can’t fulfill the rigorous requirements mandatory for army service. Past the hormonal and surgical medical interventions concerned, adoption of a gender id inconsistent with a person’s intercourse conflicts with a soldier’s dedication to an honorable, truthful and disciplined way of life, even in a single’s private life,” it reads. “A person’s assertion that he’s a girl, and his requirement that others honor this falsehood, just isn’t per the humility and selflessness required of a service member.” As of this morning, although, there’s already a authorized problem to the order brewing.
Funding Chaos: Beginning right this moment, Trump is freezing all federal grants and loans. What does that imply? To this point, nobody has been capable of seize the extent of the injury it might do, but it surely “might have an effect on trillions of {dollars} and trigger widespread disruption in well being care analysis, education schemes and different initiatives,” in line with the Seattle Occasions. Congress has already permitted this spending, and for that purpose, a number of Dems in Congress are already saying that the order “blatantly disobeys the legislation.” The White Home scheduled a press convention for later right this moment, and we’ll watch this insanity unfold!
Metropolis Council Does It Once more: Yesterday, metropolis council voted 5-3 to nominate Mark Solomon to the District 2 seat that Tammy Morales left earlier this 12 months. Which suggests for the second time in a 12 months, they appointed somebody who misplaced to Morales (badly). It is clear that council is hoping to deliver some contemporary blood into the seat in November: Solomon mentioned he’ll view the appointment as a “caretaker” position and never search election when the seat’s time period is up in 10 months. Within the meantime, although, we’ve got a “legislation and order” council member at the moment on employees with the SPD. Learn extra about it right here.
Handing it off to Marcus for a second, who was on the Mayor’s press convention about Trump’s immigration orders yesterday:
A Squeak When We Want a Roar: Should you have been holding your breath for native leaders to type collectively some civil-disobedient Voltron and stand tall towards ICE raids and their camera-ready brokers, effectively, don’t move out simply but, maintain holding. On Monday, at an occasion hosted by One America at El Centro de la Raza, Gov. Bob Ferguson unveiled his huge transfer: an Government Order to create a Household Separation Speedy Response Group inside the Division of Youngsters, Youth, and Households. Their mission? To give you suggestions (sure, suggestions) for coping with household separation and its trauma on children. It’s one thing, positive, like a band-aid on a bullet wound. Let’s be actual: that is an indignant squeak once we want a righteous roar for our immigrant neighbors, pals, and coworkers residing in terror whereas a Trumpian wrecking ball swings their means, hellbent on making scapegoats of them earlier than shoving them in a foreign country.
New Chief Stepping In: Seems like we’ll have a new police chief by the top of this week. Shon Barnes, then the Madison, Wisconsin, police chief, drew nationwide consideration in December after a taking pictures on the Plentiful Life Christian Faculty killed three individuals. In his former position, Barnes was investigated no less than twice: As soon as after he was sued over allegations of a false arrest; and as soon as when he was accused of constructing feedback a couple of feminine officer’s love life throughout an exit interview. In each circumstances, he was cleared of wrongdoing. He’ll substitute ex-Chief Adrian Diaz, who was discovered to have had an inappropriate relationship inside the division, and is now suing town for wrongful termination. Good luck Chief Barnes! We’re watching you.
Seattlites Run Amok: Okay this story retains getting weirder. Final week, a 21-year-old Seattleite was accused of beginning a shootout on the Vermont/Canada border that killed a border patrol agent. Lower than a 12 months in the past, the Seattle Occasions reported, her mother and father advised police that “they have been fearful she was in a controlling relationship and was being pressured to chop off contact along with her family and friends.” Then on Friday, a Seattle-area man was arrested in Northern California and charged with homicide. Seems, the 2 have been highschool classmates and Lakeside Faculty, the shmanciest of Seattle excessive faculties, and so they’d utilized for a wedding license in King County in November.
It’s Particular Election Season: Bear in mind these pesky poll initiatives that metropolis council didn’t wish to take care of within the high-turnout November election? It’s time to vote on them! Most of it is best to have gotten your ballots within the mail already, and we all know how it is best to fill it out. Learn our endorsements, drop that poll within the mail, and pat your self on the again for doing all of your civic obligation.
Eat Your Coronary heart Out: Wanna spend a bit of time in a world that’s much more fucked up than ours? Yellowjackets Season 3 is coming again in just a bit greater than two weeks. Stranger contributor Megan Burbank is coming quickly with a recap of every little thing you want you would neglect about Seasons 1 and a couple of, however within the meantime, sink into this trailer.
Blissful Birthday, Dick’s! It’s Dick’s Drive-in’s 71st birthday, and meaning right this moment, you will get a burger for what it value in 1954: 19 cents. So get digging in your sofa cushions, and get your self a tiny, tasty burger. Nevertheless it’s 2025: we’re all consuming our emotions, and we’re all broke. So count on to attend in line.
Microsoft to purchase TikTok? In line with recognized liar Donald Trump (not my president), Microsoft “is in talks to accumulate TikTok” and Trump “want to see a bidding struggle over the app,” Reuters stories. If Microsoft buys TT, will it turn out to be an area firm? Can we tax them? What number of of their staff take residence greater than $1m a 12 months, do ya assume? TikTok is again on-line after going darkish for a quick interval previous to the inauguration, and whereas the app remains to be accessible to its customers, each Apple and Google have eliminated it from their app shops and new “US Smartphone customers can’t obtain it,” writes the Guardian. That features this author, who simply obtained a brand new telephone and obtained TikTok-blocked by the app retailer.
In case you want a bit of nonsense in your day: I had a good friend as soon as who, each month, included a line merchandise of their private finances for pranks. Simply sayin’.
