Eric Minor, a software consultant from Gig Harbor, tried to change RNC rules to favor the #NeverTrump movement. Sorry, Eric :(
Eric Minor, a software consultant from Gig Harbor, tried to change RNC rules to favor the #NeverTrump movement. Sorry, Eric :( SB

Some WA Republicans Led a "Failed Rebellion" at the RNC Yesterday: Several members of Washington's 44-person delegation to the RNC tried to petition Republican leadership to change rules stating that they had to vote for Trump based on the results of their states' primaries or caucuses. Didn't work. Eric Minor, a software consultant from Gig Harbor who helped lead the "unbound delegate" movement, said he had no regrets.

And We're Not Sure Why Cleveland Police Escorted KIRO's Essex Porter and Bill Skok Off the Convention Floor:

Meanwhile, Melania Trump Plagiarized Michelle Obama's 2008 DNC Speech: One part, practically verbatim.

Unbound by Facts, the Trump Campaign Denies Plagiarism: Because TRUMP TRUMP TRUMP TRUMP.

But at Least We Have Been Gifted #FamousMelaniaTrumpQuotes:

Harborview Researchers Are Seeing if Pokémon Go Helps Child Burn Victims Heal: "Researchers say the benefit is twofold: The game helps mobilize patients and keep their infected areas in motion while also taking their minds off the pain, the way a good book or intense action movie might," the Seattle Times reports.

Giant Settlement Means That the Anacortes Tesoro Facility Must Now Audit Its Benzene Waste: San Antonio-based Tesoro must pay $10.4 million in damages to the EPA and Department of Justice over alleged air pollution violations. "In April, the EPA [also] fined Tesoro $720,000 for safety violations in Anacortes," Ansel reports.

Isn't Tim Eyman Embarrassed Yet? He doesn't have an initiative on the ballot this coming November, but now he's trying to get his followers to e-mail Washington State's Supreme Court justices to tell them they "are not intellectually suited to do their job."

Seattle Is Still the 10th Most Expensive City for Renters: A July rent report shows that rents have gone up 6.5 percent across the city compared to last year.

A visual depiction of the Blob.
A visual depiction of the Blob. SB

Why Are Dead Seabirds Washing Up on the Beach? Scientists in Washington and British Columbia have found dozens of starved Rhinoceros auklets dead on the beach. Die-offs like this one in years past have been linked to the Blob—the mass of warm water hovering just off the Pacific Coast—but recent upwelling of colder waters along the coast has offered some relief to sensitive ecosystems. The Blob could still be the culprit, though. "The temperatures have moderated to an extent, but the biology is still obviously feeling the effects of this marine heat wave," Washington state climatologist and University of Washington researcher Nick Bond told KUOW.

Trump Has No Proof That Baton Rouge Shooter Was Motivated by "Radical Islam," But He's Saying It Anyway: "Early indications are that [the shooter] had no known ties to any radical Islamic group," the AP reports.