FAKE NEWS. FAKE. NEWS.
FAKE NEWS. FAKE. NEWS. The Stranger

Trump Tweets That He's Being Investigated: Is it fake news no more? "I am being investigated for firing the FBI Director by the man who told me to fire the FBI Director! Witch Hunt," Trump tweeted at 6:07 a.m. This is the first time that the president has acknowledged that special prosecutor Robert S. Mueller III is investigating whether the president's actions, notably the firing of James Comey, amount to obstruction of justice. Trump's tweet is also noteworthy given the weird statement issued by deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein last night: After the Washington Post reported that Mueller had begun investigating Trump over obstruction of justice and Jared Kushner's financial transactions, Rosenstein published a statement warning citizens to "exercise caution" before "accepting as true any stories attributed to anonymous 'officials.'"



Meanwhile, ABC Reports That Rosenstein May Recuse Himself from Russia Investigation: "Rosenstein, who authored an extensive and publicly-released memorandum recommending Comey's firing, raised the possibility of his recusal during a recent meeting with Associate Attorney General Rachel Brand, the Justice Department's new third-in-command, according to sources," ABC reports.

Amazon to Buy Whole Foods for $13.7 Billion: The acquisition will be Amazon's biggest yet. After experimenting with physical bookstores, AmazonFresh, and Amazon Go, it looks Amazon is taking a giant leap from software into meatspace. "Amazon referred to Whole Foods internally by the code-name 'Walnut' to help maintain secrecy during the negotiations, according to financing paperwork filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission," Geekwire reports.


Local Asteroid Mining Business Is Also Doing Very Well: Redmond-based Planetary Resources, which is also joining forces with the government of Luxembourg, says the company will have found a way to search a near-Earth asteroid for water by 2020.

Ed Murray Still Toying with Idea of Write-In Campaign: The Seattle Times' Jim Brunner reports that Murray is seriously considering a write-in campaign after one of Murray's accusers of child sex abuse dropped his lawsuit against the sitting mayor. The accuser, Delvonn Heckard, says he hasn't retracted his claims and plans to refile next year. Two other men who accused Murray of child sex abuse but weren't involved in the latest lawsuit also stand by their stories. Jessyn Farrell, a former state representative who gave up her seat in order to run for Seattle mayor, released a statement in support of Murray after Heckard dropped the lawsuit, but calls the possibility of Murray running "very theoretical."

Police Arrest One Person at Evergreen: "The Washington State Patrol says one male was arrested for disorderly conduct Thursday evening during the rally planned by conservative group Patriot Prayer," KING 5 reports. "The masked man was slammed to the ground by some of the Patriot Prayer protesters, who said he had a knife." Read Ana Sofia on how Evergreen's campus has become a target for right-wing trolls.

Trump Administration Rescinds Program That Protected Undocumented Parents of US Citizens: The Obama-era program DAPA, which stood for "Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents," would have allowed undocumented parents to stay in the country for three years. But it was never implemented.

A UW Professor Predicted the Election and No One Listened to Him: Christopher Parker's findings, which led to an accurate prediction about Trump eight months before he won the GOP nomination, throw cold water on the idea that Trump voters were motivated by economic concerns. “I’ve got three words for you: scared white people,” Parker told the Seattle Times. “Every period of racial progress in this country is followed by a period of retrenchment. That’s what the 2016 election was about, and it was plain as it was happening.”