Castro drops out: Former Obama housing secretary Julián Castro has dropped out of the Democratic presidential race. He had failed to garner enough support or donations to get into the latest debate. Castro was the last Latino still in the race, so that means the mostly white voters in Iowa and New Hampshire will decide next month between a handful of all-white Democratic front-runners vying for the nomination during the country’s first primaries.
The New Year starts with “Tumbleggedon 2020”: A “small mountain” of tumbleweeds blocked a Central Washington highway for 10 hours on New Year’s Eve. Five cars and one semitruck were trapped in the tumbleweed disaster zone near Richland until the state was able to send snowplows to move the weeds and free the cars.
#tumblegeddon After 10 hours of SR 240 being closed last night on New Year’s Eve, it was opened around 0430 thanks to @WSDOT_East We still have one abandon car trapped in the tumbleweeds that was found at daylight, luckily no one was in it. pic.twitter.com/df7XbnqafE
— Trooper C. Thorson (@wspd3pio) January 1, 2020
The same windstorm hit Seattle: The storm canceled the Space Needle’s New Year’s Eve fireworks display for the first time in almost 30 years. The show’s organizers were worried that onlookers could get hit by fireworks debris with wind gusts over 40 miles per hour.
Meanwhile in the world of real problems: Australians are rushing to save the koalas and kangaroos as wildfires ravage the country and temperatures soar to 104 degrees. Eight people have already died, 1,000 homes have been destroyed, and 10 million acres have burned. The fires follow an intense period of high heat and drought. The country just went through its second driest January through November since 1902, and Australia saw its hottest day on record in December when the average daily high for a single day on the continent hit 107.4 degrees. The previous record was set 24 hours earlier.
Get ready for annoying light-rail rides in Seattle: Starting this weekend, 30,000 people a day are going to be transferring trains in Pioneer Square. Trains heading in both directions will now make their final stops in Pioneer Square, so travelers hoping to head further in either direction will need to switch trains at the downtown station. The disruption is necessary for Sound Transit to build its new train line to Bellevue. The transit agency is warning commuters to plan for 30-minute delays during this 10-week-long inconvenience.
Since you didn’t get your fireworks fix: You should check out the display at the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building. It’s stunning.
Dubai New Year 2020 Fireworks Burj Khalifa New Year Eve Celebration 2020#Burjkhalifa #Celebration pic.twitter.com/bY4U1asgxT
— Md.Mustafizur Rahman Chowdhury (@mustafiz_) January 1, 2020
The coast guard search is over: The coast guard has called off a search for five missing crew members on the Scandies Rose, a 130-foot crab boat that sank in the Gulf of Alaska. Two crew members were rescued by helicopter after the boat capsized and sank on New Year’s Eve, but the coast guard suspended the search for the remaining crew members after scanning 1,400 square miles during a fierce storm. The boat was based out of Dutch Harbor but managed by a Seattle company, according to the Seattle Times.
The man shot in Pioneer Square has died: The cops watched as another man was shot Wednesday morning, just an hour into the New Year. Bike cops chased the alleged shooter and arrested him. The victim died later in the day at Harborview.
The pope slapped a woman: Pope Francis has since apologized. The pope slapped the woman’s arm after she had allegedly grabbed the Vicar of Christ during an event on Tuesday. The head of the Holy See later apologized during his first sermon of the New Year for setting a “bad example.”
The Mercer Street P-Patch has been saved: A community garden on top of a parking garage near KeyArena has been saved from destruction. The collection of raised beds had been set to be taken down in order to make room for more people to drive to KeyArena when it opens for hockey in 2021. Newly elected council member Andrew Lewis announced the news at a swearing-in ceremony on New Year’s Eve at the community garden.
Tonight’s best Seattle entertainment options include: A show with electro-funk artist JusMoni, the first Taylor Shellfish Oysters & Bubbles Night at Bar Ciudad, and the opening of Antiquated Boundaries: Five Centuries of Maps at Davidson Galleries. See more on our EverOut Things To Do calendar.
