Barack Obama gives his final State of the Union address tonight.
Want to read his final State of the Union address for yourself? Here.
 Everett Collection/Shutterstock

Barack Obama Gave His Final State of the Union Address: Dan live-Slogged it.

Seattle Police Chief Kathleen O'Toole Was There: She spoke with the president after his speech. Read Ansel's take on why, despite the federal adoration, the SPD still has a long way to go toward reform.

So was Paul Ryan, Of Course:


Seattle City Council Member Kshama Sawant Gave the Socialist Response: Her main point? She thinks you should support Bernie Sanders and definitely, definitely not Hillary Clinton.

Ahead of the State of the Union, Republicans Did an Embarrassing Thing: In an attempt to be fun (or something), House Republicans used a gif to announce that they would be snap-chatting photos from the speech. Because calling that "#SNAPoftheunion" wasn't embarrassing enough, they also used a gif of a gay writer and contestant on Jeopardy, Louis Virtel, who then tweeted, "Hey, GOP! Your candidates are horrifying garbage who've done nothing for LGBT rights. Don't use my image."

Jay Inslee Also Gave a Big Speech Yesterday: His State of the State address contained only two real surprises. John Stang explains.

Public Schools Superintendent Randy Dorn Notably Walked Out Before Inslee's Speech Began: “It doesn’t look like anyone is meeting the paramount duty of the state and doing what the court has ruled" for funding the state's public schools, Dorn told The Olympian.

Seattle Police say they found 68 handguns and rifles and a cache of body armor and ammo in a house in Bellevue.
Seattle Police say they found "68 handguns and rifles and a cache of body armor and ammo" in a house in Bellevue. courtesy of seattle police

Enough About Speeches. Seattle Police Seized 68 Guns From a House in Bellevue: The suspect is believed to have stolen some of them. The department says "police are still investigating what the suspect had planned to do with the weapons" but believe the investigation "may have prevented potential violence in our city."

The State of Washington Is Still Failing Mentally Ill Inmates: The state was supposed to be evaluating inmates for competency within seven days by January 2, but missed that deadline and wants an extension. In some parts of the state, waits for competency evaluations are only getting longer, sometimes stretching over months, KUOW reports.

Bertha Is Stalled Again: Maybe not for too long this time.

Dog Flu: A new strain, spreading fast.

Following Seattle Times Report, Lawmakers Want a Federal Investigation Into Warren Buffet's Mobile-Home Business: The Times/BuzzFeed News investigation found that Buffet's company's lending practices exploit people of color. Now California Rep. Maxine Waters wants an investigation.

When a couple gets evicted and then their apartment goes up on Airbnb, how should the city respond?
When a couple gets evicted and then their apartment goes up on Airbnb, how should the city respond? Kelly O

Seattle's Next "Sharing Economy" Fight: Airbnb.

A Militant In Oregon Used a Government Computer to Build a Website for the Group: "Among the militant members who have accessed government computers at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge," Oregon Public Broadcasting reports, "one is an Islamic State sympathizer and Adolph Hitler acolyte." That particular militant has posted online in support of ISIS, which led to this amazing sentence in OPB's report: "When asked to explain his feelings about Israel and ISIS, Fry spoke at length of government conspiracies, plots against multiple countries, Sept. 11, court records, computers viruses on Japanese computers, Fukushima and a Jewish conspiracy against the free world that involves causing nuclear meltdowns."

The U.S. Sailors Seized by Iranians Have Been Returned: After detaining two U.S. Navy ships and 10 sailors for alleged trespassing, Iran quickly released the sailors within 24 hours. The New York Times reports that "is being hailed in both countries as a sign that their relations have evolved since the signing of the nuclear accord last summer."