Hanford. Credit: JEFF T. GREEN/GETTY IMAGES
Hanford.
Hanford. JEFF T. GREEN/GETTY IMAGES

Contamination plutonium plant spreads for miles: A demolition project at the Hanford Plutonium Finishing Plant has unearthed plutonium and americium contamination that reaches up to 10 miles. The plant was started originally to create plutonium for the atomic bomb in World War II. It continued into the 40s and built stockpiles of nuclear weapons in case the Cold War heated up a bit. There are concerns the contamination could spread offsite. Work has been stalled because plutonium is toxic. Anything that can power a flux capacitor really has to have a certain kind of kick.

Seattle man discriminated against for English skills: Emily Huynh, a senior at Cleveland High School, tweeted an email her Vietnamese father received in response to a job inquiry. What the employer sent was not only rude, but racist. It ended with the sentence “Let me tell you now. If you no speak English. I will send you home.” Huynh, horrified, tweeted about it and it quickly went viral. It resonated with many children of immigrants and the discrimination their parents endure.

Who could forget last summer’s salmon spill? Well, an investigation is underway to figure out how Cooke Aquaculture’s net pen collapsed, sending 160,000 Atlantic salmon into the Salish Sea. So far, the culprit is bad maintenance. There were portions of the net fouled with mussel buildup, kelp, and algae.

Okay, so the Amazon Spheres are actually pretty cool: Take a gander at this piece by The Seattle Times.

[To the tune of that song in ‘La La Land’]: City of Cranes, are you building just for me? City of Cranes, there’s so much that I can’t see. Who knows? Is this the start of something wonderful and new?
Or one more dream that I cannot make true?

I replaced two words in that song and it actually works. Huh. Anyway, Seattle is definitely still the city of cranes. The number has gone down but we still have more cranes than any city in the nation. It feels good to be number one!

Annual count of homeless population occurs early Friday morning: The Point in Time count this morning saw nearly 1,000 volunteers working to count the homeless population in King County. King County Executive Dow Constantine said to KING5, “The fact that there are so many volunteers is really indicative of the willingness there is in this community to lean in to help the homeless to help solve the problem of homelessness.”

New reward of quadruple homicide: Last year, a Kitsap family of four was found murdered. The police currently do not have a prime suspect. An anonymous donor has offered a $20,000 reward for any information that leads to an arrest of a suspect. Police are hoping it will generate new leads.

Box truck smashes into Viaduct guardrail: We get it, you’re excited for the State Route 99 tunnel to open, already. But you can’t tear down the Viaduct yourself! A box truck that crashed into the guardrail yesterday sent bits of it tumbling to the ground below. Still, the Viaduct remains in good shape. The southbound lanes on the other hand were closed for about two hours. No one was injured. Traffic was a nightmare.

Trump too used to saying “You’re Fired”: Yesterday, The New York Times reported that Donald Trump was planning on firing Robert S. Mueller III. He hemmed and hawed. He argued that Mueller had at least three conflicts of interest. Trump sent an order to fire Mueller to the White House counsel Donald F. McGhan II. Who promptly threatened to quit. Trump backed off. Still, his desire to fire Mueller never waned. The White House simply found people coercive enough to make Trump change his public tune.

Sean Hannity isn’t convinced: Stop the presses! Sean Hannity discredited The New York Times’ story about Trump firing Mueller. But, after a quick commercial break, someone seemed to give him the ol’ 411 that, yeah, actually the story was true. Even Fox’s sources confirmed it. Still, Hannity refused to give it any air time. He pivoted so well he should look for a career in the NBA. Though, as dedicated readers of Slog AM, you’ll agree the video he showed was old news.

Trump, in Switzerland, was quick to disavow the story: He did so in his usual fashion.

The next French Revolution is upon us: Victor Hugo penned a tragedy about a man who stole a loaf of bread. Move over Les Miserables. The catalyst of a modern Jan Valjean’s tale of tragedy? A jar of Nutella. French supermarkets started selling Nutella at a steep discount. All the bourgeoisie wants is 70 percent off their hazelnut spread! Take that, First Estate.

South Korea hospital fire kills at least 37: The blaze appears to have started in the emergency room at Sejong Hospital in Miryang, South Korea. 200 people were inside. The building did not have any fire sprinklers. About 70 people are reported injured currently, however many are in critical condition.

More pollution heading our way: The EPA is ending a clean air initiative that has been heavily opposed by fossil fuel companies. Environmentalists predict the change will drastically weaken limits on toxic heavy metals emitted from power-plant smokestacks. They also say it will lead to dirtier air and more deaths.

Fun fact for your Friday: The wingspan of a 747 is longer than the Wright brother’s first flight.

The first flight lasted about 12 seconds for a total distance of 120 feet. A 747’s wingspan is 196 feet.

It’s the weekend, and there are too many great events happening to list them all here, but here’s a taste: Tonight, Tavares Strachan’s Always, Sometimes, Never exhibit is opening at the Frye, and the Timbrrr! Winter Music Festival begins in Leavenworth. Tomorrow, the Museum of Flight will have a Holocaust Remembrance Day event, and the Ninth Annual Belgian Fest will take over Seattle Center. On Sunday, Tarik Abdullah is having a pop-up brunch, and Weiner is playing at Scarecrow Video.

Nathalie Graham covers anything she finds fun, weird, or interesting. You can find a lot of that in her column, Play Date. Her work has also appeared around town in The Seattle Times, GeekWire, and the...