Baby come back, cries a desperate Andrew Cuomo
Baby come back, cries a desperate Andrew Cuomo DREW ANGERER / GETTY IMAGES

Gov. Jay Inslee is running for president: It’s official everybody. First he was exploring the idea, then we didn’t hear much about it, then, after some light teasing, he releases this video. His single defining issue is addressing climate change and that can only be a good thing for the Democratic primary. Will he win? I mean your guess is as good as mine, but it’ll be tough for a guy from Washington with little name recognition to beat out political heavyweights like Kamala Harris, Cory Booker, Elizabeth Warren, and Bernie Sanders. My God there are so many candidates. Inslee plans to keep his job as Governor while campaigning and hasn’t ruled out running for a third term, so even he knows he’s a long shot. Check out this Seattle Times recap of his political career.

Sawant and Durkan clash over how to address homelessness: The councilwoman accused the mayor of retaliating against the controversial shelter operation, SHARE/WHEEL, by shortening their contract after they opposed her pick to lead the Human Services Department. Durkan’s pick for HSD was the acting director before this promotion, but activists want Durken to hold a more exhaustive search for the position. We’re a long way from a “Mission Accomplished” banner hanging over Pike St.

Video surfaces of Portland Police and Patriot Prayer: The Guardian has obtained a video showing a police officer approaching Patriot Prayer leader Joey Gibson with information that if they leave now, there won’t be any arrests. “They’ve arrested the other side, so it’s not singling you guys out,” the officer said. The Portland Police have been criticized for having too friendly a relationship with the right-wing group, this is some of the first video evidence to support that.

Bezos come back, we can make this work: If you didn’t sing that like a 90’s R&B song in your head then I don’t know what’s wrong with you. Breakups are hard. They’re even harder with millions of dollars and tens of thousands of jobs on the line. Bezos recently went through a breakup of his own so this split with New York must be especially tough. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo isn’t giving up though. He’s essentially standing outside Bezos’s window with a boombox listing all the tax breaks and union busting power New York state will give them. Only time will tell how this love story will end.


Looks like Inslee won’t be the only one announcing: All signs point to Beto O’Rourke announcing his presidential candidacy sometime in the next few days. He was recently defeated by Ted Cruz in a run for Senate, but now he has his sights set a bit higher. People seemed to like his folksy, media-savvy campaign for Senate, so maybe a Democratic candidate from Texas isn’t the craziest thing in the world.

Your freezing struggles were not in vain: We set a whole bunch of records last month, so all that snow and cold was worth it. Oh, you don’t care about weather records? Well then I guess it definitely wasn’t worth it.


Pakistan has handed back captured Indian pilot: As a gesture of peace between the two nations. The pilot was shot down earlier this week in the first "publicly-acknowledged dogfight between the two countries in 48 years." Pakistan and India still may hate each other but for now the fighting between them has stopped. It’s a bit terrifying how quickly and easily this fighting flared up between two nuclear armed countries. There is by no means peace, but at least they aren’t shooting rockets across the border anymore.

In negotiations with the Taliban, women don’t want to be forgotten: In the all male negotiations with Taliban leaders, diplomats, and the Afghan government, there is disagreement about what peace would look like. But over 700 Afghan women gathered to remind these negotiators not to sell them out. “We want peace," the women said, "but not at the cost of our rights,” according to the New York Times. If the Taliban controlled the territory, they could bring back harsh, inhumane laws that restrict the rights of women to learn, move about freely, and vote.

Japan now has the world’s largest Starbucks: But no matter how big they make it, the coffee still sucks. I mean don’t get me wrong, I drink it, and then remember how much I despise it.


This weekend's best Seattle entertainment options include: A nexus of two porcine-related occasions (National Pig Day and Lunar New Year) at Pike Place's Pig Day Out, the womxn-focused music festival Belltown Bash, the Nordic Lights Film Festival, and plenty of Mardi Gras celebrations.