
Bellevue takes a stab at helping the homeless: Bellevue isn't accustomed to actually aiding its homeless population. As of yesterday, Bellevue will commit to its first-ever year-round homeless shelter. The one they had, a men's shelter in Bellevue’s Lincoln Center, wasn't up to code so it was only used during winter. Now, with money from local businesses, the place is getting a facelift and the homeless will have somewhere to go during the other three seasons.
Save the ID: There was a rally in the International District on Thursday. It was in opposition to coming development that will displace residents. And also, potentially, Bush Garden, the best place in town to do karaoke that has been purchased by developers. It could go the way of Keiro Northwest, the nursing home that's shutting down and displacing around 100 senior citizens. It's a mess.
Food, glorious food: There's a trade war with China. Trump recently just escalated it by announcing a 10 percent tariff on an additional $300 billion worth of Chinese imports. Farmers, with no China to thirst after their Golden Delicious apples and their Darigold milk, have resorted to selling their food to the federal government. Food banks have never had the amount of food, especially fresh food, that they're receiving now. The Pierce County food bank is overflowing. It's a blessing but also a logistical nightmare for a place that doesn't have enough space or resources to function like a real ass grocery store.
Meanwhile, China is blaming the U.S. for domestic unrest: China's economy is slowing down and the trade war with the United States is exacerbating it. There are also the two-month-long protests happening in Hong Kong. China is scapegoating the U.S. for its domestic problems. This happened about 30 years ago when China pointed the finger at the U.S. for pro-democracy protests at Tiananmen Square.
Start your morning with a car chase: In the middle of a foot pursuit, a Kent Police Department vehicle was stolen. A chase ensued at around 4 a.m. A woman driving the car was arrested on eastbound I-90. No one was injured.
Dig out your rain jackets: Today's a wet one.
Very unusual to see a front like this approaching us in the absolute driest time of the year. pic.twitter.com/Rl5k56KGx8
— Seattle Weather Blog (@KSeattleWeather) August 2, 2019
Poor Patti Davis and her racist dad: Ronald Reagan's daughter, Patti Davis, was shocked to learn that her dad, Ronald Reagan, was a big ol' racist. A tape of Reagan shooting the shit with Nixon recently surfaced. In it, he mocks delegates from African countries. "To see those, those monkeys from those African countries — damn them," Reagan said, "they’re still uncomfortable wearing shoes!” Davis said the remarks made her cry. Here's the audio for the uninitiated:
In an audio recording from 1971, then-California Governor Ronald Reagan can be heard disparaging African delegates to the United Nations as 'monkeys' during a phone call with U.S. President Richard Nixon. More here: https://t.co/P4yKE0zRiF pic.twitter.com/LgI5pIuRiy
— Reuters Top News (@Reuters) August 2, 2019
Speaking of racism: Donald Trump continued his attacks on Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland. There were reports that Cummings' home was burglarized. Trump, the LEADER OF THE FREE WORLD, had this to say:
Really bad news! The Baltimore house of Elijah Cummings was robbed. Too bad!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 2, 2019
This is bad: What's wrong? Oh you know, the Greenland ice sheet just casually lost 11 BILLION TONS of surface ice in one day. That day was yesterday. According to CNN, that's about 4.4 million Olympic swimming pools worth of ice. This summer's European heat wave has triggered a record amount of melt for the ice sheet. The last time it melted this badly was in 1950. It's expected to get worse. Why? Because we are fucking doomed.
Thanks, I hate it:
This is a roaring glacial melt, under the bridge to Kangerlussiauq, Greenland where it's 22C today and Danish officials say 12 billions tons of ice melted in 24 hours, yesterday. pic.twitter.com/Rl2odG4xWj
— Laurie Garrett (@Laurie_Garrett) August 1, 2019
Louisiana is getting medical marijuana: Smoke's up in the South! Therapeutic cannabis has been cleared for release to patients!
7-Elevens really see a lot of shit: This video is chaos.
A father-and-son duo in Maryland are being hailed as heroes after the son confronted a gunman during a robbery at a 7-Eleven, wrestling for the weapon before the dad tracked the suspect until police arrived. https://t.co/U2Rzca2F7H pic.twitter.com/LYEoda8vFU
— ABC News (@ABC) August 2, 2019
A magnitude 7 earthquake in Indonesia: It struck off the coast of Jakarta. There's a tsunami warning.
Saudi Arabia is doing things for its women: The world is going to shit but Saudi Arabia is giving its women rights...? Wow. The historically restrictive country is now relaxing laws like the one where women couldn't travel without the consent of their husband. Women will no longer have to be treated like perpetual minors and will be able to do things on their own. Like starting and running a business! Or apply for their own passports. These new laws come on the heels of last year's groundbreaking progress that allowed women in Saudi Arabia to drive and get licenses.
This is a real headline: Mutant rat-human births approved in Japan
A fun fact for your Friday:
NASA has a webpage that offers advice to authors on how to write convincing science-fiction. https://t.co/J7KrcJvKj0
— Quite Interesting (@qikipedia) July 29, 2019
The best Seattle entertainment options this weekend include: The Seattle Art Fair, Seafair Weekend, and the Washington Midsummer Renaissance Faire.