4 people are dead and 2 are missing after a float plane crashed Monday in Ketchikan, Alaska. Credit: shaunl/Getty Images
4 people are dead and 2 are missing after a float plane crashed Monday in Ketchikan, Alaska.
4 people are dead and 2 are missing after a float plane crashed Monday in Ketchikan, Alaska. shaunl/Getty Images

Backyard cottages could be closer than you think: And I am freaking pumped! Tiny houses and little cottages are my shit. Growing up with two sisters, HGTV was on our television a lot and the only shows that were worth a damn were the ones about tiny houses. A legal ruling Monday would allow Seattle City Council to loosen restrictions on building “accessory dwelling units” on private property. The Queen Anne Community Council challenged the city’s environmental review of backyard cottages, but this ruling said the review was satisfactory and the city could move forward with their policy changes. Councilmember Mike O’Brien already has a bill ready to make this a reality.

Washington is now officially the best state: Yeah, that’s right California, you are cordially invited to suck it! The US News & World Report just gave the Evergreen State the top spot out of the nifty fifty and I honestly can’t say I’m surprised. Neither was Gov. Jay Inslee. We ranked in the top 5 in several major categories such as infrastructure (second), economy (third), education (fourth). Louisiana, unfortunately, spent its third straight year in the unenviable 50th spot.

Tiger Woods is being sued for wrongful death: The suit was brought by the family of a Florida man who died after driving home drunk from his shift at Woods’ restaurant, The Woods Jupiter (what the hell kind of name is that?). Woods is fresh off a Masters win and a Presidential Medal of Honor from Trump, which just shows that everything our president touches gets sued. His parents claim that Woods and his girlfriend, who is listed as the general manager, are liable because the man was served alcohol at the restaurant. I don’t know the laws in Florida, but in Washington this case would actually have some legs. Bartenders aren’t allowed to serve you if you are “visibly intoxicated” and are liable if you drive drunk.

Two sightseeing planes in Alaska collide: The float planes near Ketchikan were both carrying tourists from a cruise nearby when they collided mid-air, killing at least four and injuring 10 others. The plane tour company reported this morning that a fifth person has died and one person is missing but details are scant. Investigators are arriving Tuesday to figure out what went wrong.

Monsanto has to pay $2 billion to a couple for alleged cancer-causing weed killer: A California couple developed non-Hodgkin lymphoma after using Roundup, Monsanto’s marque herbicide, on their property for years. A jury ruled that their claim had merit and passed down an unparalleled $2 billion award to the couple that was meant to make Monsanto reckon with the effects of their chemicals. Legal experts believe that this award will be significantly slashed upon appeal, maybe by even more than half, but it will still be one of the biggest payouts Monsanto has had to give.

This looks painful as hell but at least he got the win:

New York City Mayor Bill DeBlasio is taking the climate fight to Trump’s properties: President Trump has been an absolute disaster for the environment. He pulled us out of the Paris Accords, weaponized the EPA as a regulation-cutting machine, and he goes from six to midnight every time someone mentions coal. But one place he can’t escape climate regulations is with the properties he owns. New York City recently passed sweeping efficiency standards and Trump is facing $2 million in fines if he doesn’t get his buildings up to those standards.

Wetter and cooler: Sign me up!

We’re slowly inching toward war with Iran: That would be a fucking disaster, even more so than when we invaded Iraq. John Bolton, Trump’s national security adviser, is a devout Iran hawk and has incrementally increased tensions with the Middle Eastern country. We’ve turned up the heat on sanctions, designated part of their military a terrorist organization, and effectively isolated them from the world. Now the White House is reviewing and updating military plans for what military options against Iran would look like. Iran has done some seriously terrible things and we don’t want them to get ahold of nuclear weapons, but we also shouldn’t be goading them into war.

Now listen here you $#!%: Tool is one of the greatest rock bands of all time. They were my gateway drug into heavier rock and they can be yours too!

Send me your mugs! I’m going all out tomorrow people but I need your help mugs to make it happen. Email them to me at tkenney@thestranger.com or tweet them to me.

Tonight’s best Seattle entertainment options include: A show with alt-folk and indie-rock troubadour Kevin Morby, a talk with Japan-Southern fusion cookbook author Eric Silverstein, and a chance to see handmade clay tiles by local artist George Rodriguez at Reflect and Gather.

Timothy Kenney is a former Slog AM intern. He's written for multiple Seattle outlets, helped CNN cover a mudslide in Sierra Leone, and almost threw up on James Franco once.