Trump Meets with Potential SCOTUS Picks: The president met with four candidates for the job Monday. The Washington Post reports conservatives are ready to pressure lawmakers to approve a right-wing justice:
Most outside conservative groups, for the moment, are targeting Senate Democrats running for reelection in states won by Trump in 2016, but one veteran GOP strategist said Monday that advertising campaigns against moderate Republicans are not being ruled out by major donors.
And the map of Senate Democratic targets could soon expand. The Judicial Crisis Network, a conservative group that spent more than $10 million to support Gorsuch’s confirmation, is considering pressure campaigns against Sens. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) and Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), according to two people familiar with the deliberations.
Gun Rights Group Challenges New Initiative: Supporters of a new gun safety measure in Washington plan to turn in enough signatures this week to appear on the November ballot, but a gun rights group is asking the state Supreme Court to invalidate the signatures because of the petitions’ formatting. The initiative would require that people be at least 21 (rather than 18) to buy semi-automatic weapons and would require safety training for those guns. It would also create a new safe storage law, which would require gun owners to lock up their guns at home or face potential criminal liability if someone prohibited from having guns got access. The gun rights group says supporters of the initiative did not make clear on their petitions everything the law would do.
UPDATE: The pro-gun group lost:
Inbox: A court commissioner has dismissed the Second Amendment Foundation’s request for review of I-1639 petitions, saying they have no standing. That was fast. https://t.co/4S84ihIIsH #waleg
— Walker Orenstein (@walkerorenstein) July 3, 2018
Trump Slams NATO Allies: He wrote letters to Germany, Belgium, Norway, and Canada “taking them to task for spending too little on their own defense and warning that the United States is losing patience with what he said was their failure to meet security obligations shared by the alliance,” the New York Times reports.
Judge Rules Asylum Seekers Must Get Hearings: A federal judge in Washington, D.C. ruled that the government must give asylum seekers credible fear hearings or release them.
Will Seattle Traffic Ever Get Any Better? Not until you start taking transit, you morons. It could. Crosscut explains congestion pricing and four other ideas that could help.
Burien Man Sues Bowling Associations Over Sexual Abuse: The 24-year-old man says he was drugged and sexually assaulted by his private bowling coach over 10 years and the bowling organizations failed to protect him. The coach has been charged with two counts of child molestation after another man reported him, the Seattle Times reports.
Carbon Fee Already Has Big Opposition: Yesterday, supporters of a carbon fee turned in enough signatures to likely make the November ballot. They already face stiff opposition from oil companies. The fee would be charged on carbon emissions and would fund green energy projects and support for communities affected by climate change.
Alleged Newsroom Killer Sent Threatening Letters Before Shooting: The man who allegedly killed five people at the Capital Gazette last week sent letters to a court, a judge, and a former attorney for the newspaper. The letter to the former attorney said the man was on his way to the newspaper “with the objective of killing every person present,” the Baltimore Sun reports.
“Relationships and Everything Are All of a Sudden Up for Grabs.” After an ICE raid in small-town Iowa, some religious leaders in the town stepped up to support immigrants. Others did nothing, The New York Times reports. One takeaway:
He wrote that the vigil-keepers lacked sympathy for American citizens. “What about the ones living in Mount Pleasant who couldn’t find a job because they were employing illegal immigrants instead?”
The view that immigrants take jobs from citizens or depress wages was a common one, but it was disputed by local business owners. The unemployment rate in Henry County is 2.9 percent, and many factories display “Hiring” signs.
Gary Crawford, who owns Mt. Pleasant Tire (“We keep you rolling”), said he paid tire installers $16 to $24 an hour, with full benefits. “I know most of the people who run the factories,” he said. “They just can’t find help.”
Wow, the Seattle Times Editorial Board Is On a Roll: First came their latest pearl clutching over single family zoning. And now, they’ve begun their endorsements for the August primary. Among their first picks: Mark Miloscia, the anti-choice, anti-gay, anti-trans Republican who has led the fight against safe injection sites (which the Ed Board supports!). The board’s reason: Miloscia voted against the legislature’s effort to hide its records from the public.
Did You Hear About that Dog on the 520 Bridge? A “white fluffy dog” ran the entire length of the SR 520 floating bridge Monday before jumping into the bushes. The state transportation department announced Monday afternoon that the dog was caught and is now at an animal shelter, according to Q13.
Bear Seeking a Break from This Fucking Horrible World Just Wants to Enjoy a Margarita in the Hot Tub Like Anyone Else: A man in Altadena, California discovered a bear enjoying his backyard hot tub “and the cocktail he’d left behind.” Good for you, bear.
It Could Be 80 Tomorrow: Finally. But please do not call 911 for your noise complaints.
Tonight’s best Seattle entertainment options include: A punk show with Weedeater, Zeke, and Sierra, a reading with epic sci-fi author Yoon Ha Lee, and Dael Orlandersmith’s Until the Flood. Plus, plan ahead for tomorrow and check out our Fourth of July calendar.
