Suing shooting victims isn't exactly saving face, but go for it. Credit: brians101 / Getty Images
Suing shooting victims isnt exactly saving face, but go for it.
Suing shooting victims isn’t exactly saving face, but go for it. brians101 / Getty Images

Girl Scouts Behind Bars: Don’t get too excited, no girl scouts were incarcerated for cookie-related tax fraud. There also aren’t any prisoners making a quick buck with Thin Mint sales. Instead, “Girl Scouts Behind Bars” is a program that sponsors sleepovers in three state prisons every summer with girls and their incarcerated moms. Last week, more than a dozen girls spent the nights with their moms on Gig Harbor at the Washington Corrections Center for Women. The quality time they get for that one night is just as important for the inmates as it is for the girls.

UW President returns $95k back to university: Ana Mari Cauce makes a generous heap of money as the president of UW. She would be in the top 25 most-paid college presidents except that she donates all of her deferred compensation (the previously mentioned $95k) to UW scholarship programs. Still, Cauce’s pay—$723,792 annually—makes mince meat out of the already-paltry salaries of professors and teaching assistants at UW.

MGM is suing more than 1,000 Vegas shooting victims: It’s so the company can avoid liability claims from the massacre. A gunman opened fire from the Mandalay Bay hotel last October. Many of the victims are suing MGM for negligence. MGM is retaliating with suits of its own, essentially shopping around for judges who will give a verdict the company likes.

It’s toll time: The State Route 99 tunnel is going to be tolled, there’s no way around it. The Washington State Department of Transportation will set that toll rate today. There are three options. All range from $1.50 to $2.25 in peak travel times. The chosen rate will be sent back to the public for comment. The toll will exist until 2045, or whenever the tunnel is paid off. Only then will the city consider giving us a toll-free tunnel experience.

Seattle company beefs up elementary school security with facial recognition: Ah, that’s what school security systems were missing—the ability to monitor every face that comes on a school’s campus. According to RealNetworks, the company who’s implementing this technology called SAFR, it’s highly accurate and powered by artificial intelligence. It also functions through regular security cameras. Sure, safety is a thing, but so is privacy. Do parents really want their children’s faces saved into a database operated by our future robot overlords?

Is swimming in Seattle lakes worth the risk? Listen, apparently a dip in a Washington lake could kill you. That’s a worst case. Honestly, the worst case for most things. But, toxic algae blooms happen in the waters around here. They’re actually cyanobacteria blooms. They aren’t always toxic but when they are they hit you with either neurotoxins or liver toxins. If you aren’t contracting a neurotoxin from the lake, maybe you’re okay with the probable reality that you’re backstroking through sewage overflow. This Crosscut article lists out every possible thing that could kill, maim, or disgust you in the lakes. There are also people who investigate this stuff as a part of their jobs—like swim beach testing programs.

Fake FBI agent busted for string of crimes: This guy just waltzed into places and robbed places under the guise of the law. He pretended he was an FBI agent and used fictitious names like Agent Jack Ryan and signed fake search warrants to burglar local companies. I guess all you need is a suit and an inflated sense of confidence. Also, a moral void. In the Central District, the suspect stole $130,000. He pleaded guilty to all of the charges: robbery, attempted robbery, and five counts of impersonating a federal official.

Oh, thank god, a reprieve: In a state of weakness, I searched for air conditioner deals on Amazon yesterday for Prime Day. There were none. I suffered in stifling heat until 11 p.m. when the fan I stuffed into my window starting working its magic. But today, well, I don’t have to suffer as much and neither do you. It’s going to be cooler. Marginally at first, but there is a glimmer of hope on the horizon.

A fun fact for your… Tuesday? I thought this deserved a highlight. You’ll still get a fun fact on Friday, I promise.

Kylian Mbappé isn’t all ego: My affections for the 19-year-old French soccer star faltered during the end of the France vs. Belgium match-up last week. Mbappé intentionally delayed the game during extra time when he wouldn’t give the a Belgian player the ball for a Belgium throw-in. That came after a game of Neymar-level flopping. But, Mbappé is fun to watch and he’s really fucking talented. He’s also good inside. He has said he will be donating all of his World Cup earnings—about $449,606—to a charity that helps hospitalized and disabled children play soccer.

There was no collusion, there was no meddling: According to Donald Trump, his new best pal Vlad is as squeaky clean as they come. He’s a real straight shooter and he would—cross his heart, hope to die—never, ever, meddle in U.S. elections. Even though the U.S. Intelligence community says that’s completely wrong, Donald Trump isn’t convinced. His base has already pivoted:

Little update: Looks like there was more than just ass kissing at the Helsinki summit yesterday. (MoD is Ministry of Defense)

Obama spoke at the Nelson Mandela Foundation today: Today would have been Mandela’s 100th birthday. You can watch Obama’s speech live. He is so good at speaking. I forget how nice of a quality that is in a leader of the free world. Or you can watch him dancing in Kenya yesterday:

Warren Buffett donates to Bill Gates’ charity: He gave roughly $3.4 billion to five charities including Gates’ in a continued effort to give his fortune away.

Mystery of the week: Has Prince William ever had a hot dog?

Tonight’s best Seattle entertainment options include: A night of quasi-awkward indie-rock with Chicago’s Joan of Arc, a reading with We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves author Karen Joy Fowler, and a five-course dinner celebrating salmon season.

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...