MONDAY, JULY 17 This week of shifty sperm banks, dazzling philanthropy, and vile presidential vetoes kicks off with an unfortunately horrible story that only gets worse as the days go by. Last Days is speaking of the tragedy in Kirkland, Washington, where this morning, firefighters responded to a call about a house on fire. While containing the blaze, firefighters made an awful discovery: two adults and two children, whose bodies were found in an upstairs room of the two-story house. Tomorrow the dead will be identified as 28-year-old Olga Milkin, her 24-year-old sister Lyubov Botvina, and Olga Milkin's two sons, 5-year-old Justin and 3-year-old Andrew. Also identified will be Olga Milkin's husband/Justin and Andrew's father—29-year-old Sgt. Leonid Milkin, who'll learn of his family's tragedy while carrying out a 10-months-and-counting National Guard assignment in Baghdad. On Wednesday, the case will shift from possible arson to multiple murders, as the King County Medical Examiner announces that all four of the victims died from multiple stab wounds to the neck, and police investigators announce the arrest of a male neighbor, suspected of murdering the family, then setting the fire as a cover-up. On Thursday, the Kirkland tragedy will come to a head, as the 24-year-old suspect, Conner Schierman, tells police of drinking himself into a blackout then waking to find himself blood-soaked in the Milkins' home; and the victims' husband/father/brother-in-law Sgt. Leonid Milkin travels from Iraq to tour the charred remains of his family's home. Huge condolences to Mr. Milkin, who probably never dreamed his family's life in Kirkland would prove more dangerous than his tour in Iraq, and stay tuned for updates on Conner Schierman, who's been identified as a Bellevue High School graduate with a history of drug and alcohol problems, and who's been charged with four counts of aggravated murder and one count of first-degree arson.

TUESDAY, JULY 18 In much better news: Despite the fervent wishes of the White House, today the U.S. House of Representatives voted 236–187 to reject a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, putting to rest for another year the congressional debate over the wisdom and/or bigotry of amending the United States Constitution to define marriage as the union of one man and one lady. But the whiff of progress surrounding today's stalemate will dissipate quickly, as tomorrow President Bush will issue his first presidential veto to block legislation that would expand federal funding for embryonic stem-cell research. "This bill would support the taking of innocent human life," said Dubya before a group of families created through the embryo-adoption program. Never mind that such adoptions await a mere 10 percent of embryos created for in vitro fertilization, with the remaining 90 percent discarded as medical waste—for Bush, the potential of stem cells in the search for Alzheimer's and cancer cures is obliterated by simple-minded insistence: "These kids are not spare parts." (Not until they're 18 and stationed in Baghdad.)

WEDNESDAY, JULY 19 In much, much better news: Almost simultaneous with Bush's giant step backward came the Gates Foundation's huge push forward, as the visionary philanthropic organization pledged $287 million to the search for an AIDS vaccine. Less than a month after Melinda Gates declared the discovery of an effective AIDS vaccine to be her "fondest dream," the Gates Foundation has devoted a world-historic sum to making her dream come true, with today's donation going to 16 research teams united in their determination to "veer off the beaten path" of existing AIDS vaccine research, in favor of what the Seattle Post-Intelligencer calls "high-wire AIDS vaccine science." Among the high-wire scientists receiving Gates Foundation funds are a group of British researchers studying unique antibodies made by llamas; a group of Swiss scientists testing an altered poxvirus as an AIDS vaccine; and a Seattle team working with computers to create synthetic proteins tailored to thwart HIV's ability to elude the immune system. "This is the kind of high-risk research that others, like NIH (National Institutes of Health), won't fund," said renowned AIDS researcher Dr. David Ho in the P-I. Congratulations and good luck to all of today's lucky fund recipients, and deep thanks to Bill Gates, who continues to make smashing progress in his quest to become the best World's Richest Man™ in history.

THURSDAY, JULY 20 The week continues with the seedy story of Ken Rigberg, the 27-year-old Los Angeles man who's suing a California sperm bank for negligence and emotional distress after finding a video camera hidden in the ceiling of one of the bank's "donation rooms." According to his Los Angeles Superior Court complaint, shared with the world by The Smoking Gun, Rigberg discovered the pinhole camera during a June 2005 visit to Pasadena's Pacific Reproductive Services, when he "noticed an unusual hole in the ceiling tile" of a private room where he'd just masturbated into a cup. Closer inspection revealed "a hidden surveillance camera on top of the ceiling tile, with the lens of the camera positioned to... capture the activity within the private donor room." In his lawsuit, Rigberg describes himself as a "regular sperm donor" providing "an honorable and essential benefit to his community." But since he discovered the secret spy gadget, the "emotionally traumatized" Rigberg "no longer donates sperm, as he fears future illegal surveillance of his private acts." For his "fear, shame, humiliation, and chagrin," Rigberg is seeking unspecified monetary damages.

•• Speaking of shifty doings with bodily fluids: Today brings a secondhand sighting from Hot Tipper MJ, who writes, "Today my friend M. found the following three items in close proximity to each other on the jungle gym at the playground of Columbia City's Whitworth Elementary School: (1) A panty liner, (2) The box from a home pregnancy test, and (3) A cup of urine. The test itself was nowhere to be found, but we can only hope it was negative, because someone who pees in a cup and tests her urine in an elementary-school playground should probably not become a parent."

FRIDAY, JULY 21 Today brings a miraculous and heartwarming story to counterbalance the fatal family horror that kicked off the week. The scene: a public hot tub at the Radisson Parkway Hotel in Osceola County, Florida. The trouble: a mysterious rush of suction that pulled 14-year-old Aljuwon Pipkin to the bottom of the tub, trapping him underwater. The hero: father Sharif Pipkin, who jumped into the water and breathed air into his son's mouth for seven minutes, after which rescue workers were able to free the (unconscious) boy and rush him to the emergency room. After a week in the hospital—much of it spent in critical condition—Aljuwon awoke, and was sent home with a clean bill of health and no permanent damage. Hurrah for all involved.

SATURDAY, JULY 22 Today was hot.

SUNDAY, JULY 23 Today was hotter.

Heat makes us stupid. Send Hot Tips to lastdays@thestranger.com.