Today is the day.
Today is the day. Sean Pavone / Getty Images

Trump's second Supreme Court nominee will be announced today at 6 pm: We remain trapped in a reality series that only 46 percent of Americans voted to air, and tonight President Trump will reveal the surprise ending to the latest cliffhanger in prime time! Of course he's milking the suspense like mad and—surprise!—decided yesterday to grant himself "an extra 12 hours to make his choice, telling reporters it would come before noon on Monday. He had previously said the choice would be made by Sunday." Extra special twist: this isn't about the fake board room of The Apprentice and who gets to sit there, it's about a lifetime appointment to the US Supreme Court, the future of Roe v. Wade, further erosions to collective bargaining rights, de-regulation of industry, and—depending on what Mueller does—two Trump-appointed justices ruling on whether the president can be subpoenaed or indicted, whether the president can pardon himself, and whether this whole Russia investigation is just an unconstitutional hoax.

Don't forget that this all rests on the actions of Mitch McConnell: "This is the world Mitch McConnell gave us" by crafting the conditions for Trumpism, stealing a Supreme Court pick from President Obama so that Trump could pick Gorsuch instead, and continuing to stand by a president who, to take just one recent outrage, oversaw a policy of separating asylum-seeking mothers from their children at the US border. Over the weekend, protesters found McConnell at a restaurant in Louisville, Kentucky and shouted at him, "Where are the babies, Mitch?"

Another major consequence of Trump getting two Supreme Court picks:


The Trump trade war continues, and will have serious consequences: "Numbers provided to me by the Brookings Institution," Greg Sargent reports, "suggest that those consequences will most directly impact the counties that voted for Trump." This whole thing is, according to Politico, an expression of "the soul of Trumpism."

And what if Trump has been a Russian asset since 1987? "A plausible theory of mind-boggling collusion," from Jonathan Chait.

Carmen Best is back in the running to be Seattle's Police Chief: Cameron McLay, a former police chief from Pittsburgh, had been a likely candidate for the job. But, Steve Miletich reports, "as a white male, his selection risked setting off further community backlash over the absence of Best, an African-American woman who had won widespread support in the department and community for her skills and outreach during her 26 years in the department." Sources now tell Miletich that Mayor Jenny Durkan has “genuine affection” for Best, even though, as Miletich reports, "there also were concerns that Best was too friendly with Seattle police Sgt. Rich O’Neill, the vice president of the Seattle Police Officers’ Guild, who has been at the center of contentious negotiations with the city over police-accountability reforms and a polarizing figure when he served as union president in the past."

The Seattle streetcar is over budget: By $500,000.

City Light spending up, City Light rates up, number of City Light executives up, major City Light projects up, but... "Customer consumption of electricity is declining due to advances in energy efficiency, causing the utility to collect less revenue than projected and to take on additional debt," reports Daniel Beekman.

Oh, and the United States, under Trump, has made it a priority to work against breasts: You'll never guess whose interests lined up with the Trump administration's recent attempt to oppose a World Health Assembly resolution encouraging breastfeeding. "Based on decades of research, the resolution says that mother’s milk is healthiest for children and countries should strive to limit the inaccurate or misleading marketing of breast milk substitutes," The New York Times reports. "Then the United States delegation, embracing the interests of infant formula manufacturers, upended the deliberations."

As it does, the world spins on—last night in spectacular style:


Tonight's best Seattle entertainment options include: The I'm Shy Zine Release Party (featuring Stranger music calendar editor Kim Selling), Navy Strenth's RAICES benefit Seattle Cares, Do YOU, and the closing of SAM Gallery group show Splitting Image.