Muslim boy slain in Chicago: A six-year-old Muslim boy died after his Illinois landlord allegedly stabbed him dozens of times. His mother, 32, survived, but was seriously wounded. Authorities believe the suspect targeted the mother and son because of their faith and the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas. 

Rite Aid in the red: The pharmacy chain filed for bankruptcy. Unprofitable stores and opioid crisis lawsuits such as one from the Justice Department, which alleged the company "knowingly" filled hundreds of thousands of unlawful prescriptions for controlled substances," has put the drug store deep into the hole. Rite Aid's debt load is around $4 billion. I bet when the Rite Aid stores start closing in Seattle the company will pin all the blame on petty theft and shoplifters. 

Fun weather day ahead: Fog this morning, showers ahead, and a chance of thunderstorms. 

Another trial for Amanda Knox: Knox, who did not actually murder her roommate in Italy in 2007 despite spending four years in an Italian prison, was found guilty of slander for "falsely implicating another man" in the roommate's death. However, in a new trial, the slander ruling was overturned. 

The Seattle Times analyzed 7,000 bus stops: The transportation lab team traced bus ridership across the Seattle metropolitan area from 2019 through 2023 to see how the pandemic impacted bus trips and how those numbers have rebounded. For the most part, it's what you would expect. Ridership declined across the area and then slowly returned. However, in lower-income, less-white areas where people may not own cars or may not have a job that can be remote, ridership "dipped less and returned faster." Stop 8110 near Rainier Beach High School saw almost no decrease in ridership" in 2020, and ridership in 2023 is "120% of what it was in 2019." Stops in whiter neighborhoods like Magnolia, Ballard, and parts of the Eastside haven't made it back to pre-pandemic ridership levels. 

OL Reign clinched a playoff berth: Soccer player Megan Rapinoe's last regular season game with the Reign will not be her last soccer game ever. The soon-to-retire legend scored twice within three minutes of the second half in the pivotal match against the Chicago Red Stars. The Reign needed to win in order to go onto the playoffs. The Reign won 3-0. Everybody better show the fuck up when the playoff games happen in Seattle. 

Goal 1:

Goal 2:

Piss City, USA: Seattle has a public restroom issue. So, the Seattle Times asked people where they pee when they're out and about and can't find a toilet. The answer is everywhere. People from all walks of life are tinkling in the alleys, the parks, in bottles, in strategically-worn diapers. This city is embarrassing. Build places for us to pee, damn it. 

Supplies running out in Gaza: Trucks carrying much-needed supplies such as food, water, and medical supplies are waiting at Rafah, a crossing between Gaza and Egypt. But Israel will not open the crossing to let the trucks in or to let foreigners in Gaza out. Meanwhile, Gaza hospitals are on the verge of collapse. Generators and incubators only have a day left of fuel. Water rations are down to one liter per person per day. 

Death toll so far: In the 10 days since fighting began, the death toll is already higher than the 2014 Gaza war on both sides—a conflict that lasted six weeks. Hamas has killed around 1,400 Israelis, most of whom were killed in the initial Oct 7 attacks. Israel has killed 2,750 Palestinians and wounded 9,700 from carrying out air strikes on civilian neighborhoods. The bombings continue.  

As a ground invasion looms, the US sends a second aircraft carrier to the Mediterranean. This display of force is meant to discourage Iran or Iranian proxies such as Hezbollah in Lebanon from getting involved in the conflict. Meanwhile, President Joe Biden has told Israel not to reoccupy Gaza. It seems like a ground invasion is still in the works, however, there are more Israeli hostages than originally reported—199 instead of 150—which could complicate matters since Israel doesn't want to accidentally kill its own people. 

Alright, enough war for now: Let's palate cleanse with shots of Saturday's eclipse:

In Polish election news: Exit polls show that Poland will likely oust its right-wing ruling party's majority in parliament. Voter turnout reached 73%, the highest turnout since communism fell in 1989. The centrist party, which won around 31% of the vote compared to the right's 36%, has a better chance of forming a coalition among the other less-conservative parties represented in Poland's parliament. 

Far-right ideology comes for California's schools: Traveling far-right activists have been clogging school board meetings up and down the Golden State, decrying LGBTQ+ friendly policies as "grooming" and baselessly accusing teachers of indoctrination. These groups have big conservative backers. The Los Angeles Times found that these groups are funded by "California Policy Center, Moms for Liberty, the Leadership Institute, Turning Point USA and evangelical megachurches." This is part of a larger trend in California where conservatives are advancing on the state's schools since its "one of the only arenas in which conservatives can affect policy, given Democrats’ supermajority in the state Legislature." That, and people historically don't pay a ton of attention to school board races. 

A bed bug renaissance: Bed bugs aren't just a Paris issue. Bed bugs are surging all over the world these days because people are traveling more than ever before, more people live in cities, and the little fuckers have evolved so they can resist most pesticides, insecticides, and even DDT.