Good morning, Slog: If you haven’t had a chance to look out your window this morning, let me save you the effort—clouds. Clouds in the morning, clouds in the afternoon, clouds (and some rain) when you get off work, clouds when you go to sleep. As for temperature, you can basically count on 50 degrees all day long too. Weather forecasts of course are subject to change and I will not be held personally responsible if you dress for the weather as I described it and not the actual conditions. 

Before we go any further, we really must hear from cops and courts reporter Ashley Nerbovig:

Adrian Diaz’s love note: The Office of Inspector General released its investigation into former Seattle Police Chief Adrian Diaz and included in the materials a copy of the note that revealed a romantic relationship between him and a subordinate. And let me tell you, it's some tame boring stuff. What's not boring? The fact that his employees were clearly obsessed with him and tracking where he was parking and when he was near this woman's apartment. Isn't there a staffing shortage?

Meanwhile: Don't let this love affair distract from the fact that SPD Officer Kevin Dave, a cop SPD hired despite a sketchy driving history who later hit-and-killed Jaahnavi Kandula, finally faced his court penalties yesterday. The City Attorney's Office settled on a $5,000 fine and driving school. The judge added an additional 40 hours of community service. With all his court stuff wrapped up the only remaining consequences for Dave could come from SPD. The Office of Police Accountability already found Dave violated driving policy and broke the law. Let's see if the department takes it seriously when their employees kill someone with their patrol car.

 

Back on my beat: Yesterday, Council President Sara Nelson announced she will run for re-election. No surprise there, but she did irk me in her press release. But let’s be real—when does she not irk me? Anyway, she said that she represents a shift from ““[y]ears of performative, ideological decisions” to “delivering real results—prioritizing safety, livability, and a city that works for everyone, not just political theater.” I can think of a whole list of “performative, ideological decisions” Nelson’s made over the last three years. In fact, I will make that list and I’ll have it on the blog later today. See ya there!

*Gulp* Okay, I’m trying not to panic, but this did not make me feel great. California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency yesterday over an outbreak of bird flu that’s infected at least 34 Californians so far. Bird Flu—or as the white coats call it, H5N1—has spread across 16 states, infecting more than 60 people since its first detection in March. The U.S. Center For Disease Control And Prevention provided some guidance to keep yourself safe: Avoid direct contact with sick or dead wild birds, poultry, and other animals, use personal protective equipment if you must come in direct contact with these animals, don’t touch surfaces or materials contaminated with saliva, mucous, or feces from animals that may have the virus, and don’t drink raw milk, an evergreen rule in my humble opinion.

Trump’s already president, I guess: President-elect Donald Trump undermined the bipartisan spending plan Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson negotiated to stave off shutdown until March. In a joint statement between Trump and his Vice President, the incoming administration wrote, “Republicans want to support our farmers, pay for disaster relief, and set our country up for success in 2025. The only way to do that is with a temporary funding bill WITHOUT DEMOCRAT GIVEAWAYS combined with an increase in the debt ceiling. Anything else is a betrayal of our country.” Within hours congress scrapped the plan altogether. This massive derailment increases the likelihood of a government shutdown if they can’t figure something out before Saturday. The only way to appease their overlord may be to abolish the debt ceiling altogether, NBC News reported. 

Or maybe Elon Musk's President: It seems unelected bureaucrat and evil billionaire Elon Musk put the pressure on Trump and the Republicans to kill the spending bill, and won. 

In other Trump news: This morning, the Georgia Court of Appeals disqualified Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from her prosecution of President-elect Donald Trump and 18 other co-defendants in the case over his alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 election in the state of Georgia. This marks a partial win for Trump who tried to get Willis booted over her relationship with fellow prosecutor Nathan Wade, but unfortunately for Trump, the court did not find enough evidence to justify "the extreme sanction" of tossing the entire indictment. 

Get his ass: The US House Ethics Committee voted to release its report on former Republican Representative Matt Gaetz, a report thought to be so damaging, Gaetz had to forfeit his chance to get appointed to Trump’s administration. That report should drop in the next few days, according to the BBC. 

For your ears: This songs been in my head for the past few days and I want to pass it along to someone else.