Weather: Today will be mostly sunny with a high of 64 degrees, which means the goddess Ishtar is in a good mood, just not good enough for 70. Go outside, bask in that filtered nuclear radiation we call sunshine, and remember: the planet’s still spinning… for now.

100 Days of This Shit. Trump marked his first 100 days by dancing to “YMCA” in Michigan, grinning through the lowest approval rating of any president in 80 years. In those hundred days, he’s gutted the government to make room for billionaire-led privatization, weaponized antisemitism to justify mass detention and deportation, and pushed strategy-free tariffs with zero investment in the infrastructure needed to bring back manufacturing jobs. He’s deporting children. Tearing families apart. Sending people to El Salvador prison camps without due process. Slashing cancer research. Eliminating food safety rules. Resegregating the federal workforce. Scrapping USAID—setting the stage for 25 million preventable deaths worldwide. And it’s only been 100 days.

Meanwhile, in California: Kamala Harris is expected to speak out against Trump tonight as she inches toward a run for CA Governor. But don’t expect a bold stand against authoritarianism from someone who campaigned with a Cheney and voted to fund the genocide in Gaza. Meanwhile, Tim Walz is out on a self-described “listening tour,” sharing that Harris chose him in part to help “code talk” to white guys. Who says DEI is dead!?! And while the political class postures, 55,000 LA County workers are on strike. After being offered zero percent cost-of-living raise—even as the county pours millions into a new downtown skyscraper—clerks, janitors, healthcare workers, parks staff, and social workers are shutting it all down. Libraries, public restrooms, clinics: closed. It’s the first time SEIU Local 721 has gone countywide. “This is the workforce that got LA through wildfires, pandemics, and every crisis in between,” said union president David Green. “We’ve had it.”

Bird Flu Crisis: The US is dangerously underreacting to the spread of bird flu, warn virologists from the Global Virus Network. Since March 2024, the virus has hit all 50 states and Puerto Rico, leading to the deaths of tens of millions of poultry and infecting over 1,000 dairy herds. It’s already killed one person and sickened 70 others, all from animal-to-human transmission. Experts say it’s only a matter of time before the disease spreads between humans unless the US ramps up its response. With a high mortality rate, the clock is ticking on us avoiding a full-scale pandemic. 

Columbia Student Freed: Columbia student Mohsen Mahdawi walked into what he thought was a citizenship interview—and the government threw a bag over his head like he was in a goddamn spy novel. Why? Because he dared to protest genocide, and apparently that now qualifies as a “national security threat.” A judge thankfully freed him this morning, calling it McCarthyism 2.0. 

SPD on Hiring Spree: Seattle’s police department is on a hiring spree—60 new officers so far this year, and they’re aiming for 200 by the end of 2025. Because, obviously, the best way to fix systemic issues is to just hire more people who are part of the system. They’re offering massive bonuses and fast-tracking recruits to fill the gap left after the 2020 protests. And in a stunning move for diversity, they’re aiming for 30 percent women in the force by 2030. Because, when you’re getting your neck stepped on by boots and tear-gassed during protests, it’s great to know at least the people doing the stepping and gassing are as inclusive as possible.

Finally, hockey equity!  Look, I could care less about hockey—I mean, I do care less, I’m actively caring less right now—but I’m all in for equity in sports. So consider me tepidly thrilled that Seattle just landed a Professional Women’s Hockey League team. The team’s called “PWHL Seattle” for now, which isn’t so much a name as it is a Wi-Fi password. But they’ll be wearing emerald green and cream—basically if a matcha latte laced up skates and came to fight. They’ll play at Climate Pledge Arena with the Kraken and the Storm, making it the most woke arena in America: zero emissions, 100 percent chance of fan-led chants of "defund the refs." And yes, we’re already warming up our passive-aggressive hockey hate for Vancouver, because nothing brings people together like sports-fueled regional resentment.

Funding cuts coming to Higher Ed: Washington’s public colleges are about to get hit with some major funding cuts because when there’s a budget deficit, why shouldn’t education be one of the first things on the chopping block, I guess? The University of Washington is bracing for a 5 percent funding reduction, and Washington State University is scrambling to figure out how to stretch its resources to keep serving students without totally falling apart. Meanwhile, a new law (SB 5785) is about to slash financial aid for students—especially those at private schools—and leave many students without the grants they rely on to get an education. Of course, this disproportionately affects students of color and low-income students. Way to sure the people who can least afford it bear the brunt of the financial “sacrifice.” 

Our air quality sucks. A recent report revealed that Seattle’s air quality is the equivalent of inhaling into a barbecue pit every time you take a breath. The city just ranked 9th worst in the U.S. for short-term particle pollution, which is a fancy way of saying, “Hey, want to take a deep breath of wildfire smoke and industrial fumes?” And, of course, half of America is now living with air so toxic, it’s like Mother Nature’s version of a deep fryer. Meanwhile, the White House is considering weakening pollution rules, which is exactly what we need—more smog and fewer rules. Makes perfect sense, right?

Literers, Beware! State lawmakers voted to more than double a fine on litterbugs. Starting this summer, if you get caught tossing a grocery bag’s worth of trash, you’re looking at a $125 fine—plus a potential $93 for leaving it on the highway. So basically, you’ll be paying more for your trash than you do for your streaming services. But this isn’t just about keeping our state pretty. In 2022, Washington had nearly 38 million pounds of litter dumped every year. That’s almost five pounds per person. We’re shelling out $12 million a year just to clean up after people who treat the roadside like their personal dumpster. If you're chucking trash out your car window, I don't feel bad for you—I feel bad for the squirrel that has to live next to your empty Taco Bell bag. Seriously, get a grip and use a trash can.

Volcano primed to erupt! So there’s an underwater volcano off the coast of Oregon that’s acting up, and it might erupt for the first time in years (so far, it's erupted in 1998, 2011, and 2015). Scientists are seeing some signs—earthquakes, magma buildup—but don’t freak out, they’re not expecting it to cause the next Pacific Northwest apocalypse. It’s not like a land volcano that’s gonna send shockwaves and tsunamis; this thing’s got water on top of it, so it’s more like a minor inconvenience than a catastrophic event. Still, if it blows, it’ll be a rare chance to witness something the world’s barely seen, so let’s just sit back, relax, and watch nature do its thing.

Be grateful for the sun. From the film itself to the soundtrack, I can’t get enough of Ryan Coogler’s masterpiece Sinners, so I’ll leave you with this lushly haunting track from the movie that’ll make you grateful for seeing the sun no matter what unique hell the day has in store.