Good morning! The gods have smiled upon us this morning, with a cool breeze and a high of 69. This is the perfect weather for walks in the park, outdoor coffee dates, or protesting ICE.

Until then, let’s do the news. There’s a lot happening this week, so you’ll be hearing from a few of us today. 

ICE Protesters Downtown: Hundreds of Seattleites showed up to shout down the ICE raids that are happening around the country—and that are likely headed our way, if you believe the Trump administration (we do, in this case). The rally started at Cal Anderson Park, and marched down to the Federal Building downtown. That's where things got a little spicy. Protesters pulled trash cans into the street, lit a literal dumpster fire, and set off fireworks. SPD pepper sprayed the crowd, made evacuation announcements by helicopter, and arrested at least 8 people. Watch our Instagram account for more on this later today. 

Another Boeing Crash: A London-bound Air India passenger plane crashed today in northwestern India. Officials say more than 240 people were on the plane, and there were no known survivors. Plus, when the plane crashed, part of it landed on a medical school, killing five students and injuring 50 more. This is the first time that a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner has crashed—a fact that absolutely no one is taking comfort in. 

Crackdown in Spokane: Two immigration protests hit the streets of Spokane yesterday. About 1,000 people came out to protest ICE raids around the country, and hundreds of them blocked federal immigration enforcement agents from leaving a downtown immigration office, reportedly with refugees who had been detained at court hearings earlier that day. The protests clearly shook the Spokane mayor, who issued a 9:30 p.m. curfew—the first since the 2020 George Floyd protests. Cops arrested more than 30 people and quibbled over the fact that they were accused of using tear gas on the crowd. They didn’t use tear gas, you see, they used smoke grenades and pepper balls.

RealPage Is on Its Way Out: The software that automates your landlord’s worst instincts is one step closer to being banned in Seattle. Yesterday, City Council’s housing committee voted 4-0 to ban RealPage, the rent fixing software that helps landlords artificially drive up rent costs. By one estimate, RealPage users control 60 percent of apartment housing in Downtown Seattle, Capitol Hill, Central District, South Lake Union, and Queen Anne. Landlord lobbyists asked the council to drag their feet and wait for the DOJ’s lawsuits against RealPage to play out, but even our landlord-friendly council called bullshit on that. The full council will vote on it on Monday.

Citizenship for Sale: For the low, low price of $5 million, you too can have Trump’s Gold Card, an obviously corrupt path to citizenship in the US that looks like a tacky ripoff of the Amex Gold Card. The program hasn’t officially launched yet, but it now has its very own website. People can enter their name and country of origin into what I’m pretty sure is a SquareSpace form. Money can’t buy taste. Or cybersecurity, apparently.

The Southern Baptists Are Coming for Gay Marriage: The Southern Baptist Convention, which represents 13 million evangelicals in the US, voted yesterday to commit to trying to overturn gay marriage in the United States. They’re clearly feeling bold after their success killing Roe v. Wade—the result of a 50-year fight on their part—and they think they can learn from that, and turn this around.

Here’s some news for ya from Stranger Staff Writer Nathalie Graham.

All Women Welcome at Olympus Spa: A federal appeals court ruled that Olympus Spa, the women-only spa with locations in Lynnwood and Tacoma, cannot discriminate against trans women. The appeals comes after a 2023 lawsuit from spa owners stating their First Amendment rights would be violated if they allowed trans women into the facility for soaks, scrubs, and steams. The court ruled Washington’s anti-discrimination law did not in fact violate the spa owners’ rights to the freedom of religion, speech, and association. Go get those scrubs, girls. 

Cool New Florida Policy: Gov. Ron DeSantis told The Rubin Report that Floridians can hit protesters with their cars if you need to flee for your safety. DeSantis’ comments come in advance of Saturday’s nation-wide No Kings protests.

Fulbright Scholarship Board Quits After Trump Meddling: Eleven of the 12 board members overseeing the prestigious Fulbright scholarship program meant to “promote international exchange and American diplomacy” resigned Wednesday. In a statement, they said the Trump administration “usurped the board’s authority” and meddled in the selection process, denying awards to “a substantial number of people” already chosen for the scholarship, according to the Associated Press.

“Is this fucking play about us?” Donald and Melania Trump had a big night out at the Kennedy Center on Wednesday night. What did they see? Les Misérables, a musical about the 1832 uprising against the authoritarian regime of a new French king. Do you think Trump felt at least a twinge of self-reflection, a moment of clarity, when he heard the people sing the song of angry men, the music of a people who would not be slaves again? Or nah? Was he wondering why it wasn’t Cats?

And now I’ll hand it off to Stranger Staff Writer Vivian McCall.

Dumb and dumber, and dumber, and dumber, and dumber … Robert F. Kennedy Jr. named the eight doctors and researchers he’s picked to replace the 17 he fired on the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. This panel is extremely important. It develops recommendations for vaccines and helps set the childhood vaccination schedule. This in turn influences what vaccines are covered by health insurance. Kennedy is a vaccine denier. His picks reflect that. Dr. Robert Malone has made a name undermining the COVID vaccine. Martin Kulldorff, a Swedish biostatistician, has advised the CDC in the past, but questioned COVID lockdowns and COVID vaccines for kids. Dr. Vicky Pebsworth, a nurse with a PhD in public health, serves on the board of the conspiracy-driving National Vaccine Information Center. Dr. Retsef Levi has made claims that the COVID-19 vaccines caused “unprecedented levels of harm” to kids. At least one of these picks, Dr. Cody Meissner, is a legitimate vaccinologist, public health experts told The New York Times. 

Brian Wilson Died: Losing Sly Stone was enough for one week, but then The Beach Boy of Beach Boys died. Wilson was a transcendent musician with an unbelievable ear for harmony and an almost spooky sense for what made a great pop song. It’s too hard to send him off with just one song, so I won’t. Pet Sounds really is that good. I love the flawed darkness of Surf’s Up, particularly the title track co-written with Van Dyke Parks. The Beach Boys Love You is genius. “Don’t Worry Baby,” Wilson’s reply to the Ronettes’ Be My Baby, took a corny story about a drag race and made great art.