This Government Really Is The Worst: Late Saturday night, Trump's U.S. Department of Agriculture issued a memo ordering states to give back any Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits it issued last week. According to KING5, "Washington state has already distributed full benefits to approximately 250,000 households." The Trump administration is threatening states with financial liability if they don’t "immediately undo" these "unauthorized" payments to low-income families. States only issued those funds because a federal judge ruled the Trump administration could not withhold them during the government shutdown. But the heartless devils on the Supreme Court paused that judge's order, casting SNAP into purgatory.
What the hell is going to happen? A federal appeals court blocked the Supreme Court's order, so presumably benefits should flow again, but who knows?
Flight Cancellations Climb at SeaTac: Friday saw 28 cancellations, Saturday had 39, and Sunday hit 70. Last week, the Federal Aviation Administration ordered airlines to reduce flights during the government shutdown. Across the country, 2,200 flights were cancelled Sunday. Will it keep getting worse?
To Answer Both Those Hypothetical Questions: Cowardly Democrats might be buckling and about to end the shutdown. These moderate idiots indicated they're going to reach a deal with Republicans without a guaranteed extension of healthcare benefits. Instead, these chumps are going to fund the government and trust Republicans as they pinky swear they'll hold a vote to fund Affordable Care Act subsidies in mid-December. Part of the deal includes reinstating federal workers fired during the shutdown and giving backpay to furloughed workers—something that had never been in doubt before. Eight Democratic senators broke rank with their party to reach this bad deal. So far, they've only done a test vote. Sen. Bernie Sanders said giving up the fight was a “horrific mistake.”
Essentially:
DONALD TRUMP: [asleep, drooling on long red tie]
SENATE DEMOCRATS: fine, we give in
— born miserable (@bornmiserable.bsky.social) November 9, 2025 at 6:37 PM
In Case You Want to Yell at Them: Here are the names of those Senators: Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois, Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania (duh, right?), Senator Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, Senator Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, Senator Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, Senator Jacky Rosen of Nevada. None are up for reelection next year. Some are retiring at the end of this term. They are all spineless and dumb.
Don't Make Me Eat My Words: The Supreme Court isn't entirely depraved, I suppose. This morning, the Court announced it would not hear the case to challenge same-sex marriage. Former Kentucky county clerk and three-time divorcee Kim Davis brought the case after she was jailed and ordered to pay thousands of dollars in fines for not doing her job when she refused to issue any marriage licenses because she opposed same-sex marriage.
Lenny Wilkens Is Dead: Basketball legend, three-time hall of fame inductee, and SuperSonics coach Lenny Wilkens is dead at 88. He will now only do slam dunks in heaven.
North Seattle Stabbing, Then Standoff: In Greenwood on Friday, police arrested a 51-year-old man after a stabbing in a group home. This guy did not come easily. He barricaded himself inside. It took five hours, a SWAT team, and hostage negotiators to get him to come out. His victim, a man in his 70s, died at the scene.
Girmay Zahilay Makes History: Zahilay has officially been elected as King County Executive. He will become the first immigrant and first refugee to ever hold the position. In a national political climate so hostile to America's founding ethos as a nation of immigrants, Zahilay's assumption of King County's biggest seat of power is a statement. Since he's filling Dow Constantine's shoes after the 16-year incumbent bowed out early to become Sound Transit CEO, Zahilay will start his new role quickly—on Nov. 25. (Fear not, King County has not been captainless, appointee Shannon Braddock has been the interim executive.)
Stay Tuned: This afternoon could reveal who our next mayor is. Monday afternoon's ballot drop might indicate a clear winner between Katie Wilson and incumbent Bruce Harrell. Experts are calling it a "coin flip." We on the SECB did not plan on celebrating no nut November. Will we get our sweet release, or a ruined orgasm? Study up on our takeaways from Friday's ballot drop.
The Weather: Cloudy, not too cold. Rain could come, too. These are the days in which you must always assume a chance of rain. The sky is always full of possibility.
No Doubt about Rain in the Philippines: Super Typhoon Fung-wong battered the Philippines' northern coast on Sunday. At least two people died and more than a million people fled to escape "flash floods, landslide, and tidal surges."
Super Typhoon Fung-wong made landfall in the Philippines on Sunday. At least two deaths have been reported and over a million people were pre-emptively evacuated from their homes. nyti.ms/4hMp3TC
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— The New York Times (@nytimes.com) November 9, 2025 at 11:00 PM
Shark Killers: Great white sharks started washing up dead in South Africa in 2017. In Gansbaai on the Western Cape, great whites used to flourish. But they soon disappeared. Something was killing them. What was it? Scientists eventually figured it out. Killer whales, aka orcas. Not a sneaky name. The orcas were precisely biting the sharks between their pectoral fins and sucking out their livers. Rumor has it they do a good Anthony Hopkins impression, too.
The sharks have fled the area. Now, their usual prey—such as the cape fur seal and the bronze whaler shark—are flourishing, which is fucking up the food chain and disrupting the ecosystem. It's a mess. Thanks for nothing, blood-thirsty orcas. But, if we really want a culprit for shark deaths we should look to ourselves. Overfishing is a far bigger killer of shark populations. Speaking of sharks, I watched a crazy movie this weekend about sharks killing people in Japanese hot springs.
A Good Sign? Trump became the first sitting president since Jimmy Carter to attend an NFL football game when he watched the Washington Commanders lose to the Detroit Lions on Sunday. The fans booed him. UPDATE: I have been informed that Trump attended the Super Bowl this year (a game I technically watched, so should have remembered), so this is the first regular season NFL game a sitting president has attended since Carter.
Big Day for Criminals: Trump issued pardons for people like Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell, and Mark Meadows for their role in trying to steal the 2020 presidential election. In total, 77 people received pardons. However, they're only good for a get-out-of-jail card in the federal justice system. People like Giuliani and Meadows who face legal trouble in state courts will still need to deal with all of that. Many of those pardoned are in hot water in "numerous states that Biden won, including Georgia, Arizona, Michigan, Michigan, Wisconsin and Nevada," according to The Guardian.
Big Foot on Vacation: Pennsylvanians may have spotted Washington's favorite cryptid in October. According to the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization, they received a very credible report from a a retired civil engineer and Air Force veteran who say a tall, shadowy, humanoid creature cross—no, glide across—a highway and easily step over (or, hurdle—he wasn't sure) a guardrail. Two other people reported seeing something ("I don’t know WHAT I saw. I’m an avid hunter with +50 years in the woods. This was not a bear.”) in the area that day as well.
A Song for Your Monday: Local band, Pansy, which is led by our very own Vivian McCall released its sophomore EPon Friday. Look, I may be biased but its bangers only on here. Don't believe me? Then believe Paste Magazine. Here's one song off the new album:
