After Mexican forces killed Nemesio “El Mencho” Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, the longtime head of the ultraviolent Jalisco New Generation Cartel, violence erupted across Jalisco, grounding flights and leaving American vacationers stranded mid-winter break in Puerto Vallarta, with some hotels urging guests not to even attempt the airport. A Seattle traveler, Colleen EchoHawk, said her family could see smoke from their resort and is now doing that uniquely 2026 thing: calm, informed panic while refreshing flight alerts. The US Embassy is advising Americans to shelter in place and avoid law-enforcement activity as airlines cautiously reschedule. It’s the same grim pattern on repeat: a high-profile cartel takedown, a nationwide retaliation wave, and civilians stuck in the fallout. 

And now, as mandated by the 24-hour news cycle, the Trump portion of our programming.

Tariff Talk: After the Supreme Court ruled that his sweeping tariffs were an overreach, Donald Trump claims he can now deploy tariffs in a “more powerful and obnoxious way” (his words). The catch: no one, from the UK to the EU, is totally sure whether the new global tariff he’s asserting is 10 percent or 15 percent, which is not ideal if you enjoy functioning supply chains. While Trump’s team insists existing deals remain in place, European officials are demanding “clarity” and hinting at hitting pause on ratification. Meanwhile, US Customs is deactivating some tariff codes and up to $175 billion in past tariff revenue could be subject to refunds.

President Trump is reportedly weighing a “targeted” strike on Iran, with the option to escalate to a much larger attack aimed at regime change, if last-ditch nuclear talks in Geneva collapse. As two US carrier groups amass in the region (because nothing says diplomacy like parking an armada offshore), negotiators are scrambling over a possible off-ramp that would allow limited uranium enrichment for medical use. If this feels like Iraq War déjà vu with better wifi, that’s because once again the “pressure campaign” risks becoming a forever war no one voted for.

On the eve of his State of the Union address, a new NPR/PBS/Marist poll says most Americans are not exactly feeling the “strong nation” vibes: 57 percent say the union is not strong, and 60 percent think the country is worse off than a year ago. A majority also say Trump is steering things in a “change for the worse” direction, and more than half report his policies have negatively affected them personally. Meanwhile, 78 percent see a serious threat to democracy, and 68 percent say checks and balances aren’t working. The partisan split remains stark, but independents are increasingly skeptical, making this State of the Union feel like a live attempt at political CPR.

Well, color me not shocked: an analysis by The Guardian of nearly 140,000 DHS records found that 77 percent of people put into deportation proceedings for the first time in 2025 had no criminal convictions. Of the 23 percent who did, nearly half of those were for nonviolent traffic or immigration offenses, with just 1 percent involving sexual assault and less than 1 percent homicide. The data, which was dragged into daylight via a FOIA lawsuit, confirms what anyone with functioning eyeballs (or a pulse) already suspected: this isn’t precision-level crackdown on violent crime, it’s a Costco-sized dragnet scooping up longtime community members over paperwork glitches and busted taillights. The supposed “public safety threat” looks less like a cartel kingpin and more like the neighbor who forgets to renew his tabs on time and still waves when you bring in the trash cans.

The BAFTA used its two-hour delay to cut “Free Palestine” and a spicy political joke from Alan Cumming, but somehow let an involuntary slur shouted from the audience air while Sinners actors Michael B Jordan and Delroy Lindo were presenting. The blunder overshadowed a bigger story: after years of #BaftasSoWhite backlash, reforms appear to be working, with wins for Wunmi Mosaku and Ryan Coogler signaling real change. Even more chaotic-good, Robert Aramayo beat out Leonardo DiCaprio for best actor, apparently forcing voters to actually watch the nominees can produce plot twists. 

A 21-year-old North Carolina man, identified as Austin Tucker Martin, was shot and killed by Secret Service agents after breaching the perimeter of Mar-a-Lago with a shotgun and gas can; authorities say he raised the weapon after being ordered to drop it. President Donald Trump was in Washington at the time, and no agents were injured. Neighbors back in North Carolina described Martin as quiet and kind, a recent high school grad who’d been reported missing hours earlier, adding a layer of heartbreak and confusion to an already surreal scene at America’s most securitized country club. Investigators are now working to determine a motive.

While the Northeast faces a blizzard, Western Washington is entering its “atmospheric rinse cycle” era, with storm systems lined up to deliver rain, gusty winds, and a whole lot of mountain snow through next week. A Winter Weather Advisory is in effect for the Cascades until 1 p.m. Monday, with 6-12 inches expected at the passes (hi, Snoqualmie), and potentially several feet in the mountains by week’s end—so maybe don’t test your bald tires’ main character energy. Lower elevations can expect 1-3 inches of rain, dropping snow levels, and that classic Seattle forecast: “unsettled,” aka keep the parka emotionally and physically accessible.

Washington gas prices have shot up nearly 50 cents in a month, averaging around $4.29 a gallon, making us the third-most expensive state after California and Hawaii. The big culprit is the seasonal switch to pricier summer-blend fuel, plus refinery maintenance and global oil drama (hi, geopolitical tension), which means the West Coast gets hit first and hardest. In short: about half what you’re paying is crude oil, the rest is refining, distribution, taxes, and vibes—and the vibes are saying “maybe take public transit.”

A 41-year-old man is being held on $2 million bail at King County Jail after a judge found probable cause to investigate a second-degree murder charge in connection with a fatal shooting in Capitol Hill. According to SPD, the shooting followed a fight Friday night in Seattle, where one man had a gun and the other a box cutter; the victim was shot multiple times and died at the scene. Prosecutors expect a felony case referral this week as the investigation continues.

The United States Coast Guard has suspended its search for a 21-year-old kayaker who went missing after his boat overturned on Friday near Hazel Point. He wasn’t wearing a life jacket, and despite a massive, multi-agency effort covering 43 square miles, including helicopter and boat crews, search teams were unable to locate him. It’s a heartbreaking reminder that our waters are no joke: beautiful, yes; forgiving, absolutely not. So please, wear the life jacket, even if it clashes with the hoodie.

As a partial shutdown over Department of Homeland Security funding lurches along, protesters in Bellevue and Tacoma rallied in the rain this weekend demanding “ICE Out” of their cities. Meanwhile, even as some DHS workers are furloughed or unpaid, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests and deportation flights continue, with removals still departing near Boeing Field. Translation: the shutdown may pause paychecks, but it hasn’t paused enforcement—so the streets, like the deportation machine, remain fully operational.

Shutdown chaos also hit Seattle-Tacoma International Airport Sunday, when travelers were told TSA PreCheck was suspended, only to have TSA reverse itself an hour later after staff had already scrambled to change signage. PreCheck is back, but Global Entry remains offline thanks to the ongoing funding fight at the Department of Homeland Security. So yes, keep your shoes on, but if you’re flying international, please enjoy this live demonstration of a superpower held together with Post-it notes and vibes.

It’s Black History Month, it’s W.E.B. Du Bois’s birthday, and honestly? If there were ever a day to spend three minutes with one of the most brilliant, side-eye-ready, ahead-of-his-time scholars, “agitators,” and intellectuals to ever do it, this is it: