How are those US-Iran negotiations going? They’re stalled. After a Sunday call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Donald Trump posted on social media: “For Iran, the Clock is Ticking, and they better get moving, FAST, or there won’t be anything left of them.” Monday, Iran’s foreign ministry said it had responded to the latest US proposal via Pakistan. According to Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency, Iran had asked for an immediate end to the war, including Israeli attacks on the Iran-supported Hezbollah in Lebanon, and the American naval blockade of Iranian ports.
Drone Attack: As signs point to Trump resuming his unpopular and unnecessary war to destroy an Iranian nuclear program that does not exist, a drone strike started a fire at a nuclear power plant in the United Arab Emirates. No one has been blamed for the strike.
Unpopularity Contest: According to a New York Times poll, 64 percent of voters think Trump’s decision to go to war with Iran was the wrong one.
Shooting Injures Three Bystanders Outside Cultura Club: Police say an “altercation” broke out between three men and security guards at the Capitol Hill nightclub around 1:10 a.m. Monday. As the three men walked away, at least one turned back and fired a gun. The bullets hit three other men, bystanders who were not involved. One was critically injured. The two others are seriously injured, police say. Police provided first aid until they could be taken to Harborview. The suspects ran and have not been found, police say.
$$$: Public defenders in Washington want to set new limits on cash bail through a proposal to the Washington State Supreme Court. KUOW has the details.
Hiker Dies on Mount Si: Around 7 p.m. on May 10, a hiker called the King County Sheriff’s Office to report a man lying face down and bleeding from his head. An autopsy showed multiple blunt force injuries. King County Search and Rescue theorizes that the man, 65, fell to his death. On Saturday, another hiker fell while climbing Haystack Rock and hit his head. He was airlifted to Harborview.
SIFF Golden Space Needle Winners Announced: The Seattle International Film Festival is over. The victors may now gloat.
- Edie Arnold is a Loser by Megan Rico and Kade Atwood won best film.
- The Life We Leave, directed by JJ Gerber, won best documentary.
- Ildikó Enyedi won best director with the film Silent Friend.
- Inde Navarrette won best performance for Obsession (USA)
- The Gnawer of Rocks, directed by Louise Flaherty, won best short film.
- And many more!
Weather: Mostly sunny, with a high near 66. That’s the story most of this week, so you might be tempted to take a dip. Unless you’re a coprophiliac or RFK Jr., write off Gene Coulon Memorial Beach in Renton, Madison Park Beach, Green Lake’s West Beach and Seward Park’s Andrews Bay Beach. Recent tests show high levels of bacteria from all the dog, goose, and duck poop in the water.
Another Day, Another Dead Whale: Well, this sucks. A 19th gray whale has died in Washington, a new record. The latest casualty was found floating off the west side of Whidbey Island Wednesday and has since washed ashore.
The Art of the Deal: The President withdrew his $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS over the leak of his tax records. ABC first reported last week that he might be prepared to drop the suit as part of a private deal to set up a $1.7 billion fund to compensate his poor, poor political allies who felt they’d been wrongly investigated and prosecuted.
Look, the job market sucks! It may be “stable,” but it’s molasses slow: Hiring is stagnant, the labor force is shrinking, and people who would like to quit their miserable little jobs are too nervous to pull the trigger. At the moment, there’s roughly one job opening for each unemployed person looking for work. At the end of 2021, there were two. That seeker’s market is a thing of the past. Businesses have slowed hiring, “in large part because of global uncertainty,” reports The Washington Post.
We’re in the Church, We’re in the State, We’re in the Combination Church and State: The project to inaccurately portray the US as a Christian state brought thousands out for a Trump-backed, taxpayer-funded, evangelical worship service on the National Mall: “Rededicate 250: A National Jubilee of Prayer, Praise & Thanksgiving.” For eight (I am quite sure) miserable hours, speakers including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Vice President JD Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, warned that turning from their version of God spells disaster for the US. As you may recall from school, they’re not supposed to do that.
Across the Pond: A Unite the Kingdom rally in London organized by far-right Tommy Robinson, an Islamophobic gadfly who decries foreign influence on the UK, would not have been possible without support from rich American donors. Robinson said millions attended, calling it “the biggest event in British history” (incorrect, that’s the Battle of Hastings). In reality, where the rest of us live, about 60,000 came, which is 90,000 or so fewer than the last Unite the Kingdom rally.
