25 years since, well, you know: It’s 9/11. People are gathering across the country to mourn and commemorate the day. President Donald Trump is speaking at the Pentagon. Oddly, he’s not going to New York where everything went down. He sent his vassal, Vice President J.D. Vance. Former Presidents George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, Joe Biden also attended the New York memorial.
An imperfect way to commemorate 9/11: United Airlines planned a flyover of Denver to commemorate 9/11. They wanted to send a United Boeing 777 accompanied by fighter jets low over Denver as “a meaningful gesture to honor the memory of those lost within the pilot community.” United canceled its flyover after hearing concerns from the community because, well, you know.
Never forget the SEA Spot Saver program. The sanctioned TSA line-cutting system at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport is going the way of the dodo bird on November 30. Sea-Tac said, with new security checkpoints opening, it has outgrown the need for Spot Saver.
Strike on the horizon: More than 300 Shoreline School District staff could strike starting Monday if the union and district don’t reach a contract agreement by Sunday.
Oh no, the big businesses are mad: Business leaders from 38 companies, including Starbucks, Microsoft, Costco, Nordstrom, the Seattle Mariners, and Alaska Air Group, sent a strongly-worded letter urging Mayor Katie Wilson and the Seattle City Council to create a 100-day public safety action plan. The letter is in response to an August poll, conducted by our town’s business circle jerk, the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, that found where only 34 percent of 500 registered Seattle voters were confident in the city’s public safety plan. Well, boo hoo. Violent crime is down through the first half of 2026. Where was this angry letter to the last two mayors, when violent crime rates were much higher?
Three of these companies aren’t even based in this city and one is in the process of relocating a bunch of jobs to Nashville. They do not care about this city; they care about power and influence, something they do not have over Katie Wilson. Which—not sure if I have to spell it out—is a good thing.
McClatchy bloodbath: Hedge fund-owned McClatchy laid off more than 90 journalists on Thursday at 13 of its 30 papers across eight states. In the Northwest, McClatchy laid off 33 percent of unionized workers at the Idaho Statesman, The News Tribune (Tacoma), Tri-City Herald, The Olympian, and Bellingham Herald. McClatchy explained the layoffs as a response to “changing subscriber interests and the ways audiences engage with local news.” The bloodsuckers are “refocusing resources on journalism that subscribers value.” I guess that means cutting Miami and Miami Beach beats at The Miami Herald.
The weather: The clouds are back. Rain will come this weekend. Rejoice.
A perfect way to commemorate 9/11: The price of oil jumped to $110 a barrel and US diesel is going for $6 a gallon. The escalating war with Iran is not helping things, in fact, it is driving this. The Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen have taken full control of the Red Sea coastline, where another vital global shipping route, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, is located. Rising prices at the pump should spell midterm doom for Trump. He must have an inkling of this, since, in a rambling speech, he beseeched the crowd at the Republican National Convention to “get out and vote, and you’re going to pretend I’m on the ballot. Because in a way, I’m on the ballot.”
Claude, make me a biological weapon to destroy all humans, please: Anthropic released a new report that detailed misuses of its Claude AI chatbot including multiple instances of scientists using it for research that could create new biological weapons. Anthropic said it could not determine whether the research was for “legitimate or nefarious reasons,” since this work could be used for vaccine development, and shut down those projects. In one instance, a scientist on a military base used Claude to engineer mutations of chikungunya virus, a mosquito-born illness that causes intense pain, to make it even more painful. Anthropic shut that down. Perhaps we should heed the researchers who are banging the “AI could kill us all” drum. Supervillain stuff!
Ectopic pregnancy deaths on the rise: An ectopic pregnancy occurs when an embryo implants somewhere other than the uterus, usually in a fallopian tube. As the embryo grows, the organ will rupture, which can be fatal if untreated. The treatment is abortion. In recent years—since the COVID-19 pandemic and since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade—ectopic pregnancy deaths have nearly doubled—between 2020 and 2025 almost 200 women died from ectopic pregnancies, reports ProPublica. In the previous six years, 100 women died. The phenomenon is not limited to states with abortion bans, but it is certainly more common anywhere doctors refuse to act or wait in fear of breaking state law.
“Costa Rican man, 119, seeks recognition as world’s oldest person.” Alright, yeah, man. Here you go. You can have it.
ICYMI: Capitol Hill’s closed Egyptian theater may rise again. This time it won’t be operated by SIFF. Charles Mudede has the scoop.
A song for your Friday: The only 9/11 content you should watch to not feel miserable is Come From Away. Here’s the show’s Tiny Desk concert.
