Good morning! You got through April Fools’ Day, hopefully without buying into anything too embarrassing.
Let’s start with the good news.
For All Mankind: Four NASA astronauts headed to the moon yesterday. Artemis II is the first crewed lunar flyby mission in 50 years. The launch went without a hitch yesterday, and right now, the rocket is orbiting the earth a couple times before it slingshots toward the moon, loops around it, and comes back home. The whole journey will take 10 days, and is the second step in paving the way toward a lunar surface mission, which should be Artemis IV. NASA’s goal is to establish a permanent lunar base in the next decade or so.
Toilet Trouble: Did you know that in the Apollo lunar mission, the astronauts didn’t have a bathroom—they just used waste bags, and then they left them on the moon. We went to the moon for the first time, and littered. With poop. On the Artemis II mission, the Orion capsule has a space-age toilet onboard. It gave the astronauts a little trouble last night, but it’s at least partially fixed, and won’t stall the mission.
Rick Steves Keeps Being the Guy We Hope He’ll Be: In a Facebook post earlier this week, our favorite local rich guy and travel writer wrote: “A new tax on fat paychecks like mine was just signed into law in my home state—and I like it.” He’s one of the few wealthy voices in the state that’s backing the new Millionaires Tax with his whole chest. “As a wealthy person myself, I see this tax as essentially free money for all Washingtonians. Everybody in my state gains,” he wrote. “And speaking from personal experience, I know that anyone who earns enough to be subject to this tax is beyond the point where consuming more adds to their security, their well-being, or even, arguably, their happiness—meaning there will be basically zero human cost.”
Some Rare Good Car News: After hitting a post-pandemic high in 2023, traffic deaths were down in Washington again last year. That said, 644 people were still killed in traffic last year. “[Driving] is the most dangerous thing you do on a daily basis. It’s hard to remember that,” Shelly Baldwin, acting director of the Washington Traffic Safety Commission, told the Seattle Times. “We could reach zero tomorrow if people would do four things: Drive the speed limit, drive sober, wear your seat belt, and put your phone away. Four things that are in everybody’s control.”
And Some Good Candy News: Hershey has decided to start using chocolate in their Reese’s chocolate peanut butter cups again. Apparently, the company had been using a “chocolate compound coating” until the original Reese’s grandson called the company out. “If something like the Valentine’s Day Reese’s Mini Heart still doesn’t taste like real milk chocolate next year, I’ll know they’re lying,” he said.
Weather: We might have some showers this morning, but we’ll get highs in the mid-50s by the afternoon. Spring is really happening! Everyone but Charles Mudede will be thrilled.
Birthright Case Hits a Snag: Alright, let’s get into the Trump stuff. The president’s executive order attempting to revoke birthright citizenship for undocumented immigrants is in front of the Supreme Court, and it looks like even the conservative justices are skeptical of his lawyers’ logic. According to the New York Times, when one of them argued that modern migration required a new assessment under the Constitution, Chief Justice Roberts, who is expected to be a key vote, replied: “It’s a new world. It’s the same Constitution.” The outcome of the case is still unclear, though, and in an unprecedented move, Trump actually went to the courts yesterday to listen to his lawyers’ oral arguments, and then abruptly got up and left during the ACLU’s. Okay, bud.
A (Non) Update on Iran: Trump had an unusually active day yesterday. After showing up at the Supreme Court, he addressed the nation about the War in Iran. He called it a major success, and said that the US was going to “hit them extremely hard” over the next two or three weeks, and “bring them back to the Stone Ages, where they belong.” He didn’t provide any clarity about how the war might end, but insisted that Americans needed to “keep this conflict in perspective,” because it’s much shorter than the world wars, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the Vietnam War. Gas prices heard that speech and decided it was time to go up another 15 cents.
Meanwhile: Apparently, Trump still hungers for Greenland. According to a top Pentagon general who spoke with the New York Times, the US is negotiating with Denmark for access to three additional bases in Greenland, including two that we’d previously abandoned. It would mark the first US expansion on the island in decades.
Bondi on Thin Ice: According to the New York Times, Trump is considering firing Attorney General Pam Bondi and replacing her with the head of the EPA, Lee Zeldin. He’s pissed that we’re all still talking about the Epstein Files, and he wants an attorney general who’s willing to aggressively go after his political enemies. Publicly, he’s still backing Bondi, but we’ll see how long that lasts. [Update: He fired her.]
Virus Alert: Two people in King County tested positive for measles this week, and people would have been exposed to them in Seattle, Kirkland, and Bellevue. The Seattle Times has a list of possible exposure locations here.
CHOP Back in the Courts, Maybe: The City of Seattle asked for a new trial in the death of Antonio Mays Jr. at CHOP, but the judge shot the City Attorney’s office down. A jury ruled against the City earlier this year, to the tune of $30 million, saying that they were responsible for delaying his access to emergency care. The City plans to appeal the decision, arguing that there was a 90 percent chance that he would have died from his injuries anyway. Which we can all agree is a really good look for the City.
A Song for Your Thursday: This song isn’t timely or related to anything in the news roundup this morning. It’s just kind of the vibe this morning.
