Sorry, I know we're all fucking sick of news from the Supreme Court, but here's some housekeeping: Justice Stephen Breyer announced that he will officially retire tomorrow at term's end, reports USA Today. Now, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson—who the Senate confirmed back in April—will take the reins and be sworn in on Thursday, making history as the first Black woman judge on the highest court. Good fuckin' luck with those zealots on the right!

A less sexy Titanic: 2,000 passengers on a Norwegian Sun cruise ship off the Alaskan coast got to live their sexual fantasy/nightmare when they got word their ship had hit a chunk of ice near Hubbard Glacier. According to the Seattle Times, the ship went to Juneau for "further assessment," where it was determined passengers would still disembark in Seattle as planned and get a full refund and cruise credit. 

Disgraced former R&B singer R. Kelly has been sentenced to 30 years in prison following his conviction on federal racketeering and sex trafficking charges last year, reports CNN.  

Building fire today in Georgetown: A car crashed into a building near the 700 block of South Michigan St, causing a massive two-alarm blaze, reports KING 5. The cops told the TV news outlet that the accident was caused by a 49-year-old driver who is "believed to have been in crisis and may have been under the influence of narcotics."

The NBA is baaaaack in Seattle: But it's not what you think. The Sonics aren't making their hallowed return to Key Arena Climate Pledge Arena, but the Portland Trail Blazers and L.A. Clippers will play a preseason game in the sports complex on October 3, reports KOMO. The reason? The teams' coaches and Seattle-based owners are all buddies, and they want to "spend time together" before the regular season kicks off. Just NBA things! 

Contact nerds in the house? I remember being totally obsessed with this movie as a kid. I loved Jodie Foster's resilient character, and the idea that other benevolent forms of life were out in the universe trying to communicate with us. Anyway, Vulture released an oral history of the film that was co-written by geniuses Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan. I definitely know what I'm reading after I log off for the day...I honestly think about this scene all the time:

A higher minimum wage could be on the way for Federal Way: Raise the Wage Tukwila has collected and submitted enough signatures to qualify for a vote, reports the Seattle Times. Now, the Federal Way City Council could either pass the initiative straight into law or let the voters decide come November. The initiative would raise the minimum wage more than $3, from $14.49/hour up to $17.54/hour, and it would crucially cover Southcenter Mall. Let's fuckin' do it!

South Korea wants in on UW Medicine's sweet, sweet anti-COVID juice: Errrrr, I mean the nation has approved the university's COVID vaccine, SKYCovione (sounds like a drag queen), to be manufactured and distributed in South Korea, reports KOMO. The vaccine is "easier to transport and store than messenger RNA vaccines" which makes it perfect to send to countries without production facilities. The hope is that this is just the first step toward global approval. 

Speaking of vaccines: As tragicomic as it seems, monkeypox is definitely not going away anytime soon. But, finally, the government will "soon greatly expand" its monkeypox vaccination program. According to Gizmodo, the Biden administration announced plans to release around "1.6 million doses of the two-dose vaccine" from their stockpile this year, with 56,000 released immediately. The vaccine—which was developed to target both smallpox and monkeypox—will be made available on a priority basis that depends on "people's risk of exposure."

Most of the time I don't believe in God: But it's hard to deny the existence of a higher power reading this.

85% of Americans believe that the nation is "on the wrong track" with high inflation, high-ass gas prices, skyrocketing rent, the Supreme Court igniting a war on abortion, etc. etc. This poll—conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research—also found that Biden's approval rating is in the gutter. Overall, only 39% of Americans think Joe is doing a good job. Dems are going to have one helluva time trying to get people to turn out for them come November. 

And in Redmond: Cops are investigating an alleged hate crime after a Black carpenter found a noose with his name on it as well as his tools at a Meta construction site, reports the Seattle Times. BNBuilders confirmed to the newspaper that four employees "were immediately placed on administrative leave pending results of an investigation." 

If you've ever wondered what it's like to take shots at the specially-designated shot bar at Sea-Tac Airport: Stefan Milne from Seattle Met has you covered.  

For your listening pleasure: Seattle-based DJ/icon Sharlese's "333Ëš" mix for pi pi pi. Resident Advisor named it "Mix of the Day."