Deadly nerve agents are getting on everyones nerves (except Russia).
Deadly nerve agents are getting on everyone's nerves (except Russia). Chris J Ratcliffe / Stringer

U.S. expels 60 Russian diplomats: According to senior Trump administration officials, all 60 of the diplomats were spies. The expulsion comes as a response to similar steps taken by other United Nations to punish Moscow for its alleged role in poisoning an ex-spy in Britain. It was also a move meant to send a message to Russia about the unusually high number of Russian intelligence operatives in the U.S. The Seattle Russian consulate was also ordered to close. It’s a counter-intelligence concern because of its proximity to a U.S. naval base, Naval Base Kitsap, and Boeing. Definitely not a good time to get into the Russian spy business.


In case you didn’t know where Seattle’s Russian consulate was: Or that we even had a Russian consulate.


Canada joins in:


Bellevue mosque blaze not a hate crime: Inside the mosque there was evidence that squatters had been living there since the original fire in 2017. Authorities think it might have been teenagers. The words “Fuck School” were graffitied on the wall, after all. Also, neighbors had seen kids jumping the fence. A group of people, possibly teens, was seen running from Bellevue’s Islamic Center of Eastside after it was engulfed in flames last week. There was no evidence of a hate crime.

Refugee numbers decline in Washington: Over the last six months, only nine Somali refugees came to Washington. To put that into perspective, last year over the same time period there were 210 Somali arrivals. These declining numbers reflect what’s happening on a national scale; they indicate that Trump is holding fast to his refugee policies. Nationally, Trump has cut the number of refugees the U.S. will take in to 45,000 from Obama’s previous 110,000 goal. The Seattle Times breaks down the data here.

Seattle keeps reeling 'em in: The Emerald City was among five metropolitan areas to bring in more people than it lost. The other four are Dallas, Atlanta, Phoenix, and Riverside, California — which, who the fuck is moving to Riverside of all places? People are jumping ship in other big cities. The other Washington (D.C) saw a net loss of 21,500 domestic movers last year while Boston saw 18,000 and San Francisco saw 24,000. Seattle’s population is now the 15th largest in the nation with 3.87 million people.

Two light-rail stations for South Lake Union: God forbid anyone should have to walk an extra five blocks. Yeah, five blocks, that’s how close the two stations in SLU are going to be to each other. One of them is going to cost $544 million. There are concerns that with these costs — half a billion for one station, in case you forgot — other features that were included in the Sound Transit 3 package won’t be possible anymore. Construction will be done as soon as 2035. Will you live long enough to see it?

Forecast for today: The National Weather Service gets us.


Remington files for bankruptcy: One of the nation’s oldest gunmakers — since 1816! — is feeling the heat. The bankruptcy filing allows them to stay in business while they restructure their debt. They plan to keep making guns. However, this is just the latest sign of struggle for the gun industry. Across the board, gunmakers have reported dismal sales and plunging profits.

Flat-earther blasts off, crashes back down: Remember that flat earth conspiracy theorist? No, not the rapper B.o.B. The self-taught rocket scientist who kept trying to launch a rocket without accounting for gravity. Well, Mike Hughes finally had a successful launch. Sort of. He propelled himself 1,875 feet into the air in the Mojave Desert. But, as everyone except probably Hughes knows, what comes up must come down. He landed hard and then he went home and had dinner with his cats. The earth remained round.


Wendy’s releases five track mixtape called You Beefin’? Yeah. That’s about it. There are call out tracks for McDonalds and Burger King. This is an excerpt from the track “Rest in Grease”: "You number one? That's a joke. Why yo' ice cream machine always broke?” I am so tired.

Lawyers for Trump’s lawyer accuse Stormy Daniels of lying in interview: The highly anticipated Stormy Daniels interview aired on 60 Minutes last night. Daniels says she was threatened in a Las Vegas parking lot in 2011 and told not to speak out against Trump. Michael Cohen’s attorney says that all of Daniels’ claims amount to nothing more than defamation. Her claims that someone close to Trump threatened her are, according to him, “speculation” and “guesswork”


Silicon Valley gets political with season 5 intro: The intro of the HBO show is altered a little bit each year to account for real-life changes in the tech world. Last night, the fifth season aired. Here is a bit of this year’s intro:


Good news for you whale watchers! There has been a spike in whale sightings along the Oregon and Washington coast. The Whale Watching Center at Depoe Bay in Oregon have cited between five to 10 whale sightings a day. The numbers of actual whales passing through are relatively normal. However, whale trackers in Los Angeles say they have seen a high number of northbound whales. West Coast gray whales also had a baby boom over the last six years.

Did you miss Saturday’s March for Our Lives? Check out some of the best signs we saw.

Tonight's best Seattle entertainment options to conquer your Monday blues include: A talk with legendary comedic actor John Cleese, Lauren Yee's The Great Leap, and a night of noise-pop with U.S. Girls.