Amazon warehouse workers pee in bottles to remain efficient: In a UK Amazon warehouse, time theft is a big deal. Workers allegedly pee in bottles to avoid the walk to the bathroom. This was a "toilet bottle" system workers had put in place to cut back on idle time. They're afraid of being reprimanded for taking a break. Those reprimands happen even to people who are sick who miss work or take breaks during work. To reach targets, workers have to package two products per minute.
Missing Native women slip through the cracks: There is an ineffective system in place to find missing indigenous people. Of the 1,800 missing people in Washington state, missing native people make up 5.5 percent, according to a report by Crosscut. A new bill is designed to open up reporting and data-gathering about missing native women specifically. For whatever reason, native women are treating as a lower priority than other missing persons. Prior to this law, there had been no comprehensive, universal tracking system for missing native women. It goes into effect in June.
Kirkland bomb threat: Late Sunday afternoon, a man called police claiming to have a bomb inside a 76 Gas Station near Costco. He was holding a female employee hostage. An officer convinced him to give himself up. When he stepped outside he didnât have an explosive device on his person. The Bellevue Police Bomb Squad cleared the area.
It felt rainier than usually this weekend, right? Yep, another record breaker, apparently.
The last time Seattle had an April comparable to this one in terms of rainfall, it was 1993. "Sleepless in Seattle" was 2 months away and Nirvana's "In Utero" was released 5 months later. #wawx
â NWS Seattle (@NWSSeattle) April 16, 2018
That little fact was so soothing to read. I want the person who runs the National Weather Service twitter to get a raise.
No need to fear: That flicker in my chest, is that â dare I say it â hope?
Charlie Chaplin (born on this date) once wrote "We must laugh in the face of our helplessness against the forces of nature â or go insane." To save your sanity, we present this 5 day forecast with light at the end of the tunnel. đChaplin performed in Seattle back in 1912. #wawx pic.twitter.com/jkpKFaM6iW
â NWS Seattle (@NWSSeattle) April 16, 2018
New House minority leader has his work cut out for him: Rep. J.T. Wilcox farms chickens. Heâs also a Greek history buff. Democrats see him as a tactician. His first test will be recruiting candidates for this fallâs election. A slew of Republican retirements has left the Legislature vulnerable to an impending âblue wave.â Can Wilcox successfully counter?
When did video games get their own Super Bowl? I donât know if youâre aware of how much professional gamers rake in during tournaments, but some Halo players won $500,000 in Seattle this weekend. That was the grand prize for the Halo World Championship Finals. Thousands of people packed into the CenturyLink Field Event Center to watch the teams compete. It was quite the production, apparently.
Congratulations to @Splyce, your 2018 @Halo World Champions! GGs.@Shotzzy@TheStelluR@Renegade_JW@KevinEcoSmith#HaloWC pic.twitter.com/hWZ8GG7e46
â MLG (@MLG) April 16, 2018
Pranksters get political with forged Inslee letter: Someone went around Vancouver, Washington and taped fake letters from Gov. Jay Inslee to residentsâ doors. The letter claimed that Inslee would be adjusting property taxes because of a âshutdown of an oil terminal.â Inslee has said that the letter is fake and that the government doesnât make a habit of taping legislation updates to peopleâs doors.
Bezos tries to convince us heâs human, too: He made pancakes with Ciara and Russell Wilson. It looks like they might have been chocolate chip. Maybe blueberry.
I made pancakes on this rainy Seattle morning for @ciara and @DangeRussWilson. These guys are as fun as they are talented. Inspiring too. And Russ and I ate our weight in pancakes! #funfriends pic.twitter.com/MWST7oXbVs
â Jeff Bezos (@JeffBezos) April 14, 2018
For whatever fucked up reason, the KING5 video on that story is about how Jeff Bezos used to eat a whole tube of Pillsbury biscuits every day of his life until he met his wife. Yes. Jeff Bezos would gorge himself on Pillsbury Grands. He and his wife almost got divorced over it. According to this video, at least. It kept autoplaying so I'm not embedding it in the post. We don't need that bullshit.
Kent Schools deal with controversy: There are four community conversations parents can attend to decide whether they have confidence in the Superintendent. Over the last few weeks, there have been calls the Superintendentâs resignation. The teachers have no confidence in the districtâs leadership.
What happens post-missile strike? You got the memo that the U.S., France, and the U.K. agreed to strike Syria on Friday. And then they did it. Three targets, all relevant to chemical weapons, were hit, according to the Trump administration. New sanctions against Russia will be announced today.
The Comey interview heard 'round the world: ABC aired one hour of the five-hour interview it conducted with James Comey, the former FBI director. He didnât hold back any punches. Among other things â minor stuff like saying Trump treats women like âmeatâ â Comey said that Trump âis morally unfit to be president.â
Kellyanne to the rescue: Kellyanne Conway is doing the rounds this morning after the Comey interview that aired last night. Sheâs doing her best to undercut Comey's comments with insults. Part of her best includes stating her belief that Trump wouldnât have won the election without Comey:
Counselor to the president Kellyanne Conway slams former FBI Dir. James Comey: "This guy swung an election," she told @ABC's @GStephanopoulos. âHe thought the wrong person would win.â https://t.co/Myz7ZNighv pic.twitter.com/BXR0fj4Mfe
â ABC News (@ABC) April 16, 2018
Seven hour fight at South Carolina prison kills seven: Another 17 were injured. The altercation started Sunday night and lasted until 3 a.m. Monday morning at Lee Correctional Institution, a maximum-security prison. This is the most violent incident at a South Carolina prison in recent years.
Thereâs only one Blockbuster Video left in Alaska: There are only a handful left in the U.S. HBOâs John Oliver bought Russell Croweâs jockstrap from Cinderella Man during Crowe's recent divorce auction. Oliver and the Last Week Tonight crew are donating the jockstrap to the Blockbuster. They also bought several other Russell Crowe items. Theyâll all go to the Blockbuster.
Canadian government considering decriminalization of all drugs: Justin Trudeauâs Liberal party is leading the charge to decriminalize the possession and consumption of all illicit drugs. The party wants to reframe drugs as a health issue instead of a criminal justice issue. This is one way to fight the opioid crisis that is plaguing both the U.S. and Canada.
Tonight's best Seattle entertainment options include: A town hall with Erik Molano on the Histories of Capitol Hill and What We'll Build Next, a night of French electronic music with Carpenter Brut and Jean Jean, and a reading with English poet Dr. John Cooper Clarke (opened by the Stranger's editor-at-large, Sean Nelson).