I dont think The Tobacco Atlas is on the list.
I don't think The Tobacco Atlas is on the list. Photo by Chris Hondros/Getty Images

Meet your new Slog PM overlord: It's me. If you don't know me, it's because I mostly work behind-the-scenes on Slog, but you do know me. I'm everywhere. I'm in Charles's Marxist rants on Boeing. I'm in Nathalie's over-personal confessions on bleeding at Habit Burger Grill. I'm in Lester's man-bun. I'm in every single typo. One day, I may even be in you. (With consent, obviously.) Nathalie Graham has moved on to new projects (at The Stranger—we didn't fire her! She's still here!) and so I'll be taking over your favorite news round-up. xoxo Kisses and Hugs

Another migrant child has died in U.S. custody: The circumstances surrounding his death are, predictably, murky. A nurse at a Border Patrol station in Weslaco, Texas, concluded the boy, Carlos Hernandez Vásquez, had Influenza A virus. Hours later, he was "found unresponsive" in the station. The 16-year-old boy is the fifth Guatemalan child to die since December after being apprehended at the U.S. border, according to CBS news.

Maybe one day soon we'll be able to pay for weed with a credit card: If Congress passes the SAFE Banking Act, pot companies could move into the 21st century and not just handle pot sales in cash. Crosscut's Melissa Santos has more here. If illegal drug dealers can take Venmo, Uncle Ike's should be able to do it, too.

In West Seattle news:

Bill Gates released his summer reading list: The real takeaway here is that these graphics are remarkably good for a little video about what Bill Gates is reading. How much did this cost?!

I'm currently reading the only biography of late actor Zachary Scott, of Mildred Pierce fame. It's not a very good book and I had to order it directly from the University of Mississippi, but I have this theory that he was a closet homo and I'm doing some research. If your grandpa sucked his dick, let me know.

Speaking of probes: The criminal probe of Boeing's 737 Max is heating up.

Did you see Pete Buttigieg's Fox News town hall? Around 1.1 million viewers did, according to Fox News. They're really happy about it. The Stranger's Christopher Frizzelle was also happy about Buttigieg's town hall. He broke it down here.

In more OH-MY-GOD-WHEN-WILL-COMPANIES-STOP-MILKING-GAME-OF-THRONES-FOR-ENGAGEMENT NEWS: Seattle-based dog walking app Rover.com made a dog walker profile for Tormund Giantsbane, the ginger GOT wildling who loves drinking the boob milk of giants. I don't mean to kink shame, but I think I can draw a line at suckling giants' boobs? Because giants are fake? Right? As fake as this profile? Full disclosure: I used to work for Rover.com before The Stranger but I'm really not a fan and suggest you just, like, talk to your neighbor about watching your dog.

Former TV hearthrob tells critics to go fuck themselves: Jon Snow had choice words for Game of Thrones-hating critics. "Whatever critic spends half an hour writing about this season and makes their judgement on it, in my head they can go fuck themselves," the New York Post reports he told Esquire. I couldn't find the actual quote in the Esquire piece, so take the sass with a New York Post-sized grain of salt.

Today, the city led one of its largest sweeps of homeless camps in recent months: 24 campers were cleared out from the area. The encampment, under I-5 on South Dearborn Street, has been a site of controversy, as it's been cleared and re-established multiple times over the past few years. Last week's drug bust of the area discovered "almost 90 grams of crack cocaine, 30 grams of meth, and 5.5 grams of heroin" in one of the tents, reports the Seattle Times. A spokesperson for the city's Navigation Team said they intend this to be the last time they'll clear out this camp.

World's Worst President™ totally not acting shady at all NO COLLUSION: Trump has instructed his former White House counsel, Donald F. McGahn II, to ignore a congressional subpoena and miss a scheduled hearing on Tuesday. Take the day off! Who cares! Is this legal!?

A nice distraction: Who does Trump think we should really be investigating? Joe Biden! Today Trump called for an investigation into the ties between the family of Joe Biden and China. Conservative author Peter Schweizer has claimed that Biden's son was paid millions of dollars by the Chinese government while Biden was negotiating with China. The Bidens deny these accusations.

I'll believe it when I see it, baby:

If you live in Washington state, this is the only weather update you really need today:


But if you live in the middle of America, JESUS CHRIST I'M SORRY:



Actually, maybe THIS is your weather report for the day, Washington:

Do earthquakes count as weather? I'm no meterologist, but if my roof crashes down on me that certainly feels like weather.

Ending the day with a video dump: Timothy has declared this week to be "Ween Week," ending out every one of his Slog AMs with a Ween song, something you probably don't need but Slog is not a democracy. In the spirit of Timothy force-feeding you Pennslyvania alt-rock just because HE CAN, I'm ending the day with some videos I'm excited about.

First, the new billingual Mexico City-set (and Fred Armisen-backed) HBO comedy Los Espookys dropped a trailer. Gen Z aesthetics are really wrecking TV and I'm here for it:

And speaking of disruptive visuals, have you seen the music video for Old Town Road? This shit's getting like millions of views an hour. In case you're not caught up on the "Yeehaw Agenda," here's a good primer.