Oh yeah, this CBD sofa. Its really kicking in.
"Oh yeah, this CBD sofa. It's really kicking in." Antonio Guillem

Who needs helicopter parents when we've got Alexa: A new lawsuit alleges that Amazon's Alexa device is violating laws by recording children without their consent. Alexa records any speech that is transmitted after a "wake word" activates the device, whether or not the person speaking purchased the device. According to the lawsuit, Amazon's failure to "warn unregistered users that it is creating persistent voice recordings of their Alexa interactions" violates laws in Florida, Illinois, Michigan, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, and Washington. The complaint notes that other voice-controlled devices delete recordings after storing them for a short time or don't store them at all.

Person of Beans wiped out by back pain: Howard Schultz is suspending his run for president, a run he technically hasn't even started. In an email to his supporters, he said an "acute back pain" will prevent him from traveling for the next two months. You know what, Howard, why not take a few years off? Someone in the office quipped: "It's comforting knowing that even rich people can't buy their way out of back pain."

Record-breaking heat, baby!: Heat records were broken in many parts of Western Washington today, including the Seattle area, where it got as high as 92 degrees today. We haven't passed 85 degrees on June 12 since 1999, reports the Seattle Times. But let's all try to remember that while 86-92 degrees is a record high in this region for this time of year (June, lol), I wouldn't go so far to say that it is scorching/sweltering/swamp ass-inducing. People in Florida aren't even scooting out the kiddie pool at 92.

King County jury awards $4 million to Montana tourist injured in deadly 2015 Ride the Ducks crash: The tourist, Rebecca Rhodes West, was one of more than 60 people injured in the crash. Five people were killed. West said the money will help cover the costs of her ongoing medical problems, as well as needed counseling. This award is one of many recent settlements and legal judgments that have been made following the crash.

Update on the Jon Stewart monologue that every major outlet picked up: Yesterday, comedian and former host of The Daily Show Jon Stewart gave a passionate speech to a half-empty House Committee about the importance of showing up for 9/11 first responders, volunteers, and survivors. The committee was slammed for being half-empty, assuming their absence meant they weren't supportive of the bill. I thought this framing was a bit weird—Rep. Madeline Dean, for instance, co-sponsored the bill but wasn't at the committee hearing during Stewart's testimony. There's only so much time to pass bills! We don't need our Reps. sitting through every ungodly-long hearing!!!! We need them to work quickly and pass shit!!!!!!!! Anyhow, today, the committee unanimously passed the bill, which would fund the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund. It is expected to easily pass a floor vote in the House of Representatives, where it is headed next. It's unclear, however, whether McConnell will even pick it up in the Senate.

It's not looking good for Men in Black: International: The film hasn't even been released yet and it's getting trashed by critics and fans. While Rotten Tomatoes is sort of meaningless, the new film currently has a 33%, the lowest Rotten Tomatoes score of the franchise. A new Change.org petition hopes to revive the franchise by getting Will Smith to star in it again.

Warren beats Bernie for the first time in two 2020 election polls: Both candidates are fighting for the votes from the progressive left. The polls were conducted by The Economist/YouGov and Monmouth University. (ICYMI: Former Stranger writer Ansel Herz is currently the Digital Director for Sanders. I think the only person who has published anything about Herz's new position has been MyNorthwest's Jason Rantz, who complained about him here today.)

LOL:

NPR profiles 15 Seattle musicians "redefining" Seattle music "beyond grunge": The bands include The Black Tones, Chong the Nomad, DoNormaal, and lots of other excellent groups we're very fond of ourselves. Check out our profiles on the artists by clicking the links attached to their names. Also:


Today is the three-year anniversary of the Pulse mass shooting: On June 12, 2016, a 29-year-old gunman entered the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida, and murdered 49 people and wounded 53 others. He was killed after a three-hour standoff with the police. Many of the victims were Hispanic and gay. It is the deadliest incident of violence against gay people in U.S. history. It was the deadliest mass shooting by a single shooter in U.S. history until the following year when it was surpassed by the Las Vegas shooting. Many sites published pieces on Pulse today, and Florida lawmakers are looking to make the club a national memorial.

The straights are at it again: Joe.My.God. and Friendly Atheist are reporting that a bunch of preachers will be hosting a "Make America Straight Again" conference in Orlando during Pride month to time with the Pulse massacre. Friendly Atheist noted that one of the organizers, Steven Anderson, has said that if he could push a button and kill every homosexual, he would "push it until it breaks."

Long delays tonight on the light rail: Multiple light-rail breakdowns occurred this afternoon, reports the Seattle Times. The breakdowns caused a full shutdown around 5:30 p.m. throughout the entire 21-mile line. Yikes! Service resumed by 6 p.m.—which is when I try to have Slog PM up but I got backed up today with our upcoming 🌈Pride Issue🌈—but riders are still experiencing delays. At least some of the breakdowns seem to be caused by damaged overhead lines.

Nevada is the first state to pass a law banning employers from refusing to hire an employee because they're a stoner: Or, at least, a stoner who fails a marijuana screening test. The law doesn't apply to firefighters, EMTs, employees who operate a motor vehicle, or anyone who could affect someone's safety while working.

A final word on weed for today: