This comes after House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff said that the whistleblower's testimony may not be necessary in the impeachment hearings, in effort to keep this person's identity safe.
.@RepAdamSchiff says the House Intel committee was interested in having the whistleblower speak to the committee, but is now focused on making sure their identity is protected. pic.twitter.com/2KYzHmopEV
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) October 13, 2019
Another day, another gas leak: After a major natural gas leak and fire in North Seattle last Friday, KIRO reports that buildings around 45th and Brooklyn Ave NE in the University District were evacuated as crews responded to a natural gas leak at a construction site. There are no reports of fire, but I'm betting traffic in the area won't be great.
Aaron Dean, a white police officer who fatally shot Atatiana Jefferson in Fort Worth, Texas on Saturday, has resigned. The officer was dispatched to Jefferson's house in response to a call a neighbor made to a nonemergency number after seeing her front door was left open late at night. Dean—who failed to verbally identify himself as a cop—shot Jefferson through the window after giving her no time to respond to his commands, which was confirmed by body cam footage.
At a news conference today, Fort Worth Police Chief Ed Kraus said that had Dean not resigned: he would have been fired. For whatever that's worth. Jefferson's family is demanding an independent investigation of the officer and the police department's practices.
UPDATE: Dean has now been booked into Tarrant County Jail and charged with murder.
Someone has been funneling Now That's What I Call Music! 6 into the Seahawks' locker room:In their game against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, a touchdown celebration dance for the ages occurred to *NSYNC's classic single "Bye Bye Bye." The boy band (who apparently have a Twitter account) tweeted out their appreciation of the four Seahawks players.
🎶 Baby bye bye bye 🎶 pic.twitter.com/jV4BjYbF5v
— Seattle Times Sports (@SeaTimesSports) October 13, 2019
Listen, Marty said what he motherfuckin' said: A couple of weeks ago, Martin Scorsese was asked, for some unknown reason, his specific thoughts on Marvel movies. He likened them to theme parks, saying that the superhero films aren't "the cinema of human beings trying to convey emotional, psychological experiences to another human being." Which sent Twitter into a tizzy. One of America's greatest living auteurs reiterated his statement on Sunday, saying of the Marvel Cinematic Universe "It's not cinema, it’s something else."
Let the kids sleep in, goddammit!: California becomes the first state to mandate later school start times in a bill signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom. The legislation acknowledges that teens perform better academically when they get more sleep, pushing back middle school start times to 8 a.m. or later and high schools to 8.30 a.m. or later. Schools have three years to comply with the law.
Is WeWork trying to embalm its employees?: God, the collapse of WeWork is really something to watch. After tenants complained of "odor and eye irritation," the business sent out emails to its U.S. and Canada offices today warning that there were "potentially elevated levels of formaldehyde" in the phone booths provided in their spaces. The chemical is used to seal wood and particle board and is certainly unsafe for humans to ingest in any way. WeWork will pull 1,600 phone booths that have been potentially affected from their locations.
A quick Hieronymus Bosch break: Get into it!
8741,10769,3023,3347,30000 pic.twitter.com/PzNDjMDmeg
— BoschBot (@boschbot) October 14, 2019
You ever get so "white girl wasted" that you end up breaking your ten year vow to never eat animal byproducts? Me neither. But it happened to this vegan woman who went to the police after her friends deliberately fed her chicken nuggets when she was really fucked up. Her "friends" are now facing police charges on the grounds of food tampering.
Eddie Murphy is forever my Dr. Dolittle: But for some reason, they're remaking a perfect film? Now Robert Downey Jr. and his wonky British accent is interpreting the tale of the veterinarian who can speak to animals in a film with a giant budget. Honestly, would love to see RDJ do some smaller, more indie roles where his presence and charisma really get to shine. I happened upon Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang while channel surfing at my parents' house the other day and it was so good! Instead of nuance, we get to see more green screen acting from the actor. Whoopee.
Today, Indigenous Peoples' Day, the Yakama and Lummi nations called for the removal of three dams along the lower Columbia River: The tribes say that taking down the three dams—the Bonneville, the Dalles, and the John Day—will help restore the now diminished salmon runs in the river, helping to feed both their people and the southern resident orcas that depend on the fish to survive. JoDe Goudy, chairman of the Yakama Nation said that the tribe "never consented to the construction of the lower Columbia River dams" in the first place, calling on the U.S. to "reject the doctrine of Christian discovery" and immediately remove the three dams.
Disney+ has been tweeting out all the films that will be on their new streaming platform: And I think I'm officially DONE. No more new subscriptions for me! I'm defecting from the streaming wars and taking my Netflix, Hulu, and Criterion Channel accounts with me. I will rent The Color of Friendship on DVD and hear no more of it. But if you're interested, check out all the titles, like Smart House and Newsies, that could be yours for $6.99 and a piece of your soul every month, starting Nov. 12.
Some DaBaby to end your day: The Charlotte-based rapper has some fun with his fans from the DMV—do Seattle next!