A Christmas miracle: Or a great PR stunt. The downtown Macy's building, as we know, has been bought. The Christmas star on top of the building will still be lit, thanks to the building's new tenants, Amazon and Starwood Property Trust, an East Coast real-estate firm worth about $16 billion. Amazon will front $250,000 to repair the star. Starwood will then rebuild it for next year. Thanks to these big corporations, Christmas is saved!
LEAD will get twice the funding in city budget: The LEAD (Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion) program is revolutionary. Started in Seattle, the program connects offenders with case managers and a support system so that they wind up with help and don't wind up in jail. LEAD will get a moderate increase in this year's budget, but it will get double next year if the city council gets its way. Mayor Jenny Durkan is still skeptical of the program; she says there isn't enough hard data to prove it to be as successful as people laud it to be. The city council believes in it, though, trusting peer-reviewed studies and endorsements by criminal justice reformers, the Seattle Times reports.
Navy secretary fired by Department of Defense: At the request of the Department of Defense, Richard Spencer, the US Navy secretary, has resigned. Spencer had publicly disagreed with President Donald Trump's decision to reinstate the rank of a navy SEAL who was court marshaled for "shooting civilians and stabbing a wounded Islamic State captive" and posing for photos with the body. “I cannot in good conscience obey an order that I believe violates the sacred oath I took in the presence of my family, my flag, and my faith to support and defend the Constitution of the United States,” Spencer wrote in a letter to Trump.
Northgate condo fire: Firefighters had a tricky time putting out a fire in a Northgate condo complex. Not because the fire itself was particularly tricky, but because of cars. There was so much street parking, it was difficult for emergency vehicles to squeeze in. Also, a faraway fire hydrant meant a lot of hose was needed. Cars kept driving over those hoses! Don't do that! No one was injured in the fire.
Delta to introduce facial recognition at Sea-Tac International Airport: By the end of the year, Delta Airlines, the second-largest airline at Sea-Tac International Airport, wants to implement facial recognition technology. Instead of using a boarding pass or a passport to board a plane, all Delta passengers will need going forward is their face. This would be the first test of a program US Customs and Border Protection hopes to expand to airports across the country for international travel. Critics are worried about expanding this unregulated technology.
Snow! In the mountains! Stevens Pass is getting blanketed with snow as we speak.
Snow continues across the Cascades this morning, especially Stevens Pass and Snoqualmie Pass. Several more inches of snow accumulation is expected thru the day today. Allow yourself some extra time this morning if traveling across the Passes. #wawx pic.twitter.com/IiSx2Azlqt
— NWS Seattle (@NWSSeattle) November 25, 2019
As for Seattle: It looks like it'll be chilly and potentially wet today.
Michael Bloomberg 2020 is a go: The billionaire, former New York City mayor, and former Republican has logged on. Bloomberg wants to be a "pragmatic" option for voters. The 77-year-old will be playing catch-up in an already dizzyingly crowded 2020 race. But he's already set aside $34 million for television ads for his campaign. That $50 billion net worth could come in handy in this reality where people can very realistically buy the presidency.
Australia gets some much-needed rain: The bush fire season has started much earlier this year in Australia. It's been catastrophic.
Some much-needed good news from Australia, where deadly wildfires have threatened homes and the koala population: firefighters in the state of Victoria celebrated after long-awaited rain helps extinguish bushfires. pic.twitter.com/H1GKmSxFLX
— NBC News (@NBCNews) November 25, 2019
Pro-democracy wins in Hong Kong: Pro-democracy candidates in Hong Kong's district council elections have appeared to win in a landslide. The election saw 70 percent voter turnout, the highest in Hong Kong history. The election comes in the midst of more than five months of protests happening in the city this year.
Uber won't operate in London: The ride-sharing app has lost its license due to "safety failures," according to Transport for London. The biggest concern was that unauthorized drivers were making fraudulent trips in London, and dismissed or suspended drivers could still drive passengers. There are about 45,000 Uber drivers in London.
The Seahawks' record is now 9-2: Woo! I also learned a fun fact yesterday during the five minutes of football I watched (a different game from the Seahawks vs. the Eagles. I just thought this might be a good place to share). Apparently, the Patriots have only ever lost one (out of 98) game at their home stadium, Gillette Stadium. That's nutty. Anyway, here's a Seahawks touchdown.
Don't know which is better- the fake or the throw by Russell Wilson 😱
(via @NFL)pic.twitter.com/nzByCkxXgi
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) November 24, 2019
Man broke into 82-year-old woman's apartment: And she walloped him. It turns out that this grandma from Rochester, New York, was an award-winning bodybuilder. She threw her table at the intruder. "And guess what?" she told CNN. "The table broke." She hit him with a broom, squirted him with shampoo, jumped on him, and was trying to drag him out of her apartment when the police showed up.
That's what you get for cavorting with a pedophile billionaire and trying to lie about it: Queen cancels Prince Andrew's 60th birthday party.
'"Nazi Girl" video gets teacher fired: The assignment prompted students to make a parody music video. They came up with a Nazi-themed version of the song "Barbie." The assignment received 9 out of 10 points. After the clip was posted online and, unsurprisingly, went viral, the teacher was fired.
Alumnos de un colegio privado de San Juan realizaron un video antisemita a modo de tarea. pic.twitter.com/yDtrODLITt
— Agencia AJN (@AgenciaAJN) November 24, 2019
Seattle foot doctors embroiled in "kickback" scheme: At least two podiatrists at Ankle and Foot Specialists of Puget Sound "conspired with a medical-supply company to prescribe large amounts of medications to patients and share the profits from excessive billing to insurance companies," KING 5 reports.
On my "to read" list for today: A reporter's guide to texting with Rudy Giuliani.
It's Thanksgiving week! How are you celebrating? By still reading the news even though it's a holiday? By hosting a Thanksgiving feast on a subway car?
Showtime! Showtime! pic.twitter.com/qE2DTkWBM3
— Michael Goldstein (@MickeyG77) November 25, 2019
Today's EverOut picks are: The kitschy Christmas cocktail wonderland Miracle on 2nd, a stand-up set with Pete Davidson, and a show with Chicago songwriter Tasha. See more on our EverOut Things To Do calendar.