Iranian Americans have been detained at the border: According to Washington's Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) chapter, more than 60 Iranians and Iranian Americans were detained in Blaine, Washington, while returning to the United States from a Persian music concert in Vancouver, Canada. Those who were detained were convinced this had to do with the recent assassination of Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani by American forces. Border patrol has denied that these people were detained.
Another Boeing design flaw: The woebegone 737 MAX is facing more troubles today. The grounded jets that were at the center of two fatal crashes in 2018 may have another design flaw, according to Boeing. There may be issues with two sections of wiring that could cause a short circuit in the plane's tail and lead to a crash. Production on the 737 MAX has stalled.
Also, hello, happy New Year: I hope you all had a lovely holiday season. I am back and will be helming Slog AM again until I am dust in the wind. I'm so glad the news cycle took a little vacation, too, and is not at all overwhelming to dive back into today!
Where to even start with Iran? Currently, the man who will take over for the slain Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani is promising revenge for Soleimani's death. Iran's supreme leader shed tears at the general's funeral. The crowd, which numbered in the millions, chanted "Death to America." Iran has completely abandoned the 2015 nuclear agreement and promised "no limitations" on its nuclear program. Iraq has voted to expel all foreign troops from within its borders.
Trump, meanwhile: Remains firm in his insistence to attack Iranian cultural sites if there is any retaliation against him. On Sunday, President Donald Trump tweeted that he had selected 52 sites that are "a very high level & important to Iran & the Iranian culture." This is also known as a war crime.
Heads-up, Seattle anti-vaxxers: You have until this Wednesday (January 8) to vaccinate your kids or they will not be able to attend any Seattle public school. This is a result of the 2019 bill passed by the Washington State Legislature that bans any philosophical or personal exemptions to vaccinations.
It will be a wet Seattle day: Happy January! It's moist and gloomy! A flood watch has been issued for rivers that will be rising today and Tuesday. The mountains, meanwhile, are getting snow dumped on them.
Mountain snow is falling at an inch an hour early this morning. Expect slow going across the passes with delays possible. Road conditions will improve with a rising snow level later today—but avalanche control might still cause delays. Check conditions at https://t.co/KuCXga2r3a
— NWS Seattle (@NWSSeattle) January 6, 2020
Lot across from City Hall finds a buyer: Last month, Canada-based Bosa Development bought the long-vacant lot from the city for $16 million and plans to build a 58-story residential high-rise. The developer will own the entire block, but it will have to build a 25,000-square-foot public plaza. This is the most action this lot has gotten in 15 years.
Bike ridership is up in Seattle: Across the Fremont Bridge, ridership rose 12 percent in 2019 compared to 2018. The Second Avenue bike lane saw a 79 percent ridership increase in the same amount of time. The latter is a result of protected bike lanes being added to the route. Building infrastructure works! Who would've thought?
The Seahawks are still in the playoffs: Coach Pete Carroll led the Seahawks to the largest margin of victory in this weekend's slew of wild-card games. The team beat the Eagles 17–9. Next week, the Seahawks will face the Green Bay Packers. More like Green Bay Slackers, though, am I right? I stole that joke from my boyfriend. It was unfunny when he said it, but you are obligated to consider it funny when I write it. Anyway. Check out this catch by rookie DK Metcalf:
The throw 🙌
The grab 🙌
The @dkm14 TD! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/rI0CMakqry
— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) January 5, 2020
And also this one:
WHAT. A. CATCH.@dkm14 🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/KQ7DMBnjgd
— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) January 6, 2020
It's time for Harvey Weinstein's criminal trial: The trial against former Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein will start on Monday. It's a trial two years in the making and it centers on two cases: Weinstein allegedly forcing oral sex on a film production assistant and allegedly raping another woman who remains anonymous. The outcome of the trial is unpredictable. However, it will determine whether the legal system can deliver the results the #MeToo movement seeks: justice for victims.
Australia is on fire: There are 136 active blazes just in New South Wales. This is only the beginning of the crisis. The height of fire season may be at the end of January and into February. There have been 24 deaths nationwide, and air quality is at 340 on the Air Quality Index—significantly higher than Beijing's 170. Currently, it's raining in Australia. Firefighters have said that this is mostly a mental relief and that the rain will not be enough to put out the fires:
It’s raining in Australia. After five months without.😇
This is the Twitter content I’m here for...💪😍☔️🌧❤️ pic.twitter.com/OWO3J3WCG6
— Rex Chapman🏇🏼 (@RexChapman) January 6, 2020
Here are some sad videos of how the fires are impacting animals:
Emergency workers are seen feeding an injured koala water in heartbreaking footage as bushfires rage across Australia.
The University of Sydney estimates 480 million animals have been affected by the devastating blazes in New South Wales alone. https://t.co/guxXb73p0R pic.twitter.com/9G2hPNrHM0
— ABC News (@ABC) January 6, 2020
HEARTBREAKING SOUNDS: This Australian magpie has started to mimic the sound of an emergency vehicle siren as deadly wildfires continue to spread across Australia. https://t.co/FmnLYValbD pic.twitter.com/EsMSK2ZUN6
— CBS News (@CBSNews) January 6, 2020
Bushfire hero: A model has raised more than $750,000 to donate to Australia's bushfire relief. She did so by promising to send nudes to each donor.
Seattle Squeeze 2.0 starts today: Light rails riders, your commutes will be a bit clogged for the next 10 weeks as workers connect the new light rail line from the Eastside to the main light rail line running through Seattle. This means that train frequency will be lower (every 12 minutes all day, as opposed to the regular six minutes at peak times) and all passengers headed north or south of Pioneer Square must switch trains at that station. Bikes will not be allowed at the Pioneer Square station.
I did not watch the Golden Globes: I hear Parasite won best foreign film. I hear Phoebe Waller-Bridge won for Fleabag and Awkwafina became the first Asian American woman to win a Golden Globe for best actress for her role in The Farewell. I did, however, watch this clip of Sacha Baron Cohen.
“The hero of this next movie is a naive, misguided child who spreads nazi propaganda and only has imaginary friends. His name is Mark Zuckerberg. Sorry this is an old intro for Social Network” pic.twitter.com/QWLwmcPLPt
— Hamza Shaban (@hshaban) January 6, 2020
Why are there so many open floor plans these days? The breezy wall-less trend in architecture may be due to HGTV's overuse of the style. The main reason HGTV has latched onto it? To attract male viewers. With an open floor plan, there's a lot of demolition that has to happen. Men want to watch home improvement shows only if there are a lot of walls being torn down, apparently.
Today's best Seattle entertainment options are: A reading with Spirited Stone author Don Brooks, $10 Pizza Monday at Cafe Lago, and a talk with Whole30 cocreator Melissa Hartwig Urban. See more on our EverOut Things To Do calendar.