A handheld fan just makes you hotter!
A handheld fan just makes you hotter! Fizkes/Getty
A huge power outage in North Seattle this afternoon: Approximately, 17,000 people were affected. Seattle City Light is still investigating the cause.

We hit 90 degrees today, baby: At 3 p.m. the temperature at Sea-Tac Airport was 91 degrees, ending a streak of 371 days without a 90 degree day in the city. At the time of this writing, it was 94 degrees! National Weather Service says there will be mid-week warm up, but things are looking cooler for the rest of the week.

A massive coronavirus vaccine study has commenced: The trial is a collaboration between the National Institutes of Health and biotech company Moderna, and will enroll 30,000 healthy people in 89 sites across the country, reports the New York Times. Half will receive two shots of the vaccine 28 days apart, the other half will get two shots of saltwater placebo. Neither doctors giving the shot nor patients receiving it will know if it's the "real thing":

Researchers will then monitor the subjects, looking for side effects. And their main goal will be to see if significantly fewer vaccinated people contract Covid-19, to determine whether the vaccine can prevent the illness. The study will also try to find out if the vaccine can avert severe cases of Covid and death; if it can block the infection entirely, based on lab tests; and if just one shot can prevent the illness.

Dr. Anthony Fauci says: They'll likely have full results of the study by November and isn't particularly concerned about the safety risk of the vaccine.

Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner had a baby: A girl supposedly named Willa. In pre-COVID times, I once was having a drink on a patio in New York and saw Sophie Turner walking her dog down the street while sucking on a Juul as Joe trailed behind her, talking to their security guard. She seemed cool.

Tahlequah, the mama orca who carried her dead calf for 17 days, is pregnant again: I know we shouldn't ascribe meaning to pregnancy, but this one hit me! Scientists say there's a good chance that the yet-to-be-born calf won't live, but I'm crossing my fingers.

Mayor Jenny Durkan, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, and other mayors demand Congress pass a law that restricts the deployment of federal forces: In a signed letter, they say President Donald Trump is deploying troops for political purposes, reports KOMO. "We call on Congress to swiftly pass legislation to block the administration from sending unwanted and unidentified federal agents to our cities," they write.

Attorneys representing Black Lives Matter Seattle-King County and other protesters say Seattle should be held in contempt of court: They argue that the use of crowd control weapons this weekend violated the earlier injunction. "In many ways, what happened on July 25 was worse than the events that led to the Courtā€™s June 12 order," they write. "In a vengeful outburst, the SPD deliberately targeted peaceful protesters, medics attending to those protesters, journalists chronicling those protesters, and legal observers sent to ensure those protestersā€™ rights are protected. This conduct is wrong even in the absence of a court order."

686 new coronavirus cases and 17 more deaths reported in the state today: Bringing our grand total to 53, 321 cases and 1,518 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic.

And another Capitol Hill restaurant bites the dust: Americana on Broadway announced today that they will be shutting down due to the pandemic, reports CHS Blog.

The November ballot is going to be a doozy: Today, the Seattle City Council voted to send to the fall ballot a measure that calls for a sales tax increase that would fund bus service, reports Heidi Groover for the Seattle Times. The 0.15 percent sales tax would replace an existing 0.1 percent sales and $60 car tab fee, raising $42 million a year for Metro bus service, transit passes for students and people with low income, and "emergent needs" related to the pandemic and the West Seattle Bridge closure.

Senate Republicans have revealed their proposed unemployment plan: And they want to cut the extra $600/week down to only 70 percent of each claimant's lost wages. Their proposal lays out a plan for one more $600 payment, then provides a $200/week "bridge" until October to give states time to adjust and transition to a scalable model, reports The Hill. Then paymentsā€”a combined state benefit with federal assistanceā€”would max out at $500/week or 70 percent of previous income.

This unemployment plan would be part of, what they call, the HEALS Act: Which would also include another $1200 direct payment, new legal protections for businesses against pandemic-related lawsuits, and new funding for schools. This baby would cost $1 trillion.

Democrats: Think it sucks.

Targetā€”along with Walmartā€”plans on closing its stores on Thanksgiving Day: You may ask, "Will Black Friday survive the coronavirus pandemic?" Luckily, Mudede already has an answer.

Wall of Moms, Don't Shoot Portland, and Black Lives Matter sued the Trump administration today: Over the Department of Homeland Security's use of tear gas, rubber bullets, and "other aggressive means" in responding to the protests in Portland, reports The Hill.

Megan Rapinoe is getting her own TV HBO Max show: And it's called Seeing America with Megan Rapinoe. The soccer star's show is billed as a "critical conversation between some of Americaā€™s most innovative thought leaders" which include Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Hasan Minhaj, and Nikole Hannah-Jones.

If you know, you know: Apropos of nothing, make sure you read our endorsements and vote the way we tell you.