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More talk of talking about another COVID-19 relief package in the Senate: A bunch of centrist corporate Democrats and Republicans in the U.S. Senate want to "signal" their willingness to do something in a Congress that will do nothing as the lives and livelihoods of millions veer toward a cliff at the end of December, when eviction moratoriums lift and unemployment dries up. To that end, the Senators revealed a new $908 billion plan this morning, reports the Washington Post. You'll be surprised to learn that the plan "is light on details" and "fluid and subject to change," but ultimately "seeks to reach a middle ground on numerous contentious economic issues."
Bipartisan Senate group to unveil $908B stimulus compromise. Details fluid but likely to include:
â $300/week UI
â $300B - PPP
â $250B - state & local
â Temporary liability shield
â $50B 4 health/vaccine distribution
AND:
â NO stimulus checks 2.0https://t.co/NDT9Jd8XWx
â Jeff Stein (@JStein_WaPo) December 1, 2020
Canada, on the other hand, appears to have its shit together: Our neighbor to the north plans to pass "the largest economic relief package... since the Second World War," the BBC reports.
Groan: Joe Biden's proposed COVID-19 czar, Jeffrey D. Zients, recently ran an investment fund and sat on Facebook's board, reports the New York Times.
Los Angeles decides not to close a COVID-19 testing site just to film a "She's All That" sequel with a TikTok star: We were about to live in a world where a major American city shut down one of its only testing sites accessible by public transit in order to score some permit money until an org serving homeless people called Ktown for All stepped up and said, "WTF???!!???"
In the middle of a horrible and terrifying COVID spike, LA just cancelled all of its Dec 1 appointments at Union Station (one of the only transit-accessible facilities) with less than 24hrs notice because of A FILM SHOOT!! @MayorOfLA @metrolosangeles @lapublichealth WTF???!!??? pic.twitter.com/zwR36TH4G4
â Ktown for All đ†(@KtownforAll) December 1, 2020
A robot mind solved "one of biology's biggest mysteries:" No one could predict the shapes certain proteins would make when they folded upâuntil yesterday, that is. AI cracked the case, which will help scientists "design drugs and intervene with health problems whether those be infections or inherited disease," Professor Andrew Martin from University College London told BBC News.
China's back on the moon: They're using a robot to collect rocks up there for the first time since the 1970s, reports the BBC.
Guatemala's uprising continues: For the last two weekends a couple thousand Guatemalans have flooded the streets to protest President Alejandro Giammattei and the country's lawmakers, who recently signed a budget that "raised stipends for representativesâ meals while cutting funding for human rights agencies, healthcare, education, and the judiciary," reports Al Jazeera.
French politicians walk back proposal to ban filming cops: The move came after a video of cops beating up and yelling racist shit at a Black music producer went viral over the weekend, according to Democracy Now.
God damn it:
Thread: Before reporting this story, I didn't realize that the link between alcohol and cancer was so clear. Turns out, there's a good reason for my lack of awareness. https://t.co/IwoEyOdpDA
â Jessica Fu (@JessTiaFu) December 1, 2020
Cops arrest four protesters on WTO Anniversary: Every Night Direct Demonstrationâan autonomous and leaderless horizontal protest venue that welcomes a "diversity of tactics" except for clout chasing, peace-policing, and live-streamingâtook to the streets again last night. Cops arrested four after demonstrators broke a Starbucks and painted up some stuff, reports Capitol Hill Seattle Blog. The march marked six month since May 30, when protests in Seattle began following the killing of George Floyd.
People clearly need to go to therapy about other peoples' drug problems: Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Joe Wilson was censured for cussing out addicts from the bench in at least two cases, reports the Associated Press: "Itâs the third year in a row Wilson has faced questions about his conduct for lobbing epithets and curse words at defendants." If he ever gets removed, he'll likely find a comfortable second life serving as Safe Seattle's Judge Judy.
The University of Washington checked in on the financial health of "hundreds" of the region's nonprofits: It's not looking good. "The number of people seeking help from health and human services nonprofits during the COVID-19 pandemic have gone up between 10% and 28%, while those same agencies have seen their funding and workforce cut in half," reports the Seattle Times.
ICYMI: On Monday the Seattle Times reported on the Northwest detention center's apparently tortuous use of solitary confinement. The ICE facility "imposes solitary confinement on inmates with mental-health issues, or who are exercising their First Amendment rights by going on hunger strikes" and keeps them inside "29% longer than any other dedicated detention facility." The private prison company who runs the immigrant jail denies the allegations.
Hate crimes are up in Washington and across the country: King 5 wrote up the new numbers from Monday's presser with the King County Prosecutor's Office. Prosecutors counted up 51 hate crimes so far this year, which may be low given the fact that many go unreported. Two years ago the county tallied 30 hate crimes, and last year the number ticked up to 38. Most of the victims "by far" included Black people and gay men. As of 2018, Washington reported the fourth largest number of hate crimes in the country.
I know you don't need me telling you: But keep your head on a swivel out there, especially for neighbors who get mad at you for being Black while moving stuff they put in front of your door, randos who blow up at you for being Black while apparently blocking a parking spot at the Fred Meyer, and violent chuds who accuse you of a hit-and-run as an excuse to brutally beat you up. Those brief stories account for three of this year's 51 crimes.
The Seattle Seahawks: Won. At 8-3, the team is now best in the NFC west.
Don't expect any $75 tickets for driving on the West Seattle low bridge until February: The West Seattle Blog followed up with SDOT about the status of the automated enforcement system installation on the bridge, access to which the agency reserved "for authorized users only." Turns out SDOT is behind schedule, again.
A driver hit and killed a 92-year-old in Bellevue: Investigators believe the victim was "out for a walk and was trying to cross the street to go home," according to KIRO.
I have filed a records request for information regarding the purchase and production of this banner: I should get it by the time the protests get big again next summer. For those Solan apparently blocked on Twitter: the banner welcomes "Seattle laterals" to the force across the lake.
What does this tell us? So sad watching unreasonable activism decimate #Seattle. @BvuePD, youâre getting great @SeattlePD #cops. This will take years to recover from @SeattleCouncil. Whatâs the solution? https://t.co/XCZY9Uktm5 #PublicSafety #HOLDTHELINE!đșđž pic.twitter.com/wjsqe3SBIs
â Mike Solan (@realmikesolan) December 1, 2020