Shes NOT running (for mayor).
She's NOT running (for mayor). NATE GOWDY

Did the Democrats just... succeed? Nobody panic, but the news out of Georgia this morning is good. The powers that be have officially called Rev. Raphael Warnock as the winner in his runoff race against soulless skinwalker Kelly Loeffler, 50.6% to 49.4%. Jon Ossoff, meanwhile, is narrowly beating debate coward David Purdue with 50.19% of the vote to 49.82%. Ossoff's slight 0.4% lead still puts him in recount territory. Georgia allows candidates to request a recount in elections separated by 0.5% of the vote.

Ossoff has declared victory: You'll have to fast forward the video to about a minute in to reach the speech.

Here's Warnock's victory speech from last night:

Okay, so the Senate is 50-50 now: With a Kamala Harris as Vice President tie-breaker, the Democrats are now in control of the Senate for the first time since 2007. Whew, talk about Democrats winning by the skin of their teeth. With the presidency, the House, and the Senate under Democratic control for the first time in 10 years, it seems like anything could be possible right?

All eyes are on the moderates: It's about to be Joe fucking Manchin's America. The second term West Virginian senator is the most conservative member of the Democratic party. He's against repealing the filibuster and doesn't like the idea of packing the courts. Republicans are hoping Manchin will switch parties.

But let's focus on the positives: Dems will oversee important Senate committees, Biden's cabinet nominations will fare better, and Sen. Mitch McConnell will rot in his new, demoted minority leader position.

The conservatives are mad: What happened to backing the blue?

Seattle City Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda will run for re-election: She's going to fight to keep her at-large city council seat this fall. Mosqueda will not be running for mayor. “As we turn the page on a tumultuous period for our City and nation, we need leaders who can bring people together to solve complex problems,” said Mosqueda in a press release. “My team and I have led on major policy initiatives, and delivered impactful change by creating diverse coalitions. There are many challenges ahead as we leave the COVID-19 era; to restart our economy and get people into housing, a proven track record of delivering will be needed. My team and I are ready to do the work.” Time to ramp up the speculation on who our mayoral candidates will be now that Mosqueda is definitively sticking to her council seat.

Federal agents will now have to identify themselves to protesters: Tucked into the new National Defense Authorization Act is a law that requires "federal military and civilian law enforcement personnel" to wear identification when working at a protest. That wasn't a requirement before which made shit like unidentified government agents snatching protesters off the streets in Portland and into unmarked vans all the more disturbing.

Landslide! In Poulsbo! Emergency officials evacuated eight homes along Hood Canal because the hillside above them was starting to slip n' slide and because a boathouse had caught fire. Due to the landslide, firefighters couldn't reach the fire. The slide was 150 feet wide and about 200 feet long. No one was injured, but authorities have not determined if the land is done sliding nor whether residents can return to their homes yet.

It is so very wet: I'd be sliding too if I were land. We're living through Seattle's second wettest start to the year ever on record. Luckily, after today's rain, the sun will peek through for a partly cloudly Thursday:

Pivoting back to Trump bullshit for a second: Soon we will be free from Trump bullshit, or at least the Trump bullshit flowing from the White House. Until then, we must deal with it. The current headache is the "Save America" rally Trump is hosting in D.C. to rile up his base over election fraud. He's expected to speak at the rally at around 8:00 a.m. PST.

Weird opening act from Rudy Giuliani:

Meanwhile, Congress will be voting to certify Biden's win: The ceremonial exercise may be upended by a series of Republican detractors who will vote against certifying Biden's Electoral College win in their states. Around 100 House members and over 12 senators are planning to object to the certification of Biden's win. This probably won't do anything except force Congress to argue about baseless voter fraud claims for two hours, but something like this hasn't been done since the Reconstruction Era in the 1800s.

Mitt Romney had an eventful flight to D.C. last night:

Oregon edits its testing goal: The Beaver State biffed its original goal to vaccinate 100,000 people by the end of 2020. As of yesterday—well into 2021, for those keeping track—Oregon had only vaccinated 51,283. Gov. Kate Brown is setting a new goal to vaccinate 12,000 more people in two weeks.

Burlington pizza place wants its indoor dining area to be considered outdoor: "You could fly a kite in here," the owner of Railroad Pub and Pizza said about his big indoor dining space that he was still operating despite an indoor dining ban.

Public health officials busted a Kent sportsbar: For hosting indoor diners. Stimpy’s Sports Bar & Grill has been cited for various COVID-19 violations in the last six weeks, the Seattle Times reports. Stimpy's isn't alone. On Sunday, a bunch of bristling restaurants participated in what they coined the "Day of Defiance" and stayed open despite COVID-19 bans.

Dr. Dre had an aneurysm: The rapper and music mogul was hospitalized in Los Angeles after reportedly suffering an aneurysm. According to a statement from his team Tuesday night, Dre is recovering well.

Maryland court rules that rap lyrics: Can be used as evidence.

No justice for Jacob Blake: Kenosha County District Attorney Michael Graveley announced yesterday that no police officers would be charged in the shooting of 29-year-old Jacob Blake. In August, officer Rusten Sheskey shot Blake seven times while responding to a domestic violence call. Blake survived but was paralyzed from the waist down.

Here: Have a crossword.