Six Asian women are dead after shootings in Atlanta: Someone killed eight people at three massage parlors within an hour in and around Atlanta last night. While police have yet to determine what the motive is, given that six of the eight dead were Asian women, the suspicion is that the shooting was racially motivated. Police arrested a 21-year-old white man who is suspected of carrying out all three shootings.
Atlanta police have an update: According to the cops, the suspect may have had a "sexual addiction" and frequently visited the massage parlors in the past. Investigators say the suspect said the crimes weren't racially motivated. The investigation is still at an early stage. Police also revealed that they caught the suspected shooter because his family turned him in. Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said the shooter was on his way to carry out similar attacks in Florida.
Cherokee County Sheriff Frank Reynolds says Atlanta suspect in massage parlor shooting that left 8 dead has potential "sexual addiction" and "may have frequented some of these places in the past.”https://t.co/TjoPLbMPMp pic.twitter.com/Cl51o7pIeA
— CBS News (@CBSNews) March 17, 2021
Seattle says it will protect its Asian communities: In the wake of the Atlanta shootings, Mayor Jenny Durkan and Seattle Police Department Chief Adrian Diaz issued a statement to say that Seattle would increase its police and community service officer patrols in Asian communities.
New Washington vax eligibility opens up today: Great news for all you critical workers in congregate settings. People like grocery workers, transit operators, law enforcement officers, and corrections officers can receive the vaccine starting today. That opens up eligibility to around 3 million more Washingtonians.
The sky will be somewhat blue: Happy St. Patty's Day from the weather team. If you're working from home, do you don a little green to avoid even the possibility of a pinch?
Dry today with partly sunny skies! High temperatures across the area in the mid to upper 50! 🍀 #WAwx pic.twitter.com/5ZNpeEZhkL
— NWS Seattle (@NWSSeattle) March 17, 2021
An important and relevant question:
why cold when sunny
— danielle weisberg (@danielleweisber) March 16, 2021
In-person school is coming back for Seattle elementary schools: Kids from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade may find their butts back in desk chairs after Seattle Public Schools reached a tentative agreement with the Seattle Education Association for an April 5 return to in-person learning. The plan would be to open up a hybrid learning model—some kids at home, some kids at school—starting then.
Something positive: Washington state's updated revenue forecast has good news! Lawmakers will have an extra $3 billion to work with in crafting the next two-year state budget.
Big uptick in state revenue in WA. New revenue forecast means Washington state lawmakers will have $3 billion more to work with as they craft a new two-year state budget in the coming weeks. #waleg pic.twitter.com/QdT6I0tqym
— Melissa Santos (@MelissaSantos1) March 17, 2021
Will someone please think of the drawbridges? Seattle's drawbridges are old and crusty and the fear is they'll turn into the next West Seattle Bridge; broken and out of commission for years. Seattle's "Ballard, Fremont, and University steel-deck bridges, and the Spokane Street swing bridge" are old and could use an influx of cash for fixer-upper maintenance projects, the Seattle Times reports. Will the Seattle City Council shell out the $7.8 million for drawbridge upkeep?
Japanese district court rules that forbidding a same-sex a couple to marry is "unconstitutional." That's a big move for Japan which is "the only Group of Seven nation that doesn't fully recognize same-sex partnership," according to CNA.
Oh, to be a Thai virus-sniffing pooch:
ON THE SCENT: Sniffer dogs are trained to detect coronavirus in a new study claiming to have an 95% accuracy rate at a university in Bangkok, Thailand. https://t.co/WMywLRf5Ak pic.twitter.com/3nexxMPaSy
— ABC News (@ABC) March 17, 2021
Looking for the perfect birthday gift for a special someone? You can buy an "original" nail from the crucifixion of Jesus Christ for $17,600 on Etsy. Talk about a bargain!
Partisan segregation in America: This New York Times report examined where Americans lived in relationship to how they voted. The thesis is this: "nearly all American voters live in communities where they are less likely to encounter people with opposing politics than we’d expect." Those findings are not just on a state or city level, but on a neighborhood level.
Washington state Supreme Court hears landmark case: According to the Seattle Times, the case concerns whether or not Washington cities can impound the cars people are living in. A Seattle man living out of his truck had his vehicle impounded after he violated the 72-hour law that limits how long a car can stay parked on city streets. But, a court found that by impounding the truck, the city was in violation of the Homestead Act, "a frontier-era law protecting homes from forced sale." After multiple appeals, the case was heard by the state Supreme Court on Tuesday. The outcome could have drastic impacts on Seattle's growing population of vehicle dwellers, especially as the 72-hour rule, which was suspended during the pandemic, is set to be reinstated.
Nobody get any big ideas: ProPublica is reporting that "America’s drinking water is surprisingly easy to poison."
Florida mom and daughter arrested for hacking the homecoming vote: Laura Rose Carroll's 17-year-old daughter was voted homecoming queen by her Pensacola, Florida high school last fall. Except, the district reported something strange: unauthorized access into hundreds of student accounts. Authorities found that over 100 homecoming votes had come from one IP address. Carroll, who is an assistant principal for an elementary school in the same district, allegedly cast fraudulent votes for her daughter. She and her daughter were arrested on a slew of charges and the daughter was expelled.
This is too charming: My poor little heart cannot take actor James McAvoy baking on The Great British Bake Off.
He came. He baked. He dished out rum.
Here’s how legendary actor James McAvoy got on in the Bake Off Tent… #GBBO pic.twitter.com/viTlTVvzuc
— British Bake Off (@BritishBakeOff) March 16, 2021
A crossword for your Wednesday: Enjoy.