E.coli outbreak spreads to more counties in Washington: Seven cases among children in King County were reported last week, and now more cases have been confirmed in Snohomish, Benton, and Walla Walla County. The state health department and local health jurisdictions are working together to identify cases in the current outbreak, reports KOMO.
It's foggy out there: Drive slow!
Areas of clouds and fog mixed with sun in other areas to start the day (seagull weather apparently) Turning partly to mostly sunny this afternoon. Highs back into the upper 60s and low 70s. More sunshine and warmer for the weekend! #k5weather pic.twitter.com/6zZt9UTCrt
â Rich Marriott (@rtmarriott) May 13, 2021
New golf simulator in Capitol Hill: CHS Blog reports that Five Iron Golf, the "high-tech, inclusive urban golf experience for golfers and non-golfers alike," will set up shop in the street-level space of the WeWork-occupied Kelly Springfield building on 11th Ave. Golfers will be treated to a full food menu, alcoholic drinks, widescreen TVs, and other bar-games like pool and ping pong. It'll likely make its debut later this year.
President of the country's second-largest teachers' union will call for schools to fully reopen: In an upcoming address today, Randi Weingarten of the American Federation of Teachers is expected to argue that "prolonged isolation is harmful" for students, reports The Hill. She'll also argue that Zoom school negatively impacts the way parentsâespecially mothersâare able to work. She will commit the union to put $5 million into a campaign that will make teachers "host open houses and go door to door to discuss the strategy for reopening."
Seattle Public Schools apparently got that message:
BREAKING! #Seattle Public Schools Interim superintendent announces a full-blown return to in person for fall 2021.
Details to come on @KIRO7Seattle. pic.twitter.com/Uz48N4QX2S
â Lauren Donovan (@LaurenKIRO7) May 13, 2021
Israel continues its bombardment of Gaza: Today, Israeli troops were seen at the Gaza border, showing no signs of de-escalating the violence that has erupted over the past week, reports The Hill. At least 83 Palestiniansâincluding 17 childrenâand 7 Israelis have been killed in airstrikes and rocket attacks as Arab and Jewish mobs take to the streets of Israel, fighting and torching cars. The Israeli military has leveled three high-rise buildings in Gaza since Monday, claiming that it "housed Hamas facilities." Yesterday, Biden said he spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about stopping the violence, though he did not mention Palestinians by name.
U.S. unemployment hits yet another pandemic-era low: 473,000 Americans filed first-time unemployment claims last week as employers across the country cut less jobs, consumers spend more money, and businesses start to uniformly reopen, reports Politico. According to the same report, 16.9 million people were still receiving aid during the week of April 24.
Anthony Fauci reiterates that if you're fully vaxxed you can ditch the mask when you're outside: Unless you're in an extremely crowded situation, if you're two weeks out from your second dose, that mask can stay in your pocket outdoors. âWeâve got to make that transition,â Fauci said.
Dr. Anthony Fauci confirms, "If you are vaccinated, you don't have to wear a mask outside." đˇ pic.twitter.com/Wcy3AsPnnP
â CBS This Morning (@CBSThisMorning) May 13, 2021
A World Health Organization-commissioned report says the COVID-19 pandemic was a "preventable disaster": Pointing to February 2020 as a "lost month" when governments across the globe could have stepped up their public health response to stop the epidemic from turning into a pandemic, reports Axios. Shoulda, coulda, woulda.
Tesla says "no" to bitcoin after CEO Elon Musk said he would stop accepting the currency due to the high environmental cost, reports CNN. Bitcoin, of course, tanked after the announcement.
Two small planes collide midair over Denver, but everyone was able to walk away: AP reports that despite one plane being nearly ripped in half and a pilot deploying a parachute, there were no injuries. "Every one of these pilots needs to go buy a lottery ticket right now," Arapahoe County Sheriff's Deputy John Barmann said of the incident.
So it goes: Rep. Liz Cheney may be out as GOP conference chair in the House, but she's potentially down for a presidential run to prevent Trump from getting reelected. Though she did not say it explicitly, during a Today show interview this morning she said she'd do "whatever it takes" to stop Donald. As The Guardian notes, her out-primarying Trump is a long shot.
Seattle has always been dying to some people: Seattle Walk Report pulled together 100 years of complaints about our beautiful city. Can't cranky residents find a new annoying horn to blow on!??
After engine fire, the jumbo ferry Wenatchee remains out of commission: Just as peak travel season kicks off, the state has been forced to use smaller vessels to transport people and cars across Puget Sound, reports the Seattle Times. Expect to see lower-capacity schedules starting today.
Congress, pass that infrastructure bill, stat! An important bridge in Memphis has been shut down indefinitely after officials found a giant rusty crack that threatened its stability, reports NPR. As a precaution, the bridge has been closed to motorists and the riverâa "crucial waterway" for the transportation of cropsâis closed to barge traffic until it's determined what's what. Now, there are more than 400 barges backed up in both directions on the Mississippi River waiting to get the all-clear.
Interim Seattle police Chief Adrian Diaz says "nahhhhhhhhhhhhh" to disciplining officer who gave tear gas and blast ball orders after a cop tried to rip a pink umbrella from a demonstrator's hands during the protests last summer. His decision came after the police-accountability office recommended that the commander be disciplined given that the crowd was peaceful at the time, reports the Seattle Times. In a letter to Mayor Durkan and City Council President Lorena GonzĂĄlez, Diaz wrote that his decision was "grounded first and foremost in principles of fundamental fairness." LOL, okay chief. We'll have more on this later, but in case you need a refresher, here's Converge Media's video of the incident. To me, it's clear the cop is having a temper tantrum:
Seattle I have a question for @SeattlePD @SeattleOPA @MayorJenny @SeattleCouncil @SeaCPC - Are you seriously saying that no one is responsible for tear-gassing a whole neighborhood? Asking on behalf of media, peaceful protesters, and residents of Cap Hill all who got gassed. pic.twitter.com/rvXhHmEpfs
â Omari Salisbury (@Omarisal) May 13, 2021
For your listening pleasure: "Sum Bout U" by 645AR ft. FKA twigs.