The big one hasnt hit just yet...
The big one hasn't hit just yet... Screenshot from PNSN

Emmy nominations dropped this morning: Netflix's The Crown and Disney+'s The Mandalorian led the pack with 24 nominations each; WandaVision, Ted Lasso, Lovecraft Country, and The Handmaid's Tale closely followed, reports Entertainment Weekly. The complete list is a bit of snooze, except for two acting nominations for Seattle-born Jean Smart (for her work in Hacks and Mare of Easttown) and Mj Rodriguez finally snagging a nomination for her work in Pose. And Michaela Coel's I May Destroy scooped up nine nominations. Catch the awards on Sunday, September 19 at 8 pm ET/5 pm PST on CBS and Paramount+.

Didja feel it? A tiny earthquake shook parts of South King County today around 1:30 pm, reports KOMO. Located 12.5 miles south of the city, the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network said the quake had a depth of 29 kilometers (18 miles) and a magnitude of 2.78. There were no immediate reports of damage, but I'm always worried about The Big One.

Let's get saucy: The New York Times dropped a sauce package in case you were looking for something wholesome to get into this summer.

1.3 million people in France rushed to schedule vaccine appointments: After President Emmanuel Macron "said COVID-19 passes would soon be needed for daily activities" like going to restaurants, stores, and transportation, reports The Hill. According to Doctolib, a vaccine scheduling app in the country, the majority of appointments were for those under 35. Don't come in between the French and their cafes!

Blue Origin gets the go-ahead from the government to launch founder Jeff Bezos and others in space: Next Tuesday is the big day. The richest man in the world, along with his brother, 82-year-old female aviation pioneer, Wally Funk, and an auction winner will hurtle off this planet and into space on the New Shepard rocket in West Texas, reports the Seattle P.I. Good luck?

Uncle Ike's moves into the liquor market: Capitol Hill Seattle Blog reports that Uncle Ike's Glass and Goods on 23rd and Union has transformed into Uncle Ike's Bottle Shop, selling booze to the 21+ masses. According to owner Ian Eisenberg, the Bottle Shop is "just like every other liquor store in Seattle."

I guess of the opposite of "brain drain" is "brain gain": Geekwire reports that, according to new analysis by CBRE real estate firm, the Seattle-Bellevue-Tacoma metropolitan region has added "more than 48,000 tech jobs from 2016 to 2020, an increase of more than 35% — growing at a faster rate than any other large U.S. tech market." Our region is third, behind only Toronto and Vancouver, B.C., which both grew at a faster rate.

Cornel West gives Harvard the middle finger: The scholar and activist announced his resignation from Harvard University after the school did not give him tenure, reports NPR. He said the school had an "intellectual and spiritual bankruptcy of deep depths." Read his scathing letter in full here:

More lawsuits coming: The City of Seattle has countersued the Seattle Times after the paper filed a lawsuit, "alleging the city mishandled reporters’ requests for top officials’ text messages during a tumultuous period last summer." The Times' lawyer, Katherine George, notes that governments "ordinarily don't file countersuits against public records requesters who are trying to enforce the public's right to know." Here's more from Lewis Kamb over at the Times:

In a 25-page formal answer filed Friday to the newspaper’s lawsuit, started in June, the city denied most legal contentions, including claims directly based on a city ethics investigation into a whistleblower’s complaint that found Mayor Jenny Durkan’s office violated the public disclosure law after discovering the mayor’s texts for a 10-month period were missing.

Although it concedes the mayor’s texts are lost, the city’s response, filed in King County Superior Court, includes a counterclaim against the newspaper and seeks a legal judgment that it “complied with all relevant provisions of the Public Records Act.”

Olivia Rodrigo is Gen Z's vaccine ambassador: The young pop star is headed to the White House to meet with olds President Biden and Dr. Anthony Fauci to "do her part to increase Covid-19 vaccination outreach to the crucial demographic of young people," reports CNN. While you're here, listen to "good 4 u."

Speaking of Biden: The president gave a big speech today on voting rights, and described the Republican-led charge to restrict access to the ballot as "the most significant test of our democracy since the Civil War." While he really went in on Trump et. al for their election lies and their efforts to undermine democracy—"Have you no shame?"—many have criticized the president for not outlining concrete steps to fight these GOP goons, like ending the filibuster so the Democratic Senate can get shit done. Listen to Ol' Joe here:

Heat advisory and fire weather watch for a large portion of Eastern Washington: The National Weather Service thinks highs will hit somewhere between 100-105 degrees, reports KOMO. The heat advisory will remain in place until Wednesday afternoon while the fire weather watch will go into effect from Wednesday to Thursday evening. Stay hydrated and cool out there!

Taku will open indoor dining on July 15: Seattleites will have a chance to sit down inside the restaurant owned by Top Chef: Portland star Shota Nakajima this week, says Eater Seattle. I can't wait to get wrecked by the karaage nuggets and watermelon salad inside that cool looking space! Some Seattleites got a sneak peek last night during a soft opening, which you can see pictures of by looking at Shota's Instagram stories while they last.

A reward for having a spine made of jello: The Biden administration nominated former Republican senator Jeff Flake as ambassador to Turkey today, reports Politico.

Weather break: Getting worried about this dry streak 😅

And a quick brain break: The world's smallest cow is named Rani, weighs 57 pounds, and stands 20 inches tall. We love her.

More updates out of Haiti: NBC News reports that one of the suspects under arrest in connection to the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel MoĂŻse is "a former confidential source for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration." Though the DEA didn't name the suspect, two law enforcement officials say it was Joseph Gertand Vincent. It was also reported that the assassin shouted "DEA!" during their attack. The agency said they were "aware" of those reports but that "these individuals were not acting on behalf of DEA."

Today's the last day of Washington's vaccine lottery: Is it bad that this is one of my only shots to fully pay off my student loans?

For your listening pleasure: DoNormaal's "wannabe." I can't get this out of my head!