Guess whos baaaaaaack?
Oh yeah, and guess who's baaaaaaack? Karen Ducey / GETTY IMAGES

The unvaccinated, many "in their 20s and 30s," flood Washington hospitals: The Washington State Hospital Association told the Seattle Times that "hospitalizations from COVID-19 are the highest they’ve ever been." Staff is beyond burnt out, but this trend is “likely to continue in the coming month due to the delta variant.” Get the fucking vaccine and wear a fucking mask.

Most Delta infections spread when people don't feel sick: According to a new report in Nature, "74% of infections with Delta took place during the presymptomatic phase — a higher proportion than for previous variants." This is why we're wearing the fucking masks.

We bagged some freaky hornets: Last week a Whatcom County resident saw an Asian giant hornet munching on a paper wasp nest, prompting entomologists with the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) to head out there and put tiny little tracking devices on the hornets' legs. This week one of the devices led the WSDA to the Asian giant hornet nest, which will be eradicated "likely next week," reports KING 5. If you're up north, keep your head on a swivel for those giant flying bee murderers.

Why do some homeless people resist offers of shelter? Because in some cases the shelter sucks more than the streets do. "Reluctance to go to crowded shelters is just one of many reasons people turn down the offer. Some people have been turned away by bad experiences and broken promises. Others have specific circumstances — addiction, immigration status, or families and pets — that shelters can’t accommodate," the Seattle Times reports.

Did you read Mudede on Inslee's "strict" vaccine mandate for school staff? You should read Mudede on Inslee's "strict" vaccine mandate for school staff.

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The Space Needle is also the eye of Sauron: KIRO 7 ran a story today about a man who installed "a new panoramic camera" at the top of the downtown-ish landmark and also "put in a new lightning rod while he was 'hanging around.'" The needle's "panocam" offers 360-degree views of the city 24 hours per day, which means there is an eye in the sky watching our every move, and it sees all. Nothing to worry about there.

Baby goats at the Redhook Brewlab this weekend: As if you needed another reason to hang out at the Brewlab on Capitol Hill—a hot spot that attracts some of the neighborhood's most daring thought-leaders and most innovative guys—this weekend "Seattle's first microbrewery" will celebrate its 40th birthday at that location, and they promise baby goats, reports Capitol Hill Seattle blawg.

Schneider Springs Fire nearly doubles in a day: A wildfire between Mt. Rainier and Naches in Yakima County "exploded in size in just a single day, growing from nearly 32,000 acres to now having blackened 56,422," KOMO reports. The Yakima Valley Office of Emergency Management sent out a Level 3 evacuation order, which means get the fuck outta there.

Same shit, different election cycle: Doug Trumm over at The Urbanist took a look at some new precinct-level maps Jason Weill constructed from the primary election results and noticed a familiar trend: the rich people with water views voted for the more conservative candidates, and the renters in the central areas voted with the progressives. The people who voted for Bruce Harrell in 2021 are the same people who voted for Jenny Durkan in 2017.

Worth noting this sharp analysis from Trumm, which could offer some hope for progressives in November: "Setting aside strange 2020 Census figures, Seattle has likely added at least 60,000 residents since 2017, and the vast majority (85% or more) of the growth is in urban villages and centers — not the single-family zones were centrists tend to rack up votes."

King County sucks at distributing rent assistance this year: Last year the County pushed out all of its federal rent relief money on time. But this year, the Seattle Times reports, we're lagging way behind other counties and cities. What's the hold-up? The new rent relief money comes with more strings, so the County opted to contract with some company called GrantCare to build a database to track where the money goes. That company apparently overpromised on its timeline, though some rent relief money has started to trickle out.

OnlyFans will pull the plug on porn, which is bad for sex workers: That said, "people will still be able to post nude content on the site" that aligns with new "content guidelines" according to the BBC. Though OnlyFans blamed "pressure from bankers" for the move, the BBC noted that the announcement came after they "approached the company for a response to leaked documents concerning accounts which posted illegal content."

Chaos continues outside Kabul airport: Thousands of people attempted to board flights Thursday and "faced beatings by Taliban guards," the Washington Post reports. American citizens say they're getting confusing signals about how to leave the country. This is all despite the U.S. government claiming it has reached a deal with the Taliban to allow U..S. citizens safe passage into the airport. From the Post: "One former U.S. official familiar with the issue said the Taliban appeared to be adjusting the location of its checkpoints outside the airport based on which gates the United States opens. Several people said gunfire was constant around the airport, as Taliban fighters fired into the air to control crowds or in some cases shot at people."

Tens of thousands of former Afghan soldiers now in hiding: The New York Times reports that despite the Taliban PR blitz, "accounts of the Taliban searching for people they believe worked with and fought alongside U.S. and NATO forces are beginning to trickle out." The Taliban has reportedly been reviewing records, drawing up a list of former military members to search for, and threatening to arrest or punish their family members.

Man who fell to his death trying to cling to an American plane was Afghan footballer: Zaki Anwari played for the national youth team, Al Jazeera reports.

Taliban attacks LA Times photographer, then offers an energy drink: A Los Angeles Times photographer covering a religious ritual for devout Shiite Muslims watched the Taliban circle protesters. Then, a Taliban fighter punched him in the side of his head. Another insisted he and another journalist delete their photos. Later, the fighter changed his tone, "apologized profusely for our troubles, but not, we noticed, for beating us" and offered an energy drink, the photographer said.

Just want to take a moment to praise this legend:

Canadian soldier gave her colleagues weed cupcakes "during a live firearms exercise:" According to the BBC, the soldier now faces up to five years in prison. "In a video interrogation with [the soldier, Chelsea Cogswell] played for the court, she described being called a misogynist word by other soldiers and said cannabis use was prevalent among troops. Last spring, a military official confirmed that this was the first time that a Canadian soldier has faced court martial for 'allegedly administering cannabis to colleagues without their consent,'" the BBC reports.

Three vaxxed U.S. senators have COVID-19: Sens. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Angus King (I-Maine) and John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.) each announced today that they tested positive for rare breakthrough cases of COVID-19, the USA Today reports.

After some Dems return, Texas House will resume work: Democrats in the Texas state legislature had left the state to try to block Republicans there from approving a bill that would restrict voting rights. Now, after three Democrats returned, enough members are in the capitol to open the door for a vote on the elections bill, according to the Texas Tribune.