UN Security Council fails to pass ceasefire resolution: A resolution calling for "an immediate and sustained cease-fire" was struck down by vetos in the UN's Security Council. Proposed by the United States, the ceasefire resolution marks a shift as the death toll in Gaza continues to climb. The US vetoed three previous proposals calling for a ceasefire. The vetos on the US's ceasefire proposal came from Russia and China, two permanent UN members with veto power. 

Renton crash kills 4: Andrea Hudson, 38, died in a car crash this week while transporting her own children and the children of her close friends. Hudson organized and led a homeschooling group. Three of the children—all of her close friends' kids—died. Hudson's two children survived and are seeking treatment in the hospital. 

Bird flu is bad for seals: Since 2020, an avian influenza has been running rampant. While it's not a threat to humans, it's spreading to wildlife populations around the world. One group getting absolutely ass-blasted by the bird flu is the seals and sea lions of the world. Around 300 seals on the east and west coasts (including the Puget Sound region) of the US have died. In Chile and Peru, 20,000 sea lions have kicked the bucket. Thousands of elephant seals are dying in Argentina. Scientists believe infected seabirds are spreading the flu to these populations. The impacts of these die-offs to broader ecosystems isn't clear yet. 

The weather: Looks like it will be moderately chilly and decidedly cloudy on Friday. Expect some rain this weekend. Frankly, expect some rain always. I was stupid yesterday. I assumed no rain all day meant no rain all night. After attending the opening night of the Moisture Festival (which is so weird and charming, I highly recommend it), I got caught in a downpour on my way home. It felt apt. Always check the weather. 

Nothing says clubbing like banh mi: Restaurant entrepreneur Tam Nguyen applied for a permit to put a banh mi shop in the bottom floor of Massive, the queer club that filled the vacancy left behind by R Place, according to Capitol Hill Seattle Blog. 

Beyoncé's guerilla ad campaign at the Guggenheim: To promote her new album, Cowboy Carter, Beyoncé projected the phrase "This ain’t a country album. This is a ‘Beyoncé’ album" with the release date of her album (March 29) onto the rotunda of the New York City museum. According to the Guggenheim, Beyoncé didn't have permission to do this. How very wild west of her. 

No charges in Nex case: The Tulsa County district attorney decided not to file any criminal charges against the teens who bullied nonbinary teen Nex Benedict in a bathroom fight. That altercation is believed to have prompted Nex to take their own life. The DA said he agreed with the local police's assessment that the fight was an "instance of mutual combat."

Russia strikes Ukraine's largest dam: Overnight, Russia attacked Ukrainian electrical power facilities with rockets and drones. One of the biggest targets was Russia's largest hydroelectric plant. The Dnipro Hydroelectric Station is a big dam and power plant that supplies power to the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, Europe’s largest nuclear power installation, according to NBC News. The nuclear plant is operating on backup power. 

Okaaaay, terrifying: Colon cancer, which is the second-leading cause of death in the US, is on the rise, especially in younger populations. According to NBC News, cases of colon cancer in younger people—people below 55—jumped from 11% to 20% of all colon cancer cases between 1995 and 2019. Plus, most of those cases are diagnosed at aggressive, later stages of cancer. Scientists may know why those cases are so aggressive. A new bacteria in the colon is to blame. This bacteria is usually found in the mouth and causes dental plaque. Now, though, it's wreaking havoc and resisting treatment in the colon. The good news is now scientists know this bacteria—which was present in 50% of colon cancer cases in a recent study—is a culprit, and so they will work to target it.

Seattle City Council may roll back delivery driver minimum wage: Two months after a new law passed by the old council requiring app-based delivery companies to give their drivers a minimum wage went into effect, the new council is considering rolling it back and reducing the wage that companies are required to pay. The new council, which doesn't give a shit about workers, flinches under any pressure, and it's getting some heat from companies and drivers who say increased service fees added to deliveries to compensate for driver wages are driving down demand. The council's new plans for an amendment softening this law wouldn't say anything about requiring companies to scale back service fees—and, let's be real, companies passing costs off onto the consumer in that way rather than taking a hit to their profits is the real issues here. 

Trump's Twitter knock-off will go public: Truth Social will go public as early as next week after a merger between the site's parent company, Trump Media & Technology Group, and Digital World Acquisition Corps, what Axios calls "a blank-check company." The latter's shareholders approved the merger, a move that will add "billions of dollars to Trump's net worth." Though he can't "sell any shares for at least six months."

Another day, another government on the verge of shutdown: Congress is racing against a midnight deadline to pass a spending plan to avert an imminent government shutdown. The House, which is controlled by a narrow and absolutely inept Republican majority, must approve a $1.2 trillion bipartisan spending package. Will it happen? Stay tuned! 

This little piggy: Surgeons at Massachusetts General Hospital successfully transplanted a genetically edited pig kidney into a man suffering from end-life kidney disease. They connected the pig's blood vessels and ureter with those parts in 62-year-old Richard Slayman. He is reportedly recovering well. 

Child labor: Three kids in Texas were taken into custody for allegedly robbing a bank. The kids, dubbed the "Little Rascals," are 11, 12, and 16. They reportedly went into a bank, handed the teller a threatening note that may have implied they had a weapon, and then made off with an indeterminate amount of cash. 

A recommendation for your Friday: After a friend's recommendation, I recently started listening to this podcast series, "Bed of Lies" from The Telegraph. I know, I know, this came out in 2021 and I'm behind the times, but my podcast taste is entirely recommendation-driven, so I jumped at this. And it's riveting. The first season follows the story of a group of environmental activists who found out their longtime boyfriends were actually undercover cops.