AT&T's big leak: Bad news, AT&T customers and probably anyone who's texted or called AT&T customers, a big, fat data leak in 2022 exposed all call and text message records of anyone using their network between May 1, 2022 and October 31, 2022. That's likely 110 million people. AT&T says the leak does not contain any of the content in these texts or calls. The cellular provider found out about this leak in April while they were dealing with the aftermath of a separate, unrelated major data breach. 

Hearing for SPD cop: Seattle Police Officers Guild (SPOG) vice-president Daniel Auderer was caught on tape joking after a fellow officer hit and killed 23-year-old pedestrian Jaahnavi Kandula. Auderer joked to SPOG president Mike Solan about Kandula's death, calling her "a regular person" with "limited value" and that the city should "just write a check." In a hearing this week, Auderer argued his side of the story. Now, it's on interim police chief Sue Rahr to decide whether to discipline Auderer. According to Publicola, "The Office of Police Accountability has recommended discipline ranging from a 270-day suspension to termination." 

The weather: It'll be mostly sunny this weekend. Friday will see a high of 81 degrees. It's downright pleasant. 

Heatwave hell: Oregon's heatwave this past week was deadly. The death toll now stands at 14. 

Busy, busy, traffic weekend: Here's a handy map showing all the road construction and events going on in the region, all of which may impact travel times. 

Portland-area anesthesiologist fucked up: Portland-area hospitals discovered that one of their anesthesiologists did not follow proper infection control practices when administering intravenous anesthesia. As a result, more than 2,400 patients may have been exposed to diseases such as hepatitis B and C and even HIV. Hospitals are offering patients who may have been exposed free blood tests. The anesthesiologist was fired. 

West Seattle businesses up in arms: On Thursday, West Seattle business owners held an anti-light rail rally since they're worried new light rail in the area will force them to relocate their businesses. Sound Transit has yet to announce its official route for the West Seattle extension, but the agency is expected to make the announcement sometime this year. Some of the rallying owners claim that the extension won't "add much to ridership." Oh, I'm sorry, did you want to live undisturbed and isolated on your little West Seattle island forever? That's not how living in a city works, bucko. Maybe next time the bridge crumbles you'll feel differently. The West Seattle line won't be completed until 2032. So, what's the fuss? We all might be dead by then anyway. 

Let me tell you the tale of Biden's bad day: While speaking to reporters at a NATO summit, Biden introduced Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as "President Putin," which, um, are not the two guys you wanna mix up in this context. There's an excruciating beat where everyone in the room—reporters, world leaders, Zelensky—waits, hoping Biden will catch himself. Finally, he does. "President Putin?" Biden says, correcting himself. "President Zelensky. I'm so focused on beating Putin." I hate when this happens to me!

Later, at the news conference: Thursday was the first time Biden had done a solo news conference and answered questions from the White House press corps in over a year. He made another big name flub, referring to Vice President Kamala Harris as "Vice President Trump." Despite the mistake, Biden powered on, doubled down, and insisted he would not back out of the race. “I’ve got to finish this job," he said. No, Joe, you need to suck on a Werther's Original hard candy and snooze a little during a Tuesday matinee at your local AMC, not lose this election for us. 

Okay, so what of the content? If you could withstand the halting, glitchy speech, Biden actually did well on explaining his stances on foreign policy and why his reelection is critical for protecting NATO, drawing a difference between himself and Trump, who has been publicly skeptical and dismissive about the alliance. Yet, as the Associated Press pointed out, "the news conference’s focus wasn’t really foreign policy, it was reassuring Democrats and the world that Biden is still able to be president and beat Trump." Call me a skeptic, but I don't think it worked. 

At least there's comedy? All of this is hard to watch and harder to stomach. The threat of another Trump presidency combined with all the new powers granted to the president by the Supreme Court? Count me out. The only thing making it all slightly worthwhile are the jokes. Gallows humor and all that. 

Gluesenkamp Perez says Biden is unfit: Southwest Washington’s Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez is the latest Evergreen State Dem to speak up about Joe Biden's candidacy. She made her statement at the end of Biden's solo news conference on Thursday. Gluesenkamp Perez's statement said, "I doubt the president’s judgment about his own health, his fitness to do the job, and whether he is the one making important decisions about our country, rather than unelected advisers." She and Rep. Adam Smith are so far the only members of Washington's US House delegation to call for Biden to step aside. 

RIP Shelley Duvall: The Shining actress died Thursday at age 75. 

Big changes to the U-shaped curve for happiness: The U-shaped happiness curve is a theory about happiness and our lifespans, with happiness highest in early life (one peak is at age 30), lowest in middle life (the deepest dip is at age 50), and the highest again in old age (another peak after age 70). Data reaching back to 1973 supports the theory in both humans and non-human apes. Yet, scientists say the curve has changed because the young are not that happy anymore "in absolute terms and relative to older people." The new happiness model is more akin to a line graph that shows "a consistent decrease in unhappiness with age." While it sounds good that people get happier with age, researchers are worried. One researcher told Scientific American, "That is when people are just starting their lives. It shouldn’t be when they are most anxious, are most depressed, and have no hope for the future. There is something profoundly wrong there.” More here.

ICYMI: The Killers showing the Euro 2024 semi-final between England and the Netherlands and then opening their concert with "Mr. Brightside" fucking rocks. 

Castro nudists tackle attacker: While on a naked stroll, two San Francisco nudists witnessed a "crazy kind of pirate guy” with a blowtorch threatening a tourist. The pirate-y attacker started punching the tourist and the nudists stepped in, punching and slapping until the attacker high-tailed it out of there. 

IRS tracks down $1 billion in back taxes from ultra wealthy: The IRS is chasing down the rich tax cheaters, and they have $1 billion to show for it. This is a signal of what investment in the agency, like the money it received as part of Biden's Inflation Reduction Act, could do. And this makes it all the more clear why Republicans want to cut the agency's budget so badly. 

A song for your summery Friday: Play this one when the sun's shining and you can feel the wind in your hair.