Happy light rail to Lynnwood day to all who celebrate: Trains will start running at the four new light rail stops at around noon today. Hop on a train and enjoy festivals at all of the new stations from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Grab some Korean BBQ for dinner in Lynnwood and then the new-this-year Orange Line to the Alderwood Mall. I'm taking my ass to the Olympus Spa via train as soon as possible. 

With new light rail comes new fares: Sound Transit unveils its new $3 flat fare today. Riders used to be able to pay as little as $2.25 for short trips. Now, all trips are equal. Is this a good thing? The Sound Transit Board thinks so. Rates will stay at $1 for senior, disabled, and low-income riders with discounted ORCA cards. If you're 18 or younger, you still ride for free. 

Rest in hell, University Street Station: In other big light rail news, Sound Transit will finally mercy kill the name "University Street" station and dub the downtown spot "Symphony Station." Tourists rejoice. Now there will only be two stops with the word "University" in them and both will actually be close to the University of Washington.  

Finally, a hot day in August: August is slipping away with two days that'll be relative scorchers in comparison to the rest of this weird, cold month. Summer is still on life support. Don't pull the plug yet! Enjoy the 80-degree weather while you can. 

No closure list yet from Seattle Public Schools: SPS has said that reducing Seattle's number of public elementary schools from 70 to around 50 schools is one of the best ways to stabilize the district in the face of a $100 million budget deficit for the 2025-26 school year. The announcement was supposed to come in September, but Superintendent Brent Jones announced it will now come in October. 

Speaking of schools: A group of right-wing agitators set on destroying the life of a Seattle teacher will continue to harass Chief Sealth International High School's Ian Golash. They plan to return to the school today from 10 am to noonish with their precious billboards. The targeted campaign over Golash’s statements in support of Palestine started last school year, and he’s been suspended from his position since April. Golash’s supporters said they plan to turn out Friday to show they won't be cowed by conservative tormentors. The worst part about these harassment campaigns is sometimes fighting back can make things harder for the person involved, and of course this one has affected a school, you know, with fucking children inside. And least students won't be in the building today. 

Sea plane captain dead after crash: The 74-year-old captain of the seaplane which crashed into Kent's Lake Meridian last weekend died Thursday. 

Harris and Walz had a little interview: Kamala Harris had her first sit-down interview with a journalist since becoming the Democratic nominee for president. Harris and running mate Tim Walz sat down with CNN in a Savannah, Georgia restaurant. The whole thing was pretty normal. In the interview, despite being pushed on the matter, Harris did not say whether she would withhold any military aid to Israel, though she again emphasized the need for a peace deal. The other interesting thing Harris said was that she would place a Republican in her cabinet. That's some Aaron Sorkin-type bullshit. 

Trump on reproductive rights: Seems like the Trump camp has realized how alienating it is to voters to be anti-abortion in a post-Roe America. Despite his pivotal role in the whittling-away of reproductive rights across the country, Donald Trump is now trying to spin himself as a supporter. Currently, he's beating the drum in support of IVF. Trump said in an interview that he would "make the government or insurance companies pay for IVF if he is elected." Yeah, okay, but how? And, also, really? Trump also emphasized that he would leave abortion laws to the states if elected. We're supposed to take your word on this one, buddy? He reemphasized his newfound championship of IVF at an event with former Democratic congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, saying "We wanna produce babies in this country, right?" 

Meanwhile, JD Vance is trying his best not to come across like an evil reptile person: 

The Jungle sequel? Inspectors discovered the cause of a recent listeria outbreak which has hospitalized 57 people in eight states. The outbreak is connected to the Boar's Head plant in Virginia. Across multiple inspections, inspectors found "mold, mildew, and insects" in and around deli meats. In one inspection, there was blood pooling on the floor. In a different one, an inspector observed water from a leak being blown onto meat by a fan. Boar's Head has suspended all operations at its plant and issued a recall on its deli meats. 

Israel struck hospital-bound convoy: The American Near East Refugee Aid group said an Israeli missile struck a convoy carrying medical supplies and fuel on the Salah al-Din Road to a hospital in Rafah in the Gaza Strip. The attack killed several people from a transportation company. Israel said, without offering evidence, that it attacked because gunmen seized the convoy.

Bad bird flu response could breed another pandemic: According to Gregg Gonsalves, associate professor of epidemiology at the Yale School of Public Health, the U.S. is bungling its response to the growing bird flu outbreak in farms across the country, in ways that mirror the mistakes made with COVID-19. "A lack of testing, opaque data, political divides, poor healthcare access, and a sense of hubris—all have plagued the Covid response, and now these errors are playing across the bird flu response," according to The Guardian's summary of Gonsalves' recent New England Journal of Medicine article. While bird flu has yet to spread to humans, Gonsalves believes the US isn't being proactive in stopping the current spread on farms in order to thwart a worst case scenario. Current political fractures, anti-vaccine sentiments, Supreme Court decisions, mask bans, laws curbing public health powers, and the public's sentiment in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic (an illness which is still spreading) will make the next pandemic response even worse. 

Team bonding gone wrong: On a recent office retreat, a group of 15 coworkers hiked Colorado's Mt. Shavano. They left one colleague behind. He got lost, fell 20 times, and was stranded overnight amidst freezing rain and high winds. Rescuers found him after he regained phone signal while stuck in a gully. The company he works for hasn't been named. This ought to juice up the water cooler talk for a while.

The loneliness epidemic is real: In a Japan beach town, people keep getting attacked by dolphins. Since July 21, 18 people have been victims of dolphin attacks. In the last three years, "48 people in the area have suffered dolphin bites" and some have suffered broken bones. People suspect the culprit is a single male dolphin who was separated from his pod. He's attacking people out of loneliness. 

A song for your Friday: I forgot about this one. It hits something deep in my bones.