Good morning: Cloudy this morning, but that should burn off at some point this afternoon. High of 73 degrees. 

Seattle Municipal Court (SMC) Judge Pooja Vaddadi returns to work: After several months on maternity leave, SMC Judge Vaddadi arrived back at work Friday and immediately dropped an op-ed calling out Republican City Attorney Ann Davison's attack on Seattle's independent judiciary. In March, Davison's prosecutors began bouncing Vaddadi off every single criminal case, effectively blocking the elected judge from doing her job. In a memo circulated within the City Attorney's Office (CAO), former CAO Criminal Division Chief Natalie Walton-Anderson accused Vaddadi of bias against prosecutors. Vaddadi argued that accusation point-by-point in her op-ed. SMC Judge Damon Shadid also shared a statement in support of Vaddadi, calling out Davison's attack on a "woman of color on the bench."

"The Seattle voters made it clear that they want Judge Vadaddi to adjudicate criminal cases in Seattle. For one individual to thwart the will of tens of thousands of voters is troubling," Shadid wrote. 

In 2022, Judge Vaddadi won her election with 61% of the vote, compared to Davison's 51% in 2021. 

Lynnwood Light Rail extension draws huge crowds: Literally about 1,000 people showed up to be the first to ride the Lynnwood extension that opened Friday, according to the Seattle Times.  King County Executive Dow Constantine, U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, and Snohomish County Executive Dave Somers all showed up the ride the new part of the 1 Line. Hannah went and saw an Elvis impersonator and bought a 1 Line branded bucket hat. I know we need to hate on how slowly we're building out public transit system, but I'm glad we all celebrated so hard on Friday. Now back to the hating. 

Everything basically OK now at Sea-Tac Airport: After a cyberattack caused internet and technology glitches at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, the Seattle Times reported Monday that things basically appeared to be OK, aside from the lack of Wi-Fi. 

Prison “Betterment Fund” is a joke: Washington state collects millions of dollars a year through the dubious practice of charging incarcerated people to make phone calls. That money is supposed to be used to improve the welfare of incarcerated people in the state, but according to a report in the Seattle Times, it’s gathering dust. For example, they raised $4 million in the most recent fiscal year, largely from phone calls. Of that, $1 million went not to incarcerated people, but to a program that helps victims of crimes pay for their injuries. The only dollars used to actually improve the lives of incarcerated people went to travel reimbursements for families and “holiday event décor.”

Four Shootings on I-5: At least four people were injured in four separate shootings on I-5 between late Monday night and early Tuesday morning. Washington State Patrol believes the shootings were connected, and have made an arrest, according to the Seattle Times.

Madison Park public survey: Do you like Madison Park? Are you sure? What do you like about Madison Park? Be specific. Much like a needy significant other, Madison Park needs you to answer some questions about what you like and dislike about the park. Basically you have to answer two questions, and then fill out some demographic information. Takes two seconds and helps the Friends of Madison Park to check a box that allows Seattle Parks and Recreation to help improve the park. 

Mass protests break out in Israel: Hundreds of thousands of protestors demonstrated across Israel on Sunday and Monday after Israeli soldiers found six hostages dead in a Gaza tunnel Saturday. The deaths sparked national outrage as Israelis criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for failing to reach "a ceasefire-for-hostages deal with Hamas," especially given that a deal might have freed at least three of the hostages found dead, according to CNN. Labor leaders in Israel also organized a massive strike, leading to the closure of the Tel Aviv airport Monday. Ignoring the wrath of the public, Netanyahu defended his refusal to concede to Hamas's demands, such as that Israeli troops withdraw from the border area called the Philadelphi corridor. Even some of Netanyahu's cabinet criticized the prime minister's stance. 

Harris courts workers in swing states: Vice-President Kamala Harris bounced around Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania on Monday as part of a Labor Day blitz to show her love for the workers in the three electorally fickle states. Harris used her stop in Pittsburgh to state her opposition to U.S. Steel selling its company to Japan's Nippon Steel, according to the Associated Press. Back in July the Associated Press took an in depth look at the sale, and the realities of steel production in America.

Speaking of the Harris campaign though: A few of the cars crashed at the tail end of Minnesota Governor Tim Walz's motorcade on Monday as he headed to a Milwaukee Labor Day event, according to the BBC. The car carrying Walz wasn't involved in the crash. Still, Biden and Harris both called Walz to check in. Ban cars, am I right?  

Shooter kills four on Chicago train: Police in Chicago arrested someone suspected of killing four people Monday morning on a Chicago Transit Authority train. Police believe the four people were homeless, and surveillance footage showed the victims sleeping when the suspect came and allegedly shot them point blank. 

Humans use plane to teach endangered birds to migrate: Scientists plan to spend the next 50 or so days leading 36 northern bald ibis birds from Austria to Spain to try to train the birds to fly their migration route. The scientists set off in mid-August in a plane that looks like a golf cart with a big fan on the back, and also held aloft by a giant yellow parachute. Apparently this the birds' 17th human led migration. If that sounds like a movie plot, that's because the scientists said they were inspired to try this by the 1996 movie, "Fly Away Home." I support everything about this endeavor. 

Tinashe drops rest of album Quantum Baby: By this point, anyone who's chronically online has probably heard Nasty, by Tinashe. But the rest of her album dropped August 16. Worth checking out the whole album, but its a little chiller than Nasty, an undisputed bop.