More Misery for Microsoftees: It's hell over there in Redmond. Microsoft is planning to lay off "thousands" of employees next month as it pares back its numbers and funnels spending into artificial intelligence. Most of the cuts will hit the sales department. These layoffs follow the 6,000 jobs Microsoft axed in May.
Powerless in South Seattle: Power outages struck Seattle City Light customers in Tukwila and South Seattle on Wednesday afternoon. A fallen branch is the likely culprit.
Oh I forgot about this guy: Sorry, the news (and life in general) is so chaotic right now I completely forgot about the manhunt for the man who allegedly murdered his young daughters and fled into the Washington woods. The lead suspect in that Wenatchee triple homicide is still on the lam. Chelan County Sheriff Mike Morrison believes he's still alive and evading search efforts. But he is confident that the suspect will be caught. As a reminder, the manhunt is now in its third week.
Din Tai Fung Gets Steamed: Everyone's favorite dumpling chain is in hot water for allegedly violating Seattle sick time and wage theft laws. Due to the restaurant's attendance policy, employees were discouraged from taking sick time and they weren't provided the required meal and rest breaks. In a settlement, Din Tai Fung agreed to pay workers $567,361 to 1,245 employees.
Nooooooo Don't Make Us Hate You, Firefighters: Everyones' unproblematic faves, the firefighters, may not be so unproblematic. A private investigation found that Seattle Fire Department firefighters might have forged vaccine cards during the COVID-19 pandemic to abide by city vaccine mandates without having to actually get vaccinated. Allegedly, a firefighter swiped blank vaccine cards from a vaccination sight and sold them. Many of these blank cards were available for firefighters to simply take, according to a report by PubliCola. However, the investigation could did not yield conclusive evidence.
Cool, Cool, Not Stressful at All: Trump is still undecided about whether he'll join Israel's attacks on Iranian nuclear sites. Iran said America would suffer "irreparable harm" if so. Trump said, unhelpfully, "I may do it. I may not do it. I mean, nobody knows what I’m going to do." Nobody's asking, but my professional opinion is do not do it. Okay, thanks!
Meanwhile: An overnight Iran missile barrage damaged an Israeli hospital and wounded over 200 people. Israel threatened Iran's top leader. So far, Israel's missile defense system is working alright, but it has limited missile interceptors. Iran also has limited ballistic missiles. Who will run out first? If the US gets involved, then it might not matter.
This Metaphor Is a Bit on the Nose: A SpaceX spaceship blew up. This is not supposed to happen in rocket science, I'm told.
So Starship Ship 36 just detonated *before* the static fire test - fueled and waiting for the test. Looks like the top tank lets go and sets off the whole stack. It would be bad enough if it let go during the static fire test, but it just blew up. And it's cooking off the fuel tanks on the pad.
— Kasey Kagawa (@punkey.org) June 18, 2025 at 9:23 PM
[image or embed]
Do you also love living in a country that wants its citizens dead? The Trump Justice Department is cutting a few more jobs. Which ones? Oh, you know, just the inspectors that monitor federally-licensed gun dealers. Yeah, no big deal, they're only cutting 541 of the 800 positions, thus making it even harder for the government to monitor businesses selling guns to criminals. This isn't exactly a surprise to anyone paying attention—Trump and his cronies want to limit the power of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. These cuts in particular are a response to Biden-era gun control regulations.
Bear Freed of Plastic Albatross: Hey, good news, the Michigan bear that's been living with a plastic barrel lid stuck around its neck for two years is now free. The department of natural resources first clocked the bear and his horrible necklace on a trail camera in 2023. They've been trying to track him ever since. Finally, they found him, trapped him, and cut the barrel lid free.
After 2 years with a plastic lid stuck around its neck, a Michigan black bear is finally free. Wildlife experts safely removed the lid, amazed the bear survived and thrived despite the ordeal.
tinyurl.com/4prtec82 #Wildlife #PlasticPollution #BearRescue
— activist360 (@activist360.bsky.social) June 18, 2025 at 7:32 PM
[image or embed]
Jewelry Thieves Charged: Seven California men were charged in the largest jewelry heist in US history. Allegedly, three years ago these guys followed a truck transporting 73 bags full of jewelry from a jewelry show in San Francisco. Around 300 miles from its origin point in remote area, the men stole 24 bags of gold, gems, and luxury watches worth $100 million from the truck while it was parked at a stop. It's unclear how they gained access to the truck.
Defund the Border Wall: Texas lawmakers won't fund the construction of the state's border wall any longer. The project has cost taxpayers more than $3 billion—and Texas has only built 8% of the total 805-mile-wall. It'll take 30 more years and $20 billion to complete. The state government said that wall can be the federal government's problem now.
A Way to Celebrate: Enjoy Juneteenth by attending the Juneteenth Festival today in the Central District.
