WA Gets Served Again: In its latest attempt to prove the patently false assertion that immigrants are causing widespread voter fraud, the Trump administration sued Washington state after Secretary of State Steve Hobbs refused to give them voter information. We’re one of six states in the lawsuit.

What’d we do right this time? The DOJ’s seven-page complaint alleges Hobbs’ refusal violates the Civil Rights Act of 1960, which says that state election officials must provide certain voter info to the US Attorney General if asked. In September, Hobbs told the Department of Justice (DOJ) that he would not hand over voter information protected under Washington law—including voters’ dates of birth, driver’s license numbers or the last four digits of social security numbers—fearing it would be used for immigration enforcement. He said he’d be willing to provide voter names, addresses, years of birth, voting records, registration dates and registration numbers. That wasn’t good enough for the feds. Hobbs said he hasn’t been served yet and only knows about the suit through the media, the Washington State Standard reported.

Cuts, cuts, cuts: While a scissor-happy Trump administration hacks away at public funds, Gov. Bob Ferguson has announced he’ll also use cuts to balance the state’s budget, instead of implementing new taxes. As Stranger Staff Writer Nathalie Graham reported yesterday, Shaun Scott just announced his bill for a statewide payroll tax for high earners. But Ferguson said he’d veto any sales or property tax bills that come across his desk, because he claims they can’t create revenue quick enough to remedy the state’s multi-billion dollar shortfall this year. Scott’s bill is expected to bring in up to $3 billion a year, which sounds like the kind of thing you’d want for a multi-billion dollar shortfall.

South Hill Rapist Dies: Kevin Coe, dubbed the “South Hill Rapist,” was found dead Wednesday in an adult family home in Federal Way. Coe died at age 78 from natural causes, just months after he was released from civil commitment on McNeil Island. He served 44 years on the island’s special commitment center for raping dozens of women and teen girls in the ’70s and ’80s near Spokane, and was only released this year because his health had deteriorated enough that he was no longer considered a threat to the public.

Trump Pardons Climate Pledge Arena Developer: President Trump pardoned Tim Leiweke, the Climate Pledge Arena developer, on Tuesday, saving him from bid-rigging charges issued by the DOJ. Leiweke was indicted by a federal grand jury in July after the DOJ accused him of teaming up with a rival CEO to rig the bidding process for the Moody Center at the University of Texas at Austin. He pleaded not guilty and faced a $1 million fine, plus a maximum 10-year prison sentence, and was still awaiting trial at the time he was pardoned.

Weather: Buckets of rain. A short reprieve from 4 to 6 p.m. before resuming until midnight. High of 47 degrees, low of 41. 

Payday: Amazon will pay $3.7 million in a settlement for labor violations they allegedly committed. The Seattle Office of Labor Standards alleged Amazon Flex, which allows workers to use their own vehicles to make deliveries, gave premium pay and paid sick time to only some employees, not all. While the company denied the allegations, they still agreed to pay the millions to the 10,968 affected workers to settle the case. They will also pay a $20,000 fine to the city of Seattle.

Happy Food News, Sad Food News: The happy news: Situ Tacos, the Mexican-Lebanese fusion taqueria in Ballard was named one of the 33 best new restaurants in the nation by Esquire magazine. (You already know they’re great, because they were on our Best Restaurants list last year too.) The bad news: Kabul, a long-time Seattle favorite Afghan food restaurant, is closing. Owner Wali Khairzada said the cost of food and labor was too high to keep the doors open, and the place could close as soon as December 31.

RFK Takes a Shot at Another Vaccine: Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s “health” committee will discuss today whether babies should still get the Hepatitis B shot, which has been shown to reduce infections and deaths from the liver disease. Current federal health recommendations say all infants should be vaccinated against Hep B within 24 hours of birth. But RFK’s anti-vax committee thinks the shot should be delayed 2 months for no good reason. According to the Associated Press, in a not-yet-peer-reviewed report, health experts found a delay in vaccination could result in more than 1,400 preventable Hep B infections in kids, 300 liver cancer cases, and 480 deaths in one year of the change. Sen. Patty Murray called on Congress to make RFK appear at a hearing to explain this nonsense, saying ending the vaccine recommendation is “a heartless choice to allow babies to die.”

Defunding Planned Parenthood Blocked: Along with 24 other state attorneys general, Washington Attorney General Nick Brown secured a preliminary injunction on Tuesday from a US District Court in Massachusetts to block the Trump administration from cutting Medicaid reimbursements for Planned Parenthood centers. The cuts would have affected at least 200 health centers nationwide, including 30 Planned Parenthood clinics in Washington, who were looking at about $11.8 million in cuts. The coalition of attorneys general filed a lawsuit in July and filed for a preliminary injunction in September, leading to this week’s decision. The feds have seven days to appeal.

Happy Spotify Wrapped Release to All Who Celebrate: I know, I knowwww… Spotify is doing some fucked up shit—ICE recruitment ads, investing in an AI military tech company, not paying artists fairly, etc. People are boycotting, and they should. But I am weak. I cannot resist the silly little feature that is Spotify Wrapped. I love viewing Instagram stories to see what my friends, acquaintances and enemies have listened to this year. It’s a unifying force, and isn’t that what the holiday season is all about? Coming together over consumerism? …No?

So here’s my gift to you—my top song of 2025. Happy holidays.