It’s been a tough run for Seattle arts groups. What do layoffs foretell?

At least 250 Washington arts workers have been laid off recently. We analyzed potential impacts on the local arts scene, from artists to theaters and audiences.

Joel Connelly, longtime Seattle political columnist, dies Former Seattle Post-Intelligencer columnist Joel Connelly was a respected political commentator and fierce defender of the Pacific Northwest's wilderness areas.

Joel Connelly, longtime Seattle political columnist, dies-

Connelly got his start in newspapers with a temp summer job at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer in the 1970s.

He went on to a career spanning more than five decades as a reporter and columnist: www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...

Connie Ballmer Gives $80 Million to NPR Amid Trump Funding Cuts A pair of donors is giving National Public Radio $113 million to invest in its long-term infrastructure as the media network grapples with funding cuts from the Trump administration.

Connie Ballmer, a one-time NPR foundation trustee and the wife of former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, is donating $80 million in a record gift from a living donor, the news organization said Thursday in a statement

'Ethan Nordean is one of a number of Capitol rioters from the far-right groups known as the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers for whom the Justice Department asked a federal appeals court to wipe away criminal convictions Tuesday. '

The Pentagon is sending thousands of additional troops into the Middle East in the coming days, as the Trump administration attempts to pressure Iran into a deal that could end the weeks-long conflict there, U.S. officials said. https://wapo.st/4vC6BUy

These NY Times oral histories—of what the Trump administration is doing to federal agencies—are a public service. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

The shooting death of a 17-year-old Lewis and Clark High School football player has left his family 'broken.' They think it could've turned out differently Two years ago, Kim Carroll lost her daughter to a rare and severe form of leukemia. On Wednesday, she lost her daughter’s son.

NEW: A 17-year-old experiencing a mental crisis over the death of his mother was shot and killed by an armed driver last week.

His family believes the incident could’ve turned out differently: with Carter still alive.

More: www.spokesman.com/stories/2026...

Caught in the Crackdown: As Arrests at Anti-ICE Protests Piled Up, Prosecutions Crumbled ProPublica and FRONTLINE found more than 300 protesters and bystanders who were arrested on charges like assaulting an immigration agent or interfering with law enforcement. Over and over, the accusat...

NEW: “Arrest as many people that touch you as you want to," Gregory Bovino told Border Patrol officers in 2025.

But a review of hundreds of such arrests shows that charges brought against protesters and bystanders repeatedly fell apart under scrutiny.

w/ @frontlinepbs.bsky.social

Meta Is Warned That Facial Recognition Glasses Will Arm Sexual Predators More than 70 organizations, including the ACLU, EPIC, and Fight for the Future, say the AI smart glasses feature would endanger abuse victims, immigrants, and LGBTQ+ people.

“The coalition wants Meta to scrap the feature entirely. In a letter to CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Monday, it argues that face recognition in inconspicuous consumer eyewear ‘cannot be resolved through product design changes, opt-out mechanisms, or incremental safeguards.’”

Peter Magyar’s opposition Tisza party took an early lead against Viktor Orban, according to a partial count based on about 15% of votes counted

Follow the latest: bloom.bg/4svUk11

A billboard with an image of a white woman looking directly at the viewer, and the words "STOP HIRING HUMANS"

san francisco leaning all the way into its cyberpunk bad guy arc

The first numbers from Hungary are coming in.

Despite having only 21.54% of all ballots counted Tisza is clearly leading. The numbers coming from the counties vary somewhere between 52% and 67% for Tisza. Fidesz is at somewhere between 28% and 39%.

The gap at the moment is huge.

In 1990, a bipartisan Congress passed historic bills. Then it cracked apart. 36 years ago, a Republican president and Democratic lawmakers produced monumental laws. Now, a broken Congress has enabled Trump to undo key parts of that legacy.

36 years ago, a Republican president and Democratic lawmakers produced monumental laws.

Now a broken Congress has enabled Trump to undo key parts of that legacy.

Gift link: wapo.st/424t3ru

Iran Unable to Find Mines in Strait of Hormuz, U.S. Says

Iran mined the Strait of Hormuz, and doesn't know where all the mines are.

Even in the best case scenario of a lasting end to hostilities and widespread agreement to open the strait as quickly as possible, we're looking at severe energy supply disruption with far-reaching economic impacts.

Forest Service axes most research stations as severe fire season builds in Pacific Northwest The U.S. Forest Service is shutting down research stations around the country, including centers in Portland, Seattle, and Wenatchee, Washington.

The U.S. Forest Service is shutting down research stations around the country, including centers in Portland, Seattle, and Wenatchee, Washington.

Texas Private Schools Hire Relatives and Enrich Insiders. Soon They Can Do It With Taxpayer Money. An investigation by ProPublica and The Texas Tribune found more than 60 instances of nepotism, self-dealing and conflicts of interest among 27 private schools that likely would have violated state law...

An investigation by ProPublica and @texastribune.org found more than 60 instances of nepotism, self-dealing and conflicts of interest among 27 private schools that likely would have violated state laws had the schools been public.

(Published Aug. 2025)

Just In: Judge says Pentagon violated court order in N.Y. Times case over press access, strikes down "interim policy."

Idaho cut services for people with schizophrenia. Then the deaths began Eliminating outreach to people with severe mental illness set off such a cascade of bad outcomes that Idaho has scrambled to reverse the cuts.

'The deaths so alarmed Idaho legislators that last week, they took the unusual step of voting to restore funding for the program, known as assertive community treatment, or ACT.'

www.seattletimes.com/nation-world...

‘No War on Iran’ protest in Seattle cut short by counterprotest On a momentous day of tensions in the Middle East, an anti-war rally at Seattle City Hall grew heated Tuesday afternoon.

Meanwhile, a more complicated demonstration in Seattle today -- www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...

About 100 people this afternoon at a pop-up antiwar protest in downtown Olympia.

babe turn on CNBC, they're doing the first five minutes of Robocop

BAGHDAD (AP) — American journalist Shelly Kittleson, who was kidnapped in Baghdad last week, has been released, an Iraqi official says.

I have felt a little nuts listening to experts and then seeing how, broadly, the world hasn't caught up to the severity of all this. but it really seems like when the gap begins to close, it is gonna close fast. something @matteowong.bsky.social and i tried to get at here:

'No Kings' protest takes over downtown streets of Bellingham | Cascadia Daily News Thousands peacefully marched Saturday as part of the city's third 'No Kings' day demonstration

Peaceful marchers took up more than a half-dozen blocks of downtown Bellingham Saturday as they walked through the city as part of the third "No Kings" protest. But do locals believe the movement can change the political moment?

centralia, Lewis county~

At least 400 here in Centralia today

CENTRALIA, Lewis County. No Kings demonstrators at George Washington Park-