Happy First Official Day of Seattle Summer™️: Kinda, sorta, not really. Highs today are only going to be in the low 70s with some sun and clouds. The weather even has the audacity to threaten rain in the middle of the week. What do we have to do to get a week of 80-degree days?!?!?

Grim news yesterday: During a Fourth of July parade in a neighborhood just outside Chicago, a gunman fired a "high-powered rifle" from a rooftop killing six people and injuring 30, reports the Chicago Sun Times. Following a manhunt, authorities arrested 22-year-old Robert E. "Bobby" Crimo III as a "person of interest" in the shooting. Witnesses on the ground describe a hail of gunfire. One said they heard "20 to 25 shots, which were in rapid succession." The victims range in age from 8 to 85, and the "vast majority" of the injured were treated for gunshot wounds.

Of course, that wasn't the only mass shooting this weekend: Five shot in Chicago's South Side; eight injured in Minneapolis; one killed and four injured in Kenosha, WI; one killed and four injured in Sacramento; four injured in Kansas City, MO; six injured in Richmond, VA; two cops shot in Philadelphia; and more. Hard to think of something more American than living in fear of going to literally any public venue. 

And in Copenhagen: A mass shooter killed three people and injured four at a shopping mall in the Danish capital, reports BBC. Cops said they arrested a 22-year-old who had "mental health issues" with "no indication of a terror motive."

ICYMI: Ponder in the Central District has closed. The pot shop had a tumultuous relationship with its unionized workforce (who are now out of jobs), and the reasons behind its sale are a bit unclear. Owner John Branch told CHS Blog he couldn't give any details on the new owners "citing a confidentiality agreement." Hmmm. In any case, the neighborhood blog reports that Forbidden Cannabis Club submitted applications to operate a weed store at Ponder's location on E Union. 

Thank God: The Nathan Fielder profile we (I) have been waiting for is here. Also, all the news today bums me out, so here's a hit of Nathan For You to make you feel a little better.

Up in Shoreline: Two men are dead following a trench collapse at a construction site they were working on, reports KING 5. The workers were "attempting to get to a fractured sewer line on a steep slope" when the 20-feet wide and 15-feet deep tunnel caved in. The recovery of their bodies is on pause as the soil remains unstable. 

Do you live in one of these fifteen Washington counties? The CDC says that community-transmission in those counties are "high," and that residents should start wearing masks indoors and on public transportation, reports the Seattle Times.

This comes as the U.S.—and other parts of the world—are undergoing a massive surge, mostly thanks to the Omicron BA.5 subvariant of COVID. While hospitalizations and deaths aren't climbing nearly as fast as infections, NY Mag reports that "vaccines and prior infection are proving less and less effective at preventing infections and reinfection" from these new subvariants. We are living in hell.

Checking in on the children: Movie theaters in the UK are banning young adults in suits from screenings of Minions: The Rise of Gru, reports the BBC. This is all because of the viral #gentleminions TikTok trend, where teens dress up like the movie's supervillain, Gru, and get buckwild in theaters in celebration of the film's cinematic genius. Let the kids enjoy the movie, I say!

Finland and Sweden are inching closer to NATO membership: After Turkey rescinded its veto last week, the two countries formally signed an accession agreement with the alliance, reports CNBC. Now, the final step requires all NATO nations to ratify the accession agreement, which could take "months" once all is said and done. 

WaPo did a deep dive into the world of interracial couple influencers: And it's juicy. 

Britney Griner hand-wrote a letter to President Biden: The American basketball player has been wrongfully detained in Russia since mid-February after being arrested for possession of cannabis oil. "I'm terrified I might be here forever," she wrote, telling the president that she voted for the first time for him in 2020. "[P]lease don't forget about me and the other American detainees. Please do all you can to bring us home."

Wondering why you aren't hearing and/or seeing Caspian Terns all that much in West Seattle? Climate change. 

For your listening pleasure: Gary Numan's "M.E." Â