Warnock and Walker face Senate runoff in Georgia: The good people of the Peach State are lining up to vote for Democratic incumbent Senator Raphael Warnock or Republican challenger Herschel Walker, a scandal-ridden candidate who couldn't define "pronoun." The vote, as ever, is extremely consequential. If Warnock wins, the Dems get a 51st vote in the Senate. If Walker wins, each party will have joint control of the body, giving the two most reviled conservative Democrats veto power for two more years. Things are looking good for Warnock, as early polls show him in the lead, but don't be fooled—this is going to be a squeaker. Dems have got to get a better strategy.

Flu season is hitting Washington hard: Two kids in King County have died of the illness, and 11 adults have died statewide, reports Axios. The Washington state health department said the flu positivity rate "is much higher at this point in the flu season than we've seen in many years," with cases "increasing rapidly." As cases of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and COVID-19 are also on the rise, experts are recommending flu shots and wearing masks in public to stymie the spread of these awful illnesses.

Good news for people who love to put things off: The Department of Homeland Security announced that air travelers will now have until May 7, 2025 to upgrade their official IDs to be Real ID-compliant, reports CBS News. The original cutoff was May 7, 2023, but the DHS extended it to give states more time to comply. 

Trader Joe's has got to pay up: The grocer must fork over more than $55,000 to 95 local employees after the Seattle Office of Labor Standards determined the company didn't comply with the Grocery Employee Hazard Pay ordinance, reports KIRO. This is the second time in seven months that TJ's has had to pay a worker settlement in Seattle. 

"Goblin mode" is Oxford's word of the year: This term—defined as "a type of behavior that is unapologetically self-indulgent, lazy, slovenly, or greedy, typically in a way that rejects social norms or expectations"—won in a landslide public vote. "People are embracing their inner goblin," Oxford Languages president Casper Grathwohl said somewhat incredibly in a statement. The phrase used to refer to a feral-like sex position, but it went viral off a photoshopped Kanye West-Julia Fox headline. I'll allow it. 

News no more: Meta is threatening to remove news from Facebook's platform in the U.S. if Congress passes a bill "making it easier for news organizations to negotiate collectively with companies" such as Google and Facebook, reports Reuters. The proposal is aimed at supporting the severely struggling local news industry, though groups like the ACLU are urging Congress not to pass it as it would "create an ill-advised antitrust exemption for publishers and broadcasters."

Florida continues to be one of the weirdest places to live: A "mysterious" 80-foot-long object made of wood and metal has started to protrude through the sand at Daytona Beach Shores, and no one knows quite what it is. 

In Indonesia: The government has approved a new criminal code to take effect in three years that bans anyone in the country from having sex outside of marriage, reports the BBC. That applies to everyone: locals, foreigners, vacationers.  If caught, the act could cost you up to one year in jail. There were protests outside of parliament this week condemning the measure, with many expecting to see the law challenged in court.  

Eastside light rail might come to life after all: After taking a ride from Bel-Red station to Overlake Village in Redmond, King County Council Member Claudia Balducci said she's even more enthusiastic about the idea of opening a "starter line" between Bellevue to Redmond, reports KIRO. The fully functional line would run as crew continue to work on the now delayed East Link connection between Seattle and south Bellevue. Sound Transit will look into the matter at a committee hearing on Thursday. 

Sight and Sound released the eighth edition of their Greatest Films of All Time: Their expanded poll included 1,639 critics, programmers, archivists, and academics who submitted their top ten ballots, determining that Chantal Akerman's masterpiece Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelle is the greatest film of all time. Rounding out the top five was Hitchcock's Vertigo in second, Orson Welles's Citizen Kane in third, Yasujirƍ Ozu's Tokyo Story in fourth, and—another surprise-but-not—Wong Kar Wai's In the Mood for Love in fifth. We love a shakeup! 

Psychedelic therapy comes to Oregon: Seattle Times' Esmy Jimenez took a trip—err, journey—to Oregon to scope out some of the first guided psilocybin mental health treatment centers since the state approved authorized administration of the powerful psychedelic. It's a fascinating story that shows a potential roadmap for legalizing psilocybin in our own state—give it a read. 

Some light gossip: ABC News is pulling GMA3 hosts TJ Holmes and Amy Robach off air as news and photos of their romantic affair hit social media and gossip rags like a hurricane, calling their presence a "distraction." Just as things were starting to get fun...

For my fellow music dirtbags out there: Death Grips is going on tour. See you in the pit on May 6 at Showbox SODO. 

For your listening pleasure: Steve Monite's "Only You."