New Yorkers sue Amazon: Our least favorite local bookseller faces a lawsuit from New Yorkers because it didn't disclose biometrics* technology in a NYC Amazon Go store. "New York is the only major city which requires businesses to post signs if they’re tracking customers’ biometric information," according to NBC. Amazon put up the signs over a year after the law went into effect. Amazon's defense? "For Amazon Go to successfully track its customers and the items they take, it has to continuously monitor their bodies." I hate when big tech must monitor my body during the simple act of buying groceries. 

Seattle is dying? Not if the writers at the Association of Writers & Writing Programs have anything to do with it. AWP, which Seattle hosted at the new convention center last week, brought in an estimated $15 million for the city. 

Chinese president palling around with Putin: Chinese President Xi Jinping will kick it with Vladimir Putin in Russia from Monday to Wednesday next week. The two will likely dish about Russia's war in Ukraine as Xi expands China's diplomatic ambitions. China has previously said it remains "neutral" in the whole Ukraine war thing, yet also said it had a “no-limits” friendship with Russia.

This news is off the rails: Two BNSF trains derailed yesterday. One in Arizona, and one in Washington near Anacortes. The latter spilled 5,000 gallons of diesel on a berm near Padilla Bay on the Swinomish tribal reservation. Things could have been worse, though. At least the diesel spilled on the land side of the berm rather than on the water side. Instead of blaming trains for the continued derailments, I will place the blame on our crumbling infrastructure and the deregulation of the railroad industry. Do something with your day. Fight over that in the comments. 

Semi-truck crash kills three: Yesterday, a semi-truck smashed into a Kia Optima on I-90 west of Cle Elum. Two adults and a 10-year-old child died. An adult and child passenger survived with injuries. 

Two dead in E Madison apartment fire: According to the Capitol Hill Seattle Blog, a fire started in a third-floor unit at the Elizabeth James House, an affordable apartment building at 109 23rd Avenue, at around 11:30 pm. Firefighters found two victims dead inside the unit as they beat back the blaze. A dog also died. 

Another day for Jay? Gov. Jay Inslee hasn't indicated whether he'll run for re-election in 2024. With the legislative session underway and a lot of college basketball to consume, I can understand why Inslee hasn't made an announcement yet. The Northwest Progressive Institute couldn't wait around for Inslee and ran a "hypothetical" gubernatorial poll to see which non-Inslee candidates people liked. The list consisted of King County Executive Dow Constantine (Democrat), Attorney General Bob Ferguson (Democrat), Washington State Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz (Democrat), and Pierce County Executive Bruce Dammeier (Republican). Thirty percent of respondents weren't sure, 21% picked Ferguson, 35% picked Dammeier, and 7% picked Constantine or Franz. 

The French aren't thrilled with President Emmanuel Macron's decision to move the country's retirement age from 62 to 64 without a vote. 

400,000 gallons of nuclear waste water leaked in November: Xcel Energy in Minnesota experienced a leak of water containing tritium from their power plant. The company reported the leak to state and federal authorities back in late November, but it didn't tell the public until this week. They waited until they knew there was "no health and safety risk to the local community or the environment" to tell the public. Hm. Ignorance is bliss, but I'd like to know if my groundwater had excessive levels of tritium in it even if I don't know what tritium is. This groundwater's tritium levels, for what it's worth, are nothing to bat an eye at, according to Xcel Energy. 

Throw the tritium in the sea: Buried in the Minnesota nuclear waste water leak story from the Associated Press was this sentence that made my innards twist up into a little ball—"Japan is preparing to release a massive amount of treated radioactive wastewater into the sea from the the triple reactor meltdowns 12 years ago at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant."

In Venus news: Volcanoes.

ICYMI: I have a new column on this hell site where I'm exploring Seattle subcultures! No, I'm not on staff again (learn to read a masthead, you illiterates). It's freelance, baby. So, that means I have bad health insurance. It also means please read it and also send me ideas for covering different layers of Seattle society, weird hobbies, favorite pastimes, whatever. Thanks, (sort of) love you!

This is definitely his main priority: Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell says the city could get an NBA team in a "much shorter window" than the next five years. 

Someone should tell them: "Omaha nonprofit hoping to relaunch 'Raw Dawgs' youth gang prevention group"