Morning, and happy short week: In honor of Labor Day, may we all drop blatant hints about the need to make four-day work weeks the new normal. Unfortunately, to support the argument I probably need to be extra productive this week. Blerg. 

US Senate reconvenes: As Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell continues to be totally fine despite multiple public freeze-ups, the Senate returns to pass some spending bills. While Congress continues to hammer out the 2024 budget, President Biden has asked the Senate for a stop-gap bill to keep the government funded after federal agencies run out of money Sept 30. Meanwhile, the House Freedom Caucus continues to make life difficult for everyone and argues for a government shutdown, according to Reuters. 

Deadly house fire in Wallingford: An 11-year-old girl escaped a house fire in Wallingford Saturday, but four people, including another child and an infant, all died in a house with a barricaded door, according the Seattle Times. Responders also found a dead dog inside the house. Neighbors say the family had lived in the four-bedroom home for about two years. The King County Medical Examiner is expected to released the names and ages of the people who died this afternoon. 

Today's weather: Partly sunny with a high of 67 degrees, plus some light wind. Also known as the perfect Seattle day. 

50 homicides in Seattle this year so far: TV news is having a field day with this, pointing out how Seattle homicides could spike above the 1994 record of 69 homicides in a year, according to KOMO. But summer is coming to a close, and we also have about 200,000 more people living in Seattle than we did in the 1990s. Seattle Police Officer's Guild President Mike Solan used the high number of deaths as a cudgel to argue for more cops, but plenty of SPOG members failed to prevent homicides this year.

Meanwhile, mental health treatment centers turned away nearly one in four people in crisis last year, according to the Seattle Times. A new report from the King County’s Behavioral Health and Recovery Division showed a lack of bed space didn't contribute to the rejections so much as other reasons, including "being too acute or sick," the Times wrote. Too sick for mental health treatment, but never too sick for jail.

Talk about deadly: Washington's 2023 roadways have been "historically deadly," according to KING 5. In 2022, 750 people died on our state roads, the highest number since 1990. Good time to also go back and read Charles' thoughts on the lawlessness of cars.

Speaking of cars: A car driving the wrong way on the interstate caused a multi-vehicle crash on I-5 South Monday, according to MyNorthwest. The crash happened at about 5:30 am and caused the interstate to close for about four hours. 

Jill Biden caught COVID-19: The 72-year-old first lady tested positive for COVID-19 Monday evening and reported mild symptoms, according to Politico. President Biden tested negative Monday, but the couple had stayed together over the weekend.

Stranded at Burning Man: A summer storm left people stranded in the Nevada desert for days after roads became too muddy for people to leave, according to the Associated Press. Apparently, Diplo and Chris Rock had to walk out of the Black Rock Desert before some fans picked them up.

Chopper footage of people leaving the festival: Pretty boring to watch through, but mildly interesting to click to different sections. 

Local roads become a new abortion battleground: Conservative cities and counties want to make it illegal to use local roads to transport people to get an abortion, says the Washington Post. At least a couple cities in Texas already passed ordinances to allow people to sue any person or organization they suspect of violating the law. Abortion prohibitionists want to block "off the main arteries out of Texas, keeping pregnant women hemmed within the confines of their anti-abortion state." Sounds familiar. 

Friend of Trump facing impeachment: Today Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton faces an impeachment trial on charges of corruption and abuse of the public trust, according to NBC News. The state's GOP-led House voted to impeach Paxton in May, but now the state Senate must decide whether to remove him from office. Paxton acted as a conservative ally during Trump's presidency.

In honor of burning man, check out Nevada-born Shamir's new(ish) single. Enjoy your Tuesday. I just moved, so my day includes tripping over boxes and debating whether to drive and get shower curtain rings or just tie the curtain to the rod with string. DeCisONS!