Morning! Apparently we have a possibility of rain/snow today? I'd really love it if we could just fully embrace Spring at this point. High near 43 degrees, but wind chill might make it feel closer to 35 or 25 degrees. No snow accumulation expected, but wear something cozy.

Biden hints at possible ceasefire in Gaza: While mouthing an ice cream cone alongside Seth Meyers, Biden told reporters he hoped to have a cease fire in Gaza by next Monday, according to the Associated Press. The deal depends on whether Hamas agrees to release some hostages. Hamas political leaders called Biden's announcement "premature."

The announcement of a possible deal comes just ahead of today's Michigan presidential primary, where Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Michigan) has mounted a campaign for people to vote "uncommitted" to show Biden where he's bleeding ahead of the 2024 General Election. Michigan has the highest share of Arab Americans in the US, with about 200,000 concentrated in Dearborn, a suburb of Detroit. Michigan is a key swing state for Biden. In 2020, he only won it by less than 200,000 votes. Michigan went for Trump in 2016.

Our lawmakers make enemies of us all: Democratic State Senators Kevin Van De Wege and Mark Mullet deserve to be booed out of any room they enter after killing rent stabilization yesterday. The senators refused to return Rich's calls for comment, choosing not to defend their decision. The renters of Sequim and Issaquah deserve better than these two.

Speak out tonight on Seattle's police surveillance plan: The Seattle Police Department plans to hold a second public hearing tonight on its proposal for three new police surveillance technologies, including ShotSpotter. The Mayor's office says the technologies could help police respond better to serious crime, but most of the evidence shows they're likely a waste of money and that ShotSpotter could actually worsen police response times. People can give public comment tonight, or they can use the City's comment forms. Seattle Solidarity Budget also put together this handy study guide with links showing where to comment.

Federal Trade Commission moves to block Albertsons-Kroger merger: The FTC has said the merger could hurt consumers by raising prices, as well as hurt workers, according to the Seattle Times. The deal could hurt Washingtonians in particular, because our grocery store options are basically just Albertsons (Safeway) and Kroger (Fred Meyer and QFC.) I do love this Seattle Times man-on-the-street article asking people what they think of the potential merger, but I think business reporter Paul Roberts missed an opportunity by not asking people a grocery store "Fuck, Marry, Kill" question.

Seattle-headquartered Expedia plans to cut 1,500 job this year: The company plans to inform least some employees by as early as next week, according to the Seattle Times. The announcement comes just weeks after the company's CEO told employees about spy cameras in the company's bathrooms on its Seattle campus. I've heard some employees voice frustration over the way the company has handled the aftermath of this invasion of privacy, and Expedia may see some lawsuits, especially if it fires a bunch of people. Also, another argument for WFH life, no spy cameras in your bathrooms hopefully.

Asylum-seekers staying in hotels run low on funds: More than 200 migrants seeking asylum in the US have crowded into hotels in Seattle as they await the outcomes of their immigration cases, according to KUOW. However, they're running out of money, and asylum-seekers must wait five months before they can apply for a work permit. The whole thing sounds like a mess for people already bouncing from place-to-place in a new country.

ADHD medication shortage might be DEA's fault: The DEA's shutdown of Ascent Pharmaceuticals, a drug manufacturer that produced 12% of the country's generic Adderall in 2022, may have exacerbated the country's ADHD medication shortage. The DEA claims Ascent's shoddy record keeping led to the shutdown, but Ascent says its paperwork is in order and it has sued to restart operations, according to New York Magazine. As an Adderall-taker, I'm annoyed.

 
 
 
 
 
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Widow donates $1 billion to New York medical school: Albert Einstein College of Medicine became tuition-free this week after a widow donated a fortune to the school, according to NPR. That's nice of her, but what about all the other students who had to pay for their school? Won't they be angry now? Shouldn't all future students have to pay off their debt just like the students who came before them? In other news, I'm still salty about the lack of student loan debt forgiveness.

Tennessee plans to ban rainbows in classrooms: Ok, technically it's a proposed ban on displaying Pride flags. The GOP-led Tennessee State House passed the proposal yesterday to ban the LGBTQ+ symbol in schools, and the law now heads to the state Senate. Dumb.

Not a music suggest, but this video literally always lifts my heart. Watch a little cartoon bird with vestigial wings live its dream of flying as it plummets to its likely death.  

[Eds note: Lol what the fuck, Ashley? If you're looking for a song, here's one I've been listening to a lot lately]: