Good Morning! The sun is shining, and it’s going to stay that way all day. Highs just under 70. Want proof before you head outside? I just discovered airplane-enthusiast Mitch Sutton’s livestream of Rainier and SeaTac airport. Check the weather, and watch some airplane nerds talk about wing numbers. Spoiler alert: the mountain’s out today.
Let’s do the news.
It’s Dust Season in Florida: Move over fire season, there’s a new plague in town. A giant plume of dust from the Sahara has traveled 5,000 miles across the Atlantic, and it’s headed for Florida this week. Apparently this is just the beginning of “Dust Plume Season,” and we can expect more presents from across the water. A meteorologist described it to the New York Times as a “London fog” that has a “brilliant orange glow.”
Attack in Boulder: Yesterday, a man with a “makeshift flamethrower” attacked a group that meets weekly to raise awareness for Israeli hostages in Gaza, while yelling “Free Palestine.” He also threw some handheld “incendiary devices” that sound a lot like Molotov Cocktails. Eight people were injured, no one was killed. This was just a little over a week since someone shot and killed two people who work for the Israeli embassy in DC.
The HMS Thunberg: Our favorite tiny climate warrior Greta Thunberg has set sail toward Gaza with 11 other activists. They’re hoping to bring some aid into the starving region and draw attention to the humanitarian crisis. They took off from Italy, and it’ll take them about seven days to get to Gaza, if they aren’t stopped. “We are doing this because, no matter what odds we are against, we have to keep trying,” Greta said, bursting into tears during her speech. “Because the moment we stop trying is when we lose our humanity. And no matter how dangerous this mission is, it’s not even near as dangerous as the silence of the entire world in the face of the live-streamed genocide.”
The FBI Is Getting Shredded: After announcing his plans to take “drastic measures” to reform the FBI, Man-Who’s-Never-Seen-a-Camera-Before Kash Patel has been quietly doing exactly that. According to the New York Times, “Agents have been forced out. Others have been demoted or put on leave with no explanation. And in an effort to hunt down the sources of news leaks, Patel is forcing employees to take polygraph tests.” Which I’m sure is a great comfort for anyone who talked to the Times for that story. Former agents have warned that Patel’s actions are likely to have a chilling effect on anyone who might consider looking into potential criminal actions by the Trump administration. Which is why they’re doing it.
Trump Turns on Another Bestie: Leonard Leo, the architect of our conservative Supreme Court and chairman of the Federalist Society, has been Trump’s go-to man when he gets to stack another court full of friendlies. But after a three-judge panel at the U.S. Court of International Trade blocked his tariffs, Trump lashed out at his bud, calling him a “real ‘sleazebag’” and “bad person who, in his own way, probably hates America.” The AP couldn’t find any connection between Leo and the trade court, and Leo continued to grovel at Trump’s feet because if anything, Leo is good at recognizing where the power is.
Speaking of Trump: Someone spotted his lock screen again. It’s still his face.
We Get to Keep Our Ethics Code! For now at least. This week, City Council was poised for a vote on an ethics code reform that would have allowed them to vote on issues that benefited them, as long as they disclosed it to the public. (They’re currently required to recuse themselves if they’d benefit from particular legislation.) But after weeks of protests and thousands of emails and public commenters opposing the change, Councilmember Cathy Moore withdrew the bill last week. “My conversations with colleagues have made it clear that we require more time to ensure we get this right,” Moore said in the announcement. This means they can force an ethics code change through right before they vote on a suite of renters rights bills. Oh darn.
ICYMI: On Friday, Stranger Staff Writer Vivian McCall and I wrote about the far-right Christian network that orchestrated the anti-LGBTQ, anti-abortion rallies in Seattle last week. They came looking for a fight: They go to areas where conflict is likely (like the historically queer neighborhood in the very queer-friendly Seattle) and then when they get the response they’re looking for, they cry religious persecution and use it to show that they are, in fact, fighting a war for Jesus. Read more about it here.
The prayer rally in Cal Anderson has been flattened to: Gays and Christians square off, but that's just the consequence of free speech!
The Christian group came looking for a fight. They're linked to a vast Christian supremacist network, experts say. (1/?)
www.thestranger.com/news/2025/05...
— Vivian McCall (@vivmccall.bsky.social) May 30, 2025 at 3:09 PM
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Bees at the Border: A truck turned over near the Canadian border in Whatcom county and released 250 million bees into the wild. Officials warned people to stay clear of the area for the next couple days while the bees re-hive and find their queen. Beekeepers said they’ll likely go feral, swarming into nearby forests to start new colonies or join existing ones. Be free, little friends.
Lewelyn Is Free: After being in ICE custody for three months, Lewelyn Dixon, a Filipino green-card holder, was able to go home. The 64-year-old UW lab technician was released on Thursday from the ICE detention center in Tacoma, after a judge ruled that she does not qualify for deportation. If you’re looking for a cry this morning, watch the videos of her reuniting with her family.
