911 Calls from Good Shooting: The New York Times obtained the 911 calls and first responder reports from the day an ICE officer shot and killed Renee Good. The first ones came in at 9:38 a.m., moments after Good was shot. “There’s 15 ICE agents, and they shot her, like, because she wouldn’t open her car door,” one caller reported. According to the Times, Good sustained two gunshot wounds on the right side of her chest, one on her left forearm, and a possible fourth gunshot wound on the left side of her head. She was not breathing, but had an irregular pulse when paramedics arrived at 9:42 am.
Video Analysis Confirms What We Already Knew: The NYT analyzed videos from Good's killing and determined that she did not run over her killer, ICE agent Jonathan Ross, will her car.
Congress Will Give Us Money After All: Despite Donald Trump's attempts to cut deeply into the spending of a new federal funding package, a bipartisan effort in Congress kept things mostly intact. The three-bill package will funnel money toward energy and water projects, scientific research, weather programs, and more. It includes $5 billion for Washington state projects like cleaning up the Hanford nuclear site, salmon recovery efforts, and a dam on the Green River that won't hurt fish. “I said I would tear up Trump’s budget and write a new one—and I did,” Sen. Patty Murray told the Seattle Times. "These are not the bills I would have written on my own; they are the result of tough bipartisan negotiations with Republicans who control every branch of government. But these bills ensure that Congress—not Donald Trump—is deciding how taxpayer dollars get spent."
Sausage Fest at SPD: The Seattle Police Department is a long way off from its goal of having a recruit class that's 30 percent women by 2030. In 2025 only 10 percent of SPD's 165 new hires were women, according to Publicola. In 2024, the numbers were marginally higher with 14 percent of 84 new hires. The boys club is staying for the boys.
L8 No Longer: Mayor Katie Wilson announced one of her first executive orders as mayor will be to speed up the King County Metro line 8 bus, one of Seattle's most in-demand and unreliable routes. To fix the bus, Wilson is directing the Seattle Department of Transportation to "add bus lanes or other transit-priority infrastructure along Denny Way." Wilson's other executive order directed city departments to speed up the creation of emergency shelter and housing options to get people off the streets.
Road Rage: I-5 drivers are fuming over the Northbound Ship Canal Bridge lane closures. Sure, winnowing down northbound traffic to two lanes is a headache, but it's the southbounders who are stuck in bumper to bumper traffic. That's because the Washington State Department of Transportation has Seattle's express lanes open northbound 24 hours a day. Those headed south are pleading for a shred of express lane relief. They better get used to this—or ditch their cars—since the construction on both sides of the bridge will take two years to complete.
The Weather: Could it be...? A sunny day? Don't believe it 'til you see it, but I would not be surprised given this mildest of mild Januarys. There will be hell to pay later, I'm sure.
Is This Bad News for Your Big Game? Seahawks fans are sweating after quarterback Sam Darnold appeared on the injury report for an oblique injury ahead of Saturday's big game against the dreaded San Francisco 49ers. Darnold assured people he'd be just fine on Saturday. But, you gotta worry a little, right Hawks fans?
Sam Darnold said he felt a little something in his oblique early in practice, but said he expects to play Saturday.
— John Boyle (@johnpboyle.bsky.social) January 15, 2026 at 1:41 PM
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RIP: Alaska's third-largest political party, the Alaskan Independence Party, is dead. Its leaders announced last month that the party, which has been advocating for private landownership and against taxation since 1970, would dissolve. The party's more than 19,000 registered members will need to find a new home. But the leadership doesn't give a shit because they view its members as apathetic or confused, assuming the independent party is just an arm of the Republican party. But, some say the party was goalless and directionless since its founder Joe Vogler died in 1993. A ship without a captain. Vogler had dreams of Alaska seceding from the US and becoming its own country.
Vagrants, Misery, and Despair! Oh My! Doing important journalism, the Daily Mail sent a reporter to hang out at the 3rd Avenue and Pine Street McDonald's—or McStabby's, as they gleefully report the locals call it— and write tragedy porn about a fast food restaurant so wracked by crime it doesn't even have a door. It's written so seriously it almost feels like satire, but I know the Daily Mail and its readership were not smiling one bit.
Who's the Participation Trophy Generation Now? After a lot of whining and kidnapping a Venezuelan dictator, Trump might have actually gotten his mitts on a Nobel Peace Prize. Did he win it? No. Venezuela opposition leader María Corina Machado, who actually won the prize, reportedly gave her prize to Trump. The worst part is he accepted it, as if that counts and he now is a Nobel Peace Prize laureate (the Norwegian Nobel Institute was very clear that that isn't how this works). Machado bequeathed her prize to Trump behind closed doors with no cameras around, a rarity for Trump. Despite debasing herself, Trump still won't let Machado lead Venezuela. He doesn't believe she has the support. Sad.
FOX & FRIENDS: In spite of the Nobel Prize Committee saying you couldn't transfer your Nobel Prize to anyone, especially to President Trump, you did. Why did you do that?
MARIA CORINA MACHADO: Because he deserves it. It was a very emotional moment.
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) January 16, 2026 at 6:23 AM
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Airball: An alleged point-shaving scheme to fix games ran from September 2022 through February 2025 and involved 17 college basketball players including All-American Antonio Blakeney, a man whose name I've never heard of but maybe you have. In total, 20 people have been indicted for fixing NCAA and Chinese Basketball Association games in exchange for bribes. The operators of the scheme then placed sports bets on the outcome of the games. If anyone is concerned about fairness in competition in this country they should swivel their little microscope around to focus on sports betting.
Trump Sucks: The majority of Americans—58 percent to be exact—think Trump's first term was a failure. You'd like it to be more than 58 percent, but we are surrounded by idiots. Only 36 percent of Americans think Trump has the right priorities, which is a decline from the 45 percent who thought so in the beginning of last year. His overall approval rating is 39 percent. Again, high enough to baffle me, but low enough to rankle him.
A Solution: Who cares about the bad optics when you can do whatever you want? In an interview with Reuters, Trump suggested that we shouldn't even have the midterm elections this November since he's already accomplished so much. Don't worry, he was "just joking."
Q: Americans for generations have fought and died for democracy. Are you saying the president finds the idea of canceling elections funny?
LEAVITT: Where you in the room? Only someone like you would take that so seriously
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) January 15, 2026 at 10:43 AM
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More News from Minneapolis: ICE terrorized a family driving home. They were caught in the middle of a clash between the feds and protesters when ICE agents allegedly threw a flash bang and tear gas into their car that had six children in it. The flash bang caused the six-month-old baby to stop breathing and lose consciousness. The mother of the kids performed CPR on her baby while protesters poured milk into her other children's eyes to stop the burn of tear gas. Three of their six children aged six months to 11 years old were hospitalized. The mother said she didn't have the urge to protest ICE, but this radicalized her.
Community Steps Up: Mutual aid networks in Minneapolis are helping neighbors in hiding. Since ICE rolled into town in December, the church that's been a hub for grocery deliveries has given out 12,000 boxes of food to families in hiding. They have around 20,000 families registered to receive food donations.
A good read for your Friday: A very vocally anti-ICE reporter went to an ICE recruitment event to write about it. They didn't bother to look her up. She got the job.
