Today marks Biden's 100th day in office: He celebrated with a drive-in rally near Atlanta. Partway through his speech, protesters interrupted to loudly shout "end detention now," to which Biden said he agreed after offering to hand them the mic. "Folks, y'all know what they're talking about," he said to a crowd of honking cars, referring to the protesters. "There should be no private prisons, period. None, period... They should not exist. And we are working to close all of them."
Biden has supported eventually ending private prisons in the US: However, advocates have criticized his timeline for enacting change and his treatment of migrants at the US-Mexico border. Washington state's Senate, for its part, recently passed a bill that will ban private, for-profit prisons and detention centers like the ICE detention center in Tacoma.
Watch Biden's full speech here.
At a press conference this afternoon, Gov. Inslee announced that new guidelines will allow certain spectator events such as sports, performing arts, and school graduations the option of adding additional seating capacity for fully vaccinated attendees. These guidelines will get clarified and go into effect later this week. "We are also looking at ways to allow people who are vaccinated to gather in a separate section for religious organizations and gatherings," said the governor.
Inslee just said we are "up against" a fourth wave. I thought we were "in" it? Maybe we're "above" it. I can't keep up with these prepositions.
â Chase Burns (@chaseburnsy) April 29, 2021
Sounds like he's playing with a Bop it.
â Eric Rivera (@ericriveracooks) April 29, 2021
Five people (including two law enforcement officers and the suspect) are dead following an hours-long standoff at a home in North Carolina, in which the suspected shooter may have committed suicide after killing his parents and the officers.
According to a new CNN poll: Roughly 25 percent of Americans are refusing to get the COVID vaccine, but are very much ready to reenter society, spreading the virus far and wide. Unsurprisingly, the majority of that 25 percent are Republican men and *checks notes* "assholes."
While we're on the subject of "assholes," podcasting butter-dick Joe Rogan is walking back his utterly stupid and wrong-headed advice that healthy young people shouldn't get the vaccine, correctly adding, "I'm not a doctor, I'm a fucking moron." Now there's a statement we can get behind.
âJoe Rogan is a good interviewerâ pic.twitter.com/HcdtjceWj3
â Abbie Richards (@abbieasr) April 29, 2021
There's a new term Gen Z says on TikTok: If you care.
The LAPD arrested five people in connection to the shooting of Lady Gaga's dog walker and the dognapping of her French bulldogs: That's a mouthful of a sentence. Among the arrests was the woman who returned the bulldogs to Gaga in late February, hoping to cash in on a $500,000 reward, reports Deadline. The LAPD says the suspected dognappers did not know the dogs were related to Lady Gaga.
When we posted this story on The Stranger's Slack, writer Matt Baume noted: "Wow, amazing, the cops actually investigated a stolen property report." (RIP your bike, Matt.)
Amazon will display the smaller Elephant Car Wash sign on its campus in downtown Seattle: Like a trophy. Or, as one otter said on Twitter, "Man if that doesnât feel a little bit like a head on a pike." Geekwire has the renderings:
Amazon plans to install smaller Elephant Car Wash sign outdoors on its campus âfor everyone to enjoyâ https://t.co/iVnhL8gADg
â GeekWire (@geekwire) April 29, 2021
Geekwire also reports that Amazon is working with Western Neon to restore the sign. The downtown conquerers say they might be able to display the neon elephant by June.
In other Amazon news: They're still rich! The company beat analysts' predictions for the first three months of 2021. "Revenue rose a record 44% compared to the same period last year, to $108.5 billion," reports Katherine Anne Long. Somehow they haven't beat Walmart yet to become the largest US retailer. They're expected to do so by 2025, although we're sure they'll beat those expectations, too.
Send this article to all the Silent Generation anti-vaxxers in your life: Unvaccinated people 65 and up hospitalized with COVID nearly 10 times more often, says Washington state
If they're looking for some places to get the jab: There are plenty of places offering the jab.
Weâre offering 1000 walk-in vaccinations each day (no appointment needed!) Mon-Sat at Kent, accesso ShoWare, & Auburn Outlet Mall sites for anyone age 16+! Prefer to reserve a time? Thousands of appointments are available + special clinic on Sunday 5/2: https://t.co/zO18vkapii
â Public Health - Seattle & King County (@KCPubHealth) April 29, 2021
HUMP! HUMP! HUMP! If you enjoy sexy stuff (and we know you do), get your tickets NOW for HUMP's Greatest Hits, Volume 3âdebuting this Fridayâand featuring some of the best short sex flicks from 15 years of HUMP! HUMP! HUMP!
Sounders fans will have the option to get vaccinated at Sunday's home game against the LA Galaxy: Fans who haven't already received a shot will be eligible to receive either the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine or the first shot of the Moderna vaccine, reports Jayda Evans for the Seattle Times. The Sounders also announced this afternoon that its entire first-team and staff are fully vaccinated.
Stop by to see us at the Sounders match this weekend - and get your vaccine! We will be offering first dose of Moderna or the single dose of Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Oh, and go @SoundersFC! https://t.co/HYuKPra4Iq
â Seattle Fire Dept. (@SeattleFire) April 29, 2021
King County will likely roll back to Phase 2 next week due to increasing COVID-19 case counts and hospitalizations, but it's unclear what that would mean for large sporting events: The Sounders have currently sold around 7,000 tickets to each of their first five home matches at Lumen Field. Gov. Inslee appeared to suggest today that vaccinated fans might be allowed to attend a game even if a county is in a more restricted phase like Phase 2. If Sunday's fans get the J&J vaccine, their vaccine juice will fully kick in on the day of the Sounder's next and third home match, May 16. More to come on this front.
Nathalie Graham contributed to this round-up.