About That Weather: Monday’s heavy rain was just the beginning. Rivers are flooding all over Western Washington—the Snohomish River is expected to reach a record high—and the Seattle Times says a “stronger surge of subtropical moisture is on track to arrive Tuesday night.” Keep your phones charged, make some hot chocolate, and get comfortable, it’s gonna be a wet night.

Get ‘Em, Valdez: Seattle Senator Javier Valdez introduced a bill yesterday that would ban law enforcement officers and ICE agents from wearing face-concealing masks. “If a law officer is stopping or questioning you, you have the right to know who they are. Anonymous policing erodes trust, invites abuse, and threatens the safety of everyone involved,” said Valdez. Sounds good! But can we also just ban illegal ICE raids? That would be even better!

Jayapal Has New Legislation, Too: The Dignity for Detained Immigrants Act, co-sponsored by Adam Smith, would, among other things, repeal mandatory detention, create a presumption of release, impose a higher burden of proof to detain primary caregivers and vulnerable populations, and phase out the use of private detention facilities and jails. But can we also recognize the illegal aspect of ICE’s unlawful (and very racist) detainments and hold those criminals accountable for what is essentially kidnapping? I want to see more officials blocking ICE raids and suing those fuckers!

 

The American people have been clear: they are not okay with Trump’s cruel kidnappings and disappearances of immigrants across the country.

 

Congress must hear their pleas to push back against this lawlessness and pass my Dignity for Detained Immigrants Act.

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— Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal (@jayapal.house.gov) December 9, 2025 at 6:30 AM

 

Easier Said Than Done: Speaking of stopping ICE, yesterday, former Spokane City Council President Ben Stuckart pleaded guilty to “impeding the duties of immigration officers.” Stuckart allegedly blocked a transport bus carrying two men who came into the US legally through a government-regulated humanitarian program. It’s a felony, so he faces up to six years in prison and thousands of dollars in fines. SO! FUCKED!

Arts News You Can Use: Common AREA Maintenance saved the El Rey! As Stranger writer Audrey Vann reported yesterday, the local arts collective bought the historic Belltown building for “the symbolic price of $20, with the Office of Housing agreeing to forgive the $2.2 million loan if CAM can get the El Rey structurally sound and in compliance with fire codes.” CAM plans to use the building for affordable housing for artists, as well as a cultural space. Read all about it!

It Ain’t Over: Paramount launched what the finance world calls a “hostile takeover” bid (unnecessarily dramatic, imo) by offering to buy Warner Bros. Discovery for $108.4 billion after WB had already agreed to an $83 billion sale to Netflix. But wait, how does Paramount have that kind of money? Didn’t they just lay off thousands of people? Yes! According to Variety, Paramount’s deal is partly backed by “three Arab sovereign wealth funds and Jared Kushner’s Affinity Partners.” 👀👀👀

 

David Ellison knows what Trump wants on CNN—and he’s willing to give it.

 

If Paramount acquires Warner instead of Netflix and the Ellisons fulfill their promise to Trump,  we could see Trump blatantly using them to shape the entire media landscape—from CNN to TikTok—in his own image. trib.al/Qmi31pW

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— The New Republic (@newrepublic.com) December 9, 2025 at 7:21 AM

 

Trump’s Giving Farmers $12 Billion: Remember when Trump started a trade war, and fucked over a bunch of farmers? Some of those who supported him were starting to question their loyalty. Others began referring to their Trump-induced financial woes as “farmageddon.” Well, Trump announced yesterday he’s rolling out $12B in financial aid for farmers across the country. He says the money is from all the extra dough the US is raking in from tariffs, but that is a lie—the money is coming from the Agriculture Department’s Farmer Bridge Assistance program, and, as the New York Times points out, “The total payout to farmers could be far less than their recent losses.” Way to go, dummy.

Ten Days: The Justice Department has until December 19 to release the Epstein files, and yesterday, a Manhattan federal judge granted a motion to unseal the grand jury investigation of Ghislaine Maxwell, too. But in the ruling, Judge Paul Engelmayer pointed out that the newly unlocked files "would not add to public knowledge."

The Battle of the Boat Footage: In September, the US military attacked an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean, killing 11 people on board. As lawmakers began to investigate the attack, it came out that two people allegedly survived the initial hit, so the US struck the boat again. Legal experts say that is a BIG FAT CRIME, despite Pete Hegseth citing “fog of war.” (Sounds like an Iced Earth album.) Seeing video of the second strike could, of course, help clear this up, and last week, Trump said there should be “no problem” in releasing that footage. Surprisingly transparent, right? Well, yesterday he backtracked on that statement and called a reporter “obnoxious” and “terrible” for saying otherwise. The AP says at least 87 people have been killed in 22 similar strikes in recent months.

Australia Launches Social Media Ban: Australia is the first country in the world to ban kids under 16 from using social media platforms, including Instagram, Facebook, Threads, X, TikTok, Reddit, and more. Parents and kids won’t be punished for breaking the rules, but corporations could be.

Let’s End with Something Delightful: 

 

Because I’m bored: Professional Athletes as Public Transit Vehicles

— Brittney Bush Bollay (@brittneybush.bsky.social) December 8, 2025 at 11:34 AM