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Good morning! It’s Indigenous Peoples Day, the federal holiday that most of us have to work through, when Democrats briefly remember that Indigenous people exist, and conservatives get really angry about respecting Italian heritage. Cheers to all who celebrate.
Let’s do the news.
SeaTac Doesn’t Shill for Trump: Picture it. You’re half asleep, dragging your carry-on through the TSA line, checking your phone every 45 seconds to make sure you’re not about to miss your flight, when, jump scare: Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s face, with a pair of hoop earrings that looks like a model of the solar system, pops onto every screen around you. “It is TSA’s top priority to make sure that you have the most pleasant and efficient airport experience as possible while we keep you safe,” she says in the video. “However, Democrats in Congress refuse to fund the federal government, and because of this, many of our operations are impacted, and most of our TSA employees are working without pay.” The Trump administration wants this playing at every airport in the country. SeaTac airport said “mm, no thanks,” but they will “continue to urge bipartisan efforts to end the government shutdown and are working to find ways to support federal employees working without pay at SEA during the shutdown.”
Speaking of Shutdown: We’re on day 14 and the government is, in fact, still shut down.
Voting Rights Throwdown: SCOTUS will hear arguments this week in a case from the Trump administration and the State of Louisiana that literally takes aim at the Voting Rights Act. On Wednesday, they will make a case to get rid of the state’s second majority Black congressional district, and make it impossible to consider race in redistricting in the future. You know you’re on the right side of history when your agenda is easiest to push through when the fewest, least diverse swath of people vote. Right?
Feds Are Escalating in Chicago: The Trump administration hasn’t managed to send the National Guard to Chicago yet, but they’re doing a lot of harm without them. They’ve sent a deluge of federal law enforcement into the city, and they’re doing exactly what we’ve come to expect. “One unauthorized immigrant was fatally shot. American citizens have been detained along with undocumented immigrants. Border Patrol agents have walked in groups through downtown Chicago. Residents have given chase to federal agents’ vehicles. And chemical agents have been used on protesters, journalists and clergy members,” the New York Times wrote.
Ceasefire Update: On Monday, in the first stages of a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel, Hamas released 20 Israeli hostages and Israel released almost 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. According to the agreement, Hamas still has to release the 26 bodies of hostages that died in captivity, and Israel still has to open Gaza up to allow desperately-needed aid into the region.
Rest in Peace, Annie: Just as we all recovered from the social-media-induced panic of Dolly Parton’s mystery health concerns, Diane Keaton passed away this weekend at age 79.
Weather: Clear and in the high 50s. We have a few dry days ahead of us, so get outside and soak in the daylight while we’ve got it.
Holy Shit the M’s Had a Weekend: On Friday night, the Mariners played for five hours and 15 innings to finally beat the Detroit Tigers and claim the AL West Championship title. The game was neverending. There were two salmon runs. And when they won it, fans created a tiny but detectable earthquake. Then on Sunday, after playing that marathon of a game, getting on a delayed flight, and arriving at their hotel at midnight before their first game against Toronto, they still managed to take home the win. It’s a good weekend to be a Mariners fan (or to become one, like half the city did).
Master Debaters: Seattle’s biggest trolls got back from Trump’s “Antifa Roundtable” just in time for Seattle’s conservative political event of the season this weekend: the We Heart Seattle-backed “Great Debate” at the Washington Athletic Club. The event was supposed to host the candidates from all of the city-wide positions that are up for election this year, and the county executive race. But like most conservative events in Seattle, the “great debate” was a media setup. If the more progressive candidates did show up, conservative “journalists” like Jonathan Choe and Brandi Kruse would use the event as a rage-bait clip farm. If they didn’t, they’d use it as a way to “prove” that the progressive left is afraid of a fight. Most of them chose the latter, so Council President Sara Nelson, Council candidate Rachael Savage, and Mayor Bruce Harrell all got on stage alone and debated themselves.
Harrell Finally Found a Vision for Seattle’s Future and We Wish He Hadn’t: Mayoral Candidate Katie Wilson cancelled her appearance at the debate last minute, so the organizers gave Mayor Harrell a full hour onstage to hype the crowd in his own personal WAC rally. Publicola’s Erica Barnett live-tweeted the whole event, and she caught a rare moment of vision from Harrell. Unfortunately, it’s not a vision anyone wants to see: a downtown that’s rejuvenated by a 10-foot wall where people can talk to AI versions of historical figures, like Martin Luther King Jr.
“And you could say, Well, Dr. Martin Luther King, I’ve always wanted to meet you. What was your day like today? What did you have for breakfast? And he comes back and he talks to you. How cool would that be if we have a series of historical figures that we all could agree on, that we respect?”
— Erica C. Barnett (@ericacbarnett.bsky.social) October 11, 2025 at 4:39 PM
Outside of that nightmarescape, Harrell mostly stuck to his usual talking points, just to a friendlier crowd. According to Publicola, he insisted he isn’t passing the buck on housing and homelessness, but then said that it’s the county’s fault. He pushed the lie that Wilson was a chief architect of the Defund SPD movement. And even in a friendly, more conservative crowd, he still managed to dodge answering many of the questions.
13 Units: This morning, the Seattle Times’ Greg Kim fact-checked Harrell’s repeated claim that he’s added 3,000 units of housing during his term—a claim he’s repeated in debates and campaign ads all year. Turns out, 65 percent of the units of supporting housing that he takes credit for were already in the works when he took office, and counts tiny home relocations as new units. Ultimately, the city only has 13 more units of housing than we did when he took office. Thirteen.
Capitol Hill Shooting: Over the weekend, SPD announced that there was a third victim in Thursday night’s shooting on Pike and Broadway. The shooting was just a couple blocks away from where Robert Fleeks was shot and killed in his SUV last month, but the police haven’t officially linked the two incidents. In response, Capitol Hill Seattle Blog reported that City Councilmember Joy Hollingsworth, who represents Capitol Hill, released a five-point safety plan for the area, which is basically all initiatives that are already happening.
The news was a lot today, so let’s wrap up with the best protest of the weekend: Portland’s naked bike ride.
