Seattleholding.com

Hakeem Jeffries takes his ‘sweet time’ holding the floor to delay Trump’s tax bill

WASHINGTON (AP) — There’s no filibuster in the House, but Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries essentially conducted one anyway.Jeffries held the House floor for more than eight hours Thursday, taking his “sweet time” with a marathon floor speech that delayed passage of Republicans’ massive tax and spending cuts legislation and gave his minority party a lengthy spotlight to excoriate what he called an “immoral” bill.As Democratic leader, Jeffries can speak for as long as he wants during debate on l

Canada to take steps to protect vanishing North Atlantic right whales from ships

<block>The Canadian government says it is taking steps this summer to protect a vanishing species of whale from lethal collisions with ships in its waters.The whale is the North Atlantic right whale, which numbers only about 370. The whales give birth off the southeastern U.S. in the winter and spring and migrate north to New England and Canada to feed.Along the way, the whales face dangers including ship strikes and entanglement in commercial fishing gear. Environmental groups have long faulted the U.S. and Canadian governments for not doing enough to protect the critically endangered animals.Canada is enforcing mandatory protection measures for the whale this summer, Transport Canada said in a June 27 statement. All vessels of 42.7 feet (13 meters) in length or more must comply with speed restrictions in designated areas of the ocean to avoid whale strikes, the agency said.Transport Canada said it is also requesting voluntary slowdowns in other parts of the ocean. The restrictions reflect the agency’s commitment “to the protection and conservation of endangered North Atlantic right whales,” the agency said.“Transport Canada has been taking action to help protect this iconic species from vessel collisions in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, a high-traffic area where right whales are often seen,” the statement said.The restrictions are being enforced at a time when scientists are voicing concern about a lack of right whale reproduction. The New England Aquarium in Boston said earlier this year that this year’s calving season produced only 11 mother-calf pairs. U.S. government authorities have said the whales need to have at least 50 calves per season to start recovering the population.The U.S. government decided earlier this year to withdraw a proposal that would have required more ships to slow down in East Coast waters to spare the whale. The move came in the final days of President Joe Biden’s administration and federal ocean managers said there was no way to implement the rules before President Donald Trump took office in January.The whale was once abundant off the East Coast, but it was decimated long ago during the commercial whaling era. It has been protected by the U.S. Endangered Species Act for decades, but has been slow to recover.</block>

Apple Acres Fire near Chelan grows to 2,000 acres; evacuations, highway closures ordered

Traffic is down to one lane along SR 97 from Milepost 240 in Chelan County to Milepost 250 near Wells Dam.There is no estimated time for the highway to fully reopen, according to the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT).Aircraft and emergency personnel are at the scene of the fire. Officials are investigating the cause of the fire.Residents and passersby are warned to avoid the area and yield to emergency vehicles.This is a developing story, check back for updatesFollow Frank Su

Zizian cult member accused in border patrol killing wants death penalty decision postponed

But Youngblut’s lawyers argue the government has set a “radically inadequate” and “extraordinarily rushed” timeline for that determination.In a motion filed late Monday, Assistant Federal Public Defenders Steven Barth and Julie Stelzig said the government has set a July 28 deadline for them to explain why the death penalty should not be sought, even though Youngblut has yet to be charged with a crime eligible for such punishment.For now, she’s charged only with using a deadly weapon against law

Heat Is A Warning: What We’re Losing And Who We’re Leaving Behind

This is the reality of 2025 in America, where the heat isn’t just unbearable — with temperatures soaring as high as 99°F in New York City, 101°F in Philadelphia, 118°F in Las Vegas, to 122°F in Death Valley, California — it’s a gross injustice. And what makes it deadly isn’t just the temperature but the deliberate dismantling of the tools meant to help us survive it.Let’s start where the sun hits hardest: Black, Brown, Indigenous, and low-income communities. Urban heat islands, st

Microsoft To Lay Off Around 9,000 Workers In Its Largest Cuts Since 2023

Microsoft is laying off thousands of employees, its third round of cuts in recent months, the company confirmed on July 2. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg/Getty Images via CNN Newsource)By Clare Duffy, CNNNew York (CNN) — Microsoft is laying off thousands of employees, its third round of cuts in recent months, the company confirmed on Wednesday.The staff reduction will affect less than 4% of the company’s total workforce, or around 9,000 workers, according to a company spokesperson. It marks t

Toxic Legacy: How Lead In Schools Is Silently Harming Black Kids

Unfortunately, that’s not the case in predominantly Black or low-income communities, where PTOs and other resources are underfunded or absent altogether. Who Should Be Held Accountable?Cleveland, Ohio, currently leads the nation in childhood lead exposure, with more than 8% of children younger than age 6 testing positive for elevated blood lead levels. The Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD) serves a student population that is 64% Black.When asked about lead in stud

Melania Trump meets with patients, visits garden at Washington children’s hospital

WASHINGTON (AP) — First lady Melania Trump was set to visit with sick patients at Children’s National hospital in Washington on Thursday as the children made Fourth of July arts and crafts ahead of the holiday.Trump, continuing a tradition of support by first ladies for the pediatric care center, was also expected during her visit to visit a rooftop “healing” garden she dedicated during the first Trump administration to first ladies of the United States.The Bunny Mellon Healing Garden, set to be

Oscar Mayer turkey bacon recall: More than 367,000 pounds pulled for possible listeria contamination

Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced Wednesday.Oscar Mayer turkey bacon recallThe following turkey bacon products are subject to the recall:Oscar Mayer Turkey Bacon Original – 12oz Recall 025-2025 Product Labels Consumer facing UPC: 071871548601 “Use By” dates ranging from “18 Jul 2025” to “02 AUG 2025”Oscar Mayer Turkey Bacon 36 oz (3 -12 oz packs) Consumer facing UPC: 071871548748 “Use By” dates ranging from “23 JUL 2025” to “04 SEP 2025”O

From Mattresses To The Metaverse: Where Does Your Money Sleep?

What feels like logical choices for safekeeping our cash could result from our money personalities.  Ready to learn how your money personality impacts how you save money?Common Money Personality TypesHere are some common money personality types and where they likely keep their extra money.AvoidersMoney avoiders ignore or shy away from dealing with their finances. They don’t check account balances, often pay bills late, and refuse to engage in money conversations. This is typically due

1 dead, 1 injured in early-morning shooting at Glen Acres golf course near Burien

An early-morning shooting near Burien killed one person and injured another, the King County Sheriff’s Office confirmed.The shooting occurred at Glen Acres Golf Course at approximately 1:45 a.m. The caller who reported the shooting relayed to deputies that they heard sounds of multiple gunshots and arguing.One person was pronounced dead at the scene, while another had gunshot wounds to his arm. He was taken to Harborview Medical Center.The golf course is in Boulevard Park. There are no suspects at this time.The King County Sheriff’s Office’s Major Crimes Unit is actively investigating the shooting.This is a developing story, check back for updatesFollow Frank Sumrall <a href="https://x.com/FMSumrall" target="_blank" rel="noopener">on X</a>. Send <a href="https://mynorthwest.com/contact-us">news tips here.</a>

Trump’s EPA Cut $3B In Climate Grants. Now, A Lawsuit

(Photo by Kevin Carter/Getty Images)by Willy BlackmoreSince the early days of the second Trump Administration, when the President signed a series of executive orders targeting tens of billions of dollars in grant funding awarded by the Environmental Protection Agency under President Joe Biden, there has been the expectation of a lawsuit (or many lawsuits) challenging those cancellations. While a few more narrowly targeted lawsuits have since been filed, the big one is now here: la

Sick Vets And Hungry Kids: One House Rep. Slams Trump’s ‘Ugly’ Bill

We’re talking about Medicaid and food stamps and even elder care, which is going to affect a lot of people who are in nursing homes as well.”Ultimately, the bill — which also gives big tax breaks to the wealthy and turbocharges funding for immigration enforcement — “is just bad policy. It’s been described as the cruelest piece of legislation that a lot of my colleagues have seen in their long, long careers here,” Strickland says. “It’s going to hurt folks; it’s going to jack up insurance rates.

Putin and Trump to speak by phone in their 6th conversation this year

President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin said they will speak by phone Thursday, their sixth publicly disclosed chat since Trump returned to the White House this year.Trump said in a social media post the call will take place at 10 a.m. EDT. Neither leader offered any immediate details on the topic.Their previous publicly known call came June 14, a day after Israel attacked Iran.Their resumed contacts appeared to reflect both leaders’ interest in mending U.S.-Russian ties that

Seattle Surpasses 800,000 Residents For The First Time, Marking Significant Population Growth

This year marks the fifth consecutive year that the city’s growth rate has exceeded 2%, solidifying Seattle’s status as one of the fastest-growing cities in the nation.Despite this impressive growth, some of Seattle’s single-family zones have experienced a decline in population over the past three decades. These zones have traditionally occupied about two-thirds of the city’s residential land, while housing development has predominantly concentrated in designated urban ce

Supreme Court rejects Montana’s bid to revive parental consent law for minors’ abortions

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court said Thursday it will not hear a case involving a push to revive a law that minors must have their parents’ permission for an abortion in Montana, where voters have enshrined the right to abortion in the state’s constitution. The justices rebuffed an appeal from the Republican-led state seeking to overturn a Montana Supreme Court ruling that struck down the law. The parental consent law passed in 2013 but was blocked in court and never took effect before

How Ukraine can cope with the US pause on crucial battlefield weapons

A senior Ukrainian official said Thursday that Patriot systems are “critically necessary” for Ukraine, but U.S.-made HIMARS precision-guided missiles, also paused, are in less urgent need as other countries produce similar assets.“Other countries that have these (Patriot) systems can only transfer them with U.S. approval. The real question now is how far the United States is willing to go in its reluctance to support Ukraine,” he told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of sen

South Korea’s leader says trade deal with US remains unclear ahead of Trump’s deadline

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said that it remained unclear whether Seoul and Washington could conclude their tariff negotiations by the deadline set by President Donald Trump for next week, noting Thursday that both nations were still working to clarify their positions and identify areas of agreement.Speaking at his first news conference since taking office last month, Lee also reiterated his intentions to improve badly frayed ties with North Korea, though he ac

Asian shares mostly higher after US stocks hit another record as Tesla and Nike rally

<block>MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Asian shares mostly gained on Thursday after U.S. stocks hit another all-time high.U.S. futures edged up while oil prices fell.Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 inched up 0.1% to 39,794.16. In South Korea, the Kospi added 1% to 3,106.46, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.1% to 8,589.30. The Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index lost 1% to 23,976.41. The Shanghai Composite index edged up 0.1% to 3,57.36. Taiwan’s TAIEX surged 1.4% while India’s Sensex rose 0.3%Mizuho Bank, Ltd., in a commentary, said there is lopsided optimism about Vietnam’s deal with the US, with Vietnamese imports subject to 20% tariffs in return for 0% tariffs on U.S. goods.“A higher 40% tariff on goods deemed to be transshipped via Vietnam could accentuate risks to and from China,” it said, adding that “other Asian economies will be particularly vulnerable to a two-sided geoeconomic squeeze given that their reliance on both China and U.S. are significant.” President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he reached a deal with Vietnam, where U.S. products sold in the country will face zero tariffs and Vietnamese-made goods will face a U.S. tariff of 20%. That helped companies that import lots of things from Vietnam, including Nike, whose stock rose 4.1%. Factories in Vietnam made half of all Nike brand footwear in its fiscal year of 2024. The S&P 500 rose 0.5% and set a record for the third time in four days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged down by 10 points, or less than 0.1%, and the Nasdaq composite gained 0.9%.Tesla helped drive the market higher and rose 5% after saying it delivered nearly 374,000 of its Model 3 and Model Y automobiles last quarter. That was better than analysts expected, though the electric-vehicle maker’s overall sales fell 13% from a year earlier.Worries have been high that CEO Elon Musk’s involvement in politics is turning off potential Tesla buyers.Constellation Brands climbed 4.5% despite reporting a weaker profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. It pointed to slowing growth for jobs in the construction industry and other “4000 calorie+” sectors, which tends to hurt demand for its beer.But the company selling Modelo beer and Robert Mondavi wine nevertheless stuck with its financial forecasts for the full upcoming year.They helped offset a 40.4% drop for Centene. The health care company withdrew its forecasts for profit this year after seeing data that suggests worse-than-expected sickness trends in many of the states where it does business. It was the worst day for the stock since its debut in 2001.All told, the S&P 500 rose 29.41 points to 6,227.42. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 10.52 to 44,484.42, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 190.24 to 20,393.13.In the bond market, Treasury yields were mixed ahead of a highly anticipated report on Thursday, which will show how many jobs U.S. employers created and destroyed last month. The widespread expectation is that they hired more people than they fired but that the pace of hiring slowed from May. A stunningly weak report released Wednesday morning raised worries that Thursday’s report may fall short. The data from ADP suggested that U.S. employers outside the government cut 33,000 jobs from their payrolls last month, when economists were expecting to see growth of 115,000 jobs.The ADP report does not have a perfect track record predicting what the U.S. government’s more comprehensive jobs report will say each month. That preserves hope that Thursday’s data could be more encouraging. But a fear has been that uncertainty around President Donald Trump’s tariffs could cause employers to freeze their hiring. Many of Trump’s stiff proposed taxes on imports are currently on pause, and they’re scheduled to kick into effect in about a week. Unless Trump reaches deals with other countries to lower the tariffs, they could hurt the economy and worsen inflation. Other factors could also be dragging on the job market, such as the U.S. government’s termination of protected status for 350,000 Venezuelans, potentially exposing them to deportation. That alone could create a drag on payrolls of 25,000 jobs, according to Goldman Sachs economist David Mericle, whose forecast for Thursday’s report is weaker than many of his peers. In other dealings on Thursday, the benchmark U.S. crude lost 45 cents to $67, while Brent crude, the international standard, shed 47 cents to $68.64. The dollar was trading at 143.77 Japanese yen, up from 143.65 yen. The euro was unchanged at $1.1790.</block>

Monsoon season brings the promise of rain for the arid southwestern US

Just ahead of the monsoon, officials with the Navajo Nation declared an emergency because of worsening drought conditions across the reservation, which spans parts of New Mexico, Arizona and Utah.Below-average precipitation month after month has left little forage for livestock, and fire danger has ramped up as pockets of moderate and severe drought expand. Ranchers and farmers are being urged to reduce their herds, shift to drought-tolerant crops and limit irrigation.New Mexico’s governor also