The Stranger’s morning news roundup.

by Nathalie Graham

Iran’s president dies in helicopter crash: On Sunday, Iran President Ebrahim Raisi, the country’s foreign minister, the governor of Iran’s East Azerbaijan province, and all of their bodyguards were killed. The first reports stated the helicopter “went missing.” Then, after hours of looking, searchers found the wreckage. Raisi, the president, was a “hard-line” kinda guy, someone who oversaw mass executions in 1988 and who supported the growth of Iran’s nuclear program. Most recently, he launched an attack on Israel. Suspicious?? I’ll let the conspiracy theorists decide. 

An arrest warrant for Netanyahu: The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court announced he is seeking arrest warrants for Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Netanyahu’s defense minister Yoav Gallant, and three Hamas leaders for war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Israel-Hamas war. The process of getting these warrants out could take about two months and, even then, the risk of Israeli leaders facing prosecution seems low. A risk of arrest, though, could inhibit their international travels. Mostly, this announcement is symbolic in that it indicates a lack of international support for this war. 

Burien continues to suck ass: Burien doesn’t know what to do about its homeless population unless it’s “treat them like dirt.” To further that end, the Burien City Council is poised to kill a city-funded tiny house project that would provide 35 shelters and places to live for many of the people on Burien’s streets. Despite moving forward with zoning updates to legalize the shelter and having the funding lined up from untapped King County federal pandemic money, the council has two amendments in the works that would “disqualify the property that the City Council selected for the project.”

The weather: It will be pleasant if not a little chilly today. Though, there will be sun. Nothing much to report!

Better than a dust storm: I’ll never complain about boring weather so long as I don’t have to live through a dust storm. 

A large dust storm swept through Great Bend, Kansas, on Sunday as severe weather continues moving through parts of the midwest. pic.twitter.com/VrVLI47m8L

— ABC News (@ABC) May 20, 2024

So long, UW encampment: After nearly three weeks, University of Washington students packed up their solidarity encampment on Sunday afternoon. The university had given them a Monday deadline to clear the encampment after the students and administrators reached a deal on Friday. While the UW did not dismantle its funding relationship with Boeing as students in the encampment demanded, they did come forward with a 14-point agreement which, among other things, detailed an expansion of Palestinian studies and promised to waive tuition for 20 Palestinian students. 

RIP Red Lobster: Despite being an average seafood restaurant and a reward for Beyoncé’s lovers, Red Lobster has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Red Lobster said it will be selling pretty much all of its assets. We’ll miss you and your cheddar bay biscuits. Mostly just the biscuits, though. 

RIP Bruce Nordstrom: The 90-year-old man was pivotal in growing his family’s business. Maybe you’ve heard of it? Nordstrom? Seattle’s neighborhood retail store? If you’re a Nordstrom simp, thank Bruce. Then grieve him, damn it. Because he’s dead. 

So long, Jeff Duchin: The director of Public Health – Seattle & King County, Dr. Jeff Duchin, announced his impending retirement, stepping away from the field he worked in for 30 years. Duchin steered King County through the pandemic, a four-year period that often “felt more like 40 years,” he told the Seattle Times. For those of us covering the crisis, Duchin was patient, steady, and skilled at communicating his wealth of arcane information. He’ll be missed.

Bad boy for life literally? Sean “Diddy” Combs apologized for attacking his ex-girlfriend, R&B singer Cassie, after a 2016 video of him violently assaulting her in a hotel hallway circulated late last week. Combs said he was “truly sorry” for his actions. Allegedly, he and his team paid that 2016 hotel $50,000 for its surveillance footage of him attacking Cassie. Last year, Cassie sued Combs for “years of sexual, physical and emotional abuse.” A settlement quickly followed. However, Cassie’s case may just be the tip of the iceberg as more lawsuits came out as well as allegations of human trafficking that led to an FBI raid on Combs’s house. 

Congrats? Travel + Leisure announced the most expensive city in the US for travelers, and it’s—you guessed it—Seattle! Though, the ranking states that Aspen, Colorado is technically more expensive and would rank higher, but it’s unclear whether Aspen qualifies as a city or a town. So, we’re second-most expensive to a remote mountain town that is a playground for the extremely wealthy. 

Trump hush-money trial enters final phase: Welcome to the final phase of the first criminal trial for Donald J. Trump. What’s happening? Such a good question. On Monday, Michael Cohen, Trump’s former personal attorney, will continue testifying. The defense’s cross-examination of Cohen should wrap up today, but then both sides will get another chance to question him again. The prosecution will likely rest its case after that, and then the defense can decide whether to call more witnesses. Trump could take the stand himself, though it’s unclear whether he’ll do that. This is all to say the trial may end as early as later this week. 

Water levels haven’t dropped in Brazil floods: Floods earlier this month killed 115 people and displaced 540,000 in Brazil’s Rio Grande do Sul. The government announced it will build four tent cities to accommodate the 77,000 displaced people who remain without shelter. 

Me, pandering to your sensibilities: Here, watch this man rescue a dog. 

Dramatic video captures the moment a man dove into the Hudson River to save a dog that was struggling off Hoboken, New Jersey. https://t.co/50YjLPGjuW pic.twitter.com/hMMzIJwcR4

— ABC News (@ABC) May 20, 2024

Brain worms strike again: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. listed a New York home in foreclosure for non-payment as his official voting address. Public records don’t show this home as one he owns, nor does it appear he has ever been a resident there. 

A missing plane: A plane and its pilot reportedly left Arlington Municipal Airport at 4:30 pm, but it never arrived at its destination of Ephrata. The Washington State Department of Transportation and King County officials are searching for the missing plane. 

A song for your Monday: This whole album is nice to listen to on a sunny morning.

The Stranger