Landlords Fined: The first violators of a new Washington state law capping rent hikes were fined. It’s now illegal for landlords to raise rent more than 10 percent on most rentals. The limit on manufactured homes is 5 percent. After the bill took effect in May, eight landlords who own properties across the state boosted tenants’ rents for around 250 tenants beyond the new limits. Attorney General Nick Browngave them a heads up that what they were doing violated state law and the landlords rescinded the increases and paid the rent back to their tenants. Each of the landlords still have to pay $2,000 fines from the Brown’s office. If you think your landlord is overstepping these new limits, tattle on them and complain to Brown.
Israel Plans to Intensify War, Take over Gaza City: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants to intensify Israel’s military presence in Gaza—you know, the one that’s killed tens of thousands of people, forced people from their homes, and triggered famine throughout the territory. Netanyahu wants Israel to take control of Gaza City by mobilizing thousands of troops and forcibly removing civilians. This new goal is smaller than the original plans Netanyahu aired Thursday where he said he wanted Israel to control all of Gaza, a move the Israeli military did not support. The new Gaza City takeover announcement sparked resistance from international allies. Germany barred the export of any arms exports to Israel. Hamas, meanwhile, said the military takeover would mean “sacrificing” the remaining Israeli hostages in their possession.
Whippin’ It: Over the weekend, Seattle police arrested a Tacoma man after he offered firefighters whippets—or, a balloon filled with nitrous oxide to huff—while he was in traffic. The firefighters politely declined. The man then allegedly rammed his car into the firetruck multiple times. Interestingly, recreational whippet use is on the rise, especially at concerts, where the drug has been popular among jam-band fans for decades (police arrested a man outside a San Francisco Dead & Company show for possession of 100 nitrous oxide tanks). Between 2019 and 2023, deaths from whippets rose 110 percent.
The Weather: No rain today. No rain again for the foreseeable future. I hope you enjoyed your little taste of the months to come. Now, remember how much you miss the sun in those dark, gray months and cherish today’s rays. It’ll reach 76 degrees today. The big sun and big heat returns next week.
In Mosquito News… A woman in East Pierce County contracted malaria. The Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department, Washington State Department of Health, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are investigating how she got it. If she got it in Washington, then this would be the first locally-acquired malaria case in the state ever.
Give Up Your Blood: Hey, when was the last time you gave blood? Bloodworks Northwest needs to boost its supply. It’s just sitting there in your veins. This is a simple thing you can do to give back. Sign up to donate here.
The Onion puts out an ICE hiring ad:
From this month’s edition of The Onion.
— Tim Onion (@bencollins.bsky.social) August 7, 2025 at 9:32 AM
And how does that make you feel? Illinois Governor JB Pritzker signed a bill into law this week that bans AI therapists, a first for any state in the US. The bill also bans therapists (human ones) from using AI to make any “therapeutic decisions” or for “therapeutic communication.” Are we all enjoying living in a sci-fi novel? I’m iffy on it so far.
Cartoon Villain Shit: Vice President JD Vance and his family went on a kayaking trip on Ohio’s Little Miami River to celebrate Vance’s 41st birthday. Apparently, ahead of the trip, the US Secret Service asked the army corps of engineers to change the outflow of the river to increase water levels to “support safe navigation.” A source told The Guardian that increasing the water levels was about more than safety, they said it was for “ideal kayaking conditions.” The core of engineers did in fact increase outflows from Caesar Creek Lake to boost the rivers’ water level.
Nothing to See Here: At a meeting hosted by JD Vance, US Attorney General Pam Bondi, FBI director Kash Patel, and other Trump officials met to strategize about the Jeffrey Epstein of it all. The Trump administration continues to face criticism for not releasing all of the files, despite Trump promising to do so on the campaign trail. It could have a little something to do with his name being all over those files. Anyway maybe his crack team of idiot goons hatched a brilliant plan in their meeting. I doubt it.
Lowjacked by Meta: Hey, uh, a new Instagram feature may be taking your location and sharing it with everyone you follow. That’s a nightmare. Here’s how to turn it off.
Cringe Warning: Axios tried to write about rap.
It should be illegal for Axios to write about rap
— Bradford Pearson (@bradfordpearson.bsky.social) August 8, 2025 at 6:40 AM
Nazis Love the Trump era: White extremism is becoming normalized under Trump. “He’s the best thing that’s happened to us,” the co-leader of Aryan Freedom Network told Reuters. Read more here.
ICYMI: We’ve updated our primary election takeaways with the newest numbers for King County Elections. Progressive leads still hold strong, but there was the tiniest conservative bump in Thursday’s ballot drop.
Please Stop Throwing Green Dildos at WNBA Players: Since late July, three neon green dildos have been chucked onto the court at WNBA games across the country. The first time, it was kind of funny. Players even joked about it online. After the third time—and with many teams reporting dildo confiscation, disrupting plans for further dildo tossing—it just feels bad, a mockery of the league, and of women’s sports as a whole. The culprits make the whole thing worse. The green dildo tossers are tied to a new cryptocurrency, a memecoin called Green Dildo Coin. The attention from these disruptions increased the trading volume by more than $1.5 million. We live in the stupidest of times.
A Song for your Friday: The new women’s sports bar on Capitol Hill that’s named after this song is having its grand opening Friday.
