SEATTLE Becky Drury on the Bend shooting: “I had no time to act”
Six days after the shooting at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, classroom aide Becky Drury spoke in detail for the first time about what she experienced on October 15. She tried to return to the classroom and close the door when she saw the armed teenager, but was wounded before she could protect the children. The attack killed three boys and 25-year-old teacher Megan Lambert; a seven-year-old student and Drury survived. The shooter, 16-year-old former student Griffin J. John II, was shot...
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EVENTS Things to Do in Seattle, October 23–30, 2026
The last week of October promises to be packed in Seattle and the surrounding area. The city will host jazz concerts, film festivals, theatrical...
EVENTS Seattle Events: November 21–28
Plan ahead: November 21–28, Seattle and nearby cities will host concerts, theatrical performances, hockey games, and holiday events. The lineup...
USA Expensive Tickets Are Changing the Rules of Air Travel
Air travel in the United States is getting more expensive, primarily because of a sharp rise in jet fuel prices. Passengers are increasingly...
REACTIONS America as a Negotiator with Leverage: Why Seoul, Jerusalem and New Delhi Worry Not About the...
In South Korea, Israel and India, the United States is now being discussed not as an abstract superpower, or even primarily as a source of military...
WEATHER 🌤️ 10-Day Weather Forecast for Seattle, WA
Today, Friday, October 23, Seattle will see variable cloudiness with no precipitation. The daytime temperature will reach 57°F, while overnight lows...
WORLD Venezuela’s wage growth should be tied to state-owned enterprise reform
The average monthly income of workers in Venezuela’s private sector is about $500, while public-sector employees earn roughly $300, including...
WORLD Israel and Syria: Why an Open War Could Become a Trap
Israeli leaders repeatedly point out that their positions on Mount Hermon are about 35 kilometers from Damascus. This is more than a military detail;...
REACTIONS Ukraine Fears U.S. Pressure and Concessions to Russia
In Ukrainian commentary, Donald Trump’s policy is described as a decisive factor in the war: Washington may be unable or unwilling to pressure...
SEATTLE NWSL Playoff Battle and a Hockey Live Blog
The decisive match between the Utah Royals and Seattle Reign will determine who gets a ticket to the NWSL playoffs, while a snippet from a live blog...
Seattle
Around Seattle: Seahawks Injuries, a Champion’s Confession, and a New Sandwich Bar
Today’s roundup looks at how the Seattle Seahawks are preparing to face the Kansas City Chiefs amid injuries and returns, why Super Bowl champion...
Washington State Supreme Court Race Could Be Record-Breakingly Expensive
The race for Position No. 4 on the Washington State Supreme Court could become one of the most expensive judicial campaigns in state history:...
Seattle: Innovation, Coaching Rumors and Charbonnet’s Return
Seattle is once again proving itself a city of the future, from a salmon-saving hydrogel sponge and the ADA feeding robot to the CiviForm platform...
Sports and Justice: Utah Heads to Seattle, Shooting Case, and Redhawks’ Success
Today’s roundup: a preview of Utah’s game against the Seattle Kraken following its series with Edmonton; Seattle University’s women’s soccer team...
Ferguson Links Millionaires Tax to Childcare Affordability
At the José Martí Child Development Center in Seattle, Washington Governor Bob Ferguson urged voters on November 3 to reject Initiative I-645, which...
Washington’s Health Care System Could Lose $6 Billion Due to Medicaid Cuts
According to a new report from Senator Maria Cantwell’s office, Washington state hospitals could lose about $5.8 billion over seven years because of...
Seattle: Court, Baseball and Art in the Spotlight
A Seattle court released the 15-year-old suspect in the Bite of Seattle festival shooting to house arrest, finding his self-defense claim plausible....
Ballard Could Get Light Rail by 2042 — If $10 Billion Is Found
Sound Transit said extending the light-rail line to Ballard will require about $10 billion in additional funding. The figure includes federal and...
Florida Executes 77-Year-Old Convicted of Killing Police Officer
Florida carried out the death sentence of 77-year-old William Reeves, who was convicted of killing sheriff’s deputy Richard Rachkoski in 1986. The...
Neighbors
British Columbia: Prices, AI and a Rabid Skunk
A poll found that eight in 10 British Columbians have cut spending because of rising prices, with young people and low-income families hit hardest and groceries accounting for the largest share of cutbacks. Meanwhile, businesses in the province are rethinking what they expect from employees: AI agents are taking on routine tasks, and companies increasingly value “generalists” who can set goals and make decisions. In another alarming incident, a rabid skunk in downtown Vancouver bit several...
Historic Hotel, “Green” Victory and the Battle for Surrey: B.C. News
This digest covers three stories from British Columbia. In Pender Harbour, the nearly century-old Sundowner Inn is on the market for $2.6 million. The former St. Mary’s Hospital on the water is priced at roughly the same level as a benchmark house in Vancouver. A column in The Tyee takes an ironic look at whether “Green” Pete Fry’s victory in the Vancouver mayoral election foreshadows the provincial election; the author points to the differing political contexts and the absence of a single...
British Columbia: Deficits, Elections and a Land Dispute
The province stands on the threshold of change: an election race in which the Conservatives hold only a narrow lead over the NDP, multibillion-dollar deficits have become a political norm, and a legal battle over Cowichan Nation land threatens to reshape property ownership and infrastructure.
British Columbia: Deficits as the New Political Norm
The election campaign in British Columbia promises voters a miraculous rescue of the province’s finances. But, as Rob Shaw’s analysis for Business in...
Healthcare and British Columbia’s Nature in Focus
This digest covers a B.C. Ferries collision with a humpback whale off the coast, BC NDP campaign promises to open new urgent care centres on Vancouver Island, and an expert column arguing that the hospital crisis is being driven by underfunding of long-term care.
Canadian ferry collides with humpback whale off British Columbia coast
Last weekend, an incident off Canada’s Pacific coast once again drew attention to the challenge of coexistence between large marine vessels and whales. Ferry...
Vancouver Chooses a Green Course: Fry Defeats Sim
Vancouver residents elected Green candidate Pete Fry as mayor in the 2026 municipal election. He defeated incumbent Mayor Ken Sim by approximately 23,000 votes. The Green Party and COPE dominated all elected bodies—the city council, park board, and school board—while ABC Vancouver won just one council seat. Voters also approved three borrowing plebiscites authorizing $790 million for the 2027–2030 capital plan. Turnout rose to more than 43%, up from 36% in 2022. Official results will be...
British Columbia Elections, an Air Canada Promotional Flight and Municipal Races
Vancouver and all of British Columbia are voting in municipal elections amid record early turnout. The mayoral race is “neck and neck,” with plebiscites on drug policy and involuntary treatment also on the ballot, while CBC examines key campaigns in nine Metro Vancouver cities—from a changing of the guard in Richmond to controversies in Surrey and Delta. Meanwhile, Air Canada is filming an advertisement for its new Airbus A321XLR over the Lower Mainland, promising to expand its long-haul...
Return to Vancouver, an Election and Union Reform
Canada news digest: short-track speed skating returns to the arena of its 2010 Olympic triumph, Vancouver heads toward a municipal election with a fractured protest vote, and British Columbia debates secret ballots in union certification.
Canadian Speed Skaters Return to the Arena of Their 2010 Olympic Triumph
Short-track speed skating in Canada is more than just a sport; it is part of the national identity, built on dramatic finals, milestone medals and tactical schemes with memorable names....
Elections, Icebreaker, and Weekend Events in Vancouver
Vancouver is preparing for record voter turnout, Canada is building its largest icebreaker, and the weekend promises festivals and concerts.
Vancouver Votes: Record Early Turnout Signals a Tense Finish
Residents of Vancouver, Canada, are preparing to bring the 2026 election campaign to a close. After early voting broke all records, residents will have one final chance to make their choice this Saturday, October 17. City officials are reporting an unprecedented surge in civic engagement:...
Bruno Mars’ Voice on the SkyTrain and B.C.’s Election Race
Digest: Bruno Mars will voice a SkyTrain station in Vancouver, the election campaign in British Columbia is gaining momentum, and AGAT Laboratories is opening a laboratory in Vancouver.
Bruno Mars Will Speak in the Vancouver Subway: The Star’s Voice to Be Heard at a SkyTrain Station
Vancouver’s transit authority, TransLink, has decided to turn the wait for a concert into a show of its own before fans even step inside the stadium. The voice of global pop star Bruno Mars will play over the...
USA
iPhone Duo: Big Screens, New Apps and Design Trade-Offs
The launch of the foldable iPhone Duo is not just a test of a new device, but a challenge for Apple’s entire ecosystem. The company is trying to turn the large inner screen into a genuine advantage: developers are adapting their apps, the App Store is introducing a special label, and services are offering new ways to watch, work and multitask. Early reviews, however, suggest that app readiness is uneven. And plans for future generations—from a larger display to a telephoto lens—are a reminder...
Markets Caught Between Costly AI and the Threat of Escalation with Iran
These articles focus on investors’ efforts to assess two risks that amplify each other: AI companies’ enormous capital needs and the possibility of a renewed escalation in the conflict around Iran. On the market, this was reflected in sharp swings in technology stocks, a surge in oil prices, and some investors’ shift into government bonds. However, the sources offer different accounts of trading: one describes a sell-off on October 21, while another reports that the market rose the next day...
Eroding U.S. Guarantees and a New Security Architecture
Three articles describe different crises: Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, Egypt’s possible involvement in defending the kingdom, and Donald Trump’s pressure on Ukraine to reach an agreement with Russia. Yet they share a common theme: U.S. allies are increasingly questioning Washington’s readiness to ensure their security, while regional powers and European states are being forced to fill the emerging vacuum themselves. As a result, the familiar model in which the United States served as the...
iPhone Duo: A First Look at Apple’s Foldable Smartphone
The first reports on iPhone Duo reveal less a finished revolutionary product than an attempt by Apple to redefine the familiar way people use a foldable smartphone. Before official reviews appear, the device is already being showcased in unboxing videos, while screenshots of built-in apps offer a look at how the company has adapted iOS to a large flexible display. At the same time, discussion of the accessories highlights the design’s compromises: the unusual form factor requires equally...
Kansas Election: The Fight for the Moderate Voter
The Senate race in Kansas is evolving from a predictable Republican contest into an unexpectedly competitive campaign in which party affiliation is no longer the only factor at issue. Trust in the candidates, the cost of living and voter fatigue with political aggression have also moved to the forefront. Democrat Adam Hamilton, pastor of the largest Methodist congregation in the United States, is trying to attract independent voters and moderate Republicans by presenting himself not as a party...
US Midterm Elections: A Battle for Trust and Money
The materials provided show that the 2026 US congressional elections are unfolding around more than just partisan rivalry. Their overarching theme is a struggle for voters’ trust amid a high cost of living, foreign-policy crises, and politics’ growing dependence on major financial resources. Donald Trump is turning the campaign into a personal plebiscite on his ability to retain the Republican majority, while Democrats are trying to capitalize on economic discontent and controversial...
U.S. Supreme Court Tightens Oversight of Government Power
Three cases accepted or considered by the U.S. Supreme Court reveal a common trend: the Court is systematically reassessing the boundaries of federal power—presidential, legislative, and administrative—while also clarifying how far the government may intervene in institutional affairs, private life, and education policy. These are not merely separate disputes over the dismissal of an official, home distilling, or a school lottery. In each case, the Court must determine who actually has the...
System Vulnerability: Elections, Trust, and Infrastructure Failures
The materials provided address different topics—the U.S. midterm elections and a measles outbreak in Bangladesh—but they share a common theme: the resilience of public systems depends not only on formal institutions, but also on trust, data quality, the ability to identify risks in advance, and effective communication with citizens. In American politics, this is reflected in the unexpected expansion of the electoral battleground; in Bangladesh, it is seen in the failure to protect children...
Houthi Attacks Turn the Conflict into a Regional Crisis
The latest escalation between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis shows that Yemen’s decade-long war has once again moved beyond the confines of a local conflict. Strikes on airports, oil infrastructure, and shipping are disrupting daily life in Saudi Arabia, threatening key trade routes, and forcing neighboring states to choose between direct intervention and limited support for Riyadh. The main conclusion, evident in all three reports, is that the balance of capabilities has shifted: despite their...
Reactions
America as a Source of Risk: Seoul, Tokyo and Moscow Debate Not US Power, but Its Cost...
In recent days, the United States has been discussed in South Korea, Japan and Russia mainly in connection with two interrelated stories: the...
America as a Source of Risk and Security: Israel, Saudi Arabia and South Korea Look to...
In Israeli, Saudi and South Korean discussions of the United States, one question now overshadows any single news story: can the administration of...
Canada Changes Course Under U.S. Tariff Pressure
Canadian authorities are increasingly viewing the trade policy of Donald Trump’s administration not as a temporary dispute over tariffs, but as...
America as a Source of Strategic Anxiety: What Israel, Germany and Australia Saw in...
In recent days, the Israeli, German and Australian press has focused not on any single U.S. initiative, but on a more troubling picture: Donald...
America at War, Bargaining and Counting Votes: How China, Israel and India Read Washington Ahead...
In China, Israel and India, the United States is currently being discussed not as a unified superpower confidently setting the rules, but as a...
Latin America Reacts to Trump’s Regional Agenda
Venezuelan publications view U.S. policy under Donald Trump as an attempt to strengthen Washington’s influence in the Western Hemisphere. Particular...
America as an Unpredictable Ally: What India, Germany and Turkey Say...
In discussions in India, Germany and Turkey, the United States is now perceived not simply as a superpower that sets the rules, but as a source of...
America as a Source of Risk, Not Support: What Saudi Arabia, Germany and...
In recent days, the United States has been discussed in Saudi Arabia, Germany and Brazil not so much as an abstract superpower, but as a country...
The US Is Backing Away from Support for Ukraine
In Russian and Russia-linked publications, Washington’s actions are presented as a rejection of its former role as Ukraine’s protector. The US is...
World
Venezuela and the United States: Oil Deals, Sanctions and Disputes Over the Transition
After U.S. special forces seized Nicolás Maduro in January, Caracas and Washington went in a matter of months from sanctions confrontation to an oil partnership that Venezuelan and Latin American commentators are already calling a “protectorate.” Over the past two days, local media have focused on three flashpoints: an oil deal with a controversial business partner, the lifting of sanctions on the Rodríguez siblings, and the question of who will allow the country to hold elections, and...
Caracas Says It Controls Revenue From Oil Sales
Jorge Rodríguez, president of Venezuela’s National Assembly and a government representative in negotiations, said the country has full control over the funds received from oil sales abroad. He also noted that Venezuela is now engaged in important cooperation with the United States. Rodríguez called the energy agreement unprecedented and, in his view, the largest oil deal in the past 100 years. He said it should benefit the people and governments of both countries, as well as Venezuela’s economy...
Chants of al-Sarout’s name spark controversy in Syrian basketball
A Syrian Basketball League match between Al-Karama and Al-Wahda ended in controversy after some fans chanted the name of Abdul Basit al-Sarout, one of the symbols of the Syrian revolution, who was killed in 2019. The chants sparked heated debate, and both clubs’ administrations issued statements in response.
In an official statement, Al-Karama’s management condemned insults and profanity directed at al-Sarout by a small group of Al-Wahda fans. The club stressed that those who died for Syria’s...
Venezuela and the United States: Deals, Sanctions and Transition Disputes
Venezuela is experiencing its strangest political moment in decades: Nicolás Maduro has been overthrown in a U.S. military operation and is awaiting trial in New York; interim President Delcy Rodríguez is in power; Washington has reopened its embassy in Caracas while simultaneously rewriting the rules governing the country’s oil industry. Over the past two days, local newspapers, columnists and officials have been arguing not over whether Washington was right, but over who is actually running...
Restoring People Is the Foundation of Syria’s National Security
Speaking at the 2026 Global Security Forum in Doha, Syria’s Minister of Emergency and Disaster Management Raed al-Saleh said that the main pillar of national security must be investment in Syrian citizens, protection of their dignity, and their right to live in safety and freedom. According to him, building the state and its institutions begins and ends with restoring people, who are the “compass” guiding the government’s work. The minister stressed that the challenges are compounded by the...
Citgo Could Earn Up to $8 Billion in 2026
According to Bloomberg News, Citgo Petroleum expects to earn between $7 billion and $8 billion in 2026—approximately $2 billion more than the forecast published in the second quarter. The higher expectations are primarily attributed to expanding refining margins: fuel prices rose faster than the cost of crude oil. Citgo is a Venezuelan oil company registered in the United States that operates three major American refineries; the company itself has not yet officially commented on the forecast....
Basketball Scandal in Syria Sparks Dispute Over Revolution Symbols
The crisis erupted during a Syrian basketball championship game between Al-Karama of Homs and Al-Wahda of Damascus: an altercation began in the stands before spilling onto social media and the streets. Al-Karama fans began shouting insults at Omar Al-Soma, an Al-Wahda and Syrian national-team footballer whom they consider a supporter of ousted President Bashar al-Assad. In response, some Al-Wahda fans began chanting slogans about Abdel Basit al-Sarout, who was killed in 2019. This sparked anger...
Venezuela and the United States: Oil, Sanctions and Sovereignty Disputes
Venezuelan society is debating an unexpected turn of events: a country that just a year ago called Washington its main threat is now accepting U.S. investment in the oil industry, while acting President Delcy Rodriguez is publicly thanking Donald Trump. Against this backdrop, three disputes are unfolding—over the price of the oil deal, whom Washington is removing from its sanctions lists, and what to do with the memory of Nicolás Maduro.
The Oil Deal and Accusations of “Neo-Colonialism”
On...
Dollarization Without Sustainable Recovery: Venezuela’s Lesson
An examination of Venezuela’s economic period from 2019 to 2025 shows that de facto dollarization emerged not as the result of an official stabilization program or institutional reform, but as a spontaneous response by the population and private sector to the loss of confidence in the Central Bank and the national currency. After the collapse of oil revenues in 2014, the state’s interventionist model led to a sweeping institutional and monetary crisis, and citizens began using foreign currency...
Knowledge
The City That Rose on Tiptoe: How Seattle’s Streets Rose a Whole Story After the Fire
Imagine you built an entire street out of blocks, then accidentally knocked it all down. What would you do? Build it again—and make it even better. That’s more or less what Seattle did in 1889. Only the blocks were bricks and stones, and the builders came from all over the world.
The Glue That Boiled Over
On June 6, 1889, carpenter Victor Clermont was heating glue in his workshop. The pot overheated, and wood shavings caught fire. The wind fanned the flames, and most of the buildings in the...
The Fort That Learned to Listen to Birds: How Army Land in Seattle Became a Forest
Imagine a high bluff overlooking the sea. Once, barracks stood here, soldiers marched, and army buildings filled the grounds. Now you might spot a bald eagle along the trails, while the wind rustles through the treetops. This is Discovery Park in Seattle, one of America’s largest urban parks. Let’s find out how wildlife took root on a former military base—and how a lighthouse learned to work without a person.
A ship, a fort, and a new plan
The park’s name dates back to 1792. That year, English...
The Hill Was Washed Away: How Seattle “Melted” and Made New Land
Imagine that there is a huge hill in front of your house, and you decide to get rid of it. Not with shovels or machines, but with ordinary water—as if you were washing away a sandcastle with a hose. It sounds like a fairy tale, but that is exactly what happened to one hill in Seattle, a city in the northwestern United States. People washed it into the sea, and the earth became new shoreline. Let’s take a look at how this was even possible.
A City Hindered by a Hill
At the end of the nineteenth...
The Crystal Library: How Seattle Built a Building Where Books Grow in a Spiral
Imagine a huge, gleaming crystal in the middle of a city, with a ribbon of books inside it slowly rising upward like a mountain trail. This is not fantasy but Seattle Central Library, which opened in 2004. It was designed to change along with the books and the people who use it. Let’s take a closer look at how this unusual building works and why it is considered an engineering breakthrough.
A Building That Doesn’t Like Rearranging
When the architects began the project, they asked themselves a...
Floating Bridge: How Seattle Taught a Road to Float—and Challenge the City
Imagine a road carrying cars with deep lake water instead of solid ground beneath it. Seattle has had roads like this for more than eighty years: floating bridges. It is not a trick or magic, but a clever engineering idea. Yet behind it lies another story too—about how city residents argued, wrote letters, attended meetings, and fought to ensure that roads served people, rather than the other way around. Let’s look at how a bridge floats and whose voices were long overlooked in these...
Houses That Smile at the Street: How an English Idea Built Seattle’s Neighborhoods
If you walk along some of Seattle’s streets, you may see houses that resemble one another like brothers: low roofs, wide porches, and thick wooden columns. These homes are called Craftsman bungalows, and behind them lies an amazing story—the story of an entire movement that began far from Seattle but found its perfect home there.
It All Began with One Simple Idea
In the 19th century, a man named William Morris lived in England. He was an artist, writer, and jack-of-all-trades. He noticed that...
Bertha and Her Team: How a Massachusetts Girl Became Seattle’s Mayor
Imagine that your class is choosing a class monitor, and the winner is someone people once thought was “not suited” for the role. Then that monitor goes on to become the principal of the entire school. That is roughly what happened to Bertha Knight Landes, who became mayor of Seattle in 1926. She was the first woman to lead a major American city. But Bertha did not win on her own: behind her stood women’s clubs, voters, her family, and her own habit of seeing things through. Let’s look at the...
Steamer North: How Cannery Workers Taught Seattle to Say “We’re Together”
Imagine that every spring, steamships leave the port of Seattle carrying thousands of people with small trunks and dreams of earning a living. They are headed to Alaska, to canneries where salmon is cut, washed, and sealed in tin cans. Many of these workers were Filipino. In 1933, they united in a labor union for the first time and succeeded in making themselves heard. It is an almost forgotten story, but its echoes have reached our own time.
Alaskeros: The People Who Fed the Country Salmon
In...
A Multilingual Sign: How Duwamish River Neighbors Taught Seattle to Live with Salmon
Imagine a river that salmon return to every year. But its banks are lined with concrete, and its bed is covered with old, polluted sediment. That is what the Duwamish River in Seattle looked like. Scientists and officials were not the only ones who set out to help it. Local residents, many of whom had come to America from other countries, played a huge role. This is a story about how caring for fish turned into caring for one another.
Why Salmon Need a “Rest Stop”
Salmon are born in fresh...