I don’t want to jinx it because one can never underestimate Republican fuckery and duplicitousness: But it looks like we will be getting our first Black female Justice. Today, GOP Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Mitt Romney have developed a partial spine and announced that they intend to confirm Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court, reports AP. Romney, Murkowski, and Sen. Susan Collins will likely be the only Republicans to vote in favor of Judge Jackson, as the Senate Judiciary Committee panel deadlocked 11-11 on sending the nomination to the Senate floor, reports AP. We can expect to see Jackson confirmed by the end of the week.

Another United Nations climate panel report to sharpen your existential dread: Released today, the report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change “warns that unless countries drastically accelerate efforts over the next few years to slash their emissions from coal, oil and natural gas, the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius…will likely be out of reach by the end of this decade,” reports the New York Times. But because the rate of fossil fuel emissions have slowed in the 2010s, “humanity now has a much better shot at avoiding some of the worst-case global warming scenarios once widely feared by scientists.”

Meanwhile, Europe is still hemming and hawing over its reliance on Russian natural gas and oil: As news is still coming in about the horrific atrocities committed by Russian military forces in the Ukrainian town of Bucha, French President Emmanuel Macron seems to be more supportive of banning Russian oil and coal in a new round of sanctions (however, he’s up for reelection this week against the batshit right-winger Marine Le Pen, so let’s see if he sticks to this). In Germany, officials are still resistant to cutting off all their dependency on Russian energy, opting instead to quickly ramp down their reliance in light of the massacres in Bucha. And in Poland—which has absorbed the largest number of Ukrainian refugees—they will stop importing Russian coal in the next few weeks and plans to ax all imported Russian oil and gas by December.

Wanna live on Capitol Hill for all eternity? Primo space has opened up in Lake View Cemetery.

Dead whale beached on Camano Island: This weekend, NOAA Fisheries West Coast Regions officials responded to reports of a dead male gray whale found beached on the west side of Camano Island, reports the Everett Herald. Gray whales in the region are undergoing an “unusual mortality event” since 2019 and scientists can’t figure out why. Officials have left the carcass on the beach for “land-based natural decomposition” which will allow the nutrients to return to the marine ecosystem. Dead whales always bum me out.

Today the West Coast Marine Mammal Stranding Network is responding to a male gray whale found stranded on the west side of Camano Island, Washington.

Learn more about NOAA’s Stranding Network: https://t.co/IAZcHKSOH3 pic.twitter.com/HS1aVBvd4r
— NOAAFish_WCRO (@NOAAFish_WCRO) April 1, 2022

However: Other whale populations seem to be doing ok. Over the weekend, Pacific Whale Watchers reported that they spotted at least 72 Bigg’s killer whales in the Salish Sea last week, setting a new record. There’s hope yet!

The rich are getting richer: Elon Musk bought 9.2% in Twitter stock and shot the price of the company’s shares up 22%, making his stake $3.5 billion early Monday, reports CNN. CNN notes that while any stake under 10% is considered “passive” it could be a signal that the erratic billionaire wants more of a say in how the microblogging site is run. Thrilling.

And surprising no one: Trump’s Truth Social fucking sucks. Two “key” technology executives have quit the troubled social media company, reports Reuters. No reasons have been given for their departure, but could it be that many users still can’t even log into the damn thing?

The weather has been extra moody today in the Seattle area: We got sunshine, then clouds and wind, then rain, then hail, then sunny rain, then just sun. Springtime in the Pacific Northwest will always keep you guessing! That being said, 11,484 homes across the state reported power outages this morning—Kitsap County clocked in more than 4,000 outages while King County reported 1,772, says KOMO. Stay safe out there.

Power outage in the SoDo & Georgetown neighborhoods affecting many traffic signals. Treat dark signals as all way stops and use caution. pic.twitter.com/28jJ9AJM9j
— SDOT Traffic (@SDOTtraffic) April 4, 2022

More flight cancellations from Alaska: Mechanical issues and staffing shortages caused the airline cut 40 more flights today which impacted almost 6,000 passengers, reports the Seattle Times. Alaska is currently in the midst of a contract deadlock with its pilots, who are demanding better working conditions and leaving in droves for better jobs.

Haven’t filed your taxes yet? Me neither 😅 Apparently, Seattle is number four in the nation for procrastinating on filing taxes. It’s stressful, ok!!!!! But the tax deadline has moved to April 18, so you have two more full weeks to avoid this annoying task.

A ferry landed hard on Colman Dock this morning: The Kaleetan slammed into one of the dock’s two “wing walls” on its return trip from Bainbridge Island, crunching the wooden beams underneath, reports David Kroman over at the Seattle Times. No injuries were reported and the ferry was taken out of service this morning, but has since returned to the cold waters of the Sound.

ICYMI: At the end of last week, Tate Modern commissioned Chilean artist, poet, and activist Cecilia Vicuña to create a work for the London museum’s iconic Turbine Hall. In 2019 I covered About to Happen, her first solo exhibition in the United States at the Henry Art Gallery, and I fell in love with her use of space and eye for material. I do not doubt that whatever she debuts in the hall later this year will be incredible—see you there?

The Grammys were last night: Gen Z icon Olivia Rodrigo won Best New Artist and Best Pop Vocal Album, while Jon Batiste took home Album of the Year for We Are and the Anderson .Paak-Bruno Mars project Silk Sonic snagged Record of the Year for “Leave the Door Open.” The biggest two moments on my feed: Doja Cat crying while accepting the Best Pop Duo/Group Performance Grammy for “Kiss Me More” and Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett’s win for Love for Sale. Moving!

Lady, what a beautiful performance at the Grammys. I love you dear friend! pic.twitter.com/AuazDWeSk7
— Tony Bennett (@itstonybennett) April 4, 2022

For your listening pleasure: SASAMI’s “Say It.” Her Squeeze should have been nominated for every Grammy!

Article Source: https://www.thestranger.com/slog/2022/04/04/69946985/slog-pm-two-more-republicans-back-judge-brown-dead-gray-whale-found-on-camano-yep-the-climate-is-still-fucked