The Stranger's morning news roundup. by Nathalie Graham Schools still face closure: Since Seattle Public Schools' budget deficit isn't going anywhere thanks to a historic underfunding of our schools here in the Evergreen state, Superintendent Brent Jones will still need to close some elementary schools next school year. By the end of the month, he's going to announce the up to five schools that will close—which, while still bad, is a tad better than the between 17 and 21 school closures initially proposed. Jones will also release the rest of his financial plan so SPS can "regain its financial footing." More school closures could be on the horizon beyond just this year. It will be fun to go to school with the threat of closure hanging over head like a budgetary Sword of Damocles.  Deadly downtown crash: At around 1 am Friday morning, a black SUV barreling through Westlake ran a red light and smashed into a white sedan at 4th Avenue and Pine Street before striking a street pole. The driver and passenger in the SUV were killed. The sedan's driver and passenger survived unscathed.  Mystery bullet: A bullet went through a second-story window at Nova High School in the Central District on Thursday. It's unclear where the bullet came from or whether the second-story Nova window was its intended target. Please refrain from shooting in or at schools.  Seahawks keep sucking: Bad news, Seattle's football team doesn't seem to be faring very well. Despite starting the season on a winning streak, the Hawks are now on a big fat losing streak with their loss last night to the dreaded San Francisco 49ers. A bit of borealis: Did you catch the Northern Lights last night? Or were you a loser like me and didn't see shit? We've got some low clouds approaching the office so our views might be gone soon. But this flare up of the the #aurora was easily spotted without any optical assistance around 12:45 AM PST. #wawx pic.twitter.com/bfwClFilal — NWS Seattle (@NWSSeattle) October 11, 2024 Another Bruce Harrell budget victim: Harrell and the Seattle City Council could slash funding for tenant services in half based on the proposed city budget. Those services fund tenant hotlines, counseling programs, and legal aid services. In case you needed another reminder, this is not a city government that cares about renters.  Oh, I bet he hates this: A judge has ruled that redacted evidence tied to a brief in Donald Trump's federal election interference case can be released. Trump and his team have seven days to try to block the disclosure. Trump has so far been doing an effective job of keeping his multitudinous federal indictments from progressing until after the November election. This disclosure could throw a wrench in that.  Foggy for now: A spooky little fall fog will cling to Seattle this morning. The rest of the day should be boring and cloudy.  We're seeing some dense fog on some of the higher hills around Puget Sound this morning. This will stick around through much of the morning. Take it easy out there and plan some extra time to get to your destination. #wawx pic.twitter.com/gm6RjPcuEX — NWS Seattle (@NWSSeattle) October 11, 2024 A miner problem: An equipment malfunction at the historic Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine near Cripple Creek, Colorado killed one person and stranded 12 others 1,000 feet underground for hours. The mine, which regularly hosts tours, said the issue involved the elevator, which malfunctioned at the tour's midway point. It's unclear exactly how the elevator malfunctioned or how the one fatality occurred, though four people sustained minor injuries related to back and neck pain.    Icebox icon: Coast guards rescued a man clinging to an icebox 30 miles off the coast of Longboat Key, Florida. Hurricane Milton stranded his boat and he clung for his life on the icebox through the night in the middle of the ocean, withstanding winds of 75-90 mph and waves up to 25 feet. “This man survived in a nightmare scenario for even the most experienced mariner,” coast guard official Dana Grady told The Guardian. At least 13 people have died in incidents related to Hurricane Milton. Millions of people remain without power.  Do not go gentle into that good night: A crew with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration dropped the ashes of climate scientist Peter Dodge directly into Hurricane Milton. Dodge flew into the eyes of hundreds of hurricanes through his work.  Wildlife in decline: It's bleak out there for global wildlife populations. Recent reports say critters worldwide have declined in population by 73% on average in 50 years. Certain places in the world have much steeper wildlife declines. In Latin America and the Caribbean, for instance, there's been a 95% reduction. Humans, and our encroachment on the natural world, are to blame. The good news is that scientists are optimistic that nature can recover given the chance.  Get their asses, Multnomah County: Oregon officials in Multnomah County have filed a $50 billion lawsuit against fossil fuel companies for contributing to climate change. The suit includes the normal villains in the space, such as Shell and Exxon, but it was recently expanded to include NW Natural, the county's utility company. The complaint against NW Natural alleges that it "knew that the burning of natural gas contributed to global warming but misled its customers about the consequences." Girl, so embarrassing: Elon Musk, the world's richest man, is simping hardcore for Donald Trump. Aside from relentless ad campaigns on Twitter for Trump and funding a Super PAC with tens of millions of dollars, Musk attended a Pennsylvania rally with Trump last week and has now moved his base of operations to the Keystone State to help win the election in the pivotal swing state. How badly do you want those Trump tax breaks, Elon? Embarrassing! I hate both of these guys.  Is this how you would wield power? Hackers tapped into and took control of dozens of robot vacuums in multiple US cities. They used the hacked robots to yell slurs.  A song for your Friday: The Airborne Toxic Event is playing at the Showbox this weekend, so here's their song about storms since those are pretty topical this week.