The Stranger's morning news round-up. by Nathalie Graham Boeing lays off more than 400 union members: As part of the the aerospace company's 10% reduction in staffing, Boeing has cut 438 positions held by Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace members, the professional aerospace labor union (distinct from the machinists union that was on strike this fall). Boeing expects to cut around 17,000 jobs to reduce labor costs.  TERFs at the library: An anti-trans group has rented the Central Library auditorium for an event this Sunday, and some employees plan to protest at the library’s plaza. Women’s Declaration International USA (WDI USA) is the non-catchy name for the American chapter of a trans exclusionary radical feminist (TERF) group founded in the United Kingdom. Like all TERF groups, WDI works under an outdated feminist framework to limit the civil rights of trans people and portray transgender identity as ideology. The Southern Poverty Law Center considers WDI to be part of a anti-queer pseudoscience network, whose “Declaration on Women’s Sex-Based Rights” has become a model for anti-trans legislation. The WDI panel is the third anti-queer event at the library in three years, and the second hosted by a TERF group. SPL wrote on its blog that it supports the rights of transgender women, but it rents its meeting room to anyone, even those they disagree with. If you feel like disagreeing, loudly, and supporting trans people at a time of rising hatred, you can join Seattle Public Library workers for a protest outside the Central Library Plaza on Sunday at 6 pm and/or speak at the SPL Board of Trustees meeting next Thursday, November 21st. Suspect charged in International District stabbings: Roland Jerome Lee, 37, was charged in the stabbings of five people last Thursday in Seattle's Chinatown International District. All five of the victims were men. Two of them required surgery. Lee, who has nine prior felony convictions, allegedly stabbed one man in the back, through the spinal cord. The attacks so far seem unmotivated and completely random. Lee is also a suspect in four other stabbings that occurred in the neighborhood earlier in the week.  Vandals at UW president's home: This week, a group of masked individuals went to UW president Ana Mari Cauce's home and spray painted phrases like “Free Palestine," “blood on your hands," and "Ana Mari is complicit in genocide" on her property. The vandalism comes in the wake of the agreement UW administration reached with student protesters back in May. The school committed to funding scholarships for Palestinian students and being more transparent about investment, but did not agree to cut ties with Boeing or stop a study abroad program in Israel, as protesters demanded. A video of the vandalism circulating on Instagram included the words "you will not know peace until you meet the demands of our movement." A UW spokesperson said the vandalism "will not influence university policy." BREAKING: Pres Cauce's home was vandalized last night with vile graffiti and posted on Insta with threatening language: "You will not know peace until you meet the demands of our movement"We unequivocally condemn this despicable behavior, and look to @SeattlePD and incoming AG… pic.twitter.com/vewG2mOIW7 — UW_JewishAlumni (@UW_JewishAlumni) November 14, 2024 Sun today? Okay, earlier this week I was certain we wouldn't see the sun again until at least February. Today, I'm eating crow. The skies will be clear today. Hopefully, they'll stay clear enough to spot the beaver moon tonight, the last super moon of 2024.  Please, adopt a pooch: The Humane Society for Tacoma and Pierce County is drowning in dogs. There are so many dogs in the shelter they're having to house them in offices and hallways. To fix the overcrowding and get some of the 200 dogs they're caring for out of the shelter and into homes, the Humane Society is waiving adoption fees from Nov. 14 through Nov. 17. Dog intake has increased exponentially this year. The shelter says it's taken in 400 more dogs this year than last.  Don't let this guy have a pooch, though: A Sheriff's deputy in Tennessee lost his job and is facing animal cruelty charges after he killed seven dogs while responding to an animal welfare check.  Suspected bird flu at the zoo: A precious goose at the Woodland Park Zoo is now a goner. Zookeepers found the rare red-breasted goose dead earlier this week. Tests returned positive for avian flu. Now, the zoo is in pandemic mode. Only animal keepers and veterinarians will interact with the zoo birds now. Penguin feeding experiences are canceled, as are private tours and bird ambassador shows. The free roaming peacocks have been put indoors. The water in the pools at open-topped bird exhibits has been drained to prevent wild birds from landing there and possibly catching any germs. The geese are in quarantine.  Fuck: Donald Trump has officially selected Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. A former acting director of the Centers for Disease Control told the New York Times that this appointment, "would pose incredible risks to the health of the nation." Washington's Sen. Patty Murray called it "catastrophic" and said RFK Jr. at this post "could not be more dangerous." RFK Jr. is an anti-vaxxer, a raw milk enthusiast, a fluoride conspiracy theorist, who believes that poppers cause HIV, trans healthcare for minors includes “castration drugs (puberty blockers) and surgical mutilation” and much more. Public health workers and officials are terrified.   the worm in RFK’s brain on his way to day one as deputy health secretary pic.twitter.com/Kz9mJWFqt5 — Russell 🏳️‍🌈 (@Medic_Russell) November 14, 2024 Vaccine stocks take a tumble: In the wake of the RFK Jr. news, stocks fell for Moderna, Pfizer, Eli Lilly, Novavax, and other vaccine companies. RFK Jr. wants to implement a vaccine "study" to see how safe they are. Public health officials worry how rigorous the study would be and what the messaging would be. The likeliest outcome is that any sort of study helmed by this mad tin foil hatter would only increase vaccine skepticism and destabilize our public health system.  Canary in the coal mine: Whooping cough cases in Oregon are set to reach an all-time high thanks to a dip in vaccinations in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.  If you care: Conan O'Brien will host the 97th Oscars.  Bear attacks were actually just insurance fraud: Four people claimed a bear got into their cars in California's San Bernardino Mountains and wreaked havoc. They submitted video alongside their insurance claim of a bear moving around in a Rolls Royce and two Mercedes. They wanted $142,000 for their damages. One company reviewing the footage suspected it wasn't actually a bear. When the company asked a biologist to take a look at the footage, they said it was "clearly a human in a bear suit." Sure enough, detectives found a bear costume in the suspects' home. The four people were arrested for defrauding three insurance companies.  A song for your Friday: