The Stranger's morning news roundup. by Hannah Krieg Weather: Don’t let the sunshine deceive you. You’ll need a jacket today! This morning will start off with temperatures in the high 30s, but move up to the low 40s around lunchtime. Temperatures will top off to about 44 around 3pm, which will also be the sunniest part of the day. Then the clouds will overtake the sun and temperatures will sink back down, dipping all the way back to the high 30s in the evening. For more, check your favorite weather website, social media account, app, friend, whatever. Careful: After Mason County animal sanctuary saw 20 of their big cats die from bird flu late last year, Seattle veterinarians are warning pet owners to keep their cats inside, stop feeding them raw meat or raw milk, and to remove bird feeders and baths to curb the spread. KING5 has the details. We need MOORE revenue: Council Member Tammy Morales’s departure from the dais threw a wrench in any plan to pass new progressive revenue sometime this year, but—could there be hope? Council Member Cathy Moore said on the Seattle Channel that she continues to believe the City needs additional revenue. Will the @SeattleCouncil revisit a plan for a citywide capital gains tax in 2025? Bill sponsor Cathy Moore, plus Councilmembers Alexis Mercedes Rinck and Maritza Rivera weigh in. Watch the full episode of Council Edition with @callananseattle here: https://t.co/8DQcWkjGAA pic.twitter.com/zLxfpBJm8i — Seattle Channel (@SeattleChannel) January 14, 2025 This again: Early this morning an Auburn police officer shot and killed a man during a traffic stop. So far, we don’t have many details. According to the Auburn Police Department—where all the details so far are coming from—a cop stopped a car around 2 am for undisclosed reasons, an “altercation” occurred, and the cop shot a man, fatally. From the police's account, the Seattle Times reported a “firearm was displayed in the car." Sounds like a developing story if I’ve ever heard one. Okay now let Ashley talk: Blast balls: Yesterday, the City Council's Public Safety Committee voted 3-1 to send a bill repealing the City's blast balls ban (say that five times fast) and thus allowing the "use of less lethal weapons" by police to full council. Council Member Cathy Moore voted down the bill after the other members of the committee, Council Members Bob Kettle, Sara Nelson, and Rob Saka, voted down every single amendment she introduced to improve the bill. Council Member Joy Hollingsworth abstained. The bill now heads to full council on February 4. In each of us are two wolves —- "Comrade Moore" and "Cathy Moore hates the poor" https://t.co/8lHan3G5ZM — Hannah Krieg (@hannahkrieg) January 14, 2025 Abu Ghraib, a staffing issue: In the middle of the meeting about blast balls, Kettle made an out-of-pocket comment that US soldiers' sadistic torture of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison in the 2000s came about due to "under deployment" of soldiers. The comment is beyond disturbing. As if the simple fact that prisoners outnumbered guards required American soldiers to rape and torture Iraqis. The comments raises larger questions about how Kettle reacts to misconduct by members of the Seattle Police Department and whether, even in the face of horrific and unconscionable behavior by officers, his answer would be to hand over more money and more resources to the department. In response to a question about his comments, Kettle said, "They were to highlight how being ‘under deployed’ can put operational efforts and people at risk.” Here's the full quote from Kettle about Abu Ghraib. https://t.co/yb6wOcfNp8 pic.twitter.com/uWnGpN7cEq — Ashley Nerbovig (@AshleyNerbovig) January 14, 2025 Thanks, Ashley! Back to me. Shameful: Yesterday, the US House of Representatives passed a bill amending Title IX to prohibit schools from allowing transgender women and girls from playing on sports teams or participating in activities “designated for women or girls.” It seems to be a recipe for social exclusion and privacy invasion. As Rep. Becca Balint (D-Vt.), one of 13 openly-LGBTQ+ lawmakers, said: “We know there is only one logical conclusion to this. This is interrogation of young girls about their bodies; this asking people to show them what’s underneath their underwear. That is what we’re talking about.”  What do you have to say for yourself? Members of the Senate Armed Services Committee questioned President Donald Trump’s secretary of defense pick, Pete Hegseth, yesterday. As an author of several books that make plain his controversial beliefs and a former Fox News host, Hegseth has a long public record to defend. He stood by some of his previous remarks. For example, Hegseth reaffirmed his promise to combat “wokeness,” at the top of the military, which he has publicly argued has weakened the troops. But, on the other hand, he backpedaled on his stance that women should not be allowed to take on combat roles. He's now advocating to review military standards to check that no one lowered them to accommodate women.  More confirmation hearings: It's a busy day on non-local Capitol Hill. Hearings for cabinet nominees today include Pam Bondi for Justice Department, Sean Duffy for the Transportation Department, Marco Rubio for State Department, Chris Wright for Energy Department, John Ratcliffe for CIA, and Russell Vought for the Office of Management and Budget.  Trump and those damn tariffs: President-elect Donald Trump said yesterday that he plans to set up a new agency to collect tariffs and other revenues from foreign nations. He’ll call it the External Revenue Service, which is sort of a letdown of a name after the whole Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) thing.  Going stag: There's a big media hullabaloo over word spreading that former First Lady Michelle Obama will not attend Trump’s inauguration next week. Typically, any living former presidents and first ladies make it the big event. This year everyone else in that club, including her husband, former President Barack Obama, will go to Trump’s ceremony. So, people are wringing their hands over Michelle's pretty hard break from tradition. But don't forget Trump didn't come to Joe Biden's inauguration. Why's Michelle skipping out? We don't know! Can’t imagine not wanting to attend that! South Korea: On Wednesday, South Korean cops detained impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol related to his decision to impose martial law last month. NPR writes that Yoon spent the last few weeks “holed up” in the Seoul's Hannam-dong residence promising to fight his ousting. While Yoon seemed to comply with law enforcement, he cried out, “Rule of law has completely collapsed in this country," as they escorted him to the headquarters of an anti-corruption agency, according to video footage of the scene.  For your ears: I saw that Nicole Kidman movie, "Babygirl," and now this song is stuck in my head. I banish it from my brain and send it to you.