The Stranger's morning news roundup. by Megan Seling Today Will be Gray: What you see outside right now is what you will get for the day—it won’t get brighter, it won’t get warmer, it won’t get colder, but it also won’t ra in, probably. Those clouds in the sky will remain in the sky. It’s the big nothing. It’s like living under a weighted blanket. I love it so much. Bobby Is Back! Yesterday, Gov. Bob Ferguson delivered his first State of the State speech, and in it he called out the “horrific and unjust” actions of the Trump Administration, and praised Dems’ efforts to tax the rich. A nice thing to see after he spent the first year of his term appeasing Republicans. Still, words are cheap. Now we need action. We’re watching, Bob. King County Prosecutors Won't Charge Pedro Gomez: Cheryl Delostrinos, a local organizer, says Gomez raped her in 2024. In the story published on The Stranger yesterday, “KCPAO didn’t decline to charge Gomez because they doubted her account. In fact, in a written response to The Stranger’s questions, the prosecutor’s office emphasized on five separate occasions that they do believe her.” But “prosecutors concluded they could not prove the elements of rape in the second- or third-degree beyond a reasonable doubt when weighed against what they described as the ‘most plausible, reasonably foreseeable defense.’” Read the whole maddening story here. Then join me in screaming into the void for the rest of the day. Another Theater Bites the Dust: The Varsity Theater in the U District is closing. Their last day of operations will be tomorrow, January 15. In a press release, Jeff Brien of Far Away Entertainment (which took the theater over in 2015 after Landmark Theaters closed it) said: “We have never fully recovered from the pandemic when we were forced to close for almost a year. Since then a series of Hollywood labor disputes, reduced film releases from major studios and increased operating expenses have prevented us from generating sufficient income.” Far Away also runs Historic Admiral Theater in West Seattle, as well as theaters in Anacortes, Bainbridge Island, Stanwood, and Lynnwood, among others, but they say that none of those theaters are in danger. “We are leaving all operating equipment behind in the hope that the theater remains available to show digital movies with digital sound,” Brien added. “We are anxious to identify any interested parties who may want to exhibit film, live entertainment or special events.” President Pedophile Protector: Yesterday, while Trump toured a Ford plant in Michigan, a line worker allegedly yelled out to Trump, calling him a “pedophile protector.” TMZ has shared a couple of videos in which Trump appears to say “fuck you” to the employee while flipping him off. The employee told The Washington Post that he’s been suspended from work pending an investigation and, “As far as calling him out, definitely no regrets whatsoever.” Yes, there is a GoFundMe in case he loses his job.   “I don’t feel as though fate looks upon you often, and when it does, you better be ready to seize the opportunity,” said TJ Sabula, the UAW worker who heckled President Trump and who Trump flipped off and cursed at. “And today I think I did that.”     Gift link: wapo.st/4sG38CD[image or embed] — Mike Madden (@mikemadden.bsky.social) January 13, 2026 at 5:40 PM   A Spine? In This Autocracy? The opening paragraph of this New York Times story reads like Antifa fan fiction: “Six federal prosecutors in Minnesota resigned on Tuesday over the Justice Department’s push to investigate the widow of a woman killed by an ICE agent and the department’s reluctance to investigate the shooter, according to people with knowledge of their decision.” As of Monday, just four prosecutors had resigned. More of this, please! Don’t play their fascist games! That Dirty Work: Officials continue to look for ways to make it appear as though Renee Good deserved to be shot in the face three times by an ICE agent. Their latest attempt is releasing “new documents [that] shed light on Renee Good’s ties to ICE monitoring efforts in Minneapolis.” First of all, that shitty CNN headline buries the lead. Those documents? They were shared with parents at her kid’s school and appear to recommend that people keep an eye on ICE activity in the area through “nonviolent civil disobedience tactics practiced at American protests for generations.” Makes sense! ICE activity has time and time again led to violence, so parents should be aware of it when en route to pick up children, right? And before you get all “Leave ICE alone! Let them do their jobs! Don’t interfere and don’t get hurt!” here’s the thing, and maybe I’m yelling at the choir here, but WE CAN DO THAT. We can film cops and federal agents carrying out their duties in public places, and they ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO SHOOT US IN THE FACE WHEN WE DO. All these alleged documents suggest is that she was killed by the very people she warned everyone about. Horrifying. Trump Thinks He Can Just, Like, Take Greenland: Today, VP Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are meeting with Greenland’s prime minister. Yesterday, Trump said that the US “needs” Greenland, which is the same terminology used by seventh-grade boys when telling their girlfriend they “can’t” dump them. “Anything less than” getting Greenland would be “unacceptable,” he said. PM Jens-Frederik Nielsen has told them that Greenland needs to remain part of Denmark. Whose needs will win? And am I naive for hoping that if Vance and Rubio fail to walk away with Greenland in today’s meeting, Trump will deem them both “losers” and the dramatic infighting will begin?  Death Toll Climbs in Iranian Protests: The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency says more than 2,500 people have died in nationwide protests in Iran. Weirdly, Trump has been freaking out on Truth Social about it, telling protesters to “keep protesting” and claiming he has “canceled all meetings with Iranian Officials until the senseless killing of protesters STOPS. HELP IS ON ITS WAY.” Are you as confused as I am? JD Vance is saying Renee Good was “disorderly” and the officer who shot her has “actually done a very, very important job for the United States of America.” Is it opposite day? Did I wake up in the upside-down? WHAT IS HAPPENING?!?  Because Look at This: The Trump administration is escalating arrests and “aggressive tactics” in Minneapolis, including against people protesting last week’s shooting. The New York Times has compiled several videos showing agents breaking car windows and pulling people out of their cars, assaulting people who are standing near them, and intimidating people filming any incidents. Trump says they’re there to round up “murderers” and “convicted criminals,” but we know that’s not true. And a recent ProPublica investigation found “more than 40 cases of ICE agents using banned chokeholds.” That is illegal. They’re breaking the law. The hypocrisy is making me crazy. But What About Freedom of the Press? The FBI has executed a search warrant at a WaPo reporter’s home, seizing her phone, two laptops, and a watch in an “investigation into a government contractor accused of illegally retaining classified government materials. “It's worth reiterating, though we shouldn't have to, that journalists have a constitutionally protected right to publish government secrets,” said Reporters Without Borders in a statement. The journalist, Hannah Natanson, was told she’s not the focus of the probe. Have You Filled Out Our Sex Survey Yet? Do it! What’s the sexiest thing you did in 2025? Do you sext? Do you subscribe to OnlyFans? What music do you listen to when getting it on? Have you ever humped in a car? What about on a Washington State Ferry? And how horny are you for Nathan Fielder? It just takes seven minutes to fill out the anonymous survey, and then we'll crunch some numbers, pull some data, and share the results in our February Love Sex issue (on stands February 4)! Do it now! 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