Kikis Delivery Service is flying on to one of HBOs 10,000 streaming platforms this spring.
Kiki's Delivery Service is flying on to one of HBO's 10,000 streaming platforms this spring. Courtesy Studio Ghibli

Trump says he will host the next G-7 Summit of world leaders at his private resort in Doral, Florida: Slate claimed the "self-deal is worthy of impeachment all on its own." A Fox News legal analyst called it a "direct" and "profound" violation of the Constitution. The mayor of Doral said he learned all this news the same time we did.

The South Lake Union crane collapse in April was caused by: companies failing to abide by safety procedures when dismantling a crane, according to a Washington State Department of Labor & Industries report. The crane, which killed four people after it collapsed on a Google Cloud building and fell onto a road below, was owned by Morrow Equipment LLC. Morrow, GLY Construction, and Northwest Tower Crane Services were fined a total of $107,200. The companies have 15 business days to appeal the fines.

Rick Perry resigns: The move has been expected for a few weeks, although I forgot he even had a job.

Unico buys Westlake Tower: for $236 million, reports Seattle Times business reporter Katherine Khashimova Long. The "venerable" real estate firm claims it won't redevelop the tower, which sports the "troubled" WeWork as a tenant.

On that word, "troubled": Long published a piece earlier today about the Port of Seattle and the Washington State Department of Commerce partnering with WeWork—a partnership I think is galling considering all this shit—where (Stranger-endorsed) Port Commissioner Fred Felleman is quoted saying "WeWork will bring people together."

I clutched my pearls: Then I clutched them again when I noticed Long's piece was edited after it was published… to be kinder to WeWork. Its original headline, which is seen in its Twitter social card and URL, was "Port partners with troubled coworking startup WeWork on maritime business incubator." That was updated to remove "troubled." It currently reads "Port of Seattle partners with coworking company WeWork on maritime business incubator." Downplaying WeWork's trouble is dishonest, especially as SoftBank and J.P. Morgan Chase are seeking outside investors to bail out the company. I was heartened to see Long slip "troubled" into her post published later in the day about Unico and Westlake Tower.



Studio Ghibli will stream in the spring of 2020: On HBO Max! How is HBO Max different from HBO Now and HBO Go? Beats me! But this is the first time Studio Ghibli films will be legally available for streaming. And ALL 21 FILMS from the Japanese animation studio will be streaming. Here's the full list of titles that are believed to become available next spring:

Castle in the Sky
The Cat Returns
From Up on Poppy Hill
Howl’s Moving Castle
Kiki’s Delivery Service
My Neighbor Totoro
My Neighbors the Yamadas
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind
Ocean Waves
Only Yesterday
Pom Poko
Ponyo
Porco Rosso
Princess Mononoke
The Secret World of Arrietty
Spirited Away
The Tale of the Princess Kaguya
Tales From Earthsea
When Marnie Was There
Whisper of the Heart
The Wind Rises (available fall 2020)

Pink capitalism is lit: Kellogg's launched an "All Together" (GAY) cereal to support GLAAD and the internet convulsed.

Former Republican governor of New Jersey stands by her tweet that Hitler "has nothing on" Trump: The former governor, Christie Whitman, tweeted the statement in response to the fake video of Trump shooting and stabbing journalists and his opponents. Whitman said the tweet was "inflammatory" but isn't taking it back—although she did take it down on Twitter.

He's into ethnic cleansing: Like Hitler!

The White House appeared to admit quid pro quo today: It was announced by the president's acting chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney.

But then, in a now-standard move, the White House denied the admission: "There was absolutely no quid pro quo between Ukrainian military aid and any investigation into the 2016 election," a later statement from Mulvaney read.

State-lawmaker-cum-Amazon-lobbyist "quietly chants" "Lose!" at Sawant while she protests corporate spending: Palumbo is a turd and water is wet.

A high-ranking leader in a Neo-Nazi group was "stripped of his guns" by a Seattle civil court: The stripping happened earlier this month. Kaleb J. Cole, the strippee, is a leader of the Atomwaffen Division's Washington State cell. The Seattle Police Department filed an “Extreme Risk Protection Order” petition against him late last month, reports Daily Beast.

Elon is taking some time off: Only a few days. Take more, buddy!