KUOW Blog
News, factoids, and insights from KUOW's newsroom. And maybe some peeks behind the scenes. Check back daily for updates.
Have any leads or feedback for the KUOW Blog? Contact Dyer Oxley at dyer@kuow.org.
Stories
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Despite success, family reading program in Washington state faces deep funding cuts
For kids across Washington state who are struggling readers, a type of book club for families is showing promising results. But state and federal budget cuts have shrunk the program by 85%. Supporters hope for a turnaround this year.
As with many book clubs, the Prime Time Family Reading Program involves eating as well as reading.
“We start off with a really simple meal, pizza or burritos," said Julie Ziegler, CEO and executive director of Humanities Washington, which oversees the program. "A lot of families are coming from school or work and hungry tummies don’t learn well.”
RELATED: In reading, the nation's students are still stuck in a pandemic slump
These meetings often take place in libraries or through after-school programs. The book clubs are intended for reluctant readers in third or fourth grade, who are referred through their schools.
“They’ve either decided reading is not for them — not good at it, don’t like it — for whatever reason school interventions haven’t helped,” Ziegler said.
At the weekly meetings, storytellers read books out loud to the group and lead meaningful conversations about them. They try to help parents with any hesitation they might feel about reading out loud to their own kids. And facilitators send books home with families to read for the coming week.
“Teachers tell us that kids who participate in the program often jump three reading levels or more just over that six-week period of time,” Ziegler said.
RELATED: Kids who use social media score lower on reading and memory tests, a study shows
Ziegler said the program got an infusion of $1 million in one-time federal funding in 2022, which allowed it to expand. But then the Trump administration and state lawmakers cut the program’s funding completely last year.
There’s demand for 92 locations statewide, but right now they can only offer 20 that obtained funding from private foundations. Ziegler said the goal is to serve communities that don’t have any private funders available.
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Justice Department 'workaround' keeps former immigration judge as Seattle’s top prosecutor
The Trump administration is using a workaround to retain its preferred U.S. attorney in Seattle, despite his lack of confirmation by the U.S. Senate. It’s a tactic the Justice Department has employed elsewhere, resulting in some legal challenges.
Former immigration judge Charles Neil Floyd has served as “interim” U.S. attorney for Western Washington since October. But facing a crucial deadline this week, the Justice Department changed his title to "First Assistant U.S. Attorney" — as it has done for Pete Serrano in Eastern Washington. The change keeps Floyd as the leader of the Seattle office, for now, since the position above him is technically vacant.
“While my title has changed, what has not changed is my leadership of the men and women of the U.S. Attorney’s Office," Floyd said in a statement to KUOW. "It is an honor to lead the experienced litigators and professional staff who work every day to do justice in our community.”
He added, “My background in immigration law has been very useful as we respond to department priorities around immigration enforcement.”
RELATED: Newly released court records reveal misconduct inquiry into federal judge
Floyd has previously served as an assistant U.S. attorney, a prosecutor with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, an immigration judge, and a judge advocate in the U.S. Army. As an immigration judge in Tacoma, he helped initiate a new policy for immigration courts to more routinely deny bond, keeping many people in detention who in the past would have been released pending the outcome of their cases.
Matt Adams is legal director for the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, which brought a successful class action lawsuit to challenge the stricter bond policy. Adams said district courts across the country have found the policy unlawful but as interim U.S. attorney, Floyd has continued to defy those rulings and apply the new policy.
“How can the government that is responsible for enforcing the law at the same time willy-nilly be trampling over the law?” Adams asked.
In a Jan. 14 order, U.S. District Judge Tiffany Cartwright in Tacoma wrote that she was granting class members further relief "under a judgment they have already won" due to the government's "noncompliance."
The government has appealed her rulings, and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments in the case March 4.
U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, a Washington Democrat, said she would block Floyd’s confirmation because that policy for immigration courts “does not align with Washington state’s values.”
In a statement Wednesday, Murray said the move to retain Floyd as first assistant U.S. attorney “spits in the face of the law and Congress—and it sets a dangerous precedent and risks jeopardizing the legitimacy of the U.S. Attorney’s office moving forward.”
In an interview last month with conservative journalist Jason Rantz, Floyd said Murray had never contacted him. Floyd said he believes he’s qualified for the position of U.S. attorney, and said turnover in the job just creates uncertainty and hardship for the people working there.
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Amazon layoffs include more than 2,000 jobs in Seattle area
The impacts of Amazon’s latest mass layoffs are starting to come into focus for the Seattle area, while other local companies also cut jobs.
About 2,200 employees in Washington state are losing their jobs, according to a state filing, as part of the 16,000 person layoff Amazon announced last week.
RELATED: Tech layoffs drive Seattle-area unemployment above 5%
Amazon’s latest layoffs hit software engineers the hardest. Hundreds of coders in the Seattle area are being cut.
Reductions in force have become habitual in the tech industry over the past few years. Andy Challenger, of the layoff consulting firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas, doesn’t see that changing anytime soon.
“ I think there probably will be continued layoff activity, at least for the next quarter or two from within tech," Challenger said.
Other tech companies already appear to be drafting off of Amazon’s big layoff announcement.
RELATED: 16KAmazon employees just lost their jobs. Are we in a tech recession?
T-Mobile cut nearly 400 jobs this week. That’s on top of more than 300 employees Meta laid off earlier this month.
Tech sector layoffs are being pointed to as a major factor in the region's unemployment rate, 5.1% in November for the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue area. That's higher than the national unemployment rate of 4.5% at the time.
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2 teen boys killed at bus stop on Rainier Avenue in Seattle
Two male teenagers were shot and killed at a bus stop on Friday before 4 p.m. near South Shore PreK-8, according to an email from the superintendent of Seattle Public Schools.
South Shore is located near the intersection of Rainier Avenue South and South Henderson Street. According to an email to parents from Seattle Public Schools, the teens are believed to be students in the district.
RELATED: Seattle's first 2026 homicide stems from a shooting more than 50 years ago
“The loss is almost impossible to put into words, and it is made even more painful by the reality that tragedies like this are becoming far too common in our communities,” wrote Fred Podesta, the district superintendent.
According to the Seattle Police Department, officers who first responded to the scene provided medical treatment to the two boys until the Seattle Fire Department arrived. SFD pronounced them deceased at the scene.
The Police Department reports that a suspect fled the scene on foot before officers responded. The area was searched, but a suspect was not found.
The school district is working with the Police Department to confirm more details.
“We are especially concerned for the students and staff who witnessed this horrific event,” Podesta wrote.
RELATED: Father of Garfield student killed at school begs witnesses to 'do the right thing'
The district canceled all activities through the weekend at the following schools: Rainier Beach High School, Alan T. Sugiyama High School, and South Shore PreK-8.
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Seattle-area businesses, students join national general strike
With small business closures and student walkouts, some in the Seattle-area participated in a national protest against ICE Friday, Jan. 30. Others opted to use the day to raise money in support of people in Minneapolis.
"Our doors will be closed on Friday, January 30 in solidarity with the nationwide shutdown & general strike," Hood Famous Cafe and Bar wrote on Instagram. "If you are an ICE official or supporter, our doors are closed to you every day."
RELATED: 'If you hear something, say something.' After ICE scare, Seattle Public Schools updates guidance
Both the Seattle Art Museum and the Tacoma Art Museum closed their doors Friday. SAM released a statement, noting that it intended to open for free to the public, but "due to higher than anticipated staff shortages, we're not able to safely open our locations and are closed."
TAM planned to be closed on Monday, stating: "This action is in acknowledgement of the emotional weight of community members living in fear due to the horrific events in Minneapolis, and in solidarity with museum colleagues and arts communities there and other places around the US. We will resume normal operations on Saturday as a place for respite and reconnection."
RELATED: A dad's ICE arrest and the Seattle nurse who took his family in
At the University of Washington, a small crowd of students gathered in Red Square to protest ICE.
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Seattle's Dungeons and Drag Queens is a critical hit
Opportunities to experience drag in Seattle are many. You can go out for drag bingo. Attend a drag story time. Meet up with friends for drag brunch. And you could have a really good night out at Dungeons & Drag Queens.
This feature is from an episode of "Meet Me Here," KUOW's arts and culture podcast. Listen to the full episode about Seattle's modern drag queen scene below.
"It is a show that combines the worlds of D&D as well as drag queens and the nihilism and debauchery that comes with drag," Kylie Mooncakes said as she prepared to take the stage at The Crocodile in Seattle.
RELATED: Dungeons & Dragons and disinformation. How gaming can combat the misinformation age
Kylie is the main cast member with Seattle-based Dungeons & Drag Queens, a live touring show with a comedian dungeon master crafting a tale, and a cast of drag queens playing the game. The show is part improv, as dungeon master Paul Curry takes suggestions from the crowd, gathering ideas to incorporate into the story. He notes that while the show is a live game of Dungeons & Dragons, it mixes in elements people would expect from a drag show.
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Washington state Senate passes mask ban to curb federal immigration enforcement tactics
The Washington state Senate has approved a bill (SSB 5855) that bans face-concealing masks for law enforcement officers, with certain exceptions. The bill now goes to the state House for consideration.
Sen. Javier Valdez (D-Seattle) was the bill’s original sponsor. Listing half a dozen incidents around the state in which masked Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents detained people in recent months, Valdez made clear the bill is aimed at the tactics by federal immigration officers. Backers said that they have not heard any complaints of local law enforcement officers failing to identify themselves as already required by state law.
“This is not what public safety looks like in a democracy," Valdez said, speaking on the Senate floor. “This is what happens when accountability disappears, and fear is allowed to take its place.”
Sen. Yasmin Trudeau (D-Tacoma) said an unprecedented 14,000 people signed in to support the mask ban during a public hearing, compared to 2,000 who opposed it.
But she also conceded that there may be legal challenges if the bill passes, given the Trump administration's lawsuit over a mask ban in California. The administration argues the ban is unconstitutional because states don’t have the ability to legislate federal conduct.
But Trudeau said her constituents are calling on state lawmakers to protect them.
"There are very few moments where we get to capture what we are hearing and feeling from the people that we serve,” Trudeau said. “And from my community it doesn’t matter if they have an accent or what their skin color is or their immigration status — everyone is afraid.”
Sen. Jeff Holy (R-Cheney) is a former Spokane police officer and opposed the bill. He said he can’t argue with the public concerns over masking. But he said only Congress can restrict what federal agents are doing.
“This is beyond our pay grade,” he said. “I’d love to think we can make a difference. Quite frankly this is something that’s out of our scope.”
Senate Minority Leader John Braun (R-Centralia) also opposed the bill. He said a mask ban won’t address the root cause of the friction between federal agents and “blue” states.
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How Seattle can survive Revive I-5
With up to 240,000 vehicles crossing north and south on Seattle's ship canal bridge each day — a bottleneck along I-5 through the city — any disruption is certain to snarl traffic throughout the region. With just two northbound lanes already closed for Revive I-5 work, commuters are already feeling the pain.
That pain likely won't subside until the end of 2027.
RELATED: Sound Transit announces opening day for light rail connecting Seattle and Bellevue
"A traffic problem is normally a regional problem," Yinhai Wang told Seattle Now.
Wang is a professor of traffic engineering at the University of Washington. He notes that shutting down any portion of a freeway will cause traffic problems to stretch out through arterial roads.
"It will spill out, affecting the whole network," Wang said. "So this bigger project, closing two northbound lanes on the ship canal bridge, is certainly going to generate a regional impact."
The regional impact will continue as crews conduct repairs and preservation work in phases through 2026 and 2027, pausing briefly for the World Cup this summer.
For many years now, Seattle has known Revive I-5 was coming and would disrupt travel. Sections of the freeway through the city have already been shut down for work, but a bridge is a bottleneck and the repairs are different.
Crews will grind off the surface concrete, all the way down to the deck of the bridge where repairs will be made. Then they will repave the road.
To put the ship canal work into perspective, Wang compared it to work on the now demolished Alaskan Way Viaduct — comparable in size, but much smaller. The viaduct carried far fewer cars than the ship canal bridge does.
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See the full list of 2026 Oscar nominations
The Oscars will be hosted by Conan O'Brien on Sunday, March 15 at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT, airing on ABC and streaming on Hulu.
Nominations for the 2026 Oscars are out, with Sinners leading the pack with a record 16 nominations for an individual movie. Star Michael B. Jordan, who played twins Smoke and Stack in the horror film set in 1930s Mississippi, was nominated for his first time. The film also garnered nods for best picture, best original screenplay, best directing and more.
RELATED: Is that really Washington? Why more movies could be made in the Evergreen State
First-time acting nominees this year also include Jacob Elordi (Frankenstein), Delroy Lindo and Wunmi Mosaku (Sinners), Teyana Taylor (One Battle After Another), and much of the cast of the Norwegian drama Sentimental Value, including Elle Fanning, Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, Renate Reinsve and Stellan Skarsgård.
One Battle After Another follows Sinners with 13 nods, including for best picture and a best actor nomination for Leonardo DiCaprio.
RELATED: Superhero flicks in '26. Comic-book movies to be excited about
Timothée Chalamet, the star of frenetic table tennis story Marty Supreme, was nominated for best actor for his second year in a row. Last year, he got a nod for A Complete Unknown.
You can read our takeaways here, or scroll down for the full list of nominations.
RELATED: Did you see that? Movies you shouldn't miss before exiting 2025
Best picture
- Bugonia
- F1
- Frankenstein
- Hamnet
- Marty Supreme
- One Battle After Another
- The Secret Agent
- Sentimental Value
- Sinners
- Train Dreams
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Seattle doubles down on diversion — not charges — for public drug use
This year, Seattle officials are putting a stronger emphasis on services for people arrested for public drug use.
That’s after drug possession arrests and charges climbed last year under the city’s two-year-old ordinance.
Supporters of “diversion” away from courts and jail call it a hopeful moment. Skeptics worry that the city’s so-called “hot spots” for drug use and disorder will continue to suffer.
When Seattle police arrest someone at the hot spot of 12th Ave and South Jackson St. for public drug use, they may take the person to the East Precinct and release them into the care of Rheana Dale.
RELATED: Fentanyl fuels a persistent ‘hot spot’ at Seattle’s 12th and Jackson. What will it take to fix it?
Dale knows what to say once the handcuffs come off: “It’s not a good day today, I know it’s not,” Dale tells the person. “Here’s a cigarette, here’s a snack, friend. Tell me what’s going on, how did we get here and how can we make it better?"
Dale is a screening and outreach coordinator with REACH, the nonprofit service provider for the city’s Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion program. Staff recently started doing what they call “field intakes” — on-the-spot enrollments, because most of these arrestees are homeless and may not make an appointment to do it later.
“It’s better if we do it right here and now,” Dale said. “You’re in the program, we’ve done the intake, you can go about your life, and come find me and we can do services.”
Stepping outside LEAD’s Capitol Hill office one day earlier this month, Dale runs into a client named J.L. The man suffers from mental illness and told the government he’s wealthy — meanwhile, Dale is trying to help him get the disability income he’s probably entitled to.
J.L. tells Dale how grateful he is that his shoplifting charge was recently dismissed — Dale said he was found incompetent to stand trial. A recent triumph was helping him obtain housing.
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'28 Years Later: The Bone Temple' will have fans raging for more
As with the other films in its franchise, "28 Years Later: The Bone Temple" is not a cookie cutter horror movie. Aside from a bevy of Biblical allusions, "The Bone Temple" continues to offer something original and will have audiences talking about it long after they leave the theater.
RELATED: Superhero flicks in '26. Comic-book movies to be excited about
The previous movies in this series (written by Alex Garland and directed by Danny Boyle) leaned into a more artistic, thought-provoking direction than other zombie movies. "The Bone Temple" leans in even further with wonderful character depth, great visuals, and a story that will have audiences ever curious about what is around the next corner.
"The Bone Temple" is the second half of "28 Years Later." It begins right after the last one left us with a cliffhanger. Both movies were filmed back-to-back. As such, the bar for entry to this film is a bit high. It would be difficult going in without seeing the previous movies. I highly recommend watching "28 Days Later" and "28 Years Later" before seeing this chapter. But once you're up to date, "The Bone Temple" is a real cinematic treat.
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Is it Sea-Tac Airport or SEA?
If the Port of Seattle is successful, referencing the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport as "Sea-Tac" will go the way of Qwest Field, Washington State Convention Center, and KeyArena.
Locals colloquially, and perhaps lovingly, call it "Sea-Tac Airport," but in case you haven't noticed, the Port of Seattle really wants you to say "SEA" when referring to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. As in spelling it out "S-E-A," like JFK or LAX.
"One of the reasons we've done this is we've really grown from an airport, not only locally, but internationally as well," Port spokesperson Perry Cooper said. "The number of flights that we've got coming in here, and what we've found with our international folks, our marketers ... they don't recognize what Sea-Tac is. They recognize SEA and that's a big part of our global recognition."
RELATED: How Sea-Tac Airport is combating chaos with construction
Ever since 2020, the Port has pushed out reminders to heighten the profile of "SEA." Yet, there has been some pushback, with locals insisting they will never give up saying "Sea-Tac."
The fervor over "Sea-Tac" seems to defy echo chambers — whether on X or BlueSky. Locals were united in their response to the Port of Seattle's recent reminder that the airport is officially called "SEA," and not "Sea-Tac."
Responses have been less, "You down with S-E-A ... Yeah you know me!" and more, "You can't touch this." At least, I'm sure that's how Millennials would put it. It's prompted a conversation over what to call the region's major airport.
What's in a name?
Would an airport by any other name feel as crowded or harshly yell at you to keep your car moving?
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