Week in Review: Amazon, SPD, and kids

Guest host Mike Lewis discusses the week’s news with political analyst Joni Balter, Insider's Katherine Long, and The Seattle Times' Claudia Rowe.

The Seattle Times reported on Thursday that the Federal Trade Commission is accusing Amazon of deleting two years’ worth of communications that it requested as part of its antitrust investigation into the company. What does this mean for Amazon and the FTC? What are both sides saying? What is at stake?

Kidnapping charges were brought against an Idaho woman and her son after they took the son’s minor girlfriend out of state to get an abortion, prosecutors say. Abortion is largely banned in Idaho, with a few exceptions. Given the specific details here — ages of the girl and boyfriend, the mother's alleged threat to kick out the pregnant girl, etc. — are the investigation, arrest, and charges by Idaho authorities justified?

A recent Nielsen survey revealed that there has been a significant increase in young adults in the Seattle area with depression or anxiety taking medication for it. Among 18–34-year-olds in the Seattle area, about 21% — a projected 209,000 people — said they used medication for depression or anxiety in the past 12 months. That’s up from 14% in a 2018-20 survey. Is access to health care leading to more diagnoses?

Seattle is instituting a new policy where the Seattle Police Department will have restrictions on being dishonest during their investigations. Police will not be able to use a statement an officer knows is not true over any mass media or in any way that will “shock the conscience.” The policy also requires officers to get permission before using any ruses. Will this limit investigation tactics such as undercover operations? Should it?

Just 53% of foster youth in Washington earn high school diplomas, and that's actually an improvement over recent years. This rate is the worst for any student group, including homeless students, 61% of whom earn diplomas. Should the school districts take a larger role?

The PCC at 4th Avenue and Union Street in Seattle is scheduled to close Jan. 31, 2024. This happens just two years after it opened and following months of financial losses. Is it fair for PCC, the region's most expensive supermarket but one that on average pays staff less than $20 an hour, to blame pandemic pay for its current financial struggles?