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Washington State News

Mets demote Edwin Diaz, opt for closer by committee
(Photo credit: Rhona Wise-USA TODAY Sports) The New York Mets quietly demoted Edwin Diaz from his bullpen role, instead opting for a closer-by-committee approach while the struggling right-hander regains his confidence. Diaz's role was described as "fluid" prior to Sunday's game against the Miami Marlins, a game the Mets won 7-3. He did not appear in the game after blowing a four-run lead in the ninth inning on Saturday,

NYT Politics

Ocasio-Cortez Backs N.Y. Bill Limiting Donations to Israeli Settlements
Author: Karen Zraick
Under the bill, New York nonprofits that provide financial support to Israel’s military or settlements could be sued for at least $1 million and lose their tax-exempt status.
Senate to Vote Again on Border Deal as Democrats Seek Political Edge
Author: Luke Broadwater
The bipartisan border enforcement compromise, blocked by Republicans in February, is all but certain to be thwarted again. Democrats aim to tag the G.O.P. as the culprit in its failure.

Seattle Times Politics

Burien poised to kill King County-funded shelter project
Author: Anna Patrick

Last year, Burien selected land to put up a new tiny house village. But recent council changes to a proposed zoning ordinance have put that plan in limbo.
Seattle goes Dutch with a new bicycle intersection
Author: Nicholas Deshais

A redesigned intersection not far from Seattle Center is meant to improve safety for bicyclists, pedestrians and drivers. Common in Europe, this design is getting its first try here.
Prominent Seattle lobbying firm exits bankruptcy, cuts CEO’s pay
Author: Jim Brunner

Lobbying firm Strategies 360 and its CEO Ron Dotzauer have finalized a bankruptcy reorgnization to pay $6.2 million to former co-owner Eric Sorenson.
At shrimp feed fundraiser, Ferguson says WA governor’s race will be close
Author: Jim Brunner

At his annual shrimp feed, a tradition handed down by the late Gov. Mike Lowry, Bob Ferguson predicted a close gubernatorial race against Dave Reichert.

DemocracyNow!

Meet Two Morehouse Professors Who Protested Biden over Gaza and Congo During Commencement Speech
Author: webdev@democracynow.org (Democracy Now!)

At Morehouse College, students and faculty were divided over inviting President Joe Biden to receive an honorary degree and give a speech at the school’s commencement ceremony. Morehouse valedictorian DeAngelo Fletcher, who had a Palestinian flag affixed to his graduation cap, called for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza during his speech, and assistant professor of sociology Taura Taylor stood with her fist raised, facing away from Biden as he addressed the crowd. “I wanted to take it upon myself to, one, stand up for my principles, and then also kind of stand in solidarity for my students as well as my other fellow faculty members who felt that we were caught in this moment where it seemed like we, as a community, selected Biden, when we all did not,” says Taylor. We also speak with Samuel Livingston, an associate professor of Africana studies, who held a flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo behind Biden as he spoke. “We held up the flag because the people of the Congo do not get enough media attention in terms of the active genocide that the United States is supporting through its support of Rwanda,” says Livingston. “Congo deserves justice, reparations from the United States for the assassination of Patrice Lumumba, conspiring in that assassination, and the people today deserve a country that is built on peace and justice.”

British High Court Grants WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange the Right to Appeal U.S. Extradition
Author: webdev@democracynow.org (Democracy Now!)

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on Monday won the right to appeal his extradition to the United States. Assange’s lawyers argued before the British High Court that the U.S. government provided “blatantly inadequate” assurances that Assange would have the same free speech protections as an American citizen if extradited from Britain. Assange has spent more than a decade facing the threat of extradition to the U.S., where he faces up to 175 years in prison for publishing classified documents exposing U.S. war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan. “This is a victory for Julian Assange in that he lives on to fight another day, his case lives on to fight another day. But he’s not out of Belmarsh [Prison] yet, and he’s not in the clear yet,” says Chip Gibbons, policy director of Defending Rights & Dissent. “This could still end in him being sent to the U.S. And the person who can stop this is Joe Biden and Merrick Garland.”

Int'l Criminal Court Seeks Arrest Warrants for Netanyahu, Gallant & Hamas Leaders for War Crimes
Author: webdev@democracynow.org (Democracy Now!)

The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has announced he is seeking arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and three leaders of Hamas: Yahya Sinwar, Ismail Haniyeh and Mohammed Deif. The charges against Netanyahu and Gallant include starvation of civilians, extermination, intentionally directing attacks against a civilian population, among other crimes. The charges against the Hamas leaders include extermination, murder, taking hostages, rape, among other crimes. “It places Israel’s leaders of this genocidal onslaught on the Gaza Strip in the dock,” says Middle East analyst Mouin Rabbani, who explains why this will be “very significant” for Israel’s allies and signatories to the ICC. “They now have to make a choice between Israeli impunity and obligations under the Rome Statute.”

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