Slog AM: Trump’s New In-House Ad Is ‘Dumb Beyond Belief,’ Tennessee Botches Another Execution, the Kelvin Wave Is Coming

More than 10,000 refugees, asylum-seekers, and other lawful immigrants in Washington are losing their healthcare, starting today, thanks to language in Donald Trump’s House Resolution 1 (aka that monstrous “One Big Beautiful Bill”), in which people with certain immigration statuses are no longer eligible for Medicaid or Apple Health in Washington. Please remember to vote in the midterms. They are next month! Despite Trump’s best efforts, mail-in voting is still intact. Please. We’ve gotta regain control of the House, the Senate, anything and everything that could result in us impeaching this motherfucker. Again.

In related news, the Supreme Court will review Trump’s policy that denies bond hearings for immigrants, according to the Associated Press. “Most appeals courts to have considered the issue have found that it violates federal law to detain immigrants, including those living in the U.S. illegally, without a bond hearing.” Court is back in session Monday. 

Trump’s new ad, being created in-house by the White House video team and being paid for by taxpayers, is an absolute mess and even some of his supporters think so. One former campaign official told CNN, “This is dumb, dumb, dumb beyond belief. These guys are all gonna get subpoenaed. It’s gonna be bad.” Hardly the worst thing they’ve ever done, but it’s nice to see them be publicly touted as idiots.

Here comes a Kelvin wave! What’s a Kelvin wave, you ask? It’s a “giant pulse of warm water,” and it’s coming for the West Coast. The wave is expected to hit California in a matter of days and, according to the Seattle Times, it may raise sea levels by half a foot or more, possibly for the next several months. Kelvin waves have already hit the California coast in the spring, but this one’s supposed to be bigger. Could make for some interesting sea creature spotting! It’s not expected to impact the Washington coast.

Defund cops; fund art! Did you read Amanda Manitach’s story about the open letter to Mayor Katie Wilson in which local artists, business owners, and organizers call for Wilson to divert $8 million from SPD’s proposed $68 million budget increase and give that money to the arts? It’s a great idea! Read all about it.

Tennessee attempted to execute Christa Pike yesterday and failed. Pike was administered two doses of pentobarbital, but witnesses say she could be heard snoring more than an hour after the injection. Pike was taken to the hospital, and her lawyers say she’s still alive. Tennessee Governor Bill Lee has suspended all remaining 2026 executions as a result; Gary Sutton was scheduled to be executed on December 3. This is the second botched attempt at lethal injection in Tennessee this year. In May, the state had to cancel the lethal injection of Tony Carruthers after taking more than an hour to place an IV line. Gov. Lee granted Carruthers a one-year reprieve. The system’s working great. No notes.

Bats! A Puyallup elementary school has a bat problem, and they’ve called in professionals to help. The school has found six bats in its halls this year. Maybe they just want to learn some things! Leave ‘em be! 

Courtney Stodden did it. Remember Courtney Stodden? The 16-year-old who married 51-year-old actor Doug Hutchison, and participated in an absolutely unhinged press tour that included being examined by Dr. Drew on his show Dr. Drew’s Lifechangers to see if her boobs were real? We as a society did her dirty, and she’s been rightfully calling us out on it for years. She was a child, she was groomed, and she wasn’t protected by her parents. (Scaachi Koul wrote a great profile on her in 2019 to catch you up.) Since leaving her marriage, Stodden, 32, has been working to make child marriage illegal in America. Her latest victory is California, which just outlawed marriage for anyone under 18, even with parental permission. 

A judge has “permanently dismissed” charges against David Hearn, the former Olympic slalom canoeist charged with vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. 

In other lawsuit news, Renee Good’s family is suing the government and several immigration officials. Godspeed.

News is still coming out about the seven Cornell students who allegedly raped a young woman for hours in 2024 and walked away with the equivalent of a slap on the wrist. The student victim, Jane Doe, talked to campus police for hours. Campus police condensed her interview into a statement that suggested she consented to everything. Police sent that condensed statement to a prosecutor, who decided not to press charges. But the New York Times has obtained documents that suggest that the condensed statement omitted vital details, including Jane Doe saying, “There was really no escape,” and “I can say with 100 percent confidence I was raped.” I have lost track of how many people have failed Jane Doe within this horrific story.

Please take care of yourselves. A lot of the news is not good right now! And if you find yourself reeling in the endless nightmare, please log off. Go for a walk. Today is going to be partly cloudy and 65 degrees, and all the leaves are starting to turn, so it’s really pretty outside, pretty much everywhere. And today, if you need a treat, the Pastry Project is hosting a soft serve pop-up with special fall flavors from 3–9 p.m. No, ice cream doesn’t fix anything. But smiling can literally release endorphins and happy brain chemicals like dopamine and serotonin, and it’s hard not to smile while eating delicious ice cream and looking at colorful trees.

Rabbit rabbit on the first. 

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