Slog AM: Gloria Steinem Died, Kids Reject AI Stuffies, and American Health Organizations Are Releasing Their Own Vaccine Recommendations Since the CDC Is Utterly Useless

Gloria Steinem died. She was 92. I can’t adequately summarize in 100-or-so words at 7:45 a.m. on a Thursday morning how Gloria forever changed me, journalism, womankind, humankind, and the entire fucking world. So take a moment to read through some of the tributes pouring in from other phenomenal women and people who credit Gloria for their feminist awakening, their ferocity, their strength to write, create, lead. What a life. Thank you for everything, Gloria.

This fucked up headline has layers. 404 Media reported yesterday that “Texas Police Used AI to Write Report About Using Flock to Search for Woman Who Had Abortion.” Wow, where to start? As 404 originally reported, in 2025, Texas police “searched Flock’s nationwide network [of more than 83,000 cameras] for the whereabouts of a woman who self-administered an abortion.” They even tapped into cameras in states like Washington and Illinois where abortion is legal. Police ultimately found the woman and made contact to check on her “safety.” According to the Texas Tribune, the district attorney’s office declined to press charges since “the biological matter in question was a blood clot, not a fetus.” To somehow make matters worse, 404 has learned that the same Texas police department used “Axon’s Draft One AI tool to help write a police report about the incident.” They shouldn’t be doing any of that! Don’t use Flock to find abortion patients! Don’t use AI to “summarize a discussion between police over ‘the legal implications of the situation’ and other investigative aspects of the case.” Famous illegal abortion-haver Gloria Steinem changed the world; we still have so much work to do.

AI chat tools have instructed kids on how to get drunk and do drugs, encouraged multiple teenagers to kill themselves, and helped a teen choose which weapon to use when killing his mother. So, sure, let’s put that technology in stuffies for children! What could go wrong??? GeekWire wrote yesterday about the AI toys that are being developed to have “dynamic, unscripted conversations, remember past interactions, and adapt directly to a child.” Thankfully, according to a recent University of Washington study cited in the story, kids are too smart for that shit. One participant said, “I think it’s gonna destroy my dreams as a tiny kid.” 

Related: I can’t believe there isn’t a single reference to Teddy Ruxpin in the whole story. Missed opportunity.

Mayor Katie Wilson says she’s improving communication with the Seattle Police Department. “I believe that Seattle deserves clear, fast communication during emergencies,” she said in an interview alongside interim Seattle police Chief Andre Sayles. “We fell short of that during the Bite of Seattle tragedy and we’re fixing it.” New emergency communication protocols address how and when to share information on social media, and “require the Police Department to hold a news briefing within an hour of a major incident.”

Bite of Seattle shooting suspect still in jail: The 15-year-old charged with first-degree assault and second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm stemming from the Bite of Seattle shooting was denied home release with electronic monitoring in a hearing yesterday. KUOW reports that the 15-year-old (who they aren’t naming because he’s a minor) was standing near Junior Niko-Semo, who was killed, when he “pulled a firearm from a pouch and shot in the direction of the shots.” According to court documents, the 15-year-old later told police he shot back in self-defense. No one else has been arrested in connection with the shooting, but police say they’ve identified two persons of interest.

President Fuck Face can’t stop renaming things. Following last week’s declaration that Lake Ontario should be called Lake America, Trump asked on Truth Social, “Should we change the name Hormuz Strait to TRUMP STRAIT???” There’s a joke in here. A hilarious one. But I’m too tired—physically, mentally, spiritually—to write it.

In other renaming news, Seattle’s César Chávez Park is now called Parque Libertad. The city renamed the park after Chávez was accused of sexual assault and rape, and the New York Times “found extensive evidence” supporting the claims.

Flu season is upon us, and there is a lot of miscommunication and lack of information regarding vaccines. While the Centers for Disease Control is like, “IDK do whatever you did last year, we’re too busy being sued to do any new research,” other medical groups—including the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Academy of Family Physicians, and the Infectious Diseases Society of America—are releasing their own vaccination guidelines for the flu and COVID-19. (Which is still a thing, btw, and currently showing up as “very high” in Seattle wastewater.) 

RIP California. El Niño may cause sea levels along the California coast to rise up to a foot in September and October. Water temperatures will also continue to rise, which is bringing a slew of different marine life to the area, including stingrays, humpback whales, and hammerhead sharks. 

Did you read the latest Pop Loser? Lots of big news in there, including the Crocodile’s new music and comedy venue and Baba Yaga’s new music festival. Read it! And listen to Dave Segal’s favorite Dolly Parton song.

Are you going to Bumbershoot this weekend? Let us help you make the most of the weekend with this exhaustively comprehensive, bursting-at-the-seams guide to Bumbershoot 2026! We wrote up every single band playing Saturday and Sunday (and starred all our favorites), as well as all the other artists you’ll find throughout the Seattle Center, from mermaids to wrestlers. And because we know you’ll likely have some time to kill waiting for your favorites to take the stage, we put some games in the guide, too, including Mad Libs, a word search, and a riveting game of Who Said It? Edgar Allan Poe vs. Ben Gibbard! 

Let’s end today’s news round-up with Gloria Steinem writing about Dolly Parton: 

The post Slog AM: Gloria Steinem Died, Kids Reject AI Stuffies, and American Health Organizations Are Releasing Their Own Vaccine Recommendations Since the CDC Is Utterly Useless appeared first on The Stranger.