Police accused a man convicted of manslaughter of intentionally starting a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/major-pacific-northwest-city-devastated-by-massive-wildfires">devastating wildfire</a> in Spokane, Washington. 
The Spokane County Sheriff’s Office announced Monday that it charged 37-year-old Aaron F. Farinacci with first-degree arson over the Old Trails Fire that has burned some 3,600 acres. Farinacci was previously convicted of manslaughter in Arizona after first being charged with premeditated murder, authorities said. 
Spokane County Sheriff John Nowels credited some “very aware and alert citizens” with aiding in the arrest of Farinacci. 
“The witness, a citizen, very good citizen, noticed a male standing on the side of the road looking into the trees as he was going to pick somebody up,” Nowels said at a press conference. “About 10 minutes later, he was coming back through the area. He noticed the male was bending down near some grass.”
That citizen later called police and Nowels said police spoke to Farinacci shortly after the blaze started. He was not arrested at the time, but investigators later used footage from that encounter to identify him after arson was determined to be behind the blaze. 
Nowels said that police determined “that the origin of the fire was indeed exactly where the witnesses had seen Mr. Farinacci kneeling in the grass earlier that day.”
Farinacci was detained by police and was in possession of a butane lighter and waterproof matches. Nowels said law enforcement is looking into whether he committed any other crimes. 
<div id="attachment_1150139" style="width: 2570px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1150139" class="size-full wp-image-1150139" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/MixCollage-04-Aug-2026-07-47-AM-7126.jpg" alt="" width="2560" height="1440" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/MixCollage-04-Aug-2026-07-47-AM-7126.jpg 2560w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/MixCollage-04-Aug-2026-07-47-AM-7126-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/MixCollage-04-Aug-2026-07-47-AM-7126-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/MixCollage-04-Aug-2026-07-47-AM-7126-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/MixCollage-04-Aug-2026-07-47-AM-7126-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/MixCollage-04-Aug-2026-07-47-AM-7126-2048x1152.jpg 2048w" sizes=" (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px" />Spokane Sheriff&#8217;s Department.</div>
“This was fantastic and very quick work by everybody involved,” he said. “As it happens in so many critical cases, it was citizens who were paying attention to their surroundings, being aware, and willing to step up and say something that led to the relatively quick apprehension of Mr. Farinacci.”
Farinacci is being held on a $1 million bond in Spokane County Jail and is set to appear in court on Tuesday. 
More than 60,000 people have been forced to evacuate as many homes were destroyed after three major blazes broke out over the weekend in the Spokane area. No known fatalities have yet been reported, but authorities are still working to locate 14 people. 
“It’s just ash,” Angela Deatherage <a href="https://apnews.com/article/wildfire-spokane-washington-evacuate-8e42b37783bda01e7d004d71e546458e?taid=6a716be0423cf600011ce836&amp;utm_campaign=TrueAnthem&amp;utm_medium=AP&amp;utm_source=Twitter">told</a> the Associated Press about the destruction of her home. “It’s like our house sunk down in the basement. &#8230; There’s just so much loss for so many people.”
Spokane Mayor Lisa Brown described the fires as “the worst natural disaster our region has faced.”

US-ENVIRONMENT-WILDFIRE

Convicted Felon Accused Of Lighting Devastating Washington Wildfire

arson

spokane

washington

wildfire

A Washington mother is removing her children from an elementary school that forced her daughter through a secret, explicit LGBT Pride-themed lesson.
The lesson reportedly occurred during a fourth-grade music class at Martha Lake Elementary in the Edmonds School District on June 15. Parents were not given any notice to opt out or any information about the lesson itself before their children were exposed to the curriculum, according to Maria Varchetto. 
 
“My daughter came home just so drastically upset the last week of school telling me that the music teacher decided to teach a whole curriculum about Pride history and Pride Month,” Varchetto <a href="https://www.kvi.com/2026/07/23/washington-mom-pulls-kids-from-elementary-school-after-pride-lesson-taught-in-music-class-without-parental-notice-or-opt-out/">told</a> Talk Radio 570 KVI, a conservative Washington radio station.
“I assumed I had probably missed an email asking for consent, but there was nothing,” Varchetto <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/washington-mother-pulls-children-school-pride-lesson-shown-music-class-without-notice">said</a> in communications with school administrators that she shared with Fox News. “No advanced notice, no opportunity to review the lesson, no information letting parents know this topic would be discussed. No option to request that our kids be allowed to opt out and participate in an alternative activity. There was nothing.”
According to Varchetto, her daughter was forced to watch a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBZqmZAgoxo">video</a> called “Why is PRIDE in JUNE?” from the channel Queer Kid Stuff that discussed the history of the gay movement and so-called bathroom rights for trans-identifying people. Her daughter said the class also watched videos of performances by LGBT singers such as Freddie Mercury of Queen and Lil Nas X, as well as Billy Porter dancing in a ball gown on “Sesame Street.”
Varchetto’s daughter said that students were also told they could identify as gay, lesbian, asexual, transgender, non-binary, or two-spirit.
“No handouts were sent home (which is typical for music class),” Varchetto told Fox News. The mother emailed administrators for a copy of the lesson materials, but she was told they could only be reviewed in person, not electronically.
“I need parents to be informed of this,” Varchetto said. “Parents have the right to know what was taught to their kids. Whether or not you agree with it or disagree is irrelevant. You don’t get to teach and go rogue on subjects that are this controversial without providing parents a notice to opt out.”
The principal explained to Varchetto in a meeting that the Pride lesson was not district-approved curriculum and that teachers are allowed to make their own lessons. The principal said that the music teacher tied a lesson to a month’s theme, such as &#8220;Black History Month&#8221; for February or &#8220;Hispanic Heritage Month&#8221; for September. 
Varchetto said she told the principal, “Okay, that makes sense. Those are cultures. Those are not gender identities. Big difference there.”
The principal gave Varchetto a list of the subjects covered in the music class, and Varchetto reviewed the end-of-year summary that the music teacher sent to parents. Neither document mentioned the &#8220;Pride Month&#8221; lesson.
The principal reportedly explained that the school was apprehensive about telling parents about the lesson because it “would just isolate the LGBTQ community, making them feel like people can opt out of their content.”
Unsatisfied with how the school handled the situation, Varchetto said she gave the school several weeks to notify parents before making her concerns public. When no notice was posted, she sent an email to district administrators requesting that her children be transferred from the school.  
Varchetto ultimately decided to put her kids through hybrid homeschooling. 
“We are 100% removing our kids from this school as I have no trust in the leadership,” Varchetto said.
“I feel mad they did this, mad they hid it,” Varchetto added. “I feel insulted, offended, angry, and sad that my kids are now being taken out of a lifestyle they&#8217;ve grown to love, away from the friendships they&#8217;ve built, all because this one teacher didn&#8217;t care to ask permission and a principal lied and hid it.”

Screenshot 2026-07-30 at 11.34.13 AM

Family Erupts Over Fourth Grade Trans Lesson

Elementary Schools

lgbt

lgbtq

pride month

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Talk about a big-league blowup.
Seattle Storm co-owner Celeste Keaton allegedly hurled a series of expletives at a pair of teenage girls during Tuesday night&#8217;s game, leaving one of the 16-year-olds in tears after they showed support for Indiana Fever star Sophie Cunningham while wearing XX-XY Athletics gear.
Independent journalist Brandi Kruse broke the jaw-dropping story after spotting the distressed teens in the arena. She interviewed the girls and first reported their account.
The girls told Kruse that Keaton stormed up to them when they were seated in the stands holding signs supporting Cunningham and unleashed a wild, unprovoked tirade, branding the teenagers &#8220;f***ing insane.&#8221;
&#8220;I’ve never been yelled at like that,&#8221; one of the shaken girls said afterward. While she&#8217;d dealt with criticism online before, she said being confronted in person by an adult she later learned was a team owner left her shaken. &#8220;I thought she was going to be nice &#8230; then she started screaming at us and cussing at us.&#8221;
According to one of the teens, Keaton initially approached them calmly before dropping bizarre religious jabs like, &#8220;Jesus loves everyone &#8230; I hope Jesus can forgive you for what sin you’ve done,&#8221; before making a gesturing motion to her head and telling them to &#8220;stop pulling this.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Footage obtained by <a href="https://x.com/FoxNews?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@FoxNews</a> shows the young Sophie Cunningham fans also face a confrontation with a grown man and a woman with him. The man shouted &#8220;take the trash out&#8221; to arena staff, in reference to the girls and the other supporters with them. <a href="https://t.co/0jaSjUmMbn">https://t.co/0jaSjUmMbn</a> <a href="https://t.co/MjwfUyHmb4">pic.twitter.com/MjwfUyHmb4</a>
— Jackson Thompson (@JackThompsonFOX) <a href="https://x.com/JackThompsonFOX/status/2082599355446374911?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 29, 2026</a></blockquote>
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When the girls tried to report the hostile confrontation, they said arena security brushed them off, telling Kruse that if they had a complaint, they should just &#8220;email the front office.&#8221; Other nearby fans reportedly turned their backs and refused to step in, even while sitting near hypocrisy-laden signs reading &#8220;No Hate in these United States.&#8221;
The teens said they only realized who had berated them after the fact.
&#8220;It&#8217;s just sad,&#8221; one of the teens said, calling out the blatant double standard. &#8220;She&#8217;s also a woman &#8230; maybe they should work on being more kind to people, even though our opinions differ.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Last night, <a href="https://x.com/seattlestorm?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@seattlestorm</a> co-owner Celeste Keaton cursed out two teen girls for wearing <a href="https://x.com/xx_xyathletics?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@xx_xyathletics</a> shirts, calling them &quot;f*cking insane.&quot; One of them was left in tears. I tried to get security involved and was told I should email the front office. <a href="https://t.co/Qi8TcfRtYB">pic.twitter.com/Qi8TcfRtYB</a>
&mdash; Brandi Kruse (@BrandiKruse) <a href="https://x.com/BrandiKruse/status/2082500178226155685?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 29, 2026</a></blockquote>
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In a statement to Fox, the Storm provided an apology: &#8220;We are aware one of our co-owners made comments to two fans in attendance at last night&#8217;s game. We apologize that this happened. Everyone who attends a Storm game deserves to feel welcome, and we remain committed to creating an inclusive environment where every fan is treated with respect.&#8221;
The ugly court-side harassment overshadowed the <a href="https://www.espn.com/wnba/story/_/id/49476986/clark-32-point-night-fuels-fever-latest-100-point-explosion">action on the hardwood</a>, where the visiting Indiana Fever beat the Storm 105-95. Indiana’s high-octane offense made league history by dropping more than 100 points for the fourth consecutive matchup. Caitlin Clark led the charge with a blazing 32-point performance alongside Kelsey Mitchell&#8217;s 28, dropping Seattle to a grim 6-24 record and extending their painful losing streak to seven games.
So much for the WNBA&#8217;s whole &#8220;inclusive&#8221; vibe!

Indiana Fever v Seattle Storm

WNBA Co-Owner Accused Of Cursing Out Teen Girls Over XX-XY Shirts

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Washington residents who received certain promotional emails from Costco between June 2021 and July 2026 may be eligible for compensation under a proposed $14 million <a href="https://www.washingtoncommercialemailsettlement.com/">class action settlement.</a>
Under the proposed deal in Aaland v. Costco Wholesale Corp., Costco <a href="https://www.classaction.org/media/costco-settlement_1.pdf">agreed</a> to create a $14 million settlement fund while denying any wrongdoing.
“In agreeing to settle, Costco maintains that it complied with the law and does not admit any wrongdoing,” the document states.
The lawsuit claims that Costco used deceptive subject lines that created a false sense of urgency, including phrases like &#8220;Today is the last day to access Member-Only Savings&#8221; and &#8220;Hot Buys available for 5 Days Only.&#8221; 
According to the lawsuit, Costco continued offering some of the same promotions after telling customers they were about to expire, allegedly violating Washington’s Commercial Electronic Mail Act (CEMA) and the state&#8217;s Consumer Protection Act, the New York Post <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/07/28/lifestyle/costco-customers-could-claim-500-in-class-action-settlement/">reports</a>.
Washington residents whose email addresses are in Costco&#8217;s records and who received the promotional emails between June 2021 and July 2026 may be eligible to file a claim. 
Claim forms must be submitted by August 24, 2026. Those who wish to pursue their own lawsuit rather than participate in the settlement must opt out by the same deadline, Fox News <a href="https://www.foxbusiness.com/lifestyle/costco-shoppers-eligible-large-payout-multi-million-dollar-email-settlement">reports</a>.
Eligible claimants may receive up to $500 each qualifying email, though the actual payout will depend on the number of valid claims submitted and other court-approved deductions from the $14 million fund.
Costco also faces several other lawsuits over its products and business practices. A lawsuit filed earlier this month <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/07/09/business/costco-faces-class-action-lawsuit-alleging-protein-powder-was-laced-with-toxic-heavy-metals/">alleges</a> that one of Costco’s protein powders contains toxic heavy metals, while another <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/06/10/business/costco-fights-lawsuit-tied-to-5-rotisserie-chicken/">accuses</a> the company of falsely advertising its rotisserie chicken as containing “no preservatives.” 
A separate <a href="https://www.king5.com/video/news/costco-sued-over-claims-it-raised-prices/281-22d011e2-4918-4c67-abd2-357031c9fd03">lawsuit</a> alleges Costco continued charging higher prices tied to tariffs even after the tariffs were struck down.

Costco Wholesale in Folsom California

Costco Shoppers Have A Chance To Cash In Over Old Emails

advertising

business

costco

lawsuit

Police identified a 15-year-old and a 19-year-old as gunmen behind the deadly shooting that turned a Seattle food festival into a chaotic nightmare on Sunday. Authorities also said they are looking for &#8220;a third possible suspect&#8221; in the shooting.
The two teens opened fire in a large crowd that included young children, resulting in the death of 19-year-old gunman Junior Cee Niko Semo, who was hit by multiple rounds of gunfire, according to the medical examiner. Two other people were also shot and killed: Ashley Whitehead, 56, and Carlos Israel Sanchez Villalba, 44. Four people, including a 2-year-old boy, were wounded in the shooting.
Police believe the deadly shooting could be gang-related and that the two teenagers were &#8220;associates.&#8221; The 15-year-old has not been named by authorities and is currently being held in juvenile detention.
Shots rang out at around 6:00 p.m. PT at the Bite of Seattle food festival, an annual free weekend-long event that typically attracts 350,000 people. When police arrived on the scene, two people were seen shooting at each other and officers immediately sought to chase down the suspects while other officers provided first aid to the wounded, according to the Seattle Police Department.
One suspect was taken into custody &#8220;within seconds,&#8221; Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson said on Monday evening.
Three of the shooting victims were found in the direction where the 15-year-old suspect is believed to have fired, including the toddler who was with his mother when he was struck by gunfire, according to court documents, NBC News <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/seattle-food-festival-shooting-may-gang-related-prosecutors-say-rcna589412">reported</a>. The toddler is currently in stable condition and recovering well.
After the shooting, Seattle authorities have faced criticism over the city&#8217;s response to the shooting and have gotten into heated exchanges with reporters. City officials are facing questions over why they waited nearly five hours to provide an update on the shooting, especially considering one of the gunmen was at-large.
Leftist mayor opened her press conference on Sunday with a discussion on “gun violence,&#8221; arguing that the city and the country have “a lot of work to do … to make this better.”
A reporter chimed in shortly into the mayor&#8217;s spiel, asking her to get to the information on the shooting. “I get your passion, mayor, but we need to know what happened tonight, please.”
Then, on Monday, a reporter asked Shon Barnes why he wasn&#8217;t in the city on Sunday night when the shooting occurred. The city&#8217;s assistant police chief handled the immediate response and the initial press briefing on Sunday night.
&#8220;I don&#8217;t have to tell you where I go,&#8221; Barnes told a KOMO News reporter. &#8220;I have a medical procedure I gotta do on Friday. &#8230; You need to know this: I have been here working as hard as I can for this city from the day I got here. You got that?&#8221;
&#8220;There are reports that you are out of town often,&#8221; the reporter pressed.
&#8220;Their reports are wrong, you understand?&#8221; the chief shot back as another man stepped in between him and the reporter.
<div style="max-width: 728px; margin: 0 auto;"><iframe style="aspect-ratio: 9/16; max-width: 400px; display: flex; justify-content: center; width: 100%; margin: 20px auto 5px; border: 0;" src="https://player.mux.com/5zv3xeuq3Ifb5p3ELnVuHZ00uVPaKvp2S?metadata-video-content-type=embed_video&amp;metadata-video-id=51866766-d433-4bc9-b704-4cceaf22f82e&amp;metadata-video-stream-type=on-demand&amp;metadata-video-title=2026-07-28%20Where%20is%20the%20Seattle%20police%20chief%3F!%20&amp;poster=https%3A%2F%2Fdailywireplus-v2.imgix.net%2Fimages%2Fembedded-videos%2Fe661d16d-36bb-47be-8fda-96d9a21a9866.png&amp;autoplay=false&amp;accent-color=%23DB3D3B&amp;primary-color=%23ffffff&amp;secondary-color=%23000000" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></div>

Shooting Leaves Multiple Killed And Injured In Seattle

Police Identify Teens As Suspects Behind Deadly Shooting At Family-Friendly Festival

crime

mass shooting

police

shooting

Three people were killed and four more were wounded when at least two gunmen opened fire at a bustling food festival beneath the Space Needle in Seattle on Sunday.
Shots rang out at around 6:00 p.m. PT at the Bite of Seattle food festival, an annual free weekend-long event that typically attracts 350,000 people. When police arrived on the scene, two people were seen shooting at each other and officers immediately sought to chase down the suspects while other officers provided first aid to the wounded, according to the Seattle Police Department, ABC News <a href="https://abcnews.com/US/multiple-people-shot-seattle-center-police/story?id=135108867">reported</a>.
One of the suspects was found and taken into custody on Sunday evening, but police are still searching for the other suspect as of Monday morning. It remains unclear if the gunmen were only targeting each other or if they purposely fired at other festival attendees.
While one suspect remains on the loose, Assistant Seattle Police Chief Tyrone Davis <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3lMwXrLfGA">said</a> at a press conference on Sunday night that there is no ongoing threat to the community. Police recovered two weapons at the scene of the shooting.
In a press conference on Sunday night, leftist Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson opened the briefing to discuss &#8220;gun violence&#8221; and argue that the city and the country have &#8220;a lot of work to do &#8230; to make this better.&#8221; As the mayor lectured about &#8220;gun violence,&#8221; a reporter cut in, saying, &#8220;I get your passion, mayor, but we need to know what happened tonight, please.&#8221;
The mayor then turned the press conference over to the assistant police chief to go through the details of the shooting.
Two people were pronounced dead at the scene, and a third person died later at the hospital, according to Davis. Those killed were a 19-year-old man, a 44-year-old man, and a 56-year-old woman. A 2-year-old boy was among the four people wounded and is in stable condition in an area hospital. Michael Girardi, a man who witnessed the shooting, told The Seattle Times that the toddler&#8217;s mother was &#8220;in anguish&#8221; as her son was being treated by paramedics. The young boy appeared to be conscious and wasn&#8217;t crying, according to Girardi.
A 23-year-old man and a 39-year-old woman are also in stable condition, while a 40-year-old woman with minor injuries declined to be transported to a hospital.
&#8220;Thankfully, we had officers on the scene that were brave, went to those shots, and prevented more victims from being injured,&#8221; Davis said.
Estan Wakonabo <a href="https://apnews.com/article/seattle-center-shooting-food-festival-space-needle-90548c65364e742a97fb7cb0fea31209">told</a> the Associated Press that he and his girlfriend were waiting in line for a photo booth at the festival when he was pushed in the back and turned around to see chaos.
“People were hiding, were pushing, people were falling on the ground, baby strollers were falling,” Wakonabo said.

Family-Friendly Festival Turns Into Horrific Nightmare As Gunmen Open Fire

death

<div>The Department of Justice (DOJ) informed the state of Washington today that it is investigating whether the state&#8217;s prison policies violate the Constitution.</div>
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<div>The DOJ is launching a federal investigation into Washington State&#8217;s practice of housing men in women&#8217;s prisons, the Daily Wire can first report. It will investigate if these policies violate the constitutional rights of incarcerated women housed at the Washington Corrections Center for Women (WCCW) in Gig Harbor, Washington.</div>
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<div>The Washington Department of Corrections (DOC) gives violent male convicts who self-identify as transgender full access to the women’s prisons, including cells, bathrooms, and showers.</div>
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<div>“Under my leadership, the Civil Rights Division will not allow women incarcerated in jails or prisons to be subject to unconstitutional risks of harm from male inmates,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon. “The constitutional rights of women cannot be sacrificed at the altar of appeasing unsupported and dangerous ideologies.”</div>
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<div>The DOJ investigation comes on the heels of an April 2026 <a href="https://www.americafirstpolicy.com/assets/uploads/files/AFPI_WDOC_Complaint_04.27.26.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lawsuit</a> filed by The America First Policy Institute (AFPI) that argues forcing women to share a prison with violent men violates the fundamental constitutional rights of women to be safe while incarcerated. The lawsuit describes two women who were allegedly assaulted by Christopher Williams, a man who self-identifies as female. The lawsuit calls Williams a “six-foot-four, ‘biologically intact’ male” and “convicted child sex offender” with a history of violence against women.</div>
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<div>The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/women-sue-prison-system-for-allowing-violent-trans-male-to-terrorize-inmates?author=Megan+Brock&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=1&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Women+Terrorized+By+%E2%80%98Trans%E2%80%99+Male+Inmate+Launch+Massive+Lawsuit+Against+Prison+System" target="_blank" rel="noopener">uncovered</a> a document through a public records request showing the former Superintendent of a male prison where Williams had been incarcerated recommended against his transfer to WCCW due to his history of violence against women.</div>
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<div>The DOJ will investigate allegations of &#8220;cruel and unusual punishment&#8221; against female prisoners, including claims of sexual violence being perpetrated against women by male inmates at WCCW.</div>
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<div>&#8220;The Justice Department will investigate allegations of deprivation of female prisoners’ Eighth Amendment protections from cruel and unusual punishment, including Washington’s response to allegations of sexual assaults, rape, voyeurism, and sexual intimidation based on WCCW’s housing of male prisoners in the exclusively female facility,&#8221; a DOJ press release states.</div>
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<div>Washington DOC has some of the nation&#8217;s most radical transgender policies and provides tax-funded sex change surgeries to inmates who claim to be transgender. A Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/taxpayers-pay-millions-to-surgeon-who-performs-transgender-surgeries-in-prisons?author=Megan+Brock&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=23&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Just+How+Much+Of+Your+Money+Funds+Trans+Surgeries+In+Prison" target="_blank" rel="noopener">investigation</a> showed the state of Washington gave millions of taxpayer dollars to a controversial “gender-affirming” surgeon who performs surgeries on prison inmates.</div>
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<div>The DOJ has launched a nationwide initiative examining men being housed in Women’s Prisons and is encouraging individuals with &#8220;relevant information&#8221; on this issue to contact the DOJ, according to the press release.</div>

Inmate Burnet County Jail

EXCLUSIVE: DOJ Investigating Prison System That Forces Women To Share Cells With Violent Men

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Washington state has never had an income tax. Every time voters were asked whether they wanted one, they said no. They have said no eleven times, in fact, with margins as steep as 77% against. In 2024, Washington’s citizens forced the Legislature to enact I-2111, a measure that explicitly banned a state income tax, after gathering over 446,000 signatures for the initiative.
Democrats looked at all of that, shrugged, and passed one anyway.
On March 10, the Washington House voted 51-46 to approve SB 6346, imposing a 9.9% tax on individual income above $1 million. Governor Bob Ferguson, who had publicly flirted with vetoing it before deciding not to, pledged to sign it. It was all a performance to pretend that he was getting taxpayer benefits out of targeting the millionaires to pay “their fair share.” Democrats dressed it up as a narrow &#8220;millionaire&#8217;s tax&#8221; and insisted you have nothing to worry about. That is exactly what they want you to believe. It is not true.
Why this income tax is unconstitutional by design
Here is the legal reality. Under the 1933 Washington Supreme Court ruling in Culliton v. Chase, income is classified as property under the state constitution. A graduated income tax violates the uniformity clause. That precedent has been confirmed and reconfirmed for nearly a century. Former Chief Justice Gerry Alexander, former Justice Phil Talmadge, and former Attorney General Rob McKenna have all stated unequivocally that income is intangible property under Washington&#8217;s constitution. The correct vehicle to change that has always been a constitutional amendment put to voters.
Democrats tried that route, too, and got crushed at the ballot box repeatedly. So they stopped asking.
Washington Democrats passed a law they know is unconstitutional because the real target was never the millionaires. The real target is the Washington State Supreme Court. When Democrats passed the capital gains tax a few years ago, the justices who upheld it practically begged someone to bring them a case that would let them torch Culliton entirely. SB 6346 is that case.
Once a legal challenge is filed, and it will be filed immediately, Democrats expect their sympathetic Supreme Court to use the vehicle to wipe out 90 years of precedent and legalize a permanent, broadened income tax for everyone, without a single voter ever getting a say.
The &#8216;millionaires only&#8217; promise is a lie
If you live outside Washington and think this has nothing to do with you, pay attention. This is the playbook.
Washington already has a capital gains tax that Democrats sold as a modest levy on investment gains. They also have an estate tax (a death tax) that activates at one of the lowest thresholds in the country. Every new layer of taxation arrives with the same promise that it targets only the wealthy and that everyone else is safe. The income tax is the next layer. The threshold today is $1 million. The moment the Supreme Court blesses the structure, the number is up for negotiation, and lawmakers will negotiate it down.
Democrats made their intentions concrete when they specifically amended SB 6346 to exempt it from I-2111, the voter-passed ban on a state income tax. Read that again. Voters banned an income tax. Democrats passed one and wrote language into the bill to neutralize voters&#8217; own protections. That is not an oversight. That is a statement of hostility toward the voters&#8217; will. And this law may not be subject to a referendum, since Democrats inserted a “necessity clause” that precludes the voter challenge. They pretended this was a necessary, emergency piece of legislation. That it doesn’t go into effect until 2028 undercuts that emergency message, but Democrats don’t seem to care how transparent their scam is.
The wealth exodus is already underway
The wealthy are not waiting for a court ruling. On the same night the income tax cleared the House, Starbucks founder Howard Schultz, who built his company from a single Pike Place coffee shop into one of the most recognized brands on earth, <a href="https://seattlered.com/seattle-red/jason-rantz-opinion/wa-income-tax-howard-schultz/4117148">announced he and his wife are leaving Seattle for Miami</a> after 44 years in Washington. He is taking his taxable income with him. Jeff Bezos made the same calculation after the capital gains tax passed.
Zach Abraham, principal and CIO of Bulwark Capital Management, which oversees roughly $1.1 billion in assets, <a href="https://seattlered.com/taxes/bulwark-leaving-wa-income-tax/4117239">told me on The Jason Rantz Show on Seattle Red 770 AM</a> that he is leaving Washington and relocating his business. He calculated that his effective rate would fall between 49% and 51% once all state taxes are factored in. At one recent board meeting in Woodinville, Washington, just outside of Seattle, he sat alongside a small group of investors who collectively manage around $4 billion. Every person in that room is getting out, he said.
&#8220;I don&#8217;t feel that I have a choice,&#8221; Abraham told me.
An Association of Washington Business survey found 17% of Washington businesses are now considering leaving the state entirely, up 9% from a year ago. The CEO of Moment, a Seattle-based mobile photography company, <a href="https://seattlered.com/taxes/moment-ceo-marc-barros-leaves-seattle-washington-digital-ad-tax/4117241">just announced he’s moving the business to Wyoming</a> after Washington&#8217;s separate new digital advertising tax added $200,000 in overnight annual costs.
Washington is following a blueprint that already failed
Washington Democrats do not have to guess how this ends.
California spent years dismissing warnings that its tax-and-regulate model was pushing out the businesses and high earners who funded the whole operation. Then Oracle left. Then Hewlett-Packard. Then Tesla. Then Charles Schwab. The departures were written off as isolated decisions until the state&#8217;s own budget office could no longer ignore the revenue gap left behind.
New York has watched the same pattern play out, with financial firms and high-net-worth residents flooding into Florida and Texas at a pace that has forced even Democratic lawmakers to acknowledge the damage. The Tax Foundation has consistently documented that high-income earners are among the most mobile taxpayers in the country and the most responsive to rate changes.
Washington is not pioneering a bold new model. It is copying a failure that two of the largest states in the country are still trying to reverse. The receipts already exist, and Democrats are simply choosing to ignore them.
What happens when the court rules
Washington Democrats have spent nine decades trying to create an income tax for everyone in the state. They are now five Supreme Court votes away from doing it without ever winning another election on the subject. They bypassed voters, neutralized a voter-approved ban, and handed a cooperative court the exact vehicle it has been waiting for.
The millionaire&#8217;s tax is the opening bid. Everyone else is the closing argument. You have been warned.
***
Jason Rantz is a <a href="https://seattlered.com/podcast_results?i=1676&amp;n=The+Jason+Rantz+Show">Seattle-based talk show host</a> and author of <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Whats-Killing-America-Radical-Destruction/dp/1546006141/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0">“What’s Killing America: Inside the Radical Left’s Tragic Destruction of Our Cities.”</a>
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EatTheRichWashington

Washington State’s Democrats Vote To Eat The Rich

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A reported assault at Lucille Umbarger Middle School in Skagit County, Washington, is under police investigation after an eighth-grade girl was allegedly attacked by two classmates over her perceived support for President Donald Trump and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The incident, which was captured on cellphone video that has since circulated among students and on social media, allegedly stems from TikTok posts made by the victim’s boyfriend. &#8220;Plan A: marry a nice girl, have kids, get rich,&#8221; he stated. In another, he wrote &#8220;Plan B: become an ICE agent.&#8221;
According to the 13-year-old girl and her mother, the student was cornered in a school locker room by two classmates who demanded to know her political stances. Reporter Brandi Kruse of unDivided, who said she has been in contact with the family, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/live/9Dp04NreQAI?t=1849s">reported</a> that the students asked whether the girl supported President Trump and ICE. When she responded that it was none of their business, the family alleges she was &#8220;violently&#8221; assaulted.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/show/friendly-fire?utm_campaign=dwplus&amp;utm_content=20260224_sotu_aa_desktop&amp;utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=banner" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-sk="tooltip_parent">Watch the State of the Union with The Daily Wire! Live coverage from the nation&#8217;s capital begins at 7:45 ET.</a>
Video of the incident appears to show two students punching the girl, pulling her hair, and attempting to drag her to the floor while other students watched or recorded the altercation.
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GRAPHIC WARING: Two students BEAT a girl senseless at Lucille Umbarger Middle School in Burlington, WA, after demanding to know whether she supports Trump and ICE. She told them it was none of their business. Police are involved. More today on our live show at 12pm. <a href="https://t.co/GYWfxgPu8t">pic.twitter.com/GYWfxgPu8t</a>
&mdash; Brandi Kruse (@BrandiKruse) <a href="https://twitter.com/BrandiKruse/status/2026004328704811108?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 23, 2026</a></blockquote>
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The victim’s family has expressed outrage not only over the alleged assault but also over what they describe as a delayed response from the school district. Kruse reported that although the video had been shared among students and staff for days, it took the school’s principal five days to contact the alleged victim’s mother. The family alleges the school only reached out after media inquiries began.
Burlington Police Chief Kevin Turner confirmed that the department has opened an active investigation into the incident. &#8220;We are working through all the details,&#8221; Turner stated, adding that because the case involves juveniles, further information cannot be released at this time.
The school district is reportedly developing a &#8220;safety plan&#8221; to allow the student to return to campus. According to Kruse, local law enforcement has recommended extending the suspension of the two alleged attackers until the girl&#8217;s safety can be ensured.
As of press time, the Burlington-Edison School District has not issued a formal public statement. The girl’s mother, who authorized the release of the details to the public, remains critical of how the administration handled the immediate aftermath, describing the attack on her daughter as &#8220;savage.&#8221;

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GRAPHIC VIDEO: 13-Year-Old Girl Attacked After Students Question Her Trump Support

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The Trump administration appears to be gearing up for a substantial response to Iran, Washington state allegedly spends millions on gender surgeries for inmates, and whiplash hits Moderna as the Food and Drug Administration reverses its decision not to review the company’s new flu vaccine.
It’s Thursday, February 19, 2026, and this is the news you need to know to start your day. Today’s edition of the Morning Wire podcast can be heard below:
<iframe style="width: 100%; max-width: 660px; overflow: hidden; border-radius: 10px;" src="https://embed.podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/iran-response-imminent-gender-surgeon-scrutinized-2-19-26/id1576594336?i=1000750462173" height="175" frameborder="0" sandbox="allow-forms allow-popups allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-storage-access-by-user-activation allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation"></iframe>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">U.S. Surrounds Iran</h2>
Amid escalating tensions over Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons and the killings of thousands of protesters, the Trump administration appears to be gearing up for an armed response. 
Over the last 36 hours, the Middle East has seen the largest military buildup in decades. Hundreds of cargo flights have transported weapons systems to the region, as hundreds of fighter jets, dozens of warships, and multiple aircraft carrier groups have also made their way towards Iran. 
This may be a negotiating tactic by the United States to secure concessions from Tehran as diplomatic talks continue. But numerous advisers to President Donald Trump, <a href="https://x.com/rcpvideo/status/2024169941696459097?s=20">including</a> his former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, said they don’t think it’s a bluff. Trump reportedly feels emboldened by the success of his bombing raid on Iran’s nuclear facilities back in June and the operation to grab Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro in January. 
As one former American diplomat put it to The Wall Street Journal, the president’s offer to Iran “is similar to Venezuela, surrender and we won’t attack you.”
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Blue State Spends Millions On Gender Surgeon</h2>
A new investigation found that Washington state has spent millions on the services of a gender surgeon who performs surgeries on prison inmates. 
The Washington State Healthcare Authority has paid more than $4.3 million since July 2019 for the services of Dr. Jeffrey Stiller. 
He is a prolific transgender surgeon, and according to his website, he&#8217;s performed more than 1,000 vaginoplasties, averaging five procedures per week, describing his services as extremely sought-after. 
Importantly, for this investigation, public records obtained by The Daily Wire show that Dr. Stiller&#8217;s clientele included a steady stream of inmates from Washington Department of Corrections facilities.
<h2 style="text-align: center;">FDA’s Moderna Reversal</h2>
There’s whiplash at Moderna as the Food and Drug Administration reverses its decision not to review the company’s new flu vaccine. 
The FDA decided it will allow Moderna to move forward with its new mRNA flu vaccine. The agency blocked it last week, but allowed it to move forward again after the pharma company agreed to additional testing. 
The vaccine is expected to be brought to market in two phases: the first for people 65 and older through a process of “accelerated approval,” which will allow it to move forward with limited evidence. The vaccine for that cohort can later receive full approval with more tests. After those are completed, the vaccine will also be released for adults ages 50-64, assuming the results of those tests come back positive.

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Morning Brief: U.S. Surrounds Iran, Prisoners Get ‘Gender Surgeries,’ & FDA’s Moderna Reversal

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A new report details a serious allegation of sexual assault and a subsequent breakdown in institutional oversight within Washington&#8217;s Puyallup School District. The story centers on Kallie Keeler, a 16-year-old female sophomore wrestler at Rogers High School who has competed in the sport since early childhood.
During a wrestling match on December 6, Keeler competed in the 190-pound weight class against an opponent from Emerald Ridge High School. Video from the bout appears to show Keeler in visible distress. According to her testimony, the opponent, a transgender-identifying boy, forcefully inserted his fingers into her private area during a move, causing her to feel violated and disoriented. Keeler later said she allowed herself to be pinned in order to end the match and escape the situation.
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16-year-old Kallie Keeler didn&#8217;t even realize she was wrestling a boy. She didn&#8217;t find out until after she says he forcefully pushed his fingers into her vagina. The Puyallup (WA) School District is accused of burying her complaint – now there&#8217;s now a criminal investigation. <a href="https://t.co/4LRo0ft0wI">pic.twitter.com/4LRo0ft0wI</a>
— Brandi Kruse (@BrandiKruse) <a href="https://twitter.com/BrandiKruse/status/2021052492180840920?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 10, 2026</a></blockquote>
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“I didn&#8217;t really know what to do or how to handle that situation. I just wanted the match to be over,” Keeler said.
Immediately after the match, Keeler told her mother what she said had occurred and attempted to locate her coach. It was only afterward, she said, that a coach from a different school informed her that her opponent had been permitted to compete in the girls&#8217; division despite being a biological male. Keeler expressed a sense of double violation: first by the alleged physical assault, and second by the realization that she had been tricked into competing against a male athlete in a high-contact sport without her knowledge or consent.
To assess whether the contact could have been accidental, reporter Brandi Kruse consulted wrestling experts with decades of experience. After reviewing the video, the experts concluded that the position executed did not require the type of contact alleged. They noted that in similar situations, a wrestler typically grips the opponent&#8217;s thigh or knee rather than making prolonged contact in a prohibited area.
The most significant administrative issue centers on the Puyallup School District’s response. Despite Keeler reporting the incident immediately and her parents emailing coaches, the district reportedly took no formal action for nearly two months. This delay came despite Washington state law requiring school officials to report suspected sexual assault to law enforcement within 48 hours.
The district did not report the incident to the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office until January 30, one day after the media contacted the district for comment. The Sheriff’s Office has since confirmed that an active criminal investigation is underway. Critics have accused district officials of remaining silent in order to protect what they describe as &#8220;radical gender ideology&#8221; at the expense of student safety and state law. Keeler continues to advocate for policy changes, asserting that biological males should not compete in women&#8217;s strength-based sports.

2025 NCAA Division I Men’s Wrestling Championship

Betrayed On The Mat: Teen Wrestler Says She Was Sexually Assaulted By Trans-Identifying Opponent

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The Trump administration on Tuesday took action against six blue states that it says have failed to comply with requests to produce their voter rolls. 
The Justice Department <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-sues-six-additional-states-failure-provide-voter-registration-rolls">announced</a> suits against Delaware, Maryland, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington for not producing statewide registration lists. Without these lists, the Justice Department said that they cannot certify that the states are maintaining an accurate count of eligible voters. 
&#8220;Accurate voter rolls are the cornerstone of fair and free elections, and too many states have fallen into a pattern of noncompliance with basic voter roll maintenance,&#8221; said Attorney General Pam Bondi. &#8220;The Department of Justice will continue filing proactive election integrity litigation until states comply with basic election safeguards.&#8221;
The suits come amid a push from Republicans nationwide to crack down on non-citizen voting and maintain clean voter registration lists.
The lawsuits say that the states are not acting in accordance with the National Voter Registration Act and the Help America Vote Act, which compel states to maintain accurate voter lists. The attorney general is empowered to enforce those laws and has a right to access the lists under the Civil Rights Act of 1960, the suits say.
&#8220;States that continue to defy federal voting laws interfere with our mission of ensuring that Americans have accurate voter lists as they go to the polls, that every vote counts equally, and that all voters have confidence in election results. At this Department of Justice, we will not stand for this open defiance of federal civil rights laws,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon.
The <a href="https://www.justice.gov/crt/media/1419811/dl?utm_medium=email&amp;utm_source=govdelivery">lawsuit</a> against Rhode Island says that on September 16 Rhode Island sent a letter to the Justice Department refusing a September 8 request for voter roll information. The letter said that the states “objects to providing” the requested information, according to the suit. This requested information includes driver license information and the last four digits of Social Security numbers used to register for voting. 
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Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha claimed the suit was an example of Trump weaponizing the Justice Department. 
“We stand with and will defend the secretary, and win, because lawsuits concerning lawful conduct are largely unsuccessful,” he said. “But I’m not surprised that this administration is confused about what it means to behave lawfully.”
In September, the Justice Department <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/justice-dept-sues-six-states-for-refusing-to-hand-over-key-voter-data">announced</a> suits against Michigan, California, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Minnesota, and New York over the same issue.

Justice Department Announces Federal Enforcement Action Against International Criminal Organization

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