Bill Gates has apologized for ties to Epstein, Amazon is leaving Seattle over taxes and crime, and a naked armed man was arrested downtown.
Bill Gates apologizes for ties to Jeffrey Epstein
The name Bill Gates is once again in the headlines in the world of technology and philanthropy, but this time in a context far removed from his usual achievements. The Microsoft co-founder publicly expressed regret over his past meetings with the notorious financier Jeffrey Epstein, prompting a new wave of discussion in the media and among the public.
In a recent interview, details of which were published by KIRO 7 News Seattle, Bill Gates said he made a "huge mistake" in meeting with Epstein. According to him, those meetings occurred after Epstein had been convicted of crimes involving minors, which makes the association particularly problematic. Gates emphasized that his motive was to raise funds for global health initiatives through his charitable foundation, but he now recognizes that this does not excuse his choices. The statement came amid ongoing public and media scrutiny, as the connections of various public figures to Epstein remain under intense attention following his death in 2019. For context, Jeffrey Epstein was an American financier accused of running a sex-trafficking network involving underage girls. His first conviction came in 2008, but many questions about the scope of his activities and his circle of acquaintances remain unresolved, prompting broad investigations.
In his remarks, Gates did not go into detail about the frequency or content of their meetings, but he made clear that he regrets any associations that may have undermined trust in his philanthropic work. This has serious implications, given that the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is one of the world's largest private charitable foundations and plays a key role in combating disease and reducing poverty. Any hint of compromised ethical standards can affect reputation and potentially future funding for global projects. Moreover, the episode raises questions about how influential figures in business and philanthropy draw lines when seeking resources for their goals. While Gates seeks to refocus attention on his work, public reaction remains mixed: some accept his apology as a step toward accountability, while others criticize him for initially choosing to maintain contacts with such a controversial figure. The case is a reminder that even the most respected public figures are not immune to lapses in judgment whose consequences can reverberate through their careers and legacies.
Amazon leaves Seattle: how the new mayor’s policies are accelerating business exodus to Bellevue
Seattle is undergoing a troubling transformation: from a dynamic tech hub it is becoming a city that big business is leaving in search of stability and safety. A vivid symbol of this exodus is Amazon, which just confirmed it will not renew the lease on a seven-story building a few blocks from its Seattle headquarters. This decision, affecting about 1,500 employees, is not an isolated case but part of a sustained trend. Since 2020 the company has vacated more than a million square feet of office space in the city, increasingly expanding its presence in nearby Bellevue, where it plans to grow headcount from 14,000 to 25,000. As Charlie Harger, host of Seattle’s Morning News on KIRO Newsradio, notes in his column for MyNorthwest.com, this migration is just a prelude to larger upheavals as the city's new mayor, Katy Wilson, begins to pursue her tax agenda.
Once, Seattle was the crane capital of America, outpacing New York, Los Angeles and Chicago combined in the number of construction cranes. Today the skyline is defined not by cranes but by vacant office buildings. Downtown vacancy is approaching 35%, while in Bellevue that figure is roughly half — about 16%. The market is voting with its feet, and Amazon is far from the only company choosing the east side of Lake Washington. It has been followed by TikTok, OpenAI, Snowflake, Robinhood, Meta, Shopify and Zoom. The reasons are always the same: taxes, crime and homelessness. As one real estate executive succinctly put it, "cleanliness and safety are everything," and Seattle currently cannot boast of those.
Behind the dry vacancy figures lies a harsh everyday reality for those still working downtown Seattle. Employees face aggressive confrontations on their way from parking to the office, open drug use on Third Avenue has become part of daily routine, and property crime rates remain among the highest in major U.S. cities. Many businesses spend thousands of dollars on private security to make their lobbies safe, and some have given up entirely. These are not isolated incidents but the cumulative weight of thousands of small decisions employees make every morning: whether to walk two stops from the light-rail station, step outside for lunch, or feel parking is safe at 7 p.m. When most of those answers turn negative, remote work stops being a question of flexibility and becomes a way to avoid a problematic environment. And when enough employees avoid downtown, conversations with HR about relocating to Bellevue become a lot shorter.
The homelessness crisis, to which Seattle has devoted billions building services and sanctioned camps, is not solved. What is visible on the city streets is the intersection of three crises: housing, drug addiction and mental illness. They feed each other, and attempts to treat one without addressing the others have not worked. This is a tragedy for those affected, but also a business reality that no good intentions can separate from questions of profit.
Against this backdrop, Bellevue offers what may sound boring — but that is precisely the point: predictability, no surprise payroll taxes and no legislative initiatives that force grocery stores to operate against their will. Business prefers boring stability, and Bellevue has earned its moment. However, tech companies always act in the interest of their bottom lines. Bellevue’s cleanliness and convenience drew them across the lake, and the same cold calculation could move them even further.
Particular concern stems from the fact that Seattle mayor Katy Wilson has been in office only seven weeks and has not yet begun implementing her tax proposals. She has already announced plans to expand payroll taxes, raise the minimum wage to $30 an hour and consider creating city-run grocery stores. Companies are hearing these signals and are not engaging in debate — they are simply quietly updating their legal addresses. Budget arithmetic drives this agenda: next year Seattle faces a $125–140 million shortfall, which could grow to $300 million or more by 2029. The director of the new City Budget Office appointed by Wilson said the city is beginning a "sober multiyear process" to eliminate the structural deficit and that "all options are on the table." In her State of the City speech on February 17, Wilson proudly reported that the existing 5% tax on payouts over $1 million generated $115 million — more than double projections — and promised that in the coming months residents would hear "much more about budgets and revenues."
Based on her campaign platform, from which she has not backed down, city officials are already drafting legislation. Planned measures include a local capital gains tax (expected revenue about $30 million), a tax on vacant commercial buildings, further expansion of the JumpStart payroll tax, and possible new levies on high earners and professional services. Downtown Seattle Association CEO John Skolnes bluntly stated: "We don’t need new taxes; we need more businesses paying taxes, and meanwhile we’re pushing jobs out of our city." This vicious circle seems hard for Seattle to escape: fewer businesses means a smaller tax base; a smaller tax base means a larger deficit; a larger deficit means higher taxes; higher taxes mean fewer businesses.
But the threat to business does not come only from Seattle City Hall. The Washington State Legislature in Olympia is actively advancing a plan to introduce an income tax. While Wilson develops city taxes on vacant space and expands payroll taxation, state lawmakers are working on a mechanism that could pursue companies wherever they relocate within Washington. Marketed as a "millionaires' tax," the $1 million threshold is set in statute, not the state constitution. Any future legislature could lower that threshold by a simple majority the next time a budget shortfall appears. And in Washington a new shortfall appears almost routinely: last year the state passed a $9 billion tax increase package and soon found itself back in a fiscal hole. Thus the key advantage that once kept companies in Washington — no state income tax, lower business costs than California, stability and predictability — is now under pressure from both sides. The City of Seattle piles on new taxes while the state builds the legal basis for an income tax that can follow businesses anywhere within its borders. Moving from Seattle to Bellevue used to solve the problem. Olympia is working to change that math. Companies that moved across the lake are still in Washington. But Texas, Florida and Nevada also have no income tax. At some point a 15-minute drive across a bridge stops being a sufficient escape. Since 2020 Seattle has lost a million square feet of office space. Another quarter-million will be vacated in May. Once Seattle counted cranes. Now it counts vacant space.
Arrest of a naked armed man in Seattle: video and incident details
A disturbing incident downtown Seattle was captured on video and drew public attention. Seattle police arrested a man who was reported to be naked and armed. The case, covered in a report by KIRO 7 News Seattle, raises questions about mental health and public safety in the urban environment.
According to video and reports, Seattle law enforcement quickly responded to a call about suspicious behavior by a man. The footage shows officers, following safety protocols, surrounding and disarming a person who was reportedly unclothed and in possession of a firearm. The incident occurred in a public place, which could have posed an immediate threat to passersby. Such situations require officers to use not only physical intervention but also de-escalation skills, especially if the person may be experiencing mental health issues. In the context of national debates about policing methods and mental health support, this arrest may become an example of the complex challenges facing law enforcement in major cities. Details about the detained individual's motives or condition have not been fully disclosed, but the incident has already sparked discussion in local communities about access to help for people in crisis and measures to prevent similar cases in the future.
