SEATTLE Seattle Chef Created New Ice Cream for Salt & Straw
The cult ice cream chain Salt & Straw, founded in Portland and known for unusual flavors made with local ingredients, is launching a new series created in collaboration with notable American chefs. In Seattle, where residents appreciate culinary experimentation, each new batch of ice cream becomes an event: trying limited flavors is a social ritual, and long lines are part of the local culture of anticipation. The new flavors will be available beginning Friday through June 25 both in stores and...
Open article
USA Crises of Trust: From Politics to Security and Justice
The images that arise from reading three news pieces at first glance seem unrelated: the scandal-plagued Democratic primary campaign of Graham...
NEIGHBORS Vancouver Tragedies and Mysteries: News Digest
The digest presents three key stories from Vancouver: a tragic collision involving an elderly man in a motorized wheelchair, provincial officials...
SEATTLE New Bellevue Garden Becomes Pollinator Paradise
At the new "Habitats at Home" display garden at Bellevue Botanical Garden, flowers take center stage — and there are an incredible number of them....
SEATTLE Farm bill favors fruits and vegetables, but Senate battle looms
The U.S. House-passed farm bill directs nearly $1 billion toward supporting "specialty crops" — fruits, vegetables, nuts and berries. For Washington...
EVENTS Seattle Events: Week of May 27, 2026
We have a busy week of events across the Seattle area — from the musical Grease in Everett and the HONK! Fest West street parade to a cabaret...
EVENTS Advance Calendar: Events June 26–July 26, 2026
For advance planning — a selection of major concerts, MLB games and World Cup matches taking place in the Seattle area and nearby venues from June 26...
USA Violence, Polarization and the Fragility of the Democratic Fabric
In three seemingly very different stories – the killing of a veteran in California, intensive Israeli strikes on Nabatieh in southern Lebanon, and an...
SEATTLE Donations Saved an Ancient Forest in Washington State
The Olympic Peninsula Forest Defenders coalition raised $32,000 from 325 donors in just four days to prevent the logging of two acres of century-old...
WEATHER 🌤️ 10-Day Weather Forecast for Seattle, WA
Today, 05/27, Seattle will see partly cloudy skies with brief rain showers. High around 66°F during the day and 54°F at night. Wind southeast at 7...
Seattle
Seattle in US Parks Top Ten: the Cost of Green Success
Seattle has ranked among the top ten U.S. cities for park quality for the sixth year in a row. According to ParkScore 2024, the city is eighth among...
Factory Explosion and Meta Layoffs: News Digest
A tragedy at a pulp mill in Washington: an explosion left one dead and nine injured, while Meta is cutting nearly 1,400 jobs in the region as it...
Road deaths in Washington fall again but remain above pre-pandemic levels
In 2025, 659 people were killed in traffic crashes on Washington state roads — more than 10% fewer than the year before (737) and substantially below...
Three Oregon islands up for auction at the price of an apartment
An unusual listing has appeared on the real estate market: timber company Roseburg Forest Products has put three islands totaling 20 acres (about 8...
Pets officially allowed on Washington State ferries
Starting the Memorial Day weekend, furry companions can travel with their owners in some passenger areas of Washington State Ferries. The agency...
Washington Planned Parenthood: Abortion Pills Before Pregnancy
A new service from Planned Parenthood, launched last week in Washington and Hawaii, allows people to pre-order medication for a medical abortion...
Desperate Measures: Seattle Residents Build Barricades Against Gunfire
Residents of Seattle’s troubled neighborhoods, fed up with endless shootings and inaction from authorities, are blocking streets themselves with...
Pike Place Market to allow alcohol "Sip and Stroll" this summer
Seattle's historic Pike Place Market is launching a pilot "Sip and Stroll" program that will allow visitors to buy alcoholic beverages at 24...
Remembering the Fallen on Memorial Day in Washington State
Tina Matz and her mother Joanne Matz visited the grave of Tina’s grandfather, Vernon Easterling Sr., a Battle of the Bulge veteran, on Thursday at...
Neighbors
Tragic Week for Divers in British Columbia
Fatal scuba deaths, Kelowna’s culinary recognition and a bear attack in Squamish — the top British Columbia news of the past few days.
Tragic week off British Columbia’s coast: second diver dies during a dive in days
Over the past several days there have been two fatal incidents involving scuba diving off the coast of British Columbia. Last Sunday, at about 1:30 p.m. local time, West Vancouver police received a report of a diver in distress near Whytecliff Park. Despite the prompt response from...
Tragedies and Scandals: British Columbia News Digest
Two divers died off the province’s coast in a week, the Squamish First Nation denies a fake land-claim letter, and Vancouver hotels sit empty ahead of the 2026 World Cup blamed on poor PR.
Tragedy off Canadian shores: second diver dies in British Columbia in a week
A second diving-related tragedy in as many days occurred in the waters of British Columbia. This time the victim was a 50-year-old man who died while diving off West Vancouver. The incident took place in the area of the popular...
Vancouver news digest: from nurses' strike to cultural events
British Columbia nurses reached a tentative agreement with the government, avoiding a strike. A missing Vancouver actor was found dead; police suspect homicide. The last week of May in Vancouver promises 20 bright events: from The Black Keys concert to a shrimp festival.
British Columbia nurses and the provincial government reach tentative agreement
The British Columbia Nurses' Union (BCNU) announced a tentative agreement with the provincial government after several months of tense...
![VANCOUVER, BC., October 25, 2023 - Don Taylor during a ceremony inducting him into the BC Hall Sports Hall of Fame in Vancouver, B.C., on October 25,, 2023.
(NICK PROCAYLO/POSTMEDIA)
10102670A [PNG Merlin Archive]](https://smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital/theprovince/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/0523-col-hall-1.jpg)
Championship Shame and a Seal's Rescue: British Columbia News
In the digest: The B.C. Sports Hall of Fame is closed during the World Cup, drawing journalists' ire; a touching rescue story of a seal pup named "The Survivor"; and the opening of a unique Indigenous-led housing complex in Vancouver with 248 units.
Shame and missed opportunity: B.C. Sports Hall of Fame closed during the World Cup
While the world’s attention is on Vancouver and the city’s streets are filled with soccer fans from every continent, the local B.C. Sports Hall of Fame found itself...
Canadian Digest: Bridges, Tourism and Resources
A roundup of news about a major $200-million seismic upgrade to Vancouver’s Cambie Street Bridge, the revocation of a license from a rogue travel agency in British Columbia, and Prime Minister Carney’s visit to the province to discuss advancing the resource economy amid energy disputes.
Under the shadow of seismic safety: Vancouver bridge to receive $200 million for strengthening
Vancouver, British Columbia, provincial, and federal governments, together with transit agency TransLink, announced...
Canada: Pipeline Dispute as a Test of Unity
Prime Minister of Canada Mark Carney and British Columbia Premier David Eby have begun talks on building a new oil pipeline in exchange for economic and environmental guarantees, seeking a compromise between Alberta’s interests, environmental protection and Indigenous rights.
Carney and Eby meeting: Pipeline as a test of Canada’s unity
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and British Columbia Premier David Eby agreed to begin talks on the province’s economic priorities and Ottawa’s role in...
Neighbourhood Wars and Celebrity Life in British Columbia
A roundup of news from British Columbia: a legal dispute between owners of a luxury mansion over a removed hedge, the Smashing Pumpkins touring Canada, and the home of a How I Met Your Mother star tucked into the wilderness.
Neighbourhood war on the "Golden Mile": owners of a $24M mansion sue over removed hedge
A serious dispute has erupted between neighbours in Vancouver’s prestigious Point Grey neighbourhood that could turn into a multimillion-dollar court case. Israel and Elaine Shafran, who...
Hantavirus in British Columbia: first case and new challenges
A first case of the Andes hantavirus has been confirmed in British Columbia in a passenger from a cruise ship, but authorities say there is no public threat. Against this backdrop, Vancouver is preparing for a busy week of concerts, festivals and sporting events. Meanwhile, Major League Soccer’s Vancouver Whitecaps are threatening to move to Las Vegas, and the B.C. Lions are negotiating their future at BC Place.
First confirmed hantavirus case in British Columbia: no public threat
The province...
USA
Infrastructure Vulnerability: From Europe's Water to US Plants and Politics
The modern world increasingly reveals how fragile the systems we rely on every day are: water, energy, industry, elections, democratic institutions. Stories from different countries and sectors — from Euronews’s environmental project about water in Europe to the tragedy at a paper mill in Washington state and the political conflict over redistricting in South Carolina — at first glance seem unrelated. But viewed more broadly, a common thread emerges: infrastructures that are supposed to provide...
Fragile Minds Under Pressure: How Fear, Fame and "Wellness" Become Threats
Stories from different news sources at first glance seem unrelated: a local WTHR report about daily news and weather, a detailed Fox News piece about a "wellness cult" that Game of Thrones actress Hannah Murray says she joined, and a local crime report from WRAL about a North Carolina man who, under the influence of drugs, believed his house was being broken into and began shooting while children were present. But viewed more broadly, a single theme runs through these texts: the fragility of...
Everyday Emergencies and Our Vulnerability: From Wildfires to Street Violence
What often lands in the "Breaking news" section usually looks like a set of unrelated local stories: here — a brush fire in a rural area, there — a fatal stabbing in a residential neighborhood, somewhere else — a brazen theft from a small restaurant. But when you look at those reports together, as in the notes about the fire near Cheney, Washington on krem.com, the fatal stabbing in Grand Rapids on WZZM13 and the theft at Pig Candy BBQ on WLWT, a more coherent picture emerges. All of these...
Security, Violence, and Political Tension in Today's America
The American information space, even when viewed through these three seemingly unconnected news items, forms a rather grim but coherent picture: a country where anxiety about security has become an everyday backdrop — from the perimeter of the White House to a provincial Walmart in Florida and street‑level politics from New York to Alabama. The main throughline here is the combination of a real rise in violence risk, political polarization and mistrust, which pushes authorities to tighten...
Fragile Security: How Emergency Services Respond to Technical and Violent Threats
The incident with a failing chemical tank in Orange County and the parallel reports of a SWAT team storming a house in a small Pennsylvania town seem like stories from different worlds. In reality they are united by one thing: how modern societies live in a state of constant crisis readiness, where any infrastructure error or isolated violent incident can, within minutes, become a threat to thousands of people and requires complex coordination among emergency services, authorities, and experts....
Global Events as a Mirror of Hopes, Fears and Memory
In three at-first-glance unrelated stories — the America’s Cup regatta in Naples, the attack at a San Diego mosque, and the death of rapper Rob Base — a single common thread emerges: how mass events and the media environment shape society, amplifying both constructive and destructive impulses. It’s about what we create around us: physical spaces (cities, waterfronts, sports arenas), digital spaces (online platforms, social networks), and cultural spaces (music, collective memory). Through...
Violence, natural disasters and the question of risk predictability
Stories from three news items at first glance seem unrelated: a shooting at a hospital in Michigan City, the acquittal of a school administrator in Virginia after a six‑year‑old shot a teacher, and NOAA’s seasonal hurricane forecast. But they all effectively speak about the same thing: how society tries to manage risk — whether human violence or the force of nature — where predictability ends and randomness begins, and what the limits of institutional and individual responsibility are.
The...
How "Breaking News" Works: Power, Tragedy, and the Reporter in an Age of Constant Crisis
In three texts that at first glance seem unrelated — about Donald Trump's unprecedented tax deal with federal authorities in the NBC News piece, about a pedestrian killed by a garbage truck in Keene, New Hampshire, in a report by MyKeeneNow, and about the new breaking‑news reporter at the Raleigh News & Observer in the News & Observer column — a single theme emerges. It’s not just “what happened,” but how the breaking‑news ecosystem is organized: how such stories are formed, how journalists...
Fragile Boundaries: Public Spaces Becoming Arenas of Conflict
Stories about a popular monkey at a Japanese zoo, a cult horror attraction in Springfield, Missouri, and a new turn in the Jeffrey Epstein case in Surrey, England, may at first seem unrelated. But if viewed not as isolated episodes but as symptoms of the same trend, a coherent picture emerges: society is painfully rethinking where the boundaries of acceptable behavior in public spaces lie, who controls them, and how to respond when those boundaries are breached — physically, legally, or...
Reactions
“America Again at the Center of Others’ Debates”: How Brazil, India and Japan Discuss the US...
In Brazil, India and Japan, the United States simultaneously appears as an ally, a source of risk, and the main reference point that countries try to...
How the world views America today: war with Iran, Ukraine and "fatigue with the US" in Europe and the...
By the end of May 2026, discussion of the United States around the world almost automatically boils down to three major storylines. The first is the...
Washington Between Tehran and Jerusalem: Allies Clash Over US War with Iran
Around the United States today a political orbit has once again formed: a US–Israel war with Iran, Donald Trump’s attempts both to finish off Tehran...
How the World Debates America: Europe Cools, China Tallies the Costs of Hegemony, India Weighs a...
Around the United States a dense wave of international reactions is once again gathering — from concern to outright irritation, from pragmatic...
Venezuela, Ukraine and the Gulf: How the World Sees the US's New Power Projection
Throughout the first months of 2026 the United States once again found itself at the center of global debate — but this time not because of trade...
America in the Crosshairs of Three Capitals: How Saudi Arabia, Japan and South Africa View the...
At the end of May 2026, the United States once again found itself at the center of foreign editorial pages — but the picture of how America is seen...
How the World Sees America: war with Iran, Ukraine and fatigue with Trumpism
The image of the United States in spring 2026 outside Washington is being shaped less by domestic debates in Congress than by the rumble of two wars...
The World Watches Washington: How the US Frightens, Attracts, and Forces Adaptation
At the end of May 2026, discussions about the United States in leading media outlets in Japan, Turkey, and Germany are surprisingly consonant, even...
How the World Sees America Today: China, Australia and Israel Facing a New U.S
In recent weeks the United States has once again become the center of global discussion — not as an abstract “superpower,” but as a very active, at...
World
Venezuela's Supreme Court Expanded to 32 Judges
On Monday the Venezuelan government's official gazette published a law reforming the Supreme Court, increasing the number of its judges from 20 to 32. The Constitutional Chamber will now consist of seven magistrates, and each of the other five chambers will have five. National Assembly head Jorge Rodríguez said the expansion is intended to speed up consideration of accumulated cases and combat judicial delays. In connection with this, the Committee on Judicial Appointments has already been...
Trump on the Brink: Concessions to Iran or War's Failure
Thomas Friedman, in a column for the New York Times, poses two key questions about the US war against Iran: how many "bitter cups" will Donald Trump have to drink to end the conflict with minimal gain, and can he call that "repast" a sumptuous dinner? The author is not opposed to temporary concessions if they deprive Iran of about 1,000 kilograms of near-weapons-grade uranium. However, he warns that such a partial success would not be a perfect deal — it would only strengthen the regime and...
Reactions of regional and global actors to US pressure and military moves
Venezuelan analyses link the current American sanctions, air strikes and Trump‑era strategies to a chain reaction in Latin America and beyond: from the strengthening of Cuban resilience under sanctions pressure to new diplomatic alignments around Iran and a rethinking of China’s stance on Cuba and Taiwan. Rather than viewing strikes and sanctions as isolated events, the authors emphasize their role as triggers for forming a new balance of power, in which countries seek ways to reduce dependence...
US aircraft carrier and destroyers spotted off Oman's coast
Satellite images taken on May 24 recorded a US Nimitz-class aircraft carrier and two Arleigh Burke-class destroyers in the northwestern Arabian Sea, near Oman's southern coast. Images from the European Sentinel-2 satellite show the carrier roughly 138 kilometers east of Salalah, with a visible wake at the time of capture. The two destroyers were positioned to the east, forming a compact naval formation along the Omani coast, indicating a continued US naval presence in the strategically...
Venezuela strengthens guarantees of citizens' rights through coordination of authorities
Acting President of Venezuela Delcy Rodríguez held a working meeting with Ombudswoman Égle González, focusing on the development and review of institutional plans to improve the quality of protection of citizens' rights. During the discussion, described as a "valuable exchange," social response mechanisms were clarified, with Rodríguez confirming that all state actions are based on human rights principles. The new strategies are aimed at renewing the operational capacity of the ombudsman's...
Uncertainty Surrounding US–Iran Interim Agreement
The timeline for announcing a temporary agreement between Washington and Tehran remains unclear, despite optimistic statements about an imminent accord. The presumed 60-day truce would include reopening the Strait of Hormuz, allowing Iran to export oil, and opening a negotiation track on the nuclear program. However, US President Donald Trump emphasized on his social network Truth Social that the blockade of Iranian ports and ships in the strait remains fully in place until the agreement is...
U.S. and Iran Talks: 60-Day Truce on the Horizon
American sources report that talks between Washington and Tehran are approaching a final draft of a memorandum of understanding that would provide for a 60-day cessation of hostilities to create conditions for substantive negotiations. However, an official announcement and the details of the agreement have not yet been released. U.S. President Donald Trump, on his Truth Social platform, emphasized that the naval blockade of Iranian ports and ships in the Strait of Hormuz will remain fully in...
WSJ: Trump backs Delcy Rodríguez without demanding elections in Venezuela
An investigation by The Wall Street Journal revealed that Venezuela's acting president Delcy Rodríguez has become a key Washington ally under Donald Trump. According to the paper, she regularly meets with U.S. investors interested in the country's oil sector and receives direct praise from the U.S. president. This alliance provides Rodríguez with the necessary resources, institutional legitimacy, and political time to consolidate power while preserving many elements of the system built under...
U.S. Secretary of State says agreement with Iran possible
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that an agreement with Iran to end the conflict could be reached as early as today, while emphasizing Israel’s right to self-defense. Leaving New Delhi, Rubio noted that news on the matter was expected last night and expressed hope that it would appear today. He confirmed that the U.S. is giving diplomacy every chance to succeed before considering alternative options. According to him, Washington will either reach a good agreement with Tehran or act "in...
Knowledge
The Tower with a Secret Room Where Everyone Was Equal
Imagine you live in a city where the tallest building is only three stories. Then someone suddenly builds a 42-story tower! That’s what happened in Seattle in 1914, when Smith Tower opened. But the most surprising thing wasn’t the exterior — it was at the very top: a hidden magical room, a gift from the Chinese empress, where for the first time in the city’s history everyone — rich and poor, men and women, Americans and newcomers — could sit together and watch the clouds. The tower was meant to...
The Suitcase That Waited 70 Years: What’s Hidden in the Old Walls of Japantown
Imagine one morning you are told: you have a week to pack one suitcase and leave your home. You don’t know when you’ll return. Maybe in a month, maybe never. What will you take with you? That’s what happened to thousands of families in Seattle in the spring of 1942 — and that story still lives in the walls of one special neighborhood in the city.
In Seattle’s old Japantown, now called the International District, there are buildings that remember that spring morning. They remember families...
Brewers Who Broke the Main Rule of Business and Taught a City to Cooperate
In Seattle in the 1980s something strange and wonderful happened. People who opened small breweries did what seemed crazy: they began sharing their secret recipes with competitors. Imagine you invented the world’s best cookie recipe and then told every girl in class who also bakes cookies and sells them at the school fair. Sounds foolish? Many adults would think so. But Seattle’s brewers decided to try it — and a kind of magic happened that changed not only their city, but how people think...
Families Who Turned Poison into Medicine: The Story of the Gas Works Workers
Imagine your parents working at a plant whose smokestacks belch black smoke, and you playing near huge rusty machines, not knowing the ground beneath your feet is poisoned. Now imagine that years later you and your friends decide to turn that dangerous place into a park where other children can play. This is the true story of immigrant families who built—and then saved—one of Seattle’s most unusual places: Gas Works Park.
A plant that fed families and poisoned the soil
In the early 1900s a...
The City Built Twice: Fountain Toilets and Unfair Stairs
Imagine living in a city where a toilet can suddenly turn into a fountain. Not a magical fountain from a story, but a very real one — dirty, smelly, and unpleasant. That’s how people in Seattle lived in the late 1800s. And this strange problem led to the city being rebuilt... twice. One on top of the other. Like a layered cake of streets, shops, and sidewalks.
This is the story of how an attempt to solve one problem created many others, and how sometimes adults make decisions without...
The Building Saved by Paintbrushes: How Georgetown Residents Beat the Bulldozers
Imagine a huge old building where airplanes were once built. It has stood empty for years, paint peeling, windows broken. City officials say, "This building is ugly and useless, let’s demolish it!" And neighborhood residents reply, "Wait! Give us just one month." Then something incredible happens — hundreds of people show up with brushes and paint and turn dull gray walls into a giant art gallery. This is the true story of how ordinary people in Seattle’s Georgetown came up with an unusual way...
Gardens That Taught Neighbors to Be Friends Again: How Children Turned Vacant Lots into City...
Once in Seattle there were whole blocks where people were afraid to speak to one another. But a few brave children decided the best way to make friends was to grow something beautiful together. This is the story of how ordinary gardens changed whole neighborhoods and turned places full of sadness and mistrust into true treasures now loved by all residents.
When Homes Stopped Being Homes
In 1942 something very unfair happened. The government forced all Japanese Americans living on the West Coast...
The Girl Who Chose Peace Over War: A Story Seattle Almost Forgot
Imagine having to make the hardest choice of your life: to warn people of danger, even if it means going against your own family. That was the choice a girl about your age faced in 1856, when Seattle was a tiny settlement surrounded by forests where Indigenous peoples lived. Her name was Klickitat Suzie, and her story shows that sometimes the most important decisions in history are made not by generals or politicians, but by ordinary children who simply don't want people to suffer.
Two worlds...
A Park That Learned to Listen: How One Big Dispute Taught a City
In downtown Seattle there's a park that looks like an ordinary city square — with benches, fountains, and trees. But if you look more closely, you can notice something unusual: this park has no permanent fences, the benches can be moved, and in one corner there's a special stage that anyone can climb onto to say what they think. This park is called Westlake, and it has an amazing story about how cities learn from their mistakes.
It all began in 1999, when thousands of people came to Seattle...