Planet Seattle

Vancouver and all of British Columbia are voting in municipal elections amid record early turnout. The mayoral race is “neck and neck,” with plebiscites on drug policy and involuntary treatment also on the ballot, while CBC examines key campaigns in nine Metro Vancouver cities—from a changing of the guard in Richmond to controversies in Surrey and Delta. Meanwhile, Air Canada is filming an advertisement for its new Airbus A321XLR over the Lower Mainland, promising to expand its long-haul...

Canada news digest: short-track speed skating returns to the arena of its 2010 Olympic triumph, Vancouver heads toward a municipal election with a fractured protest vote, and British Columbia debates secret ballots in union certification. Canadian Speed Skaters Return to the Arena of Their 2010 Olympic Triumph Short-track speed skating in Canada is more than just a sport; it is part of the national identity, built on dramatic finals, milestone medals and tactical schemes with memorable names....

Vancouver is preparing for record voter turnout, Canada is building its largest icebreaker, and the weekend promises festivals and concerts. Vancouver Votes: Record Early Turnout Signals a Tense Finish Residents of Vancouver, Canada, are preparing to bring the 2026 election campaign to a close. After early voting broke all records, residents will have one final chance to make their choice this Saturday, October 17. City officials are reporting an unprecedented surge in civic engagement:...

Digest: Bruno Mars will voice a SkyTrain station in Vancouver, the election campaign in British Columbia is gaining momentum, and AGAT Laboratories is opening a laboratory in Vancouver. Bruno Mars Will Speak in the Vancouver Subway: The Star’s Voice to Be Heard at a SkyTrain Station Vancouver’s transit authority, TransLink, has decided to turn the wait for a concert into a show of its own before fans even step inside the stadium. The voice of global pop star Bruno Mars will play over the...

A new poll found that 72% of Vancouver voters believe the mayor and city council are out of touch, while the cost of living is their top concern. Meanwhile, Washington state officials have advanced planning for a high-speed rail link between Portland and Vancouver that could bypass the American namesake city. Business in Vancouver magazine has also announced the winners of its 2026 Forty Under 40 awards, recognizing young leaders from across the region. Vancouver Poll: 72% of Voters Say Mayor...

The main stories of the day: the Bisons lost to UBC in Vancouver, Bruno Mars announced five concerts at BC Place, and fourteen new restaurants are preparing to open across the city. Bisons return from Vancouver with one point after losing the second game of the series Last Sunday, the University of Manitoba hockey team could not complete a successful weekend start, losing 3–0 to the UBC Thunderbirds in a Canada West men’s hockey conference game at Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre in...

In British Columbia, a storm left tens of thousands of homes without power, cave rescuers shared their expertise with colleagues on Vancouver Island, and early voting set records—although the rise in turnout is raising questions. Storm Winds Hit Southwestern B.C., Leaving Tens of Thousands Without Power Early Saturday evening, residents of British Columbia’s Lower Mainland felt that autumn had arrived not according to the calendar, but in powerful northwest wind gusts. The storm that hit the...

A review of Canadian reports: a humanitarian catastrophe in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside amid the fentanyl crisis, a free “Orca Man” guide to watching whales from shore, and the pre-holiday collapse at BC Ferries over Thanksgiving. The Vancouver We Prefer Not to See: A Report from the Downtown Eastside, Where Hope Has Died This National Post report is not just another story about urban problems, but a grim, almost literary immersion into one of North America’s most terrifying neighborhoods....

Vancouver: a killer whale calf dies near the island, a gas leak sends six people to hospital, and a costumed witch paddle takes place in the bay. Orca Calf Dies off Vancouver Island, Another Blow to an Endangered Population A tragic incident off the coast of British Columbia has once again drawn researchers’ attention to one of the most vulnerable populations of marine mammals on the planet. On Saturday, a female southern resident killer whale named J31 was spotted in the Strait of Juan de Fuca...

The materials presented show how the Russian-Ukrainian war is increasingly extending beyond the immediate combat zone. Ukraine is striking energy facilities deep inside Russia and disrupting the operations of the country’s largest airports, while Russian pressure on Ukrainian infrastructure and civilians, according to Volodymyr Zelenskyy, is pushing more people to emigrate. Together, these developments form an interconnected picture: Kyiv is seeking to raise the economic and political cost of...

The Houthis’ latest strikes on Aden, Saudi Arabia, airports, and oil infrastructure show that the war in Yemen is no longer solely an internal conflict. The Ansar Allah movement has significantly expanded its military capabilities and can now simultaneously pressure Yemen’s internationally recognized government, threaten Saudi cities, and create risks for shipping in the Red Sea. At the same time, Iran is believed by a number of experts to be helping the Houthis with technology, intelligence,...

Pre-election debates in Alaska and Maine showed that the U.S. midterms are becoming not only a contest between platforms, but also a struggle over the candidates’ personal reputations. In both states, contenders sought to portray their opponents either as unreliable politicians or as people tied to corruption, major donors and unacceptable conduct. At the same time, the main national factor remains President Donald Trump and his war with Iran: Republican senators must simultaneously support the...

Three articles point to the same broad trend: Apple is seeking to transform the iPhone from a mass-market smartphone into the centerpiece of an expensive technology ecosystem. The company is strengthening its core lineup through the performance, cameras, and battery life of the iPhone 18 Pro Max, while also entering the foldable market with the iPhone Duo. At the same time, however, the cost of ownership, repair expenses, and user dependence on Apple’s services and accessories are all...

Three publications describe the same turning point: relations between Kyiv and Washington have entered their most dangerous phase since the beginning of the full-scale war. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky refused to continue the unilateral “energy truce” because, according to Kyiv, Russia continued attacking Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. At the same time, Ukraine faced shortages of Patriot interceptor missiles, disruptions to the military version of Starlink, and the possible...

Three articles point to one broader trend: in the United States, the cost of uncertainty is rising simultaneously in the economy, the technology sector and politics. Investors are moving from risky assets into bonds as inflation accelerates, the crisis surrounding CoreWeave is casting doubt on the sustainability of the artificial intelligence model, and James Talarico’s record fundraising shows that political competition is increasingly becoming a contest for financial resources. In each case,...

The materials provided are linked not by the topic of financial markets, but by a more fundamental question: how incomplete vaccination, a lack of reliable data, and delayed government responses turn isolated cases of an infectious disease into a broader threat to society. Articles from New York and Kentucky show different stages of the same process: official statistics may lag behind the actual spread of measles, the disease can spread rapidly within large or closely connected families, and...

All three pieces point to the same broader trend: the Russia-Ukraine war is increasingly shifting from the direct destruction of military targets toward attacks on infrastructure, communications, and information support. Missile strikes on energy facilities and data centers, possible restrictions on U.S. intelligence support, and disruptions to Starlink are coming together into a single picture—Ukraine’s resilience depends not only on arms deliveries, but also on the uninterrupted operation of...

Saudi Arabia faces a paradox: the country possesses one of the world’s most expensive and technologically advanced military arsenals, yet it cannot reliably protect its cities, airports, and oil infrastructure from attacks by a significantly weaker opponent. The latest escalation around Yemen shows that the conflict increasingly resembles something other than a conventional war between a state and an insurgent movement. It has become a war of attrition, in which cheap drones and missiles allow...

Today’s review examines a small number of revealing reactions to events in the United States and their consequences beyond the country’s borders: from domestic political disputes surrounding Donald Trump and American farmers’ concerns over his administration’s policies to uncertainty on Wall Street linked to investment in artificial intelligence. Particular attention is paid to the strategic influence of the United States through Starlink and its role in the conflict in Ukraine. The material is...

At dawn on February 16, 2026, an Israeli patrol stormed the home of the family of two brothers—Ali (born in 2007) and Hamza (born in 2006)—in the village of Ghadir al-Bustan in the Quneitra countryside. The boys’ mother, who lost her husband about 10 years ago, said a police dog lunged at her and dragged her more than two meters, then attacked one of her sons and dragged him more than four meters; soldiers tied the other brother’s hands and brutally beat him. For about three months, the woman...

The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has issued General License 60, temporarily easing restrictions on financial operations related to relief efforts following recent earthquakes in Venezuela. The document authorizes the direct transfer of international funds into and out of the country if they are intended for medical, food and logistical assistance, as well as the restoration of civilian infrastructure in affected areas. The authorization applies to...

Several international publications connected to the United States show how decisions by Washington, private technology companies and migration authorities may be perceived in Venezuela through the lens of dependence, sanctions, security and the fate of the diaspora. However, none of the materials contains direct comments from Venezuelan authorities, experts or civil society organizations; rather, they point to a possible context relevant to a Venezuelan audience. One article, published under a...

Syrian authorities announced on Thursday the arrest of Ali Kayali, known by the nickname Miraj Ural, who is considered the principal suspect in the mass killings in Baniyas. His detention is the latest in a series of high-profile arrests of prominent members of Bashar al-Assad’s ousted regime suspected of crimes and abuses against the Syrian people. The move is being described as an important milestone for transitional justice: some of those involved have already gone on trial, while...

Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores pleaded not guilty on October 15 before Judge Alvin Hellerstein in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York after U.S. prosecutors brought new charges. Investigators allege that they were involved in a conspiracy to commit torture; both defendants categorically rejected the claims set out in the indictment, calling them unreliable. At the joint request of the defense and prosecution, the court postponed the next stages of the proceedings: on...

In a new article for The New Yorker, American journalist Ben Taub, a 2020 Pulitzer Prize winner, recalls how, at the age of 22, he spent several months in Kilis, Turkey, on the Syrian border. In 2013, he went there to understand how reporters worked in war zones. Years later, Taub rereads his first experience of approaching the Syrian conflict and discovers that the hero celebrated by the Western press may have been little more than a myth he created himself. Taub took a leave of absence from...

Venezuela’s agenda in recent years has taken shape at the intersection of sanctions pressure, disputes over the legitimacy of the government, the oil question, and Caracas’s relations with Washington. Against this backdrop, several reports—on Donald Trump’s belligerent rhetoric toward Iran, the cancellation of a live broadcast of a military execution in the United States, and scenarios involving foreign intervention in Venezuela—come together as part of a broader story about power, punishment,...

The Military Criminal Court in Aleppo announced verdicts on Thursday during the second hearing in a case concerning violations in areas of Syria’s coastal region. Ten defendants appeared before the court: three former military personnel and officers of the ousted regime, and seven employees of the Ministry of Defense. The hearing is part of ongoing proceedings into events on the coast, involving both serious crimes and lesser charges. The harshest sentences were handed down to two...

In the center of Seattle stands a huge glass building resembling a sparkling crystal that someone has slightly twisted. This is the Central Library, and it is arranged very differently from the libraries we are used to. Its most remarkable feature is the “Book Spiral”: a long, gently sloping path that lets visitors move upward without using stairs, with bookshelves running alongside it. Let’s find out why adults came up with this idea and what clever technologies are hidden inside. The Problem...

Imagine a long thread strung with colorful beads. Now imagine that the thread is a streetcar line, and the beads are entire city neighborhoods. That is roughly how Seattle grew more than a century ago: first the rails were laid, and then homes, stores, and parks appeared along them. And when the rails were removed, the “beads” remained—but living in them became completely different. How Streetcars Came to Seattle At first, streetcars in Seattle were pulled by horses. This was slow, and it was...

Imagine a lake in the middle of a big city. A small plane flies over the water, lands on the waves like a duck, and taxis toward the dock. Nearby, on the shore, stand enormous glass spheres, with real tropical jungles rustling inside them. It sounds like a fairy tale, but it’s true: this is what Seattle’s South Lake Union neighborhood looks like. Let’s find out how planes from a century ago, a streetcar, and the most advanced technology all came together here. When There Were Neither Towers nor...

Imagine that clutter had been piling up in your room for years. Some of it was hidden under the bed, some stuffed into a closet, and then everyone argued over who should clean it up. Something similar happened to Seattle’s Duwamish River. Factories operated along its banks for many years, while pollution settled on the riverbed. Removing it required a great deal of money and patience. This is the story of how adults argued—and how people from nearby homes refused to let anyone forget about the...

Imagine a huge concrete roadway hanging over a major city’s waterfront for many years—and then being removed, with a spacious place for people to walk taking its place. That is exactly what happened in Seattle. A giant machine named “Bertha” helped make it possible, but the real heroes were ordinary residents who spoke up and attended public meetings. The Road Overhead In the 1950s, Seattle built a double-decker viaduct along the shore of the bay—the Alaskan Way Viaduct. Cars sped along it,...

Imagine a large lake beside a city. In summer, people swim in it and boats travel across it. Then suddenly the water becomes cloudy, greenish, and foul-smelling. That is what happened in Seattle about seventy years ago. Lake Washington had “fallen ill,” and it was helped back to health by people who decided to listen to a scientist—and by tiny creatures that are almost invisible to the naked eye. This story is also connected to salmon and to concerns we still face today. The Lake That “Fell...

Imagine loving a band from your hometown but being barred from its concert because the venue sells “adults-only” drinks. In Seattle, this was the reality for children and teenagers for many years. But the city also became a place where people figured out how to build venues open to everyone—and how to keep the music inside from disturbing the neighbors. It took new laws and a little engineering ingenuity. What Remained After Grunge Lost Its Fame In the early 1990s, Seattle became the world’s...

Seattle was built on water, and salmon still live in its streams. But bringing the fish back to the city was no easy walk in the park—it was a genuine investigation. It involved a vanished river, people who were ignored for decades, and an unexpected “culprit”: ordinary car tires. The River That Disappeared in a Single Year More than a century ago, water from Lake Washington flowed into the Duwamish River through a winding channel called the Black River. Duwamish people lived along its banks,...

Imagine a huge upside-down concrete bowl, so large that people could play American football and baseball inside it. That was Seattle’s Kingdome. Then Washington state residents voted to keep their beloved team at home—and the old dome disappeared in a matter of seconds. A Dome Not Named After a King The word “Kingdome” sounds like “royal dome,” but the stadium was actually named after King County, where Seattle is located. It was built in 1976. Residents had approved funding for it back in 1968...