SEATTLE Zillow to Pay Investors $212.5 Million in Settlement
Nearly five years after the collapse of Zillow Offers, its ambitious home-buying service, Seattle-based Zillow Group has agreed to pay $212.5 million to settle a class-action lawsuit brought by investors. Shareholders alleged that the company and several executives painted an overly rosy picture of the division’s performance, even as its home valuation models and purchasing system were already leading to costly mistakes. Zillow admitted no wrongdoing; the settlement still requires approval by a...
Open article
USA Nintendo Switch 2: New Games, Re-Releases, and Emulation
Across three stories, Nintendo Switch 2 emerges in several roles at once: a platform for reviving classics, a home for indie games, and the subject...
NEIGHBORS British Columbia Stops Changing Its Clocks, and Other Canada News
This roundup covers British Columbia’s decision to stop changing its clocks and the technical challenges that come with it, a CFL semifinal in...
SEATTLE Nippon Dynawave fined over dangerous hot-pulp spill
Washington state authorities have fined the Nippon Dynawave Packaging paper mill in Longview $77,800 after a worker trying to shut off a valve that...
EVENTS Halloween in Seattle: Events, October 31–November 7, 2026
Seattle closes out October in style, with costume parties, spooky theater, concerts, ghost tours and family celebrations at the zoo and parks....
USA Early Voting Surges as Control of Elections Becomes a Point of Dispute
In the days before the U.S. midterm elections, two trends intensified at once: early voting reached record levels by the standards of recent midterm...
REACTIONS America as a source of risk: France, China and Saudi Arabia read Washington through war, elections...
In recent days, the United States has been discussed in France, China and Saudi Arabia less as the familiar global leader than as a country whose...
SEATTLE Questions remain after experienced pilot’s death near Paine Field
Minutes before the fatal takeoff from Paine Field Airport on October 1, the pilot of a small Glasair aircraft was inspecting and working on its...
WEATHER 🌤️ 10-Day Weather Forecast for Seattle, WA
Today, Saturday, October 31, Seattle can expect a mix of clouds and sun, with a high of around 54°F and an overnight low near 41°F. This morning, the...
WORLD Venezuela Creates 244 Crews to Fix Public Utility Outages
The Venezuelan government has launched the “Renace Team” program, with 244 crews set to work across the country repairing problems in public utility...
Seattle
Three Lives in the Sky Over the Yamhill Valley
On Thursday, October 29, two helicopters that had taken off from the area around the city’s municipal airport collided over farmland southeast of...
Injuries, Business Concerns and Predictions for the Seahawks Game
Ahead of the Seattle Seahawks–Chicago Bears game, the team received mixed news: Price returned to full practice, while Charbonnet’s status is...
National Guard Monitors Ballot Drop Boxes in Seven Washington Counties
About 100 National Guard members are helping monitor ballot drop boxes in seven Washington counties. Gov. Bob Ferguson offered the assistance amid...
Millions in Outside Money Raise the Stakes in Washington’s 3rd District
In the days leading up to the November 3 election, the race for Washington state’s 3rd Congressional District has become one of the most expensive...
Initiative I-638 puts Washington school sports on the political track
Washington state is voting on Initiative I-638, which would bar students classified as male at birth from competing in school events designated for...
Court revives dispute over the limits of tenant protections in Seattle
On October 26, the Washington State Court of Appeals reinstated a lawsuit brought by GRE Downtowner LLC, a subsidiary of Goodman Real Estate and...
Washington Refuses to Set Aside Ballots on DOJ List
Days before the November 3 general election, a dispute over several hundred names became a dispute over who has the right to decide the fate of a...
Seattle: Mariners’ Roster Moves, MLS Reform and a Village for the Homeless
The Mariners exercised Andrés Muñoz’s option, declining those for Bryce Miller and Víctor Robles; MLS announced a 14-match Sprint Season in 2027...
Permanent Daylight Saving Time Would Leave Washington Students Without Morning Light
Switching Washington state to permanent daylight saving time—a change possible only if federal law is amended—would add nearly 35 million school...
Events
Seattle Events: November 21–28
Plan ahead: November 21–28, Seattle and nearby cities will host concerts, theatrical performances, hockey games, and holiday events. The lineup includes performances by Polyrhythmics, Jai Wolf, Gwar, and Steve Lacy; The Nutcracker ballet; The Wizard of Oz musical; a Christmas market; and a tree-lighting ceremony. You can also catch a comedy show, visit the Wild Lanterns light festival, or go ice skating. Details and tickets are available at the event links: November 21, November 22, November...
Neighbors
Courts, Politics and Sustainable Infrastructure in Canada
The Supreme Court of Canada overturned the acquittal of a driver who struck and killed a child in Vancouver, and ordered a new trial. Jennifer Whiteside became interim leader of the B.C. NDP after its defeat by the Conservatives. The Holdom Overpass in Burnaby received Envision’s Platinum certification for sustainability.
Supreme Court of Canada overturns acquittal of driver who killed child in Vancouver
The story began in July 2021 at one of downtown Vancouver’s busiest intersections and...
New Fire Chief, City Hall Shake-Up and Tragedy Near the Airport
Vancouver is preparing for changes in city leadership: Robert Weeks will head the fire department, while mayor-elect Pete Fry is assembling a transition team and appointing a deputy mayor. Meanwhile, a woman was fatally struck by a cement truck near the airport, renewing questions about pedestrian safety.
Robert Weeks to lead Vancouver Fire Rescue Services, bringing experience and continuity
The City of Vancouver has announced the appointment of a new fire chief. Robert Weeks will officially...
Greater Vancouver and British Columbia News Digest
In this edition: a scandal at a Vancouver school, where a teacher crossed professional boundaries with a seventh-grade student and was suspended; a cooling housing market in British Columbia, where sales are falling, prices are sliding and construction is rising amid economic uncertainty that could last until 2027; and a roundup of family-friendly Halloween events across Greater Vancouver from immigrant services organization ISSofBC, with six ideas ranging from a “pumpkin train” and a glowing...
DRIPA dispute, deadly road crashes and whales at risk
A political conflict is heating up in British Columbia over the repeal of DRIPA, the law on Indigenous rights. Meanwhile, two pedestrian collisions have occurred in Vancouver within days of each other, one of them fatal, and a humpback whale has collided with a BC Ferries vessel in Howe Sound.
British Columbia changes course: what lies behind the promise to repeal DRIPA
British Columbia’s incoming Conservative government is reaffirming its intention to repeal the Declaration on the Rights of...
Asian retailers, Greens in politics and rock ’n’ roll bat rescue
News roundup: Uniqlo will open in downtown Vancouver in the former Nordstrom space, the B.C. Greens held on to two seats in the legislature, and Vancouver rock bands raised money to protect bats.
Uniqlo heads to downtown Vancouver: Japanese retailer to take Nordstrom’s place at Pacific Centre
The opening of the first Uniqlo store in downtown Vancouver is more than just another expansion by the chain. It signals tectonic shifts in Canada’s urban retail landscape, where Asian brands are moving in...
Conservative landslide in British Columbia
The British Columbia election ended in a crushing victory for Lorne Doerkson’s Conservative Party, which is forming a provincial government for the first time since 1928. The Conservatives won 48.1% of the vote and 64 seats, taking 15 Metro Vancouver ridings from the NDP. David Eby held on to Vancouver-Point Grey but resigned as NDP leader, accepting full responsibility for the failure of the snap election. Bowinn Ma was re-elected in North Vancouver, but her party is heading into...
British Columbia: Resorts, Elections and Political Shifts
British Columbia has drawn attention on several fronts at once: the province’s resorts dominated a prestigious Condé Nast Traveller ranking, with eleven of Canada’s top fifteen located there, while a tense campaign is underway ahead of the snap election on October 24. Voters will have to navigate 93 electoral districts, and five on Vancouver Island could change political colors. The NDP’s traditional stronghold may swing to the Conservatives, making the coming vote especially...
British Columbia: Quality-of-Life Grades, a Young Philanthropist and a Church Split
Residents of key regions in British Columbia gave their communities an average C+ for quality of life: nature and parks scored highly, while housing policy received the lowest marks. Sixteen-year-old musician Richard Lee raised more than $22,000 for BC Children’s Hospital, and Vancouver’s First Christian Reformed Church is marking its centennial as it stands on the brink of leaving its denomination.
British Columbia gives its cities a C+: housing falls short, parks save the day
Residents of...
British Columbia: Prices, AI and a Rabid Skunk
A poll found that eight in 10 British Columbians have cut spending because of rising prices, with young people and low-income families hit hardest and groceries accounting for the largest share of cutbacks. Meanwhile, businesses in the province are rethinking what they expect from employees: AI agents are taking on routine tasks, and companies increasingly value “generalists” who can set goals and make decisions. In another alarming incident, a rabid skunk in downtown Vancouver bit several...
USA
Foldable Phones and the AI Boom: Two Stories About the Cost of Tech Leadership
The stories cover different markets, but they share one question: how much are companies and consumers willing to pay for a technological edge? Samsung touts its longstanding leadership in foldable phones while releasing an especially expensive model for China. In artificial intelligence, by contrast, investors are demanding ever stronger evidence that record investments in infrastructure will pay off. Together, these stories show how technological promises become marketing arguments and...
Epidemic Risks: From Exposure at a Store to Outbreaks on Farms
Three articles describe different threats: possible measles exposure at a store in Pennsylvania, the spread of bird flu among dairy herds in Washington state, and a drop in technology stocks amid rising AI spending. They share a broader question: how to respond to a risk that grows faster than society can assess its consequences. The first two cases concern the spread of infectious diseases; the third involves financial losses and investor confidence. But the events cannot be directly compared:...
![US Vice President JD Vance speaks at a midterm campaign rally, in Kinston, North Carolina, US, on October 28 [Tierney L Cross/The New York Times via AP Photo]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/ap_6ae31d0791a4b-1793268999.jpg?resize=770%2C513&quality=80)
The Middle East Between Negotiations and a New Military Escalation
Two of the three articles describe the same dangerous moment: the United States and Iran are signaling that they are open to negotiations while preparing for a possible resumption of hostilities. US Vice President JD Vance’s letter and the visit to Tehran by representatives of Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey show that diplomatic channels remain open. But they have yet to resolve the key disagreements or remove the threat of a new strike. The third article, about the dwarf planet candidate...
Two Agendas, One Race: How U.S. Elections and Digital Platforms Are Changing
Ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, the political landscape in the United States looks both favorable to Democrats and uncertain. Their advantage in the race for the House of Representatives is bolstered by dissatisfaction with the Donald Trump administration and concerns about the cost of living, but the Senate map gives Republicans a chance to hold on. Meanwhile, the information environment is also changing: Samsung is shutting down its own news feed, which failed to compete with Google...
The AI Boom Has Become a New Test for the Federal Reserve
The Federal Reserve faces a difficult combination of risks: the investment boom surrounding artificial intelligence is supporting economic growth and markets, while also intensifying inflationary pressures and resource shortages. Market participants are divided over whether high interest rates can cool the boom. Fed Chair Kevin Warsh believes borrowing costs affect AI investment, while those taking a more radical view argue that the technology’s enormous potential returns could weaken the usual...
Amazon Is Turning Alexa From an Assistant Into an Interface for the Whole Home
Amazon’s latest announcements point to a common strategy: Alexa is becoming not just a voice assistant, but a hub for everyday digital services and home controls. The company is bringing the assistant to a photo frame, moving its tablets to a more familiar version of Android, and introducing a 3D map of the smart home. In all three cases, the goal is the same: to make Amazon’s technology more accessible and intuitive, so people can interact with it in familiar ways—by voice, touch, or through a...
Dispute Over Noncitizen Voting in the US: Scrutiny or Political Pressure?
The Donald Trump administration is seeking to have Washington state set aside more than 400 ballots cast by voters whom federal officials consider potentially ineligible to vote. The move echoes a similar request to California and puts a broader dispute in the spotlight: how to identify possible violations of election rules without jeopardizing citizens’ right to vote and trust in elections.
According to The Washington Post, the US Department of Justice asked Washington state officials to set...
![Kenya Red Cross personnel simulate the evacuation of remains of an Ebola victim in the Kenyan capital Nairobi on October 22, 2026 [Tony Karumba/AFP]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/AFP__20261022__D44P2M7__v1__HighRes__KenyaEbolaRedCross-1793097038.jpg?resize=770%2C513&quality=80)
Local Catastrophe, Global Preparedness: Lessons from the Ebola Outbreak
The Ebola outbreak that began in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has become the largest and deadliest in the country’s history. The virus is spreading faster than health officials can trace chains of transmission, while staff shortages, mistrust and dangerous working conditions are hampering efforts to contain it where it began. At the same time, lessons from previous outbreaks are helping hospitals outside Africa prepare for a possible imported case—even though experts consider the risk...
Diplomacy Amid Threats: The Region Tries to Prevent a New War
Three reports show how military escalation, economic pressure and efforts by regional countries to contain the crisis are unfolding at the same time amid the US-Iran confrontation. Talks in Tehran between Iran, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey do not yet signal a breakthrough: the parties remain divided on key issues, and the threat of further strikes persists. Against this backdrop, high oil and gasoline prices are not a secondary consequence of the war but part of Washington’s political...
Reactions
Estonia Rejects Reports That US Asked It to Soften Its Rhetoric on Russia
Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna denied Reuters reports that the Pentagon had allegedly asked some NATO members to soften their public...
America as a source of risk: why Pretoria, Riyadh and Kyiv increasingly want more than Washington’s...
In recent days, the United States has become the subject of three very different, yet strikingly similar, national debates. In South Africa, people...
America Is No Longer Taken for Granted: Brazil, India and Japan Prepare for Washington as a Source...
In the days before the U.S. midterm elections on November 3, 2026, discussions in Brazil, India and Japan are focused less on the outcome of...
A World Bracing for Unpredictable U.S. Decisions
Today’s roundup looks at concerns over Washington’s course under Trump. In France, commentators are discussing divisions within the United States,...
America as a Source of Conditions, Not Rules: Views from Brazil, South Africa and China
As of late October 2026, the image of the United States in Brazil, South Africa and China is shaped not by a single headline-grabbing event, but by a...
America Before the Vote: Turkey, Saudi Arabia and India Read Washington Through Iran, Oil...
In the days before the U.S. midterm elections, scheduled for November 3, 2026, attention in Turkey, Saudi Arabia and India is focused less on the...
Political Upheaval in the United States and Its Consequences
Events in the United States have repercussions far beyond domestic politics. In Brazil, Lula’s victory is linked to the defeat of Trump and the...
America as a Source of Uncertainty: Why Seoul, Pretoria and Kyiv Are Watching the U.S
In the final days of October 2026, the United States has become more than a foreign partner for South Korea, South Africa and Ukraine: it is a...
America as a Source of Uncertainty: What India, Japan and France Expect from Elections, Tariffs and a...
A week before the US midterm elections, scheduled for November 3, 2026, discussions in India, Japan and France are focusing less on American domestic...
World
US Sentences Syrian Hacker to 42 Months in Prison
The U.S. Department of Justice said a federal court in the Eastern District of Virginia sentenced 32-year-old Syrian national Ahmed Omar Agha to 42 months in prison. He was convicted of taking part in cyberattacks on American and allied media outlets, companies, organizations and governments that prosecutors said were carried out on behalf of the regime of ousted President Bashar al-Assad.
According to the department, Agha, known by the handle TH3 Pro, took part in attacks on around 47...
Venezuela and the United States: Oil Deals, Sanctions and Power Struggles
The return of María Corina Machado after ten months in exile, the appointment of a new foreign minister, and a scandal over the largest oil deal with Washington: three events that, over two days (October 28–30, 2026), set the tone for Venezuela’s debate about America. The dispute is not about whether to support the United States — in Caracas, that is now barely questioned — but about the price of that support: who gets the oil, who gets the elections, and who pays for the silence.
Machado...
Damascus Demands Answers: Joint Investigation into the Strike on Daraa
Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani announced that a joint investigative committee had begun work in Damascus to determine the circumstances of the Jordanian air force strike on Daraa province. He said Damascus had received no prior notification or request to coordinate, and that Syria insists on fully protecting the rights of those killed and injured, as well as respecting its sovereignty.
Al-Shaibani said the committee was set up after Jordanian and Syrian intelligence officials and...
Venezuela Plans to Complete Supreme Court Overhaul in December
Dinorah Figuera, a representative of Venezuela’s 2015 National Assembly, published a timetable for renewing the country’s Supreme Court (TSJ). The selection process for new judges, which organizers say is intended to strengthen judicial independence and civil and political safeguards, is taking place as part of political negotiations to restore the functioning of state institutions.
Applications will be accepted from October 28 to November 11. From November 5 to 11, a commission will review...
Floods in eastern Syria claim five lives, including four children
Syria’s Ministry of Emergency and Disaster Management said Thursday evening that the death toll from flash floods and flooding in the countryside around Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor had risen to five, four of them children. The tragedy followed heavy rains that battered the country’s eastern provinces. According to the ministry, one child drowned in a body of water in the village of Hanida, west of Raqqa; two children drowned in a pond in the village of Abu Hayya in the Ain Issa area, north of Raqqa;...
Venezuela and the United States: Deals, Pressure and Sovereignty Disputes
For the past two days, attention in Venezuela has focused on a knot of contradictions: the country whose president, Nicolás Maduro, was flown out by U.S. special forces in January 2026 is now governed by Delcy Rodríguez’s interim government, receiving oil concessions from Washington—and at the same time hearing Donald Trump say it should become the United States’ “51st state.” The return of opposition leader María Corina Machado after ten months in exile has sharpened the central domestic...
Damascus Hands Jordanian Ambassador Protest Note Over Strikes in Daraa
Syria’s Foreign Ministry summoned Jordanian Ambassador Sufyan al-Qudah and handed him a protest note over Jordanian airstrikes on civilian sites in Daraa province in the country’s south. The Syrian news agency SANA reported the move on Wednesday. According to the Foreign Ministry, civilians, including children, were killed in the strikes, and several others were injured.
Jordan says its aircraft struck Islamic State militant positions in the countryside of Daraa on Monday. Syrian authorities...
Maduro Case in New York Reassigned to New Judge
The criminal case against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has officially been reassigned to Judge Analisa Torres following the death of 92-year-old Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein. The reassignment was recorded in documents from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Hellerstein had overseen the case since March 2020 and handled subsequent filings after Maduro was brought to the United States in January 2026. Torres, who was born in New York and is of Puerto Rican...
Iraq’s Prime Minister Donates $10 Million to Damascus Mosque and Mausoleum
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi has donated $10 million from his personal funds to the Umayyad Mosque and the mausoleum of Sayyida Zaynab in Damascus—$5 million for each site. According to the prime minister’s press office, the decision was announced after he visited both shrines with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani. Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa met him at Damascus airport. This is al-Zaidi’s first official visit to Syria since he took office in mid-May.
The visit follows...
Knowledge
A City of Scrap Wood and Tin: How Seattle Residents Built Homes from What They Found
Imagine you had to build a home but had no money at all. All you had were boards found along the shore, rusty sheets of metal, and a couple of old barrels. Could you make anything out of that? More than ninety years ago, in the American city of Seattle, hundreds of people faced this challenge in real life, not in a game. That’s how Hooverville came to be—a remarkable settlement that was considered a real city, even without a mayor or brick walls.
When the Jobs Disappeared
In 1929, the Great...
Glazed Chicken and Cabbage: How a Small Seattle Kitchen Became a City Tradition
Picture an ordinary rainy evening in Seattle. A mother walks by with a bag, schoolchildren hurry past with backpacks, and the window of a small café glows on the corner. Inside, pieces of chicken sizzle on a hot griddle, and the whole street smells of sweet sauce. It’s a teriyaki café—and in Seattle, these places seem to be on almost every block. The story began with one small kitchen and one person who came up with a simple dish.
What Is “Teriyaki,” and Who First Made the Seattle Version?
The...
The Hill Was Washed Away: How Seattle Sent a Mountain into the Sea
Imagine a big hill right in the middle of a city. Now imagine that adults decided to get rid of it not with shovels or explosives, but with... water! That’s what happened in Seattle more than a hundred years ago. A hill called Denny Hill literally dissolved under powerful jets of water and washed into the bay. This story is about boldness, ingenious engineering, stubborn residents, and how even the smartest ideas can sometimes come at too high a cost to nature.
Why the City Needed to Remove the...
A Park with Rusty Giants: How Seattle Turned Contaminated Land into a Place for Kites
Imagine enormous rusty towers, pipes and strange metal structures that look like sets from a science-fiction movie. Nearby, children are flying colorful kites on a green hill. This isn’t a movie set: it’s Gasworks Park in Seattle, America. This was once a dirty, unhealthy site, but now it’s a favorite place for local residents. How did that happen? It all began with one bold architect and the people who believed in his unusual idea.
When the Gas Plant Was Here
More than a century ago, in 1906,...
A Road Through the Fog: How Banned Whiskey Came to Seattle—and What It Taught a State
Imagine that your school suddenly banned the sale of ice cream. Would anyone want ice cream less? Probably not: someone would start selling it secretly out of a backpack. That’s what happened in Seattle a hundred years ago—except that instead of ice cream, the product was a strong drink for adults, and instead of a backpack, there was an entire sea route through foggy straits.
A Ban That Came Early
Many people think that Prohibition began everywhere in America at once, in 1920. But Washington...
Tire Tea: How Seattle’s Dying Salmon Mystery Led to Car Tires
Imagine a quiet autumn stream in the middle of a big city. Cars rush past, while in the water, after a long journey from the ocean, red coho salmon swim upstream. They are returning home to spawn. But when it rains, the fish suddenly start circling, surfacing and gasping for air as if they can’t breathe. Within a few hours, many of them die. For more than 20 years, no one could figure out why. The answer turned out to be closer than anyone thought: it was right beneath car tires.
The Mystery of...
King of the Foggy Straits: The Secret Life of a Seattle Cop and the Phone That Was Tapped
Imagine a dark night in Seattle almost a hundred years ago. Thick fog drifts over the water as a fast, unlit boat glides silently through the strait. Its crates conceal a drink that the law forbids transporting. And the man running this entire secret network spends his days walking around town in a police uniform. It sounds like an adventure story, but it’s a true tale from the Prohibition era. And it ended with an important decision that people still debate today.
When alcohol was banned
In...
The Newspaper Anyone Could Write: How a Website for Everyone Was Born in Seattle
In late November 1999, representatives of more than a hundred countries gathered in Seattle. They had come for a conference of the World Trade Organization—the club of countries that negotiate the rules of trade. Tens of thousands of people took to the streets to make their views on those rules heard. Those days went down in history as the “Battle of Seattle.” But alongside the dramatic events, a quiet invention also took shape: people figured out how to report the news without waiting for...
A Bathtub on a Hilltop: How Seattle’s Water Tower Became an Observation Deck
Imagine a city where water needs to flow from the taps in thousands of homes all by itself. To make that happen, it’s pumped high up a hill, then runs downhill through pipes, like water going down a slide. That’s what Seattle did: it built a huge drinking-water reservoir on Capitol Hill and put up a brick tower beside it. Today, the tower no longer stores water. Instead, people go there to enjoy the views, and it has become part of the beautiful Volunteer Park.
A Slide for Water
In the early...
Opinions
I-638: What About "Protecting Girls' Sports" is Actually True
I-638 doesn't only bar transgender girls from girls' school sports. It requires every girl in Washington, K through 12, who wants to play a girls'...
I-645: What You're Being Told About the "Millionaires' Tax," and What's Actually True
I-645 repeals a 9.9% tax that applies only to household income above $1 million a year. Want to keep that tax? Vote NO. If you earn less than a...