Slog AM: David Koch Is Dead, SPD Needs Help Solving a Murder, Climate Change Causes Ancient Plant to Boom

Is it in poor taste to caption this photo of David Koch "Hooray"? I won't do it—just asking. Chip Somodevilla/Getty

: One-half of the Koch brothers, the industrialists who funneled money into the right-wing movement and fueled climate-change denial, is dead. David Koch kicked the bucket at age 79, his brother Charles said in a statement. Koch's legacy includes $42.2 billion in assets as of 2019 and giving rise to the Tea Party as well as strengthening the far right. Bye, David. Can't say I'll miss you

Jay Inslee kicks off his gubernatorial bid by vowing to fund Planned Parenthood: All right, Jay, you have my attention. Inslee and other state officials vowed on Thursday to foot the $2.9 million bill for the money that Planned Parenthood in Washington lost after new abortion restrictions invalidated the organization from receiving Title X funding. There's room in the state budget to cover the funds until March, at which point state legislators will have to allocate more money. Inslee joked that "the legislators will either do this or lose their parking spots," reports the Seattle Times.

Life isn't like a procedural cop show: The Seattle Police Department has no leads in a murder that occurred back in March. It was that shooting in Cal Anderson Park where 21-year-old Hakeen Salahud-din was shot in the head on the basketball courts. SPD is asking for witnesses to share information. They made a whole video with clips from the crime and pictures of Salahud-din in an attempt to jog the public's memory. It's graphic, so here's a link, not an embed.

A breezy day: Am I allowed to say breezy when it will be mostly cloudy out? I find that to be breezy, but maybe that's subjective.



Just a little bit of color in the sunrise this morning. Clouds increasing early this morning with mostly cloudy skies for the remainder of the day. Highs remaining a couple of degrees below normal, in the mid 60s to mid 70s. #wawx pic.twitter.com/TFXxat4pZ3

— NWS Seattle (@NWSSeattle) August 23, 2019

But it's not fall yet! There should be some warmer weather heading our way starting next week. Plus, the possibility of some wildfire smoke due to an easterly offshore flow. There aren't as many wildfires burning this year as there were last year. So even if we get a touch of smoke, it shouldn't be anywhere as suffocating as before. I hope.

The Aurora Bridge is under construction again this weekend: Plan your travel accordingly. The bridge will be reduced to one lane in each direction so that the Washington State Department of Transportation can repair and repave it.

I don't know who Seth Moulton is: But he's no longer running for president. Here. I'll "do my job." Moulton is... (wait for it)... a Democratic congressman from Massachusetts. The former war veteran will just seek a fourth term in the House instead of getting lost in the masses of those still running for president.

China is retaliating: The trade war between the United States and China is ramping up. China announced that it will place $75 billion in tariffs on US goods. They will go into effect in two groups: one on September 1 and one on December 15, the same day Trump's tariffs on Chinese goods start.

Video of me stumbling into Friday: Against all odds, the week is almost over.



Eyewitness footage captures skydiver's narrow escape, suffering only minor scratches and grazes after losing control of his parachute in the sky above southern England during an airshow display. https://t.co/tfaWLefYUr pic.twitter.com/C12cuKCTfW

— ABC News (@ABC) August 23, 2019

A prehistoric plant is booming again because of climate change: Cycads are a family of plants that were all over the place when the dinosaurs were still kicking. Members of the species today are typically found only in the tropics or subtropics. Except, the United Kingdom just discovered two cycad pods. While it's exciting that scientists have the opportunity to breed "the first new generation of these plants... in the British Isles since the dawn of the modern Cenozoic Era," the only reason it's possible is because of rising temperatures. Also known as climate change.

Electoral College chaos: A federal appeals court ruled this week that electors—the members of the Electoral College who actually vote for the president in each state—don't have to comply with their state's popular vote and could actually vote however they fucking want. What??? While many states have laws that make electors pledge that their vote will align with the state's vote, the Constitution doesn't say anything on the subject. A group called Equal Citizens wants the Supreme Court to review the case for fear that as the election gets more divisive, more electors will vote their own way and create chaos.

Hong Kong protesters have formed a human chain: It's 28 miles long and stretches across 39 police stations.



The Hong Kong human chain is under way.



Thousands of people are expected to link hands across the city. Follow along here: https://t.co/9orV3W6ohZ pic.twitter.com/P8jW1frtux

— CNN International (@cnni) August 23, 2019

A fun fact for your Friday:



Scientists studying the belly button fluff of 60 people found 1,458 bacteria completely new to science. One participant’s fluff contained oil found only in soil from Japan, where he had never visited.

— Quite Interesting (@qikipedia) August 22, 2019

The best Seattle entertainment options this weekend include: The Washington State International Kite Festival, the Seattle Design Festival Block Party, and the brand-new music and arts festival THING.