🏟️ Trump's not coming to Seattle

Trump Not Coming to Seattle for World Cup After All?

A King County official told the Seattle Times that neither President Trump nor VP Vance will be coming to Seattle for the July 6 game U.S. against Belgium. Last week, City Cast contributor Ryan Packer received an email from Kenmore Air alerting customers to the possibility that flights could be canceled if Trump or Vance flew to Seattle.

• Travel delays avoided: As you can imagine, people had opinions about this news. But beyond politics, we would be looking at traffic issues and delays at Sea-Tac airport, as pointed out by FOX13. Neither the president nor the VP have visited Seattle so far in their second term.
• U.S. faces Belgium Monday: Our 2-0 win over Bosnia (who were nice enough to bring coffee — thank you, Bosnians!) and Belgium’s comeback win over Senegal mean the teams will face off Monday at 5 pm at Seattle Stadium. Expect downtown and your local soccer pub to be packed. Here’s a list of places to watch and spots to go if you aren’t into sports bars. Get there early! Unless you want to splurge on a $3,000 ticket.
• The World Cup and Seattle: Monday’s game will mark the final game in Seattle of the 2026 World Cup. Although it has been touted as a massive success for the city, some small businesses in the Chinatown-International District have called the event “devastating” for the neighborhood.

🔍 Paper mill explosion investigation begins: The Washington attorney general’s office is investigating the Longview packaging mill implosion to see if there was any criminal activity involved. The implosion killed 11 workers and injured seven workers and a firefighter in May. This criminal inquiry follows three other investigations. [Seattle Times]

💌 Vote-by-mail decision explained: For those of us trying to understand exactly what the Supreme Court decided last week about voting by mail, KUOW has an interview with UW law professor Danieli Evans, who lays out in simple terms the decision and what authority the president and Congress have over our elections. [KUOW]

🏥 Medicare cuts mean less family doctors: Facing looming medicare cuts, Providence Swedish is cutting the number of family medicine residents down from 69 to 51 over the next four years. The residency gives recent medical school graduates three years of experience giving vaccines, check-ups, and preventative care. These cuts come as the hospitals, Cherry Hill and First Hill, consolidate into one program in the First Hill expansion. [Seattle Times]