Slog AM: A Missing Beaver in Seattle, Trump Fights With the Pope, Hungary’s Right Wing Prime Minister Loses Election Handily  – The Stranger

Answers: Authorities believe that those 21 skinned canine carcasses that washed ashore on Guemes Island around two weeks ago were foxes, not dogs. The fox carcasses were being transported to be used in a commercial fishing operation as bait. According to the Skagit County Sheriff’s office, they were bought out of state, legally, and brought to Washington. But the boat they were on experienced mechanical difficulties that somehow dumped its cargo in the water. It’s unfortunate when your cargo is 21 skinned fox carcasses that then wind up on a small community’s shores and they think there’s a dog serial killer in their midst. Nope, nope, just fishing bait.

While you were sleeping this weekend there was a swarm of 18 offshore earthquakes near the Juan de Fuca Ridge. Shh. Go back to sleep. They pose no threat to land. It’s just the tectonic plates moving apart.

In Other Animal Carcass News: People found a decapitated cougar partially submerged in Idaho’s Lake Pend Oreille. Park rangers say the cougar died of natural causes and, even though its head was clearly cleanly severed by a human, there was no foul play. Stealing a cougar’s head from its carcass is perfectly legal under Idaho salvage laws. Finders keepers?

Beaver Missing: Someone stole Capitol Hill’s Waxon Spa’s taxidermy beaver mascot. The stuffed beaver wears pink bunny ears, purple heart sunglasses, and has pink painted nails. The waxers there need this beaver in order to wax other beavers. “Please help bring our baby home,” the spa pleads in a missing poster. They are offering a $400 reward

ICYMI: The new Ichiro Suzuki statue the Mariners unveiled Friday had a hard time uh, keeping it up. 

A Gas Works Facelift: A new hazard correction order from Seattle’s Department of Construction and Inspections may force the parks department to take out “unsafe ladders, piping and catwalks by May 15.” A teen died last summer after climbing—and falling—from Gas Works’ structures. Two others have died in similar incidents since 2012. The SDCI order breaks through a six month stalemate between parks and the Landmarks Preservation Board which has blocked any attempt to remove hazards from the park for fear of it altering history.

The Weather: Overcast, rainy, but not too rainy.

A WEAK on Crime Pope: Donald Trump sent out a Truth Social screed against Pope Leo XIV, calling him weak on crime, terrible for foreign policy, and weak on nuclear weapons. After that, Trump shared an AI-generated photo of him as Jesus healing the sick. The Jesus pic crossed a line for some evangelicals. 

When asked about these statements, Leo said, “I will not enter into debate. The things that I say are certainly not meant as attacks on anyone. The message of the Gospel is very clear: ‘Blessed are the peacemakers.’” The president of Iran was not above entering into the fray. He tweeted that he condemned Trump’s “insult to your excellency” and then tagged the Pope in the tweet.

Master Negotiators: Despite sending in ringer Vice President JD Vance to smooth things over with Iran, the 21-hour peace talks between the US and Iran failed after Iran failed to agree to stop its nuclear weapons program. It’s unclear what’ll go down after the two-week ceasefire ends. And, as of this morning the US has started a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and all Iranian ports. Trump posted on Truth Social that any Iranian ships that approach the blockade will be “IMMEDIATELY ELIMINATED.” Surely this will help with skyrocketing gas prices ($104.24 a barrel for crude oil in the US). And that ceasefire. 

Banner Weekend for Vance: Despite support from the Kremlin and the Trump administration and Vance’s eleventh-hour trip to Hungary to drum up support, Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary lost his re-election bid. Populist and anti-Ukraine Orban lost only earned one third of the vote. He lost handily. And, he conceded quickly and graciously. Peter Magyar, an Orban-loyalist-turned-opposition-party-leader, will be the new prime minister.

Jealous:

Good for Him: Former New York City mayor Eric Adams is now an Albanian citizen. Albanian’s president gave Adams citizenship and a passport from Albania under a special decree.

I Love the Bike Bus: Videos of Portland’s bike bus—a peloton of school children and parents biking to school, others joining them as they pass by their homes—really knock the wind out of me.

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