KUOW Public Radio

A class action suit against Washington’s Department of Children Youth and Families says the state needs to do more to identify and assist immigrant youth in the foster care system who may be eligible for legal status. The lawsuit estimates that more than 100 undocumented youth in the state’s care may qualify for additional help. To read the full story, tap link in bio. Story: Gustavo Sagrero Álvarez @gus.chavo Photo: Megan Farmer @_meganfarmer Design: Stephen Howie @howie_am_i [Image Description: A photo shows Seattle students protesting ICE in February at Seattle City Hall. Below the photo, the headline says "Washington doesn't do enough to help undocumented kids in foster care, suit says."]

What's your go-to spot in the Seattle area? On this edition of The Seattle Eats Menu, Emily Kim, co-founder of the Pastry Project, takes us to her favorite joint, Masakan. On a recent episode of "Seattle Eats," a podcast about the Seattle food scene and the best things to eat in it, Kim talked about what makes it special. “ You're a part of the family when you're being served by them,” Kim said. A mother-daughter duo is behind the cooking at Masakan, cooking up a rotating menu of homestyle Malay cuisine: stir-fried flat noodles, spicy sour fish stews, coconut milk rice served with sambal and studded with anchovies, flaky pastries filled with curried potatoes, tender bone-in chicken hooked up with assorted veggies. And everything on the menu is exclusively halal. “When I see customers coming back,” Safira Ezani, who co-run Maskan, said, “it almost feels like they’re just joining us for family dinner again.” Read or listen to the full story at the link in bio. Host: Brandi Fullwood @brandifibers Photos courtesy of Emily Kim @emilyk3 Social Editor: Stephen Howie @howie_am_i Design: Alicia Villa @guera.work [Image Description: A headline states, "When you're at Seattle's Masakan, you’re family." An image shows two loaded plates of Malay cuisine at a Masakan sit-down dinner. The rest of the video shares images of dishes from Masakan and details from Emily Kim on what makes the Malaysian pop-up special.]

A 38-year-old Washington man has been arrested for allegedly throwing a rock at a monk seal on the shores of Maui in early May, an incident that was caught on video and quickly went viral. The monk seal is well-known to locals who have named her "Lani." According to charging documents, witnesses confronted a man after seeing him allegedly throw the rock and told him they called the police. He reportedly replied that he was “rich enough to pay the fines." To read the full story, tap link in bio. Story: Dyer Oxley @sonicdyer Photos: US Attorney’s Office District of Hawaii Design: Stephen Howie @howie_am_i [Image Description: A sequence of photos shows a man slinging a coconut-sized rock toward a seal swimming offshore and the seal rearing back in reaction after the rock lands near it on May 5 in Maui. Above the photo, the headline says, “’Rich enough to pay the fines': Washington man arrested for allegedly throwing rock at seal in Maui.”]

A suspect in the fatal stabbing of a 19-year-old University of Washington student on Sunday has been taken into custody, the Seattle Police Department announced Thursday morning. The 31-year-old man, who has not been named by police, was arrested after turning himself in to the Bellevue Police Department at around 10:20 p.m. on Wednesday. He remains booked at the King County Jail. Police had responded at about 10:10 p.m. Sunday to reports of a stabbing at Nordheim Court, a UW campus housing building. When they arrived, they found the victim in a laundry room. The identity of the victim, who was a transgender woman, has not been released by police. Read the full story at the link in bio. Story: KUOW Staff Photos: @_meganfarmer [Image description: Flowers placed within a growing memorial for the 19-year-old University of Washington student who was killed at Nordheim Court student housing on Sunday are shown on Wednesday, May 13, 2026, at Nordheim Court in Seattle. Below the photo, the headline says, "Suspect arrested in UW student killing."]

Agriculture officials are asking people in the Vancouver, Washington, area to report any sightings of a yellow-legged hornet, an invasive species native to Southeast Asia. An agriculture inspector found a live yellow-legged hornet at the Port of Vancouver on April 30 while inspecting the cargo ship Mission Revival, which had sailed from South Korea. The inspector killed it after documenting it. Yellow-legged hornets have invaded areas ranging from Korea and Japan to Europe and the Southeast United States. They are smaller but more aggressive than the northern giant hornets —popularly, if unfairly, known as ‘murder hornets’— that Washington state officials eradicated after a five-year campaign. Read the full story at the link in bio. #KUOW Story: John Ryan @heyjohnryan Photos: Washington State Department of Agriculture Social Editor: Stephen Howie @howie_am_i Design: Alicia Villa @guera.work [Image Description: A headline states, "West Coast’s first yellow-legged hornet intercepted in Vancouver, Washington." An image shows a close-up image of a hornet with yellow legs. The next slides show details and a side-by-side comparison of the yellow-legged hornet to the giant hornet, and a US quarter coin. The yellow-legged hornet is smaller than the giant hornet and only slightly longer than the width of the coin.]

As Republican and Democratic-run states around the country move quickly to redraw their congressional districts ahead of the midterms, Washington has not. But Washington state Democrats are starting to talk about doing it in the future. KUOW's Kim Malcolm talked to politics reporter Scott Greenstone for an update on the situation here. To read or listen to the full story, tap link in bio. Story: Kim Malcolm, Scott Greenstone & John O'Brien Map: Courtesy of WA State Legislature Design: Stephen Howie @howie_am_i [Image Description: A map shows Washington's legislative districts. Below the photo, the headline says, "Many states are making redistricting moves. Not so much in WA, yet."]

Three King County residents may have been exposed to the hantavirus that has killed and sickened passengers aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship. One resident is currently quarantined with other Americans in Nebraska. Another two exposed King County residents have returned home and are isolating. Public Health — Seattle & King County officials said Tuesday that the risk to the public remains low. To read the full story, tap link in bio. Story: Sami West @sami.wengelski Photo: AP Design: Stephen Howie @howie_am_i [Image Description: A photo shows the MV Hondius cruise ship departing the port in Praia, Cape Verde on Wednesday, May 6, 2026. Above the photo, the headline says, "3 King County residents being monitored for hantavirus."]

The State Hotel sits on the corner of Second and Pike, overlooking Seattle’s Pike Place Market and the waterfront, and just minutes away from Lumen Field. With six FIFA World Cup matches coming to Seattle this summer, it seems like the kind of downtown hotel that would fill up with people attending the games. But that’s not the case. Bookings for June, when the first four games are scheduled to be played in Seattle, are slow. In fact, occupancy for the month is running 7% below where it was last year, according to Anne Johnson, the hotel’s general manager. To read the full story, tap link in bio. Story: Ayeda Masood Photo: Megan Farmer @_meganfarmer Design: Stephen Howie @howie_am_i [Image Description: A photo shows Anne Johnson, the manager of the State Hotel in Seattle. Below the photo, the headline says, "Seattle hotels combat slower-than-expected World Cup bookings."]

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Seattle Children’s Hospital and the Laurelhurst Community Council have agreed to revisit a decades-old agreement governing landings of helicopter transport flights in the neighborhood. The announcement came Friday in a joint statement from the hospital and council. The development follows a public outcry over the existing agreement regarding helicopter landings, which says, “Only the most critical and life-threatening medical emergencies shall be allowed to land at CHMC (Children’s Hospital and Medical Center).” To read the full story, tap link in bio. Story: Anna Boiko-Weyrauch Photo: Courtesy of Seattle Children's Hospital Design: Stephen Howie @howie_am_i [Image Description: A photo shows Seattle Children's Hospital. Below the photo, the headline says, "Seattle Children's and Laurelhurst neighborhood agree to change controversial helicopter landing policy."]

SIFF is more than just a local indie movie theater chain - its yearly festival brings hundreds of movies, big and small, to screens across the city. But even as SIFF the organization faces monetary challenges, the show must go on at SIFF the festival. We’ll hear more about the state of SIFF and get some festival recommendations from arts reporter Chase Hutchinson. Listen to the full episode at the link in bio. Host: Patricia Murphy @earlybirdmurphy Producer: Vaughan Jones @jaughanvones Photo: Megan Farmer @_meganfarmer Social Editor: Stephen Howie @howie_am_i Design: Alicia Villa @guera.work [Image Description: A headline states, "At SIFF, the show goes on, with fewer staff." An image shows an audience taking in a film at the SIFF Cinema Egyptian in 2018. The rest of the video includes audio and captions from an interview with arts reporter Chase Hutchinson on the state of SIFF.]

The conservative-backed group Let’s Go Washington announced Friday it will begin gathering signatures to put a repeal of the so-called “millionaires tax” on ballots this November. The move comes just days after the state Supreme Court dismissed the group’s lawsuit challenging the tax. To read the full story, tap link in bio. Story: Sarah Mizes-Tan Photo: Joshua McNichols Design: Stephen Howie @howie_am_i [Image Description: A file photo shows Brian Heywood at a Let's Go Washington election night party in 2024. Below the photo, the headline says, "Voter repeal effort against WA's 'millionaires tax' launches following failed lawsuit."]