Category: News
LeBron James becomes the oldest player in NBA history to have a triple-double
LOS ANGELES — LeBron James became the oldest player in NBA history to have a triple-double, accomplishing the feat for the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night against the Dallas Mavericks.
James had 28 points and 12 assists when he grabbed his 10th rebound with 2:06 to play in the Lakers’ 124-104 victory. James got a standing ovation when he checked out moments after grabbing his final rebound to complete his 123rd career triple-double, fifth-most in NBA history.
At 41 years and 44 days old, James broke the record held by Karl Malone, who recorded a triple-double for the Lakers when he was 40 years and 127 days old.
But the top scorer in NBA history hadn’t had a triple-double since last Feb. 1, 2025, in New York. That day is better remembered in Lakers history for the late-night breaking news of the trade that brought Luka Dončić to the Lakers in a seismic trade for Anthony Davis.
Malone had held the record as the oldest player with a triple-double since he had 10 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists on Nov. 28, 2003, during his final NBA season. James recorded the next 15 triple-doubles on that list, and he repeatedly came close to setting the record repeatedly over the past year, but didn’t quite reach it until the Lakers’ final game before the All-Star break.
After missing Tuesday’s game against the San Antonio Spurs, James was aggressive and active from the opening tip against the Mavericks in the absence of Dončić. The NBA scoring leader missed his fourth straight game for the Lakers with a mild hamstring strain.
James put up 14 points and six assists in the first quarter alone, and he had 18 points, eight assists and four rebounds by halftime. He topped double digits in assists during the third quarter, and he played the entire fourth quarter before grabbing the 10th rebound.
James was selected for his 22nd All-Star appearance this weekend at Intuit Dome even though he has missed 18 games this season due to injury. That means James is ineligible for inclusion on his 22nd All-NBA team.
James entered this game averaging 21.8 points, 6.9 assists and 5.7 rebounds per game for the Lakers, who are in the thick of the Western Conference playoff race despite playing only 10 games with James, Doncic and Austin Reaves simultaneously healthy. James missed the first 14 games of the season while dealing with sciatica.
James has 152 career triple-doubles including playoffs.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/12/lebron-james-oldest-player-triple-double/
Plantas ecuatorianas, protestas en Argentina y otras fotos de la semana en Latinoamérica y el Caribe
Por The Associated Press
Ramón Pucha mostró cómo convertir una hoja en un sombrero para protegerse del sol mientras buscaba semillas para cultivar en los terrenos de su familia, donde conserva especies autóctonas y comparte semillas con comunidades vecinas en un esfuerzo para proteger la biodiversidad, en la región amazónica de Ecuador.
Estudiantes convocaron una marcha con motivo del Día de la Juventud en Caracas, Venezuela, para pedir la liberación de detenidos considerados presos políticos por sus familias y grupos de defensa de los derechos humanos.
Trabajadores convocados por sindicatos se congregaron en una plaza en Buenos Aires, donde cortaron el tránsito y se enfrentaron a la policía, mientras el Senado argentino debatió —y finalmente aprobó— una reforma laboral.
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Esta fotogalería destaca algunas de las mejores imágenes noticiosas tomadas por los fotógrafos de The Associated Press en Latinoamérica y el Caribe publicadas entre el 6 y el 12 de febrero de 2026.
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Las imágenes fueron seleccionadas por el fotoperiodista de The Associated Press Esteban Félix en Santiago, Chile.
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Los fotógrafos de AP están en Instagram en: https://www.instagram.com/apnews
AP Images en X: http://twitter.com/AP_Images
blog de AP Images: http://apimagesblog.com
Tankers beware: NBA fines Utah Jazz $500,000 and Indiana Pacers $100,000 for sitting players
The Utah Jazz appeared to find a loophole in the NBA’s player participation policy, but the league sent a message Thursday by hitting them with a $500,000 fine.
The NBA also docked the Indiana Pacers $100,000 for holding out Pascal Siakam and two other starters in a Feb. 3 game against the Jazz.
The policy was put in place in September 2023 to try to discourage clubs from purposely losing in order to improve their chances with the draft lottery. This year’s draft is considered the strongest in several years, possibly incentivizing clubs like the Jazz to position themselves for a high pick.
The Jazz did not play stars Lauri Markkanen and Jaren Jackson Jr. in the fourth quarter of recent close games. Both played three quarters in recent road games against the Miami Heat and Orlando Magic. The Magic rallied from 17 points down to win 120-117, but the Jazz defeated the Heat 115-111.
Jazz coach Will Hardy was asked after the game in Miami whether he considered playing Markkanen and Jackson in the fourth quarter.
“I wasn’t,” Hardy said succinctly.
Hardy said Thursday night after a loss to the Portland Trail Blazers that he was following the advice of the team’s medical staff.
“I sat Lauri because he was on a minutes restriction,” he said. “So if our medical team puts a minutes restriction on Lauri, I’ll try to keep Lauri healthy.”
Jackson’s minutes are restricted because of a growth on his knee, Hardy said.
In fining the Jazz said, the NBA said in its release “these players were otherwise able to continue to play and the outcomes of the games were thereafter in doubt.”
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement the competition committee and team owners will work “to implement further measures to root out this type of conduct.”
“Overt behavior like this that prioritizes draft position over winning undermines the foundation of NBA competition and we will respond accordingly to any further actions that compromise the integrity of our games,” Silver said.
Silver likely will further address the topic when he meets with the media Saturday during All-Star weekend in Los Angeles.
“Agree to disagree …,” Jazz owner Ryan Smith posted on social media. “Also, we won the game in Miami and got fined? That makes sense …”
The NBA fined Utah $100,000 last season after the Jazz rested Markkanen in multiple games.
He and the recently acquired Jackson are the building blocks for the Jazz to try to get back into contention. They traded with the Memphis Grizzlies on Feb. 3 for the two-time All-Star and 2023 Defensive Player of the Year.
Jackson, however, will be out for the foreseeable future. He will undergo surgery over the NBA All-Star break to remove a growth from his left knee, discovered by an MRI in a physical following the trade. Jackson averaged 22.3 points in 24 minutes per game after joining the Jazz.
The Jazz have prioritized player development with younger players on their roster at the expense of chasing wins. The front office is motivated to hold onto a first-round pick in this year’s draft that is top-eight protected. Falling outside the bottom eight in the standings means the Jazz would lose that pick to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
A number of teams, including the Jazz, would seem to have a great interest in securing a high selection for this year’s draft.
One of those top prospects plays just south of Salt Lake. BYU’s AJ Dybantsa is considered a likely top-three and potentially franchise-changing pick along with Duke’s Cameron Boozer and Kansas’ Darryn Peterson.
But it’s also a deep draft where simply getting into the lottery could mean still getting a shot at a difference-making player.
The Jazz, 18-37 entering Thursday night’s game against the Blazers, will miss the postseason for the fourth year in a row. This comes after a six-year stretch in which the Jazz made the playoffs each season.
Under the direction of CEO Danny Ainge and his son and team president, Austin, the Jazz ultimately are trying to return to the glory days when they didn’t just make the playoffs. The John Stockton-Karl Malone teams in 1990s were regular championship contenders, making the NBA Finals in 1997 and 1998.
Freelance reporter John Coon in Salt Lake City contributed.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/12/nba-tanking-utah-jazz-indiana-pacers-fined/
Holiday y Clingan conducen a Trail Blazers hacia victoria de 135-119 ante Jazz
Por MATTHEW COLES
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Jrue Holiday anotó 31 puntos, su máximo número de la temporada, mientras que Donovan Clingan sumó 23 unidades y 18 rebotes para que los Trail Blazers de Portland vencieran el jueves 135-119 al Jazz de Utah.
Horas antes del partido, el Jazz perdió a Jaren Jackson Jr. por una cirugía de rodilla y recibió una multa de 500.000 dólares de la NBA por sentar a sus estrellas que se encontraban sanas.
Clingan registró también siete asistencias, la mayor cifra en su carrera, además de lograr tres tapas. Holiday aportó nueve rebotes y siete asistencias para guiar a Portland (27-29) hacia su cuarta victoria en cinco partidos.
Jerami Grant añadió 18 puntos y Scoot Henderson anotó 15 en su cuarto partido de esta temporada.
Brice Sensabaugh consiguió 28 puntos, mientras que Ace Bailey, Kyle Filipowski e Isaiah Collier anotaron 15 cada uno por Utah (18-38).
En su primer partido en la NBA, Blake Hinson anotó 11 puntos y encestó un triple para acercar al Jazz a 111-108. Pero los Blazers respondieron con una racha de 11-2, rematada por una bandeja de Holiday, para asegurar el triunfo.
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Deportes AP: https://apnews.com/hub/deportes
EEUU envía un segundo portaaviones a Oriente Medio, según fuente de AP
Por KONSTANTIN TOROPIN
WASHINGTON (AP) — El portaaviones más grande del mundo recibió la orden de zarpar del mar Caribe rumbo a Oriente Medio, dijo el jueves una persona familiarizada con los planes, mientras el presidente de Estados Unidos, Donald Trump, considera la posibilidad de emprender acciones militares contra Irán.
La movilización del USS Gerald R. Ford, reportada en primer lugar por The New York Times, situará a dos portaaviones y a los buques de guerra que los acompañan en la región, mientras Trump incrementa la presión sobre Teherán para que alcance un acuerdo sobre su programa nuclear. La fuente habló bajo condición de anonimato para discutir los movimientos militares.
El portaaviones USS Abraham Lincoln y tres destructores con misiles guiados llegaron a Oriente Medio hace más de dos semanas.
Esto supone un rápido cambio de rumbo para el USS Ford, que Trump envió del mar Mediterráneo al Caribe en octubre, mientras el gobierno reforzaba su enorme presencia militar en la antesala de la sorpresiva incursión del mes pasado que capturó al entonces presidente venezolano Nicolás Maduro.
También parece contradecir la estrategia de seguridad nacional de Trump, que prioriza el hemisferio occidental por encima de otras regiones del mundo.
El presidente estadounidense advirtió el jueves a Irán que no alcanzar un acuerdo con la Casa Blanca sería “muy traumático”. Teherán y Washington mantuvieron conversaciones indirectas en Omán la semana pasada.
“Supongo que durante el próximo mes, algo así”, apuntó Trump en respuesta a una pregunta sobre sus plazos para llegar a un acuerdo con la República Islámica sobre su programa nuclear. “Debería ocurrir rápido. Deberían aceptar muy rápido”.
Trump le dijo a Axios a principios de semana que estaba considerando enviar un segundo grupo de ataque de portaaviones a Oriente Medio.
El mandatario mantuvo largas conversaciones con el primer ministro de Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, el miércoles y afirmó que le insistió en que las negociaciones con Irán debían continuar. Netanyahu insta a la Casa Blanca a presionar a Teherán para que reduzca su programa de misiles balísticos y retire su apoyo a grupos insurgentes como Hamás y Hezbollah como parte de cualquier acuerdo.
El USS Ford inició su despliegue a finales de junio de 2025, lo que significa que, en dos semanas, su tripulación habrá estado movilizada por ocho meses. Aunque no está claro cuánto tiempo permanecerá el buque en Oriente Medio, la medida encamina a la tripulación para un despliegue inusualmente largo.
La Casa Blanca no respondió a un pedido de comentarios.
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El periodista de Associated Press Aamer Madhani contribuyó a este despacho.
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Esta historia fue traducida del inglés por un editor de AP con la ayuda de una herramienta de inteligencia artificial generativa.
Mets contratan al jardinero boricua MJ Melendez por 1 año
Por MIKE FITZPATRICK
NUEVA YORK (AP) — MJ Melendez y los Mets de Nueva York llegaron el jueves a un acuerdo contractual por un año, el cual aportaría al club variantes en unos jardines debilitados por una serie de canjes tras la campaña anterior.
El boricua recibirá un salario de 1,5 millones de dólares mientras esté en las Grandes Ligas y de 425.000 dólares mientras juegue en las menores.
Melendez, de 27 años y quien en su momento fue un prospecto muy valorado con Kansas City, pasó la mayor parte de la temporada pasada en las menores. Bateó para .083 (de 60-5), con un jonrón y dos dobles, con los Reales.
Ostenta un promedio de bateo de por vida de .215, con 52 jonrones, 163 carreras impulsadas y un OPS de .685 en 435 juegos de Grandes Ligas a lo largo de cuatro temporadas con los Reales. Habría sido elegible para el arbitraje salarial este invierno, pero Kansas City decidió no ofrecerle contrato en noviembre, lo que le convirtió en agente libre.
Bateador zurdo, Melendez llegó a las mayores como receptor y jardinero de las esquinas en 2022, antes de desempeñarse exclusivamente como guardabosque en 2024 — además de su segunda de dos apariciones en su carrera en la primera base.
Puede jugar en ambas esquinas, lo que le convierte en una posible opción para los Mets después de que traspasaron a Brandon Nimmo a Texas y a Jeff McNeil a los Atléticos en este receso.
El dominicano Starling Marte, otrora jardinero derecho del club, se convirtió en agente libre a los 37 años.
Otro quisqueyano, el astro Juan Soto, se está mudando del jardín derecho al izquierdo, y Tyrone Taylor es un excelente defensor que se perfila como cuarto guardabosque. El principal prospecto Carson Benge, seleccionado en la primera ronda procedente de Oklahoma State en 2024, tendrá la oportunidad de integrar el equipo en el jardín derecho, pero sólo cuenta con 24 juegos de experiencia en Triple-A.
El cubano Luis Robert Jr. fue adquirido en un canje con los Medias Blancas de Chicago para jugar en el jardín central.
Meléndez bateó para .261, con 20 jonrones, 64 carreras impulsadas, 20 robos y un OPS de .813 en 107 juegos en la sucursal de la Triple-A en Omaha el año pasado.
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Deportes AP: https://apnews.com/hub/deportes
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/12/mets-contratan-al-jardinero-boricua-mj-melendez-por-1-ao/
Surfistas rescatan a 6 personas luego de que un bote zozobra en la costa de California
SANTA CRUZ, California, EE.UU. (AP) — Los surfistas de la ciudad de Santa Cruz en California están siendo elogiados como héroes después de que nadaran hacia una embarcación volcada y subieran a seis personas heridas a sus tablas hasta que arribaron los rescatistas.
Gran cantidad de surfistas estaban aprovechando olas grandes el 6 de febrero en Steamer Lane, un punto famoso a lo largo de la costa central del estado, cuando una pequeña lancha a motor pasó a toda velocidad y fue sepultada por una ola, que se llevó consigo a dos adultos y cuatro niños. Varios de los pasajeros no llevaban chalecos salvavidas, según un informe del Departamento de Bomberos de Santa Cruz.
“Prácticamente vivo en esa playa —estoy allí casi todos los días— y es una de las cosas más locas que he visto”, comentó Vince Tuzzi, que estaba videograbando a los surfistas cuando la embarcación se volcó.
Tuzzi indicó que supo que algo estaba a punto de salir terriblemente mal cuando vio por el rabillo del ojo la lancha que se movía a gran velocidad. Después observó cómo unos 10 surfistas, dos de ellos de apenas 14 años, pusieron a salvo a las personas.
Entre quienes acudieron al rescate estaba Darryl “Flea” Virostko, tres veces ganador de la competencia Mavericks de olas grandes.
“Supe que se habían hundido y que era momento de remar hacia adentro lo más rápido posible”, escribió Virostko en Instagram. “Hombre, se siente bien tener a una comunidad de surfistas unida en acción, como un solo equipo”.
Indicó que subió al hombre adulto a su tabla mientras este gritaba por sus hijos.
Embarcaciones de la patrulla del puerto y ambulancias llegaron en cuestión de minutos, narró Tuzzi.
Los pasajeros fueron trasladados al hospital y se están recuperando, informaron los bomberos.
El jefe de bomberos Rob Oatey se reunió con algunos de los surfistas esta semana para agradecerles su valentía.
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Esta historia fue traducida del inglés por un editor de AP con la ayuda de una herramienta de inteligencia artificial generativa.
Exalero del Thunder Ousmane Dieng guía a Bucks a triunfo por 110-93 ante Oklahoma City
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — El exalero del Thunder Ousmane Dieng totalizó 19 puntos, 11 rebotes, seis asistencias y cuatro tapas, y los Bucks de Milwaukee vencieron el jueves 110-93 a Oklahoma City.
El Thunder traspasó a Dieng justo antes de la fecha límite de canjes. El francés de 2,06 metros fue el Jugador Más Valioso de las Finales de la G-League en 2024, cuando el Blue de Oklahoma City ganó el campeonato.
En el Thunder, era suplente.
A ambos equipos les faltaban piezas importantes. El entrenador de Milwaukee, Doc Rivers, se ausentó para asistir a un funeral, y el asistente Darvin Ham lo reemplazó.
Giannis Antetokounmpo, el astro de los Bucks, se perdió el partido por una distensión en la pantorrilla derecha.
Oklahoma City careció del Jugador Más Valioso de la campaña anterior Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (distensión abdominal) y del coestelar Jalen Williams (tirón en el isquiotibial derecho). Ambos serán evaluados de nuevo después del receso del Juego de Estrellas.
AJ Green anotó 17 puntos para los Bucks. Bobby Portis sumó 15 puntos y 12 rebotes.
Isaiah Joe anotó 17 puntos y Chet Holmgren agregó 16 puntos y 13 rebotes por el Thunder, que venía de cosechar victorias como visitante ante los Lakers de Los Ángeles y Phoenix.
Nikola Topic, quien no había jugado esta temporada después de que se le diagnosticó cáncer testicular, debutó en la NBA. La duodécima selección del draft de 2024, que también se perdió su primera temporada por una rotura del ligamento cruzado anterior, ingresó al partido al final del primer cuarto y recibió una gran ovación.
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Deportes AP: https://apnews.com/hub/deportes
Member Of Trump’s ‘Religious Liberty Commission’ Fired After Heated Israel Debate
Member Of Trump’s ‘Religious Liberty Commission’ Fired After Heated Israel Debate
In the latest skirmish in an ongoing clash among pro-Israel and anti-Israel conservatives, the chairman of the White House Religious Liberty Commission announced he’s kicked a Catholic off the panel after she used a hearing to challenge accusations of antisemitism leveled at opponents of Zionism and Israel. However, that Catholic — former Miss California Carrie Prejean Boller — says commission chairman and Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has no authority to terminate her, and that she’s “looking forward to next month’s meeting.”
On Monday, the commission held a hearing on “Religious Liberty Implications of Anti-Semitism.” Temperatures rose when Boller started challenging witnesses, with much of her questioning aimed at scrutinizing their definitions of antisemitism and, specifically, challenging the idea that opposition to the political ideology of Zionism is inherently antisemitic. Zionism is centered on the establishment and maintenance of a nation-state for Jews. Notably, Zionism is opposed by some Jews, including some Jews living in Israel.
“I’m a Catholic and Catholics do not embrace Zionism,” Boller told Yeshiva University President Ari Berman. “Just so you know. So are all Catholics antisemites, according to you?” Berman replied, “If someone says they are an anti-Zionist, they are saying about themselves that they have a double-standard, and hypocrisy, and are taking antisemitic positions.”
Addressing Yitzchok Frankel, a law student who sued the University of California, Boller quoted New York Rabbi Yaakov Shapiro, who said “Zionist ideology falsely claims Israel is the nation-state of Jews everywhere, and that every Jew is…tied to it. This framing is antisemitic at its core…[imposing] collective guilt for actions we neither chose nor control.” The exchange with Frankel ended with him asserting that anti-Zionism is antisemitism.
Addressing Shabbos Kestenbaum, an activist who in 2024 sued Harvard for allegedly failing to protect students from antisemitism, Boller turned to Israel’s war on Gaza: “Since we’ve mentioned Israel a total of 17 times, are you willing to condemn what Israel has done in Gaza?” The testy exchange prompted Patrick to intervene:
Catholic activist @CarriePrejean1 confronts Shabbos Kestenbaum with a direct question demanding condemnation of what happened in Gaza after Israel was mentioned 17 times, before Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick steps in to stop her—a bold and courageous moment that reflects her… pic.twitter.com/SDaGvEufrf
— ADI ALARDAH (@alardah91) February 10, 2026
A backlash ensued, with prominent pro-Israel voices across social media condemning Boller’s questioning, and demanding that she resign or be fired. Some questioned Boller’s authority to make blanket statements about what Catholics think about Zionism and Israel. Amid the dust-up, Boller posted an open letter to Kestenbaum, refuting the idea that she derailed the proceedings to focus on Israel, saying that Israel had already figured heavily in the discourse:
“Nearly every witness framed antisemitism through the lens of Israel and Zionism…Forcing people to affirm Zionism as a condition of participation is not only wrong, it is directly contrary to religious freedom, especially on a body created to protect conscience. As a Catholic, I have both a constitutional right and a God-given freedom of religion and conscience not to endorse a political ideology or government that is carrying out mass civilian killing and starvation.”
On Wednesday, commission chair Patrick used social media to announce that Boller had been removed.
“No member of the commission has the right to hijack a hearing for their own personal and political agenda on any issue. This is clearly, without question, what happened Monday in our hearing on antisemitism in America. This was my decision.”
Boller quickly replied, saying Patrick lacks authority to kick her off the commission, and saying it was actually the Zionists who “hijacked” the proceedings:
“As the name states, this is President Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission, not yours. You did not appoint me to the Commission, and you lack authority to remove me from it. This is a gross overstepping of your role and leads me to believe you are acting in alignment with a Zionist political framework that hijacked the hearing, rather than in defense of religious liberty…I refuse to bend the knee to Israel. I am no slave to a foreign nation, but to Christ our King…Zionist supremacy has no place on an American Religious Liberty commission.”
“I’m a Catholic, and Catholics do not embrace Zionism, just so you know. So are all Catholics anti-Semites according to you?”
Incredible exchange today between Carrie Prejean Boller and a group of Jewish Zionists at the White House’s Religious Liberty Commission.
Texas Lt. Gov.… pic.twitter.com/kf4sYclPL8
— Chris Menahan 🇺🇸 (@infolibnews) February 9, 2026
Boller has a conservative pedigree, having gained notoriety when she told 2009 Miss USA pageant judge Perez Hilton that “marriage should be between a man and a woman.” Boller has said the interaction cost her the crown. She wrote a book about the controversy, and the phenomenon of conservative women being targeted by liberal media.
The White House Religious Liberty Commission was created by President Trump in on May 1, 2025, and charged with “recommending steps to secure domestic religious liberty and identifying opportunities to further the cause of religious liberty around the world.” Dr. Ben Carson is the vice chair, and panel members include the likes of Franklin Graham, “Dr. Phil” McGraw and TV-preacher Paula White, whose over-the-top antics at a 2020 prayer-rally for Trump went viral:
This is the White House’s spiritual adviser, Christian Zionist Paula White.
People like her give Christianity a bad rep pic.twitter.com/slcTCEbUMJ
— Lord King Figaro (@Figgythebestcat) February 11, 2026
The fight over the definition of antisemitism comes amid an intensifying war within the Republican Party and the US right over the extent to which America should support Israel, with older Republicans more likely to view support for Israel as a core conservative value, while Republicans under 50 are increasingly prone to conclude that support for Israel comes at a staggering, multifaceted price, and defies George Washington’s admonition against “passionate attachments” to “particular nations.”
Tyler Durden
Thu, 02/12/2026 – 23:00
A Warning To Seattle: Don’t Become The Next Cleveland
A Warning To Seattle: Don’t Become The Next Cleveland
Authored by Charles Fitzgerald via GeekWire.com,
Consider a successful mid-sized American city. One with decades of population growth. Median household incomes on par with or exceeding New York City. A bustling port in a prime location. Bold civic architecture. A vibrant arts and cultural scene. And home to some of the world’s biggest and most valuable companies.
That could be Seattle. It also describes Cleveland about 75 years ago.
In the 1950s, Cleveland was an epicenter for the era’s “Big Tech.” Industrial giants like Standard Oil, Republic Steel, and Sherwin Williams were all founded in Cleveland. Like engineering outposts in Seattle, other leading companies including General Motors, Westinghouse, and U.S. Steel were well represented locally.
Yet Cleveland’s success unraveled remarkably quickly.
Within 20 years, when the Cuyahoga River caught fire in 1969, the city was seared into history as “the mistake on the lake.” The population has declined by 60% since 1950 (and is still shrinking). Cleveland has gone from the seventh largest U.S. city in the country to the 56th. Median household incomes are now less than half the national average — and less than 40% of the Seattle area.
Today in Seattle tech circles there is great trepidation about the region’s next act. Seattle is not punching above its weight in the AI era the way we did in the software era. We might not even be punching our weight.
Entrepreneurs, executives, investors, and technologists are departing, either because they don’t think they can be competitive here in the white-hot AI market and/or are concerned about a deteriorating business environment. And the exodus appears to be accelerating.
You might take solace that our little corner of the country hosts two of the world’s five biggest companies (which is a little crazy). But it is easy to believe both Amazon and Microsoft are past peak employee count, as they become more capital-intensive and lean into AI-driven productivity. Other local tech companies and engineering centers are also shrinking, while new job listings have plummeted.
While the tech sector confronts existential dread, the political class in Seattle and Washington state seems oblivious. They don’t have much to say about creating jobs or nurturing industries of the future (or even of the present). Revenue is their focus above all else, with considerably less emphasis on how our taxes translate into efficient and effective provision of government services.
Charles Fitzgerald at the GeekWire Cloud Summit in 2019. (GeekWire File Photo / Kevin Lisota)
The traditional Seattle civic partnership between business and government has frayed. Few lessons have been learned from Boeing’s slow-motion migration out of the Seattle area (Washington is now home to just over a third of Boeing employees, and due to decrease further).
Relations between the tech industry and government are rocky, with the industry seen almost exclusively as a bottomless source of revenue. It would be shocking — but not surprising — to one day learn Amazon and/or Microsoft are moving their headquarters out of the state. (Bellevue already looks like Amazon’s HQ1 in all but name).
The tech boom has been an immense boon for Seattle, as the city attracted talent from all over the world.
Seattle’s population has grown by almost 40% in the 21st century, and the City of Seattle rode that tailwind. The city’s inflation-adjusted budget grew over three times faster than the population over the same period.
That growth raises some obvious questions.
Are city services three times better? How long can government spending keep outgrowing the population? What happens if population growth slows — or even reverses?
Meanwhile, city issues loom large in the desirability of doing business in Seattle.
Downtown is barren, with record vacancies. Public safety, housing and homelessness are perennial hot topics, but progress is scarcer. After the recent election, we’re apparently going to take another shot at those persistent problems with progressive panaceas that have seen limited success, both locally and elsewhere.
Amazon’s Spheres, with the Space Needle in the background. (GeekWire File Photo / Kurt Schlosser)
Completely missing from any discussion is the crisis in our schools, where the majority of fourth and eighth graders in Seattle are not proficient in reading or math.
Education is one of the most effective solutions to many social ailments — and a mandatory prerequisite for an advanced civilization — yet we’ve seemingly given up.
Which brings us back to Cleveland.
When its fortunes began to shift, Cleveland’s politicians made a bad situation worse. A confrontational, short-term posture from government made it easy for companies to put Cleveland plants at the top of their closure lists. Contrast that with another Rust Belt city, Pittsburgh, where politicians and business worked together to accept and manage the inevitable transition. They defined the post-industrial playbook for cities — one Cleveland belatedly adopted.
Seattle has always been a lucky city. Prosperity has often come from unexpected sources. The Alaska gold rush was, quite literally, a gold rush. Bill #1 (Boeing) made Seattle synonymous with aerospace. Proximity to Alaska gave us a competitive container port, while rival ports like Portland and San Francisco dried up. Bill #2 (Gates) catalyzed a software industry in Seattle (and beyond). Jeff (Bezos) famously drove to Seattle in his Chevy Blazer, where he pioneered e-commerce and created a million and a half jobs along the way.
Maybe the luck holds and the next big thing just shows up. It could be space, energy, robotics, biotech or something unimaginable today. Hopefully we get lucky again, but hope, as they say, is not a strategy.
So I’ll offer a catchphrase as you think about Seattle’s next act: Don’t be Cleveland.
(I want to be very clear that I mean no offense to Cleveland. The people there today are still digging out of a hole created decades ago. Let’s learn from them and not repeat the errors of their forebears.)
Tyler Durden
Thu, 02/12/2026 – 22:35
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/warning-seattle-dont-become-next-cleveland
