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Expedia Buys Orbitz, Amanda Knox Engaged & More News

The top Seattle news stories you should be reading today

By Lauren Mang February 12, 2015

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Did you win the $564M Powerball jackpot? Of course you didn’t.

If you’re scrolling through Twitter or
checking your emails while driving right now in Washington, that’s not illegal. But recently a bill that was proposed would expand the existing law (texting while driving) to make surfing on the web while driving illegal and increase the penalty if you’re caught. The bill has bipartisan support, according to King 5.

Wedding bells are ringing for Amanda Knox, who was convicted of murder in 2009 by an Italian court after her roommate in 2007 was found murdered in their Perugia, Italy, house while studying abroad. That conviction was overturned in 2011. Even though Knox’s murder case is still ongoing, the 27-year-old has gotten engaged to her boyfriend Colin Sutherland.

If you can’t beat ’em, buy ’em: Bellevue-based online travel site Expedia has scooped up competitor Orbitz for $1.33 billion.

The prime minister of Luxembourg Xavier Bettel will be here in Seattle on Monday visiting with Mayor Ed Murray and various local businesses. He’ll also stop by the new Starbucks Roastery and Tasting Room in Capitol Hill, and “hopes to entice Starbucks to open stores in his country,” reports The Seattle Business Journal. Luxembourg currently does not have a Starbucks.

 

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Holiday Hunt in Pioneer Square

Holiday Hunt in Pioneer Square

A daily ornament drop turns December into a neighborhood-wide scavenger hunt.

The holidays tend to bring out the kid in all of us. And if opening presents and eating too many treats weren’t enough, there’s also a scavenger hunt in Seattle’s oldest neighborhood. Pioneer Square’s Holiday Ornament Scavenger Hunt has returned for its third year. Twenty-five handblown glass ornaments—all made at Glasshouse Studio—are hidden across 25…

Chit-Chat Kids

Chit-Chat Kids

Phone a friend.

Twenty years ago, before everyone walked around with a device in their pocket, kids used to call each other on a landline—often tethered to the kitchen in their home. It was a simpler time, when parents didn’t have to worry (nearly as much) about a potential predator contacting their child. Nowadays, things are different, which…

A Plate for Pickleball

A Plate for Pickleball

The design celebrates the state’s official sport. Additional plates are on the way.

Washington served up a new license plate last week, honoring the state sport of pickleball. In the works for three years, it’s the second of seven specialty plates to hit the market since getting approved by lawmakers earlier this year. “We’re thrilled to see our efforts become reality,” says Kate Van Gent, vice president of…

Seattle-Based Agency Brings Real Voices to NBC’s New Campaign

Seattle-Based Agency Brings Real Voices to NBC’s New Campaign

DNA&STONE built the project around candid conversations to understand what audiences want from reporting.

“I turned off news altogether. I want to be able to form my own opinions. Just tell the truth.” These lines open NBC News’ new national campaign, a 60-second ad that drifts over forests, farms, neighborhoods, and cityscapes while Americans talk about how worn out they feel by the news. The landscape carries the conversation…