Not the World's Nicest Guy: Meet Erniel Kandi, a local mortgage broker. He likes to use special, high interest mortgages to quickly take possession of at-risk homes and then flip them. The best part is that he was once in foreclosure himself.

Book Sale in Danger: The Friends of the Seattle Public Library and a bunch of other nonprofits stand to lose access to an events center that has failed building codes. The city doesn't seem to have the money to make upgrades.

$250 Million of Discontent: People are questioning UW's decision to spend such a large sum upgrading Husky Stadium when they could hypothetically use Qwest Field. The money will come from private donors, but it seems like the money might be better spent on academics.

Have Fun in Jail: A local white supremacist who has already pleaded guilty to one federal civil rights charge refused to plead out on another on Friday. He also convinced his public defender to quit. Hot streak!

Legislative Scoreboard Check: With most votes tallied, the GOP picked up a handful of seats in the state House and Senate, but not enough to take control of either chamber. This reality goes against the triumphalist rhetoric we heard at the Washington GOP party on election night.

British Couple Freed in Somalia: It took over a year and a $750,000 ransom, but two Brits were freed by pirates today. Pretty cool—the British Somali community helped raise a lot of the funds.

Another Cuban Dissident Goes Free: He was part of the larger release package negotiated by the Catholic Church and Spain this summer, but he was one of 13 who refused to go into exile in Spain. Today he is back at home in Havana. I guess he just didn't want to go clubbing in Ibiza.

The Special Relationship: The Obama administration has agreed to bend over backwards and give Israel a $3 billion package of fighter jets if only they will halt settlement construction in the West Bank for 90 days. Israel isn't sure it's a good deal. Now I am scared to see what a good deal would be.

Typical D.C. Solution: House Democrats avoid a contest for their number two leadership position by creating a new number three slot. Hooray, two more years of news releases featuring the bizarrely-named Steny Hoyer!