Bringing scientific light onto a quiet class of organisms, HBO’s “The Last of Us” warned us of an impending epidemic by the apocalyptic fungus: Cordyceps. Zombies have been explained to us by the media as lingering electrical impulses in the brainstem (The Walking Dead), a virus that takes over and consumes the human body (World War Z), and most recently: mushrooms. 

In the original 2013 action-adventure game, “The Last of Us” creatively avoided using the term zombie, opting for the term infected. It refers to a species of fungus, cordyceps, that infect a hosts’ brain and control them. When idle, infected lie still and allow the cordyceps to grow from them in an attempt to connect to other cordyceps.

Bob Ferguson is Washington state’s newly elected governor, leading his competitor, Dave Reichert by almost 400,000 votes.

The Seattle-born former Washington Attorney General has been in the public eye for some time, but may not be as ubiquitous as his contemporaries–at least for now. So who is Ferguson?

The finish line for this election season is less than a week away.

Along with the hotly contested Presidential campaigns pushing all they can in the final days, Washington has its own hot-button ticket issues that will racket through its own economy, depending on how the votes go. 

Drag Bingo is being held tonight in the Student Union (Building 8) in the Mt. Townsend conference room, starting at 6 p.m. and hosted by Brandi Marxx from Tacoma. She promised an “unforgettable evening of Bingo, drag performances, and tunes.” 

Early voting is open! Mail-in ballots have been sent out, and registration is still open for anyone needing to request a new ballot.

As the Presidential race has everyone’s attention, the Thunderword wished to remind everyone that local decisions are also on the ballot this November.

Two American astronauts, sent into space for an eight-day mission by a Boeing Starliner, have been stuck for months on the International Space Station (ISS), as their craft was deemed too risky to safely make the return trip home.

On June 7, 2024, Boeing, in conjunction with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), launched the two American astronauts, Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunni Williams, into space aboard Boeing’s ‘Starliner’ capsule. The mission: an eight day test of systems aboard Starliner, but this not-exactly-successful mission has turned into an eight-month detour around the planet for the pair.

Between the dark hours of 9 p.m. – 1 a.m. EST, Florida residents braced themselves for another catastrophe. Entire towns were abandoned, debris left behind, and homes vacated. Those watching from the screens urge friends and family to get out, get safe, and stay alive.

Hurricane Milton made landfall on central Florida’s west-coast as a Category 3 hurricane in the evening hours of Wednesday. The once tropical storm took less than 36 hours to strengthen into a Cat 5, but slowed and downgraded to a Cat 3 upon approaching the state.

Bringing us into the spooky season this year was none other than Tim Burton, the King of family-spooky night, with the reprisal of Beetlejuice. “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” hits theaters in time to kick off the haunting season, 36 years after the original premiered.

Winona Ryder, Catherine O’hara, and Michael Keaton all reprise their roles as Lydia Deetz, Delia Deetz, and the exorcist himself, Beetlejuice.

In 1890, while living the life of a luxurious and infamous playwright, Oscar Wilde compiled all his imaginatives on hedonism, temptation, and human nature into a blood-driven, sex-filled young man he most definitely saw himself in, Dorian Gray. 

“The Picture of Dorian Gray” remains Wilde’s only novel, first published in a monthly magazine. Wilde wrote a few versions of the story, censored and edited by his publishers, but an artists’ work is always a reflection of the artist.

The Vice Presidential debate between Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Ohio Senator JD Vance, was one of the most polite political stages seen the past few election cycles.

The 90-minute face off between the two men duking it out to be second-in-command was a spectacle in that it was a night of civil oratory discussion – edging on even exchanging polite pleasantries.  

This past week Israel has “defended” itself outside its borders by remotely detonating hundreds of pagers and walkie-talkies used by militant group Hezbollah. The attack killed dozens and injured thousands more. 

The conflict has escalated since, with Israel carrying out air-strikes and raids within Lebanon. Hezbollah has continued their own assault into northern Israel. The fighting continues as Israel wages another conflict in the south.

Highline College welcomes all new and returning students back this autumn season for its 2024 fall quarter!

As with every season at Highline, the campus is brimming with events, resources, clubs, and sports to appeal to anyone curious about trying something new, something different, or in search of a community over something you love.

As the fall quarter kicks off at Highline, there is a realization that the political world we live in now, in September, is vastly different than the political scene we left in June.

The last issue of The Thunderword reported on the historic conviction of former President Donald Trump. This was shortly before the disastrous debate with current President Joe Biden, who at the time, was the presumed democratic nominee for this year’s election.

The Live Nation-Ticketmaster conglomerate is now under the scrutiny of the Department of Justice for maintaining an illegal monopoly. Whether it’s a concert at Lumen Field, a Mariners game at T-Mobile Stadium, or an event on Capitol Hill, the big live event giant handing out your tickets has now been thrust into its own spotlight after years of skirting the dark side of the stage.

The entertainment industry is a curtained machine of artist management, venue operations, concert promotion, and ticket sales. After a 2010 merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster, the one company now owns and controls every single one of these aspects. The lawsuit, set forth by the DOJ against Live Nation, says they “control around 60% of concert promotion at major concert venues across the country.”

Over 100 firefighters and EMS staff working at Boeing facilities in Washington are locked out in an attempt by Boeing to force a contract agreement for low wages and longer progression periods.

At midnight on May 4, Boeing deactivated all security and parking passes of its on-site EMS and firefighters at its six Washington facilities around Seattle.

The lockout began at 12:01 a.m., as the current contract between Boeing and the International Association of Firefighters union expired at midnight, and a new contract had not been agreed upon. The lockout comes after months of failed contract negotiations on wages between the company and the union representing the workers.

On the morning of April 29, students from University of Washington Seattle campus pitched tents on the Quad, establishing the Popular University for Gaza Liberated Zone. Situated in between the Raitt and Miller buildings, the encampment tripled in size within the first 24 hours. The most contentious demand is for the school to cut ties with Boeing, a long-time partner.

The encampment includes organizations from the UW Progressive Student Union as well as the UW United Front For Palestine Liberation and the UW Student Muslim Association.

Registration for summer and fall quarter is now open to all Highline Students. Summer quarter is shorter, more faced paced as it stretches over eight weeks as compared to fall classes, which last 11 weeks.

Summer begins June 24 and ends with exams being Aug. 14 and 15.

For students wanting to receive financial aid for the summer quarter, a separate form is required to be completed as it is processed differently than the typical academic year (fall-spring). Students must ensure they register for classes first and then fill out the Summer Aid Request Form.

Over the past several months, 2,600 students have been arrested at protests across the country as encampments crop up on quads and in squares. The main call for these protests have been to end US involvement in the war, bringing it to their school administrators demanding divestment from Israel-supporting companies.

For context, on October 7, 2023, Hamas, a Palestinian militant force who has had control over the Palestinian population for the past 18 years, launched an attack into southern Israel, resulting in the death of 1,400 and the capture of about 250 people, including women and children.

Upon entering a restaurant and seeing a dog in a bright red vest on, it’s hard to tell whether the pup is about to start begging for food or alerting their handler to something wrong. With a “Service Dog – Do Not Pet” patch attached, there’s still a level of mistrust these days.

Due to the easy access of service dog attire, it’s commonplace for people to purchase working dog harnesses for household pets in order to bypass “no-pet policy” places. Some might claim their dog is an ESA, maintaining a privilege above business policies.