Seattle-Tacoma International Airport is collecting donations of food and other items for Transportation Security Administration employees working without pay amid the second government shutdown in six months.

The big picture: The Department of Homeland Security shutdown hits just as the nationwide spring break travel surge begins. Travelers face longer wait times as TSA employees navigate the rush without pay.

Zoom in: SEA opened a food pantry for TSA agents and is asking for donations of non-perishables, hygiene products and baby supplies.

• This is nothing new for the Seattle airport, which ran similar food drives during the last two federal shutdowns, said airport spokesperson Perry Cooper.
• Airport dining and retail tenants are helping stock the pantry, with some offering meals and discounts to security staff, he said.
• People who wish to donate can do so weekdays between 8am and 4pm at the SEA Conference Center.

Yes, but: So far, the shutdown hasn't slowed security lines at the airport, per Cooper.

Zoom out: Other airports are launching similar efforts.

• Denver International Airport asked followers on social media for $10 and $20 grocery and gas gift cards for TSA employees.

Context: Many transportation security officers already work paycheck to paycheck, TSA says.

• Geoff Freeman, the CEO of the U.S. Travel Association, said in a statement that with an average salary around $35,000, these officers "simply cannot afford to miss a paycheck."

Catch up quick: DHS funding expired about a month ago with lawmakers locked in a stalemate over immigration enforcement.

• Other agencies under the DHS umbrella also remain in limbo.
• Democrats have proposed funding certain agencies like FEMA and TSA, while Republicans floated a measure to temporarily fund all of DHS. Both efforts failed.

The fine print: Donations are subject to government ethics regulations and cash or cash-equivalent gift cards cannot be accepted.

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After one of the worst snow seasons in years, a massive storm just rewrote the story for Washington's mountains, and there's still more to come.

The latest: Most Cascade ski areas picked up about 30 inches of snow by Wednesday, with another 10-plus inches forecast Thursday and a few more inches possible today, meteorologist Michael Fagin told Axios.

• Ski forecaster Larry Schick called the new snow "the best of the winter," with free refills continuing through the day and another 2-6 inches possible tomorrow.

Yes, but: The storm barely dented the state's dismal snowpack deficit, state climatologist Guillaume Mauger told Axios.

• Statewide snowpack rose from around 50% of normal to nearly 60% over the last week, but remains in the lowest 10% of historical snowpack years, Mauger said.

"There's almost no scenario where snowpack catches up to normal this season," Mauger said.

What's next: Enjoy it now. Forecasts show a significant warmup next week, with Seattle seeing highs in the 60s, Fagin said.

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One person was killed by a falling tree during the windstorm in Western Washington on Wednesday that knocked out power to more than 100,000 homes and businesses.

• Winds were clocked at 134 mph at Snoqualmie Pass. (MyNorthwest)

🏈 The Seahawks have re-signed fullback Brady Russell, a key leader of the special teams unit. (Seattle Times)

⚽️ Iran says it won't play in the 2026 World Cup, leaving Seattle's June 26 match awaiting a possible replacement team. (FOX 13)

Washington's attorney general is part of a bipartisan coalition of state AGs moving aggressively to sue corporate giants — an effort they argue is filling a void left by federal antitrust regulators.

Driving the news: Washington joined more than two dozen Republican and Democratic state attorneys general this week in filing a motion for a mistrial in the federal antitrust lawsuit that sought to break up Live Nation/Ticketmaster.

Zoom in: The states are seeking to continue their lawsuit after the Justice Department on Monday said it settled the case for $280 million.

• The settlement quickly drew outrage from consumer groups and activists, who argue the Trump administration let the firm off the hook.

The big picture: Recent examples show states can be effective in blocking big mergers, especially when they band together.

• Kroger's $25 billion takeover attempt of rival Albertsons was successfully thwarted by state lawsuits in Oregon and Washington in 2024.

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Grab your corded headphones: People are snapping up Apple's retired MP3 players for nostalgia and a break from smartphones.

The big picture: For younger generations especially, the comeback is part of a broader return to offline devices and hobbies, driven by digital burnout.

By the numbers: Search interest for the original iPod and the iPod Nano spiked last year — even though Apple discontinued the product line in 2022, according to Google Trends data.

• eBay searches jumped for the iPod Classic (+25%) and iPod Nano (+20%) between January and October 2025 compared with the same period in 2024, per internal data shared with Axios.

How it works: Older tech tends to be "single-purpose," says Cal Newport, a computer science professor and author of "Digital Minimalism." "All you can do with an iPod, for example, is listen to music."

What they're saying: "The act of playing my music, with the sole purpose of listening to music — no ads, no apps, no distractions — makes my brain feel brand-new again," says Gen Zer Shaughnessy Barker, who started using an iPod Classic over the holidays after scouring eBay and Facebook Marketplace.

• "Gen Z and young adults are experiencing a lot of uncertainty in our lives, and it's very hard for us to have a lot of hope in the future," says Natalie Constantine, who has a secondhand iPod Nano.
• "So, we kind of attach to things that brought us hope and happiness in the past, like using an iPod."

The bottom line: Everything old is new again.

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