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Amazon’s bid to build the Pentagon’s war cloud has been mired in accusations of favoritism since the beginning. But a newly published ProPublica investigation reveals how close Amazon and CEO Jeff Bezos have been to the project since its inception. Read the highlights.

The University of Washington’s work in robotics and artificial intelligence now includes cute little race cars. But don’t let the size fool you. These are no mere toys. Built using off-the-shelf and 3D-printed parts, the vehicles are part of an open-source, full-stack robotics platform. Read the story.

Seattle’s coffee startup scene is buzzing. Through new hardware and software innovations, the region’s entrepreneurs are still brewing up ideas around coffee, upgrading Seattle’s most cliché of beverages nearly 50 years after Starbucks began to take the culture to the masses. Read the story.

Inslee is out. Washington Gov. Jay Inslee exited the race for president Wednesday after he failed to raise his polling numbers. But the self-declared climate change candidate vowed to continue his environment-related work. He’ll pursue a third term as Washington’s governor. Read the story.

After a long career in tech, Sudheer Koneru thought he was done working. But the former Microsoft engineering leader took an unexpected detour into the beauty industry. Now he’s leading Zenoti, a Seattle-based software provider for spa and salon businesses that has raised a whopping $91 million in funding in its nine years of existence. Read the story.

Alexa TrebEcho? Amazon’s Alexa virtual assistant and Echo smart speaker made a cameo during last night’s “Jeopardy!” episode, helping host Alex Trebek turn down the stage lights. Yes, it was a little weird. Watch the video.

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