Washington Gov. Jay Inslee on Thursday announced a statewide requirement that attendees at large events show proof of being vaccinated against COVID-19 or proof of a negative test taken in the 72 hours before the event.Read More
Politics
Franklin County started the hearings for redrawing electoral district boundaries, and the Latino population wants more information available in Spanish. The redistricting committee began public hearings on Tuesday in Pasco. In the middle of litigation regarding the violation of the Washington Voting Rights Act 2018, the committee is working on the electoral district maps Read More
By Julie Appleby Patients are months away from not having to worry about most surprise medical bills — those extra costs that can amount to hundreds or thousands of dollars […]Read More
The days are quickly ticking down to next Monday's deadline when most Oregon and Washington teachers, health care workers and public employees need to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19.Read More
Maybe you've noticed the birthday card that arrived belatedly or the check in the mail that didn't pay your credit card quite on time. It's not your imagination. The mail has definitely gotten less speedy.Read More
Since 2000, more than 200 people have died by suicide in Washington and Oregon jails putting the Northwest states above the national average for jail suicides, according to a new report by the federal Bureau of Justice Statistics.Read More
Senate Democrats are trying a fresh attempt to stave off a potential debt default with a Wednesday afternoon vote meant to pressure Republicans into dropping their blockage of legislation to address the nation's borrowing limit.Read More
Both liberal and conservative Supreme Court justices pressed the government's lawyer about why a detainee at Guantanamo Bay couldn't testify about his own torture at the hands of the CIA.Read More
Young people in the U.S. made history in the 2020 elections, voting at a record high rate. And now the technology company behind a popular social media app is hoping to help some of those young voters become political candidates in their own right.Read More
The Washington State Patrol turned 100 this year. To this day it’s still a mostly white, male organization. Over the years it’s struggled to diversify. But now one part of the hiring process is getting fresh scrutiny: the psychological review.Read More
It was supposed to be former Washington Lt. Gov. Cyrus Habib's legacy — a pair of programs to serve youth with disabilities and youth from marginalized or disadvantaged backgrounds. But Habib's successor cancelled a contract with the nonprofit that operates the programs after identifying what his office called "suspicious financial activity" during Habib's last year in office.Read More
Dozens of Washington state troopers, prison correctional officers, ferry workers and other public sector employees have filed a lawsuit in Walla Walla County to try to overturn Gov. Jay Inslee's COVID-19 vaccine. The lawsuit alleges the mandate is unlawful and unconstitutional.Read More
Past as Prologue essay about gendered epithets in Pacific Northwest politics and beyond.Read More
Tens of thousands of public school students in Washington state returned to classes this month in school buildings judged to be at risk of collapse in a strong earthquake. A new report to the state Legislature prepared by state geologists and a structural engineering firm gave the lowest possible seismic safety rating to more than 90 percent of the school buildings Read More
The Washington Federation of State Employees announced a tentative deal with Gov. Jay Inslee early Saturday morning.Read More
Long-term care insurance companies have temporarily halted sales in Washington. The move follows a frenzy of interest in the costly insurance policies prompted by a November 1 deadline to opt out of a new state-run long-term care program.Read More
New laws governing Washington State law enforcement took effect on Sunday, including their use of force (HB 1310) and tactics (HB 1054).
Some police departments in King County say new laws means they will no longer respond to certain calls; City of Seattle chief Adrian Diaz calls that “absurd.”Read More
President Biden heads to Capitol Hill Wednesday to begin the push to unite Democrats from both the progressive and moderate wings of his party around the $3.5 trillion budget blueprint unveiled late Tuesday by Democrats on the Senate budget panel.Read More
BY ASMA KHALID & ARNIE SEIPEL With voting rights legislation stalled in the Senate because of Republican opposition, Vice President Harris suggested that she has talked to senators about exceptions […]Read More
As security conditions deteriorate in Afghanistan, President Biden is defending his decision to pull U.S. troops out of America's longest-running war. Biden announced the decision in April, and he insisted Thursday that he will stick to it, even as the consequences of that withdrawal become more and more stark.Read More
Former President Donald Trump is suing Facebook, Twitter and Google's YouTube over their suspensions of his accounts after a mob of his supporters attacked the U.S. Capitol in January.Read More
Ahead of the first Fourth of July since an attack on the Capitol, fueled by baseless claims of voter fraud, and as several GOP-led states work now to enact stricter voting rules, majorities of Democrats, Republicans and independents express worry about the health of democracy.Read More
The “Task Force to Examine Indoctrination in Idaho Education” reconvened Thursday — in a meeting marked by a rocky start, a tense middle and a slow end.Read More
Democrats' massive election overhaul bill aimed at protecting and expanding voting rights and reforming campaign finance laws has stalled in the Senate.Read More
As many people celebrate growing representation, women and people of color continue to bear the brunt of harassment and threats at all levels of government. The abuse is compounded for Black women, who experience both systemic racism and sexism. An Amnesty International study examining abusive tweets targeted at women journalists and politicians in the U.S. and U.K. in Read More
After a contentious debate, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has voted to move forward with a process that could call into question the eligibility of politicians like President Joe Biden to receive Communion.Read More
President Joe Biden said he also tried to establish some basic rules of the road, sharing with Vladimir Putin a list of 16 elements of critical infrastructure he suggested be considered off limits for cyber attacks.Read More
A batch of emails released by the Democrats on the House Oversight Committee appears to paint a clearer picture of how former President Donald Trump and his allies attempted to pressure the U.S. Justice Department to investigate unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud in the 2020 election.Read More
A national expert on race and extremism said a recent spate of attacks on “critical race theory” in Idaho are part of a growing effort by conservative Republicans to exploit anxiety and engage voters in upcoming elections.Read More
Nearman refused to resign in the face of overwhelming evidence he would be ejected from the Legislature. The four-term Republican lawmaker becomes the first person ever expelled from the Oregon House.Read More
Mainstream Idaho Republicans, who have dominated the state for three decades and would be considered far right in many states, have themselves become targets, including protests at lawmakers’ homes. They fear disinformation and intimidation is driving the changes in the rural Western state.Read More
President Biden put the kibosh on negotiations after informing Republican Sen. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia that "the latest offer from her group did not, in his view, meet the essential needs of our country to restore our roads and bridges, prepare us for our clean energy future, and create jobs," according to White House press secretary Jen Psaki.Read More
A bipartisan probe led by two Senate committees has found that U.S. Capitol Police and other authorities were in possession of more alarming intelligence clues ahead of the Jan. 6 attack on the complex than previously documented.Read More
BY SHANNON BOND Facebook has extended former President Donald Trump’s suspension for two years and says it will only reinstate him “if the risk to public safety has receded.” The […]Read More
For anyone who somehow missed last week’s news, the lieutenant governor made the most of her brief stint as acting governor. With Gov. Brad Little in Nashville, Tenn., for a Republican Governors Association conference, McGeachin issued an executive order rescinding local mask mandates. McGeachin said she wanted to keep kids from being forced to wear a mask — at least in Read More
At a basic level, it's a victory for those looking to sow doubt in the 2020 election results just to have them still being litigated six months after Election Day. To be clear, Maricopa County's election results have already been audited multiple times by companies with experience in the field, with no problems being uncovered.Read More
Bipartisan legislation to establish an independent commission to investigate the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol has failed in the Senate, as Republicans staged their first filibuster since President Biden took office to block the plan.Read More
Idaho Governor Overturns Mask Ban From His Own Lt. Governor, Calls It ‘Self-Serving Political Stunt’
Idaho Gov. Brad Little on Friday issued an executive order repealing a mask mandate prohibition put in place while he was out of the state by the lieutenant governor, describing her actions as a tyrannical abuse of power and an “irresponsible, self-serving political stunt.”Read More
While acting as governor in Gov. Brad Little’s absence on Thursday, Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin issued an executive order prohibiting mask mandates issued by the state or its “political subdivisions,” including public schools, counties, cities and public health districts. It also extends to state boards, commissions, departments and divisions.Read More
Nearly four months after condemning Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's comments on antisemitic conspiracy theories, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy is once again rejecting the Georgia Republican's rhetoric — this time over her equating of COVID-19 safety measures with the treatment of Jews during the Holocaust.Read More
President Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet face to face in Geneva on June 16, their first summit as Biden looks for what he calls a more "stable, predictable relationship" despite the many points of conflict between the two nations.Read More
The Justice Department released a portion of an internal memo cited by former leaders as part of their decision concluding that former President Donald Trump did not obstruct justice, but in a court filing late Monday said it would seek to block the full document from release.Read More
The lawsuit by the Opportunity for All Coalition (OFAC), which successfully fought Seattle’s high-earners income tax in 2017, was filed Thursday in Douglas County Superior Court. The plaintiffs include business owners and farmers who would potentially be subject to the new tax, as well as the Washington Farm Bureau.Read More
The Israeli Cabinet voted to accept an Egyptian initiative for a cease-fire, according to a statement from the Cabinet. A Hamas spokesman said, "The Palestinian resistance will commit itself to this deal as long as the occupation is committed."Read More
Following overwhelming support from both chambers of Congress, President Biden signed legislation Thursday that addresses hate crimes throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, with particular emphasis on the increase in violence against Asian Americans.Read More
Five counties voted in favor of leaving Oregon in Tuesday elections, the latest push by a coalition that wants a large chunk of Oregon to join Idaho instead. That border shift is not likely to happen anytime soon.Read More
The House has passed a bipartisan plan to create a 9/11-style commission to investigate the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, despite significant opposition from Republican lawmakers.Read More
Ending months of speculation, Republican Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin officially entered the governor’s race Wednesday. McGeachin’s entry into the gubernatorial race sets up a potential showdown, and clash of ideologies, in the May 2022 GOP primary.Read More
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy came out Tuesday against a bipartisan proposal to establish a 9/11-style commission to investigate the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. The announcement comes a day before the House of Representatives is slated to vote on the legislation.Read More
President Biden has revoked a number of executive actions taken by former President Donald Trump in the last year of his administration, mostly in response to the protests over systemic racism and police violence.Read More
