Eight days before the Trump administration departed, it declassified a key document that it said "provided overarching strategic guidance" to its approach toward Asia, a region it dubbed the Indo-Pacific.Read More
The federal government's 75 inspectors general, as they're known, are reeling from chaos in the Trump era, including firings and pressure campaigns from the White House and its allies. In response, the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency is asking lawmakers for greater job protections in the year ahead.Read More
The Trump administration asked, and the Supreme Court allowed, for a suspension to a lower court order that extends the census schedule. The move sharpens the threat of an incomplete count.Read More
The agency now says contacts of people with COVID-19 don't necessarily need to get tested. Public health experts say less testing of potential carriers could lead to more spread of the disease. Read More
In 2017, the Trump administration scaled back protections of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. A federal judge has now struck down the rule change — and cited "To Kill a Mockingbird" in so doing.Read More
This latest rollback proposal, issued Tuesday, comes from the Forest Service Pacific Northwest Region. It would end a 25-year-old provision that prevents logging of trees that exceed 21 inches in diameter in six national forests across Eastern Oregon and Washington.Read More
As NPR reported earlier this week, the Trump administration has not been accepting new applicants even after the Supreme Court ruled last month that the administration didn't go about ending the program correctly. Read More
Later this year, the high court will hear a case that seeks to invalidate the entire Affordable Care Act. In a court filing Thursday, the Trump administration fully supported the move.Read More
Trump has reversed Obama-era protections that prohibit discrimination in health care based on gender identity. Critics warn the rule could harm a vulnerable group — LGBTQ people — during a pandemic.Read More
Oregon and Washington have joined 26 states and cities in suing the Trump administration over a new rule that weakens emission standards for cars and trucks.Read More
The Trump administration is rushing to finalize some of its biggest environmental rollbacks ahead of November's election. Some affected groups say they're too distracted by the pandemic to engage.Read More
"If that rule had gone into effect, then every hospital, every nursing home would essentially have to have a plan," said David Michaels, former Occupational Safety and Health Administration chief.Read More
The Trump administration on Monday moved to block a Washington state law that imposed safety restrictions on oil shipments by rail following a string of explosive accidents.Read More
A former vaccine expert with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) alleges in a whistleblower complaint that he was ousted because his efforts to address the coronavirus pandemic conflicted with those of President Donald Trump and other administration officials.Read More
"Today the world showed extraordinary unity for the common good," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said. The U.S. was conspicuously absent from the event.Read More
Dr. Anthony Fauci and other members of the coronavirus task force will testify before a GOP-led Senate committee next week but have been blocked from making similar appearances in the House so far.Read More
As some states move to lift social distancing restrictions, government documents reveal how much more lethal the pandemic could still be without careful mitigation efforts.Read More
Ten years after an oil rig explosion killed 11 workers and unleashed an environmental nightmare in the Gulf of Mexico, companies are drilling in deeper and deeper waters, where payoffs can be huge but risks are greater than ever.Read More
The Trump administration is stripping clean water protections put in place by President Barack Obama, and some in the industry worry that the regulatory changes will threaten their business.Read More
The high court will consider a case involving a challenge to a Trump administration rule that allows employers to opt out of providing contraceptive coverage for religious or moral reasons.Read More
The Trump administration has built up the biggest backlog of unfunded toxic Superfund clean-up projects in at least 15 years, nearly triple the number that were stalled for lack of money in the Obama era, according to 2019 figures quietly released by the Environmental Protection Agency over the winter holidays.Read More
The Trump administration is asking the court to invalidate the program that temporarily protects from deportation some 700,000 DREAMers who were brought to the country illegally as children.Read More
Seventeen states sued the Trump administration Wednesday to block rules weakening the Endangered Species Act, saying the changes would make it tougher to protect wildlife even in the midst of a global extinction crisis.Read More
The Trump administration says only the federal government can set tailpipe emissions standards. It's the latest move in a months long standoff over efforts to weaken a key Obama-era climate rule.Read More
In a move that critics say will hurt plants, animals and other species as they face mounting threats, the Trump administration is making major changes to how the Endangered Species Act is implemented. Read More
The Trump administration made the declaration after Beijing allowed its currency to drop sharply. China's move triggered a sell-off on Wall Street.Read More
n a defeat for the Trump administration, the Supreme Court leaves the citizenship question blocked for now from the 2020 census, in part because of the government's explanation for why it added it in the first place.Read More
A letter from the Department of Justice announced the shift, in support of a district court judge's ruling that the law is unconstitutional. The case will likely end up in the Supreme Court.Read More
The special election runoff in deep red Mississippi was expected to be a sleepy affair — a formality, even. Instead, the race has tightened as the GOP candidate stumbled over the state's racist past.Read More
Angered by General Motors' decision to idle plants and lay off thousands of workers, the Trump administration threatened to retaliate by withholding federal subsidies for the company's cars.Read More
The Trump administration has finalized a roll back of Obama-era regulations for oil trains.Read More
Under the Flores settlement, immigrant minors can't be held in jail-like settings and can't be held for longer than 20 days. The government's move to circumvent that will likely end up in court.Read More
The craft brewing industry in the Northwest is starting to feel pain from the Trump administration's steel and aluminum tariffs. Those metals are made into beer cans, kegs and fermentation tanks.Read More
The Trump administration is proposing key changes to the Endangered Species Act. It’s a move conservation groups say could greatly weaken the way animals and plants are protected.Read More
The agency's next acting chief has drawn praise as a capable administrator. But critics still say the transition from Scott Pruitt is a bit like "going from a train wreck to a house on fire."Read More
At midnight, U.S. tariffs took effect on $34 billion worth of imported Chinese goods — and Beijing responded quickly. The tit for tat marks a significant escalation in the countries' trade dispute.Read More
The government's June jobs report beat expectations with another 213,000 jobs added. The unemployment rate ticked up to 4 percent with more people entering the workforce.Read More
The pitch goes all-in on workforce development and imagines a mobile-first platform for student borrowers. It's part of a proposal to restructure federal government. Congress would have to approve.Read More
Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson and Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum plan to sue the Trump administration to ensure children who were separated from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border are reunited.Read More
Although the GOP repeal-and-replace mantra seems to have quieted, some Republican lawmakers continue efforts to get around the sweeping federal health law's requirements. Sometimes that happens in surprising places. Like the farm bill.Read More
The Trump administration wants to slash the federal government’s biggest source of funds for conservation on private land. Here’s what you need to know.Read More
For some, the USDA's plan to deliver SNAP benefits as canned, shelf-stable food is painfully familiar. The agency has long given this type of aid to tribes, with devastating health effects.Read More
Earlier this month, the Trump administration announced plans to reopen the West Coast to offshore oil and gas leasing. But with strong opposition and unproven oil and gas reserves, it’s unclear whether anyone will take that chance.Read More
The Trump administration is rolling back a requirement for trains carrying highly explosive liquids — like the oil trains that run through the Columbia River Gorge en route to Northwest refineries. […]Read More
U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry tours the HAMMER training facility in Richland, Washington. ANNA KING / NORTHWEST NEWS NETWORK Listen U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Rick Perry toured […]Read More
FIle photo. Washington state’s director of elections has responded to President Donald Trump’s Commission on Election Integrity. PHYLLIS FLETCHER / NORTHWEST NEWS NETWORK Listen Washington state’s voter rolls are “accurate,” […]Read More
Washington Secretary of State Kim Wyman says she’s confident the state is in compliance with federal voting laws. Her office recently received a letter from the Department of Justice’s voting […]Read More
More than two dozen former federal prosecutors from western Washington are pushing back against new guidance from the Trump administration.Read More
Former Washington state Sen. Don Benton said he’s “very excited” about the confirmation of Scott Pruitt to head the Environmental Protection Agency. Benton is a senior adviser to the White House at the EPA.Read More
A 32-year career at Boeing comes to a close in April for engineer Dave Baine of suburban Seattle. Baine was already prepared to retire when Boeing sealed the deal by […]Read More
