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The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday set the stage for another redrawing of Washington state’s political maps. On the first day of its new session, the court accepted a legal challenge to the boundaries, then remanded it to a lower court to determine if the way a federal judge drew the lines in 2024 complies
Kalshi, Polymarket and the Coalition for Prediction Markets have spent at least $3 million this year on lobbying and campaign contributions across the federal and state levels, according to a new report from the government watchdog group OpenSecrets. Prediction market platforms say they are like commodity markets that…
Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson told frustrated unionized ferry workers that he expected “every vessel on every route” to be running Tuesday morning as a sickout by members brought much of the nation’s largest ferry system to a standstill Monday. Thirteen of the ferry system’s 18 vessels transporting travelers and…
WASHINGTON — Democrats expect they’ll gain a majority of seats in the U.S. House following November’s midterm elections, giving the party a platform to serve as a check on the president’s power. Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chair Suzan DelBene said during an interview Monday that curbing the war in Iran…
When the Washington state ferry Tillikum entered service in 1959, Albert Rosellini was in his first term as governor and Dwight Eisenhower was in his second as president. The showy tail fins of Chevrolet and Plymouth sedans on its car deck could have made a killer whale jealous. The auto-and-driver fare to cross Puget…
A considered approach to AI is necessary if we want teachers to make classroom-level decision rooted in student learning, three Central Washington University experts say.
Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson has rejected every inmate that the state clemency and pardons board recommended for commutation.
A proposed Canadian oil pipeline to a supertanker terminal at the Port of Vancouver in British Columbia is raising hackles among Washington state’s political leaders. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Thursday designated the West Coast Oil Pipeline, now known as the Pacific Link, as a project of national…
When Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin declared in September that Immigration and Customs Enforcement could serve warrants on individuals at polling places this fall, officials in Denver, a liberal city where roughly 14% of residents are foreign-born, quickly sued. “Every day we find new things to be…
A judge on Friday threw out tough new job standards for county sheriffs approved by Washington lawmakers this year that critics argued would force some out of office. The decision from Thurston County Superior Court Judge Christine Schaller permanently blocks the most controversial pieces of the Democrat-sponsored…
Jobs across the United States rose by 29,000 in September, a disappointing result as recent growth was also revised down in Friday’s monthly jobs report, the last one before midterm elections. September growth was a large dip from a strong August number that was revised down from 162,000 to 133,000 in the new report…
WASHINGTON — This summer, arrests of immigrants in the United States soared to the highest levels since President Donald Trump returned to office. An unprecedented increase in cooperation between local and state law enforcement and federal immigration officers through collaborations known as 287(g) agreements helped…
Roughly 10,000 immigrants in Washington are losing their Medicaid health coverage due to federal cuts Republicans in Congress approved last year. On Thursday, a provision in President Donald Trump’s signature tax cut and spending law stripped Medicaid coverage for refugees, asylees and other lawfully present…
Washington’s minimum wage workers will get a 3.5% pay bump in 2027. The state’s minimum wage will climb to $17.73 an hour starting Jan. 1, the state Department of Labor and Industries announced this week. That’s a 60-cent increase from the current hourly rate of $17.13, which is the highest of any state in the
Korea has not agreed to invest $54 billion in the proposed trans-Alaska natural gas pipeline — and has not even agreed to invest at all, its national industry minister, Kim Jung-kwan, told reporters in Seoul on Thursday. His remarks came hours after President Donald Trump held a news conference in the White House to…
The two candidates vying to represent Washington’s 3rd Congressional District are in a dead heat with less than five weeks to go before a closely watched election that could help determine control of the U.S. House, according to polling conducted by the nonpartisan firm DHM Research and commissioned by OPB. DHM…
The U.S. Department of the Treasury released new guidance Thursday for participating states, scholarship-granting organizations and taxpayers as the federal scholarship tax credit program prepares to take effect in January. Created through President Donald Trump’s massive tax and spending law in 2025, the Education…
WASHINGTON — U.S. senators departed Capitol Hill on Wednesday night for their campaign break, leaving numerous policy disputes unresolved. The chamber won’t return until Nov. 9 for the five-week lame-duck session, when party leaders will have to decide which bills they want to negotiate during what could be the final…
The director of the state’s Department of Fish and Wildlife this week authorized the “incremental” killing of wolves in southeastern Washington with a goal to stop attacks on livestock. Agency officials could not say how many wolves would be killed, but said other nonlethal measures would not be appropriate for the…
The union representing staff of Democratic state senators in Washington has overwhelmingly rejected a new two-year contract, citing its lack of adequate protections for workers facing termination. Legislative assistants, policy analysts and communications specialists for the Senate Democratic Caucus on Monday voted…
WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer indicated Wednesday that should Democrats regain control of the chamber following the elections, they plan to block judicial nominees sent up by President Donald Trump, including for any possible vacancies on the Supreme Court. “Look, the bottom line is, one of…
Republican and Democratic lawmakers in Oregon have been meeting in recent weeks to discuss the potential to collaborate on a climate policy that just seven years ago drove them apart, and drove some Senate Republicans across state lines. A new bipartisan workgroup is negotiating the possibility of standing up a carbon…
The room was packed with a line out the door during the public comment hearing for a Puget Sound Energy rate proposal Tuesday evening at the Utilities and Transportation Commission’s headquarters in Lacey. “We’ve replaced just about everything to something more efficient for which I’ve gotten no incentives and no…
A company providing medical care at the Overlake Medical Center emergency room will refund more than $400,000 to low-income patients under an agreement with Washington’s attorney general. Between 2020 and 2026, Puget Sound Physicians failed to refund nearly $347,000 to more than 1,400 patients at Overlake in Bellevue…
In a surprise announcement, Republican state Rep. Skyler Rude of Walla Walla, said Tuesday that he will resign from office days before the election to start a new job with Democratic Secretary of State Steve Hobbs. Rude, a moderate Republican, said he will step down Oct. 31 and begin work the next day as Hobbs’
Editor’s Note: This is the third and final installment of a three-part Idaho Capital Sun series examining a proposal to bring a new Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campus to Idaho. Part one focused on Gov. Brad Little’s role in negotiations and his priorities for Idaho. Part two focused on Idaho state legislators who…
President Donald Trump is tapping $20 million in Homeland Security funding to pay for TV ads that heavily feature him ahead of the midterm elections, Democrats said Tuesday as the promos critics call propaganda come under bipartisan attack. The Trump administration recently moved the funds into a U.S. Customs and…
Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson hopes the state’s space entrepreneurs can pilot their industry to infinity and beyond. To that end, Ferguson signed an executive order Monday night launching the 23-person Washington Space Council. Its mission is to come up with bold ideas to propel Washington’s commercial space industry…
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration must spend the $810 million that it said last week it planned to cancel, according to a report released Tuesday by the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office. The congressional watchdog’s decision contends the White House budget office doesn’t hold the ability to claw back…
Utah state watchdogs and advocates are skeptical of a move by a major regional utility to sell its assets in Washington.
A new data center campus could soon be coming to federal land near Hermiston in eastern Oregon. It would be the first in Oregon sited on federal public land, and one of at least 12 proposed for more than 17,500 Bureau of Land Management acres across western states under President Donald Trump’s July 2025 executive
WASHINGTON — A bipartisan measure to overhaul the college sports landscape got a step closer to becoming law Monday after passing the U.S. Senate. The bill — which sailed through on a 77-22 vote — would set a national framework for college athletes’ compensation, provide certain antitrust protections to the NCAA…
Editor’s Note: This is the second installment of a three-part Idaho Capital Sun series examining a proposal to bring a new Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campus to Idaho. Part one focused on Gov. Brad Little’s role in negotiations and his priorities for Idaho and is available online. The series concludes Tuesday with a…
Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson on Monday asked President Donald Trump for tens of millions of dollars in federal aid to help communities recover from devastating wildfires this summer. Across the state, 649 primary residences were destroyed, mostly in Spokane County, according to the governor’s office. More than 2,500…
Five weeks before Election Day, President Donald Trump’s sprawling effort to identify and remove noncitizen voters hasn’t produced the kind of large purges that could meaningfully affect the midterm elections. Even a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision giving states access to a supercharged Department of Homeland…
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has, once again, infuriated lawmakers from both political parties by using a controversial maneuver to cancel funding previously approved by Congress. The $810 million in the “pocket rescission” would have gone to refugee assistance programs at the Department of Health and Human…
In a closely watched decision, Washington’s largest union of state government workers has ratified a new two-year contract that provides no pay raises but avoids takeaways on health care and other benefits. Members of the Washington Federation of State Employees approved the agreement Friday, closing the book on a…
Washington Attorney General Nick Brown says rising utility costs and the state's escalating liability expenses are emerging as priorities as his office develops its agenda for the 2027 Legislature.
Editor’s Note: This is the first installment of a three-part Idaho Capital Sun series examining the proposal to bring a new Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campus to Idaho. Part one focuses on Gov. Brad Little’s role in negotiations and his priorities for Idaho. The series continues Monday and Tuesday with a closer look…
A Washington State Court of Appeals ruling in June said that that Washington Adult Protective Services has no mandate to actually investigate reported abuse under state law. Therefore, the state couldn’t be sued for negligently doing so.
The latest forecast of state tax collections released Friday did nothing to brighten Washington’s budget outlook. But it does predict the state’s new income tax will gross hundreds of millions of dollars more than prior projections — if it survives challenges on the ballot and in court. Friday’s forecast shows tax…
Preparing the next generation of doctors to serve Washington communities will take a coordinated, cross-sector, long-term strategy, a family medicine doctor argues.
Washington Public Lands Commissioner Dave Upthegrove is dialing back his goal to protect 77,000 acres of older state forests from timber harvest even as he asks lawmakers to give him more tools to do so. On Thursday, the first-term commissioner dropped the figure to 55,000 acres, blaming the reduction in part on…
Oregon’s prospective foster and adoptive parents do not need to commit to affirming a child’s potential LGBTQ+ identity to serve as caregivers in the wake of a recent federal court ruling that has narrowed child welfare officials’ ability to determine inclusive placements. Officials with the Oregon Department of Human…
More than two years of construction and $131 million later, a historic building on the Washington state Capitol campus is reopening. A cadre of top state officials cut the ribbon and welcomed the public into the transformed Joel Pritchard Building on the south side of campus Thursday afternoon. Lt. Gov. Denny Heck…
Oregon’s second largest investor-owned electric utility could soon directly assign the costs of new energy projects and infrastructure needed for data centers to data center operators. Pacific Power last week agreed to the deal following months of negotiations with staff of the Oregon Public Utility Commission, the…
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Food and Drug Administration appeared to disappoint senators from both political parties Thursday with how she answered questions about medication abortion access during her confirmation hearing. Dr. Heidi Overton also faced skepticism from committee Chairman…
State toxicology labs are dealing with an enormous backlog of alcohol and drug test evidence that could delay or jeopardize DUI prosecutions, officials warn.
WASHINGTON — U.S. District Court Judge Timothy Kelly early Thursday issued an order that temporarily blocks President Donald Trump’s ban of three news organizations from the White House. Kelly, in the eight-page order, said that the White House must “immediately return, reinstate, and restore the White House ‘hard…
Younger voters and voters of color in Washington state see their ballots challenged for signature issues more often than their older and white counterparts. That’s according to an analysis of state election data by University of Washington researchers presented to state lawmakers Wednesday. Meanwhile, thousands more…
WASHINGTON — A vast and growing network of artificial intelligence-driven Flock cameras could violate constitutional privacy rights, U.S. senators on a Judiciary Committee subcommittee said during a Wednesday hearing. GOP Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri, the chair of the Crime and Counterterrorism Subcommittee, said the…
This fall, voters in at least nine states will decide whether to cut, cap or raise taxes through ballot measures that will give them a direct hand in steering state tax policy in a conservative or progressive direction. Some states, such as California, will weigh whether to tax — or untax — their wealthiest residents.
WASHINGTON — Republicans on the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee used a hearing Wednesday to continue voicing opposition to transgender athletes competing in women’s sports, which the top Democrat on the panel called a distraction from cost-of-living issues voters are more concerned about. Republicans, vying to defend…
Taking the stage at Climate Week in New York City Wednesday morning, California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced his authorization to move forward with linking Washington into its carbon market that’s shared with Quebec, Canada, the next-to-last step in California’s process to complete the merger. On the same day…
Oregon does not need to presume transgender women should be housed in women’s prisons and may continue to make case-by-case placement decisions that have allowed most of them to remain in custody with men, a federal appeals court ruled. The case highlighted the tension some legal advocates say faces pro-LGBTQ+…
A line of work trucks sat running in the parking lot of Kent’s Pacific Raceways Monday, but there was hardly any engine noise and no diesel exhaust. The vehicles, ranging from forklifts to delivery vans to semi trucks, were all electric models eligible for the Washington Zero-Emission Incentive Program, a new funding…
WASHINGTON — Education experts and advocates on Tuesday urged Congress to repeal an incoming national school voucher program over concerns that it will divert critical funds away from public schools to private institutions. U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono convened a Democratic-led panel to sound the alarm on the sweeping…
The Trump administration’s top wildlife official issued a directive last week that expands a recent rollback of endangered species protections much further than the feds had told the public. Individuals and industries may kill endangered animals in the course of logging projects, developments and other activities, it…
SEATTLE — A federal judge in Seattle on Tuesday tossed the Trump administration’s lawsuit against Washington seeking the state’s voter rolls, in line with many rulings across the country. This marks the 25th case that the U.S. Department of Justice has lost in its push to access sensitive voter information. The…
The Coast Guard icebreaker Healy will not sail to the Arctic Ocean this year. The Healy is one of only two active Arctic icebreakers in the Coast Guard’s fleet and had been scheduled to return to service this year and sail to the Arctic after an overhaul, but during a post-shipyard voyage in July, it
Washington’s program to collect medication so it doesn’t end up in the wrong hands has brought in over 1 million pounds of drugs since 2020, according to a state audit. But it’s still beset with some challenges, like a lack of sites to return unused pills in rural areas, a limited sense of the program’s
Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery may move forward with a merger under the conditions that they boost film production, support displaced workers and preserve competition among cable channels over the next five years, 12 Democratic-led states and the attorneys representing the companies agreed in a court settlement…
WASHINGTON — Diesel prices hit a record average of $6.51 a gallon Monday, and some in President Donald Trump’s own party are breaking their support for the ongoing war in Iran that has driven fuel prices to staggering levels in the United States and across the globe. Already House Republicans locked in tight races as
Oregon has one of the largest gaps in the country between its highway and bridge maintenance needs and what it spends on addressing them, according to a national study. Oregon is falling behind on transportation maintenance, with the state transportation department facing a $200 million shortfall in the 2027-29 budget…
WASHINGTON — The three news organizations that President Donald Trump has barred from entering the White House filed a lawsuit against the administration on Monday. CNN, MS Now and Politico wrote in a joint statement the suit is intended “to protect our First Amendment rights and defend the principle that the…
A grassroots organization has successfully raised enough money to spare 29 acres of trees on state forestland in the Northern Olympic Peninsula from being cut down, employing a new conservation method that also replaces timber revenue. The Elwha Legacy Forests Coalition struck a deal with Webster Logging, which…
The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center will end gender-affirming care for minors under a settlement with the federal government. The U.S. Department of Justice said Friday the move resolves its investigation into potential violations of federal law arising from the hospital’s treatment provided to transgender…
WASHINGTON — The rare 2026 issue that draws huge support from Republicans and Democrats in Congress is the same one that’s mobilized many Americans: restrictions on giant data centers. The House has overwhelmingly passed legislation forcing state regulators to consider requirements that data centers absorb the cost of…
Wildfire is no longer a seasonal surprise across the Mountain West. It is a recurring fiscal challenge that threatens communities, public lands, infrastructure, air quality, and state budgets. As Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, and Washington confront increasingly costly fire seasons, policymakers should rethink not only how…
A Democratic candidate for the Washington state House of Representatives pleaded not guilty to driving under the influence Friday in her first court appearance after she was arrested last month. Krista Perez, 40, of Tacoma is charged with a DUI with an enhancement for refusing a breath test. Her Aug. 11 arrest took…
WASHINGTON — A federal judge told the Trump administration Friday a case against the Department of Justice’s $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund is “still alive and kicking.” The administration sought to dismiss the case brought against President Donald Trump’s negotiated settlement terms to drop his $10 billion…
WASHINGTON — A coalition of civil rights groups and union organizations Friday sued the Trump administration to prevent the deployment of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to polling locations during November’s midterm elections. The suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia is the…
Neighbors across the Colville Tribes communities in Washington state knew Matilda Bob’s log home as the “rainbow house,” for its brightly painted exterior. Now it’s gone. Sparked by a lightning strike in mid-July, the Kaiser Canyon Fire destroyed Bob’s home and 42 other houses on the Colville Reservation, along with…
In its latest effort to overhaul federal homelessness funding, the Trump administration is proposing to provide more money to localities that prioritize treatment-first policies such as sober living, more cooperation with law enforcement and more temporary and transitional housing. It’s a reversal from a decade-long…
A date that Pacific Northwest train riders and advocates have long awaited is finally nigh. Amtrak’s sleek, amenity-packed new trains will debut on the Cascades intercity route on Sept. 30. Amtrak leaders previewed the launch of commercial service of the “Airo” fleet in an event streamed live on YouTube Thursday…
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says it’s helping manufacturers increase the supply of estrogen-based hormonal patches and acknowledged a current nationwide shortage as more women seek hormonal therapies for symptoms related to menopause. In a release earlier this month, the FDA said it is expediting actions to…
Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson has officially come out against a conservative-backed initiative to rewrite the state’s so-called “parents bill of rights” law.
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate on Thursday took another step forward on a sweeping bipartisan bill to overhaul the college sports world. The measure, clearing its second procedural hurdle on a 77-22 vote, would set national standards for college athletes’ compensation, provide certain antitrust protections to the NCAA…
The state Supreme Court on Thursday delivered the final blow to a controversial 2024 ballot measure pushed by builders and passed by voters that sought to halt Washington’s shift away from natural gas. In a 6-3 decision, the justices affirmed a lower court ruling, finding Initiative 2066 “unconstitutional in its…
Concerned about conditions in federal immigrant detention facilities but often barred from entering them, some Democratic-led states are fighting to enforce their own health and safety standards at the sites. The Trump administration, citing the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution, argues that states don’t have…
WASHINGTON — The U.S. House departed Wednesday for a seven-week campaign break after spending less than two weeks in session during August and September. The extended “district work period” is intended to give incumbents from both political parties time to meet with constituents and fundraise back home before voting…
We’re entering a new world of cyber-attacks, and Washington isn’t ready, a technology expert says.
Gov. Bob Ferguson has yet to decide whether Washington will join 31 other states that have opted into a new federal tax program aimed at driving more private dollars into the education of K-12 students. Beginning in January, taxpayers in participating states will be able to donate up to $1,700 to an approved nonprofit…
Calling Charlie Kirk’s death at Utah Valley University “entirely preventable,” his family says he wouldn’t have been shot and killed last year had the university put in place tighter security protocols. Attorneys representing Kirk’s family made the allegations in a notice of claim dated Sept. 9, marking the first time…
SEATTLE — Genome sciences professor Doug Fowler a few months back got word from the federal government that his $3 million per year grant would be renewed. The grant pays for about a dozen researchers at the University of Washington. But because of a problem in the university’s finance platform, which launched a few…
The official poverty rate in the United States dipped slightly by half a percentage point last year to a historic low of 10.2%, according to U.S. Census Bureau data released Tuesday. The supplemental poverty rate, a more holistic figure that includes an individual’s non-cash resources, remained essentially unchanged…
Two of Washington’s hottest ballot battles will be the subject of prime-time televised debates next month. On Oct. 8, a former congresswoman and the leader of a statewide labor organization will square off on Initiative 645, which, if passed, would repeal the income tax on households earning more than a million…
Washington needs to spend another $1.3 billion over the next two years to address skyrocketing lawsuit payouts due to state government misconduct, according to a recently filed budget request from a state agency. This comes after the Legislature this year already put in over $1 billion to shore up the state’s…
Declining birth rates mean fewer students. And that means more districts grappling with whether to close or merge schools. “The big shrink” is how Marguerite Roza, director of Georgetown University’s Edunomics Lab, described what is happening nationally. “When there are fewer young people, obviously it’s going to…
States, cities and counties filed a pair of lawsuits Monday challenging new federal rules that will allow immigrants’ use of safety net resources to be taken into account for green cards and other applications to stay in or enter the country. The new federal policy goes into effect Friday and broadens the discretion…
In an unexpected move, President Donald Trump on Monday nominated Pete Serrano, a former state attorney general candidate from Pasco, to be the next U.S. attorney for the Western District of Washington. Serrano now leads the federal prosecutor’s office in eastern Washington in his dual roles of first assistant U.S…
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday kept in place a lower court’s order blocking President Donald Trump’s embattled plan to place new restrictions on mail ballots for this year’s midterm elections. The unsigned, one-paragraph order upheld a Massachusetts federal court’s injunction on a U.S. Postal Service rule until…
WASHINGTON — With the U.S. Senate set to hold a procedural vote in the coming days on a sweeping bill to overhaul college sports, dueling press conferences Monday underscored the fierce debate over how to tackle the biggest issues plaguing that landscape. Supporters of a bipartisan measure to set national standards…
WASHINGTON — Both chambers of Congress return to Capitol Hill this week for a brief session before heading back to the campaign trail until mid-November. The House will be in for one week and the Senate for three, giving Republicans little time to enact any laws or confirm nominees before voters decide whether to give
President Donald Trump signed an executive order Sept. 4 giving the U.S. secretary of interior 90 days to decide whether to remove Endangered Species Act protections for gray wolves and Mexican wolves in the United States. The Supporting America’s Ranchers executive order calls for Secretary of Interior Doug Burgum to…
Rep. Sharon Tomiko Santos has rarely faced a competitive election challenge in her nearly three decades in the Washington Legislature. Now Santos, the longtime chair of the House Education Committee, faces a teacher with no elected experience whose performance in the August primary has put the veteran lawmaker’s…
Former U.S. Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer, the one-term Oregon congresswoman tasked by the Trump administration to head the nation’s leading worker protection agency, oversaw harassment within her office, consumed alcohol on the job and had an inappropriate relationship with her security detail, according to an…
President Donald Trump has, at times, justified his campaign against mail-in voting in explicitly partisan terms, claiming Republicans’ electoral chances hinge on whether the practice is allowed. A new analysis from a Democratic-aligned voting rights group, shared first with States Newsroom, shows he may be right…
Washington’s largest union for state government workers reached a tentative agreement on a new two-year contract early Friday, ending weeks of tense negotiations and a walkout by workers statewide. Just after midnight, negotiators for the Washington Federation of State Employees voted to accept the tentative deal with…
The price of North Slope crude oil topped $100 per barrel on Wednesday, crossing that mark for the first time since June, according to figures published by the Alaska Department of Revenue. Though the rising cost of diesel, heating oil and gasoline is hitting individual Alaskans hard — nationally, the price of diesel…