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News from Seattle, Tacoma, Spokane, Olympia, and the Pacific Northwest
166 stories · Page 1 of 7
A Seattle judge finalized an injunction forcing the CFTC-licensed prediction market to geofence Washington users out of sports, election and 'mentions' contracts, part of a five-state legal fight over whether states can regulate event contracts at all.
A fire-gutted Portland warehouse with no internal frame left has kept Amtrak Cascades trains off the tracks between Seattle and Portland for eight days, with Union Pacific's own restart attempt stalled and a demolition deadline now driving both the rail timeline and a possible-remains investigation.
A 24-year-old Seattle man is charged with vehicular homicide after driving the wrong way on I-90 near George, killing two 23-year-old women. Washington has the nation's highest rate of fatal wrong-way crashes, and the rural stretch where it happened has none of the state's new detection technology.
A wind-driven wildfire near Malden grew to nearly 2,000 acres Saturday, triggering a Level 3 evacuation of a town that lost 80% of its homes to the 2020 Babb Road Fire and has rebuilt barely a fifth of them since.
USDA froze $15 million in wildfire-prevention grants for Spokane-area communities over new DEI and immigration compliance terms. The money was released in July. The Old Trails Fire started Aug. 4.
The Little Giant Fire jumped Lake Chelan this week when wind carried a single ember 2.5 miles across the water. It now threatens 1,824 structures across five Chelan County towns and remains just 1% contained.
A Thurston County judge upheld the ballot disclosure describing Initiative 645's effects on Washington's new millionaires' tax, canceling a second hearing in the process and setting up a Supreme Court appeal before November.
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. declared a federal public health emergency for six Washington counties Thursday, a second major federal action in a week as wildfires burn 425,000 acres and force 60,000 evacuations.
The court granted a waiver to first-time applicants unable to test after a July 28 technology failure canceled the exam in Yakima, but rejected the full diploma privilege sought by the state's three law school deans.
Five days into the Old Trails, Autumn Lane and Fairview fires, Gallagher Re warns of a possible billion-dollar insured loss while Aaron Farinacci is arraigned on an arson charge tied to the blaze that displaced more than 65,000 people.
Aaron Farinacci, 37, faces a first-degree arson charge and $1 million bond in the Old Trails Fire, as the Spokane Complex toll grows to as many as 1,100 homes lost and 65,000 evacuated.
Nine of Washington's ten House members and both senators are urging Trump to approve an emergency wildfire declaration, with the memory of a five-month delay for Malden hanging over the request.
A majority of Washington Supreme Court seats, a toss-up 3rd District race, and a $480 million Seattle library levy are all on Tuesday's primary ballot, due by 8 p.m. August 4.
The confirmed damage from the fire that jumped the Spokane River Saturday night has climbed from an overnight estimate of 50-100 structures to a confirmed 640, as officials stop short of ruling out fatalities and thousands remain evacuated.
A grass fire near Airway Heights grew to 3,500 acres in hours, jumping the Spokane River into city neighborhoods and prompting a statewide wildfire emergency, a burn ban through September, and Washington's first-ever "particularly dangerous situation" fire warning.
The Little Giant Fire has burned 28,393 acres with zero containment in Chelan County, prompting Level 3 evacuations as a Red Flag Warning tests its uncontained eastern flank.
The National Weather Service issued Washington's first-ever Particularly Dangerous Situation wildfire alert Saturday as 110 National Guard troops mobilize against a season already ahead of any year since 2021.
Chief Shon Barnes stepped down four days after a shooting at the Bite of Seattle festival killed three and wounded four, amid criticism of the department's slow public communication and a contested account of whether he resigned or was forced out.
A 5-4 Washington Supreme Court ruling sends the Sam Martinez fraternity hazing death case to trial, finding WSU had a legal duty to protect students from foreseeable hazing dangers.
Washington’s three accredited law schools petitioned the state Supreme Court for emergency diploma privilege after the July NextGen bar exam was canceled in Yakima over technology failures that left about 645 examinees unscored.
New modeling for the Washington Climate Partnership shows clean electricity alone cannot close the 2030 emissions gap. Transportation still drives about 40% of pollution while data centers add uncertain grid load and transmission lags project timelines.
The state's first NextGen Uniform Bar Exam collapsed under network failures at the Yakima Convention Center. A September makeup in Tacoma, a February transfer, or a refund are the official options.
The Kaiser Canyon Fire has burned more than 126,000 acres near Nespelem, destroyed at least 20 homes, and cost the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation an estimated $11.1 million, with full containment not expected until August 15.
