Summer wildfires burning through Washington just broke another record. They’ve scorched more than 886,000 acres. Of those, 93,000 acres are on state trust land, marking the record for the largest amount of state-managed land burned by fires in a season since recordkeeping began in 2000. Two-thirds of that state land was forests, meaning a hit…
The number of people staffing the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has dropped by 3,600 during President Donald Trump’s second term, according to federal data obtained by the nonprofit conservation group Center for Biological Diversity. Oregon, California, Alaska and Washington have seen some of the steepest losses, according to the agency’s year-over-year staff rosters obtained…
A last-ditch legal effort nearly succeeded Thursday to knock a statement off ballots that characterizes how repealing Washington’s new income tax on high earners would affect the state budget. The state Supreme Court deadlocked 4-4 on Arthur West’s motion for an emergency injunction to prevent the secretary of state’s office from including the “public investment…
Three states this year have enacted laws that require or allow schools to use mobile, wearable, wireless or silent panic alarms to quickly summon emergency responders. The new laws in Illinois, Virginia and West Virginia bring the number of states with such laws to 13, with 10 of them acting since 2023. Another dozen states…
A state ethics panel has ordered Democratic state Rep. Tarra Simmons to pay roughly $52,000 in penalties and fees for multiple violations of Washington ethics laws. Three weeks ago, the Legislative Ethics Board ruled the Bremerton lawmaker committed three violations of conflict of interest and special privilege laws. The board levied the maximum $5,000 penalty…
A federal judge in Maryland Wednesday blocked President Donald Trump’s second attempt to redefine birthright citizenship. In a preliminary injunction, U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman barred the Trump administration from carrying out the president’s executive order that would deny citizenship to babies born in the United States to parents deemed part of a designated terrorist…
New Jersey asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday to review an appellate ruling that found a federal 2010 law bars states from regulating sports bets offered on prediction markets, arguing the high court should step because lower courts have split on this issue. In a voluminous 332-page filing, the state argued a recent 2-1…
A federal judge ruled Monday that New York cannot enforce its landmark “climate Superfund” law, a measure that sought to charge fossil fuel companies $75 billion over 25 years to help the state deal with the costs of climate change. While the legal battle is far from over, the ruling could give pause to lawmakers…
WASHINGTON — As public opinion of the U.S. Supreme Court flags amid decisions that have roiled the nation, Democrats renewed calls ahead of the midterms to expand the high court, while House Republicans are considering a constitutional amendment this week that proposes to cap the number at nine. Just Monday, the court gave the green…
Jalapenos. Frozen berries. Beef. Alfalfa sprouts. A summer of food recalls, including the record-shattering cyclosporiasis outbreak tied to iceberg lettuce that has sickened thousands, has raised many Americans’ fears of contracting a foodborne illness. The recalls have focused attention on the Trump administration’s decision to cut funding and staff at several public health agencies, and…
