Editor Brian Harrod Provides Comprehensive up-to-date news coverage, with aggregated news from sources all over the world from the Roundup Newswires Network
The political rancor at the state Legislature is likely to go right to the bitter end, as the possibility arose that lawmakers wouldn't even officially adjourn and would instead just let the clock run out at midnight Thursday on the third special session. Legislative leaders had previously said they were likely to adjourn earlier in the day after negotiations broke down Wednesday on a water rights bill that was tied to passage of a new construction budget for the state.
The Legislature passed its $43.7 billion budget for 2017-2019 Friday, barely more than five hours before a midnight deadline. Gov. Jay Inslee quickly promised to have the budget signed before the deadline.
Sen. Mark Mullet, from left, D-Issaquah, Sen. Reuven Carlyle, D-Seattle, Sen. Karen Keiser, D-Kent, and Sen. Marko Liias, D-Lynnwood, applaud on the Senate floor after the Senate approved a paid family leave program at the Capitol Friday, June 30, 2017, in Olympia, Wash.. The measure, passed on a 37-12 vote Friday and now heads to the House, offers workers paid time off for the birth or adoption of a child or the serious medical condition of the worker or the worker's family member.
Post Falls Police say 17-year-old Mari Bennett-Cooper is an endangered runaway and boarded a flight from Spokane to Seattle. Nobody has heard from her since.
Yesterday, without fanfare, Governor Jay Inslee's office announced that the majority caucuses of the House of Representatives and the Senate had reached agreement on a go-home budget deal that would avert a state government shutdown following the end of the day on Friday, June 30th, the last day of the current 2015-2017 fiscal biennium. The details are still being hammered out, and so it's still not yet known what is actually in the agreement.
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee declared a third special session on Wednesday and said it was time to "crack the whip" on lawmakers to get a budget deal and avoid a July 1 government shutdown. Unless lawmakers can agree on a budget, the state of Washington is just days away from a first-ever government shutdown.
Don Benton, a former Republican Washington state senator, talks about his new job leading the U.S. Selective Service System, which registers men for a nonexistent military draft. He also talks about why he likes taking the metro in Washington, D.C. , why he no longer works at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and what really happened when he allegedly called another lawmaker "a trashy, trampy mouthed little girl."
Governor Jerry Brown of U.S. state of California met Friday in San Francisco visiting German Environment Minister Barbara Hendricks, hours after returning from a climate mission to China, and continued his international outreach on climate action. "China and Germany - two of the most powerful countries in the world - are working with California and with other states to deal with climate change," Brown said, noting that "the current withdrawal from the Paris Agreement by the Washington administration is being overcome and countermanded by people throughout the whole world."
Eleven states, plus Washington, DC and Puerto Rico, have vowed to pursue policies that will uphold the US' commitments to the accord. They've joined the Washington governor Jay Inslee, New York's Andrew Cuomo, and California's Jerry Brown announced the formation of the group on June 1, following Trump's announcement about the Paris Agreement.
This May 31, 2017, photo shows part of the Pittsburgh skyline with the David L. Lawrence Convention Center. President Donald Trump framed his decision to leave the Paris climate accord during a news conference on Thursday, June 1 as "a reassertion of America's sovereignty," he said, "I was elected to represent the citizens of Pittsburgh, not Paris."
Leaders of California, Washington and other states said Thursday they will work to fill the international leadership vacuum created by President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw from the Paris climate change agreement. Even before Trump was elected, California Gov. Jerry Brown had joined with other states and governments in Europe, Canada and China to pursue reductions in greenhouse gas emissions greater than those called for in the Paris pact.
The driver of a minivan swallowed his false teeth, then hit a couple of parked cars near Fairview and Monroe. Spokane Police say the driver was heading south on Monroe, swallowed his teeth, lost control of the minivan ran into two cars in front of The Hub Tavern, forcing one of the parked cars to crash into the bar, causing major structural damage.
The spring is currently "bubbling like crazy" according to residents in the area of Sanson and McDonald, just north of Plantes Ferry Park, because of runoff and precipitation. The ground is still shifting and Sanson is currently closed.
Lawmakers will head into a second special session as they continue to work toward reaching agreement on a two-year state budget that satisfies a state Supreme Court mandate on education funding. The first special session was set to adjourn Tuesday, after which Gov. Jay Inslee has already said he will call them back for a second special session.
Workers staged a 400-foot-long piece of heavy plastic on Friday along the partially collapsed waste tunnel at the PUREX plant at the Hanford nuclear reservation. The tunnel is expected to be covered on Saturday.
The federal law requires state driver's licenses... . Gov. Jay Inslee signs a bill that seeks to bring Washington state into compliance with the federal REAL ID Act, on Tuesday, May 16, 2017, in Olympia, Wash.
A citizen commission that sets elected officials' salaries has voted to increase pay for Washington lawmakers by 2 percent annually for the next two years. Currently, a rank-and-file member of the state Legislature makes $46,839 per year.
In this April 6, 2016, file photo, a sign at the federal courthouse in Tacoma, Wash., is shown to inform visitors of the federal government's REAL ID act, which requires state driver's licenses and ID cards to have security enhancements and be issued to people who can prove they're legally in the United States. Washington Gov. Jay Inslee is expected to sign a measure Tuesday, May 16, 2017, that seeks to bring the state into compliance with federal identification requirements.
Susan Grenon makes sure her son is lathered with sunscreen before he leaves for school in the morning, but the fair-skinned 10-year-old can't bring a bottle to reapply it without a doctor's note. Many school systems categorize sunscreen as an over-the-counter medication requiring special paperwork, but several states have been pushing to loosen restrictions to make it easier for kids to protect themselves from skin cancer.
Susan Grenon makes sure her son is lathered with sunscreen before he leaves for school in the morning, but the fair-skinned 10-year-old can't bring a bottle to reapply it without a doctor's note. Many school systems categorize sunscreen as an over-the-counter medication requiring special paperwork, but several states have been pushing to loosen restrictions to make it easier for kids to protect themselves from skin cancer.