December 31, 2009 in Region During a year of layoffs, one of the few places hiring in Washington in 2009 was the state’s unemployment offices.

December 31, 2009 in City Eastern Washington University officials are notifying students from as far back as 1987 that computer records containing information about them, including Social Security numbers, have been breached.

  December 31, 2009 in Nation/World A federal judge dismissed all charges Thursday against five Blackwater Worldwide security guards accused of killing unarmed Iraqi civilians in a crowded Baghdad intersection in 2007.

December 31, 2009 in Business The stock market has closed out a remarkable 2009 with a loss as investors bet the improving economy will lead the government to pull back on its stimulus measures. But …

December 31, 2009 in Nation/World President Barack Obama was briefed Thursday on how a 23-year-old Nigerian with suspected terrorist ties almost succeeded in a Christmas Day airline bombing and how to prevent it from happening … 9

December 31, 2009 in Region The Montana Supreme Court said Thursday that nothing in state law prevents patients from seeking physician-assisted suicide, making Montana the third state that will allow the procedure.

December 31, 2009 in Idaho A $1 million Idaho Lottery raffle ticket was sold in Canyon County. The drawing for the raffle was Wednesday night. The winning number was 059,388. The winner had yet not …

December 31, 2009 in Idaho Fire officials today were trying to determine the cause of a fire that destroyed a 4,000-square-foot home at Hayden Lake on Wednesday night.

December 31, 2009 in City Spokane Valley police are investigating a home invasion robbery that occurred early today in the 7900 block of East Alki Avenue. 7

December 31, 2009 in City, Idaho Winter weather advisories have been posted for parts of Eastern Washington and North Idaho this morning for the likelihood of snow starting about 4 p.m. and continuing into the evening.

December 31, 2009 in Business, Nation/World The number of newly laid-off workers filing claims for unemployment benefits dropped unexpectedly last week, a sign the job market is healing as the economy slowly recovers. 1

December 31, 2009 in Idaho BOISE – Idaho Gov. Butch Otter said he may sue to stop federal health care reform, calling U.S. House and Senate bills unconstitutional and too costly. 3

December 31, 2009 in Nation/World on Page A1 WASHINGTON – Travelers still getting used to removing their shoes in public and pouring shampoo into tiny bottles may soon have to adjust to something new in the airport security … 1

December 31, 2009 in City on Page A1 Earlier this month, The Spokesman-Review published a story that touched on the history of the Christmas Bureau. The article explained that the Christmas Fund started in 1945 as a fundraiser …

December 31, 2009 in Nation/World on Page A2 WASHINGTON – Washington, D.C., is on the verge of a watershed in its turnaround, with the city’s population set to break 600,000 for the first time in almost two decades. …

December 31, 2009 in City on Page A2 For 12-31-2009

December 31, 2009 in Nation/World on Page A2 MOSCOW – Russia’s space agency chief said Wednesday a spacecraft may be dispatched to knock a large asteroid off course and reduce the chances of Earth impact, even though U.S. …

December 31, 2009 in Nation/World on Page A3 WASHINGTON – A suicide bomber infiltrated a CIA base in eastern Afghanistan on Wednesday, killing at least eight Americans in what is believed to be the deadliest single attack on …