March 16, 2013 in Sports Their emotions didn’t go down any easier than the shots for the Whitworth Pirates on Saturday night. Another wrenching loss in the Division III men’s basketball playoffs was a little …

March 16, 2013 in Sports KENNEWICK – Blake Gal scored 34 seconds into overtime Saturday night to give the Spokane Chiefs a 3-2 victory over the Tri-City Americans at the Toyota Center in the second-to-last …

March 16, 2013 in Sports While a dozen or more teams around the country fret over the last four in and the last four out, the question in these parts is if No. 1-ranked Gonzaga …

March 16, 2013 in Sports LAS VEGAS – They sang and danced their way into history and out of town, snagging the championship and taking pieces of the net as souvenirs. 3

  March 16, 2013 in Region OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — Booth Gardner, a two-term Democratic governor who later in life spearheaded a campaign that made Washington the second state in the country to legalize assisted suicide … 11

March 16, 2013 in Nation/World VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis offered intimate insights Saturday into the moments after his election, telling journalists that he was immediately inspired to take the name of St. Francis … 31

March 16, 2013 in City on Page A1 Health care reform should come with a Help Wanted sign: Nurses are needed to help care for 32 million people. That’s how many Americans are expected to gain health coverage … 20

March 16, 2013 in Nation/World on Page A3 OXON HILL, Md. – Republican Mitt Romney told conservative activists Friday that he’s sorry he’s not their president but promised to work alongside them to help strengthen the Republican Party. … 3

March 16, 2013 in Nation/World on Page A3 LEMONT, Ill. – Envisioning cars that can go “coast to coast without using a drop of oil,” President Barack Obama on Friday urged Congress to authorize spending $2 billion over … 4

March 16, 2013 in Nation/World on Page A3 WASHINGTON – Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio has become one of the most prominent elected Republicans to announce his support for same-sex marriage, a “change of heart” that he said … 5

March 16, 2013 in Nation/World on Page A4 VATICAN CITY – The honeymoon that Pope Francis has enjoyed since his remarkable election hit a bump Friday, with the Vatican lashing out at what it called a defamatory and … 4

March 16, 2013 in Nation/World on Page A4 Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich is spending his time in federal prison teaching Civil War history and learning to play the guitar, while his attorneys work on an appeal, his … 7

March 16, 2013 in Nation/World on Page A6 ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Maryland lawmakers approved a measure abolishing the death penalty on Friday and sent the bill to Gov. Martin O’Malley, who has long supported banning capital punishment. The … 2