In brief: Washington fields free of modified wheat

Washington wheat is free of the genetically modified herbicide resistance found in an Oregon crop earlier this year, researchers at Washington State University announced Tuesday.

The discovery of modified wheat in Oregon ignited trade restrictions that took months to resolve. Japan recently decided to resume importing wheat grown in the Pacific Northwest.

The WSU research project included tests on 74 wheat varieties from universities and companies. The tests also included 1,900 advanced breeding lines from WSU and more than 20,000 individual plots.

John Stucke

Valley man sentenced for child porn offense

A Spokane Valley man was sentenced to five years in federal prison Tuesday after he pleaded guilty earlier this year to receiving child pornography.

U.S. District Court Judge Rosanna Malouf Peterson sentenced Michael A. McGuffey to five years in federal prison followed by 20 years supervised release after he pleaded guilty in April to receipt of child pornography.

The investigation began in March 2012 when a Spokane County sheriff’s deputy discovered McGuffey sharing images of child pornography with others, court records state.

On April 12, law enforcement searched McGuffey’s home and found more than 2,000 images and 57 videos of child pornography on his computer.

McGuffey was also identified by the U.S. Attorney’s Office as Michael A. McGuffy.

Thomas Clouse