Election Center
Related Coverage, Page 5
U.S. brings dozens of foreign military chiefs to Washington
Dozens of military chiefs from the Western Hemisphere gathered Wednesday in Washington for the first time to discuss a wide range of security issues that the Trump administration says are paramount to safeguarding the United States.
National Guard troops were quietly withdrawn from some U.S. cities
The Trump administration has withdrawn all federalized National Guard troops from U.S. cities, after its repeated attempts to surge forces into Democratic-run states encountered judicial roadblocks.
WA considers requiring AI companies to add mental health safeguards
As artificial intelligence chatbots become better at mimicking human conversations, the potential for damage has grown, particularly for people who turn to them for mental health advice and to discuss plans to harm themselves. State lawmakers and Gov. Bob Ferguson are seeking to add mental health safeguards to AI chatbots through new legislation. House Bill 2225 and Senate Bill 5984 would …
Spokane’s Vow Room licenses new venue in Maryland
Since its opening four months ago, the Vow Room has hosted around eight weddings in its downtown Spokane elopement venue and scheduled over 20 more through the end of 2026.
U.S. pushes for an end to Russia-Ukraine war by summer, Zelenskyy says
KYIV, Ukraine – The United States wants Moscow and Kyiv to find a solution on how to end the war in Ukraine before summer, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
Washington students work for state cactus
Feb. 5—OLYMPIA — The Washington State Legislature started the session with a prickly subject. “Sometimes folks think Olympia is all about the thorny issues but today was about celebrating some pretty sharp kids,” Sen. Judy Warnick, R-Moses Lake, wrote in a Jan. 28 announcement about the passing of Senate Bill 5325, designating Pediocactus nigrispinus — also called the Columbia Plateau cactus, …
New WA caseload standards cast doubt on future of public defense
OLYMPIA – Washington’s long-strained criminal justice system is under new pressure as significantly lower caseload limits for public defenders threaten to slow prosecutions and force the state to spend millions more on legal defense.
With rally and ‘listening sessions’, WA initiative supporters deliver their message
Dori Whitford says she will travel anywhere to talk about the importance of keeping transgender athletes out of girls’ sports in Washington state.
WSU, Report for America plan to fund reporter in every Washington county over next 5 years
Each of the 39 counties in Washington should have a designated reporter by 2029 through a new collaboration between Washington State University and Report for America.
Eviction levels hit an all-time high in WA, especially in Seattle area
Washington state and King County recorded more evictions in 2025 than ever before — a sign that the affordability crisis is deepening. The number of eviction cases filed in Washington courts rose to 23,965 in 2025, a 3% increase from 2024. The increase was significantly greater in the Seattle area.
Spokane businesses offer messages of support for immigrants amidst nationwide strike
While Friday was business as usual for most Spokane businesses, a handful either closed or remained open with a message of support for immigrant communities or a condemnation of Immigration Customs Enforcement as part of a nationwide strike.
Spokane faith leaders visit Minneapolis amid ICE unrest, returning with call for local action against the ‘wrong or inhumane or unjust’
When a Minnesota faith group issued a call for religious leaders across the country to come and support the Minneapolis community, at least 11 of Eastern Washington’s clergy were among the thousand who poured in.
WA experts explain legal limits on ICE, Border Patrol officers’ power
An immigration officer’s fatal shooting of intensive care nurse Alex Pretti on Saturday in Minneapolis has intensified questions about legal limits to federal agents’ authority. Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson and state Attorney General Nick Brown joined others this week in declaring the actions of immigration officials, in Minneapolis and elsewhere, unconstitutional.
The latest attempt to legalize homegrown marijuana in Washington
After more than a decade of failed attempts, supporters of amending Washington state law to allow for homegrown marijuana are growing frustrated, but not giving up.
WA eyes arbitration for lawsuits against government as costs soar
Washington’s escalating legal costs — with billions of dollars in lawsuit payouts slamming state and local governments — have led state lawmakers to consider legislation forcing anyone suing public agencies to go through arbitration before taking cases to a jury. The proposal, Senate Bill 6239, is the first serious effort by majority Democrats to rein in the ballooning tort liability costs …
Hundreds in Gonzaga community demand university ‘stand up to’ ICE
On a chilly Friday, hundreds of Gonzaga University students and faculty members gathered on campus in protest of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, calling on the university to “stand up to” the agency in the midst of national controversy.
Lucky few get first-taste of new Sunflare apple variety developed at Washington State University
The line of hungry Washington State University students and faculty numbered more than 50 well before Jeremy Tamsen had finished unloading his boxes of apples.
Eastern Washington-based film ‘Train Dreams’ nominated for four Oscars
A local production supervisor was caught off guard when a friend from the East Coast called him to wish him congratulations early Thursday morning.
As local broadcast stations like KSPS grapple with loss of federal funds, Washington lawmakers work to build state support
Spokane Public Radio and KSPS-PBS abruptly lost all of their federal funding Jan. 5 following the dissolution of the national Corporation for Public Broadcasting, but Washington lawmakers aim to restore the revenue for local outlets.
WA asks Trump for $21 million in FEMA aid for flood victims
Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson has asked President Donald Trump for a major disaster declaration along with $21.3 million in individual assistance for people whose homes were damaged in December’s catastrophic flooding.