Government

Local organizations assisting refugees are providing resources and legal help to the hundreds of immigrants in Spokane who may be affected by the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling Thursday morning.

Avista CEO and President Heather Rosentrater and Washington State University President Betsy Cantwell are among 26 business, labor and education leaders who have joined Gov. Bob Ferguson’s newly established Economic Development Council.

In a 6-3 decision, the court's Republican-appointed justices overrode lower courts to let the Department of Homeland Security end Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, for the roughly 330,000 Haitians and 3,800 Syrians who have been allowed to live and work in the United States under the program. Democrats denounced the decision while Republicans largely supported it, although some said they hope President Donald Trump will use his discretion and not deport all the affected people.

Even if the high court doesn't strike down a Mississippi law and others like it that allow late-arriving ballots to be counted, Sen. Maria Cantwell warned Tuesday that Washington voters could see their ballots rejected this fall because of a U.S. Postal Service policy change that took effect in December. Under the new rule, mail is postmarked when it reaches a regional processing center, not when it is first received at a post office.

When Seattle-based photographer Mio Monasch wants to disconnect from the political and economic frustrations of his everyday life, he heads outdoors, often to Washington’s extensive system of national park sites.

WASHINGTON – The House of Representatives passed a bipartisan bill on June 23 seeking to alleviate a growing housing crisis by streamlining construction regulations, encouraging local innovation, and limiting investor purchases of homes, among other steps.

Democratic delegates who gathered in Spokane this weekend voted overwhelmingly in support of a resolution “opposing and condemning” expanded integration between the U.S. and Israeli military.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Senate backed legislation on Tuesday directing President Donald Trump to halt U.S. military action against Iran, the latest rebuke of the Republican president from ​an increasingly restive Congress.

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that federal border officials can use an indictment or other accusation to temporarily strip green cards from immigrants as they reenter the country. The 6-3 opinion, written by Justice Clarence Thomas, says the officials do not need to have “clear and convincing” evidence of offenses at the time of the decision to suspend the status of a Lawful ...

Marine Corps veteran and Spokane firefighter Nate Powell portrays himself as a fighter in his independent bid for Congress – a literal fighter, highlighting in campaign ads that he was “undefeated in the cage,” a reference to his 5-0-0 record in amateur mixed martial arts, where Powell fought as a lightweight in 2015-16.

Spokane’s “right to cooling” law, first introduced in April, is again under consideration by the City Council. A vote is expected July 15.

A federal judge on Monday blocked the Trump administration from using a revamped version of an immigration database for checking the accuracy of state voter rolls, dealing a blow to U.S. President Donald Trump's efforts to boost the role of the federal government in elections ahead of the midterm ​elections in November. 

Washingtonians will weigh in on fewer high-profile races than a typical even-year election.

WASHINGTON – A Senate committee is considering a vote in July to prevent the Trump administration from transferring core functions of federal special education programs to the Health and Human Services Department, which is overseen by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

A federal judge in Washington denied former President Joe Biden’s request to block the Justice Department from turning over tapes and transcripts of interviews he privately recorded almost a decade ago to a conservative advocacy group, but will temporarily bar the release while he appeals. The Justice Department is poised to produce the materials to the Heritage Foundation. U.S. District Judge ...

The Justice Department rebuffed a U.S. judge’s invitation for top officials to submit a signed statement under oath that a $1.8 billion fund for what the administration described as victims of political “weaponization” will not happen. In a filing on Friday, the Justice Department said that such declarations were “unnecessary” and that compelling statements from high-level officials ...

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is moving some roles from the Washington, D.C.-area to Dallas-Fort Worth, the federal agency announced Wednesday. The roles fall under the umbrella of the USDA's Rural Development arm, which offers various loan and grant programs designed to help rural Americans with housing, infrastructure, healthcare and other needs. The bureaucratic operation oversees a ...

Whispers of a criminal conviction and potential lawsuits are shaping a race for a top Spokane County office well before ballots hit mailboxes.