Orion Donovan Smith

Ever since he opened the Super Wash in Spokane in 2005, Steve Cada said, he never needed to replace the quarters that cycled between the rows of washers and dryers and the change machine customers feed bills into.

New legislation introduced by two Idaho Republicans would expand a controversial federal program that lets states partner with the U.S. Forest Service for forest management projects, allowing tribes and counties to collect revenue from timber sales from public lands.

WASHINGTON – In a decision hailed by Native American leaders in the Inland Northwest as a victory for tribal sovereignty, the Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that a large part of eastern Oklahoma is an Indian reservation, affirming that Congress never officially “disestablished” the Muscogee (Creek) Nation when it divided tribal land into private property at the end of the 19th century.

WASHINGTON – In a ruling issued Wednesday, the Supreme Court upheld a Trump administration policy that lets employers opt out of a requirement under the Affordable Care Act to provide health insurance that includes contraceptive coverage.

WASHINGTON – A new bill from Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers would speed up the licensing process for hydroelectric dams and let a federal agency waive licensing requirements for small projects, as the Republican from Washington’s 5th district continues her efforts to make hydropower a bigger part of the nation’s evolving energy grid.

Washington university administrators, Gov. Jay Inslee and bipartisan members of the state’s congressional delegation on Tuesday denounced new visa restrictions imposed by President Donald Trump’s administration.

Washington’s Aug. 4 primary will see a crowded race for the 4th congressional district, with three-term Republican incumbent Rep. Dan Newhouse facing five challengers for his seat representing Central Washington.

WASHINGTON – In a Senate hearing Tuesday, four of the nation’s top public health officials called on all Americans to do their part in slowing the spread of COVID-19 and warned of dire consequences if current trends in nationwide infections continue.

U.S. Park Police and National Guard troops used smoke canisters, chemical irritants, explosives, projectiles, batons and horses to clear protesters from Lafayette Square on June 1.

WASHINGTON – The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court on Thursday to strike down the Affordable Care Act, escalating a long-running battle over former President Barack Obama’s signature health care law that could cause millions of Americans to lose their health insurance.

WASHINGTON – Democratic senators blocked a Republican-crafted policing bill from moving forward Wednesday, as both parties accused each other of playing politics amid nationwide calls to reform law enforcement.

Dr. Anthony Fauci told lawmakers on Capitol Hill Tuesday that he is “cautiously optimistic” that a COVID-19 vaccine will be available by late 2020 or early 2021, but warned of “a disturbing surge of infections” in parts of the country that had so far been less affected by the virus.

WASHINGTON – As the numbers of infections and deaths in the U.S. from COVID-19 continue to climb, Senators questioned Trump administration officials Thursday about the government’s response to the crisis and preparedness for future pandemics.

WASHINGTON – Lawmakers and other elected officials from Washington state expressed relief Thursday after the Supreme Court blocked the Trump administration’s effort to end a program that protects the “Dreamers,” undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children.

WASHINGTON – In a rare show of bipartisanship, the Senate passed a landmark conservation package Wednesday with big implications for the nation’s public lands – and perhaps also for control of the Senate in November’s election.

WASHINGTON – In a hearing Tuesday, Republican and Democratic members of the Senate panel tasked with police reform agreed that changes need to be made, but they offered different assessments of the problems and contrasting visions for the federal government’s role in reining in police misconduct.

In the conversation about police reform in the wake of George Floyd's killing and the nationwide protests that have followed it, a previously little-known legal doctrine is suddenly in the spotlight. "Qualified immunity" shields police officers from lawsuits over their conduct, even if they violate the Constitution, unless virtually identical conduct in the past has already been ruled unconstitutional. In practice, that means courts often throw out police brutality cases when the misconduct is not exactly the same as an earlier case.

“I write this not because I am extraordinary, but because my times are.”

In emotional testimony before a House panel Wednesday, the brother of George Floyd pleaded for members of Congress to pass police reform legislation in the wake of his brother's death at the hands of Minneapolis police officers.

Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers echoed President Donald Trump's frustration with Twitter after the president signed an executive order May 28 targeting a key legal protection social media companies rely on, but the Spokane Republican said she has concerns about the federal government deciding what they allow on their platforms.

Democratic leaders from the House and Senate rolled out a broad police reform bill Monday, seeking to channel the energy of nationwide protests into changes at the federal level.