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Northwest lawmakers react after Trump calls off COVID-19 relief negotiations

UPDATED: Wed., Oct. 7, 2020

WASHINGTON – Northwest Democratic and GOP lawmakers engaged in mutual finger-pointing after President Donald Trump announced Tuesday afternoon he would stop negotiations with congressional Democrats over another round of coronavirus relief spending until after the election, guaranteeing no further economic stimulus for at least another month.

News >  Idaho

U.S. Sen. Jim Risch faces three challengers in November election

UPDATED: Thu., Oct. 8, 2020

Though Jim Risch has only been in the Senate for 10 years, he's spent several decades in public office. His opponent, Democrat Paulette Jordan, said the wealthy rancher has lost touch with his constituents and should be open to more public debates prior to the election. 

News >  Nation

Idaho Sen. Crapo, among first to meet with Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, praises her ‘stellar credentials’

UPDATED: Wed., Sept. 30, 2020

WASHINGTON – Sen. Mike Crapo praised Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett after he met with the federal appeals court judge Tuesday, making the Idaho Republican one of the first lawmakers to meet with President Donald Trump’s pick for the high court.

News >  Nation/World

Trump, Biden clash in raucous first presidential debate

UPDATED: Tue., Sept. 29, 2020

President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden clashed Tuesday night in Cleveland in a raucous debate marred by interruptions, name calling and near-constant cross-talk.

News

Trump paid $750 in federal income tax in 2017; Spokane County’s poorest residents paid more on average

Tue., Sept. 29, 2020

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump paid $750 in federal income tax in 2017, a New York Times investigation published Sunday found. That same year, Spokane County taxpayers who earned less than $25,000 paid more than the commander-in-chief – an average of $858, according to Internal Revenue Service data.

News

‘Ready to deliver election mail’: USPS memo reverses controversial changes

UPDATED: Fri., Sept. 25, 2020

The U.S. Postal Service has ordered its employees to reverse a policy blamed for mail delivery delays.

News

Northwest lawmakers respond after Trump won’t commit to accepting election results

UPDATED: Thu., Sept. 24, 2020

WASHINGTON – Northwest lawmakers reacted Thursday after President Donald Trump declined to say he would accept the results of November’s election if he loses, sparking fears of a constitutional crisis.

News >  Washington

Newhouse faces familiar foe in McKinley for 4th Congressional District seat

UPDATED: Wed., Oct. 7, 2020

Rep. Dan Newhouse is facing a challenge from a familiar foe in the race to represent Washington’s 4th Congressional District, but the GOP incumbent is already making plans for a fourth term representing a wide swath of Central Washington.

News >  WA Government

Washington lawmakers hail passage of bills addressing missing and murdered Native women

UPDATED: Tue., Sept. 22, 2020

WASHINGTON – The House of Representatives on Monday passed two bills backed by Northwest lawmakers that aim to combat the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, a move advocates called an important step toward solving a complex problem.

News >  WA Government

How to prevent another 2020 fire season? Northwest lawmakers call for more resources

UPDATED: Fri., Sept. 18, 2020

WASHINGTON – In the midst of a devastating fire season, Northwest lawmakers are calling for more help from the federal government while pushing legislation aimed at limiting the destruction of future wildfires.

News

Biden campaign, gearing up for November, hires state director and senior advisor for Washington

UPDATED: Wed., Sept. 16, 2020

WASHINGTON – With fewer than 50 days until the Nov. 3 election, Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden’s campaign on Wednesday announced the hiring of a state director and a senior advisor for Washington.

News >  Spokane

Q&A: Spokane postmaster and union president respond to concerns about USPS

UPDATED: Tue., Sept. 15, 2020

Spokane Postmaster Earl Eisenrich and Wanda Emmert, president of the American Postal Workers Union’s Inland Empire Area Local, have more than 50 years of combined experience at the U.S. Postal Service .

News >  WA Government

Washington election officials scrambling after USPS sends confusing postcards to voters

UPDATED: Sat., Sept. 12, 2020

Washington election officials are scrambling to avoid panic ahead of November's election after state voters started getting postcards Friday from the U.S. Postal Service with potentially misleading information on mail-in voting. 

News >  Idaho

Fulcher faces challenge from Democratic and Libertarian newcomers with military backgrounds

UPDATED: Thu., Oct. 8, 2020

Rep. Russ Fulcher has a law-and-order message in his first bid for re-election to his seat in Congress representing western Idaho.

News

Ferguson asks judge to reverse Postal Service changes ahead of election

UPDATED: Thu., Sept. 10, 2020

Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson asked a federal judge in Yakima late Wednesday to reverse what the state’s top lawyer called “drastic changes” at the U.S. Postal Service, claiming the recent moves jeopardize mail delivery across the country ahead of November’s election.

News

What’s really behind Postal Service delays? A flood of packages, a stricter truck schedule and COVID-19

UPDATED: Thu., Sept. 10, 2020

Mail delays at the U.S. Postal Service have caused alarm in the run-up to a high-stakes general election that will see an unprecedented level of mail-in voting due to COVID-19, but USPS leaders and union officials say the agency is prepared to handle election mail and the real causes of the delays have been widely misunderstood.

News >  Crime/Public Safety

‘It’s the worst I’ve ever seen’: Fires force evacuations at both ends of Colville Reservation

UPDATED: Wed., Sept. 9, 2020

Three fires that started Monday on the Colville Reservation have burned about 16,000 acres and continued to grow Tuesday as winds roaring to 55 mph fanned the flames, said Rodney Cawston, chairman of the Colville Business Council.

A&E >  Music

‘The impact has just been massive’: Spokane venues call on Congress to rescue live events industry with stalled legislation

Wed., Sept. 2, 2020

Spokane event venues were awash in red light Tuesday as part of a nationwide campaign to call on Congress to provide a lifeline to a live events industry that has been decimated by COVID-19.

News >  WA Government

‘It’s going to require patience’: With delays and litigation likely, observers urge calm ahead of election

UPDATED: Mon., Aug. 31, 2020

Election night will look different this November. With limited in-person voting capacity and an unprecedented level of mail-in voting expected across the country due to COVID-19, results are likely to take days and perhaps even weeks to count in some key states that could decide the presidency, election officials say.

News >  WA Government

Washington election officials issue emergency rule change to ensure mail-in ballots are received on time

UPDATED: Wed., Aug. 26, 2020

The Washington Secretary of State’s office issued an emergency rule Wednesday requiring county election officials to use first-class postage to mail ballots to voters within 15 days of November’s election, seeking to ensure ballots are delivered on time amid concerns over delays at the Postal Service.

News

DeJoy defends Postal Service reforms in raucous House hearing

Mon., Aug. 24, 2020

WASHINGTON – Postmaster General Louis DeJoy assured House lawmakers Monday the Postal Service will handle election mail the way it has in past years, while trying to correct what he called "many inaccuracies" about the changes that have taken place under his brief tenure as the agency's chief.

News >  WA Government

Inland Northwest tribes race to avoid undercount after Census Bureau cuts door-to-door outreach by a month

UPDATED: Sun., Aug. 23, 2020

Tribal communities in the Inland Northwest face the prospect of a severe undercount in the 2020 census after the Census Bureau announced Aug. 3 that it would cut door-to-door counting short by a month.

News >  Nation/World

In Senate testimony, USPS chief says ballots are top priority, admits cost-cutting measures caused mail delays

UPDATED: Fri., Aug. 21, 2020

WASHINGTON – Postmaster General Louis DeJoy told senators Friday that election mail remains the U.S. Postal Service’s highest priority, while defending cost-cutting measures that he conceded have caused mail delays.

News

USPS ending outgoing mail processing in Wenatchee and Yakima, redirecting to Spokane

UPDATED: Sun., Aug. 23, 2020

The U.S. Postal Service is ending outgoing mail processing in its facilities in Wenatchee and Yakima, rerouting nearly all mail originating east of the Cascades to Spokane in a move union officials say will exacerbate delays and could actually increase costs as the agency faces intense scrutiny over changes implemented in the run-up to November’s election.

News >  WA Government

As battle over mail-in voting heats up, Washington offers example of how to avoid the disaster many states fear

Sun., Aug. 16, 2020

With an unprecedented number of Americans expected to vote by mail in November, sweeping changes at the U.S. Postal Service have raised concerns about voters receiving their ballots before Election Day, but election watchers say returning ballots on time could be a bigger problem.