Shawn Vestal

Some mouse research produces results far past the lives of the individual mice. Patrick Carter, a biologist who studies evolution at Washington State University, has been using generations and generations of data from previous studies to analyze the way the mice evolve.

When you climb into bed tonight, you'll be courting one of life's great mysteries. Everybody sleeps, and no one really knows why.

The Spokane Transit Authority has paid $1.07 million and will update tax records going back for more than 20 years as part of a settlement with the IRS over unpaid Social Security taxes. The settlement covers 114 employees who were mistakenly not included in the Social Security program for years. The employees were absorbed into the STA from the previous transit agency in Spokane, and officials thought that the workers could be omitted from Social Security and covered by state and local government pensions.

If the debate over standardized testing in public schools is beginning to die down, a new one may soon flare up. A new federal commission studying the future of higher education in America is likely to try to nudge the system toward some form of standardized testing, said its chairman, Charles Miller. He said colleges and universities are letting students down – requiring less stringent work, less classroom time and lower standards – and Americans need to ensure they're getting the best system of education possible in a competitive world.

PULLMAN – Wildlife biologists have employed a lot of tools to influence wildlife populations over the years, from radio tracking to selected hunts to habitat protection. Robert Wielgus uses math.

Eastern Washington University is moving forward with plans to try to sell its downtown building and move to the Riverpoint campus. The long-anticipated move would almost double the number of students on that campus, fueling efforts to develop a university district in the midst of Spokane, officials with EWU and Washington State University said.

Charles Mitchell teaches several English classes a year at Spokane Falls Community College. And each summer for the past several years, when the school could not hire him, he applied for unemployment benefits through the state.

Eastern Washington University has reached an agreement to allow a student exchange with three Chinese universities, and is negotiating similar deals with several other schools in that nation. It's part of an effort across the country to increase the enrollment of international students, after a fall-off of foreign students in recent years.

The University of Idaho is heading toward a new year with a lot of change. The school has hired several top administrators recently and plans to name new deans in five of nine positions. It's examining proposals for five special programs that President Tim White said he hopes will become "part of the fabric of the university." And it's re-establishing the College of Art and Architecture, following a ruling that it was illegally disbanded in 2002.

The University of Idaho has received several hundred responses to President Tim White's statement this fall that the school would teach only evolution in its science classes, and the reaction hasn't died down. "I get a letter or two a day about this," White said Thursday. "It was a strong response."

Graduation on the Palouse typically brings images of springtime to mind. But the past several years, both Washington State University and the University of Idaho have held December commencement ceremonies. On Saturday, more than 600 students will graduate in Pullman, and about 860 will graduate in Moscow.

The headlines called him Bill. Just Bill.

A speaker at North Idaho College who declared that Islam is a religion of world domination committed to the death of Christians and Jews has riled up some students, who say the speech fed false stereotypes. Chuck Missler, who spoke on "The Threat of Radical Islam," said he's just trying to tell the truth about a grave threat to America.

Reita Kitt was the kind of high school graduate that colleges say they're dying for. A good student. A scholarship recipient. A participant in summer programs at the University of Idaho for high school students. And, as a Coeur d'Alene tribal descendent, an "underrepresented minority."

Washington's community colleges operate on the principle that virtually anyone is welcome – even if you don't have a high school degree, they'll usually help you get one. But the idea of "open enrollment" is colliding with questions over sex offenders in the classroom at Spokane Community College, where 20 registered sex offenders are enrolled, and where faculty and staff are asking the administration to clarify their rights and responsibilities.

PULLMAN – The sexual harassment case of Bernardo Gallegos began with wine and candlelight, after hours, at his home – just a distinguished professor and a married student who says she resisted his advances. Now it's playing out loudly all over the Palouse, with a lawsuit against Gallegos and Washington State University, a series of articles in the campus newspaper, and a pledge last week from the provost that WSU would strengthen its policies on sexual harassment.

Eastern Washington University has named three finalists to replace departed President Stephen Jordan, the school announced Tuesday. The finalists are provosts, or chief academic officers, at their respective schools – Western Washington University, the University of Texas-Pan American, and Bowling Green State University.