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News >  Transportation

Multiple passengers injured as STA double-decker bus doesn’t clear viaduct

UPDATED: Tue., Jan. 20, 2026

A double-decker Spokane Transit Authority bus with passengers apparently took the wrong street through downtown Sunday, causing it to crash into the downtown railroad viaduct overpass.

News >  Federal Government

National parks no longer free to enter on MLK Day, but they will be on Trump’s birthday

UPDATED: Fri., Jan. 16, 2026

WASHINGTON – Monday is Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a federal holiday marking the birth of the civil rights leader who was slain in 1968. But Americans who want to spend the day at one of the country’s 63 national parks will have to pay for the first time in 15 years.

News >  K-12 education

Feds investigate Cheney Public Schools, 4 other WA districts over transgender student athlete policy

UPDATED: Thu., Jan. 15, 2026

Cheney Public Schools has caught the eye of the federal government.

News >  Federal Government

Rep. Baumgartner weighs in on ICE shooting of Renee Good in Minnesota; calls for review of potential fraud in Washington

UPDATED: Thu., Jan. 15, 2026

WASHINGTON – In remarks to reporters on Wednesday, Rep. Michael Baumgartner called the Jan. 7 killing of a Minnesota woman by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent “a tragedy” but said the shooting appeared to be justified.

News >  Federal Government

Senate passes partial government funding package, lowering stakes – and odds – of another shutdown

UPDATED: Thu., Jan. 15, 2026

WASHINGTON – At least half of the federal government is on a path to keep operating in the event of a lapse in funding that could take place at the end of the month.

News >  K-12 education

A fourth high school CHAS-run clinic opens in Spokane Public Schools

UPDATED: Wed., Jan. 14, 2026

CHAS Health’s domain across Spokane Public Schools is growing.

News >  K-12 education

‘The next voice of America’: Hundreds of students across Spokane skip class in protest of ICE, killing of Minneapolis woman

UPDATED: Tue., Jan. 13, 2026

Hundreds of students pressed up against the fence of Lewis and Clark High School on Tuesday, shoving handmade signs scrawled on notebook paper through the bars and chanting in unison with the accompaniment of the honks of passing cars.

News >  Idaho

Hundreds gather in Coeur d’Alene for vigil for Minneapolis woman killed by ICE

UPDATED: Mon., Jan. 12, 2026

Some 1,400 miles separate Independence Point on the banks of Lake Coeur d’Alene and the Minneapolis street where an Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agent shot and killed a woman Wednesday .

News >  Crime/Public Safety

Spokane man arrested in Post Falls in SWAT standoff after alleged kidnapping, threats to family members

UPDATED: Sun., Jan. 11, 2026

Kootenai County Sheriff’s Deputies arrested a Spokane man Saturday night after he allegedly threatened family members, prompting a SWAT standoff in a Post Falls house.

News >  Federal Government

How members of Congress in the Northwest feel about an American takeover of Greenland

Sun., Jan. 11, 2026

WASHINGTON – After President Donald Trump reiterated his desire to take over Greenland, threatening to use military force against the autonomous Danish territory, Eastern Washington’s congressman said Wednesday he supports buying Greenland from Denmark but opposes a military takeover of land controlled by the U.S. ally.

News >  Federal Government

What does it mean when Trump says U.S. will ‘run’ Venezuela? Northwest lawmakers split after classified briefings

Sun., Jan. 11, 2026

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump’s plan to “run” Venezuela after capturing the South American nation’s president Jan. 3 came into slightly clearer focus over the past week, but Northwest lawmakers still have questions about his administration’s intentions.

News >  K-12 education

In a familiar tune, state superintendent calls for more public education funding ahead of Legislative session

UPDATED: Fri., Jan. 9, 2026

In his annual address ahead of the legislative session, state superintendent Chris Reykdal made an “impassioned” case for updating the state’s “regressive” tax system to funnel more money into public schools.

News >  Washington

Rumors of library closure spur outcry in Okanogan County as mayor assures public negotiations are underway

UPDATED: Fri., Jan. 9, 2026

The Omak City Council meeting Monday night was packed with concerned constituents following rumors of a possible closure of the Omak Library.

News >  K-12 education

Head Start programs can continue diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, a federal judge rules, upending Trump executive orders

UPDATED: Thu., Jan. 8, 2026

A federal judge temporarily halted the Trump administration’s efforts to expunge so-called diversity, equity and inclusion from Head Start programs around the country.

News >  Federal Government

After Trump says U.S. could ‘run’ Venezuela for years, Senate clears way for vote to limit his war powers

UPDATED: Thu., Jan. 8, 2026

WASHINGTON – Five Republicans voted with Democrats as the Senate on Thursday cleared a path for a vote next week that could block President Donald Trump from using further military force against Venezuela, after he said the United States could “run” the South American country for years.

News >  Federal Government

Jan. 6 defendants pardoned by Trump march across D.C. to ‘rewrite history’ 5 years after Capitol riot

UPDATED: Thu., Jan. 8, 2026

WASHINGTON – A procession of Democratic lawmakers took to the Senate floor on Tuesday in commemoration of what happened on this day five years earlier, when supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol in an effort to reverse the outcome of an election Trump lost.

News >  Washington

Funeral home gaining new life as childcare center in small town of Pomeroy, where families have to drive 30 minutes for day care

UPDATED: Sat., Jan. 10, 2026

For years, families in Pomeroy have driven at least 30 minutes to find child care.

News >  K-12 education

Under the desk: New UW study sheds light on student phone use during school

UPDATED: Tue., Jan. 6, 2026

It’s no secret teens spend a lot of time in front of screens – something like eight and a half hours daily, according to a 2021 survey.

News >  Washington

Getting There: Latino-led nonprofit launches bilingual driving school aiming to bridge language barriers, expand access

Mon., Jan. 5, 2026

After years as its most requested service, a local Latino-led nonprofit officially launched its long-awaited bilingual driving school.

News >  Federal Government

Congressmen Michael Baumgartner, Adam Smith react after U.S. military attacks Venezuela, captures its president

UPDATED: Sun., Jan. 4, 2026

Baumgartner, of Spokane, praised Trump for toppling an "anti-American, communist, narco-terrorism, narco-trafficking regime." Smith, of Bellevue, said the unintended consequences of Nicolás Maduro's ouster could spark years of American military involvement, increased violence and instability.