The U.S. Supreme Court late Wednesday night blocked New York's COVID-19 restrictions on religious gatherings, marking a shift in the court that could lead to similar decisions in lawsuits in other states but will likely leave Washington unaffected as of now.

In a news conference just two days before Thanksgiving, Inslee and other health officials again urged residents of the importance of not gathering, as hospitals may not be able to handle it.

While cases continued to climb in Spokane and the state had rolled back to tighter restrictions, Mount Saint Michael’s Academy was announcing ticket sales for three showings of their high school musical, Willy Wonka, Jr., according to the academy’s website as of Friday.

Amid backlash for new COVID-19 restrictions, Gov. Jay Inslee announced additional economic support for businesses affected by closures.

The head of the health district in Houston was named Tuesday as the new leader for the Washington Department of Health.

Clint Wallace has been treating COVID patients in intensive care at Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center, and said the pandemic has health care workers at a breaking point. 

With the number of cases doubling in two weeks and hospitals starting to fill up with critically ill patients, Sunday marked "the most dangerous public health day in over 100 years," Inslee said at the start of a virtual news conference announcing the restrictions. 

More people who strongly supported one candidate or deeply loathed another seemed to get angry this year when we told them the race isn’t going to turn out the way they hoped.

The Washington Hospitality Association, an industry group representing restaurants and other service businesses statewide, asked Gov. Jay Inslee not to move to more restrictive measures on eateries because of their relative safety. Closing restaurants to dine-in patrons, as was done in the first few months of the pandemic, would result in the loss of 100,000 jobs, the group's president and chief executive officer told reporters Friday. 

OLYMPIA – Gov. Jay Inslee is urging Washington residents to change their plans for Thanksgiving and other holiday gatherings and is considering new restrictions on businesses as cases of COVID-19 continue to climb.

The week after a presidential election, one of the favorite games for political observers to play is "Who will be in the new cabinet?" This year, a favorite target of speculation is Washington Gov. Jay Inslee.

Here are some of the reactions from Northwest politicians to Joe Biden being declared the apparent winner of the presidential election:

The results of the general election are to be certified by Nov. 24. But Stevens County remains governed by an interim board of commissioners after previous office holders were effectively ousted by a judge's order earlier this year. 

Jay Inslee was talkingjbAS of plans for a rare third term in the governor's office Wednesday as opponent Loren Culp was refusing to concede and hinting at fraud in the vote counting.

After more than a year of campaigning, months of political commercials, a series of presidential debates and a week of nearly nonstop news coverage of rallies and countercharges, American voters may be waking up this morning with one question.

After a year of intense praise and scorn for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, Gov. Jay Inslee won a third term in Tuesday's election.

OLYMPIA – Removing the mask mandate in North Idaho counties endangers Washington residents across the border, Gov. Jay Inslee said Tuesday.

Five Washington counties that for months have had the strictest state restrictions for preventing the spread of COVID-19 were moved Tuesday to Phase 2 of the state's reopening plan. Meanwhile, Spokane County reported a  new milestone with 8,000 cases.

Infested apples Gov. Jay Inslee brought to Central and Eastern Washington last month in a goodwill gesture gone bad have been rounded up and destroyed.